Pen pictures of the remaining three stallions are given in this concluding part.   

PERFECT STRIDE[GB]  (b 2005 Oasis Dream - First by Highest Honor)

Standing at: Yeravada Stud, Pune (Maharashtra)

Racing Performance: 4 wins at 2 to 4 In England from 12 starts(1400 m. to 2000 m.). Raced in U.A.E and Malaysia till 10. BOR 113.

Other stallion sons of Oasis Dream in India: Crown Jewels and Gusto.

Some recent stallions at Yeravada Stud: Batzushka, Nisswa, Diffident, Serious Spender, New Famous, Arazan, etc.

Third foal of his Listed Race winning dam, Perfect Stride was bred by Bloomsfield Stud, not far from Bletchley Park, once the top secret domain of World War II codebreakers in Buckinghamshire. He was consigned by Ashtown House Stud at Tattersalls October Yearling Sale 2006 and was purchased by C. Gordon-Watson Bloodstock for 440,000 gns,  on behalf of Mr. Saeed Suhail who sent him to Sir Michael Stoute's Freemason Lodge Stables on Bury Road in Newmarket. He raced a dozen times in his first three years, winning four times under jockey Ryan Moore. His wins included Britain's Got Talent Paradise Stakes, L and Wolferton Stakes, L and of his four places, two were at Gr.3 level. He was a very consistent, genuine and game performer. He was then sold and never placed in his remaining thirteen starts spread over six years in U.A.E. and Malaysia.

The intrepid Mrs. Anne Wright of Lingwood Stud picked him up from nowhere, brought him to India and Yeravada Stud was happy to take him on for a year. (Since then, the horse has been bought by Yeravada Stud). Juddmonte's Oasis Dream, a Champion 2YO in Europe and a Champion Sprinter at 3 in England, has been a very consistent, versatile stallion at the top end. His stallion sons include Muhaarar, Charming Thought, Power, Aqlaam, Arcano and Showcasing among others. Perfect Stride's dam line is basically speedy. His third dam is also the third dam of Tavistock who, despite being by Montjeu, excelled at shorter distances and stood as a stallion at Cambridge Stud in New Zealand. Other stallions from the family are Grand Lodge, Jupiter Island, Precocious, Whistling Wind, Sharpset, etc. A different branch of this family has had considerable success in India and is responsible for the likes of Camino, Camineto, Corrente de Ouro, Celtic Lady, Noble Quest, King Rama, etc. 

Yeravada Stud was once at the very pinnacle of the breeding scene in India. It has not enjoyed much success for nearly forty years but last year, it had a Classic winner -- Izzy at Calcutta -- after a long time.  Perfect Stride had 24 foals in his first crop and 17 in his second. He covered 16 mares in 2019. 

RODERICK O'CONNOR[IRE] (b 2008 Galileo -  Secret Garden by Danehill)

Standing at: Villoo's Greenfied Stud, Pune (Maharashtra)

Racing Performance: 3 wins at 2 and 3 from 9 starts in Europe (1400 m. and 1600 m.). BOR 119.

Other stallion sons of Galileo in India:David Livingston [IRE], Planetaire[GB] and Ampere[FR].

Some recent stallions at Poona Group of Farms: Placerville, Alnasr Alwasheek, Diffident, Greensmith, Ace, Arazan, Excellent Art, Leitir Mor, etc. 

Roderic O'Connor is the first European Classic winner to come to India since Pratap Stud imported the Epsom Derby winner Oath in 2006. Rodric O'Connor's dam won four races at 3 for Mr. Robert Sangster including the Miles and Morrison October Stakes, L when she was in the care of trainer John Gosden. The Sangster family continued to own Secret Garden at stud and Roderic O'Connor was her fourth foal and the first by Galileo to whom she paid repeated visits afterwards. Roderic O'Connor was bought by Coolmore partners (Mrs. John Magnier, Mr. M.Tabor and Mr. D.L. Smith) but the Sangster family retained a quarter share. As  to be expected, the colt went to trainer Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle.

