He does not quite have the staff at White Robe Lodge looking twice, but Ghibellines does evoke some memories of a great White Robe Lodge sire from the past.
The rising 4yr-old arrived at the North Taieri stud last month to join Raise The Flag and Gallant Guru in the stud's stallion barn and has handled everything the Otago weather has thrown at him since he arrived.
''He's settled in really well. He's got a lovely temperament and he's a good doer,'' stud manager Wayne Stewart said.
''He's an imposing big horse but he's great to handle, which makes life easy. He's taken everything in his stride, really.''
Imposing is the right word for Ghibellines. He has a very strong shoulder and is not lacking in muscle - or height, for that matter.
And it is the height of the son of Shamardal that caused comparisons to be drawn between Ghibellines and Noble Bijou.
''I worked with Noble Bijou a lot and he's certainly a big leggy horse like Noble Bijou was - he stands a good 16.2 hands - but he's a lot more different, physique-wise,'' Stewart said.
''He's a lot more mature. Noble Bijou came here as a 3yr-old too and he was a leaner sort of horse.''
Ghibellines will be put to work as a stallion at the start of September.
''He'll be down at the serving barn and covering his first mares,'' he said.
''We'll cap him at 120 and hopefully he'll get around that number. We'll certainly be putting a lot of our best mares to him.''
Stewart said the half-brother to champion Australian 3yr-old filly Guelph had been the subject of interest from breeders on both sides of the Tasman, with sprint/mile pedigrees in vogue at the moment.
''[It's] the way the industry is heading and wanting those earlier type of horses,'' he said.
''It's probably not what we've always been into, but with the way things are moving nowadays, people don't want to wait as long.
''Even the weanling market is quite strong, too, and hopefully, he fits the bills in those areas with yearlings and ready-to-run also.''
White Robe Lodge takes the owners of prospective sires at their word if they cannot see the horses in the flesh and Stewart was not disappointed with Ghibellines.
''When you get described a horse that sounds unreal and when he turns up and looks like that, it's even better.''
