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Europe's top-rated sprinter retires to Derrinstown

This year’s current highest-rated European sprinter will further strengthen the 2023 Shadwell stallion roster with Minzaal set to stand at Derrinstown in Co.Kildare.

It was announced on October 20th that Baaeed – the highest-rated turf racehorse in the world – will take up stallion duties for Shadwell at its Nunnery Stud in Norfolk. And the operation’s roster will be boosted further by the addition of Minzaal, the scintillating winner of the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock early last month.

Minzaal was also a very high-class two-year-old, having been bought by Shadwell in 2019 for 140,000gns at Book 2 of Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

The son of Mehmas went into training with Owen Burrows and in his early pieces of fast work showed an abundance of speed. His supreme athleticism and turn of foot were soon in evidence on the racecourse with a novice success at Salisbury, followed by an emphatic two-length victory in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York.

Minzaal was also placed in Group 1 company as a juvenile and again in his three-year-old campaign, finishing third in the British Champions Sprint at Ascot.

In 2022 he proved he was among the elite sprinters of his generation, winning the Group 3 Hackwood Stakes, finishing second to multiple Group 1 winner Highfield Princess in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and then triumphing in dazzling style at the highest level in the Sprint Cup.

On that occasion he travelled superbly for jockey Jim Crowley before blazing to glory with a stunning display of speed through the closing two furlongs. He hit the line no less than three and three-quarter lengths clear, producing a brilliant time figure in the process.

Minzaal was retired with impressive career earnings of over £470,000 and an official rating of 121. As well as his exceptional speed, he possessed a remarkable temperament for a sprinter. Incredibly relaxed around the stables, he came alive when it mattered most – on the racecourse. His nomination fee will be announced by Shadwell in due course.

Sheikha Hissa said: “Minzaal has been an outstanding sprinter for our operation for the past three years. I believe Owen, Jim and I agree that we have never met a sprinter with such a remarkable temperament, and I hope his progeny in the future will reflect the qualities we have seen and admired in Minzaal. I would like to thank everyone at Owen’s, Shadwell, and Derrinstown for their expertise in training and taking care of Minzaal. I would also like to thank Ringfort Stud for breeding an excellent colt that we took a great deal of pleasure in racing – and now proudly stand as a stallion in our operation.”

Stephen Collins, European bloodstock manager, said: “Minzaal ticks all the boxes for the commercial breeder. He was a speedy, precocious two-year-old who developed into a Group-1 winning four-year-old. He was also Group-1 placed, aged two, three and four. He is Mehmas’s top-rated racehorse in his first three crops of racing age but more importantly he is currently the top-rated sprinter in Europe with an official BHA rating of 121. A versatile good looking colt with a wonderful temperament who acted in all ground conditions, he is a great addition to the Shadwell stallion roster.”

Trainer Owen Burrows said: “As a two-year-old, he’d do it every time if you asked him. There were a few bits of work that really got the heart pumping. We went to the Gimcrack and I never like to be too confident – you’re more hopeful than confident. But it didn’t surprise me in the slightest when he did what he did at York. It was an exceptional performance. Minzaal is easily the fastest I’ve trained. He was a very athletic horse who moved well and covered the ground. When he went up through the gears it was a sight to behold.”

Jockey Jim Crowley said: “From the first time I sat on him, I knew Minzaal was a top-class horse. He was a very, very fast two-year-old. He was a very good winner of the Gimcrack and won as he liked that day. As a four-year-old he ran a very good race to finish second in the Prix Maurice de Gheest and then absolutely demolished the field in the Sprint Cup at Haydock. He won on soft ground, he won on fast ground. And I thought he was the most laidback horse I’ve ever ridden. He was horizontal but when you got on him, it was like flicking a switch…at the races he became a different animal.”

Angus Gold, racing manager, said: “Minzaal was amongst the top two-year-olds of his generation, winning the Gimcrack Stakes very impressively and finishing the season with a good third in the Middle Park Stakes. He had a hold up in the spring of 2021 which kept him off the track most of his three-year-old career, but he ran a fantastic race to be third in the British Champion Sprint Stakes in the middle of October. He came back better than ever as a four-year-old and rounded out his career with a very well deserved and decisive Group 1 win in the Sprint Cup Stakes. Minzaal was blessed with an outstanding temperament. And that attitude, combined with his speed and very good looks, are sure to make him a very attractive proposition to breeders on his retirement to Derrinstown Stud.”