Turf Monthly August 2021 by turfmonthly

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TURF

August 2021

THIS MONTH

THE MEMSIE STAKES LORD- THE MELBOURNE CHAMPION MORE FRESHMAN SIRES 2021 ANOTHER GREAT RACE IN HISTORY

Editor’s Letter

It is the start of a new racing season, and we approach this one with a lot more confidence than we did a year ago. While COVID-19 is still impacting our lives, and the racing industry, there is a confidence that at least there is a pathway forward. In the bloodstock industry as opposed to the racing industry, one of the major changes over the last year has been the exponential growth of online sales. There are always significant risks in buying horses from photographs but, while the medium now also includes video, this lack of physical assessment seems not to worry all that many. Regularly though we see horses being sold with some things not being disclosed. We can only hope that the industry will now get serious about the mandatory disclosure of treatments to horses and foals. I have long argued that there is a desperate need for a “Thoroughbred Passport” for every foal born. Not only should every procedure be recorded, but drug administration must also be recorded. If we want to ensure that drug use is wiped from the industry, we can extend this sampling to include regular blood and DNA sampling that can be retested from time to time against modern scientific advancements. There is no doubt that many past winners are likely to test positive to substances that there was no testing for at the time. This will only be achieved when administrators agree on what clean racing looks like. A substance like Lasix is freely used in the USA and reduces the incidence of bleeding, as well as having a positive impact on performance. It is extremely likely that the masking effect of this type of drug can have a major influence on the future of the breed where horses with genetic weaknesses suffer no consequence on the racetrack. They are then free to pass on this factor to their progeny impacting the overall health of the breed. In Australia, Lasix is banned on raceday but is frequently used when a horse is in the paddock and even in training. It becomes an artform as to when to cease administration of this type of “supplement” so as not to test positive. There will always be those willing to push the limits, but racing’s great heritage is that all horses play on a level playing field. As an industry it is in our own best interests ultimately that the sport is as fair and as clean as we can make it. Not only for the people involved, but more importantly for the horses and ultimately the long term health of the breed.

CONTENTS 4

Memsie Stakes

Rising Fast

Lord

The Family Of Lord

More Freshman Stallions

Bivouac

Ghaiyyath

Hanseatic

King’s Legacy

Pinatubo

Russian Camelot

Tagaloa

Great Races - 1992 Caulfield Cup

Cover Image RUSSIAN CAMELOT standing at Widden Stud Victoria 2021

Until next month

Turf Monthly ABN 64 892 144 940 Phone 0412 712 181

Email editor@turfmonthly.com.au Unit 4/125 West St Menzies Qld 4825

TURF MONTHLY 3

MEMSIE STAKES SPRING IS HERE

he Memsie Stakes is most likely named after an area just outside of Melbourne that , in turn, was named for a region in Scotland. Primarily, Memsie was an estate that covered some 35,000 acres and raised sheep. The original buildings still exist but the estate has been broken up over the years. There was also a gold mining lease in the region that existed for many years. The race named after the region was first run in 1899 and was a rather subdued affair. The first running was won by Veneda who caused something of an upset by beating the odds on favourite Kobold who was ahead at the furlong mark. The second year saw a dead heat and connections of the winning horses chose not to compete in a run-off which was a common practice at the time. Rather they agreed to split the prize. There was a second dead heat in 1936 when Charles Fox and Valiant Chief could not be separated by the Judge.

he original race was run over a mile, but it changed in the second year when the distance was increased to 9 furlongs (1800m). It stayed over the same trip until 1971 when it was reduced to 8 furlongs, and it shifted to 1600m the following year when metric measurements came into force. By 1980, the race was reduced further to 1400m which is where it remains to this day. It is importantly the first Group 1 in Victoria for the new racing season and it attracts a diverse field that often includes runners with an eye towards the bigger riches later in the Spring. The race was classified as a Principal race until the Black Type classification was introduced in 1979. The Memsie was first rated as Group 2 but was upgraded to Group 1 in 2013. As an indication of the quality of the race, the last winner who did not also win a Group 1 race was Mic Mac in 2009.

The homestead of ‘Memsie’ station on the banks of the Loddon River.

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Memsie Stakes 1933 Waltzing Lily

he Honour Roll of the race is a who’s who of Victorian racing. We had to wait until 1921 to see a horse win the race on more than one occasion. The first was Eurythmic (AUS) who won the race three times in 1920–22. Next was another champion in Heroic (AUS) (1925/26) while the underrated Waltzing Lily (AUS) won in 1933 and 1934. In 1938-40, the famed Ajax won the race three times and then it was the turn of one of our Melbourne Cup winners in Comic Court who won in both 1949 and 1950. Coppice won twice in 1954 and 1955 and then it was the exceptional Lord who won four years straight from 1958 to 1961. We talk more about Lord a little later in this edition. Yangtze won in 1965/66 and it was not until Sir Boom won in 1999, having had a three year gap since his first win in 1996, that we saw the feat repeated. Sunline won in both 2000 and 2001 and is the last horse to win two Memsie Stakes.

Heroic returning to scale after the Memsie

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Memsie Stakes 1961 Lord

lot of the winners we see are trained in Melbourne. Not all that many Sydney horses make the trip south as they prefer to stay at home until the big races of the carnival roll around and the big stables head south for the Cups. With a view to the big Spring races, especially as an 1800m (9 furlong) race, it looked like it was established with a view to the Cups in mind. We must remember that the Cox Plate was not run until 1922 meaning that there were a lot of good winners of the race that probably would have gone close to winning that type of race. The Memsie Stakes interestingly has only ever been won six times by horses that have won the Melbourne Cup. They were Makybe Diva, Galilee, Comic Court, Hall Mark, Phar Lap and Artilleryman. Only three of these were in the same year with these being Makybe Diva (2005), Comic Court (1950) and Artilleryman (1919).

he Caulfield Cup is another race that looked to have the Memsie as an obvious stepping-stone. It does however prove that any horse capable of winning any of the big race doubles must be of the highest quality. The last horse to win the Memsie Stakes-Caulfield Cup double was Silver Bounty in 1977. The late advent of the WS Cox Plate limited our early champions. Nevertheless, Memsie winners have a good record in the Cox Plate, though not necessarily in the same year. Those that have won the Memsie/Cox Plate double in the same year are truly some of the greats of the Australian turf. The feat has been achieved seven times, but interestingly four of these have been since 1987. The first was Heroic in 1926. He had won the Memsie in 1925 but did not compete in the Cox Plate that year. In 1926 Heroic who had

Memsie Stakes 1931 Phar Lap TURF MONTHLY 6

Memsie Stakes 1935 Hall Mark

been quite the rogue at the barriers had improved his manners but had only three starts in the Spring of that year winning the Underwood, Memsie and Cox Plate all as an odds-on favourite. The second winner of that double was the legendary Phar Lap who won both races in the Spring of 1931 when he was almost unbeatable. He had started the Spring with a win in the Underwood Stakes before his dominant win in the Memsie Stakes on 5 September. Between then and winning the Cox Plate on 24 October, Phar Lap had won four races in Sydney in the Hill Stakes, Spring Stakes, Craven Plate and Randwick Plate over 3200m (16f). He won the Melbourne Stakes a week later before running eighth to the remarkable Shadow King in the 1931 Melbourne Cup when carrying 10.1 (64kg). That was to be his last run in Australia. It was not long before the sensational Ajax, himself a son of the first dual winner in Heroic, repeated the dose. Ajax won the Memsie in both 1938 and 1939. In 1938 the Memsie and Cox Plate were part of his 18 race winning streak which had started with the Linlithgow Stakes in November 1937 and ended in him being beaten by Spear Chief in the Rawson Stakes on 15 March 1939. His defeat at 40/1 on means he is still the shortest priced favourite to have ever been beaten in a stakes race in Australia. Ajax went on to win the Memsie Stakes again in 1939 but injury prevented him from racing again that Spring.

