Around The Globe

Opportunities Await in South Africa

2012-11-08T22:41:00Z

By Robin Bruss
CEO, Cape Thoroughbred Sale Co.

When Wise Dan crossed the line to win the Breeder’ Cup Mile (gr. I) and endorse his status as the highest-rated horse in America, he did more than establish himself at the forefront of Horse of the Year honours—his victory was felt with a certain sense of pride by breeders in an unlikely part of the world—South Africa.

Wise Dan’s dam is by the South African-bred champion Wolf Power, whose 18 wins and Horse of the Year honours at home attracted the attention of John Gaines in the good old days when diversity was seen as a strength, rather than a barrier to commercial markets. Hybrid vigour through an international outcross was popularised by Bull Hancock and John Gaines, scouring the world for the exceptional, regardless of fashionability. Great horses, after all, can create their own desirability.

Bull Hancock fittingly played another part in the construction of Wise Dan’s South African connection too, as he stood South African-bred champion Hawaii at Claiborne following his election as champion turf male in the U.S. back in 1969. Hawaii became broodmare sire of Hennessy, grandsire of Wise Dan, giving South Africans a double dose of pride, albeit somewhat distant. After all, what is a decade or three in the development of a pedigree.

What both stallions had in bucketloads was what South Africa prides itself on—toughness and soundness, for we are a country built on wide open spaces, plenty of sunshine, some of the most beautiful and some of the harshest territory imaginable—and a medication policy tougher than most jurisdiction, barring perhaps Germany.

South African yearlings are also cheap by international standards because we are marginalised, somewhat by geography, but moreso by logistics and regulations. We would love to send more of our horses to the U.S., but since 9/11, direct scheduled cargo flights were stopped and all cargo travels via Europe. As the Europeans require our horses to quarantine 40 days prior to export and America requires the horses to quarantine 60 days on arrival, it’s made the logistics somewhat tortuous. Currently we are exporting via the island of Mauritius, four hours by air into the Indian Ocean.

The answer to easier exports is to be found in a newly developed diagnostic test for African Horse Sickness, the PCR Assay, which provides conclusive diagnosis of freedom of this disease within a matter of hours. The PCR is undergoing international validation as I write this, and hopes are high that it will create a scenario for South Africa to readily enjoy greater freedom of movement, which we haven’t seen much of since the heady days of Hawaii and Wolf Power who were, in those days, shipped out at a few days notice and arrived in the U.S. Similarly, the current USDA protocol for South Africa needs updating for it was established in 1958, has served its time well, but everyone recognises that an update is overdue.

My hope is that the new PCR will permit reduction in quarantine from 60 days post arrival to perhaps 14 days, and that this will allow a whole range of constructive and dynamic possibilities that will allow our brand of the Thoroughbred to engage in other parts of the world.

It was intrepid out-of-the-box thinking that led Team Valor’s Barry Irwin a decade ago to start buying South African horses and shipping them through the tortuous gamut of red tape and quarantines in order to race internationally. I love a challenger to convention and love to see trailblazers get rewarded. Barry had some spectacular success with South African horses—winning grade I races in Dubai, Hong Kong, and the U.S. and selling some of his fillies in the millions of dollars. Irwin also now retains a band of grade I-winning mares in South Africa, breeding them to the top sires. He sees South Africa as a true emerging market.

Wasn’t it John F. Kennedy who said that “we go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard, and because it will test the best of our courage and resourcefulness.” Well, we feel like that in South Africa, too. Contrary to some opinions, we aren’t on a different planet, but we like to think our horses have developed differently to convention because of our isolation and that we can offer something different, but at the same time, with a dose of good old fashioned value. Thirty years ago, the South African Rand and the U.S. dollar were on par. Today, given the tide of history, politics and economics, US$1 buys you R8.50 and makes South African horses incredibly cheap.

In 2011, South Africa’s major breeders set up the sales company that I run, Cape Thoroughbred Sales, specifically to operate an internationally advertised sale out of the world’s most beautiful city, Cape Town, in the international convention centre, in what is a unique constructed indoor sale. We host visitors from 15 countries; we showcase our horses and our nation and we do so with a measure of aplomb.

Racing and selling, we think, is more than business, it’s about entering the unique world of the great game of racing, and we use our sales, to create a series of lifestyle events. For what is a sale without the parties, the cameraderie, and the champagne that goes with it. Think of it like Keeneland-on-Broadway, with golf in between. The Cape summer is also rather like Bermuda in glorious sunshine, blue skies, long warm days and party time at night. Isn’t buying and owning horses meant to be fun?

Shiekh Hamdan probably epitomises our sale best, in that he bought Soft Falling Rain (by U.S.-bred National Assembly, a son of Danzig) from an imported Giant’s Causeway mare, at the 2011 sale, for R340,000 ($40,000) marginally below the sale average. The 300 horse sale has yielded three of the four winners of South Africa’s grade I juvenile races, and the best of these, Soft Falling Rain, became champion 2-year-old male. He is currently on his way to compete in the Dubai Carnival 2013 for the Sheikh and trainer Mike de Kock.

Most foreign buyers leave their purchases in South Africa to race—training fees are less than $1,000 a month, a low-cost nursery, with a nice springboard—so owners have a good tax-deductible excuse to return, and for the smart and the lucky, the best of these youngsters will wend their way into international competition on the Barry Irwin pathway—with a dose of patience and perseverence through the quarantine process. It’s not easy, but as JFK observed, Americans are up to a challenge.

In January, Kip Elser and Terry Finley came to the sale, they bought a colt by American-bred grade I winner Var (by Forest Wildcat) for R600,000 as a pinhook, which is rare in our country. Re-offered at the Nov. 3 Ready to Run Sale, he sold for R1.6 million. A cool million profit. Americans, I realise, can teach us a trick or two. Ah, the intrepid and the brave. Here we go again.

I write to this inform and not to advertise. You’ll find us at www.capethoroughbredsales.co.za. View a video about the Cape Premier Yearling Sales, last week of January. We’d love you to come and visit, to allow yourself some South African hospitality and a chance to see how we do it in our corner of the globe.

We’ll have bigger dreams in time to come, including shuttle sires, American partnerships, perhaps a Breeders’ Cup series, the building of all-weather tracks, structural changes to advance purses and easier trade routes. But that’s for another day.

Horses on the beach in picturesque Cape Town, South Africa.

Mike de Kock and Angus Gold receiving a champagne gift from Cape Thoroughbred Sales Co.

Zolani Mahola performs at the 2012 Cape Premiere Yearling Sale.

Inside the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Site of the Cape Premiere Yearling Sale.

Sale Preview location surrounded by the beautiful landscape of Cape Town , SA.

Rock of Gibraltar: Hey Now, He's a Rock Star!

2012-10-04T18:04:00Z

Fifteen 3-year-old fillies lined up for the Prix Charles Laffitte at Chantilly Oct. 3. At the end of the 10-furlong listed event, Baino Rock (Rock of Gibraltar—Baino Ridge, by Highest Honor), a homebred for Isaam Fares’ Haras de Manneville, easily defeated her rivals to land her first black-type race. Her dominating performance also served to illustrate the consistent performances of the progeny of Rock of Gibraltar, one of the legion of outstanding sire sons by the legendary Danehill (Danzig—Razyana, by His Majesty).

Standing at Coolmore in Ireland and having done Southern Hemisphere duty in both Australia and South America, Rock of Gibraltar has proved to be as solid as his namesake. His first foal crop (2004) set the bar high, producing 30 added-money winners. Baino Rock is his 82nd career stakes winner, 11th this year, and the eighth from his 2009 crop.

A handsome, well-muscled bay, 13-year-old Rock of Gibraltar is out of the group II stakes-placed Be My Guest mare Offshore Boom, whose black type was earned as runner-up over seven furlongs in the Irish National Stud Stakes. As a 2-year-old, Rock of Gibraltar won his first group I, the Grand Criterium Lucien Barriere, in France on Oct. 7 and 13 days later landed his second, across the channel in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. Undefeated through five more group Is (all at a mile) at 3, including victories in the Irish and English Two Thousand Guineas, he had his perfect season spoiled with a hard-luck race in the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Mile at Arlington, having finished just short of winner Domedriver. At year’s end he was Europe’s Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male in addition to being highweighted among sophomores in England, France, and Ireland.
Offshore Boom, a half sister to two stakes winners, is out of a winning Bold Lad (the Irish version) half sister to Riverman (Never Bend—River Lady, by Prince John), who sort of set the pace for his modern-day kinsman by winning the Poule d’Essai des Poulains (the French version of the Two Thousand Guineas), before embarking on a stud career that brought him leading sire titles and 128 stakes winners.
Baino Rock takes double advantage of this connection through Riverman’s dam River Lady (Prince John—Nile Lily, by Roman). As a daughter of both Rock of Gibraltar, whose granddam is a daughter of River Lady, and a granddaughter of Highest Honor (Kenmare—High River, by Riverman), whose broodmare sire is Riverman, Baino Rock is inbred 4x5 to River Lady. (Baino Rock also carries 3x3 inbreeding to leading sire Be My Guest and four crosses to Natalma in a five-generation pedigree.)

The River Lady cross is not an unusual occurrence among Rock of Gibraltar’s stakes winners. Nine of his 82 carry this female family inbreeding. Highest Honor as a broodmare sire is responsible for nearly one-third: From 14 foals of racing age, Rock of Gibraltar is the sire of three black-type winners (21.4%) from Highest Honor mares, including group II winner Rock Me Baby in Australia.

Other successful crosses for Rock of Gibraltar have come with Blushing Groom-line mares, especially from the Rainbow Quest (Blushing Groom—I Will Follow, by Herbager) branch. From 21 foals of racing age, Rainbow Quest mares have produced five stakes winners (23.8%), including group I winner Samitar, who enhanced the family’s mile reputation by taking the Irish One Thousand Guineas this year and more recently the nine-furlong Garden City Stakes at Belmont in September.

A Review of Racing 'Round the World for Sept. 27-28

2012-09-28T19:48:00Z

Arguably, the most significant stallion in racing the last two days has to be Green Desert (Danzig—Foreign Courier, by Sir Ivor). Now pensioned, the 29-year-old Nunnery Stud resident sired his 99th worldwide stakes winner on Sept. 19, when his 3-year-old daughter Semayyel won the John Musker Fillies Stakes at Yarmouth.

But that was then and this is now, so what has he done for us lately? Well, nothing directly, but his sons have shined. Within a 24-hour span (give or take), Cape Cross, Oasis Dream, and Invincible Spirit all added new black-type winners to their ever-expanding CVs. On Sept. 27 Cape Cross (Green Desert—Park Appeal, by Ahonoora) added stakes winner 79 as his son Caucus, out of the Sadler’s Wells mare Maid To Perfection (from the Stinging Nettle female family that brought the U.S. graded stakes winners Stroll and Grassy), took Newmarket’s listed Jockey Club Rose Bowl.

At Newmarket the following day, Oasis Dream (Green Desert—Hope, by Dancing Brave), notched another stakes winner in his belt, when Chigun, a 3-year-old filly out of the Nashwan mare Stormy Weather, won the listed Rosemary Stakes, to become the 62nd added-money winner for her 12-year-old sire.

In France, the Wertheimers’ 3-year-old filly Foreign Tune became the 61st stakes winner for 15-year-old Invincible Spirit (Green Desert—Rafha, by Kris). Out of the group III-winning Green Tune mare Gwenseb, Foreign Tune won the listed Prix Coronation at Saint-Cloud.

All in all, not a bad 24-hours for the Green Desert boys.

Other sires to add to their career totals for black type include Galileo (Sadler’s Wells—Urban Sea, by Miswaki) who racked up stakes winner 131 with Gallipot, who took the Princess Royal Stakes at Newmarket, Sept. 28. The 3-year-old bay filly is the second foal out of the Spinning World mare Spinning Queen, who won the group I Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket in 2006.

