Sadler's Wells (horse)

Sadler's Wells was a bay horse with a broad white blaze and white socks on his hind legs. He was bred in the United States by Robert Sangster's Swettenham Stud and raced under Sangster's name. Sangster was part of the original Coolmore partnership team with Tim Vigors and trainer Vincent O'Brien, later joined by John Magnier. They became active in the North American yearling auctions starting in the mid-1970s, purchasing such notable horses as The Minstrel, Alleged, Golden Fleece and El Gran Senor, the latter whom they were part breeders of, and creating a high demand for the offspring of Northern Dancer and Nijinsky. By the early 1980s, they were noted for paying millions of dollars for the right yearling, entering in bidding duels with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai[3][2]

In 1976, Sangster, O'Brien and Magnier made one of their most important purchases for only $40,000 ($180,000 inflation adjusted)—a yearling filly by the little known stallion Bold Reason. She was named Fairy Bridge and trained by O'Brien in Ireland, where she became the champion two-year-old filly of 1977.[4] Fairy Bridge was closely related to a number of outstanding horses previously trained by O'Brien including Thatch, Marinsky, Lisadell and Apalachee.[2] In 1980, Fairy Bridge was sent back to America and bred to Northern Dancer,[5] the most successful sire of his era.[6] Sadler's Wells was her first foal. She would later also produce National Stakes winner Tate Gallery and successful breeding stallion Fairy King.[7][8]

The colt was sent into training with Vincent O'Brien at Ballydoyle. Throughout his racing career, Sadler's Wells had a characteristic running style, galloping with his head at an unusually high angle.[9] He was a well balanced horse with good tactical speed standing 16 hands (64 inches, 163 cm) high.[10] Even as a sire, he was noted for his laid-back, good-natured temperament, a trait he passed on to many of his offspring.[11]

In 1985, Sadler's Wells was syndicated by Coolmore for €800,000 a share (total value of €32m)[13] and stood for an initial fee of IR£125,000. He was an immediate success when his first crop reached racing age in 1988, led by In the Wings and Old Vic. Two other colts from that crop, Scenic and Prince Of Dance, dead-heated in the 1988 Dewhurst Stakes.[15] In 1989 with only two crops of racing age, he set a world record by having 11 stakes winners in one year, an exceptional achievement at a time when foal crops were much smaller than today. For 1990, his stud fee increased to £150,000 with a book of 65 mares. Eamonn Phelan of Coolmore commented, "Very few stallions get offspring like themselves, but this fellow does. He's so tough and very well bred as well as being very sound."[11]

In 1990, his daughter Salsabil won the 1000 Guineas, Epsom Oaks and Irish Derby, which helped propel Sadler's Wells to his first champion sire title.[15] He went on to be Champion Sire in Great Britain & Ireland a record 14 times, including 13 years in a row from 1992 to 2004. The previous record of 13 titles was set by Highflyer in the 18th century.[16]

Sadler's Wells has been called one of the most influential sires of all times, especially based on his record in the English Classic Races.[17] He is the sire of 12 English Classic winners, a number comparable with leading sires Stockwell and St Simon from the 19th century.[18] His English Classic winners are: Salsabil (1000 Guineas, Oaks), Intrepidity (Oaks), Moonshell (Oaks), Entrepreneur (2000 Guineas), King of Kings (2000 Guineas), Imagine (Oaks), Galileo (Derby), Milan (St Leger), High Chaparral (Derby), Brian Boru (St Leger), Refuse to Bend (2000 Guineas) and Alexandrova (Oaks).[19] In 2001, his daughters swept the top three positions in the Oaks.[20] He also sired 14 winners of the Irish Classics.[21] In 1999, his sons finished one-two-three in the Irish Derby.[10]

By 2001, his stud fee had increased to £200,000 with a book of roughly 200 mares each year.[20] With the increased number of offspring each year, his number of stakes winners began to rapidly accelerate. Sadler's Wells briefly held the all-time record for the number of stakes winners when Roman Saddle become his 177th stakes winner in July 2001. Mr. Prospector had held the previous record with 176 stakes winners. Sadler's Wells sired his 200th stakes winner in 2002, becoming the first stallion to achieve that landmark.[22] However, Danehill then passed him, reaching the 300 stakes winner mark in 2005,[23] a level Sadler's Wells would achieve in 2008.[24] At the time of his death in 2011, Sadler's Wells had sired 323 stakes winners, including 73 individual Group 1/Grade I winners on the flat.[15] He also sired several National Hunt winners, most notably Istabraq.[25]