he double was not achieved for another 50 years with Rubiton stamping himself a top line galloper through his successes in both of these races in 1987. He won

Memsie Stakes 1940 Ajax TURF MONTHLY 7

Memsie Stakes 1949 Comic Court

six of his seven starts as a 4yo in 1987 winning the Manikato, Feehan, Underwood and Mackinnon on top of these two races. His only defeat that season came when he ran third to Drought in the Caulfield Stakes, and Rubiton had his last race start at the end of October that year. The champion mare Sunline won both races in 2000 as the NZer made a claim of being the world’s best racemare. Sunline had won the Cox Plate the previous year but arguably 2000 was the pinnacle of her career. Then a 5yo, the mare started her Spring by winning the Manikato, Memsie and Feehan Stakes before she was surprisingly beaten at 9/4 on by Fairway in the Turnbull Stakes. She bounced back to win her second Cox Plate. Sunline won the Breeders Stakes in NZ a month later and went to Hong Kong in December to win the Hong Kong Mile in a stirring battle with local hero Fairy King Prawn. The following Autumn she won the Waikato Sprint in NZ before winning the Apollo Stakes in Sydney. An ambitious tilt at the Dubai Duty Free followed where she finished third to Jim And Tonic before she returned to Sydney to run third behind El Mirada as the 13/4 on favourite in the All-Aged Stakes. The following Spring she won the Memsie Stakes for the second time and was second in the Cox Plate in a rough house affair which saw her and third placegetter, Viscount, lodge objections against the winner Northerly. Sunline had her final race start in the 2002 Cox Plate and finished fourth, again beaten by Northerly.

n 2005, it was another champion mare in Makybe Diva who repeated the dose. The Memsie was her only stakes win under 2000m. She had won the Melbourne Cup in 2003 and 2004. She had twice contested the Caulfield Cup for a fourth behind Mummify and a second to Elvstroem. In 2005, following two unplaced runs in Japan in the Australian Autumn, Makybe Diva returned for her last campaign as a 7yo mare. She surprised many by winning the Memsie first up and was then second to Lad Of The Manor in the Feehan Stakes. She then won the Turnbull Stakes before an impressive win in the Cox Plate where she started an even money favourite and downed Lotteria. Her final start was in the 2005 Melbourne Cup where she won her record third Cup. We had only to wait five years for So You Think to win the double in 2010. He had already won the Cox Plate as a 3yo in 2009 but had not raced in the Autumn. He returned in the Spring to sensationally win

TURF MONTHLY 8

Heroic on rails beating Manfred in the 1926 Memsie Stakes

the Memsie at his first run back from a spell beating Whobegotyou. So You Think followed that with wins in the Underwood and Yalumba Stakes before winning his second Cox Plate beating Zipping. A win in the Mackinnon Stakes was followed by a third in the Melbourne Cup behind Americain which proved to be the stallion’s last start in Australia. He won four of his first five starts in the UK which included the Eclipse Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes before finishing fourth to Danedream in the Arc De Triomphe. After a second in the Champion Stakes at Ascot, he went to the US to run sixth in the Breeders Cup at Churchill Downs. A spell saw him return in the Dubai World Cup in March 2012 finishing fourth behind Monterosso before winning the Gold Cup at the Curragh and the Prince Of Wales Stakes at Ascot and retiring to a successful stud career.

e have a video of the ten top Memsie Stakes from RACING.COM that is of interest. Every list is subjective and there could be some other races included, but then again all are worthy of watching again. Luckily, they have included all of those who went on to win the Cox Plate in more recent times and the video is well worth watching just for these alone.

Memsie Top 10 by RACING.COM TURF MONTHLY 9

RISING FAST

A REMARKABLE CAREER

TURF MONTHLY 10

or the history books, to date there is only one horse that has won all four of these races in the Memsie, Cox Plate, Caulfield Cup, and Melbourne Cup. The horse was the remarkable Rising Fast who is also the only horse to have ever won the big Spring treble which he completed in 1954. Another NZ bred galloper, Rising Fast won the Caulfield Cup for a second time in 1955, and he went on to win the Memsie in 1956 as a 7yo. Rising Fast did not come to Australia until a Winter 4yo where he had five races in Brisbane with his first start a fourth to Karendi in the Stradbroke. He did not win his first race in Brisbane until the Barnes Stakes at Eagle Farm over 2000m. This was his first start as a 5yo on 7 August 1954. It was less than a month later that he started in the Memsie in Melbourne and was beaten by Coppice over the 1800m. Rising Fast then went back to a mile to win the Feehan Stakes beating the unlucky Cromis. A second in the Underwood Stakes was followed by wins in the Turnbull Stakes and Caulfield Stakes, both times beating Cromis. He beat a field of 18 in the Caulfield Cup as the 7/4 favourite and then won the Cox Plate, this time at the odds of 11/8. A win in the Mackinnon again beating Cromis when the 3/1 on favourite was followed by a commanding victory in the Melbourne Cup where he had the steadier of 59.5k, running again as favourite this time at 5/2. Rising Fast rounded off his Spring with a win on the following Saturday in the Fisher Plate over 2400m when he was again a heavy favourite at 5/4 on. A spell saw him run three seconds in the St George Stakes, Queen Plate and Queen Elizabeth in Melbourne in the Autumn, each time starting a short-priced favourite. He won the Carbine Stakes over 3600m at Flemington again at odds-on before going to Sydney to finish second in the Autumn Stakes and then a disappointing eighth in the Sydney Cup of 1955.

ising Fast returned as a 6yo to run fourth to Coppice in the Memsie and another fourth in the Craiglee this time behind old rival Cromis. This was followed by a dead heat for second in the Underwood again behind old Cromis and a second to an emerging star called Redcraze in the Turnbull. Rising Fast then won the Herbert Power and was second in the Caulfield Stakes before winning his second Caulfield Cup carrying 61.5kg. A sixth in the Cox Plate behind Kingster was followed by a win in the Mackinnon. He lined up for his second Melbourne Cup starting at 2/1 favourite despite being burdened with 63.5kg (10 stone). Rising Fast put up a gallant effort in running second to Toparoa who had only 48kgs in the race. Four days later he was sent out the 10/9 on favourite to win his second Fisher Plate. A break saw him return for an unplaced run over the 1200m of the William Reid before he won the CF Orr and Blamey Stakes. The gelding returned for his final campaign the following Spring, starting off with an unplaced run in the 1400m Liston Stakes. He then completed his remarkable quadrella by winning the Memsie Stakes beating Sailor’s Guide. This was followed by unplaced runs in the Craiglee and Underwood Stakes, but a second in the Caulfield Stakes saw him start favourite in the Cox Plate. He ran a good second to Ray Ribbon in that race and was then fifth in the Mackinnon and also in the Melbourne Cup behind Evening Peal. A change in programming saw him compete over 2400m the following Saturday to finish fourth behind Sailor’s Guide in the Pentathlon Stakes. A week later he had his final race start in the Fisher Plate although it was now run over 2400m. He finished fifth in a field of six again behind Sailor’s Guide to cap off a remarkable career.

