Home

The victory of It Tiz (TrueNicks A++) in the Megahertz Stakes at Santa Anita means that Tiznow (TrueNicks,SRO) now has two stakes winners from five starters out of mares by Woodman. Someone knows something, however, as Tiznow has six more foals of racing age on the cross. Woodman is a Mr. Prospector/Buckpasser cross, as is Seeking the Gold, and Tiznow also has two stakes winners with that horse in the dam. Buckpasser is in the dams of at least seven Tiznow stakes winners.

Two veterans from the Danzig line gained graded stakes wins at the weekend. Gran Estreno (TrueNicks A+), an Argentine-bred son of the Belong to Me (TrueNicks,SRO) horse, Lucky Roberto (a Pedigree Consultants recommended purchase as a stallion prospect) took the Colonel E. R. Bradley Handicap (gr. III) at Fair Grounds. He is out of a mare by Green Dancer stallion Senor Pete, and is one of three stakes winners on a Danzig/Senor Pete cross. Belong to Me and Senor Pete are out of mares by Exclusive Native, and both horses combine that strain with Crafty Admiral (in the dam of Danzig, and also the broodmare sire of the dam of Senor Pete, herself a sister to Affirmed). Seven-year-old Euroears (by the ever-reliable Danzig son Langfuhr (TrueNicks,SRO)) won the six furlong Palos Verdes Stakes (gr. II) on the West Coast. Rated A by TrueNicks, Euroears is out of a mare by Heff, and is one of two stakes winners by Langfuhr from mares by sons of Alydar.

Another from the old brigade, Stradivinsky, took the Gulfstream Park Sprint. The eight-year-old is interesting as he’s by Stravinsky (by Nureyev), out of a mare by Apalachee (out of Horse of the Year Moccasin, a sister to Thong, the granddam of Nureyev).

Still with the sprint division, Calibrachoa gave his sire, Southern Image – now at stud in California – his first graded win by taking the Toboggan Stakes (gr. III) at Aqueduct. He is out of a Montbrook half sister to Bellamy Road (TrueNicks,SRO), from the same branch of the Exclusive family as Gold Fever, Out of Place, Versailles Treaty, and Saarland.

Calibrachoa is the first stakes winner for a Halo/Buckaroo cross, although Halo and Buckaroo’s sire, Buckpasser, have frequently combined in good winners, including Sir Oscar, one of the better runner’s for Southern Image’s sire, Halo’s Image, another stakes winner out of Buckaroo mare, and a couple of stakes winners out of mares by Montbrook.

Aged sprinters seem to be the theme of the week, as in New Zealand, the six-furlong Telegraph Handicap (gr. I) was won by Mufhasa (TrueNicks A++), a seven-year-old son of Pentire. By Be My Guest (one time record yearling son of Northern Dancer), out of a three-parts-sister to Shirley Heights, Pentire has been a real stallion star in New Zealand, and Mufhasa is one of his ten grade I winners (and they’ve scored at that level at everywhere from six furlongs to two miles). The dam is by Mi Preferido (U.S.-bred, and by Island Whirl, an American-sired son of Australian juvenile champion Pago Pago). As a blast from the past, this pedigree has brilliant English two-year-old and miler Tudor Minstrel 4x5, and since Tudor Minstrel was a foal of 1944 it’s rare that he’s duplicated that closely in pedigrees any more.

Coincidentally, going back to a mare by Tudor Melody (Champion Two-Year-Old son of Tudor Minstrel), is What a Winter (TrueNicks A++), who took the five-furlong Cape Flying Championship (gr. I) in South Africa. He’s by Western Winter, a very successful son of Gone West (third dam by Tudor Minstrel!), out of an Irish-foaled daughter of Ahonoora. The third dam, Hayloft won the Molecomb Stakes (gr. III), and goes back to New Moon, a half sister (or more like five-eighths) to Hyperion (the grandsire of Tudor Minstrel).

Does India have a burgeoning cross in the shape of Red Ransom horse China Visit and mares by Razeen (by Northern Dancer, out of a Graustark daughter of Numbered Account, from the family of Private Account and Woodman)? It recently supplied Moonlight Romance and Sunlight, the first and second in the Indian Oaks (Indian gr. I event). With Sunlight yet to win a stakes event, the cross has four stakes winners and at least 12 black type-placed horses from 21 starters. It doesn't rate high as a nick yet, because of the relatively small numbers the sire and broodmare sire have with other crosses, but it looks like it can get the job done. Razeen is also broodmare sire of Arabian Prince (A++), who won the Indian Champion Cup (gr. I) at the weekend. He is by the very successful Fairy King horse Burden of Proof (from the same Princessnesian family as Harlan's Holiday (TrueNicks,SRO)). Burden of Proof is a Northern Dancer/Northern Dancer cross (his dam is by Be My Guest), but his second dam is by Buckpasser, so she has a somewhat similar background to Razeen. Anyway, the only two foals on the cross are stakes winners in India.

The remarkable Dubawi (IRE) (TrueNicks,SRO) added more luster to his record when his son Luck or Design/Lucky Nine (from his first European crop, now four) won the Hong Kong Classic Mile (Hong Kong gr. I). Out of a daughter of the Moyglare Stud Stakes (gr. I) winner Belle Genius (by Beau Genius), Luck or Design is one of three stakes winners from just nine runners by Dubawi out of mares by Green Desert.

The Al Rashidiya (gr. II) at Meydan, Dubai, on Thursday had a remarkably international first three. The winner was the top-class seven-year-old Presvis (TrueNicks A++), by Sakhee (by Bahri, by Riverman). He was foaled in England out of a Swedish-bred daughter of Never So Bold (Sakhee is two stakes winners for two with runners out of Bold Lad (IRE) mares). Runner was Steele Tango, who is a U.S.-foaled son of Okawango (TrueNicks) (Champion French Two-Year-Old by Kingmambo), out of an Irish-bred mare, and third went to Australian-born Caymans (by Secret Savings, a U.S.-bred son of Seeking the Gold out of an Australian daughter of Danzig’s French-raced son Anabaa).

Filed under: Recent Winners