Happy customers return to U S Navy Flag

As we welcome the first southern hemisphere foals by Valachi Downs’ shuttle stallion U S Navy Flag (USA), the champion sprinter has attracted rave reviews and repeat business from breeders in the northern hemisphere.

The G1 July Cup, Dewhurst Stakes and Middle Park Stakes winner stands for a service fee of €17,500 at Coolmore Stud Tipperary. He served 119 mares in his first northern hemisphere season, and in a testament to the quality of the resulting foals, he covered an even larger book in 2020.

Among the notable return customers was Grange Stud, breeder of the likes of G1 Irish Derby winner Latrobe (Ire) (Camelot {GB}).

“We were big fans of U S Navy Flag as a racehorse and had two very good foals by him this spring – a colt and a filly,” Grange Stud’s Catherine Magnier said.

“We’ve also seen a lot of super foals by him at Coolmore, so we’ve supported him more heavily in his second season. Let’s hope he’ll be champion first crop sire in 2022!”

Another breeder who used U S Navy Flag in both 2019 and 2020 was Glenvale Stud, whose roll of honour features the multiple Group 1 winner Alice Springs (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).

“I have sent some of my mares back to U S Navy Flag because I believe he will make a very good stallion,” said Ciaran ‘Flash’ Conroy.

“I sell about 70 head of yearlings annually in Europe. U S Navy Flag is the winner of one of the most important races in the calendar, having won the G1 July Cup at Newmarket, and this is what the market wants. Also, I am very impressed with his first-crop foals.”

Eddie O’Leary of Gigginstown House Stud also had no hesitation in returning to U S Navy Flag this year.

At the 2019 Tattersalls December Mare Sale, bloodstock agent Margaret O’Toole paid 110,000 guineas to buy the well-related mare Edelline (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}), who was in-foal to U S Navy Flag.

O’Leary was highly impressed with the resulting foal.

“He’s a lovely, correct first foal and is a very good advertisement for his sire,” he said.

Aidan O’Brien, who trained U S Navy Flag during his glittering racetrack career, was similarly delighted with the result of the mating with his mare Far Fetched (Ire) (Fastnet Rock). This was the mare’s first foal.

“She is a smashing filly with a lovely head and she is very much in the mould of her sire,” said O’Brien, who bred the filly in partnership with his wife Anne Marie.

U S Navy Flag served an introductory book of 150 mares in his first season shuttling to New Zealand in 2019. The son of War Front (USA) is set to have another quality book this spring, where he will stand at Valachi Downs for a service fee of $17,500 + GST.