Sepoy celebrated 20 individual winners of 24 races in Europe in 2016, ahead of Frankel, who sired 18 winners, Frankel’s stud mate Bated Breath who sired the same number, and Mayson who sired 19 winners.
Sepoy’s season was not just about quantity; quality abounded as well. His five Stakes performers include a quartet of talented fillies headed by Dabyah, who broke her maiden on July Cup day before blitzing a conditions field by nine lengths at Newbury.
The John Gosden-trained Dabyah rounded off her season with a fine third in the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac on Arc day at Chantilly and now holds Classic entries in both the 1,000 Guineas and Oaks.
Baileys Showgirl gave Sepoy his first northern hemisphere Stakes winner when landing a Listed contest in France in July. Kilmah followed up when triumphing in the G3 Prestige Stakes at Goodwood in August, and in October, both Unforgettable Filly and Executive Force were placed in Black type contests.
It was not just Stakes performers who took the eye for Sepoy last year – in the last five months of the year, the son of Elusive Quality rattled up no fewer than 16 individual maiden winners, a staggering total that gives him plenty to look forward to in 2017.
Among those to catch the eye were Phijee, who won his maiden for William Muir in July and defeated subsequent G3 winner Madam Prancealot when winning a good conditions race at Ripon in August; Khukri, who was described as a future Stakes horse by his trainer Jessica Harrington when winning his maiden in September; and Fleeting Motion, who took a quality maiden at Doncaster in October in good fashion.
Sepoy was himself rated the best Australian juvenile colt for 35 years, striking twice at the highest level before going on to further G1 glory on two occasions at three. Given his own outstanding talent, it fair to expect his own progeny to improve again at three, making 2017 another season in which Sepoy can undoubtedly shine.
