Champion Belardo retires to Darley's Kildangan Stud for 2017

Champion two-year-old and multiple G1 winner Belardo has been retired and will stand at Kildangan in 2017. A limited number of syndicated breeding rights will be sold in the son of Lope de Vega.

Belardo earned Championship honours at two with an explosive victory in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes, but perhaps the finest victory of his career came this season when de-feating eight G1 horses including Limato and Euro Charline to triumph by a length in the G1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury. He ends his career rated 126 by Timeform, even higher than his sire Lope de Vega.

He followed up that victory by running the star US mare Tepin to just half a length when finishing second in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot with five G1 winners including Toormore, Ervedya and Amazing Maria among those behind him. To put that achievement into context, no colt achieved a higher Timeform rating at this year’s Royal Ascot.

Belardo made a winning debut for trainer Roger Varian in the June of his two-year-old season. He stepped up to Pattern company for an impressive performance in the Listed Washington Singer Stakes over seven furlongs at Newbury, scoring by nearly four lengths.

Belardo rounded off his season with a magnificent victory in the G1 Dewhurst Stakes on Future Champions Day, winning by two lengths to be crowned European Champion two-year-old of 2014.

At three, Belardo was beaten only a length and three-quarters behind Gleneagles when fourth in the G1 Irish 2,000 Guineas, and had that rival well behind him when finishing fastest of all to finish second to the top-class Solow in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October.

Sam Bullard, Director of Darley stallions, commented: “Belardo showed true class and grit in winning both the G1 Dewhurst Stakes at two and the G1 Lockinge Stakes at four. As a Champion juvenile and a G1 miler at three and four, he offers breeders speed, class and precocity, as well as being from the outstanding sire line of our own Shamardal as a son of Lope de Vega.”

A fee will be announced at a later date.

For more information, please contact the Nominations teams on +353 (0)45 527600 or +44 (0)1638 730070.