Scat Daddy Legacy Comes to Australia

Tara Madgwick - Friday May 4
With four runners in this weekend's Kentucky Derby including the favourite Justify and top fancy Mendelssohn, the late great Scat Daddy is on the cusp of possibly his finest achievement putting the spotlight on his two Australian bound Group I sons Caravaggio (USA) and No Nay Never (USA), who sired his first winner at Belmont in New York earlier this morning.

No Nay NeverHis Irish-bred daughter Mae Never No made an impressive winning debut over 1000metres for the powerful stable of Wesley Ward, who also trained No Nay Never.

Mae Never No races for the Ice Wine Stable, who also raced No Nay Never in partnership with Coolmore.

Settled in third early, Mae Never No attacked the line with more vigour than the favourite, outsprinting her inside the final half-furlong to win, going away, by a length and a quarter.

She is also the first winner for her dam Sweet Shirley Mae, a Group I placed daughter of Broken Vow.

Ward has enjoyed great success in recent years targeting the feature two-year-old races at Royal Ascot and the suggestion post-race was that this filly could be targeted towards that meeting.

No Nay Never won Royal Ascot's Group II Norfolk Stakes over 1000m as a two-year-old for Ward having broken his maiden over 900m at Keeneland in late April.

No Nay Never rounded out an unbeaten two-year-old season with a win in the Group I Prix Morny over 1200m in France and has since made an eye-catching start at stud with his first yearlings selling for up to 850,000gns (A$1,600,000 approx) in 2017, prompting his fee in the Northern Hemisphere to jump to €25,000 (A$40,000 approx) for the 2018 season.

No Nay Never currently sits amongst the favourites to be champion first season sire of Britain and Ireland by winners.

Kentucky Derby fever is captivating the US bloodstock world this week and Scat Daddy is generating all the talk with his four runners Justify, Mendelssohn, Flameaway and Combatant.

Mendelssohn was the top lot at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling SaleUnbeaten Justify is a last start winner of the Group I Santa Anita Derby, while Mendelssohn is a last start winner of the Group II UAE Derby and won the Group I Breeders Cup Turf at Del Mar last year.

Thy will seek to do what their sire could not as Scat Daddy was a leading Kentucky Derby contender back in 2007.

A Group I winner at two, he went into the Derby off victories in the Group II Fountain of Youth Stakes and Group I Florida Derby, but bowed a tendon in the race and was retired to what has become a now-legendary stud career.

Scat Daddy has sired 96 stakes-winners worldwide in a dual shuttling stud career between Kentucky and South America.

His 11.6% stakes-winners to runners puts him up with the very best sires in the world and we can only wonder what would have happened had he shuttled to Australia.

His Group I winners are a mix of dirt and turf performers with his two best turf sprinting sons No Nay Never and Caravaggio set to visit Australia in the spring for Coolmore.

No Nay Never will be on his third trip and has weanlings to be offered at the upcoming Magic Millions National Sale.

Click here to see his draft which includes the half-brother to Group I ATC Australian Oaks winner Unforgotten to be offered as Lot 310 by Coolmore.


CaravggioA lightning fast dark grey powerhouse of a sprinter, Caravaggio starred at Royal Ascot two years running winning the Group II Coventry Stakes at two and then the Group I Commonwealth Cup at three.

No Nay Never stands at a fee of $19,2500, while Caravaggio is priced at $33,000.

Australian breeders might have missed out on Scat Daddy, but in Caravaggio and No Nay Never we are seeing two of his very best turf sprinting sons.



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