TURF MONTHLY 11

LORD

THE MELBOURNE CHAMPION

n many ways, Lord is one of the forgotten champions of the Australian turf. Everyone remembers him in passing, but there always seems to be something more important that happened around him. For example, he was the horse beaten by the legendary Tulloch in that champion’s return from his illness that almost claimed his life. The great Lord won the Memsie Stakes four year’s running but in an era when such feats are not acclaimed the way they are now. Zipping won the Sandown Classic on four occasions and the race was renamed in his honour. Perhaps it was the fact that Lord was considered a “Melbourne” champion that was his downfall when it came to his place in history, but what a place in history the gallant old gelding deserves.

ord started his career as a 2yo on 29 December 1956 winning the Granville Stakes over 1100m. He was a wilful youngster according to his trainer, Ken Hilton who said that he would buck, pigroot, shy and bolt given the chance. “His habits are not nasty, it’s just that he likes to think he’s boss,” said Hilton in The Argus newspaper after his win. Two weeks later he stepped out again at Caulfield over the same trip to be beaten a half-head by Ace High in the first division of the Juvenile Stakes. Ace High was the early favourite and had already won two races, but Lord was backed in to 6/4 on the day of the race. Lord bounced back with two more wins in the Sturt Handicap and Trenton Stakes, but went to the paddock after a fifth in the Merson

TURF MONTHLY 13

Lord’s first start

Cooper over 1200m, a race that saw Tulloch finish second to Cherete. Lord had only four starts as a Spring 3yo with his best result a second to Matrice over 1500m in the Windsor Handicap at Caulfield. The Autumn also got off to an ordinary start, but he was to win three of his last four starts to regain some of his early prestige. He had won six of sixteen starts in his first two seasons, and few expected what was to come.

ord kicked off his 4yo season winning a handicap at Caulfield over 1200m. He then faced up to his toughest test, the JJ Liston Stakes over 1400m on a heavy track. Here Lord recorded his first stakes win beating Young Idealist in a field of fourteen. This was to be the geldings first win at Flemington. Next up he again beat Young Idealist in the first of his Memsie Stakes wins. The race was run on 6 September 1958 over 1800m on a good track at Caulfield and he started the 11/8 on favourite. Two weeks later he won the Underwood again, at Caulfield this time over 2000m, beating Lord Gavin by four lengths. Next it was the Caulfield Stakes beating the unlucky Prince Darius, who had long been the understudy to Tulloch by only a half-head when back to the 1800m. His unbeaten run of six races came to an end in the Mackinnon Stakes over 2000m when he ran second to Monte Carlo when the 6/4 favourite at Flemington on the Saturday before the Melbourne Cup. Lord started again on Oaks Day when a tiring seventh to glamour NSW filly Wiggle who had bypassed the Oaks due to poor form in Melbourne. Lord had started at 5/4 on and was remarkably one of four odds-on favourites to have been beaten that day in a nightmare day for punters.

short spell saw Lord return to the track in January 1959 winning the CF Orr over 1400m and turning the tables on Wiggle who was two lengths adrift of the 10/9 favourite. This was followed by wins in the St George Stakes over 1800m before lumping 66.5kg to beat Skyline in his second Caulfield Stakes win. Lord then journeyed to Sydney for his first and last time. He had two starts there, running second to Caesar in the Chipping Norton at Warwick Farm over 2000m before winning the All-Aged Stakes over 1600m this time beating Bold Pilot by two lengths on a heavy track at Randwick. Lord finished his 4yo season with nine wins, two seconds and one unplaced run from twelve starts. The champion returned as a 5yo to run second behind the 20/1 shot Gay Saba in the JJ Liston Stakes over 1400m. He made amends at his next start, beating that same horse over the 1800m at Caulfield to chalk up his second win in the Memsie Stakes. A half-length second at 9/2 on in the Underwood was followed by another win over 1800m at Caulfield, this time in the Caulfield Stakes before he failed in the Linlithgow Stakes behind Noholme over 1600m at Flemington. Another let up followed and Lord returned in the Autumn to

TURF MONTHLY 14

win the CF Orr over 1400m and the St George Stakes over 1800m at Caulfield this time getting revenge on Noholme. Next up was his famous second to Tulloch in the Queen’s Plate at Flemington when beaten in a close photo. He finished off his five year old season with a third placing in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2400m with the margins being a short half head by a short half head.

s a 6yo, Lord returned again in the JJ Liston finishing fourth before winning his third Memsie Stakes, again on a heavy track by one length from Olive Branch as the 11/8 on favourite. He then beat that horse again in the Underwood Stakes and then dead-heated with the very good Dhaulagiri in the Caulfield Stakes which he also won for a third time. Lord then ran a good second to Tulloch in the Mackinnon Stakes before again failing in the Linlithgow at Flemington when taken back to the 1600m. The Autumn saw him run second in the William Reid over 1200m and he was then fourth in the CF Orr. He was second in both the St George Stakes and Futurity before winning the Queen’s Plate by a half head from Dhaulagiri. Another second, this time in the Queen Elizabeth over the 2400m behind that same horse beaten by a half length finished off his season. Now a 7yo, it looked like time might have been catching up with Lord when he started off a new Spring by finishing unplaced in both the Moondah Plate and JJ Liston. But back to his favourite 1800m at Caulfield Lord won his fourth Memsie Stakes in another close finish this time beating Anonyme by a half head. He then won the Craiglee over 2000m at Flemington, getting home by a neck from Aquanita. He then finished sixth behind that horse in the Underwood Stakes which saw connections put him away until the Autumn. Another slow start to his campaign ensued and he was unplaced in both the William Reid and St George Stakes, the first time he had ever been unplaced over the 1800m at Caulfield. He bounced back to win the Queen’s Plate and Queen Elizabeth Stakes to again head to the paddock.

s a rising 8yo, it was another unplaced run in the Kambrook over 1200m on 21 July 1962 in an early start to his Spring campaign. Another unplaced run in the St Aubin Handicap saw Lord line up for his fifth Memsie Stakes. Webster ran an Australian record for the 1800m and the old champion was beaten less than a length in finishing third. He followed that by running third behind Aquanita in the Craiglee and Underwood Stakes before finishing fourth in the Turnbull Stakes

Lord Craiglee Stakes 1961 TURF MONTHLY 15

again behind the seemingly invincible Aquinita. Back at the 1800m at Caulfield in the Caulfield Stakes, Lord finished third to Sky High who equalled the Australian record of Webster earlier that season which was an unusually dry one for Melbourne. Lord finished just over a length from the winner. A fifth in the Mackinnon again behind Aquinita finished off his Spring. The Autumn started off with a fourth over 1100m at Caulfield behind Lure. He was unplaced twice behind Aquanita in the Duke of Edinburgh and St George Stakes before running third to Stipulate over the 2000m of the Queen’s Plate. Lord then returned to the winner’s circle on 16 March 1963, for the first time in almost exactly a year, in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes over 2400m at Flemington. Starting at 9/1, Lord won by a neck from Stipulate who was the 2/1 on favourite. He was again sent for a well-deserved rest.

ord came back for his final Spring on 3 August 1963. He had three unplaced runs between 1200m and 1400m before lining up for his final Memsie Stakes. This one was a little different though in that it was now being run over 2000m. He was to finish second behind Coppelius, beaten a head, to establish an amazing record in that race with four wins and two placings from his six attempts. Lord then finished third in the Craiglee and Underwood Stakes before finishing fourth to Summer Fair in the Mackinnon Stakes. He faced the starter for the final time a week later, again at Flemington when he also finished fourth behind Summer Fair over 2400m in the CB Fisher Plate. That was the 9 November 1963 bringing to a close a remarkable career. In all Lord started 80 times for 28 wins, 13 seconds and 11 thirds with all bar two of these being in Melbourne. He started only twice at Moonee Valley so it is quite incredible that the gelding had 76 of his starts at either Caulfield or Flemington. Over his favourite distance of 1800m at Caulfield, Lord started 13 times. He won nine times over the course and distance, including his first eight attempts. Lord was only ever unplaced once at the trip. The grand old gelding was certainly a crowd favourite in his hometown and with good reason. In 1996 the Melbourne Racing Club renamed the Hopetoun Stakes, a Listed race over 1800m the Lord Stakes in honour of the great horse. Rather ironically, the race was reduced in distance in 2003 to 1700m. From 2013 to 2016 it was reduced again to 1600m, but has since returned to 1700m. Lord was to become a good showjumper on retirement from racing and lived to the ripe old age of 32.

