North Light, Epsom Derby winner and sire, to relocate to England

Epsom Derby winner and sire North Light will relocate to stand at Lanwades Stud near Newmarket, England, for 2014.

The 12-year-old Irish-bred son of Danehill most recently stood at Adena Springs’ facility in Aurora, Ontario. His 2014 fee at Lanwades will be 6,000 pounds, or about $9,640 in U.S. funds.

North Light won three times and finished second three times in seven career starts, earning $1,989,577. In addition to winning the Epsom Derby in 2004, he also was runner-up in the Irish Derby.

From five crops of racing age, North Light is the sire of 108 winners for earnings of $5,874,714 through Oct. 6. He sired an English classic winner from his first crop in Arctic Cosmos, who captured the 2010 St. Leger. The leading turf sire in Canada for 2012, North Light is also the sire of U.S. graded stakes winners Chips All In, Go Forth North, and Celtic New Year, as well as Battlelight, a champion in the Dominican Republic.

“The relocation of North Light to England is in keeping with Adena Springs’ long term goal as a developer of top class international stallions,” Adena’s Andy Stronach said. “I believe this move will have a positive impact for European breeders by making available a superbly bred horse that has a proven track record as a stallion. He has the ability to sire runners on all surfaces but most importantly he sired an English classic winner in his first crop.”

It is the second recent acquisition of a classic-producing sire by Lanwades, which will also stand Leroidesanimaux, sire of 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, in 2014.