Add U.S.-based stallion Arch (Kris S.—Aurora, by Danzig) to the list as well. His 2-year-old daughter Waterway Run, out of the Dixieland Band mare Princess Consort, won the group III Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket to become her sire’s 43rd stakes winner. Incidentally, Arch and Green Desert share a common female family, that of Courtly Dee (Never Bend—Tulle, by War Admiral). Arch is a great grandson of the blue hen matron while Green Desert is a grandson.

Another family connection occurred in Newmarket’s group I Fillies Mile. The winner, Godolphin’s 2-year-old Elusive Quality filly Certify and the runner-up, Roz, trace in tail-female to the Bold Lad mare Lodge, a stakes-placed half sister to leading European stallions Habitat (Sir Ivor) and Northfields (Northern Dancer) who are sons of the Occupy mare Little Hut. Undefeated in four starts, Certify was bred by Darley in partnership with Hurstland Farm and William Kartozian out of the stakes-winning Mr. Leader mare Please Sign In. Certify’s third dam is Lodge. (Incidentally, the Nuckols family has been stewards of this fine family for decades, having owned Little Hut and bred her foals since her first in 1959 until the mare died in the early 1980s.) John Ferguson signed the $80,000 tab for Certify at the Keeneland September yearling sale. Roz, on the other hand, was a Darley-bred by Sheikh Mohammed’s young European stallion Teofilo (Galileo—Speirbhean, by Danehill), who also sired Somerville Stakes (Eng-III) winner Havana Gold on the Sept. 27 Newmarket card. Roz’ dam, Debonnaire, is a daughter of group-placed Ultra Finesse, a Rahy great granddaughter of Lodge purchased for Sheikh Maktoum’s Gainsborough Stud out of the Keeneland July sale. Roz was purchased by Crimbourne Stud out of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale for $26,022.

Certify is the 10th gr. I winner out of 84 career added-money winners for her sire.

On the same Newmarket card, Godolphin’s 5-year-old Australia-bred Retrieve (Rahy—Hold to Ransom, by Red Ransom) got back in the black-type column by winning the appropriately named Godolphin Stakes, his first added-money win this year. The winner’s purse pushed his earnings past the $1 million mark.

In India, U.S.-bred expat Rebuttal (Mr. Greeley—Reboot, by Rubiano) scored a stakes coup when his 3-year-old son Super Storm won the grade III Two Thousand Guineas at Mysore. The bay colt is out of the Conquistador Cielo mare Cielo Vodkamartini, a winning full sister to grade II stakes winner Cielo Del Nord, from the female family of Lahib and General Holme.

Pierro, Australia’s 2-year-old Triple Crown champion, took another step to repeating honors by taking Moonee Valley’s group II Bill Stutt Stakes. The 3-year-old bay son of last year’s leading sire Lonhro (Octagonal) out of the Daylami mare Miss Right Note is undefeated in eight starts. On the distaff side of things, 3-year-old filly Snitzerland (Snitzel—Monte Rosa, by Fraar) captured Moonee Valley’s group III Champagne Stakes to remain perfect on the year. Last year she won the AAMI Golden Slipper (Aus-I) at Rosehill.

Also undefeated, Australia’s Horse of the Year Black Caviar is scheduled to race again in 2013. Fingers crossed for the gallant daughter of Bel Esprit—Helsinge, by Desert Sun.

And that last item brings us full circle: Desert Sun, broodmare sire of Black Caviar, is also a son of Green Desert.

The Loss of Tiger Hill

2012-09-28T15:27:00Z

Within the space of 18 days, German breeders have lost two important stallions. Following closely behind the death of Monsun at Gestut Schlenderhan, Gestut Fahrhof’s stallion Tiger Hill (Danehill—The Filly, by Appianni II) has died in circumstances eerily similar to those surrounding the death of his own sire, Danehill. Both died as a result of paddock accidents at the untimely age of 17. Even with a life cut short in his prime, Danehill has left a legacy of riches: leading sire of stakes winners (347), leading broodmare sire on multiple continents, and a ubiquitous sire of sires. While Tiger Hill will never fill Danehill’s gigantic shoes, he has proved to be a valuable addition to the bloodstock world.

He was purchased out of the 1996 Baden-Baden yearling auction for $74,360 and raced for Georg Baron von Ullmann, winning three group Is and the group II Mehl-Muelhens-Rennen (German Two Thousand Guineas) among his 10 wins from 17 starts. His four placings included a third in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. He was twice highweighted horse in Germany. As a runner, he had an average winning distance of 9.5 furlongs, making him a sold middle-distance performer.

Retired from racing, Tiger Hill first did stallion duty at Haras du Val Henry in France before moving to Ullmann’s Gestut Schlenderhan, Germany’s oldest privately owned stud. Although inbred to blue hen Natalma 4 (Northern Dancer) x 4 (Spring Adieu) in the Danehill side of the pedigree, Tiger Hill has a very continental female family that is free of the most common names found in today’s pedigrees. Bred in Ireland by Gestut Wittekindshof, Tiger Hill was out of the unraced mare The Filly, whose sire Derby Italiano winner Appiani II was a champion in Italy and a leading sire in Germany. (Appiani II’s sire was French champion Herbager who brought a strain of stamina to the U.S. when he was imported to Claiborne Farm where he established a very successful career as both sire (64 stakes winners) and broodmare sire.) Tiger Hill’s female family (3-e) traces directly to La Fleche (St. Simon—Quiver, by Toxophilite), who won the English Triple Crown for fillies (One Thousand Guineas, Epsom Oaks, and St. Leger Stakes) in 1892. As a broodmare, she produced the outstanding stallion John O’Gaunt, the sire of Swynford. Tiger Hill’s dam is a daughter of Tigress Silver, an unraced half sister to three stakes winners, whose dam Templeogue is a full sister to German champion 3-year-old filly Tigerin.

Tiger Hill is an outcross until the sixth generation, which finds him linebred to leading stallion Hyperion 6x6x5x6 and Felstead 6x6. He also carries crosses of the outstanding producer Nogara 6x6 through the half brothers Nearco (by Pharos) and Niccolo Dell’Arca (Coronach).

Tiger Hill’s first crop produced nine black-type winners, three of them group. While subsequent crops failed to match the quantity of added-money winners, they often surpassed them in quality. From Tiger Hill’s second crop came only six stakes winners, but two were group-I caliber: Preis der Diana (German Oaks) winner Iota and Gran Criterium (Ity-I) winner Konigstiger, who has assumed Tiger Hill’s mantle at Gestut Fahrhof. The best of Tiger Hill’s offspring and his most promising possible sire son was the star-crossed Rewilding, a multiple group I-winning half brother to three other group I winners including 2009 champion mare Dar Re Mi (Singspiel), who broke down in the 2011 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. His progeny’s AWD of 9.75 shows their proclivity for middle distances.

Sire of 47 stakes winners and two champions, Tiger Hill crossed with a variety of broodmare sires, but his favorite nick was with fellow German-based stallion Monsun (Konigsstuhl), From 30 foals of racing age, Tiger Hill has sired six black-type winners from Monsun mares (20%). As a relatively young broodmare sire, Tiger Hill has already sired five stakes winners and two of them, including group II winner Atempo, have been by Monsun.

Tiger Hill has eight yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

Breeders will miss this representative of the Danehill branch of the Danzig line that has proved so valuable in European pedigrees.

Tiger Hill has eight yearlings cataloged for the upcoming Tattersalls October Yearling Sale.

All in the Family: Encke, Shareta, and the Sinndar Connection

2012-09-17T18:42:00Z

The outcome certainly wasn't for lack of effort, but on Saturday, Sept. 15, Coolmore's Triple Crown contender Camelot (Montjeu--Tarfah, by Kingmambo) fell victim to the English Triple Crown curse. The first to attempt the feat since Nijinsky II, (neither interim dual classic winners Sea the Stars [2009] nor Nashwan [1989] ran in the St. Leger), won it 42 years ago, a valiant Camelot finished three-quarters of a length in the best finish of a Triple Crown contender since Minoru finished fourth in a field of seven in 1909.

What Kingmambo couldn't accomplish as a broodmare sire, however, he did as a sire: Playing the role of spoiler was Encke, Godolphin's Kentucky-bred son of Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector--Miesque, by Nureyev), whose victory provided his sire a second St. Leger winner. In 2004 Kingmambo had sired Rule of Law to win the 2004 edition also for Godolphin. Encke's victory in the 14-furlong affair not only earned the handsome bay colt his first stakes win but also the honor of being the 94th added-money winner for his pensioned U.S-based sire.

Trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, Encke is out of the dual group I-winning Sinndar mare Shawanda, who took the Irish Oaks and the Prix Vermeille for her breeder the Aga Khan.

In a somewhat prescient turn of events, some 24 hours later the Aga Khan's Shareta another representative from this historic Aga Khan female family, easily defeated 12 opponents by two lengths in the Prix Vermeille at Longchamp.

By Sinndar (Grand Lodge--Sinntara, by Lashkari), Shareta was produced by Shawara, a Barathea (by Sadler's Wells) half sister to Encke's dam Shawanda, both daughters of Shamawana (Darshaan), who ran third in the group III Prix de Royaumont. Shandizadeh, the Nijinsky II granddam of Shamawana produced three stakes-winning daughters, one of whom, Sharaya (Youth) won the Prix Vermeille in 1983.

The family traces to Éclair whom the present-day Aga Khan's grandfather purchased as a 12-year-old mare in 1942 in foal to Hyperion. For the Aga Khan, Éclair, a champion 3-year-old filly in England, produced Khaled (Hyperion), who would become a leading sire in the U.S., and Emali (the great granddam of leading sire Blushing Groom).

The modern representatives are the ninth generation to have been nurtured by the historic breeding program.

In addition to female family, another shared link between Encke and Shareta is Sinndar (broodmare sire of Encke and sire of Shareta). Bred and owned by the Aga Khan, Sinndar descends from yet another significant Aga Khan family. A ninth-generation grandson of Frizette, Sinndar joins fellow tail-female Frizette descendants Seattle Slew and Mr. Prospector as an important son of a sire-producing female family that includes Tourbillon, the foundation sire for Marcel Boussac's famed Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard stud in France, who is the sire of Tourzima, the fifth dam of Sinndar. Tourzima carries a tail-female double dose of Frizette through the full sister act of Durban (dam of Tourzima's sire Tourbillon) and Heldifann (Tourzima's granndam). Both are by English Derby winner Durbar out of Frizette's classic-winning daughter Banshee who took the 1913 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches.

An Aga Khan-homebred, Sinndar won the English Derby, Irish Derby, and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe as a 3-year-old in 2000. Among his many black-type winners are other group I winners Rosanara and Youmzain,

Other weekend racing news

The omens were right for George Strawbridge's Thought Worthy (Dynaformer--Vignette, by Diesis) to win the St. Leger. First, his full brother Lucarno had won the race in 2007. Then on the Friday eve of the St. Leger, his 2-year-old full brother Flying Officer had won a maiden race on the Sandown card in his debut. If that were not enough, in Australia earlier on Saturday, Buxted, a 6-year-old horse bred on the same Dynaformer/Diesis cross won the listed Japan Racing Association Trophy at Moonee Valley. Unfortunately, the Tarot cards must have been upside down as Thought Worthy finished off the board.

In spite of that Dynaformer had a good day, siring two other stakes winners in addition to Buxted. Also in Australia the late son of Roberto added a new stakes winner as Stout Hearted, bred by Strawbridge in the U.S out of the Danzig mare Seebe and who raced in the Northern Hemisphere as Seelo., won the group II Kingston Town Stakes at Rosehill, and in the U.S., Ioya Bigtime, out of the Lord At War mare Ioya Two, took the 12-furlong grade III Kentucky Cup Turf Handicap at Kentucky Downs.