Lord and Ace High at the 400m of the Juvenile Stakes TURF MONTHLY 16

Lord has a moderately inbred pedigree (7.42%) which features a 5fx4m cross of the legendary stallion, Teddy. Teddy appears in the female line of Djebel, Lord’s grandsire, and through his dam’s sire line. Within six generations we also see another of the great stallions in Bayardo duplicated through two sons in Gay Crusader and Gainsborough. Bayardo notably is a son of Bay Ronald, and we see that Teddy features Bay Ronald as his damsire. Within six generations we see four lines of Bay Ronald with two of these being through Bayardo, one through Teddy, and one through arguably his best son in Dark Ronald. Chaucer appears in the pedigree as the damsire of Pharos who appears in the female line of Targui, and as the damsire of Son O’Mine who is the damsire of Broadway, Lord’s dam. We also note the presence of a sex-balanced cross of Rabelais in the sixth generation. He stood in France and had a remarkable career winning the Sires’ Title there three times between 1909 and 1926. Rabelais may play a more important role than we may suspect as he was a son of St Simon, one of the most influential sires we have ever seen, and he actually appears 15 times in the pedigree of Lord between the sixth and ninth generations

LORD

THE FAMILY CONTINUES

ord was born in NZ, by the imported stallion Targui out of the Australian bred mare Broadway. Targui was a French stallion who had won the Prix la Bourse over 2400m. He was to prove a valuable stallion siring 22 stakes winners although arguably none better than Lord. One of his best progeny was Cadiz who won five stakes races in NZ before coming to Australia to win the Linlithgow Stakes in 1960. He was sold to the US where he won the famed Hollywood Gold Cup and was twice winner of the Californian Stakes. Another of the stallion’s stakes winners was Future who won eleven stakes races in Melbourne including the 1964 Memsie Stakes, the Futurity, CF Orr, Caulfield Stakes and two Underwood Stakes. Targui also produced Havelock who won the Craiglee, CF Orr, and Underwood Stakes as well as the Queen’s Plate and MRC Easter Cup. The stallion was particularly notable being by the champion stallion Djebel out of a daughter of Pharis called Palencia who had won the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches at Longchamp. Lord’s dam Broadway by Actor produced the stakes winners Filgaro who won the Ascot Vale Stakes and Savoy who won the MRC Victoria Handicap. Regular readers may remember Actor as a stallion who saw his damsire as Achtoi who in turn saw the legendary Martini Henry, a son of Musket and Sylvia as his damsire. The dam of Broadway was Filial by Son O’Mine by Son In Law. She was a half-sister to Nalda who had won the 1935 VRC Oaks. Their dam was the imported Ravissante by Gainsborough out of Seraphic. A half-sister to Seraphic in Fairy Ray by Radium went to the US where her daughter Marguerite by Celt produced four stakes winners in Fighting Fox,

Gallant Fox TURF MONTHLY 18

Omaha

Foxborough, Petee-Wrack and the legendary US Triple Crown winner, Gallant Fox. Gallant Fox won a total of eleven stakes races including his three-year-old treble in 1930 but was immortalised by producing Omaha in his first crop who was to also go on to win the Triple Crown in 1935. Lines of this family travelled to Australia to give us horses like Magic Millions winner, Brave Warrior, VRC and SAJC Derby winner, Rebel Raider, promising stallion, Shamoline Warrior, and more recently the 2014 Golden Slipper winning filly, Mossfun.

roadway was to leave her own legacy in Australia. She left five daughters who all produced lines of their own that endured for a time. The most successful though have been a full sister to Lord in Broadlea, and a half-sister by Smokey Eyes called Movie Queen. Broadlea produced two stakes winners in Gilt Patten who won five

Brave Warrior Phar Lap Stakes 1994 TURF MONTHLY 19

stakes races including the 1975 All-Aged Stakes which is interesting in that was the only race that Lord won outside of Melbourne, and Lord Rego who won the 1973 Queensland Cup. One of the most prominent lines she was to produce included the 2005 Golden Slipper winner Stratum by Redoute’s Choice who ended up having good success at stud despite passing at a relatively young age. He was at stud for only eleven seasons and produced 41 stakes winners including the 2010 Golden Slipper winner, Crystal Lily, multiple G1 winning mare, Streama, and emerging stallion, Stratum Star. Movie Queen was based in Queensland being by the famed Lyndhurst stallion, Smokey Eyes. She too created her own line that continues to provide quality offspring and was a mainstay at Woodlands Stud in the Hunter Valley. Her daughter Must Be In It won the STC McKell Cup and produced Ochiltree by Twig Moss who won the 1990 AJC Surround Stakes. In turn she produced Spinney by Octagonal who won four stakes races including the G2 Caulfield Autumn Classic and Alister Clark. It was especially fitting that the Autumn Classic was run over Lord’s favourite 1800m at Caulfield. Ochiltree is also the granddam of stakes winning siblings Complicate and El Cambio. Their sister, Cataclysm has also produced 2014 Blue Diamond Stakes winner, Earthquake by Exceed And Excel and Listed winners Palomares and Pandemic. Another line of Movie Queen produced the full brothers Count Encosta and Lieutenant who both won at G2 level in Sydney and Melbourne respectively. We can be confident that Lord’s family will continue to provide quality runners into the future, even if they do not match his own ability. Then again, there are few horses in history that have.

