LIVING FREE
Free Eagle × Livia Colt
OUR NXT LEVEL TEAM COMMENTS
Wowee! Talk about a flashy colt that just screams “Derby winner”! This flashy chestnut immediately caught our eye at the stables, and we thought that we might be able to nab him at a price under the odds! We were incredibly shocked when we only paid $150,000 for what is an outstanding looking horse who is a half-brother to an Aussie Gr1 derby winner!
This colt is already developing nicely in his hind quarter and has good strength in through the shoulder. He has a nice head and although there is no doubt that he has a bit of growing to do, his Gr1 derby winning half brother, WARNING, profiled in a very similar way when he went through the sales.
Free Eagle is a sire that I have been following closely both in the UK and in other parts of the world with his progeny costing up to £400,000 or well over A$750,000. He already has Group 1 performers in the UK and winners in Ireland, Australia and Hong Kong! He looks and out and out derby horse and we think that he will be out ticket to derby glory in 2022!
VIEW PEDIGREE WRITE-UP Free Eagle x Livia Colt
Sons of Sadler's Wells' high achieving High Chaparral have fared extra well in this part of the world, the likes of Dundeel, Toronado and So You Think doing a great job as did their sire before them.
And now Free Eagle, one of the new boys on the block, is showing promise. Despite serving only small books in South Australia, the imposing bay has sired from his first local crop the metropolitan winners Biarchi and six promising placegetters from his first 15 runners. Already making his mark in the northern hemisphere, Free Eagle has already sired 34 winners including the stakes winners Khalifa Sat and Beauty Smile who was recently successful in Hong Kong.
The winner of three of his eight starts including the prestigious Gr.1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot, Free Eagle was competitive with some of the best of his era - finishing third to Golden Horn and Found in the Gr.1 Irish Champion Stakes, beating home the likes of Highland Reel, The Grey Gatsby and Cirrus de Aigles.
One of the best bred stallions to have stood in South Australia, Free Eagle is one of ten winners (from as many foals) produced by the terrific Danehill mare Polished Gem - also dam of the two times Gr.1 Irish St Leger winners Search For A Song, the Group winners Custom Cut, Valac and Sapphire and the Listed winners Falcon Eight and Amma Grace.
This handsome colt is the fourth live foal produced by the city winner Livia, an Australian bred daughter of the superstar stallion Galileo - Epsom & Irish Derby winning sire of 332 stakes winners including such outstanding multiple Gr.1 winners as Frankel, Magical, Highland Reel, Minding, Cape Blanco and New Approach.
As a broodmare sire Galileo has further excelled, his daughters to date producing 189 stakes winners including the multiple Gr.1 winners Sistercharlie, The Autumn Sun, Ghaiyyath, Barney Roy, Roly Poly, Sottsass, US Navy Flag, La Cressonniere, Galileo Gold, Saxon Warrior, Watch Me, Night Of Thunder, La Collina and Magna Grecia.
Both of Livia's two named foals have made it to the track, the first of those being the multiple city winner Galaxy Gazer who was amongst the best produced by the average stallion Astronomer Royal. And her second is the outstanding Warning - runaway winner of the 2019 Gr.1 VRC Derby.
Also third in the Gr.1 South Australian Derby won by Russian Camelot and competitive in last year's spring features, Warning has amassed over $1.6 million in prize money. Served last spring by the Triple Crown hero American Pharoah, Livia is one of nine winners produced by the stakes placed multiple city winning Flying Spur mare Flying Spice - also dam of the Gr.2 placed Halekulani and fellow metropolitan winners Bon Aire, Gitan, Ponte de Lima, Cumin and Flight Plume. Flying Spice's dam Lemon Spice was also a successful broodmare, that dual city winner represented by six winners including the tough stakes winner Chattanooga who won 14 of his 63 starts with a further 11 placings to his credit. Also producing the stakes placed Flemington winner Cooktown, Lemon Spice has amongst her descendants the stakes winners Real Stolle, Nomothaj and Tindal whilst her dam Lemon Ice (dam of the dual Group winner Berberia) is ancestress of the stakes winners Ascorbic and Fantisha.
This is a consistent family (this colt's first five dams between them producing 30 winners from 40 to race) that has been quality performers for generations, its other members including the stakes winners How Proud, Lemon Sorbet, Lemon Twist, Opening Twist, Spanglet and Golden Fantasy.
Ancestress of this prolific family is the famed matriarch Queen Mary who can count amongst her descendants the big race winners whose feature race winning descendants Peace Chance, Prince Rose and Exclusive Native feature in Free Eagle's pedigree - whilst Livia's sire Galileo has further Peace Chance and Prince Rose strains. This colt boasts an interesting pedigree with his sire and dam bred on the same Sadler's Wells/Danehill cross. Also of interest are multiple strains of the great Frizette family - Tourbillon, Darshaan and Djeddah in Free Eagle; Djeddah, Mr Prospector and Prince True in Livia. !
Other mares of influence duplicated in the background of this colt's pedigree include Marchetta, Natalma, Gibside Fairy and Lalun.