Dynaformer was not the only one with a red-letter day of Saturday as Sheikh Mohammed, in addition to Encke's win in the St. Leger, took honors in Australia with a 1-2 finish by a pair of 3-year-old colts in Rosehill's group I Golden Rose Stakes with Epaulette (Commands--Accessories, by Singspiel) and Albrecht (Redoute's Choice--O'giselle, by Octagonal). Also sporting the maroon and white colors in a group II event was Ambidexter, a 4-year-old Commands colt out of the Quest For Fame mare Dextrous.

In Japan, Deep Impact (Sunday Silence--Wind in Her Hair, by Alzao) sired the first four finishers in the grade II Kansai Telecasting Corp. Sho Rose Stakes at Hanshin. Leading the sort of sibling foursome was Gentildonna (out of the Bertolini mare Donna Blini) who won by more than a length from Verxina (o/o the Machiavellian mare Halwa Sweet), Las Venturas (o/o Danehill mare Josette), and Quatre Feuilles (o/o Tejano Run mare One for Rose). Two of the first four finishers, Gentildonna and Las Venturas are out of mares by sons of Danzig.

Japanese connections of sire Stay Gold (Sunday Silence--Golden Sash, by Dictus) have reason for pride as two of his sons won grade/group stakes in the last two days. On Sunday at Longchamp, Orfevre (o/o Mejiro McQueen mare Oriental Art), 2008 Japanese Triple Crown winner, finished his final preparations for the Arc by winning the group II Qatar Prix Foy at Longchamp while Fenomeno (o/o Danehill mare De Laroche) took the grade II St. Lite Kinen Stakes at Nakayama.

This just in: Ireland-bred Piracicaba (Dansili--Montaria, by Dashing Blade) won the listed Prix Joubert at Saint-Cloud. The 3-year-old filly is the newest stakes winner for her sire, bringing his lifetime total to 72.

The Sun Has Set: Monsun Dies at 22

2012-09-12T20:43:00Z

Monsun has died. On Monday, Sept. 9, at 7:00 p.m., the pillar of Gestut Schlenderhan and a bulwark of European bloodlines was put to rest at age 22 after suffering an acute neurological disease.

Bred by Gestut Isarland in 1990, Monsun did not reach the races until age 3. Racing in the colors of Baron Georg von Ullmann and trained by Heinz Jentzsch, Monsun started 17 times in his three-year turf career, winning eight races (all group stakes from 10-12 furlongs) including three group Is. A solid middle-distance performer adept on both soft and firm turf, Monsun earned more than $1.7 million.

While Monsun was an accomplished racehorse, his career as a stallion has been much more influential. Retired to Gestut Schlenderhan for the 1996 season, Monsun (Konigsstuhl—Mosella, by Surumu) carried a wealth of German bloodlines and little of the pedigree strains that had begun to saturate many of the European breeding establishments. Monsun’s pedigree was free of three of the most influential sires of the latter part of the 20th century (in U.S. pedigrees): Northern Dancer, Mr. Prospector (Raise a Native), and Bold Ruler (Nasrullah). He did, however, have 5x5 inbreeding to classic winner Nebelwerfer—Germany’s champion older male in 1949 who had won the Henckel-Rennen (2,000 Guineas) as a 3-year-old—and to the blue hen mare Kaiserwurde, through the full siblings Kaiserkrone, tail-female third dam of Konigsstuhl, and Kaiseradler, the broodmare sire of Monsun’s granddam Monasia.

Kaiserwurde, a black mare foaled in the ebb of World War II in Europe, became the ancestress of many important sires. In fact, this family dominated the German sire charts during the 1970s. In addition to her daughter Kronung, the granddam of Konigsstuhl, Kaiserkrone is the dam of Kronzeuge (by Neckar) who became leading German sire in 1972. Kaiserwurde’s son Kaiseradler, the full brother to Kaiserkrone, was leading German sire four times (1973, ’75-’77).

The family of Kaiserwurde took flight with Monsun’s sire Konigsstuhl. The first horse to win the German Triple Crown—races that range from eight furlongs (Henckel-Rennen) through 12 furlongs (Deutsches Derby) and culminates in the 14-furlong Deutsches St Leger—champion Konigsstuhl was Germany’s Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male in 1979. Three time leading sire in Germany, he set the stage for his successor son. Ironically, Konigsstuhl’s sire Dschingis Khan was much more comfortable at sprint distances and was named champion for this distance even though he stretched out enough to win the 1964 Henckel-Rennen. He was also the leading sire of juveniles from 1974-76.

Equally important to the equation is the Monsun’s female family. His dam Mosella was a daughter of six-time leading German sire Surumu, who also led the broodmare sire list 11 times, and the stakes-winning mare Monasia. A half to two other stakes winners, Mosella raced only twice at 2 and nine times at 3. Her black-type was earned in the Las Vegas Slenderella-Rennen, a middle-distance affair at Mulheim. She also won over 12 furlongs at Chantilly in France.

This is the hardy, stamina-laden family that produced Monsun, leading German sire four times (2000, ’02, ’04, ’06) and already leading broodmare sire in 2010.

As a sire, Monsun has produced offspring that come to hand late, improve as they age, and perform well over middle distances. Clues to this kind of offspring should be found in his own career. As a runner, he had an average winning distance of 11.4 furlongs and the AWD of his produce falls within that range. His 522 lifetime starters have an average distance raced figure of 10.95 furlongs and an AWD of 11.06.

Download a PDF of Monsun's stakes winners here.

Currently, Monsun has sired 108 stakes winners (14 in 2012) from 713 lifetime foals, an impressive 15% strike rate. But examining the numbers more closely reveals much more. His number of racing age foals is 660, which brings the 108 stakes winners up to 16.4%, and if the seven (his number of juvenile starters) of the current 45 2-year-olds are removed (remember his foals improve with age), the percentage of stakes winners rises to 17.4.

Let’s go one step further: Monsun has 522 starters (73% of his foals). The ration of stakes winners to starters comes in at a whopping 20.7%. Discounting the foal crop of 2010, his crops have averaged only 47 foals and only twice in 13 crops of racing age has Monsun failed to produce less than double-digit percentages of stakes winners to foals. He reached the heights with his 2003 crop with 13 from 39 foals (33%).

His outcross pedigree finds him performing well with mares from many different sire lines. Most especially Monsun as done well with Northern Dancer-line mares and specifically the Nijinsky II branch of the Northern Dancer line. At least sixteen of Monsun’s 108 stakes winners descend from the Nijinksy II (or his three-quarters relative The Minstrel), including group I winners Shirocco, Amarette, and Floriot. Sadler’s Wells-line mares also have a significant influence with Monsun; most influential among these is the Old Vic mare Sacarina who is responsible for three of Monsun’s 15 group I winners: Salve Regina, Samum, and Schiaparelli.

Eclipse Award winner Stacelita, champion grass female in 2011, represents another successful cross for Monsun that of the Mill Reef branch of the Nasrullah line. This German-bred multiple group I/grade I French classic winner is a daughter of a mare by Dashing Blade, Germany’s leading sire in 1998 and a great-grandson of Paul Mellon’s Epsom Derby-winning Horse of the Year. No less than 11 of Monsun’s stakes winners derive from the nick with Mill Reef and his descendants.

While Monsun has direct links to many sire lines, he has also done well with the female family 16-c the family of taproot mare Little Agnes, tracing to Schwarzblaurot. Among the prominent members of the Little Agnes family are Grey Dawn II, Green Dancer, Carnegie, Herbager, and Slip Anchor. Schwarzblaurot, a foal of 1947, was a great-granddaughter of Teddy out of the spectacular German mare Schwarzgold, winner of the Preis der Diana (German Oaks) and Deutsches Derby over the colts.

Given the hardiness of his runners, many more Monsuns are streaming across the race courses of Europe (three daughters are entered in the group II DFS Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster Sept. 13) and his final chapter will not be written for a number of years.

A magnificent 16.2 hand mahogany-coated horse, Monsun, though later blind in both eyes yet still strong of character, could spellbind those in his presence.

He will be sorely missed.

First Stakes Winner for Freshman Sire Sageburg and a Bahamian Bounty in France

2012-09-11T19:23:00Z

France-based stallion Sageburg sired his first stakes winner from his first crop when his undefeated 2-year-old daughter Peace Burg squeezed out a narrow victory in the group III Prix d’Aumale over a mile at Chantilly.

Bred in Ireland by Lagardere Elevage, 8-year-old Sageburg raced in the familiar colors of the Aga Khan, who had purchased the lock-stock-and-barrel racing and breeding interests of the late Jean-Luc Lagardere in 2005 when Sageburg was a yearling. For the Aga Khan, the grey colt won four of his 11 starts at distances ranging from nine to 10 furlongs, including the group I Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp as a 4-year-old. Sageburg retired to Haras de la Gatine in France for the 2009 season.

From the first crop of European and U.S. champion 2-year-old male Johannesburg, Sageburg is out of the group II-winning Linamix mare Sage et Jolie, a full sister to group I winner Sagamix who took the measure of the 1998 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe field in 1998 and earned a championship to boot and to Sagalina, the dam of 2012 group I winner Sagawara (Shamardal). A winner of the Prix de Malleret at Longchamp, Sage et Jolie is also a half sister to group I winner Sagacity (by Highest Honor.

Unraced Peace Talk (Sadler’s Wells—Pampa Bella, by Armos), dam of the Prix d’Aumale winner, is a half sister to group I winner Pistolet Bleu (Top Ville) and a full sister to group III winner Palme d’Or, all bred by the Wildenstein family. Pampa Bella won the group III Prix Penelope at Saint-Cloud and placed in two group I stakes during her two-year racing career.

Sageburg has sent out 11 juvenile runners from his first crop with three winners and an additional non-winning black-type performer in Sage Melody who finished third in the group III Prix du Bois at Chantilly.

Also on the Chantilly card was the Prix d’Arenberg, a group III sprint for 2-year-olds. The finish of the race is a good illustration of the saying that apples don’t fall far from the tree as both winner, Cay Verde, and runner-up, Baileys Jubilee, are offspring of Bahamian Bounty (Cadeaux Genereux—Clarentia, by Ballad Rock), Europe’s champion 2-year-old male in 1996, with six-furlong victories in the Prix Morny Piaget (Fr-I) and Middle Park Stakes (Eng-I).

Cay Verde’s dam, All Quiet, is a consistent, hardy daughter of Piccolo (Warning), who started 29 times over her four-year career with her wins coming from seven to eight furlongs. Her dam, War Shanty, is a Warrshan half sister to black-type full brothers: group I winner Bold Edge and stakes winner Brave Edge, both by U.S.-bred Beveled (Sharpen Up—Sans Arc, by High Echelon).

Bahamian Bounty has sired 22 lifetime stakes winners including group I-winning full brothers Pastoral Pursuits and Goodricke, both of whom won group I credentials over six furlongs.

The second race on the Chantilly card was won by first-time starter Oceanliner, a 2-year-old Kentucky-bred son of Dynaformer out of the group III-placed Danzig mare Sweet Travel, a full sister to group I winner Iron Mask. A homebred for the Wertheimer brothers, Oceanliner is a grandson of the Wertheimer-raced Raise a Beauty, whom the brothers bought for $625,000 as a weanling from the Calumet Farm dispersal in 1991. The daughter of Alydar out of stakes winner Stick to Beauty, was a half sister to grade II stakes winner Gold Beauty, dam of grade I winners Maplejinsky (Nijinsky II) and champion Dayjur (Danzig).

In a touch of family irony, Oceanliner’s impressive two-length debut win came on the undercard of the Prix d’Arenberg, a race in which his dam had finished second and which her brother Iron Mask had won.

The other juvenile race at Chantilly went to another first-timer Tasaday, a daughter of Nayef—Tashelka, by Mujahid.

High 5-year-olds, Famous Name, A.P. Indy, Mr. Greeley, and a Familiar Nick in India

2012-09-10T19:10:00Z

Concerning the prime cuts of this weekend’s international group racing, let’s paraphrase a bit from The Bard: Age cannot wither nor custom stale their infinite variety. Of the three group I races for older horses in Ireland and Great Britain, all were won by horses who may be considered well past their prime in some racing jurisdictions (won’t say whose).

