BLACKBEARD X KAIF

 We are delighted to have secured this exceptionally athletic Blackbeard filly from Tattersalls Book Two. 

She will join be joining Karl Burke, Karl and his team need little introduction, we have a plethora of success stories from Spigot Lodge and we are excited about the team we are building for 2026 which is certainly deeper than the past couple of seasons.

Book Two has been good to us in the past, we've purchased lots of winners from the sale including Listed winners Guilded, Little Kim and Honey Sweet who were also trained by Karl, as was Lily Agnes winner and Group placed, Ali Shuffle.

A physical standout, she was among Nick Bradley’s top three fillies of the entire day, and when the hammer went down,  several of our other trainers approached Nick asking to train her. That level of interest says plenty about the impression she made.

Her sire, Blackbeard, was a champion two-year-old whose six juvenile victories included the Group 1 Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes. A son of No Nay Never, he brings top-class speed and precocity to the pedigree—qualities we find particularly appealing in such an athletic filly. 

Blackbeard and some of his progeny have been labelled as "hot heads" but this fillies attitude was fantastic on both occasions that Nick pulled her out of her stable.

He's had sixty runners hit the track, with over half of those record RPR's over 70, including the Group Two Rockfel winner, Pensando A Te who was purchased from this very sale in 2025. His more high profile progeny remain very unexposed and they look the type to excel as a three year old.

There is quality on the dam’s side too. Kaif is a winning daughter of Teofilo, out of Rawaaq, winner of the Group 3 Leopardstown 1,000 Guineas Trial and also Group-placed at two. The extended family is littered with blacktype performers as you would expect from a Shadwell family.

Whilst the Blackbeard x Teofilo cross hasn't exactly been tested as of yet, we have plenty of confidence in the cross given the success of No Nay Never crossed with Teofilo mares. Through Blackbeard, we are bringing that sire line back to a Teofilo daughter. It is an encouraging pedigree angle, complementing the physical qualities that made her such an obvious target for us. 

Given the hammer price, we will just creep into band B race's which will make our life all the more easier in the early parts of her career. We actually saw an increase in band B race's in 2026 and we highlighted that several of these were poorly subscribed leaving good prize money on offer.

This is an awful lot of physical model for the money, she's extremely athletic, a fantastic walker who we expect to be rapid!

One who should have us dreaming about Royal Ascot!