Too Darn Hot was bred to be outstanding. His sire and dam are triple Gr1 winner Dubawi and triple Gr1 winner Dar Re Mi, while his four grandparents are all Gr1 winners too: Gr1 Dubai World Cup winner Dubai Millennium, Gr1 Oaks d’Italia winner Zomaradah, four-time Gr1 winner Singspiel, and Gr1 Prix Vermeille winner Darara.
The thing about Too Darn Hot is that he’s a fantastic type with great quality. His physical makeup pulls together the best elements from his pedigree; he’s not as heavy as Dubawi and not as light as Singspiel with plenty of strength in his movement. Simply put, Too Darn Hot is a beautiful mover,” said Darley’s Alastair Pulford. “I’m a huge fan of Too Darn Hot, and I’m not the only one as he was fully booked in his first three seasons with great support from many of Australia’s best breeders.”
And just like his pedigree promised – Too Darn Hot was brilliantly fast.
Unbeaten as a two year-old in four starts, winning his maiden on debut over a mile, he was then brought back to 1400m for the next three runs. Too Darn Hot won the Gr3 Solario Stakes, Gr2 Champagne Stakes, and the Gr1 Newmarket Dewhurst Stakes beating Advertise (Showcasing) who went on to win three Gr1 races, and future Gr1 Epsom Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (Galileo). In the Dewhurst, Too Darn Hot began at the back of a small bunch, racing with cover, but then had to angle out wide to get a run, working hard to pull back the leaders. Once out in space, Too Darn Hot accelerated clear to win by two and a half lengths. His unbeaten record earned him the Champion 2YO in Great Britain and Champion 2YO Colt in Europe titles.
First up at three, Too Darn Hot was sent out in the Gr2 Dante Stakes over 2050m and managed to run second over an unsuitable distance. Brought back to a mile, he ran second in the Gr1 Irish Two Thousand Guineas then went out against the older horses in the Gr1 St James’s Palace Stakes over a mile where he ran third to Circus Maximus and King of Comedy. Three placings from three starts was a reasonable beginning to his spring, but it was his next race where Too Darn Hot thrived.
Sent to France, Too Darn Hot won the Gr1 Prix Jean Prat at Deauville where the race was run over 1400m for the first time (previously a mile), and his time of 1: 21.29 is still the fastest time at that distance.
Too Darn Hot followed his usual pattern of running midfield, this time in the far side group up the straight. At the half-way point, Too Darn Hot sat just behind the group leader, and then with two furlongs to go, he moved across towards the rail and sprinted away from the field to win easily by three lengths. Trainer John Gosden admitted they made the wrong call for the Dante Stakes, saying after the Prix Jean Prat, “We’ve finally got him over the correct trip – seven furlongs. An easy, flat mile would be no problem – just stop running over an extended mile and a quarter and stiff miles. He was a very fast two year-old, the champion, he’s proved what he can do. This is very quick ground, but he’s handled it well. We’re thrilled with him. Finally the trainer and the racing manager have got it right and the horse has got us out of trouble. He’s a beautiful colt, very quick – it’s what you want for stallion purposes – but we stupidly tried to stretch him out. He did have an interrupted preparation, though.
He was lame when the Guineas was run, then we rushed him to York and then rushed to Ireland, so we’ve done everything badly and the horse has got us out of trouble.”
For his final start, Too Darn Hot returned to England for the Gr1 Sussex Stakes over a mile which he won beating Circus Maximus who’d beaten him two starts prior. Too Darn Hot dropped into third for the first section of the race, holding the perfect one back, one off, spot for most of the mile. With three furlongs to go, Too Darn Hot was poised to sprint, but ended up caught in traffic and had to push off the rail to get a run. Once free, he exploded away to win by half a length from Circus Maximus who’d led most of the way. Too Darn Hot was crowned the Champion 3YO Colt in Europe, Champion 3YO Sprinter in France, and Champion 3YO Miler in GB. All up he won six of his nine starts and placed in the other three.
Unfortunately for racing fans, Too Darn Hot suffered a hairline fracture to his right-hind cannon bone during his Gr1 Sussex Stakes win, and after undergoing emergency surgery, he was retired to Darley Stud.
Too Darn Hot is a son of Champion Sire Dubawi, a triple Gr1 winner who retired to stud in 2006 in Great Britain and Australia. His Australian fee was $33,000 for 2006 and 2008, then dropped to $16,500 for 2009 before he stopped shuttling. He left twenty stakes winners in his three Australian seasons, including Gr1 winners Tiger Tees, Srikandi, Secret Admirer, Shamal Wind, Willow Magic, as well as fan favourite and multiple group winner Catkins.