In a field of 13 runners whose ages ranged from 3 to 8 and whose average age was 5.2 years, 5-year-old Society Rock, a son of Rock of Gibraltar—High Society, by Key of Luck, defeated a solid field of sprinters to win Haydock Park’s group I Betfred Sprint Cup (Eng-I) by three-quarters of a length over Gordon Lord Byron (Byron) and Bated Breath (Dansili). Australia-bred Ortensia (Testa Rossa), a 7-year-old mare who won the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes (Eng-I) at York in August and the 5-2 favorite, finished next to last after striking herself during the running.

At 13, Rock of Gibraltar (Danehill—Offshore Boom, by Be My Guest), has proved quite a mainstay for the Coolmore flagship stallions, having sired 81 stakes winners, nine of the highest order, during his career.

In Ireland, Chachamaidee, 5-year-old daughter of Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) took her first group I on the disqualification of Duntle (Danehill Dancer) in the Coolmore Fusaichi Pegasus Matron Stakes (Ire-I) at Leopardstown. Always a consistent performer, the Henry Cecil-trained stablemate to Frankel, was winning her fifth black-type event in four years of racing. Chachamaidee, out of the unraced Danehill mare Canterbury Lace—a half sister to group I winner Virginia Waters (Kingmambo) and full to group III winner Alexander of Hales—has failed to be in the top three only five times in her 20 start career.

Also striking an Irish blow for the aging crowd was champion Snow Fairy, who won her second group I from two outings this year by taking the Red Mills Irish Champion Stakes (Ire-I). Trained by Ed Dunlop, Snow Fairy is a 5-year-old daughter of Intikhab—Woodland Dream, by Charnwood Forest. The lone female in a field of six that included group I winners Nathaniel (Galileo) and St Nicholas Abbey (Montjeu), Snow Fairy was an easy winner of her seventh group I race.

Inbred 3x5 to Roberto through her sire Intikhab (by Roberto’s son Red Ransom) and her broodmare sire Warning, Snow Fairy also carries inbreeding to In Reality (5x5) and, of course, Northern Dancer (5x5). Her dam, Woodland Dream is a winning half sister to group III winner Big Bad Bob, whose sire Bob Back is a son of Roberto. The family seems to have a penchant for the Roberto line as Persian Fantasy, Snow Fairy’s third dam, produced to the cover of Sri Pekan (who like Intikhab is a son of Red Ransom) stakes winner Persian Lightning.

And then there is Famous Name. At age 7, he is the venerated senior citizen in the Dermot Weld barn. Now in his sixth year of racing, Famous Name (Dansili) has lost none of his verve: His latest exploit found him toting 138 pounds and showing his heels to a pack of upstart whippersnappers comprising five 3-year-olds, a 4-year-old, and a relatively young by comparison 6-year-old, who carried from five to 10 pounds less on much younger joints. The Juddmonte juggernaut rolled to his 20th win in 37 starts by taking the group III Refuse To Bend Solonaway Stakes Sept. 9 at the Curragh by nearly three lengths. The only missing entry from his CV is a group I win, although he has been well-placed in seven group Is across Europe, five of them seconds including the Prix du Jockey Club at Longchamp, two runnings of the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh. And the Grosser Dallmayr-Preis-Bayerisches Zuchtrennen at Munich.

Out of the winning Quest for Fame mare Fame At Last, Famous name is from a solid female family that has been a part of the Juddmonte family since Khalid Abdullah acquired Famous Name’s group-placed third dam Katsura (Northern Dancer—Noble Fancy, by Vaguely Noble) from Robert Sangster in the early 1980s. Fame At Last is also the dam of the 4-year-old stakes-winning Zamindar filly Zaminast.

On the day prior to Famous Name’s latest triumph, his juvenile full sister Big Break won a maiden race at Leopardstown in her second start for the same connections.

Twice the Success

Juddmonte stallions continued their winning ways as Oasis Dream (Green Desert) sired two black-type winners in Sunday racing in Europe and three on the week. In Italy, Sandreamer, a 2-year-old filly out of the Machiavellian mare Alsharq, won Milan’s listed Premio Eupili to become the 12-year-old stallion’s 60th stakes winner. Shortly after, his tally rose to 61 as his sophomore filly Waldtraut won the Grosser Preis der Metallbau Burckhardt GmbH, a listed race in Germany. Each of these winning fillies represents breedings that have performed well for Oasis Dream. Waldtraut, out of the Mark of Esteem mare Waldbeere, is bred on the same cross that produced multiple stakes winner Anne of Kiev, while Sandreamer is bred on the same cross of group I winner Naaqoos.

Other stallions to sire more than one stakes winner internationally include Hussonet (Mr. Prospector—Sacahuista, by Raja Baba) in Australia: His 3-year-old colt Tatra won the Ming Dynasty Quality Handicap at Warwick Farm. Tatra’s dam Slovakia is a full sister to Librettist (Danzig—Mysterial, by Alleged), who won two French group Is. At Flemington, Members Joy, a 3-year-old filly, took the listed Cap d’Antibes Stakes. Hussonet has 85 lifetime stakes winners.

India-based stallion Alnasr Alwasheek (Sadler’s Wells—Someone Special, by Habitat) also scored a Sunday double as his 4-year-old daughter In the Spotlight won the grade III President of India Gold Cup at Hyderabad and his 4-year-old son Star of Gibraltar the grade III Southern Command Gold Trophy at Pune. The 23-year-old Alnasr Alwasheek has sired at least 23 added money winners lifetime. Both In the Spotlight and Star of Gibraltar are out of Placerville mares. The cross should be a familiar one as it is a variation on the Northern Dancer/Mr. Prospector nick. Group II winner of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Ascot, Placerville, who died in 2011, was a U.S.-bred son of Mr. Prospector—Classy Cathy, by Private Account. The Alnasr Alwasheek cross with Placerville has accounted for at least 10 black-type winners from 72 (13.9%) foals of racing age.

Last of the Line

As international buyers congregate for the world’s largest yearling sale at Keeneland, they will have the last opportunity to buy yearlings from two of the breed’s noted stallions, both of whom had stakes winners on the weekend.

In France, Mr. Greeley (Gone West—Long Legend, by Reviewer) sired Ireland-bred What a Name to win the group III Prix La Rochette at Longchamp Sept. 9. The only filly in the field, What a Name is out of the Dayjur mare Bonnie Byerly, a tail-female descendant of DarbyDan foundation mare Soaring (Swaps—Skylarking II, by Mirza II). What a Name became her sire’s 60th stakes winners to date. Mr. Greeley’s last crop are yearlings of 2012.

Sire of 147 career stakes winners, pensioned A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew—Weekend Surprise, by Secretariat) strides into the sales on the success of his latest black-type winner Dreaming of Julia who won the Sept. 9 Meadow Star Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at Belmont Park by a widening 16 lengths. Out of the multiple grade I-winning Wild Rush mare Dream Rush, Dreaming of Julia races for her breeder Stonestreet Farm.

A.P. Indy has 15 yearlings cataloged to the Keeneland sale and Mr. Greeley, 45.

Cape Cross, Dehere in Oz, a Slick Finish in France, and an Ace in India

2012-09-07T19:44:00Z

Sept. 7 found black-type racing in Australia at Wyong, a provincial course located in New South Wales, about an hour north of Sydney. The listed McNamee Mona Lisa Stakes for fillies and mares went to Miss Stellabelle, a 4-year-old filly trained by Gai Waterhouse. A Gold Coast Yearling Sale purchase at A$75,000, Miss Stellabelle is owned by Segenhoe Thoroughbreds Australia.

A daughter of Dehere (Deputy Minister—Sister Dot, by Secretariat) out of the Spinning World mare Sam’s Belle, Miss Stellabelle won her second added-money event by more than two lengths over Irish Dream (by Falbrav). She Goes to Rio (Captain Rio) finished third. U.S.-bred Dehere is the Johnny Appleseed of Thoroughbred stallions. He has stood in the U.S., Australia, Japan, and now Turkey, dropping stakes winners wherever he goes. For his career he has sired 76 stakes winners, including eight grade/group I winners among his 35 grade/group stakes winners. In 2010 Dehere became one of the premier additions to The Jockey Club of Turkey Stud Farms stallion roster.

Ireland-based Cape Cross may not have quite the number of passport stamps as Dehere, but the 18-year-old Ireland-based son of Green Desert—Park Appeal, by Ahonoora, matched black-type wins on the Wyong card for trainer Waterhouse. In the Carlton Mid Wyong Gold Cup, Julienas, an Ireland-bred 5-year-old eked out a head victory in the 2100 meter listed stakes. The unlucky loser was Gazza Guru (Street Cry), who finished a half-length better than Storm Burst (Danehill Dancer), the only mare in the nine-horse field.

Out of the group II-winning Sri Pekan mare Dora Carrington, a half sister to group I winner Primo Valentino (Primo Dominie), Julienas became the 77th and newest stakes winner for his sire. From three foals of racing age, Cape Cross has sired two black-type winners (66.7%) out of Sri Pekan (Red Ransom) mares.

In France, Mobaco, a 32-1 longshot scored the second black-type victory of his career by winning the listed La Coupe de Marseille at Marseille Borely. A 3-year-old bay son of Slickly—Lunaa, by Anabaa, Mobaco was a length better than runner-up Gris Caro (With Approval), with favored Abtaal (Rock Hard Ten) finishing another length back in third.

France-based Slickly, a 16-year-old son of Linamix—Slipstream Queen, by Conquistador Cielo, combines a Europe-based sire line with a well-established U.S. female family. Country Queen, the second dam of Slickly, was a multiple graded stakes winner of 12 races from 42 starts, which included the grade I Yellow Ribbon Invitational Stakes at Santa Anita. Country Queen is also the dam of stakes winner With Distinction (Distinctive), the dam of grade I winner Procida (Mr. Prospector), who won both the Prix de la Foret (Fr.-I) at Longchamp and the Hollywood Derby (gr. IT) at Hollywood Park in 1984.

Racing in India brought to the front yet another sire son of Danehill. The grade III Mysore 1000 Guineas went to Equine Lover, a 3-year-old daughter of Ace (Danehill—Tea House, by Sassafras) in a seven-length tour de force. She is the third stakes winner from the first crop of the Ireland-bred group III winner who won the Desmond Stakes at Leopardstown, his only added-money victory. However, Ace is multiple grade/group I-placed, having finished in the money in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational Stakes and the John Deere Breeders’ Cup Turf at Belmont Park.

Filling the minor placings were Chase the Sun and Jersey Girl, both daughters of Burden of Proof (Fairy King—Belle Passe, by Be My Guest), a great-grandson of Hollywood Gold Cup winner Princessnesian.

In other news from India, U.S. grade I winner Western Aristocrat, who took the Jamaica Handicap at Belmont Park in 2011, will stand stand at Capricorn Stud in India in 2013. The 4-year-old bay colt is a son of Mr. Greeley out of the Kris S. mare Aristocratic Lady.

Racing in England and the U.S., Western Aristocrat won four of nine starts, ranging from seven to nine furlongs. His average winning distance was 7.75 furlongs.

Oasis Dream Sires 59th Stakes Winner

2012-09-05T19:42:00Z

Juddmonte stallion Oasis Dream (Green Desert—Hope, by Dancing Brave) acquired his 59th career stakes winner when his daughter Dream Clover squeezed out a neck victory in the Prix de la Cochere, a listed race for 3-year-old fillies at Chantilly. Trained by Freddy Head for owner George Strawbridge, Dream Clover covered the mile on good turf under Thierry Jarnet in 1:40.06. Filling the minor placings were the Wertheimers’ Foreign Tune (by Invincible Spirit) in second a length to the good of Neuquen (Rock of Gibraltar), both of whom are out of mares by Green Tune (Green Dancer).