Sadler's Wells was originally considered a disappointment as a sire of sires,[15] despite some early success by In the Wings in particular. This assessment was decisively overturned by the performance of several sons from his later crops. Sadler's Wells eventually sired 32 sons who themselves sired at least one group I or grade I winner, with 10 of them becoming the leading sire in nine different countries.[30] Most notably, Galileo became the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 2008, then won nine titles in succession from 2010 to 2018.[31] Montjeu was the leading sire in France for 2005,[32] El Prado became Leading sire in North America in 2002,[33] Fort Wood was a leading sire in South Africa, Opera House achieved success in Japan[15] and High Chaparral became a notable sire in New Zealand and Australia.[34]

His sons have already produced important sires themselves, ensuring Sadler's Wells legacy will continue for years to come. Galileo's sire sons include Frankel, Teofilo, New Approach and Nathaniel (sire of two time Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Enable). Montjeu sired Motivator (sire of two time Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Treve) and Camelot (the leading 2nd Crop sire in Europe in 2018 and 3rd Crop Sire in Europe in 2019).[35] El Prado sired Medaglia d'Oro (sire of American Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra) and Kitten's Joy, the leading sire in North America in 2013[36] and 2018.

On 13 May 2008 Coolmore announced that Sadler's Wells was retiring from breeding due to declining fertility.[37] Bill Oppenheim, a columnist with Thoroughbred Daily News, wrote that Sadler's Wells "singlehandedly restored the reputation of Europe as a place where you could stand world-class stallions after European stallion ranks had been decimated by the Americans in the 1970s and 1980s."[38] In 2009, Sadler's Wells was the first horse to be entered into the Irish Thoroughbred Breeder Association's Hall of Fame.[39]

Sadler's Wells died peacefully on 26 April 2011 at the age of 30 at Coolmore Stud.[40][41] Breeding industry expert Andrew Caulfield stated: "Superlatives are greatly overused in the world of sport, but no-one could begrudge their being used about Sadler's Wells, with his phenomenal record of 14 sires' championships in the space of 15 years. No stallion has come close to such dominance in Britain and Ireland – not even the legendary stallions which operated during the much less competitive eras of the 18th and 19th centuries. He was also dominant in that it was usually easy to spot one of his progeny. A dominant bay who sometimes passed on his prominent blaze and a sock or two, he also became synonymous with soundness and dependability."[15]

Sadler's Wells was sired by Northern Dancer, who has been called the dominant progenitor of the breed in the twentieth century. In his second crop foaled in 1967, Northern Dancer sired Nijinsky, who would win the English Triple Crown and become an outstanding sire. This made Northern Dancer the focus of a bloodstock boom in the 1970s and 1980s, where his progeny would sell for millions of dollars. Northern Dancer's other important offspring included Derby winners The Minstrel and Secreto and the brilliant El Gran Senor and Nureyev.[6]

Sadler's Wells was out of Fairy Bridge, who was sold as a yearling in 1976 at the Keeneland Sales to Sangster for $40,000 and became the Irish champion two-year-old filly of 1977. Sadler's Wells was her first live foal, followed by his full siblings Fairy King (who also became a successful sire despite injuring himself in his only race) and stakes winners Tate Gallery, Fairy Gold and Puppet Dance. Her final foal was Perugino, by Danzig, who became a sire in Australia.[42] Fairy Bridge was the second foal of the mare Special, a full sister to European champion sprinter/miler Thatch and Lisadell, who won the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, and a half-sister to Grade 1 winner, King Pellinore, and the brilliant but ill-fated Marinsky, who finished first in the 1977 July Cup at Newmarket. Special later produced Nureyev, the 1980 French champion miler and an outstanding sire, and the stakes winning fillies Number and Bound, who would themselves became successful producers.[10]