Commands an audience

Known for his utter consistency at producing winners, Commands is never without a headline horse and after the G1 victories of Epaulette in the G1 Golden Rose at Rosehill, Commanding Jewel’s triumph in the G1 Thousand Guineas, and Appearance’s winning performance to defeat some of Australia’s top mares in the G1 Myer Classic, Commands is getting the recognition he deserves.

With a further four Stakes winners and five Stakes performers this season, the son of Danehill currently sits in third position on the Sires’ table behind Montjeu, the sire of the G1 Melbourne Cup winner and Fastnet Rock, Commands’ paternal half-brother.

Helmet’s three-quarter brother Epaulette got the ball rolling for Commands, winning the first G1 of the season, where he defeated stable mate Albrecht in the Golden Rose, a race won by Darley stallion Denman a few years prior. Epaulette then travelled to Melbourne and took out the G3 Caulfield Guineas Prelude before finishing third in the G1 Caulfield Guineas behind All To Hard and Lonhro's son Pierro. Having had such a successful campaign, the three-year-old became the sixth millionaire for his sire.

With a lofty opinion always placed on Commanding Jewel as she is a half-sister to the unbeaten star of the previous season in Atlantic Jewel, the Leon Corsten’s trained filly won her first two starts before finishing second in the G3 Thousand Guineas Prelude and third in the G2 Edward Manifold Stakes. Heading to Caulfield for the fifth and final start of her campaign, the G1 Thousand Guineas, jockey Damien Oliver had the filly in a lovely position throughout the race and as the field headed for home he pulled the filly out and made his move, going on to win with ease by two-and-three-quarter lengths.

Winning on debut as a late two-year-old, the Guy Walter-trained Appearance ended her three-year-old season as the winner of the G3 Keith Nolan Classic over 1600m at Kembla Grange. Resuming for her four-year-old campaign, the mare finished third at G2 level before progressing to the G1 Myer Classic, where many saw her as an outside chance and her odds reflected that. Jumping out of the gates from a wide barrier the mare was eased towards the tail of the field and that was where she stayed until the final 400m of the race – storming down the outside to take the event by a long neck, becoming the ninth G1 winner overall for her sire.

Having 50 Stakes winners to his credit, nine of those including Paratroopers, Purple, Undue, Epaulette, Russeting and Erewhon are G1 winners, with another 13 being performers at G1 level, including last season’s juvenile Limes as well as the outstanding sprinter Rain Affair.

Highlighting Commands’ value for money is the fact that all other Danehill stallions in the top ten stand at a fee significantly higher than his, and in the age of the money savvy breeder, Commands presents outstanding opportunities to breeders looking to upgrade their mare, in fact 46 of Commands’ 50 Stakes winners are their dam’s best runner...now that’s sire power!

With consistency personified being a way to describe Commands, no sire has produced more winners in the past three complete seasons than Commands has, having sired both top-line fillies as well as colts, winners from 800m to 3200m, on all track surfaces, as well as producing numerous international winners in 13 different countries. With progeny earnings in excess of $61m, Commands offers breeders one of the best value sons of Danehill to stand anywhere in the world.

Commands is standing the current breeding season at Kelvinside at a fee of $55,000 (inc. GST), while his G1-winning son Skilled stands at Northwood Park in Victoria at a fee of $8,800 (inc. GST).

To contact any of the Darley Nominations Team please click here to obtain their details.