Dream Clover’s first black-type win continued the Strawbridge run of luck in Europe, following the success of fellow 3-year-old Thought Worthy (Dynaformer) the full brother to St. Leger (Eng.-I) winner Lucarno who is triangulating his own path toward the last of the English classics, having won the Great Voltigeur (Eng.-II) at York; Aiken (Selkirk), winner of the group II Grand Prix de Chantilly; and Moonlight Cloud (Invincible Spirit), the filly who gave the undefeated Australian speed queen Black Caviar (Bel Esprit) one of her sternest tests (second by the narrowest of noses) in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (Eng.-I) and winner of the group I Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville in August.

Out of the group III-winning Inchinor mare In Clover, Dream Clover is the eighth stakes winner from her sire’s fifth crop and the second stakes winner from the 2009 crop bred on the cross of Oasis Dream with Inchinor mares. In May 2012, Power, representing the juggernaut Ballydoyle battalion, took the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire.-I) at the Curragh. Power’s dam Frappe, is a winning Inchinor half sister to group I winner and promising young sire Footstepsinthesand (Giant’s Causeway) and to 2012 Phoenix Stakes (Ire-I) winner Pedro the Great, the first stakes winner by freshman sire Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo). They are all out of Glatisant, a group III-winning daughter of Rainbow Quest out of the Green Dancer mare Dancing Rocks.

The cross of Oasis Dream with Inchinor mares is relatively untested but has provided a great deal of success: From four foals (3yos and up) have come two stakes winners (50%). When all six foals of racing age are considered, the percentage drops to 33.3%, still a lofty figure, considering neither of the 2-year-olds has started.

Bred in Great Britain by Strawbridge, Dream Clover now has three wins and two thirds from eight starts, all in France.

A Completed Forward Pass: Raven's Pass Sires First Stakes Winner

2012-09-04T21:54:00Z

Already off to a good start, Raven’s Pass (Elusive Quality—Ascutney, by Lord At War) added a little gilding to his reputation: a first black-type winner from his first crop of 2-year-olds. At Goodwood on Sept. 4, his son Steeler, won the listed Peter Willett Stakes at seven furlongs for the team of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, trainer Mark Johnston, and jockey Kieren Fallon.

The 7-year-old chestnut stallion has sent out 25 runners who have earned 10 wins, nine seconds, and 6 thirds from 47 starts. Included among his eight winners are two black-type runners: Steeler, who also ran a close second to record-setting Dundonnell in the group III Acomb Stakes at York; and Lovely Pass, who finished third in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.

After winning his first added-money event at 2, Raven’s Pass spent the first part of his 3-year-old season knocking on the group I door, having finished second in the St. James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes in England and the Prix Jean Prat in France. Persistence paid off and the door opened wide in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot and stayed open for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

As expected for a great grandson of Mr. Prospector, Raven’s Pass has done well with Northern Dancer-line mares, with five of his eight winners being bred on that cross. In fact, seven of the eight juveniles carry inbreeding to E.P. Taylor’s venerable stallion.

One of the more interesting pedigrees among Raven’s Pass’ winners belongs to Snowboarder. He is a son of the Distorted Humor mare Gaudete, whose dam is a Holy Bull daughter of the grade I-winning Lord At War mare La Gueriere. Snowboarder carries 3x4 inbreeding to Lord At War in addition to inbreeding to Mr. Prospector, Secretariat, and Northern Dancer. Bred by Airlie Stud,

Steeler is out of the group III-winning Darshaan mare Discreet Brief, whose dam Quiet Counsel is a half sister to Aston Upthorpe Yorkshire Oaks (Eng.-I) winner Key Change. This family traces in tail female to Qurrat-al-Ain, a source of many classic winners in the silks of the late Aga Khan.

Raven’s Pass has some competition for carrying the Elusive Quality standard in Europe: Elusive City. From just five crops to race, the France-based stallion out of the Dayjur mare Star of Paris (from an established Tartan Farm family) has sired 18 stakes winners.

In a rather odd twist of events, also on the Goodwood card, Snow Rose, a 2-year-old full sister to Raven’s Pass, was a two-length winner of the EBF Racing UK Maiden Fillies’ Stakes over a mile for Godolphin in her second outing.

The King (mambo) Still Rules and Other Racing Tidbits

2012-09-02T19:04:00Z

Pensioned in 2010, Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector—Miesque, by Nureyev) ruled the Sept. 2 international racing scene, providing two stakes winners on the day, including his 93rd lifetime added-money winner.

In Turkey, Kentucky-bred Master of Hounds won the International Topkapi Trophy (Tur-II) over the mile turf course at Veliefendi Race course in Istanbul. The 4-year-old bay colt ridden by Christophe Soumillon for owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and trainer William Haggas eked out a neck victory over another Kentucky-bred, Catesby Clay’s 3-year-old Arch colt, Archbishop.

Out of the Sadler’s Wells mare Silk And Scarlet, Master of Hounds represents a most successful nick between Kingmambo and mares by Coolmore’s iconic patriarch. No less than 11 of Kingmambo’s 93 (11.8%) stakes winners are from this cross. These include grade or group I winners Archipenko, Campanologist, Divine Proportions, El Condor Pasa, and Henrythenavigator. The cross carries familiar inbreeding to Native Dancer and, of course, Northern Dancer. It also provides female family inbreeding through a son, Nureyev (sire of Miesque), and a daughter, Fairy Bridge (dam of Sadler’s Wells), to Claiborne Farm’s grand broodmare Special, a granddaughter of one of the farm's foundation mares Rough Shod II.

Kingmambo’s newest black-type winner is Aghareed, a 3-year-old Kentucky-bred filly who won the listed Prix de Liancourt at Longchamp. Bred and owned by Shadwell Farm, Aghareed is the first foal of Eclipse Award winner Lahudood, who earned the 2007 grass female championship by winning the Emirates Airline Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf over the sodden turf at Monmouth Park. Aghareed also represents the Kingmambo/Sadler’s Wells nick as Singspiel (sire of 91 stakes winners in his own right) is one of Sadler’s Wells many outstanding grandsons. Aghareed is the second stakes winner from Kingmambo’s penultimate crop of 12 named foals. His final crop has only one named foal.

Veliefendi’s other international group stakes, the group II Bosphorus Cup at 12 furlongs on the grass was won by Mitico, a 4-year-old Turkey-bred son of Red Bishop, who stands at The Jockey Club of Turkey Stud Farms. Kentucky-bred Red Bishop, a son of Silver Hawk (by Roberto) out of the Silly Season mare La Rouquine, raced until age 7, winning 10 races including Hong Kong’s International Vase and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (both HK-I) and the San Juan Capistrano Invitational Handicap (gr. I) at Santa Anita. The 24-year-old stallion has sired 17 lifetime stakes winners.

Juddmonte’s leading stallion Dansili (Danehill—Hasili, by Kahyasi) continued his already outstanding weekend in Europe, notching stakes winner 72 when his 4-year-old son Dance Moves bounded away with Longchamp’s listed Prix de Boulogne. Out of the group II-winning Sadler’s Wells mare Dance Routine, Dance Moves is trained by Andre Fabre for the colt’s owner/breeder Juddmonte Farms.

In Germany, last year’s Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr.-I) winner Danedream (Lomitas—Danedrop, by Danehill), looks to be on course for a repeat win in France’s premier race. The 4-year-old bay filly followed her recent Betfair King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Eng.-I) win with a victory in the Longines Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden, in which she defeated Ovambo Queen (Kalatos) and Sparda Deutsches Derby winner Pastorius (Soldier Hollow).

Also on the Baden-Baden card, Teofilo (Galileo—Speirbhean, by Danehill) added stakes winner #7 as his 3-year-old daughter Samba Brazil (out of the Dashing Blade mare Sasuela) won the listed Berenberg Bank Cup. She is the sixth added-money winner from his first crop in 2009. Germany-based Monsun (Konigsstuhl—Mosella, by Surumu) also added to his black-type credentials when his 4-year old son Quinindo (out of the Devil’s Bag mare Quebrada) took Baden-Baden’s listed Veuve Clicquot Cup to become his sire’s 108th stakes winner.

Ireland-based freshman stallion Tamayuz (Nayef—Al Ishq, by Nureyev) earned a more international reputation when his 2-year-old Ireland-bred colt Meiner Eternel won the grade IIII Kokura Nisai Stakes in Japan. Out of the Piccolo mare Evva Silca, Meiner Eternel became
Tamayuz’ second stakes winner from his first crop.

Also in Japan, Falbrav’s 7-year-old son Transwarp (out of the Real Shadai mare Bonne Chance) added the grade III Niigata Kinen to his resume for his first black-type win. Falbrav (Fairy King—Gift of the Night, by Slewpy) now has 20 lifetime stakes winners.

In India, Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner Jazil (Seeking the Gold—Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister) sired the winner of the grade III Deccan Bookmakers Colts Championship Stakes at Hyderabad. Machiavellianism, a 3-year-old bay gelding out of the Red Ransom mare Empress Jessie, had also won the grade I Colts Championship Stakes at Bangalore in June.

This just in: At Champs De Mars in Mauritius, South Africa-bred Ice Axe, a 5-year-old gelded son of of Solskjaer (Danehill—Lyndonville, by Top Ville) won the group I Phoenix Maiden Cup. Ice Axe is out of the Northern Guest mare Nordic Air and therefore a half brother to grade II winner Icy Air (Jallad).

Dansili, Dubawi, a Gallant Geriatric, and Racing in Turkey

2012-09-01T18:51:00Z

European racing Sept. 1 found Juddmonte’s lynchpin stallion, 16-year-old Dansili (Danehill—Hasili, by Kahyasi) recording career stakes winners 70 and 71, when two of his 3-year-old daughters scored their first added-money wins.

In France, Juddmonte’s sophomore filly Preferential registered at two-length victory Victorinna (by Gentlewave) and Sarah Lynx (Montjeu) in the listed Prix des Tourelles at Chantilly. Trained by Christiane Head-Maarek and ridden by Stephane Pasquier, Preferential is out of the Diesis mare Jolie Etoile, a half sister to Etoile Montante (Miswaki) who won the group I Prix de la Foret in the familiar pink and green silks. Rebounding from a sixth-place finish in the Prix Minerve (Fr.-III), Preferential annexed her third win from eight starts.

Career stakes winner 71 came across the channel when fellow 3-year-old Dank won the group III Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Atalanta Stakes at Sandown. The Sir Michael Stoute-trained filly had a tougher go, getting up to win the mile event by a neck over Ladys First (Dutch Art) and Gathering (Street Cry). Bred by London Thoroughbred Services, Dank is the fourth stakes winner from the winning Darshaan mare Masskana, having been preceded by stakes winner Wallace (Royal Academy) and by group I stakes winners Sulk (Selkirk) and Eagle Mountain to whom Dank is very closely related as like Dank, Eagle Mountain is also by a son of Danehill in Rock of Gibraltar.

Three cheers and hats doffed for the old guy! Ten-year-old Borderlescott proved he still has oomph by taking the listed Bullet Sprint Stakes over five furlongs at Beverley in England. The chestnut son of Compton Place—Jeewan, by Touching Wood was making his 63rd start in eight years of racing, and he has made good in 14 of them, including the group I Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes, not once but twice.

In other racing around the world, Dubawi (Dubai Millennium—Zomaradah, by Deploy), underscored the faith in him exhibited by buyers at the Baden-Baden yearling sale Aug. 31, in which he racked up two of the top five prices, including the top lot of €320,000 for a filly out of the U.S.-bred group III stakes-placed Freud mare Elusive Flash, from the all-American family of graded stakes winner Lake of the Isles (In Reality) and Rose Debartolo Memorial Handicap winner Sadie’s Dream (Rare Performer). On the day following the German yearling sale, Lady Of Harrods (Dubawi—Royal Conspiracy, by Strategic) won the six-furlong group III H.D.F. McNeil Stakes at Caulfield in Australia. Her first black-type win was her sire’s 47th black-type winner.