Dubawi’s mixed popularity in his early career was also reflected in his stud fee in Great Britain, where he stood his first two seasons at £25,000, interestingly moving up to £40,000 for season three, then dropping to £15,000 in his fourth season (2009), rising slightly to £20,000 in 2010, then he began his meteoric rise, standing for £55,000 in 2011, £75,000 in 2012 and 2013, £100,000 in 2014, £125,000 in 2015, £225,000 in 2016, then £250,000 for the next six seasons before another leap to £350,000 in 2023. The rise reflects his 250 stakes winners, including 53 Gr1 winners, and multiple Champion Sire titles.
Dubawi’s sons at stud include Gr1 winner Makfi (43 stakes winners), Night of Thunder (32), Poet’s Voice (23), and several young emerging sons such as New Bay, who retired in 2017 and has already left three Gr1 winners, and Zarak who retired in 2018 and has sired nine stakes winners from his first two crops. In 2022 Dubawi was crowned Champion British Sire, becoming the first Mr Prospector line stallion to achieve this feat. The remarkable success of Street Cry and Dubawi in his short stint in Australia, augers well for the future success of Too Darn Hot on the shuffle.
Too Darn Hot is the fifth foal and third stakes winner for his Champion Older Female in GB and triple Gr1 winning dam, and has a stunning family. Both his dam and granddam are Gr1 winners, and his third dam is a group placed winner who left Gr1 winner and Champion Sire Darshaan, and the Gr2 winning dam of dual Gr1 winner Daliapour.
Too Darn Hot’s dam, Dar Re Mi (Singspiel) won the Gr1 Pretty Polly Stakes, Gr1 Yorkshire Oaks, and Gr1 Dubai Sheema Classic, as well as three other races, and was placed in the
Gr1 Prix Vermeille, Gr1 Yorkshire Oaks, and the Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Turf. Her seven winners include Too Darn Hot, Gr2 winner and four times Gr1 placed Lah Ti Dar (Dubawi), Gr3 winner and Gr1 placed So Mi Dar (Dubawi), and stakes placed winners De Treville (Oasis Dream) and Darmoiselle (Dubawi).
Second dam Darara (Top Ville) won the Gr1 Prix Vermeille and left ten winners as a broodmare, including five Gr1 quality horses, led by Champion Older Male in Hong Kong River Dancer (Sadler’s Wells) who won the Gr1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup, Dar Re Mi (Singspiel), dual Gr1 winner Rewilding (Tiger Hill), Gr1 Ranvet Stakes winner Darazari (Sadler’s Wells), and Listed winner and Gr1 placed Dariyoun (Shahrastani).
Four of Dubawi’s Gr1 winners have been out of Singspiel mares (Too Darn Hot, Old Persian, Wuheida, and Left Hand), while other damsires that have multiple Gr1 winners to the Champion Sire include Barathea and Darshaan (three each) and two for mares by Galileo, Dansili, Green Desert, Monsun, Street Cry, and Zamindar. Of note to Australian breeders and yearling buyers looking to find crosses that have worked with Australian horses included Dubawi’s Gr1 winners such as Srikandi (out of a Hurricane Sky mare), American dual Gr1 winner In Italian (out of a Redoute’s Choice mare), Creative Force (out of a Choisir mare), while both Akeed Mofeed, and Kitesurf have damsires who are sons of Danehill.
“Too Darn Hot’s progeny are very much in his image; high quality individuals who are good movers, and I’m very impressed with them,” said Pulford. “His yearlings have sold well so far in Australia including a million dollars for Vinery Stud’s filly out of Enbihaar at Magic Millions Gold Coast. That he’s the first season sire with the biggest representation at Inglis Easter says a lot about the quality of mares he’s covered and the types he’s leaving.”
At the Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, Too Darn Hot had nineteen yearlings sell for an average of $235,300, and they were bought by the likes of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, Annabel Neasham, Chris Waller, Star Bloodstock, Yulong Investments, Paul Moroney Bloodstock, McEvoy Racing, and Dynamic Syndications. Too Darn Hot had four yearlings sell at the New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale including Trelawney Stud’s colt out of Lady Sayyida who made $750,000, while at the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale his twelve yearlings averaged $87,000 with a top lot of $280,000.
“At Darley, we’ve got half a dozen yearlings by Too Darn Hot that we’ve just broken in. Everyone in the barn loves the filly out of Earthquake, and she is a very attractive filly,”
Pulford said.
“We are at the point in Too Darn Hot’s career where it’s up to him now. The signs in the Northern Hemisphere are promising where his first crop of 115 foals have just turned two.”
Too Darn Hot lived up to his outstanding pedigree with brilliant performances at two and three, and was awarded the Champion Colt in both seasons. His first yearlings have been well received and much lies ahead for this exciting young stallion.