Roderic O'Connor, named after an Irish painter and sculptor, had a short racing career of nine starts over two years during which he won three races. After an easy outing at Leopardstown on his debut where he finished third, he won a maidens  race at Curragh. He was then sent to Newmarket for the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes, Gr.1 where he ran a creditable second, two and a quarter lengths behind the redoutable Frankel. The next stop was at Saint-Cloud in France where he picked up Criterium International, Gr.1. before retiring to his winter quarters. At 3, he again went to Newmarket to take on Frankel in the Quipco Two Thousand Guineas, Gr.1 where he was not sighted. He redeemed himself with a good win in the Abu Dhabi Irish 2000 Guineas, Gr.1. So far, he had not raced beyond a mile and his record was excellent. Then, he was then sent thrice beyond a mile but failed to come on board. He was a rarity; a Galileo who excelled at short distances, like the unbeaten Teofilo who, it has to be said, raced only at 2.  Roderic O'Connor's failing at longer distances is a bit baffling for he comes from a stout, staying line of Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winners Detroit and her son Carnegie. Two of Roderic O'Connor's full-sisters, Laburnum and Dazzling, both rated 100+,  have been comfortable over extended trips. This is also the family of Zabeel, an outstanding sire in Australia and New Zealand. 

He was retired to Ballyhane Stud, Co. Carlow on the Dublin-Waterford highway and his fee was €9,000. After his first covering season had ended, he shuttled to  Haras Santa Ana de Rio Grande in southern Brazil, very close to the Uruguay border. In Brazil,  Rodric O'Connor was sensational. He stood there for only one term but it was enough to make him the Champion Freshman Sire and the Champion Sire the following year. His lone southern hemisphere crop contained many stars, one brighter than the other and they often fought against each other in Brazil's big races. Names like Voador Magee (Grande Premio Brasil, Gr.1), Olympic Google (Grande Premio Sao Paulo, Gr.1), Emperor Roderick (Grande Premio Cruzeiro do Sul, Gr.1), El Shaklan (Grande Premio Linneo Paula Machado, Gr.1), Finneon, Gargalo's Hills and Olympic Gulliver may not  mean much in in India but are fondly remembered in Brazil. Efforts of Brazilian breeders for Roderic O'Connor to return for another spell proved unsuccessful.  

In comparison, Roderick O'Connor's northern hemisphere record is only moderate. His fee remained more or less constant but he moved to the National Stud for his last two season in Newmarket, England. Despite vastly more numbers of his northern hemisphere foals, you do not require all the fingers of even one hand to count his Graded winners in Europe. His progeny has generally been at its best over shorter distances and perhaps, has preferred artificial surface tracks or a bit of give in the ground.

Environmental factors are an obvious answer in explaining the stallion's difference in performance in the two hemispheres. So the big question is how will he take to the Indian environment ? The Poonawalla Farms have launched their stallions in recent times, excepting Leitir Mor, with excellent support. Roderic O'Connor's first three crops will number about 150 foals. There is no doubt that he will end up as the Champion Freshman Sire. It is his AE Index that will be closely watched. 

TALE OF A CHAMPION[USA] (b 2008  Tale of the Cat - If Angels Sang by Seattle Slew)

Standing at: Sarvang Stud, Muppenahalli, District Ramnagara (Karnataka)

Racing Performance: 6 wins at 4 and 5 from 19 starts in U.S.A. (1500 m. to 2000 m.). Best Racing Post Rating 103.

Only son of Tale of the Cat in India.