Adding more luster to Dubawi’s credentials, his son Hunter’s Light took the group II 10-furlong International France Galop FRBC Anatolia Trophy at Veliefendi in Turkey for the familiar team of Godolphin, Saeed bin Suroor, and Frankie Dettori. The 4-year-old chestnut exploded over the Polytrack surface to star by five lengths, leaving Zazou (Shamardal) and Prince Alzain (Street Sense) to fill the minor roles. Hunter’s Light is out of the winning Barathea mare Pormanteau, whose dam Dyanata is a full sister to leading sire Darshaan (Shirley Heights—Delsy, by Abdos).

In Veliefendi’s second group II race on the Veliefendi card, Rhythm of Light, a 4-year-old filly by Beat Hollow out of the Danehill mare Luminda, owned by Lowe Silver Deal and trained by Tom Dascombe, took the International Istanbul Trophy from Beatrice Aurore (Danehill Dancer) and Arsaadi (Dubawi).

In other races at Veliefendi, U.S.-bred sires accounted for the winners of the first three races at the Istanbul track. Expatriated Strike the Gold (Alydar), the ninth Kentucky Derby winner bred by historic Calumet Farm, sired the winner of the first race, while fellow expat Unaccounted For (Private Account) sired the winners of races 2, 3, and 7 on the card.

Highlights of racing in the Southern Hemisphere:

New Zealand’s first group I race of the year, the Makfi Challenge Stakes, run at Hastings went to Ocean Park, a son of Thorn Park (Spinning World) out of the Zabeel mare Sayyida.

In Australia, 2-year-old Triple Crown winner Pierro (Lonhro—Miss Right Note, by Daylami) has lost none of his form. In his 3-year-old debut he made short work of his rivals by easily prevailing in the group III Run To The Rose at Rosehill. Left in his wake were Your Song (Fastnet Rock), Epaulette (Commands), and undefeated international queen Black Caviar’s group II-winning little half bro All Too Hard (Casino Prince).

Caulfield’s group II N.Z. Bloodstock Memsie Stakes over seven furlongs was won by Sincero, a son of Umatilla out of the Prego mare Yours As Always. Umatilla is a son of U.S.-bred Miswaki out of the Nijinsky II mare Dancing Show from the sire producing family of blue hen mare Best in Show. Umatilla’s half sister Shantha’s Choice is the dam of leading Australian sire Redoute’s Choice (Danehill), who is scheduled to shuttle to France for the 2013 season.

Go Angellica's Stonehenge Win: Another Oasis for Green Desert Line

2012-08-31T19:52:00Z

Go Angellica sauntered through the stretch to win the Weatherbys Bloodstock Insurance Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury Aug. 31. Bred by Rabbah Bloodstock in Ireland, the chestnut filly is owned by Ahmed Jaber and trained by David Simcock. Ridden by Eddie Ahern, Go Angellica took the mile event by a half-length. Califante (by Kyllachy) finished second and Timoneer (Elusive Quality), third.

Out of the Elusive Quality mare Areyaam, Go Angellica becomes the 13th career stakes winner for her sire Kheleyf. She is also the second 2012 juvenile stakes winner for the 11-year-old son of Green Desert, a U.S.-bred son of Danzig out of the Sir Ivor mare Foreign Courier (from the family of broodmare of the year Courtly Dee).

Recently pensioned, Green Desert has established himself as quite the patriarch with sons such as Oasis Dream, Cape Cross (2009 leading sire in Great Britain and France), and Invincible Spirit in Europe; and six-time leading sire Volksraad in New Zealand.

Bred from the Mr. Prospector mare Society Lady, Kheleyf is not the only son of Green Desert to have added trophies to the family mantel during the week. On Aug. 29, Watsdachances, a 2-year-old daughter of Diamond Green (Green Desert—Diamonaka, by Akarad), won the listed P. G. Johnson Stakes at Saratoga. On the other side of the Atlantic, Gordon Lord Byron, a 4-year-old gelding by Byron (Green Desert—Gay Gallanta, by Woodman), took the listed Betfred City of York Stakes.

Go Angellica descends in tail female from the C.V. Whitney mare Silver Spoon, a champion at 3, through her stakes-winning daughter Inca Queen (Hail to Reason). Go Angellica’s granddam, Yanaseeni, is a full sister to multiple group I winner Germany (Trempolino—Inca Princess, by Big Spruce).

Inbred 3x4 to Mr. Prospector, 4x5x5 to Northern Dancer, and 4x5 to Sir Ivor, Go Angellica also appeals to Rasmussen factor fans. She carries a 5x5 cross to Tamerett through Tentam (the sire of Kheleyf’s third dam La Voyageuse) and through Secrettame, dam of Elusive Quality’s sire, Gone West.

The Ever-expanding Galaxy of Galileo

2012-08-29T21:17:00Z

Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012, Coolmore-based stallion Galileo certainly proved he had quite a six-pack. On this red-letter day the 14-year-old son of Sadler’s Wells out of the Miswaki mare Urban Sea was responsible for six winners from 14 group or listed stakes races run in Europe, three of them new additions to his already starry firmament. In England, Lay Time (Galileo—Time Saved, by Green Desert) won Windsor’s Totepool.com Winter Hill Stakes (Eng-III), Cameron Highland (Galileo—Landmark, by Arch), Windsor’s listed Totepool August Stakes, and Quest For Peace (Galileo—Play Misty For Me, by Danehill Dancer, the listed Windflower March Stakes at Goodwood. In Germany, Mikhail Glinka (Galileo—Lady Karr, by Mark Of Esteem) took the group III Preis der Sparkassen Finanzgruppe at Baden-Baden, Aigue Marine (Galileo—Aiglonne, by Silver Hawk) added the listed Prix Association Graine d’Avenir—Grand Prix de Clairefontaine in France, and Ursa Major (Galileo—Inchyre, by Shirley Heights), the listed Grain Horse Feeds Irish St Leger Trial Stakes at the Curragh.

Even more impressive for Europe’s runaway leading sire is that he bookended this stellar feat with wins by the spectacular Frankel in the group I Juddmonte International at York, Romantica in the group II Prix de la Nonette - Shadwell at Deauville, and Twirl in an Irish listed event earlier in the week; and by a 1-2 finish with 3-year-old fillies Up and Aloof in the Lanwades Stud Fillies Stakes Dance Design (Ire-III) at the Curragh on Sunday, Aug. 26.

Altogether, Galileo supplied 10 stakes winners from Aug. 21 through Aug. 26 (along with six additional black-type placings).

Pedigree folks will note that two of Galileo’s super six (Lay Time and Quest For Peace) are out of mares from the Danzig branch of the Northern Dancer line; two (Aigue Marine and Cameron Highland) represent the Roberto sire line through his son and grandson Silver Hawk and Arch, and two (Mikhail Glinka and Ursa Major) the Mill Reef branch of the Nasrullah line through Mark Of Esteem and his grandsire Shirley Heights. These six stakes winner fairly represent the broader scope of the success of Galileo with mares from these particular sire lines.

The Danzig branch of the Northern Dancer lines is responsible for at least 24 of Galileo’s 126 career stakes winners (19%), 19 of them, including seven group I winners, through Danehill or one of Danehill’s sons.

The Mill Reef line through mares by his sons and grandsons has produced 19 stakes winners (15%). These include grade/group I winners Treasure Beach, Sans Frontieres, Imperial Monarch, and Alandi. The most notable representative of Mill Reef is Darshaan, a champion and leading sire who formed a very successful nick with Galileo’s sire Sadler’s Wells. Darshaan is the broodmare sire of 12 of Galileo’s stakes winners. His son Mark Of Esteem is responsible for three others.

Roberto-line mares have also made a significant contribution. No less than 13 (10%) of Galileo’s stakes winners come from this cross. Mares by Silver Hawk lead the list with five including the full sibling 2012 group I-winning duo of Nathaniel and Great Heavens.

In this “what have you done for me lately” business, it will be interesting to see if this flurry of Galileo success will have any sway over his progeny in the Keeneland auction ring.

The upcoming Keeneland September yearling sale (Sept. 10-24) has five Galileo yearlings cataloged in books 1 and 2, most with American-oriented pedigrees. Two are out of mares by Storm Cat, who is the broodmare sire of the full Galileo sisters Misty For Me, a multiple champion and group I winner; and Twirl, recent winner of the Irish Stallion Farms E.B.F. Hurry Harriet Stakes at the Gowran Park. Hip 84 is a colt whose dam is a half sister to grade II winner A.P. Warrior (by A.P. Indy) while Hip 105 is a colt whose dam is a full sister to grade III winner The Leopard.

Other representatives of the Northern Dancer line are Hip 1019, a filly out of a stakes-winning Giant’s Causeway mare whose second dam is by Shirley Heights; and Hip 19, a filly out of the grade I stakes winner Sharp Lisa (by Dixieland Band).

Representing the Halo branch of the Hail to Reason line rather than the Roberto branch is Hip 110, a filly out of multiple group III-winning More Than Ready mare La Chunga.

Fantastic Light Now a Pensioner

2012-08-13T18:08:00Z

By Michele MacDonald

If there was a Horse of the World title, Fantastic Light would have earned it twice.

Few racehorses over the span of history have come close to accomplishing what he did during the five years of his racing career. He competed in seven countries and won group/grade I races in five, he set an all-time earnings record for European-based runners of $8,486,957, and he ruled as both European Horse of the Year and America’s turf champion in 2001.

Fantastic Light at Darley Japan.
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Thus, it seems somewhat ironic that, while many bemoan the lack of durability and consistent performance by Thoroughbreds today, Fantastic Light will no longer be passing his genes along to the next generation.

Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley decided at the end of last year to quietly retire the now 16-year-old who scored his biggest wins under the royal blue banner of Godolphin. In early December, he was sent from Darley’s farm in Japan, where he had been assigned to duty in 2007, back to Dalham Hall in England, where he had begun his stud career in 2002 but where he now is a pensioner.

While breeders can no longer access this versatile star—who won from seven furlongs to 1 ½ miles and set a Belmont Park course record for the latter distance while winning his final start, the 2001 Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I), in 2:24.36—Fantastic Light is not lacking for anything (other than mares).

He is stabled in the tranquil yard of Dalham Hall outside Newmarket, where trees line the farm walkways and a sense of the region’s rich centuries of breeding and racing is omnipresent.

“He lives within the stallion complex at Dalham Hall stud and is turned out daily. He is a gentleman to deal with,” said Oliver Tait, Darley chief operating officer. “He is in very good health, but there are no plans for him to cover any mares.”

Dalham Hall stallion yard.
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His neighbours have included not only such sire stars as Dubawi and European freshman sensation New Approach, but also a pair of other early retirees—undefeated Epsom Derby (Eng-gr. I) and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-gr. I) winner Lammtarra, who like Fantastic Light was bred by the late Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum’s Gainsborough Farm in Kentucky, and Sheikh Mohammed’s homebred Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-gr. I) winner Mark of Esteem. Their stud careers also ended while they were in their mid-teens.

Lammtarra at Dalham Hall.
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Sheikh Mohammed repurchased and returned Lammtarra from Japan, where he had languished as a sire, and pensioned the then 14-year-old son of Nijinsky II. Mark of Esteem was retired from breeding at age 14 after fertility became a problem following a colic surgery and loss of a testicle.

“Like Fantastic Light, they were outstanding performers for Godolphin,” Tait said, “and it is lovely that they are resident on the stud.”

From his earliest days romping in the fields of Gainsborough with Sheikh Maktoum’s other young horses, Fantastic Light displayed a spirited nature that set him apart.

Fantastic Light coming out of the stallion barn at Darley Japan in 2009.
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“He was always tough,” Allen Kershaw, former Gainsborough general manager, told The Blood-Horse at the height of Fantastic Light’s racing success. “When they were running, he always had to be in front. When he reared up, he was the one that nobody wanted to mess with.”

