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The ups and downs of international sire lines
IN 1981, the year in which his cornerstone book “The Classic Racehorse” was published, the late Peter Willett penned an article which we reprinted in the June-July issue of International Thoroughbred in which he pondered how a relatively small number of sires have wielded a disproportionate influence on the development of the thoroughbred.
In a four-part series, Alan Porter has been discussing how pedigrees, sire lines and genetic knowledge have developed since Willett’s work and in this article, part three, he charts the rise and falls of sire lines across the globe
NUREYEV, as we have mentioned in the earlier parts of this series, was a three-quarters brother to Sadler’s Wells, and he was a very good stallion without reaching the heights of his close relative. He didn’t have the same success as a sire of sires as Sadler’s Wells, but has an important enduring line via Polar Falcon and Pivotal to Siyouni, who already has one French Derby (and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe) winner Sottsass at stud, with another, this year’s star St. Mark’s Basilica, in line to join him.
Storm Bird’s son Storm Cat started at a modest stud fee when he retired in 1988, but by the early years of the new century his asking price had soared to $500,000.
His best racing son the “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway has had a major impact in Europe through Shamardal and his son Lope De Vega, both of whom have promising young sons at stud.
In the US, Giant’s Causeway earned three leading sires’ titles, but hasn’t had an outstanding stallion son, although Not This Time made a very promising start with his first two-year-olds in 2020.
Instead, on that side of the Atlantic, the Storm Cat line has a more surprising flagbearer via Into Mischief, who descends from Storm Cat through Harlan and Harlan’s Holiday, both of whom died prematurely.
Into Mischief did win the CashCall Futurity (G1) at two, but started at a very modest fee. The now 16-year-old stallion has enjoyed a near-uninterrupted rise, and carried off the leading sires’ title in both 2019 and 2020, represented by the Horse of the Year, Kentucky Derby (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) victor Authentic in the most recent of those years.
Another international branch of the Storm Cat line, which might have a bright future, is that of the prematurely deceased Scat Daddy, who was by the “world-champion” two-year-old Johannesburg, who is by Storm Cat’s son Hennessy.
Scat Daddy’s sons at stud include No Nay Never, who has made an exceptional start in Europe, andin the US the undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify, whose first crop are yearlings of 2021.
The surprise package
A more surprising branch of the Northern Dancer line that has established enduring roots is that of Try My Best, a brother to the brilliant, but sub-fertile, El Gran Senor.
Although he was an undefeated champion and Dewhurst Stakes (G1) winner at two, after a disappointing three-year-old season, Try My Best was relatively lightly-regarded when he retired to stud.
He wasn’t particularly outstanding in that role either, but still managed to sire two sons who have existing sire lines, Last Tycoon and Waajib.
The horse who extended the line was the short-lived Iglesia, who is responsible for Written Tycoon, a Grade 2-winning sprinter, who has become one of the best speed sires in Australia, and has a red-hot young son in Capalist.
Waajib was only a second-class performer, but has a thriving male-line that comes down through Royal Applause to Acclamation and his sons Dark Angel and now Mehmas.
Deputy Minister and branches of Nasrullah fading away
One other branch of Northern Dancer line that rose rapidly but hasn’t fulfilled it’s promise and appears to be on the wane, is that of the champion two-year-old Deputy Minister, by many-time leading Canadian sire Vice Regent.
Deputy Minister was twice a leading sire, and left several stallion sons. Of those, only Awesome Again seems to have a shot of continuing the line, but it would require an outstanding son by either Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, or the close relatives Paynter and Oxbow.
Northern Dancer was a grandson of Nearco and at the time Willett wrote his article several other branches of Nearco, particularly those of Nasrullah and Royal Charger, had potentially bright futures.
Among branches of Nasrullah that have more or less faded from mainstream commercial breeding since then are those of Red God/Blushing Groom (despite being represented by horses such as Rainbow Quest, Rahy and Nashwan), Never Bend through Mill Reef and Riverman, and Princely Gift, a prolific sire of sires.
Nasrullah’s son Bold Ruler was a dominant sire line in the US in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and had a useful branch in Europe through Bold Lad, but despite What A Pleasure and Raja Baba earning sire premierships in the US, his line has rapidly boiled down to the one that comes down through Boldnesian, Bold Reasoning, Seattle Slew and A.P. Indy, whose grandson, Tapit, has been three-time leading sire in the US.
The Try My Best line is flourishing through Royal Applause, his son Acclamation (above) and his son Mehmas (below)
Another branch of the line through Bold Reasoning’s son Super Concorde, via Big Shuffle, prevailed in Germany with Big Shuffle’s very successful son Areion.His current four-year-old Alson was a Group 1 winner at two in France and has been retired to Guestüt Faehrhof.
Sad to say, although he appeared as broodmare sire of A.P. Indy, Storm Cat and Gone West, Bold Ruler’s greatest son Secretariat never got off the ground as a sire of sires.
