Press release, 6 March 2010

Medaglia d'Oro, whose phenomenal daughter Rachel Alexandra blasted him to prominence in 2009, will travel to Darley in Australia for the 2010 season. Also retiring to the Darley roster is the handsome Von Costa de Hero, the G2 VRC Sires' Produce winner who was also a narrow runner-up in the 2008 G1 Golden Slipper.

Medaglia d'Oro was an international campaigner of the highest class, winning G1 events at three, four and five and running second in the G1 Dubai World Cup and in two G1 Breeders' Cup Classics. A famously good looking horse by the Champion Irish two-year-old and US Sire El Prado, he commanded a US$30,000 fee on retirement that boomed to US$100,000 for the 2010 season on the back of the achievements of his first two crops to race, the oldest of which have just turned four. Rachel Alexandra put him on the map with scintillating, wide-margin victories throughout her three-year-old campaign: her 20-length cakewalk in the G1 Kentucky Oaks was unprecedented and her subsequent triumphs against colts in the G1 Preakness, G1 Haskell Invitational and G1 Woodward were historic. She was named Horse of the Year ahead of Street Cry's equally magnificent daughter Zenyatta and the proposed rivalry between the two promises to be one of the highlights of the 2010 racing year.

But Rachel Alexandra is by no means the only reason to take note of her sire. He also has the multiple G1 winner Gabby's Golden Gal in that debut crop: when Rachel Alexandra diverted her attention to taking on colts, Gabby's Golden Gal took the G1 Acorn Stakes at Belmont in her absence. She has already won again at the highest level in 2010 - taking the G1 Santa Monica H, run on Santa Anita's synthetic surface, on her seasonal bow.

In addition to Rachel Alexandra and Gabby’s Golden Gal, two new stars by Medaglia d'Oro have made an impact at the highest level on the turf in Europe: Godolphin colts Al Zir and Passion For Gold. Spoken of as the stable's principle 2,000 Guineas prospect, Al Zir – who cost US$1.6million as a two-year-old in training – won his first two starts bloodlessly before running a race full of potential when third in the G1 Racing Post Trophy. Passion For Gold is rated even higher; indeed, the World Thoroughbred Rankings assess him as the second-best juvenile in Europe, thanks to a six-length triumph in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. The Derby is reportedly his target.

Medaglia d'Oro has already sired 28 Stakes horses from his first two crops – among recent high-profile stallions in either hemisphere only Redoute's Choice, with 29 Stakes horses, had more. And his sales figures are equally impressive: three million-dollar yearlings and a yearling average of US $228,000 in troubled times, his stock were all the talk on the sales grounds of America in 2009. The support he received at Darley's US stud in 2010 has been remarkable: among the 60 G1 winners or producers booked to him are Cara Rafaela (dam of Bernardini), Windsharp (dam of Johar), Bollinger (Mannington's sister and dam herself of Friesan Fire), plus the dams of Midshipman, Footstepsinthesand, Saint Liam, Giacomo, Tapit, and many other luminaries. He's as popular as a stallion can be.

His new stud mate Von Costa de Hero is the best juvenile who ever cost a million dollars or more as a yearling in Australian racing history. The hulking colt was a $1.2 million purchase, and his run when a half-head second in the Golden Slipper earned him a rating better than six of the last ten winners of the race. A son of the influential Encosta de Lago and the fast G1-winning Scenic mare Piavonic who took the scalps of Sunline and Falvelon in the G1 Manikato, Von Costa de Hero broke his maiden in the VRC Sires' Produce and later went on to run in the frame in the G1 Australian Guineas and the G1 Caulfield Guineas. Defeating 16 individual G1 winners during his career, he was right up with the pick of the colts of his generation at one, two and three.

Henry Plumptre, Darley Australia’s managing director said, “We are delighted that Sheikh Mohammed has decided to bring Medaglia d’Oro to Australia.  Both Medaglia d’Oro and Von Costa de Hero are two exceptional thoroughbreds, and we’re looking forward to offering them to our clients this season.  Von Costa de Hero’s prominence in the finishes of our stallion-making races makes him a very appealing local prospect.  His heroic run in the Golden Slipper and win in the Sires’ Produce at two were followed up with placings in the Caulfield and Australian Guineas where he ran down some very smart opposition.  Medaglia d'Oro is, quite simply, one of the best and most exciting stallions in the world, and we are very lucky to see his like here in Australia. His progeny excel on all surfaces, and he gets both extreme quality, and quality in quantity: those are the rarest of attributes for a stallion.”

Fees and locations will be confirmed at a later date.

For further information please contact Henry Plumptre on +61 (0)2 9362 2600.