He won his first two starts as a juvenile in a career that would conclude with 12 wins, five seconds and three thirds in 25 starts. He was ridden by nine jockeys over that time, including a trio of American Hall of Famers—Gary Stevens, who steered him to victory over Bienamado in the 1999 Great Voltigeur Stakes (Eng-gr. II) at York; Chris McCarron, who was edged on the champion by Daliapour in the 2000 Coronation Cup (Eng-gr. I) at Epsom, and Jerry Bailey, who rode to a come-from-behind victory in the 2000 Man o’ War Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont.

Frankie Dettori piloted Fantastic Light in his final ten races, a remarkable span that would be difficult to envision another horse duplicating just a dozen years later. From the United States, Fantastic Light traveled to Japan, where he finished a valiant third, just a neck behind winner T.M.Opera O while rallying in the 1 ½-mile Japan Cup (gr. I). About three weeks later, he won the about 1 ¼-mile Hong Kong Cup (HK-gr. I) as he pleased at Sha Tin.

From there, Fantastic Light journeyed to Dubai, where he was nosed out at the wire of then group II Dubai Sheema Classic by Japan’s Stay Gold in March 2001; Fantastic Light had won the Sheema Classic the previous season.

Back in Europe, he won the 2001 Tattersalls Gold Cup (Ire-gr. I) at the Curragh and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (Eng-gr. I) during Royal Ascot before engaging Coolmore’s Galileo in an epic battle over two races.

Fantastic Light could not catch Galileo in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (Eng-gr. I). But he and Dettori surged to the lead at Sheikh Mohammed’s orders in the Irish Champion Stakes (Ire-gr. I) and refused to yield, prevailing by a determined head over Galileo in an unforgettable duel over about 1 ¼ miles.

After his Breeders’ Cup victory, Fantastic Light embarked on a stud career that took him to England, Australia and Japan. From eight crops of racing age, he has sired 29 blacktype winners, including 13 group or graded winners, and another 26 runners who have placed in blacktype events, according to statistics from The Jockey Club.

Fantastic Light winning the Breeders' Cup Turf.
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His offspring have made their marks around the world, including 2007 Gran Criterium (Ity-gr. I) winner Scintillo; multiple Japanese stakes winner Jalisco Light, an earner of $861,316 bred by Kentucky’s Runnymede Farm; Australian group II winner Brilliant Light; German group II winner Flamingo Fantasy, New Zealand group II winner Captain Fantastic, and multiple American graded stakes winner Roshani.

Altogether, his progeny have earned $34,007,501 through August 12.

While Japanese stud records do not yet have information on Fantastic Light’s last crop of foals that would have been born this year, they do show he has 74 registered two-year-olds and 43 yearlings of 2012. The yearlings include a colt out of Sheikh Mohammed’s stakes-placed mare Ashraaf, a daughter of Deputy Minister from Alydar’s family who was a $2.3 million Keeneland yearling in 2001, and a filly out of Sheikh Mohammed’s Broad Choice, a mare by A.P. Indy out of Breeders’ Cup Distaff (gr. I) winner Unbridled Elaine.

Thus, even though he may no longer be covering mares, Fantastic Light’s story as a sire has not yet reached its end, and his feats as a runner will long be remembered.

“He was a truly great racehorse,” Tait said. “He is a striking horse, very athletic and very intelligent, and is loved and admire by all of our team.”

Looking Inside Yoshida's 'Jewel Box'

2012-08-06T17:21:00Z

by Michele MacDonald

Tucked away on a quiet corner of Shadai Farm on Japan’s island of Hokkaido is a broodmare barn known as “Terry’s Jewel Box.”

When a visitor to Teruya Yoshida’s more than 1,200-acre nursery gets a peek inside this barn, the meaning of the nickname is immediately clear. The mares who live here are all gems of the rarest kind, grade or group I winners or producers from around the globe, including the United States.

They are all celebrities of the female equine kind; their names are familiar to anyone who follows racing and many of them have cost Yoshida more than $1 million.

As they are led out one by one to have their photos taken, the power of the Yoshida brothers in today’s Thoroughbred industry becomes increasingly clear. For several years, both Teruya and his younger brother, Katsumi, have been buying the crème dela crème of mares at auction and privately as they pursue their goal of breeding racehorses that will be the best in the world.

Among the many young residents of the jewel box is Pennsylvania-bred Sahpresa, a now seven-year-old daughter of Sahm and the Pleasant Tap mare Sorpresa who traveled to France as a juvenile. From there, she embarked on a European career capped by three consecutive victories in the Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes (Eng-gr. I) from 2009-2011, six placings in group I races in Japan, Hong Kong and France, and earnings of more than $2 million.

Sahpresa
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Sahpresa is one of the more than two dozen mares that Teruya Yoshida has sent this season to first-season Shadai Stallion Station headliner Victoire Pisa, who scored Japan’s most significant victory in international competition when he won the $10 million Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (UAE-gr. I) last year.

Victoire Pisa
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“He has gotten about 160 mares this year in his first season, and I sent many good ones to him,” Yoshida said. “He is an internationally proven racehorse and he is going to have a good chance (at stud).”

Another of the mares in the jewel box who is in foal to Victoire Pisa, a son of Neo Universe bred by Yoshida who earned titles as Japanese champion male in both his three- and four-year-old seasons, is Princess Olivia, the dam of I’ll Have Another’s sire Flower Alley.

Princess Olivia
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An $825,000 Keeneland November purchase in 2005, Princess Olivia already has produced in Japan the stakes-winning full brothers by Deep Impact named Tosen Ra, a Japanese classic-placed earner of more than $1.8 million, and Spielberg, a three-year-old who has banked more than $618,000 to date.

Other gleaming jewels in Yoshida’s barn include a trio of group I winners, all bred for the first time this year and now in foal to Deep Impact, who currently is the world’s leading sire by progeny earnings with his oldest offspring just four. They are:

• Lily of the Valley, by Galileo, winner of seven consecutive races in France, including the 2010 Prix de l’Opera (gr. I) over Stacelita, who went on to become America’s champion turf female last year. Stacelita may well wind up in the jewel box herself as she also was acquired late last year by Yoshida, who opted to breed her to Smart Strike in Kentucky this season;

• Dubawi Heights, by Dubawi, who won the 2011 Gamely (gr. I) and Yellow Ribbon (gr. I) Stakes in California and was a $1.6 million acquisition at last year’s Fasig-Tipton November sale, and

Dubawi Heights
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• French champion Sarafina, a daughter of Refuse To Bend bred and raced by the Aga Khan who won three group I events including the Prix de Diane (French Oaks). In just her fifth career start, she finished third against males as a three-year-old in the 2010 Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (gr. I), behind only Epsom Derby (Eng-gr. I) winner Workforce, who just completed his first season with about 150 mares at the Shadai Stallion Station, and Japan’s Nakayama Festa, by Sunday Silence’s international group I winner and now top Japanese sire Stay Gold. In separate races last year, Sarafina defeated eventual Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I) hero St Nicholas Abbey and British Champion Stakes (gr. I) winner Cirrus des Aigles, and she banked more than $2.2 million.

Sarafina
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While the jewels are brilliant sparklers, Yoshida’s vast mare holdings also include many other stars in many other Shadai barns. It is much the same at Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm, where the likes of Horse of the Year Azeri, champion Stardom Bound, Coaching Club American Oaks (gr. I) winner Wonder Lady Anne L, Ashland Stakes (gr. I) winner Lilacs and Lace, Eclipse Award finalist Hilda’s Passion and numerous others reside, but that is a story for another day.

All told, the Shadai Group consisting of Shadai and Northern Farms and the Oiwake Farm of youngest brother Haruya Yoshida, as well as their jointly-held Shiraoi Farm, maintains about 1,500 mares.

Here is a brief sampling of some of Teruya Yoshida’s many other Shadai jewels and their status after the breeding season:

• Dalicia, dam of Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Animal Kingdom, produced a colt this year by Yoshida-bred Heart’s Cry, another international group I winner by Sunday Silence, and is back in foal to Deep Impact;

Dalicia, dam of Animal Kingdom, and her 2012 colt by Heart's Cry
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• Laragh, a daughter of Tapit who won the 2008 Hollywood Starlet Stakes (gr. I), foaled a colt by Deep Impact in March and is back in foal to him;

Laragh and her 2012 colt by Deep Impact
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• Ollagua, a daughter of Pure Prize who was twice a champion in her native Argentina and won five group I races, delivered a filly by Smart Strike on Valentine’s Day and is now in foal to Stay Gold;

• Canadian grade I and English group I winner Serious Attitude, by Mtoto, a $1.85 million purchase at Fasig-Tipton in 2010, is in foal to Deep Impact after producing her first foal, a Zenno Rob Roy colt, this year;

• 2010 Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (gr. I) winner Ave, a $1.4-million Keeneland January purchase, delivered her first foal, a Deep Impact colt, on April 1;

• Gabby’s Golden Gal, winner of the 2009 Acorn Stakes (gr. I) and a $1.25-million acquisition at Fasig-Tipton in 2010, had her first foal, a filly by Heart’s Cry, in April;

• Dynaformer’s daughter Gozzip Girl, winner of the 2009 American Oaks Invitational Stakes (gr. I), this spring delivered a black colt by Deep Impact, her first foal;

• Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand Guineas) (Fr-gr. I) winner Rose Gypsy, by Green Desert, was bred to Victoire Pisa after foaling a Zenno Rob Roy filly;

• Oaks d’Italia (Ity-gr. I) winner Dionisia, by Tejano Run, was also sent to Victoire Pisa following the death of her 2012 foal by Deep Impact;

• Gazelle Handicap (gr. I) winner Buy the Sport, by Devil’s Bag, a $1.4 million purchase at the 2007 Keeneland November sale, visited Victoire Pisa after foaling a colt by Neo Universe in February that sold for $765,432 at the Japan Racing Horse Association sale in July, and

•   Air Thule, dam of 2008 Japanese classic winner Captain Thule, was bred to Victoire Pisa after foaling a Deep Impact filly in April.

Victory Gallop: A Star In Growing Turkish Industry

2012-07-30T17:34:00Z

By Michele MacDonald

      There is a timeless sound in the rustling of pines on a breezy rise overlooking fields of mares and foals that stretch to a horizon also dotted by olive trees and the bobbing heads of sunflowers.

      Here, on tranquil sloping land outside of the ancient city of Bursa, Turkey, Ottoman emperors raised fine sporting horses as long ago as the 14th century. And it is here that American classic winners Victory Gallop and Sea Hero are helping to shape Turkey’s growing racing and breeding industry.

      Those who express concern about the welfare of American expatriate runners can release their fears about the stallions who stand under the auspices of the Jockey Club of Turkey, at either the Karacabey Stud near Bursa or the Izmit Stud near Izmit.

Victory Gallop strutted out of his Karacabey barn gleaming with dapples in late July, seemingly eager to show off to a crowd of about 60 Asian Racing Conference delegates who had taken a ferry from Istanbul across the Sea of Marmara’s blue waters before journeying on by bus to visit the stud. In his fourth year in Turkey, the 1998 Belmont Stakes (gr. I) winner who denied Real Quiet the Triple Crown had recently completed the breeding season in which he was allotted 120 mares.

Victory Gallop
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      Shortly thereafter, Sea Hero strode past the crowd looking amazingly fit, defying the fact that he is the oldest living Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner at age 22. Ever playful as he always has been, he danced and shook his head, daring his handler to keep him from displaying some airs above the ground.

      He was followed by former Overbrook Farm colorbearer Mountain Cat, who in 1992 established a mark as the all-time leading American juvenile earner when he won over $1 million. The son of Storm Cat has long been a Jockey Club of Turkey headliner because he is a leading sire and also because he dramatically rears on cue, and he delighted the crowd with a series of towering reaches for the sky.

     Champion Dehere and gr. I winner Cuvee also paraded for the Asian Racing Conference delegates, joined by American-bred but European-raced sires Sri Pekan and Royal Abjar.