Another son of Nasrullah, the wilful Grey Sovereign, has a line that was transplanted to the US with Caro’s French-raced Siberian Express. It has come down through In Excess and Indian Charlie to the champion two-year-old Uncle Mo whose son Nyquist, also a champion two-year-old and a Kentucky Derby (G1) winner at three, made a bright start with his first crop in 2020.
Royal Charger: gained importance through Turn-to and grandson Hail To Reason
Royal Charger, a three-quarters brother to Nasrullah, followed his kinsman to the US.
Inferior to Nasrullah as a runner and as a sire, Royal Charger turned into an important sire line influence through Turn-to, and that horse’s sons, Hail To Reason and Sir Gaylord.
Hail To Reason’s son Roberto won an Epsom Derby (G1) and has active lines in the US – Blame by Arch by Kris S., and Dynaformer. In Japan, he has Epiphaneia by Symboli Kris S. by Kris S., and the young horse Maurice, who is by Screen Hero by Grass Wonder by Silver Hawk.
In South Africa it is through Al Mufti and his son Captain Al, and in Australia and New Zealand via the various sons of Red Ransom.
Not as good a runner, but more significant in the big picture than Roberto was Hail To Reason’s son, Halo.
Best at middle-distances on Turf as an older horse, Halo sired a game-changing son in Sunday Silence. Although he earned honours as Horse of the Year and Champion Three-Year-Old in the US, Sunday Silence’s distaff pedigree and conformation saw him rejected by US breeders. Their loss was Japan’s gain and, effectively single-handedly, Sunday Silence raised the standard of horses to a point where there is little doubt that the level of their middle-distance and staying horses is second to none.
Several of Sunday Silence’s sons have been successful sires, including a horse that was at least his equal, Deep Impact. Not only a dominant sire in Japan, Deep Impact, who died in July 2019, has continued to build the international reputation of Japanese horses.
In Europe he’s had just 59 starters, but no less than 19 have won black-type events, 14 of them Group contests, including the 2,000 Guineas (G1) victor Saxon Warrior, Fancy Blue, successful in the Prix de Diane (G1), Study Of Man, winner of the Prix du JockeyClub (G1), Beauty Parlour, who captured the Poule D’Essai des Pouliches (G1), and this year’s runaway Epsom Oaks (G1) heroine, Snowfall.
Halo’s son Southern Halo was a dominating sire in Argentina and from a shuttle crop sired More Than Ready, a Grade 1-winning sprinter, who has been leading sire of two-year-olds in North America and Australia a total of three times.
Turn-to was also responsible for Secretariat’s very talented half-brother Sir Gaylord. He had two excellent stallion sons, Habitat and Sir Ivor, but both, with one shining exception, were poor sires of sires.
That one exception Sir Tristram was a fairly moderate racehorse, but standing in New Zealand he became a stallion sensation taking the Australian title six times, the majority of his best offspring crossing the Tasman to compete there.
Sir Tristram sired a legitimate heir in Zabeel, who was twice the leading sire in Australia, 11 times a leading sire in New Zealand by combined Australian and New Zealand earnings, and twice the leading sire in New Zealand by New Zealand earnings.
Pierro: the descendant of Sir Tristram is maintaining the Turn-to / Royal Charger line
Zabeel’s son Savabeel has been been leading sire in New Zealand five times, but the line is more likely to be extended by Pierro. By Zabeel’s grandson Lonhro, himself a leading sire in Australia, Pierro was a champion at two when his victories included the Golden Slipper (G1), and he was the highest rated three-year-old sprinter on the World Racehorse Rankings in 2013.
He already has 25 stakes winners in his first crop of three-years-old and up, six of them Grade 1 and, importantly for that part of the world, is flourishing when crossed with the all-conquering Danehill line.
Native Dancer: grandsire of Mr. Prospector, dam sire of Northern Dancer
The most glaring omission from Willett’s article was the name of Native Dancer, who since then has emerged as perhaps the pivotal sire of the second half of the last century – he’s not only broodmare sire of Northern Dancer, but through his son Raise A Native is paternal grandsire of Mr. Prospector.
At the time Willett’s article was written, Mr. Prospector was in his second season at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky where he’d moved after making a bright start in Florida. A brilliantly fast, if somewhat fragile individual, Mr. Prospector turned out to be not only an exceptional sire, but also an equally exceptional sire of sires.
His son Fappiano turned out to be a breed-changer in North America, one of the principal facilitators of the shift that has seen the American Classic Dirt horse develop into a tall, long-striding, on-pace, stretching-out miler type, many of those traits actually coming from Fappiano’s broodmare sire, the mighty Dr. Fager.
Through his Kentucky Derby-winning son Unbridled, Fappiano has established a line that comes down through Empire Maker and Pioneerof The Nile, to Triple Crown winner, American Pharoah.
