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00:00St. Mark's, he was an amazing racehorse.
00:04He, very unusual for a horse to do what he did, to be European champion two-year-old.
00:09He won the Jew Horse Stakes at Newmarket over seven four-year-olds, which is the best race
00:14perennially in Europe.
00:16And then he continued on and won his next four as a three-year-old.
00:19So he won five Group Ones in a row.
00:22You know, he's probably one of the most exciting, if not the most sought-after first-year stallion
00:27that's arguably Cioni's best son, and we all know how great Cioni's done as a stallion.
00:34So I've been able to look at about a dozen of them while I've been here, and it's amazing
00:38the versatility that he's throwing.
00:40You're seeing everything from that scope and size and length in two turns, and at the same
00:46time I've seen some that are quite stocky with big bone and look like sprinters.
00:50So it's great to see that there's a little bit of everything for everyone here.
00:55Good balance, athleticism, good heads.
00:58I mean, very expressive head, wide forehead, a good eye.
01:02The sort of horse that I like.
01:03She was a very good mover.
01:05Not overly big, very athletic.
01:07It's a good pedigree.
01:08It's a family that I've had good luck with.
01:11So the whole thing attracted me.
01:13Well, from the looks of them, they look to be precocious.
01:15I mean, they're definitely two-year-olds, and I would expect them to be milers.
01:21Samad Basilica, he was fantastic on the racetrack.
01:24He was usually placed forward, right behind the speed, and he just kept accelerating in
01:31the stretch.
01:32I mean, remember when he won the French Derby?
01:34He won fairly impressive.
01:36I mean, it was an impressive win.
01:43St. Mark's Basilica's progeny, again, I can see a lot of Galileo in them.
01:48They have that quality, that nice size.
01:50They're not too big, they're not too small.
01:52They're medium-sized horses.
01:54Lovely quality, very graceful movers.
01:56And I couldn't wait to get to Arcana to see the produce, and particularly the filly at
02:01Monceau out of Prudencia.
02:03Henri and Bozo at Monceau have been big supporters of Coolmore, and they send a lot of mares to us.
02:09And that mare, Prudencia, had been to Coolmore twice before.
02:13At least twice before, when she bred Magic Wand.
02:16St. Mark's Basilica was a very impressive performer.
02:20His career was exceptional.
02:24He showed early quality, early speed.
02:29He won the Dewars, which is a very hard race to win in England.
02:33And winning the French Guineas and the French Derby, which is a stallion-making race,
02:38and winning the Eclipse.
02:40I mean, he showed everything, being top-class two years old, Group 1 winning two years old,
02:46and the best three years old in Europe, having done what he has done.
02:52So he was an obvious horse that we were going to use, and we sent him four mares the first year.
03:02St. Mark's Basilica, Prudencia filly, has always been outstanding since she was born here.
03:08And she was a very easy mover, with a lot of quality, a very good mind,
03:14a lot of power in front.
03:16She was a queen, really.
03:18We all agreed that we were very happy to show strong support to St. Mark's Basilica.
03:25Also because Coolmore had been great supporters of Prudencia's progeny over the years.
03:31So it was a pleasure to support him with a top-class mare.
03:37I'm very excited about St. Mark's Basilica.
03:39You know, I hate that expression, ticks all the boxes,
03:41but he reminds me of horses like Sadler's Wales and Galileo.
03:45You know, those proper horses that had a lot of class, were tough,
03:50could win a lot of Group 1s, stay at it, had the physical and the pedigree to match.
03:55They're pretty unique, they only come along every few years.
03:57So fingers crossed now, he can get the business done for us.