Mapperley Stud is excited to announce they have secured the high-class racehorse Armory who will stand at their Matamata property in 2022.
Mapperley Stud has joined forces with Windsor Park Stud to acquire the Group One performed and multiple Group winning son of the legendary Galileo.
Armory retires to stud a winner of five races from his sixteen starts, amassing over A$1.7 million in stakes and accumulating a number of champion accolades.
A precocious two-year-year-old, Armory won three of his first four starts including the Gr.2 Curragh Futurity Stakes (1400m) and Gr.3 Leopardstown Tyros Stakes (1400m). He was then tested at the highest level in the Gr.1 Curragh National Stakes (1400m) where he finished second to Champion Two Year-Old Pinatubo who stands his first season at Darley, Kelvinside for A$55,000.
Armory’s seven start two- year-old season concluded with placings in both the Gr.1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (1600m) and Gr.1 Criterium International Stakes (1400m) in France.
Crowned Champion Three-Year-Old in Ireland and Joint Champion Three- Year-Old in Europe in the Intermediate category, legendary trainer Aidan O’Brien travelled Armory to Australia to contest the Gr.1 W.S Cox Plate (2040m).
In a thrilling edition of the weight-for-age classic Armory finished a brilliant runner-up to Sir Dragonet, beating Gr.1 winners Russian Camelot, Arcadia Queen, Fierce Impact, Probabeel, Kolding and Humidor as well as All Star Mile victor Mugatoo.
“We are thrilled to have secured Armory with our good friends at Windsor Park. We have a great history of working together and both our studs are looking forward to getting behind this high-class son of Galileo” said Mapperley Stud owner Simms Davison.
“We are strong believers that the Cox Plate form represents the best of the best, especially for stallions retiring to stud in New Zealand as we’ve seen with Champion Sire Savabeel. It’s the ultimate weight-for-age test and in his only Australian start, Armory demonstrated his brilliance and Group One ability to beat many of the best horses in the southern hemisphere”
Returning to England he won the Gr.2 Chester Huxley Stakes (2100m) in his first up appearance as a four-year-old before running third in the Gr.1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Armory achieved a Timeform rating of 122 as both a three- year-old and a four- year-old, further demonstrating his outstanding quality.
Crowned Champion Older Male in Ireland in 2021, an Australian consortium of high-profile owners moved quickly to secure the entire and he was transferred to the care of leading trainers Ciaron Maher & David Eustace.
Maher and Eustace quickly announced he would be targeted towards the A$4 million Gr.1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes in the Autumn with another crack at the Gr.1 Cox Plate also on the cards in October.
“When you first look at Armory, he has the real Galileo style, real ease of movement, very athletic. Having a bit to do with him in the stable he’s very clean winded and has a beautiful set of lungs” Ciaron Maher said.
“He was a pleasure to train, a beautiful mover, the way he covers the ground, he’s a very impressive horse”
Following an unfortunate injury during preparation for one of his Group One targets in Australia, Armory's racing days were abruptly curtailed and a career at stud duly beckoned.
Mapperley Stud and Windsor Park have shared success in the past, previously partnering together to stand Volksraad, the winner of eight Champion Sire titles. The two historic New Zealand studs continue to share a close association and jumped at the opportunity to partner again to secure an internationally performed, outstanding stallion prospect for the New Zealand breeding industry.
“Both Roddy and I are committed to making him a success and we will support him with many of our best mares. He is a strong and striking son of Galileo, with a lovely shoulder and rear-end to match. The huge walk on him drew me to him straight away”, Davison added.
"Armory is a top-class racehorse with a high cruising speed who operated in the best company as a two, three and four-year-old. It's a sire line we have had plenty of success with and one that is well adapted to the Australasian racing style. We are excited to partner with Mapperley Stud in standing him at stud" Rodney Schick said.
Armory is out of the multiple Group-placed two- year-old winner After (Danehill Dancer), who also ran fourth in the Gr.1 French 1000 Guineas.
From a high-class and internationally successful family, Armory’s granddam Noahs Ark is Gr.1 placed, multiple two-year-old winner while his third dam is a half-sister to the triple Gr.1 winning racemare Wandesta.
Armory is bred on the exceptional cross of Galileo over Danehill line mares that has proven time and again to be a massive success, with current champion racehorse and sire Frankel a leading example and breeders will undoubtedly relish the opportunity to access such important and influential bloodlines.
A service fee for the 2022 breeding season will be announced shortly.
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