Highly-Rated Topgear to Stand for €7,500 at Capital Stud in 2026

[Wandering Eyes]

The multiple Group winner Topgear has been retired from racing and will stand at Capital Stud for the 2026 breeding season. The son of Wootton Bassett will command a fee of €7,500.

Topgear was unbeaten in three starts as a juvenile for trainer Fabrice Chappet, culminating with a narrow success in the G3 Prix Eclipse at Chantilly. Transferred to the care of Christopher Head after failing to add to his tally in six starts the following season, the Hisaaki Saito-owned colt then peaked towards the end of his four-year-old campaign when he registered consecutive wins in the G3 Prix du Pin at ParisLongchamp and the G2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket. He won by five and a half lengths on the last occasion and ended the season with a Timeform rating of 123.

“We are incredibly excited to be standing what is one of the highest-rated sons of Wootton Bassett at Capital Stud,” the operation's Ger O'Neill said of Topgear, who also won the G3 Prix du Palais-Royal on his return to action in May this year, beating the subsequent G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest winner Sajir (Make Believe).

“Topgear is a horse we have been tracking for quite some time and it is an honour to be partnering with Mr Saito for his stallion career. Just as exciting for us is that we are offering equity shares in him to the public, so we look forward to partnering with multiple breeders and going on this journey together for what will hopefully be a great long-term success for everyone that gets involved.

“We are still a relatively new stallion farm on the scene, but being able to offer a horse of this standard to breeders is what it's all about for us, so we'll be doing everything we possibly can to make a success of him.”

Bred by Snig Elevage, Topgear sold for €200,000 at the Arqana Deauville September Yearling Sale and is one of four winners from as many runners out of the winning Giant's Causeway mare Miss Lech. His second dam is a sibling to three stakes performers, while the third dam, the Listed Hopeful Stakes scorer Rose Indien (Crystal Glitters), is a half-sister to the G2 Prix du Conseil de Paris-winning sire Majorien and the G2 Prix de Malleret scorer America (Arazi). The latter is herself the dam of the G1 Melbourne Cup-winning sire Americain.

Sebastian Desmontils, racing manager to Hisaaki Saito, added, “We were honoured to race Topgear and were very keen to retain an interest in his stallion career. We are delighted to have retained shares in him for the next phase of Topgear's career at Capital Stud and intend to offer him as much support as we can both in the breeding shed and in the sales ring.”

Castle Star will complete Capital Stud's Flat roster for 2026, standing for €3,000.

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