The winner of three successive Group I races at his last three starts including the Ascot Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, Charm Spirit (IRE), the highest earning son of boom sire Invincible Spirit, has been secured to join the stallion roster at Windsor Park Stud.
Following only world champion Kingman (Invincible
Spirit) in the 3YO mile category (Turf) on the 2014 World Thoroughbred Rankings,
Charm Spirit won six races and over €1.4 million from nine starts as a two and
three year old. His wins included successive Group One victories at 1600m on
his final three racetrack appearances after which he was retired to stud.
Gr.1 placed as a 2YO, Charm Spirit won five times at three and signed off a stellar career with a brace of Gr.1 victories against older horses over 1600m.
In France he proved too strong for multiple Gr.1 winner Toronado in the Prix Du Moulin de Longchamp, the third highest rated Gr.1 mile race (Turf) in the world in 2014.
On his racetrack finale, on British Champions Day at Ascot, he defeated English 2000 Guineas winner Night Of Thunder in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes to confirm his position among the leaders of his exceptional generation.
"Charm Spirit is a cracking stallion prospect and we're very proud to join with Sheikh Fahad and the Royal Family of Qatar to make him available on our stallion roster at Windsor Park", said Windsor Park co-owner Rodney Schick.
Charm Spirit is the highest earning son of champion
sire Invincible Spirit who stands for €100,000 at the Irish National Stud and
whose yearlings sold up to €1.1 million last year.
"We have been looking for a stallion with the right race record, pedigree and physicality. In Charm Spirit I believe we've found that horse, one which will particularly suit the Australasian conditions and marketplace where his sireline is performing so well", added Schick.
Invincible Spirit's sire sons include rising star I Am Invincible, whose yearlings sold up to $750,000 at the 2015 Sydney Easter Yearling Sales and whose oldest progeny include 3YO sprint sensation Brazen Beau, winner of this seasons Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap and recently syndicated for $10 million.
Other young sire-sons of Invincible Spirit include French Derby winner Lawman, sire of classic winner Just The Judge and Zebedee, a leading First Season sire in Great Britain in 2014.
A Champion Sire of 2YO's, Invincible Spirit is a Danzig line stallion through his sire Green Desert and has sired 87 stakes winners to date. Aside from Charm Spirit, they include 2014 European Horse Of The Year and Champion 3YO Kingman and the champion racemare and six-times Gr.1 winner Moonlight Cloud.
Charm Spirit comes from the family of champion Australian sires Encosta De Lago (106 SW), Flying Spur (94 SW) and leading young sire Holy Roman Emperor (50 SW, sire of 2015 Australian Derby and New Zealand Derby winner Mongolian Khan and Hong Kong superstar Designs On Rome etc).
Charm Spirit is out of the dual metropolitan-winning racemare L'Enjoleuse, a daughter of champion sire and leading young broodmare sire Montjeu (Sadler's Wells).
Assigned a Timeform a rating of 127, Charm Spirit was inspected in Europe late last year by leading New Zealand bloodstock agent Bruce Perry who described Charm Spirit as a "magnificent individual with a great temperament. He is masculine and full of quality".
After inspecting Charm Spirit, Perry approached Qatar Racing manager David Redvers to help him secure the stallion for the New Zealand breeding industry. Redvers commented:
"Charm Spirit gave Sh. Fahad, his brothers and father Sh. Abdullah their greatest ever day on a racecourse when winning the Queen Elizabeth II at Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day in October. That day he beat the best milers in Europe and did so convincingly. He is one of the most exciting horses to retire in the World this year and we are delighted to continue to support the New Zealand industry by sending him to Windsor Park."
Charm Spirit will stand for a service fee of $25,000 + GST with a Live Foal Guarantee.
