‘People Are Really Starting To Follow Us’ – Breeders Get Behind Capital Stud and New Recruit Topgear

[Wandering Eyes]

For a team which prides itself on never taking a backward step, Topgear is a suitably-named newcomer to the stallion roster at Capital Stud for 2026, with this latest offering being snapped up by breeders with such alacrity that the forward-thinking operation in County Kilkenny must be doing something right.

Founded in 2020 by Ger O'Neill and Darragh McCarthy, Capital Stud describes itself as “a syndicate made up of prominent industry figures who have committed to supporting their stallions in the breeding shed and in the sales ring”.

“We'd like to get as big as we can,” added O'Neill in an interview with TDN Europe in January 2024. “We're very motivated to make Capital Stud better and are excited to see how far we can go in this industry. It's a very hard business, but it's an enjoyable one, and I'd love nothing more than to be standing one of the big-name Flat stallions. That's the goal. If we don't hit that goal, fine, but it won't be for a lack of trying.”

Following the arrival of Topgear, there is clearly a strong belief among the team at Capital Stud that its hard work might be about to pay off. The son of Wootton Bassett joins Castle Star as one of two Flat stallions on the roster, having won seven of his 18 starts when trained in Chantilly by Christopher Head for owner Hisaaki Saito. Four of those victories were achieved in Group company, including a five-and-a-half-length demolition of some smart rivals in the G2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket in October 2024.

 

 

“We'd been on the lookout for a while for a horse that could elevate our Flat side of things a little bit,” reiterates Cormac O'Flynn, who joined the team at Capital Stud around the time that the Derby hero and leading National Hunt stallion Authorized relocated there from Turkey.

“We'd followed Topgear for a long time and I suppose, when he won the Challenge Stakes in Newmarket, that was probably the standout performance that we'd been looking for. We moved very quickly afterwards and were delighted to put an agreement in place.”

Saito, meanwhile, has stayed involved in Topgear and is keen to support his stallion career, according to O'Flynn. If backing their stallions in the sales ring is just as important as doing so in the breeding shed for the team at Capital Stud, then they appear to have found a kindred spirit in the Japanese owner.

At last year's Goffs November Sale, for example, Sebastien Desmontils of Chauvigny Global Equine signed for three first-crop foals by Good Guess on behalf of Saito, clearly eager to row in behind the stallion who had carried his owner's silks to victory in the G1 Prix Jean Prat. Saito's trio of purchases at Kildare Paddocks included the most expensive colt at €150,000 and the most expensive filly at €105,000.

“We all saw what he did with Good Guess at Goffs November,” O'Flynn adds. “It was great to see and he's pledged something similar for Topgear. We look forward to hopefully getting some good foals in front of him, and other buyers as well, at foal and yearling sales in the coming years.”

Topgear will certainly be on the right track if he can produce foals that take after himself, with O'Flynn describing the almost-jet-black stallion as “a forward horse”.

“He stands about 16.1hh and has plenty of size and a good walk, so he'll tick a lot of the commercial boxes as well,” he adds.

Of course, whilst Topgear's best performance didn't come until the autumn of his five-year-old season, it's worth remembering that he'd previously been precocious enough to win three times as a juvenile, culminating with a narrow victory in the G3 Prix Eclipse at Chantilly.

“He was an unbeaten two-year-old,” O'Flynn says of Topgear's early career on the racecourse. “He shared characteristics with his father in a lot of ways – he was probably a seven-furlong specialist, really. We then didn't get to see him at three. Unfortunately, he broke his pelvis and missed 577 days.

“He came back and really peaked as a five-year old, winning the Group 3 [Prix du Pin] in Longchamp over seven [furlongs] and then following that up in the Challenge Stakes, a Group 2 where he got the big Timeform rating of 123. He was very impressive that day, winning by five and a half lengths, and that was probably his standout performance.

“We kept him in training as a six-year-old and Christopher Head was adamant that a Group 1 was within reach. It started great. He won a Group 3 [Prix du Palais-Royal] on his first start and we went to Royal Ascot very excited but, unfortunately, he aggravated the pelvis again, so we kind of looked after him from there.”

O'Flynn adds, “He was a very tough racehorse and very resilient. He ran 18 times, won seven races and was second on a further five occasions. Hopefully, he can put that grit and toughness into his stock and give himself a chance of success as a stallion.”

One thing is for sure: Topgear won't lack for support if the way he went down with breeders during the recent ITM Irish Stallion Trail is anything go by. One of five sons of Wootton Bassett to retire to stud in Ireland for 2026, Topgear offers a point of difference, according to O'Flynn, having been introduced at a fee of €7,500.

He explains, “Wootton Bassett speaks for himself, an incredible stallion, and he's going to leave a big legacy, hopefully. He's five sons at stud this year. We're delighted to be able to give breeders access at probably a different price point to a lot of them, so he represents tremendous value.

“He's by Wootton Bassett and out of a Giant's Causeway mare [Miss Lech], out of a Quiet American mare [Mysterieuse Etoile], so he's a big outcross and he'll be able suit a lot of the population [of mares] in Ireland, England and France.”

O'Flynn continues, “Fingers crossed, we've a good group of breeders that have come together. We did a syndication for him when we got him here. A lot of Irish breeders have bought one and a half or two percent shares, so we have a nice group. We're keen to do that here at Capital Stud, to allow people to come on the journey with us and, hopefully, set us up for success in the long term.

“It's still in its infancy, really. We're quite young, but people are really starting to follow us. There are a lot of young breeders and we're trying to be as dynamic as we can, offering opportunities to buy into stallions or trying to open up new bloodlines.

“We stand here sons of Deep Impact [Martinborough], Montjeu [Authorized], Starspangledbanner [Castle Star], Wootton Bassett and Frankel [Mirage Dancer], so to be able to offer a younger, more dynamic group of breeders access to those stallions and to buy in to them is important to us. Hopefully, we can all go on the journey and win together over the coming years.”

The post ‘People Are Really Starting To Follow Us’ – Breeders Get Behind Capital Stud and New Recruit Topgear appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

View the full article