Darley retires Elusive Quality

Sheikh Mohammed’s champion sire Elusive Quality has been pensioned from stud duties in Kentucky.

The 24-year-old son of Gone West has been represented by 126 black-type winners worldwide after shuttling to Australia and Brazil.

“It’s the right time for Elusive Quality to relax and take it easy here at Jonabell Farm,” Darley’s Dan Pride said. “But given the success of his current sons at stud, along with the production from his daughters, his will certainly be a legacy that will last for quite some time.”

Elusive Quality won 9 races in 20 starts topped by a world-record time of 1.31.63s for a mile on grass in the 1998 Poker Hcp at Belmont.

He entered stud for a $10,000 fee but it didn’t remain at that level for very long after siring 11 black-type winners in his first-crop including French Group 1 champion Elusive City. His second crop included G1 Kentucky Derby winner Smarty Jones and G1 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint winner Maryfield.

The best of his Australian progeny were Group 1 winners Sepoy and Camarilla.  Apart from Darley shuttler Sepoy, his Australia-NZ sire sons include Bullbars (Highview Stud) and Cardinal Virtue (Grenville Stud).

ELUSIVE QUALITY