Part Two of Cassie Tully's look at horses who surprisingly excelled as sires at stud

At present within Britain, Ireland and France, there are six prominent sires in the stallion ranks that did not wow the masses on the racetrack, but have managed to overcome their disadvantaged beginnings. (See part one of this feature).

To dissect a couple of those who have made the most dramatic progress, first and foremost we have Kodiac. The most celebrated present day example of working one's way up the ladder a single rung at a time. He began at the very bottom of the stallion ranks and has not yet stopped climbing, becoming the popular stalwart that we know today in the process.

This son of Danehill ran in handicaps until the end of his four-year-old season and his only stakes placing was his second in the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury in his fifth year. He was well beaten in his three starts at Group 1 level thereafter.

Bravely purchased by Tally-Ho Stud, the non-stakes winner did have a significant pedigree going for him at least. Both being by his famed father and also a half-brother to Invincible Spirit, who at that time, just had a phenomenal first season as a sire.

He retired at a fee of €5,000, which then even dipped to €4,000 in his third season. It was a slow burner, steadily impressing by having more winners and stakes performers than expected, until finally in 2014 Tiggy Wiggy came along.

Kodiac covered his biggest book that year, which produced his world record-breaking crop of number of two-year-old winners in 2017 and his fee hiked to €25,000 for 2015. Fast forward to today and Kodiac now demands a €65,000 fee with four Group 1 winners amidst 54 stakes winners to his name. Many more are likely to be added to that list as his fee, demand and mare quality are increasing each year.

Acclamation was a little closer to top class on the racetrack than Kodiac, winning a Group 2 and placing in two Group 1s. Still having to prove himself, though, he has managed to produce some real sprinting stars. Four of his five top-level horses were colts - Dark Angel, Equiano, Expert Eye and Aclaim, and they have all found their rightful place at stud.

The final two, Showcasing and Camacho were Juddmonte owned and raced half-brothers that both disappointed at the highest level. Camacho managed a Group 3 place and Showcasing a Group 2 win, both retiring to stud at €4,000 and £5,000 respectively. Camacho has gradually worked his way up the ranks to €10,000 where he has finally settled in Yeomanstown Stud after stud-hopping beforehand and has now got 5 Group winners to his name including Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Teppal.

Showcasing has impressively ascended up the ladder much faster at Whitsbury Manor in England with Advertise and Quiet Reflection flying his flag, as well as 18 other Group winners. He already commands a £55,000 fee.

There are of course a myriad of sires, both poor and prosperous on the track that just don’t produce the goods at stud. But of those more recent additions to the covering sheds, there are several who may follow in the footsteps and beyond, of those mentioned above.

So who are the dark horses of the future?

Both Gutaifan and Cable Bay are two non-Group 1 winners that impressed with their first two-year-olds last year. Gutaifan topped the first season sire table by number of winners and Cable Bay wasn’t far behind him in third.

There is a trio of higher profile cases that are a surprising bunch to have never won at the highest level.

Taj Mahal retired to stud in France this year. He is a Galileo son with one of the most exciting pedigree pages in the stud book. A full-brother to three Group 1 winners in Gleneagles, Marvellous and Happily, he is also out of a sister to Giant’s Causeway. A dual Group 2 winner, he placed in two Group 1's for Aidan O’Brien before his successes in Australia.

Calyx - A son of the hot young sire Kingman who retired to Coolmore this year, was bred and raced by Juddmonte. He was a Group 2 winner of only four starts before a leg injury forced the early commencement of his second career.

And the third is Gustav Klimt. Another son of Galileo who is standing at Coolmore and is out of a sister to the renowned brothers, Invincible Spirit and Kodiac. Consistency was not astray here placing in six Group 1s after his Group 2 win as a two-year-old.

It will be far from surprising when some of those famed genes start re-emerging.

Evidently, there is no definite pattern to success. But it is clear that a good sire, no matter what level at which he starts, will eventually prove himself as such. Quality will always prevail, and when answering the question initially posed: 'what makes a good stallion?'

The answer is that he makes himself.