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While thankfully not (not yet, at least) being quite as folically challenged as Yul Brynner, we do have a connection with a King who has played a staring role in the orient. Having recommended the mating for King Kamehameha, whose dam was sold to Japan carrying that horse, we we’re delighted when he captured the Japan Derby and subsequently earned a title as Champion Three-Year-Old in Japan.

Now we are equally pleased to see the son of Kingmambo–Manfath, by Last Tycoon going on to earn laurels as a leading sire in Japan. He was represented by 10 stakes winners last year, and is making a good start again this year. With his third crop now three-year-olds of 2011, he has sired 10 stakes winners, including last year’s Japanese 1,000 Guineas and Oaks victress Apapane, and Rose Kingdom, hero of the Japan Cup (gr. I).

King Kamehameha’s progress is being considerably assisted by the fact that he is showing a very positive affinity for Sunday Silence line mares. We were reminded of that by the victory of Shoryu Moon (out of a mare by Dance in the Dark) in this weekend’s Kyoto Himba Stakes (gr. III). Rated A by TrueNicks, she is one of five stakes winners and 10 stakes horses by King Kamehameha out of a Sunday Silence line mare. There actually seems to be a little bit of a broad Kingmambo/Halo affinity, as the short-lived El Condor Pasa had four stakes winners, including grade I winner Vermilion, and Lemon Drop Kid (TrueNicks,SRO) has a trio of stakes winners on the cross, with one out of a mare by Sunday Silence.

Another stallion that we have links to – he was raced by client Gooree Stud, and we were lucky enough to be there when he scored a dramatic Australian Derby (gr. I) win – is Don Eduardo (NZ) (TrueNicks). As a staying son of Zabeel, it’s no surprise that he’s taken a little time to get under way, but he now has six stakes winners from his first crop, including Booming, who added last weekend’s Thordon Mile (gr. I) to his earlier victory in the Galaxy Stakes (gr. I).

Out of a mare by Grosvenor (by Sir Tristram), Booming is the first ever graded winner to be bred on the Sir Tristram/Sir Tristram cross, and also the first stakes winner from 136 foals of racing age and 59 starters by Zabeel and sons out of Sir Tristram line mares. If we wanted to stretch a point, we could say that the sire and broodmare sire are parallels, with both being Sir Tristram over Hyperion line mares, although we need a piece of elastic to get there with Don Eduardo. They do also have a double of Relic, a horse who turned out to exert a very disproportionate influence on breeding in Australia and New Zealand. Incidentally, Gooree have managed to breed a pair of stakes-winning sprinters by their Derby horse, Swift Alliance (out of a Silver Deputy mare) has won a pair of graded stakes, and was narrowly beaten in The Galaxy (gr. I), and Moti, who has taken a trio of black type sprints.

We’ve just mentioned Relic, and one of the key channels of his influence in Australia was Leading Sire Bletchingly. He turned up 3x3 in the pedigree of Fort Lincoln, who captured the rich Karaka Million/Super Bonus Classique at Ellerslie. Fort Lincoln (TrueNicks A++) is from the third crop of Red Ransom’s hot young stallion son Charge Forward out of a mare by Flying Spur, so bred on the same cross as Charge Forward’s grade I-winning first crop filly Headway. He’s also the third of Flying Spur’s four stakes winners to be out of a Danehill line mare.

The other big New Zealand-bred winner at the weekend was Beauty Flash (TrueNicks A++) who took the Stewards’ Cup – worth US$1,027,200 – at Sha Tin in Hong Kong. He is by Golan (by the Rainbow Quest horse, Spectrum) out of a mare by Volksraad, a Green Desert son who has been an outstanding sire in New Zealand. This is one of those very high strike rate crosses with three stakes winners, two graded, from just 12 starts.

In India, the Golconda Derby (Indian gr. I) went to Business Tycoon, who is by Placerville, a son of Mr. Prospector out of Classy Cathy, who won the Prince of Wales’s Stakes (gr. II) at Royal Ascot before going on to become a dominant sire in his adopted country. The dam is by Malvado, a Windfields Farm-bred son of Nearctic. The second dam, Schiaparelli, is a Dutch-foaled daughter of the Good Counsel (by Hail to Reason) horse Sanhedrin, a grade I-placed performer in the Galbreath colors. We imagine Schiaparelli was recruited to India because her dam, the Lorenzaccio mare Charenzaccio, had already been exported there (she is ancestress of several good winners there, including Guest Connection, who is also by Placerville out of a Malvado mare). Japanese star Mejiro Ryan is under the fourth dam, who is out of Barley Corn (dam of Shantung, and ancestress of Roi Dagobert, Polar Falcon, Djakao, and Sassafrass). This means that the sixth dam is the “real” Schiaparelli, a classic producing mare who had several stallion sons and that made impact around the world, including Masthead, Dogger Bank, and Swallow Tail).

Gone West’s son Western Winter had a big weekend in South Africa where he appeared as sire of the Majorca Stakes (gr. I) winner Covenant, and broodmare sire of Past Master, successful in the J & B Met (gr. I). Covenant (TrueNicks A++) is out of a mare by Bush Telegraph (South African-bred son of the Bold Ruler stallion, Jungle Cove). Past Master is one of only three starters to date for South Africa’s red-hot stallion star Jet Master (by Rakeen, a Northern Dancer half brother to Rahy and Singspiel). Still in South Africa, the Cape Derby (gr. I) fell to Top Seller, by Al Mufti (by Roberto from the family of A.P. Indy (TrueNicks,SRO),et al), out of a mare by Northern Guest. Top Seller is 3x4 to Buckpasser (broodmare sire of Al Mufti and Northern Guest). There are some other interesting things going on, however. Al Mufti has Turn-to 3x3 and his granddam, out of a mare by My Babu, has Lavendula II (granddam of Turn-to and My Babu) 4x4. Amacuti, the third dam of Top Seller, is by a son of Ambiorix II (son of Lavendula II, and three-parts-brother to My Babu), out of a Turn-to mare, with a third dam by Ambiorix II, so having Lavendula 3x4x5.

South Africa also had a good winner in Dubai on Thursday with Bold Silvano (TrueNicks A+) winning the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (gr. III). He is by the German-bred Silvano (by Lomitas, by Niniski, by Nijinsky II, from a John C. Mabee family), who is now doing very well as a sire in South Africa. Bold Silvano is the second graded winner from only 12 starters sired by Silvano out of Al Mufti mares. The UAE 1,000 Guineas saw a one-two from Galileo, with Mahbooba beating Reem. Both are from Galileo’s Australian crops and trained by South African Mike de Kock for Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum. Mahbooba (TrueNicks A++) is out of a Red Ransom mare, and from the family of Lady’s Secret. Australia also supplied the Al Shindagha Sprint winner Dynamic Blitz, a seven-year-old son of Elusive Quality (TrueNicks,SRO) out of Assertive Lass (a dual grade I winner and dam of Australian Guineas (gr. I) winner and sire Reset (AUS) (TrueNicks)).

Filed under: Australian Racing, Asian Racing

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