Spinney Tatts Cup

TURF MONTHLY 20

FRESHMAN

SIRES 2021

BIVOUAC GHAIYYATH HANSEATIC KING’S LEGACY PINATUBO RUSSIAN CAMELOT TAGALOA

BIVOUAC

ivouac enters stud at Darley in NSW as the most expensive of our unproven sires. Wootton Bassett commands a higher fee, but he has already performed well overseas. Another factor that sets Bivouac apart from the other Freshman Sires is that he raced 22 times, winning seven races from the ages of two until he retired as a 4yo. As with all stallions though, things aren’t always that straight forward.

e had his first start in the October of his 2yo season, running a good second to Time To Reign, the half-brother to She Will Reign who also goes to stud this season, although at a much lower fee. Bivouac then had a break and in his second campaign won the Listed Lonhro Plate over 1100m at Warwick Farm on a heavy track. A fourth in the Todman at his next start meant that he missed entry into the Golden Slipper and he got some consolation by winning the Kindergarten Stakes at Randwick on a soft 7. After a spell, Bivouac won the Vain Stakes in Melbourne, and then ran second in the San Domenico before winning the Run To Rose and Golden Rose, both times beating Yes Yes Yes. Back to Melbourne he took on the older horses to run sixth in the Manikato before finishing second to Exceedance in the G1 Coolmore. He ended the Spring as arguably Australia’s best sprinting 3yo.

ack for the Autumn, Bivouac was against the best in the land, running in five Group 1 races, winning the Newmarket and running third in the William Reid. As a 4yo, Bivouac started the Spring running third to Classique Legend in The Shorts before finishing second to that red-hot galloper in the rich Everest. Back to Melbourne he won the G1 VRC Classic beating Nature Strip. His final Autumn campaign saw him finish just behind the placegetters in the Lightning, Canterbury Stakes and TJ Smith, TURF MONTHLY 23

twice behind Nature Strip who had stamped himself as a class act. Bivouac was retired with over $5.5 million in prizemoney. Interestingly he won three times and was placed twice from only six starts on Soft tracks, but two of his three G1 wins were on Good tracks so perhaps there is little to be taken from that.

ivouac is a son of Exceed And Excel and we have seen eighteen sons of that stallion at stud in Australia prior to this season. While many are only new, his best son to date has been Helmet who now stands in the UK and produced Thunder Snow, a twice Dubai World Cup winner. Nevertheless, there must at least be some questions about the suitability of sons of this stallion at stud. When we look at the female family of Bivouac, we see that he is out of the More Than Ready mare, Dazzler. She has also produced Coruscate, a winner of two Listed races in Melbourne last year. His second dam is Camarilla by Elusive Quality who won the Blue Diamond Prelude for Fillies and the AJC Sires’ Produce. She has also produced two stakes winners in Todman victor, Ghibellines and multiple G1 winner Guelph also by Exceed And Excel. In turn, Camarilla is out of the Danehill mare, Camarena who won the Queensland Derby and Guineas. At stud she also produced Geelong Classic winner, Induna. As impressive as this seems, the family gets better with her dam being Canny Miss by Marscay. She is the dam of Watchful who produced the excellent racehorse and good sire, Sepoy. More importantly, Canny Miss is a three-quarter sister to Canny Lad and Canny Lass making this one of the best Australian families of the last thirty years.

f we look closely at the pedigree of Bivouac, we see that Danehill is present through both his son Exceed And Excel and his daughter, Camarena. With such a strong Danehill influence, it does create some concerns as to his future, especially given that his sire has yet to prove himself as an important sire of sires. Being based in NSW, Bivouac will certainly find plenty of Danehill line mares, but we must question the wisdom of breeding back to that stallion. Even pushing that stallion back into pedigrees, such as in the case of his grandson Snitzel, this must still be considered a high risk strategy. The possible exception would be in the case of Snitzel who we see as a son of Redoute’s Choice and has Canny Lad as his damsire. Canny Lad is readily available in modern pedigrees through his presence as the damsire of I Am Invincible, and utilising daughters of that stallion appears a much sounder strategy in the long run.

t seems that we are most likely going to see the stallion have his best success with mares that are free of Danehill lines which reduces the broodmare pool for him. One advantage that he does have is that he stands at Darley, his breeders, who have imported some wonderful influences over the years that have complemented Danehill lines. Street Cry, Street Boss, Shamardal and Dubawi are just some of the stallions who have shuttled, and these lines look to be the ones that will make or break the stallion. When we include other non-Danehill lines like Octagonal and Lonhro, Darley look to have a stallion that may appeal to many of their past clients.

t is not all Darley-centric though, and the lesson of Sepoy is one that needs to be explored. Elusive Quality was a good racehorse and sire, but his performances in Australia did not match his US results. The US lines that we have seen over the years are likely to play a role if Bivouac is to succeed in Australia. If we add to that additional UK lines like High Chaparral, we see a mix of mares that could take advantage of the obvious quality of the stallion and his bloodlines. The big question is whether the narrower broodmare band that will suit will enable him to achieve long term success. We can though rest assured that Darley will have a host of quality mares to give him every chance.

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The pedigree of Bivouac is one of the most heavily inbred that we have seen (17.67%). It is dominated by a duplication of Danehill through both the stallion’s male and female tail sire lines. If we look a little more closely, we see that both sire Exceed And Excel and dam Dazzler are quite heavily inbred at 12.50% and 11.33% respectively. In the case of Exceed And Excel it is through Northern Dancer who appears in the sire line of both his sire and dam. With Dazzler, we see Mr Prospector closely duplicated. We also should note that there are two further lines of Northern Dancer in the pedigree of Dazzler, and it may be important that one of these was through his daughter, Northern Sea, the dam of Southern Halo. We also see multiple lines of Natalma, the dam of Northern Dancer, and her dam, Almahmoud which underlines the influence that Southern Halo may have played in the pedigree. We also see two lines of Buckpasser, who appears in the pedigree of Northern Dancer and Woodman, a son of Mr Prospector.

GHAIYYATH

haiyyath is an interesting newcomer to the Darley Stud at Northwood Park in Victoria. Despite being a son of the Darley galloper and champion sire, Dubawi, he was not bred by the organisation. He was purchased for €1,100,000 by John Ferguson on behalf of Godolphin. The start of his career may not have had the stable filled with confidence. He was beaten first up in a 2yo maiden over a mile at Doncaster. He won his maiden over the same distance at his second start at Newmarket before winning the Autumn Stakes over the same track and distance at his last start at that age. He started only once as a 3yo winning the Prix du Prince d'Orange at Longchamp over 2000m at G3 level. Returning as a 4yo Ghaiyyath won the Prix d'Harcourt over 1800m before running third when a short-priced favourite in the G1 Prix Ganay. Another break saw him return to win the time honoured Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany over 2400m but failed in the l'Arc de Triomphe finishing a badly beaten tenth of twelve. Another break followed and he returned for his best season as a 5yo. He won first up at Meydan in the Dubai Millenium. Back in England he won the G1 Coronation Cup at Newmarket over 2400m beating Anthony Van Dyck. A month later he won the G1 Coral-Eclipse at

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Sandown before winning the Juddmonte International Stakes. A second in the Irish Champion Stakes was to be his final run but earned him the title of Champion Older Horse in Europe for the season. He won nine of his thirteen starts and £879,923 in prizemoney, still some way short of his sales price.

he stallion won from 1600m to 2400m which no doubt is one of the factors influencing standing him in Victoria. He is a son of Dubawi who is among the greatest modern stallions, siring over 200 individual stakes winners. Dubawi was a quality racehorse winning five of his eight starts including the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas. Notably he is a son of the champion Dubai Millennium still considered by many to be the one of the greatest racehorses of all time. He won nine of his ten starts with his only defeat in the Derby when he failed to stay the 2400m. Dubawi stood in Australia for three seasons at a fee that reduced from $33,000 to $16,500 in contrast to his NH appeal. He produced some top line runners in his brief time here including G1 winners, Secret Admirer, Shamal Wind, Srikandi and Tiger Tees. Ghaiyyath’s dam is Nightime, a stakes-winning daughter of Galileo who won the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas. She has also produced Zhukova by Fastnet Rock, the Champion older filly in Europe, whose wins included the G1 Man O' War Stakes in the US. The stallion traces back to a mare called Jenny Diver who in turn is from the female family of Ghuznee, a remarkable broodmare whose influence includes Snippets, Blue Peter, Ticino, Blakeney, Pharis and Tantieme to name a few.

