Australian Studbook Red Flags – Not the Stallion We Thought

Tara Madgwick - Thursday September 7

The Street Cry (IRE) sireline has become one of the most influential in Australia in terms of producing elite performers with his sons producing six individual Group I winners last season and one of those sons that sired two of those G1 winners is the subject of this story.

A dual Group I winning two year-old from the family of champion sires Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, Pride of Dubai ticked every box as a sire prospect on paper and retired to Coolmore in the same year as Golden Slipper winner Vancouver.

Pride of Dubai, click for more info and a Hypo mating.

While Vancouver has since relocated to Victoria, Pride of Dubai remains on the Coolmore roster and after enjoying his best ever season in 2022/ 2023 when siring eight stakes-winners in Australasia he is priced to please this spring at $27,500.

Pride of Dubai is one of those stallions that a lot of people – trainers and breeders- got wrong and they are now looking at him in a new light as to what he can offer.

Pride of Dubai was expected to get fast precocious two year-olds and to an extent he did, finishing as the Champion First Season Sire in the 2019/2020 season with 11 winners headed by his lone stakes-winner Bella Nipotina. He did enough to maintain interest, but not enough to smash it out of the park.

Bella Nipotina is going strong at age six and has won $4million in prizemoney - image Steve Hart

By the end of the next season, Pride of Dubai was treading water, siring plenty of winners, but Bella Nipotina remained his best performer with no other obvious stars on the rise and his popularity took a sharp dive.

Advertisement

As time passed a funny thing happened in Europe where his progeny started to make their mark over a mile and further with a horse called Dubai Honour showing enough potential in the Willam Haggas stable to earn a trip to Australia, while Bella Nipotina went from strength to strength. Dubai Honour thumped our best WFA horses including Anamoe to win both the Group I ATC Ranvet Stakes and Queen Elzabeth Stakes at 2000m, while Bella Nipotina won the Group I MVRC Manikato Stakes and placed in a string of G1 sprints.

Dubai Honour (IRE) wins the G1 QEII Stakes in a canter - image Steve Hart

Pride of Dubai is a good stallion, he’s just not the stallion most breeders thought he was initially. He might not get you a Golden Slipper winner, but he’s going to put you in the picture for an Everest or a Cox Plate!

He has strong crops of two and three year-olds to run this season and they hold the potential to keep his name in lights for a long time to come.

Pride of Dubai - Southern Hemisphere Seasons at Stud

Advertisment
More Reading...
Kiwi Stayer Chasing Melbourne Cup Golden Ticket
Wolfgang, who races as Mister Wolfgang in Australia, will get his first opportunity to earn a golden ticket into the Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) when he heads to Flemington on Saturday.
Satono’s Stunning Stats Continue as Rich Hill Sires Shine
Rich Hill Stud’s Group 1 stallion roster was the dominant force at Te Rapa’s premier meeting with their progeny claiming a feature race double.
Equimillion This Long Weekend – Draws and Start Lists
Racing NSW have their annual Equimillion event coming up this long weekend at Sydney International Equestrian Centre at Horsley Park and for people interested in off the trackers it’s a showcase for the sport, so let’s take a look at who’s who in the zoo.
Goffs Orby Day 2 - Trio of Million Dollar Yearling Fillies
The second day of the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale took off overnight with three individual yearlings selling for a million or more with the full sister to dual Group I winning champion 2YO Colt Blackbeard selling for €1.9 million to MV Magnier.
Sires With Winners - Tuesday September 30
Here is the full list of 27 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Resolute Racing Purchase Top Lot Goffs Orby Day 1
The Goffs Orby Yearling Sale kicked off overnight and the top lot on Day 1 was a colt by Blue Point purchased by John Stewart’s Resolute Bloodstock for €675,000, while Wootton Bassett produced the top selling filly, whose half-brother Trinity College is now in Australia.
Sires With Winners - Monday September 29
Here is the full list of 22 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Golden Rose Brings Second Season Shake Up
We are two months into a new racing season and the second season sires table was given a good shake up over the weekend with the $1million Group I Golden Rose and $300,000 Group II Stutt Stakes both producing a quinella for sires in this cohort.
2025 G1 Epsom Handicap Field and Barrier Draw
The field and barrier draw has been decided for the Group I Epsom Handicap on Saturday with odds-on favourite and unbeaten mare Autumn Glow drawing the extreme outside gate in a field of 14.
She's Unusual Keeps Good Times Rolling
Continued success with resident stallion Unusual Suspect and their racing team has kept Nigel and Adaire Auret busier than they may have envisaged, but without any complaints.