There are few, if any, better bred stallions currently active at stud in South Africa than Highdown Stud’s young sire Eightfold Path (Giant’s Causeway).

By a champion out of a champion, whose sire was one of Mr Prospector’s very finest sire sons, Eightfold Path lacks nothing in pedigree.
He himself was a talented performer, whose four victories included the 6f G3 Prix Eclipse at two, with Eightfold Path also running third to subsequent classic winner Buzzword (Pivotal) in the important 7f G3 Prix La Rochette. Second in the Prix La Rochette was none other than subsequent G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero, crowned French Champion Two Year Old Colt and now current top sire Siyouni.

After injury disrupted his Classic campaign, the Niarchos bred and owned colt trained on well to capture a Listed race at five over the Deauville mile, before retiring to stud in KZN.

Eightfold Path is one of over 160 stakes winners produced by former Horse Of The Year and triple US champion sire Giant’s Causeway. The sire of G1 winners the world over (including SA top level winners Blueridge Mountain and Our Giant), Giant’s Causeway is a proven sire of sires, with his outstanding son Shamardal (himself responsible for leading young Irish sire Lope De Vega) having 18 individual G1 winners to his credit- including 2016 top flight scorers Dariyan, Speedy Boarding and Tryster.

Giant’s Causeway, also sire of leading 2017 US classic hope Not This Time, is also sire of unbeaten 2000 Guineas winner Footstepsinthesand (sire of over 50 stakes winners), and G1 Champagne Stakes hero First Samurai –sire of G1 winners Executiveprivilege, Justin Phillip and Lea- with the latter now standing at Claiborne in Kentucky.

Eightfold Path is out of the once beaten French Champion Divine Proportions, a winner of nine of her ten outings over distances which spanned 5f to 10.5f and included both the French 1000 Guineas and French Oaks amongst her tally of 5 G1 wins. A three parts sister to multiple G1 winner and proven G1 sire Whipper, Divine Proportions was a Champion at both two and three.

Bred on the same Giant’s Causeway/Kingmambo cross as G1 winners Maids Causeway and Red Giant, Eightfold Path hails from a superb sire producing family. Out of a stakes winning daughter of champion sire and broodmare sire Sadler’s Wells, Divine Proportions’ second dam is a full sister to Epsom Derby winner and outstanding classic sire Shirley Heights, and this is also the family of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner and top class sire Pentire, sire of 2015 G1 Melbourne Cup hero Prince Of Penzance.

Eightfold Path, whose first crop are set to race this season, proved popular with his well-muscled, athletic first yearlings fetching up to R325 000. (His top priced yearling sold this year was a filly out of the Alami mare Rattled, who was knocked down to Louis Goosen).

He is standing for a fee of R10 000 in 2016 – which looks tremendous value given his superb overall profile!