Other stallion at Sarvang Stud:Senure[USA]

Every time a stud farm closes down there is a hue and cry. Establishment of a new nursery, however, does not draw as much comment. Some new studs have come up in the last few years, like Bishan Stud and Country Stud, to mention just two. A stud recently established is Sarvang Stud in Karnataka. Its founder is Mr. B. Vijay, a real racing enthusiast whose primary  love is bloodlines and breeding theories. He is the author of two books on breeding which are essential reading for anyone wanting to learn systematically about this complex subject. Mr. B. Vijay has also owned horses now and then but with only desultory success. His stud venture deserves better returns. To get the new establishment up and running, Manjri's successful but ageing stallion Senure was recruited. Tale of A Champion is the first stallion that the farm has imported.

Tale of a Champion was $ 62,000 yearling but made only $ 13,000 when resold as a 2YO. He did not race at 2 and 3. He made up for the lost time by winning three of his first four starts at 4 in Florida. The last two of those came on consecutive days in July including Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint Stakes, L. He was then trained by Christo Gatis. That brought him to the notice of Kretz Racing LLC who bought him and sent him to the West coast to be trained by Kristin Mulhall, a daughter of former trainer Richard Mulhall and later the Racing Manager of The Thoroughbred Corp. Kristin Mulhall had hit the headlines in 2004 when, just 21 years of age, her one eyed horse Imperialism had placed third in the Kentucky Derby, Gr.1 won by Smarty Jones. She has never quite reached those giddy heights since then but has established herself as a dependable trainer on the West Coast as well as in Florida. Though she has adequate numbers in training, she also looks after other ex-race horses at her farm, equipping them for an honourable life after racing. 

On moving west, Tale of a Champion found the going tough. He was generally raced in Graded company, over short distances of around a mile and even ran in the Breeders' Cup Sprint, Gr.1 of 2012 at Santa Anita and failed to make it on the board. After seven starts and eleven months, Tale of a Champion found himself in the winner's circle again,  finishing first in a race over 1700 m. at Santa Anita. On his next start at Hollywood Park he won the Charles Whittingham Memorial Stakes, Gr.2 over 2000 m. His trainer felt that he had been wrongly raced over shorter trips. So he was upped in distance and ran in 2013 Breeders' Cup Turf, Gr.1 but failed to place. He did not race in 2014 and did not place in his three starts in 2015 and 2016. 

Of the years he was in training, Tale of a Champion did not race in three. In the four years that he did, his record in Graded company was patchy. What appealed to Mr. B. Vijay was surely his pedigree. Tale of a Champion, who covered his first mares at the age of 9, is in-bred 3x3 to that fine matron Terligua, the dam of Storm Cat and Tiajuana, a sire in India. This is the Cherokee Rose II  family of sires  Royal Academy, Pancho Villa, Encino, Be My Guest, Majestic Light, Fusaichi Pegasus, Air Support (in India), etc.. Tale of the Cat, the sire of Tale of a Champion, was only a Gr.2 winner in U.S.A. but an excellent progenitor, with over a hundred black-type winners and several stallion sons to his name.

Tale of a Champion had 24 foals in his first crop and 17 in his second. He covered just 16 mares in 2019 so his third crop is bound to be the smallest. A cursory look at his first two crops shows that the mares he covered were a bit short on racing performance. Their pedigrees have not been delved into deeply because that is one area where Mr. B. Vijay is very particular. All said and done, Tale of a Champion is an interesting prospect.

PAST THE POST

The Indian breeding industry, for long shackled by import restrictions, welcomed the more liberal policy that became evident in the 1980s. 1984 is a significant year. That year, 16 new stallions commenced their careers in the covering yards around the country. Off hand, it is hard to recall another year when as many stallions went to stud. Their progeny started racing in 1986-87 but, unfortunately, no official breeding statistics  of that year are to be found and it is only an educated guess that Riyahi ended the year as the Champion Freshman Sire. Riyahi had a small first crop of 17 foals but it included Divine Light who won the Bangalore Fillies Trial Stakes, Gr.3 and Bangalore Derby, Gr.1. Since the Champion Freshman Sire is decided by the amount of stakes won by the progeny, Riyahi appears as the most likely to have got the title.