is pedigree sees two lines of Mr Prospector and three of Northern Dancer although the closest of these are in the fourth generation making their importance a little diminished. While caution will need to be taken, there are likely to be times when multiple lines of these stallions will have a positive impact on a mating. Importantly in the case of Northern Dancer, we see that there are no lines of Danehill or his sire, Danzig. In fact, that stallion is found through relatively obscure sons apart from Sadler’s Wells in Lyphard and Shareef Dancer. Sadler’s Wells is an influence though that is perhaps one that we need to tread most warily with. This is not just because of the pedigree factors, but it is also because he is a noted stamina influence, and there seems little doubt that for Ghayyaith to succeed in Australia, he will need to cover mares who have strong speed influences.

tanding in Victoria presents a challenge for the stallion. The majority of speedy sons of Danehill reside in NSW and he will be dependant on daughters of these stallions making their way into the local population. We see very few NSW breeders sending mares to Victoria so Ghaiyyath will have to rely on Darley and those local breeders who have these styles of mares. Perhaps one of the most interesting stallions that could find success through their daughters is Snitzel whose pedigree is heavily influenced by Snippets, a stallion who shares the same female line as the stallion. Snitzel will also bring in a line of Storm Bird which we also find in the stallion. Together these influences have something of a reputation for creating hot headed youngsters, so temperament will be a factor that breeders may need to consider. Overall the stallion though is likely to see good results from sons and grandsons of Danehill, and for this reason he is one stallion that may have been better suited

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Ghaiyyath has quite a heavily inbred pedigree at (10.84%). Despite this, the closest duplication comes in the fifth and sixth generations, so it is arguable as to the impact this has had on his genetic makeup. It is important that the closest duplications in Northern Dancer and Mr Prospector, both incidentally through sons, appear in the pedigrees of both the grandsire and grand damsire. It is likely important that both sons of Mr Prospector in Seeking The Gold and Miswaki share strong pedigree similarities with Buckpasser as their damsire. If looking to introduce a further line of Mr Prospector, this is something that clever breeders may pay attention to. It is interesting to note that the wonderful influence of Sir Ivor who appears only in the sixth generation of the pedigree appear through three daughters. Considering the success that Sir Ivor had in Australia through his son Sir Tristram, this could work in his favour under local conditions. We also see two lines of Hail To Reason, again through sons, and three of Raise A Native, the sire of Mr Prospector, this time through the introduction of two daughters which is probably a good clue to some patterns that might work well with the stallion.

to NSW. Of course Danehill has had a major impact in Victoria even if his best sons did not stand there. One example is the wonderful stallion Magnus who has been very successful and he is a son of Flying Spur, one of the great speed sons of Danehill. Interestingly Flying Spur has the presence of Mr Prospector through a daughter which can be used to advantage although this influence perhaps needs to be utilised carefully.

ictoria though has some stallions that appear to have very suitable daughters. One, although he did spend a lot of his career in NSW, was Encosta De Lago and his influence is likely to suit Ghayyaith in many instances. It is not surprising that Encosta De Lago is closely related to Flying Spur, so presents a few of the similar challenges that Flying Spur did in pedigrees. An interesting influence is that of Danzig who we often see through Danehill. We however see him present in many other stallions including Anabaa who, in particular, has sons like King Of Prussia and Anacheeva who have stood in Victoria for many years. It has often been difficult to find suitable stallions for Danzig lines but Ghayyaith appeals as a likely mate. The concern here is that a lot of these daughters may not warrant the service fee of such a stallion as Ghaiyyath which in itself creates an issue in breeding.

verall though it is the speed lines that are likely to be the key to the stallion. Written Tycoon, Snitzel, Bel Esprit, and I Am Invincible are just some that could easily fill the bill. If we look simply at the breeding of Dubawi’s G1 winners locally we see that the damsires included Hurricane Sky, Gold Brose, and Secret Savings, all of which were speed line sires. Of course, breeders with a penchant for breeding a Cups horse might utilise the stallion in a different fashion. In the case of Dubawi his final local G1 winner was out of a Machiavellian mare. Caution though needs to be taken when bringing in further lines of Sadler’s Wells and it is the local stamina lines like Zabeel and other NZ stallions that will probably achieve the best success in this endeavour. There is no doubt that the stallion offers remarkable bloodlines and performance. It is the Australian question as to whether he can produce enough early 2yo types to attract the top end buyers that will likely be the measure of his success in the Southern Hemishere.

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HANSEATIC

anseatic is another first season stallion that goes to stud on the basis of very strong early 2yo form. He began his career with three straight wins starting in the Listed Merson Cooper in November at Sandown. After a break he returned to win the Blue Diamond Preview and Prelude for the colts and geldings, before finishing second to Tagaloa in the Blue Diamond. Off to Sydney for the Golden Slipper, Hanseatic found it a bridge too far finishing tenth behind Farnan, another of our Freshman stallions for the season. He returned in the Melbourne Spring to finish fourth behind Bella Vella in the Mc Ewen Stakes. A ninth in the G1 Moir was followed by a second in the G3 Blue Sapphire behind Ranting but ahead of another of our new stallions in Anders. Hanseatic was sent to the paddock and returned for only one more run, a disappointing last in the G1 Oakleigh Plate which saw him retired. He was raced by Godolphin and was one of the few of their horses to be trained by an outside trainer in the Anthony and Sam Freedman partnership. He was purchased by Rosemont Stud to add to their growing stallion roster.

he stallion is a son of Street Boss by Street Cry. Street Boss first entered stud in Australia in 2009 after a career on the track that saw him win the Bing Crosby Handicap, Triple Bend Invitational Handicap and Los Angeles Handicap over 1200-1400m. He took some time to produce his first local stakes winner which was Thiamandi who won the G3 Bletchingly Stakes in 2014. The stallion had early success in the US producing Arkansas Derby winner, Danza and Kentucky Oaks winner, Cathryn Sophia. Local breeders though really started to take notice of the stallion when he produced The Quarterback to win the 2016 Newmarket. Arguably

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Hanseatic is among the stallions with quite a low level of inbreeding (5.86%). Most of the inbreeding comes through the relationship between the stallions Machiavellian and Fusaichi Pegasus. Machiavellian is seen in the stallion’s sire line while Fusaichi Pegasus is likely to play a slightly lesser role appearing as his grand damsire. Machiavellian sees his damsire as Halo, while that stallion appears as the grand damsire in the pedigree of Fusaichi Pegasus. We also see four lines of Natalma within six generations through the presence of Northern Dancer and Machiavellian. Halo is a grandson of Almahmoud, the dam of Natalma and if we look only one generation further back in the pedigree, we see that Almahmoud is present four times in the seventh generation and Natalma once more. Breeders may need to consider this when looking for suitable matings but in a modern pedigree, it is difficult to find many stallions not carrying multiple lines of these females. Perhaps it is significant that the tail female line of Hanseatic by the time we get back to his third dam, Song Of Norway, no longer has any of these lines present.

