Date posted February 23, 2010 | Posted by David Bay | Filed under
Premium Updates,
Racing and Breeding,
Staff Favourites,
Viking RulerLaguna - NSW (Feb 23rd, 2010) - Hastein’s dominant 10-1/4 length win over 1950m at Morphettville on February 20 could not have come at a better time to showcase his superbly bred young sire Viking Ruler, who is relocating from Cambridge Stud in NZ to Mornmoot Stud at Whittlesea in Victoria for the 2010 season.
Already the sire of 80 winners of $5.36m including Queensland Derby-Gr.1 hero Court Ruler and a Gr.1 winner himself of the AJC Spring Champion Stakes-Gr.1 (2000m), Viking Ruler is relocating to Australia in a joint venture with Cambridge Stud owners Sir Patrick and Lady Hogan and Mornmoot proprietors Robert and Roshni Thompson.
A son of the nine-times Champion Australian Sire Danehill (USA), Viking Ruler is from the star two and three-year-old filly Tristalove (Sir Tristram), whose 11 wins included the AJC Sires’ Produce Stakes-Gr.1 and Australasian Oaks-Gr.1. Tristalove’s eight foals are all winners and include stakes performers Lovetrista (Rock of Gibraltar) and Viking Ruler’s full siblings Kempinsky, Diamond Like and Chimeara (dam of Gr.1 winner De Beers). Viking Ruler’s second dam is the Gr.1 winner Diamond Lover, a daughter of the brilliant Star Kingdom line sprinter Sticks and Stones and the incomparable broodmare Eight Carat (GB), a direct descendant of the flying filly Mumtaz Mahal. This is a family whose members include the likes of Nasrullah and Royal Charger. Eight Carat has proved a real broodmare gem, leaving five Gr.1 winners and an immediate family containing dozens of stakes winners.
Eight Carat’s Gr.1 winners are headed by Australian Horse of the Year Octagonal (Zabeel), the winner of 10 Gr.1 events and $5.89m and a successful sire whose runners include another Horse of the Year and successful sire, the 11-times Gr.1 winner Lonhro. Eight Carat’s other Gr.1 winners were Mouawad (Zabeel), Kaapstad (Sir Tristram), Our Marquise (Gold and Ivory) and Diamond Lover. Cotelehe House (GB) (by the Petition horse My Swanee), an unraced daughter of Eight Carat, is best known as the dam of the talented brothers Danewin and Commands, both successful sires and like Viking Ruler, sons of Danehill.
Viking Ruler has a high percentage of named foals to starters (80.1%) and has had 111 horses earn prizemoney from 185 runners (60%). His nine stakes performers in addition to Court Ruler (three wins and $425,000) also include Gr.2 winner and multiple Gr.1 runner-up Red Ruler (seven wins and $1.09m) and the flying Kroner, whose seven wins ($345,000) include the Premiere Stakes-Gr.2 (1200m), Hall Mark Stakes-LR (1100m) and June Stakes-LR (1100m), highlighting his sire’s ability to get sprinters as well as stayers.
Other stakes performers include Pretty Vegas, Powerful Ruler (six wins and $553,147 in Singapore), Romany Princess, Fast Ruler, Measurement (in England) and Tief. Powerful Ruler and Fast Ruler are from daughters of Viking Ruler’s “uncle” Kaapstad, while Kroner is from a daughter of Zabeel (like Tristalove, by Sir Tristram) as is Hastien, who is being set for the Adelaide Cup after his brilliant Morphettville win.
Australian breeders will also be pleased to know Viking Ruler has thrown winners from mares by Rory’s Jester, Danewin (another close relation), Canny Lad, Red Ransom, Rhythm, At Talaq, Marscay, Carnegie and Dehere.
Viking Ruler joins the promising young sire Fomalhaut (Spinning World-Coup de Folie by Halo) and dual Gr.1 winner El Cumbres (Hussonet-Mascara Roja by Cresta Rider) at Mornmoot.
