Rekindling

2017 Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling has found a home at stud in Ireland.

Kenmare Castle Stud owner William Fox confirmed to Racing Post that the son of High Chaparral is available to cover mares at his property in Limerick.

"I have a number of mares that are suitable and I bought a few more to go to him, so I have put together a small band of my own that are suitable for him and he's going to cover away," Fox said.

Rekindling, retired in late 2020 by trainer Joseph O'Brien and owner Lloyd Williams, was auctioned as a supplementary lot offered as a stallion prospect during the 2020 Tattersalls December Mare Sale at Newmarket (UK).

Bidding opened at 50,000gns (A$80,000) and rose by 5,000gns increments before grinding to a halt at 95,000gns (A$190,000) and being led out of the ring unsold.

Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling was one of the more surprising entries to the December Sale and sad to see him fail to sell at 95,000gns pic.twitter.com/nNWMTXLJ9s

— Nancy Sexton (@nancygsexton) November 30, 2020

"I started inquiring about Rekindling and the best way to find out is to pick up the phone, so I rang Joseph O'Brien and asked him where the horse was," Fox said.

"He told me that the horse was still with him and it took off from there. He spoke with Lloyd Williams and his team in Australia and they were happy for the horse to go to stud here.

"He (Rekindling) has been in limbo for the past 12 months or more so I don't expect people to be banging down the door, but I like him, and a number of people have specific mares that they want him to cover."

Breeders seeking to send their mare to Rekindling will pay €2,000 (A$3,110) for a colt foal and the reduced fee of €1,000 (A$1,500) for a filly.

Rekindling became the first Northern Hemisphere three-year-old to win the Melbourne Cup with O'Brien, then aged 24, the youngest trainer to win Australia's greatest race.