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Furlong Stud’s Irgun is currently riding high on the Australian first season sires chart. With just two winners from 16 starters he owes his lofty second place on the table almost entirely to the top-class, Peter Moodie trained filly, Brief Embrace which has contributed the greater percentage of her sires earnings of $396,550. 

At Hollywood Park on Sunday Irgun’s four-year old daughter Irgun’s Angel (Irgun--November Morn, by Capote) became sires first Graded Stakes winner in North America with a fast finishing win in the Grade 2 A Gleam Hcp. 
Purchased at the 1999 Keeneland January sale for just $2,700 Irgun’s Angel took her earnings to over US$270,000 with a record of 5 wins and 3 seconds from 11 starts. 

Despite not receiving great patronage Irgun was among the leading first season sires in America in 2000. That year he had a very commendable 14 winners for earnings of just under US$300,000 and they came from a crop of 51 foals. In his second year at stud support for Irgun had dropped to the extent that he had just 32 foals. When the following year he had just 13 foals a decision was made to leave Irgun in Australia. But by then his first crop were up and running and winning so consistently that arrangements were hastily made to return Irgun back to Walmac International, Kentucky. 

As a racehorse Irgun had more than his share of ability. In a career of just 5 starts he won 3 races including the 1994 Wood Memorial Stakes (G1), defeating subsequent Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Go for Gin, as well as the Gotham Stakes (G2) for earnings of over $US476,000. 
By Kentucky Derby winner Sunny’s Halo (Halo-Mostly Sunny by Sunny) out of the unraced Secretariat mare Late For Lunch, Irgun is a grandson of the champion Argentine filly Kankam (Minera). 

Irgun stands at Furlong Stud, Queensland for a fee of $9,900 in 2002. 

By: Mark Smith 

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