Thong Dynasty to Continue With Festival Hall

With the recent loss of Geiger Counter to the Australian breeding industry, the highly influential "Thong" dynasty of sires will continue to be well represented in Victoria through her grandson, Festival Hall.

By Sadler's Wells, Festival Hall is actually inbred to Thong 4f x 2f, a pre-potent mix also represented in Japanese superhorse El Condor Pasa, who carries three duplications of Thong 5f x 4f, 5f. Out of a Sadler's Well's mare, El Condor Pasa will no doubt become a highly successful sire in years to come with the support of his powerful Japanese owners, Shadai Farm.

Other highly influential International sires represented in Festival Hall's female line include Sadler's Wells, Nureyev, Fairy King and Thatch. In Australasia, the line has been well represented by Perugino, Jade Robbery, Tate Gallery, Yeats and of course, Geiger Counter. With such a proliferation of sire descendants of Thong scattered throughout Australasia, breeders have been provided with a remarkable opportunity to inbreed to one of the worlds most superior females of the modern era. Breeders with broodmares by Thatching's sons Archway, Rustic Amber and Tirol would be well advised to analyse matings with their mares to Festival Hall, as would owners of mares by Yeats and his son Our Poetic Prince.

Despite recently eclipsing St. Simon's eight general sires titles with his ninth win in the European premiership, Sadler's Well's is only represented by two sire sons in Victoria. That fact is made all the more surprising when you analyse his record as a sire of sires. Consider this. 28 of his sons have sired stakeswinners, 21 of his sons have sired Graded stakes winners and 8 of his sons have sired Group 1 winners. A remarkable record by anyone’s reckoning.

Festival Hall's dam Handsewn is by champion broodmare sire, Sir Ivor. So it's not just the studbook's best female line and a world champion sire working for Festival Hall, but he also has the broodmare sire of outstanding stallion influences Green Desert, Jolie's Halo, Bluebird, Shareef Dancer, Danzig Connection, Vettori and Xaar in his favour.

Added to that, Festival Hall was no slouch on the racetrack. Trained by the master of  Balydoyle, Aiden O'Brien, Festival Hall was rated by his trainer has his leading early season two year-old. So much so, O'Brien sent Festival Hall out at his first start in the Irish equivalent of the Golden Slipper, The National Stakes. O'Brien's faith was well rewarded with Festival Hall a fast finishing 3rd in the prestigious Group 1 event. He then went on to win the Group 3 Beresford Stakes also at The Curragh, a race also won by his sire Sadler's Wells as a two year-old.

Festival Hall stands his first season at Eliza Park at $6500 + GST