Indygo Shiner
Within the rough span of just over a year, two Southern Hemisphere-based sons of A. P. Indy have been represented by group winners in Dubai: Last year the late South African-based Camden Park got Group 1 Dubai Duty Free winner Jay Peg (Saf), and last week the Argentine-based Indygo Shiner’s My Indy (Arg) won the Group 3 Al Maktoum Challenge (round 1). This is particularly good news for Indygo Shiner, who begins stud duty in Kentucky next month, because up to this point his spectacular start at stud has been confined to racetracks around Buenos Aires. Now he’s got a colt — not one of his best, either — with a Dubai seal of “good horseracing” on him.
Jay Peg was a Group 1 winner in South Africa before the Dubai Duty Free and a Group 1 winner afterwards in the Singapore Airlines International Cup, where he defeated horses from Japan, UK, France, New Zealand and Asia.
My Indy (click for race, #6) was a Group 2 winner in Argentina in his second start two years ago, in 2007, and after three lackluster starts in Dubai in 2008 (including a 3rd in the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas) he has regained his form. He won the Al Maktoum challenge by 5 3/4 lengths from an international field and appears to have the ability to translate it elsewhere, as Jaypeg did.
Indygo Shiner, who will stand for $7,500, is out of a Grade 3-winning full sister to the recently deceased foundation mare Toussaud, the dam of four Group/Grade 1 winners and a Grade 2 winner, including the stallions Chester House (18 stakes winners last year) and Empire Maker (8 stakes winners from two crops).
Indygo Shiner’s young career has been even more brilliant, albeit in Argentina. From his first crop he got the winners of three classics (all obviously Group 1): Mi Amiguito won the Polla de Potrillos (2000 Guineas); Miss Match won the Seleccion (Oaks); and Tecla Shiner won the Nacional (Derby). There are other group and listed winners as well.
Hernan Ceriani
Indygo Shiner’s success is a tribute to the late Hernan Ceriani Cernadas, who died a little over two years ago. Hernan’s Haras La Quebrada was the home to Southern Halo, a dominant stallion in Argentina who also did some dual hemisphere time here and sired More Than Ready.
A gentleman, a visionary, and a stone-cold horseman, Hernan years ago told me on the plains of La Quebrada that he would be looking for an A. P. Indy from a top female family for his Southern Halo mares. He never got a chance to see the success he had visualized, but breeders in the US can take advantage of his foresight and think along these lines for Indygo Shiner.
It’s appropriate that the recent Dubai Group 3 winner My Indy was bred by Hernan and is out of a Southern Halo mare, as are: Oaks winner Miss Match (also bred by Hernan), the Group 1 winner Garatero (also bred by Hernan), the Guineas winner Mi Amiguito, the Group 1-placed So Shiny (bred by Hernan and owned by American Gary Biszantz in Argentina), Chilean Group 3 winner Funny Joke (bred by Hernan), and the listed winner My Honesty.
All of these horses are inbred 4×4 to Northern Dancer.
[...] The Group 3 Al Maktoum Challenge (round 2) was race 6 at Nad Al Sheba, and the winner was the Argentine-bred My Indy, a son of the A.P. Indy stallion Indygo Shiner from My Light, by Southern Halo. Indygo Shiner, like Dalakhani, was represented by his first crop last year and also found success with a nick — in his case Southern Halo mares. I’ve written about this before, and you can access the story by clicking here. [...]
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Hernan Jr.
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Another A.P Indy son bred similar to Indygo Shriner, out of a Northern Dancer line mare standing at stud in the southern hemispere is A.P Magic. A.P Magic stood his first season at Arrowpoint Stud in South Africa in 2010. I saw the colt run before he departed the US, and I must say that A.P Magic might have been under valued as a 2.3 million dollar keenland purchase. A.P Magic was severely injured prior to racing, yet he won 3 races and ran 3rd in two graded stakes, still with multiple screwes in his pastern. He is exceptionally good looking and out of a group winning Storm Cat mare from the family of Mr. Prospector. A.P Magic’s pedigree is ever that more exciting as Storm Cat is proving to be a broodmare sire power-house . Breeders in South Africa should see this stallion and take note. I am predicting the sparks in 2011… before his first foal hits the ground.