‘Look De Vega A Very Important Signing For Ballylinch Stud’

[Wandering Eyes]

John O'Connor on securing Lope De Vega's Classic-winning son 

The equine transfer market is no less difficult to navigate than its footballing equivalent and John O'Connor pulled off a coup that even powerhouse clubs like Real Madrid or Barcelona would have been proud of in luring last year's breathtaking Prix du Jockey Club winner Look De Vega (Fr) to Ballylinch Stud. 

Look De Vega will stand alongside his sire Lope De Vega (Ire) at the County Kilkenny stud. This is on a par with Lionel Messi's son starring for Barcelona and the importance of securing the services of one of the brightest young sires in the game is not lost on O'Connor. 

“Look De Vega is a very important signing for us this year–strengthens our team,” he explained. “We had been asked by [stud owner] John Malone to try and find a high-class son of Lope De Vega–who has been such a success for us–and we identified Look De Vega. We set out to buy him and, just as is the case with any good athlete, it wasn't easy to do and we had to pay plenty to do it but we are very happy to have secured him.”

O'Connor added, “It certainly means a lot to Ballylinch Stud to have a high-class son of Lope De Vega joining the ranks. It's not often the sons of high-class footballers, athletes and indeed racehorses are equally as good, but Look De Vega showed immense ability on the racetrack in winning the same races as his sire and his grandsire. So a hell of a lot of things fell into place.”

Bred by Haras de la Morsangliere and Ecurie des Charmes, Look De Vega exploded onto the scene in France with a seven-length demolition job on debut at Fontainebleau for trainers Carlos and Yann Lerner. But it is his Prix du Jockey Club success that will forever live in the memory. In running out a cosy victor in a race that has been won by his sire Lope De Vega and grandsire Shamardal, Look De Vega confirmed his status as a colt of the highest calibre. 

O'Connor recalled of his racing career, “We first took notice of Look De Vega after he made a winning debut as a two-year-old. We had been alerted that he was very promising and therefore watched that debut run with great interest and he bombed in–won by seven-and-a-half lengths pulling up without ever really coming off the bridle. It was confirmed then that this was a really high-class horse. So we watched him through. It was a really high-class field in the Prix du Jockey Club but he demolished them. At that point, it was clear to everyone that this is a really high-class horse. We were very keen to add him to our roster and we're delighted that we were able to do that.”

Ironically, the exploits of Lope De Vega did not make things easy for Ballylinch Stud to snap up his latest star performer. Last year represented another banner season for the world-class stallion, who was responsible for the Middle Park and Dewhurst Stakes winner Shadow Of Light (GB), who ended 2024 as the European Champion Two-Year-Old. 

The Charlie Appleby-trained Shadow Of Light is now a leading 2,000 Guineas contender for Lope De Vega, who, according to O'Connor, will have his book of mares limited to roughly 140 this season and beyond in an effort to prolong his glittering career. Therein lies the importance of seeking out a stallion capable of one day stepping into the shadows. 

O'Connor explained, “For any stud, it's very important that you try and build a legacy for any of the top stallions you might have. You can only do that through the stallion's top sons so we were very keen to be able to do this if we could. I think Look De Vega has the physical attributes to match what he achieved on the racetrack. What we look for in a Lope De Vega is an unbelievably good walk, and that's what this fella has. When people come to see him, they just go, 'wow, look at how he moves.' He is so free in his action, his movement is really fantastic from his shoulders and lots of power behind. That's a typical Lope De Vega set of movements and we were so pleased to see that. We think that is a very important aspect in building that legacy and tradition from one sire to another.”

He added, “Lope De Vega did a lot of the hard work himself. He exploded from the stalls in that he was European Champion First-Season Sire and sire of the European Champion Two-Year-old from his first crop. He had a bunch of really good two-year-olds and, at that point, it dawned on everyone that this is a really high-class sire. He has progressed. I mean, he started out at a very reasonable figure at €15,000 and we didn't bring him up too quickly. Now, he is a world-class sire and has had Group 1 horses in Australia, Japan, Dubai, Canada and the United Stakes and all over Europe as well. Not many horses can do that and he's very unusual in that sense as he seems to be able to perform to the same level worldwide.”

Lope De Vega embarked on his stallion career at Ballylinch Stud on a fee of just €15,000 in 2011. He stood for just €12,500 in 2014 before rising gradually to stand for €100,000 in 2020 and the career-high fee of €175,000 at which he has been set at for 2025. 

The growth has been organic and many breeders who got involved in the stallion have been involved in what has been an almighty rise to the top. O'Connor revealed that some of the same breeders who bought breeding rights in Lope De Vega have remained loyal in their support of his classy French Derby-winning son and the dream is to chart a similar path to the top. 

“That kind of loyalty between a stud and its client base is a very important part of what we do so the wonderful thing is that many of the shareholders who bought into Lope De Vega are now buying into Look De Vega. It is our policy to syndicate horses as best we can so that breeders have equity in stallions. That way, when a stallion does take off, the breeder can reap the success. It's pretty much similar to how we syndicated Lope De Vega. His racing owners are staying very much involved and are really supporting him. That was the same with Lope De Vega when Gestut Ammerland remained involved.”

Of course, Ballylinch Stud has a good association with Al Shaqab, one of the main partners in the stallion. Together, the major entities raced Group 1 scorer Place Du Carrousel (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}), who fetched €4,025,000 to Yulong at the Arqana Breeding Stock Sale in 2023. 

O'Connor commented, “We've had success with Al Shaqab before. We raced Place Du Carrousel in partnership with Al Shaqab and she won a Group 1 before selling for a record price at Arqana. She is now owned by Yulong and is racing in Australia. So we've worked well with Al Shaqab in the past and are anticipating lots more success with Look De Vega in particular. Al Shaqab has a really strong broodmare band-like we have-and is really getting behind the horse. This is a big help when it comes to launching a stallion's career. 

“We should also mention that we have had a lot of luck with Look De Vega's other partners, Ecurie des Charmes, as we bred a Breeders' Cup winner together in Aunt Pearl (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}). They are major shareholders in Look De Vega and have been buying mares with us to support him. He will get a very high-quality book.”

O'Connor concluded, “I think it's only fair that when a breeder decides to support a stallion, they know that we are going to do the same with really high-class mares. We'll pick mares who would normally go to a €50,000 stallion or even a €100,000 stallion and send them to Look De Vega. We won't buy a horse unless we feel they are good enough for our best mares and we feel that Look De Vega is more than good enough.

“I don't think I've ever had a stallion who has made the same impact with breeders as Look De Vega has. Right from the first show he gave us, it's his flowing movement that catches people's attention. He is an impressive physical specimen with size, scope, action and colour. The breeders look at him and say, 'if I have a foal like this, I am going to be in business'. That has been converted into a really strong book of mares that has been booked into him. If he breeds foals that are anything like himself, the market is going to be very hot on them.”

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