The offspring from the first two crops of American Pharoah have proved much more effective on Turf than might have been anticipated, and a number have performed well in Europe. Indeed, it appears only a matter of time until American Pharoah has a son that will represent his sire line at highlevel on the European side of the Atlantic.
Unbridled’s most prolific stallion son was Unbridled’s Song but, one by one, his stallion sons have failed to make the grade, and it is now likely to be a question of whether his spectacular son Arrogate, who has first runners in 2021, can get an heir in the three crops he sired before his death in May 2020.
Fappiano’s durable son Cryptoclearance sired the minor stakes winner Ride The Rails, who went to Argentina where he came up with Argentine champion miler, Candy Ride.
That horse retained his unbeaten record in three starts in the US, notably while soundly defeating Medaglia D’Oro in the Pacific Classic (G1). Starting at a modest fee, he has gone on to prove himself a top-class sire.
His son Twirling Candy is responsible for the 2021 Belmont Stakes (G1) victor Rombauer and there are several other good young sons of Candy Ride in the pipeline.
Gone West: a sire for all surfaces
If Fappiano, until recently, had been principally a North American Dirt phenomenon, we can’t say the same for Mr. Prospector’s son Gone West, who has successful branches on both surfaces, and in several countries.
Of his many successful sons we can particularly note Elusive Quality, who did well on both sides of the Atlantic and has a top-class US son in Quality Road, the champion US sprinter Speightstown, who similarly has achieved at a high level in the US and Europe and has a good US-based son in Munnings, the very successful European stallion Zafonic.
His son Iffraaj has a stand-out son in Wootton Bassett, who is already represented at stud by Almanzor, and Western Winter, who has a sire line in South Africa.
Native Dancer aka the “Grey Ghost”: he ran 22 times, won 21 races and was a three-time champion
Various branches of Mr. Prospector and sire Raise A Native
The Mr. Prospector son Machiavellian sired the Dubai World Cup (G1) hero Street Cry, who completed the unusual feat of achieving a leading sires’ title in Australia, and getting a champion two-year-old and Kentucky Derby (G1) hero Street Sense in the US.
Other branches of Mr. Prospector we can note include Forty Niner, whose line is best carried on by Distorted Humor and sons, the European-raced Kingmambo, who had a Classic-winning champion and successful US sire in Lemon Drop Kid, but who has been a stronger influence in Japan through King Kamehameha. He has the excellent Lord Kanaloa and the promising Rulership to represent him.
The Mr. Prospector son Smart Strike has the Classic-winning champions Curlin and Lookin At Lucky, and the champion Turf horse English Channel, all of whom remarkably have all sired Classic winners.
And finally Seeking the Gold, whose line most notably comes down through the short-lived Dubai Millennium to Dubawi, the nearest thing to a rival that Galileo has had during the last decade or so.
There is one other branch that comes down via Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes scorer Majestic Prince through Majestic Light, Wavering Monarch, the champion two-year-old Maria’s Mon, and Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, Super Saver (now standing in Turkey).
The future of the line in the US appears to depend on champion sprinter Runhappy, whose first crop is now three, or the undefeated Happy Saver, who defeated older horses in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) at three last year, and who is still in training.
The fate of other branches of Eclipse, as far as principal racing countries is concerned, appears likely to be similar to that of the male line descendents of the Godolphin Arabian and the Byerley Turk.
Mr. Prospector: was an “exceptional sire, but also an equally exceptional sire of sires”
Hyperion lost
When I was first in the industry, just a few years before Willett penned his article, Hyperion had several thriving branches, including Tudor Minstrel, a leading source of speed in Europe, and the-then apparently rising Forli branch that was dominant in Australia via Star Kingdom, whose line had even supplied a leading sire in North America in Nodouble.
Hyperion’s male line has all but disappeared, but for what might be a last flare up via Spirit Of Boom (by Sequalo by Rustic Amber by Thatching by Forli’s son, Thatch) in Australia.
Hyperion’s great-grandsire Bay Ronald also had lines coming down through Teddy to Damascus in the US (and which looked promising 25 years ago, but is now down to a trickle) and the German branch which enjoyed considerable success with Surumu and his son Acatenango, but also appears unlikely to persevere.
Another Eclipse line that had significant representation but is probably going to rely on something emerging from Germany is that of Blandford, who is likely to need something from the Monsun line to break out if it’s to survive.
Likely to effectively disappear in the next decade or so is the oldest native American sire line that of Eclipse (the imported 1855 son of Orlando, not the 1764 horse that stands at the head of all these lines).
There were two branches of this line: one via Domino that supplied a leading North American sire Broad Brush as recently as 1994, and the other branch which came down via Plaudit. It produced yielded Holy Bull, the 1994 Horse of the Year in the US. The new century has not been kind to either, despite Holy Bull’s grandson Mucho Macho Man taking the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) in 2013.