Street Boss had his best local season in 2021 producing Blue Diamond Prelude winner, Arcaded, and likely the best 2yo of the season in Anamoe. Street Boss is a son of Street Cry, a wonderful stallion but one that has not had significant success through his sons at stud. This may see Hanseatic appeal to many who are trying to find the continued influence of that stallion. Street Cry was by Machiavellian, a son Mr Prospector from the same female family as Northern Dancer. His dam was Helen Street by Troy who was also the grand dam of Shamardal. Street Boss comes from a very good European family that traces back to Bruce Lowe’s original number 1 family.

anseatic is from the same female line as Black Caviar and that includes the excellent stallion Magnus who has performed at a top level for many years. He has produced horses of the quality of Malaguerra and Streets Of Avalon. Hanseatic’s dam is a daughter of Exceed And Excel in Itameri whose only win came in a 2yo maiden at Newcastle, although she did start her career by running fourth in the Listed Ottowa Stakes on Melbourne Cup Day 2012. It is also interestingly the same female line as that of another of our new stallion in Ole Kirk.

he pedigree of Hanseatic is notable in that it contains two lines of Mr Prospector through his sons Machiavellian and Fusaichi Pegasus. Significantly we see the presence of Exceed And Excel, a son of Danehill as his damsire seeing two of the most dominant lines in the modern thoroughbred playing important roles. Not only that but we see another line of Danzig through a daughter in Fusaichi Pegasus. In addition to that, we see that there is a duplication of Halo who, like Northern Dancer, is a grandson of Almahmoud. Not surprisingly we see four lines of her daughter Natalma in the sixth generation of Hanseatic’s pedigree. In the tail female line of the stallion we see both Snippets and Vain. Interestingly the female line of Street Boss includes Blushing Groom, Damascus and Orsini, all wonderful influences but not always the most consistently successful under local conditions. It will raise a question as to what influences we want to be breeding towards to try and achieve the best results from the stallion.

learly the influence of Danehill and Danzig is one that will dominate the thoughts of a lot of breeders. Ideally it would be best to push these influences as far back into a pedigree that we can. As we now see multiple grandsons of Danehill, and even some great grandsons, this is not all that difficult to do. Remembering that the stallion is based in Victoria, the broodmare population is not dominated by any particular son of Danehill. Rather we see a cross section of sons who stood in NSW suggesting that there will be at least some of these types of mares available to the stallion. Snitzel of course is one such stallion, and it will be interesting to see if he has daughters that will suit Hanseatic. The presence of Snippets has no doubt been critical to his success, and we see that stallion appear also through a daughter in the pedigree of Hanseatic. It is one strategy that will need extreme caution and is likely to be a high-risk prospect. With so many other grandsons of Danehill to choose from, it would only be recommended in a small number of mares.

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el Esprit is one stallion who probably needs a closer look as no doubt some breeders with his daughters will be intrigued by the prospect of Hanseatic. The Black Caviar connection cannot be ignored and we saw the duplications of Northern Dancer and Vain in her pedigree. In this case, we see the strong presence of those influences, but they ignore largely the importance of Street Boss in the stallion’s pedigree. Of course, many daughters of Bel Esprit will have Danehill present as well as other influences that will make all of the difference. Again, he is a stallion who will need to be used selectively. In a similar vein, Magnus is closely related to Hanseatic and while we find plenty of his daughters available, few are likely to be suited although no doubt this is a strategy that will be pursued from time to time.

ritten Tycoon is an interesting prospect although we see many of his daughters carrying lines of Danehill and Danzig. If we can find those who do not, then the pedigree of the stallion would likely suit that of Hanseatic. One of the best sons of Written Tycoon in Capitalist saw both Danehill and Fusaichi Pegasus prominent. Fusaichi Pegasus despite his relative lack of success in his brief sojourn to Australia was among the best horses of his generation so we should not be disparaging his presence in a pedigree but looking to see if we can utilise it to best advantage. The stallions mentioned to date all in general look at the speed lines that are apparent in the pedigree of Hanseatic. Despite seeing Street Cry close up in his pedigree, there is a real risk that breeding too much to speed will be detrimental to his prospects.

hen we look at stamina lines in Australia, one of the first few we think of are the stallions Zabeel and High Chaparral. These are influences that could be the critical factor in the future of Hanseatic. Again, the stallion was a precocious 2yo, but much of his pedigree does not reflect this. There are plenty of influences to suggest that many of his own progeny will be much slower maturing than he was. Many of the stamina lines will represent largely outcross pedigrees that should help with the longevity of some of his progeny and it would certainly come as no shock to see him producing some classic types. In fact, I would suggest that, at the end of his career, if he was to become a leading sire much of his success will be through his older progeny rather than his 2yo’s. The Victorian market is well placed to take advantage of this, and astute breeders and buyers should be well rewarded for their patience. Still, being such a wonderful early 2yo, there is also the likelihood that he will produce his share of these similar types. When all is said and done, Hanseatic may well be the type of stallion who repeats a pattern that we see in his own sire, which would certainly be a worthy outcome.

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KING’S LEGACY

ing’s Legacy might well be the most interesting stallion to go to stud in Australia in 2021. He is a son of Champion stallion Redoute’s Choice who has had over 30 sons go to stud. His two best sire sons to date are champions in Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt who have both become enduring influences with plenty of their sons now at stud in competition with King’s Legacy. We also see the exciting The Autumn Sun being one of the most popular stallions at stud in the last few years, and his first yearlings are about to hit the sales ring next season. At the same time, we have seen other high-profile sons of the stallion go to stud with varying success. We can confidently state that being a son of Redoute’s Choice is no guarantee of success. King’s Legacy is no different, but it will be exciting to see what the future holds for him.

he colt made a big impression at the yearling sales, being knocked down to James Harron for a remarkable $1.4 million. He started with two unplaced trials as a 2yo and had his first race start on 11 December 2019 and ran third over 1200m at Rosehill starting at $20. King’s Legacy then went to Brisbane winning the G3 Bruce McLachlan at Eagle Farm before finishing fifth to Away Game in the Magic Millions. He did not race again until the Golden Slipper where he finished ninth to Farnan. Starting at $18 he won the Sires Produce at his first start over 1400m and then was a dominant favourite when he won impressively in the Champagne Stakes over 1600m. King’s Legacy was put away with high hopes that he would be a dominant 3yo. His Spring started with a slightly disappointing last behind Rothfire in the Run To Rose over 1200m. A good third behind Ole Kirk in the Golden Rose

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King’s Legacy is another stallion with relatively limited inbreeding in his pedigree (5.47%). We see that the closest duplications are between the fourth and sixth generations and again include some of the likely suspects. We see Northern Dancer appearing through three sons. The most notable is through Danzig in the stallion’s sire line but he can also be found through Nijinsky in the tail female line of Redoute’s Choice, as well as through the tail female line of Grand Chaudiere. Northern Dancer’s granddam, Almahmoud is another ancestor duplicated and we see that her grandson Halo is present in the stallion’s pedigree through Sunday Silence. The other duplication within six generations is that of Native Dancer, the sire of Natalma. That stallion appears through the sire line of King’s Legacy’s damsire, Hussonet. It is impossible though to look at the pedigree of King’s Legacy and not notice the presence of Canny Lad and Rory’s Jester. These two stallions have long represented the quintessential colonial speed lines and no doubt are a strength of the pedigree of King’s Legacy and possibly a key to his success.

saw him well fancied in the Caulfield Guineas at his first attempt in Melbourne. He finished midfield over the 1600m behind Ole Kirk and then another moderate performance in the Cantala Stakes over the same distance against the older horses saw his campaign end. Returning in the Autumn, King’s Legacy finished sixth in the Hobartville Stakes behind Aegon. A fifth in the Randwick Guineas over 1600m behind The Lion’s Roar saw the colt retired in a rather disappointing end to a career that offered so much.

