Ontario-bred VAN BEETHOVEN, a Group 2 winner as a 2-year-old bred by Steve and Kathleen Kemp’s Ballycroy Training Centre in Loretto, will enter stud for 2021 at Haras de Grandcanp in Trun, France.
The 4-year-old by Scat Daddy – My Sister Sandy by Montbrook won the Group 2 Railway Stakes at The Curragh as a juvenile for Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier. Trained by Aidan O’Brien. had won his maiden in just his second career start.
As a 3-year-old, Van Beethoven transferred to the the barn of Chad Brown and finished a fast-closing second in the Grade 1 Secretariat Stakes to Valid Point at Arlington Park. He retires to stud with a record of 15 -2-2-1 and $233,000.
Samuel Blanchard, who oversaw the arrival of Van Beethoven to the stud, told Jour de Galop: “This is a real guarantee of precocity, at a time when France Galop is upgrading the juvenile category. At three, he finished second in the Secretariat Stakes over a mile at Arlington Park. He is a horse that travelled a lot, having raced in Ireland, but also in England, France, Dubai and the United States.”
Hailing from the red-hot Scat Daddy line, he will now join a roster which includes proven Group 1 sires Dream Ahead, Lawman and Lethal Force, while Coolmore have retained an interest.
Blanchard added: “Van Beethoven didn’t win a Group 1, but was a top two-year-old. Among the five best sires of juveniles in France this year, four had not won a Group 1 [Kendargent, Galiway, Goken and Kodiac]. This is also the case with Mehmas, the leading first-season sire in Europe.
“Coolmore has [retained] a significant interest in him, while 15 shares will be on the market. Van Beethoven is an exceptional model: a good size but not too big. Like his father, we can expect him to bring precocity and quality.”
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