‘One of the most influential sires in the world’ – Coolmore unveils Delacroix amid growing Dubawi influence

Coolmore will shuttle last season’s dual European Group 1 winner Delacroix to Australia later this year in the first of what is expected to be multiple major announcements by the international giant in the coming weeks.

The latest son of the champion northern hemisphere stallion Dubawi to be brought to Australia, Delacroix is a homebred for Coolmore which signalled the due recognition of the feats of the elite Darley based stallion over many years.

While Delacroix will offer Australasia’s commercial breeders an important outcross option for their mares this year, they will also be keenly awaiting the 2026 service fee of Coolmore’s young stallion Home Affairs, the first crop sire of Golden Slipper-winning colt Guest House. 

Home Affairs stood for $82,500 (all fees inc GST) in his third and fourth season but it is expected to increase significantly for his fifth season at stud.  

Coolmore’s new recruit Delacroix, whose dam Tepin was purchased by MV Magnier for US$8 million in 2017, will stand for an introductory fee of $38,500.

A Group 3 winner and Group 1-placed at two, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Delacroix returned at three to win a Group 1 Eclipse Stakes, a race won by So You Think (2011), Ghaiyyath (2020), St Mark’s Basilica (2021), Paddington (2023) and City Of Troy (2024).

He was also victorious in last year’s Irish Champion Stakes, completing the double also achieved by So You Think and St Mark’s Basilica, before Coolmore retired him to stud at the end of last season at a northern hemisphere service fee of €40,000.

“We are thrilled to offer Delacroix to Australasian breeders. He is an outstanding individual with all the attributes we look for in a stallion – quality, athleticism and a world-class pedigree that is free of Danehill and Green Desert blood,” Coolmore Australia’s Colm Santry said.

“Dubawi is one of the most influential sires in the world, and importantly his sons are already proving a major success in Australia. In addition, he is a son of the great Tepin, a six-time Group 1 winner including at Royal Ascot and dual American Champion Female Turf Horse.

“What we’ve seen with stallions like Night Of Thunder, Ghaiyyath and Too Darn Hot is that this sire-line adapts exceptionally well to our conditions, producing versatile horses with speed, class and the ability to train on.” 

Santry is confident that Delacroix, who is a half-brother to Galileo’s Group 1-winning mare Grateful, has the credentials to make an impact on the Australaisan Stud Book.

“Delacroix fits that mould perfectly as a high-class Group-winning two-year-old who trained on to win multiple Group 1s as a three-year-old against older horses in the Eclipse Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes,” Santry said.

“He’s a very exciting addition to our roster.”

The shuttling of Delacroix continues the growing southern hemisphere proliferation of sons of Darley’s champion sire Dubawi, who also recently covered Yulong’s dual Cox Plate winner Via Sistena to northern hemisphere time.  

Watership Down general manager Simon Marsh confirmed at last week’s Inglis Easter sale that Darley’s Too Darn Hot would shuttle to Australia again later this year while it is expected that Ghaiyyath, another of Dubawi’s sons, will be on the same plane.

The Godolphin-owned Ghaiyyath is the sire of five southern hemisphere first crop stakes winners headed by dual Group 1 winner Observer and Group 2 winner Storm Leopard who ran third in Saturday’s Australian Derby.

Rival Hunter Valley nursery Arrowfield is also shuttling a son of Dubawi in Group 1 Lockinge Stakes winner Lead Artist this year.

Victorian farms Rosemont Stud and Woodside Park Stud are shuttling Dubawi’s Group 1-winning sons Henry Longfellow and Benbatl respectively.  

Henry Longfellow is owned by Coolmore.