      Victory Gallop is one of Turkey’s rising stars. Acquired in January 2008, his oldest Turkish-bred offspring are three, yet he already ranks among the top 20 sires. Both his book of mares and his fee of 10,000 Turkish lira (about $5,500) are the co-highest this year for the Jockey Club of Turkey’s roster of 22 stallions.

      Also standing for that fee are American-bred and –raced Lion Heart and Unaccounted For, who are based at Izmit.

     Lion Heart, the 2004 Haskell Invitational Handicap (gr. I) winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up who also was allotted 120 mares while in his third season in Turkey, has been the subject of offers from American farms who want to return him to the United States for stud duty, Turkish officials said. Whitney Handicap (gr. I) and Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. II) winner Unaccounted For, a 21-year-old son of Private Account who led all Turkish sires in 2009 and ’10 while battling some health ailments, was allowed 60 mares.

     Other leaders by mares in their books include 2000 Hopeful Stakes (gr. I) winner Yonaguska (120 mares), a son of Cherokee Run; American-bred Okawango, a son of Kingmambo who was French champion juvenile in 2000 (120); Carson City’s son Cuvee (100), winner of the 2003 Futurity Stakes (gr. I); Mountain Cat (100), and Arlington Million Stakes (gr. I) winner Powerscourt (80), a son of Sadler’s Wells produced by the Rainbow Quest mare Rainbow Lake, now famous as the second dam of the undefeated Frankel.

      Overseen by the government’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock, which receives a large slice of revenues from pari-mutuel betting on racing, the Jockey Club of Turkey soon will be seeking some new stallions, and officials indicated they will be shopping again in the U.S. Part of the organization’s mission is to encourage breeding and thus the stallions acquired with the ministry’s approval and financial investment stand for very reasonable fees.

      Sea Hero, for instance, the seventh all-time leading sire in Turkey by progeny earnings, stood for 3,500 Turkish lira (about $1,925) this year.

     Another Kentucky Derby winner, Strike the Gold, who died in December at age 23, ranks as Turkey’s current leading sire for 2012 after topping the standings in 2011. He battled laminitis for years but was lovingly cared for by the Jockey Club of Turkey staff at Karacabey who referred to him as “like our son.”

Powerscourt
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Love and respect for horses and horse sports is ingrained in the Turkish people.

During the Karacabey visit, Asian Racing Conference delegates were treated to a demonstration of the Turkish equestrian game cirit, also called jereed, that was developed at least ten centuries ago and used by the Ottomans to hone the cavalry’s attack and defense skills. Players, who at Karacabey were riding retired purebred Arabian racehorses, try to hit one another with wooden javelins while relying on their horses’ speed and agility to escape retaliation. Hitting a horse with one of the javelins, which are rubber-tipped to prevent injury, is penalized.

The game of cirit also known as jereed.
Photo by Michele MacDonald
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    Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the skilled horseman and military leader who founded the Turkish Republic in 1923, declared that “Horse racing is a social need for modern society,” partly to encourage his cavalry officers to continue their work with horses. That quote remains the mantra of the Jockey Club of Turkey to this day.

    But the Turkish attachment to horses obviously goes back much farther in time. Thousands of years ago, Turkic people on the Central Asian steppes were the first in the world to domesticate horses, and their power on horseback dominated history for centuries.

     That deep connection still is revered. In the stallion barn at the purebred Arabian breeding complex near the Karacabey Stud hangs a sign that quotes scholar Kashgarli Mahmut, who in the 11th century wrote a book containing the first dictionary of Turkic languages and the first map of Turkic populations.

      “Horses are the wings of the Turkish people,” the sign reads.

Quick Facts About Turkish Racing and Breeding*

5,000 active racehorses
1,500 owners and breeders
350 private stud farms
215 Thoroughbred stallions covered 2,025 mares in 2011, with a total Thoroughbred mare population of 4,324; 1,235 foals were born in 2011
8 racecourses, which will grow to ten with the addition of two new facilities in 2013
568 racedays in 2012, up more than 50% since 2002, with 3,850 races scheduled this year
$160-million in purse money paid in 2011, up 80% since 2002
Average 109% return on training expenses to owners in Turkish racing, more than twice the return reported for American owners
Wagering totaled about $1.48 billion in 2011
Turkish government has invested $100 million in the sector in the last ten years, an amount that will increase to $170 million by 2013
Tax on pari-mutuel betting is 50% in Turkey, which hinders the country from export simulcasting and commingling

       * Statistics provided by the Jockey Club of Turkey and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Livestock

Sea Hero
Photo by Michele MacDonald
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Mountain Cat
Photo by Michele MacDonald
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War Emblem

2012-07-17T14:37:00Z

By Michele MacDonald

     It is not an exaggeration to say that no Thoroughbred stallion has ever lived a life like 2002 champion and dual classic winner War Emblem.

     From demonstrating he was one of the sharpest runners of the past decade with victories in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I)—and thus good enough for the Shadai Corp. to spend $17 million to acquire him for stud duty—War Emblem has turned into a quixotic puzzle.

     Notoriously shy as a breeder, he has managed to sire only 106 registered foals in eight crops foaled from 2004 to 2011, although more than half of those were sired in the last three years of that period. He also had foals born in 2012, although an official total is not yet available from Japan’s studbook database.

War Emblem
Photo: Courtesy of Shadai Farm

    This year, however, he has reverted back to strange behavior. He opted to cover only three mares—and none of those is in foal, officials at the Shadai Stallion Station related during the recent Japan Racing Horse Association Select Sale on the island of Hokkaido.

     The 2013 foaling season thus will be the third year of War Emblem’s stud career that he will have no sons or daughters born, following the zero foal years of 2007 and 2008.

     For the Shadai Corp., this result is more than financially painful. War Emblem’s managers have done more than can be imagined would be done anywhere else on the globe, including parading mares past him every day of the breeding season to allow him to choose which ones he might deign to accept.

     They have brought in equine experts from around the world, including Dr. Sue McDonnell of the New Bolton Center of the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School of Medicine, who concluded he was intimidated by other stallions and should be moved to his own barn, surrounded only by mares.

     Thus, for the last several years, War Emblem has lived a kind of stallion dream life. Housed in a small barn in a quiet area of Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm, he has had his pick of literally hundreds of mares over the past several seasons, with more than 300 led past him in 2010 alone.

       He tries to bite and threatens to kick or strike mares he doesn’t like—and sometimes the people who handle him as well.

       So what will Shadai do with War Emblem?

       “We will try again,” said Teruya Yoshida, owner of Shadai Farm and the eldest of the three Yoshida brothers who jointly operate the stallion station and the Shadai Corp.

      While War Emblem is frustratingly difficult in his behavior, his foals are prized. At the JRHA sale, an unweaned filly who is a full sister to War Emblem’s classic Shuka Sho (Jpn-gr. I) winner Black Emblem sold for ¥42 million ($518,519) and a colt from the family of American gr. I winner Healthy Addiction brought ¥29 million ($358,025).

      Fifteen of War Emblem’s daughters from his 2005 crop of 33 foals are now in Japan’s broodmare pool. And the stallion also has two Australian-bred offspring born in 2009, both bred by Arrowfield Group: the filly Exactly You and the colt Revive Emblem, although neither has won to date.

      As far as racing goes, the best may still be ahead of War Emblem in that his largest ever crop, the 43 registered foals of 2010, will begin racing this year as juveniles. That group has the potential to be a stellar bunch since it includes:

•   Sabratha, a filly out of French gr. I winner Lady of Chad;
•   Sugino Esperanza, a filly out of multiple Chilean gr. I winner Lhiz;
•   Sinhadipa, a filly out of 2005 Del Mar Oaks (gr. I) winner Singhalese;
•   Trans Am Star, a colt out of multiple American gr. I winner Star Parade; and
•   Double War, a colt out of American gr. II winner Queue.

   So, the unusual story of War Emblem is far from over.

Being First or Only Nothing Unusual for Dr. Harry Sweeney.

2012-07-07T17:41:00Z

By Michele MacDonald

Being the first or the only is nothing unusual for Dr. Harry Sweeney

The Irish-born veterinarian from Dundalk admits he never imagined years ago that he would find both success and happiness in the faraway land of Japan.

Shown with a Deep Sky filly from his JRHA sale consignment
Photo: Michele MacDonald

Fate and chance joined with his undeniably adventurous spirit in guiding him along a path that led him to become:

•   The first foreign-born person allowed to acquire agricultural land in Japan, which he did in 2000 while establishing Paca Paca Farm about a decade after he moved to the Land of the Rising Sun for what he thought would be a six-month job managing Taiki Farm;

•   The first foreign-born person approved to join the Japan Bloodstock Breeders Association, and

•   The first non-Japanese approved to hold a coveted Japan Racing Association owner’s license, allowing him to race his horses for the world’s most lucrative purses beginning in 2001.

Paca Paca Farm Landscape
Photo: Courtesy of Paca Paca Farm

Now, a dozen years after he founded his farm, he has claimed another first as a non-native Japanese, which is, in the scheme of racing and breeding, the most important accomplishment of all: raising and selling a winner of the largest racing prize in the Far East, the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (Jpn-gr. I).

     “This is the big one—the one that everyone wants,” said the blue-eyed Sweeney, 51, while relaxing on the deck of his office on the island of Hokkaido. The lush, clover-dotted fields of Paca Paca—named with the Japanese term for the sound of horses galloping, as Sweeney says, “past the winning post”—and some of the farm’s 50 resident mares stretch out in all directions while Pacific Ocean waves sparkle in the gentle afternoon light on the horizon.

     It has taken “enormous” resources for Sweeney to get to this point, both of the financial and personal kind. So it’s no wonder he likes to re-live the Derby.

     Sweeney said he had a premonition that the colt Deep Brillante, who he sold as a foal to Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm at the 2009 Japan Racing Horse Association Select Sale for ¥31 million ($326,315), might win the classic.

     “But I didn’t let myself believe it was going to happen,” he said. When Deep Brillante—a member of the second crop by Sunday Silence’s phenomenal Japanese Triple Crown-winning son Deep Impact—unleashed a strong stretch drive and prevailed by a nose, Sweeney was overcome by tides of people in the crowd of more than 100,000 congratulating him.

     “It was a very, very special moment,” Sweeney recalled. “But the greatest thing was waking up the next morning and thinking, ‘We won the Derby!’”

     Deep Brillante, who has been sent to England to run next in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Eng-gr. I), crossed the finish line of the 2400-meter (about 1 ½-mile) Derby in the third fastest time in history, 2:23.80.

     The horse business doesn’t allow too much time for celebrating, and Sweeney soon left Tokyo to return to Hokkaido and his normal routine; he drove a mare to a breeding engagement the next day.

     But it didn’t take him long to think of ways to try to maximize the Derby achievement. Well known in Japan for his audacious marketing techniques in the typically low-key culture, he acquired a large white tent emblazoned with the Paca Paca logo and the words “Derby Breeder” in Japanese and stationed it outside the barn where his horses are stabled for the 2012 JRHA sale that begins on July 9.

      His consignment includes a colt by Sea The Stars, bred by SF Bloodstock, who will become the first offspring of his champion sire to sell at public auction as a yearling.

Sea The Stars Colt/Hip 89 at the JRHA sale

But Deep Brillante could be the horse that will always matter the most to Sweeney. The colt’s success “increases the chances we’ll survive,” said Sweeney, who has teamed with his indefatigable wife Anne to raise four sons—Colm, Kevin, Cathal and Eoin—in Ireland while also raising horses in Japan.

Being apart much of the year might be the “perfect recipe” to keep their marriage together, said Anne Sweeney with a mischievous smile while visiting Hokkaido for the JRHA sale. Their friends, however, point out that the Sweeneys are a “tremendous team,” navigating through the layers of bureaucratic issues endemic in Japan and the pressures of a bi-continental lifestyle with children and horses.

“I once said you need the courage of 100 lions and the patience of 1,000 saints,” Sweeney said, reflecting on what it has taken for him to create his unique niche in Japan.

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