hen we compare King’s Legacy with other sons of Redoute’s Choice, he is the only dual G1 winning 2yo among them. We did see Stratum win a Golden Slipper, but most of the sire sons of Redoute’s Choice made their name at three. Snitzel for example won the G1 Oakleigh Plate as an Autumn 3yo while Not A Single Doubt, despite running second in a Magic Millions, did not break through at G1 level until the Newmarket again as an Autumn 3yo. Given the success of Snitzel, it is a little hard to imagine that King’s Legacy will produce more precocious types than these two stallions have been able to, especially considering that his G1 wins came at 1400m and beyond.

he female family of King’s Legacy was a major factor in his sales price. He is out of the stakes placed Hussonet mare, Breakfast In Bed. She was a solid performer starting 30 times for seven wins and a further 10 placings. Breakfast In Bed did not race until she was a 3yo, and she won her third start at 1000m. She was third in the Listed Gai Waterhouse at Ipswich as a 4yo and was later to run second in the Listed Just Now Stakes at Doomben. She was a out of a winning Sunday Silence mare called Bella Sunday who was also to produce the Golden Slipper winner, Oohood by I Am Invincible. King’s Legacy’s third dam is Singles Bar who produced Not A Single Doubt, and of course this means that his fourth dam is Easy Date, the dam of Snippets. He certainly has the bloodlines to become a top stallion, but we all know that it does not always work this way.

o doubt looking at the success of Not A Single Doubt could give us clues as to the likely success of King’s Legacy. Carnegie, Encosta De Lago, Falbrav, Final Card, Gold Fever, Hussonet, Intergaze, More Than Ready, O’Reilly, Red Ransom, Starcraft, Street Cry, Tapit and Zabeel would seem on first glance to be a fairly random selection of stallions, but these are all stallions who have daughters who have produced G1 winners by Not A Single Doubt. Compare that to these stallions; Blushing Groom, Charge Forward, Domesday, Encosta De Lago, Fraar, General Nediym, Last Tycoon, Rubiton, Stravinsky, Success Express, and Timber Country. These are the stallions who have daughters who have produced G1 winners by Snitzel. These stallions alone should give a good idea of what might be the key to the success of King’s Legacy. The most notable factor is the lack of Danehill in the sire lines of these, and while this can be explained by the closeness of that stallion in the pedigree of Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt, it is also something that is likely to extend to King’s Legacy. That is not to say that other lines of Northern Dancer will not succeed, and we have seen plenty of the stallions listed above sharing that sire line. One of the most significant stallions in the list is Encosta De Lago who stood for many years at Coolmore who will stand King’s Legacy. Although he died in 2018, his last crop of note was born in 2014 as his fertility declined. Nevertheless, there will be a range of his daughters likely still in residence at Coolmore that alone may ensure that King’s Legacy will produce quality runners. Many of these other stallions are also becoming hard to find as their progeny age but no doubt there will still be some good ones around. An interesting point that can be made from these stallions is that they include a good cross-section of US bred stallions. With the

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internationalisation of the modern pedigree, the US lines are likely to be important. As a balance to this, we also see some of the more traditional colonial lines well represented on the list. This begs the question as to whether European influences may not quite suit the family.

nother surprising factor in the list is that apart from Zabeel, few of the stallions would be considered stamina influences although of course we are not looking at all of the pedigree of the successful runners. When we talk of stamina, especially where Coolmore is involved, we automatically think of High Chaparral. This is one stallion that we can fairly confidently predict will have daughters or granddaughters who will suit King’s Legacy despite representing a traditional UK pedigree. Nevertheless, So You Think and Dundeel are just two of his sons that should have emerging quality daughters as they include strong local lines.

e cannot look at King’s Legacy without addressing whether daughters and now granddaughters of Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt might be worth sending to the stallion. The simple answer is no. We have seen that Danehill line stallions have not succeeded to date, and with the close inbreeding of Redoute’s Choice this strategy is likely to further reinforce the negatives that we often see through this type of pattern. King’s Legacy will be an attractive stallion for many breeders but we are seeing that he will suit a relatively small section of the broodmare population. The real risk is not whether he will produce good horses, but whether he will get his share of suitable mares to enable him to produce consistently good runners.

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PINATUBO

inatubo is the highest priced of the new Darley stallions to come to Australia this season. Each year we are seeing some top quality bloodlines being imported by this world leading organisation. Each year though we are faced with the difficulty of working out whether the stallions will suit the local population. Pinatubo was among the world’s best winning seven of his ten starts and being placed in the other three. He started his career winning a novice race at Wolverhampton over 1200m. This was followed by a win on Oaks Day at Epsom again over 1200m. He then showed his class by winning the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot in course record time over 1400m. It was then to his first Group race, the G2 Vintage Stakes at Goodwood winning by 5 lengths over the same trip. A 9-length win in the G1 National Stakes at The Curragh followed. He rounded off his season by winning the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket by two lengths to be rated as the second best twoyear-old of the modern era by Timeform, second only behind Celtic Swing.

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s a 3yo, he suffered his first defeat in the 2000 Guineas over a mile at Newmarket and then ran second over the same distance in the St James Palace Stakes. Pinatubo then went back to the 1400m in France where he won the G1 Qatar Prix Jean Prat at Deauville. His last start was again over a mile at Longchamp where he was to run second in the G1 Prix du Moulin and he retired with stakes earnings of £966,090. He was a son of Shamardal which makes it a little strange that he was not able to win over a mile. Shamardal’s progeny have an average winning distance of a little over a mile. That stallion was himself a champion 2yo but was to go on to win the French Derby over 2100m. Shamardal is well known in Australia having produced Epsom winner, Captain Sonador, VRC Darley Classic winner, Delectation, Oaks winners, Maybe Discreet and Faint Perfume. He is also the sire of multiple HK G1 winner, Able Friend and almost 500 winners worldwide. Shamardal is of particular interest in that he shares the same female line as that of the great stallion, Street Cry. Pinatubo is a daughter of the Dalakhani mare, Lava Flow, and his female family sees his fourth dam as Eljazzi, the grand dam of Invincible Spirit meaning that we see the families of two of the best modern day sires close up in his pedigree. He is also very closely related to Pride Of Dubai who is an emerging stallion coming up to his sixth season this year. Of his two crops to race, he has already produced four stakes winners in Tanker, Easifar, Bella Nipotina and Saif. The damsires of these are Tale Of The Cat, Hurricane Sky, Star Witness and Husson. Importantly though Pride Of Dubai sees his own damsire as Danehill, and it is the lack of the presence of this stallion in the pedigree of Pinatubo that probably reflects one of the major differences between the two prospects. Within the pedigrees of the dams of three of the four Pride Of Dubai stakes-winners, Danehill is present. Twice he is seen as the sire of the grand damsire while in one case he is the sire of Star Witness’s damsire, Lion Hunter. In the other two cases he is present through his sons Commands and Fastnet Rock.

inatubo’s pedigree while devoid of Danehill sees two lines of Northern Dancer through his sons Storm Bird and Sadler’s Wells. He also has two lines of Mr Prospector through his sons, Machiavellian and Miswaki. The presence of Machiavellian in the pedigree results in a duplication of Natalma, the dam of Northern Dancer in the pedigree. This is a similar pattern we see in the pedigree of Danehill through these two stallions sharing the same female line. The end result is that we also see another wonderful female line present in the pedigree of Pinatubo. The final duplication with six generations of Pinatubo’s pedigree is that of Never Bend again through two sons in Riverman and Mill Reef. No doubt there will be temptation from breeders to try and reinforce these influences, but it is likely to be a high risk strategy. Long term success of the stallion is likely to be achieved in Australia with more traditional methods.

irstly, despite being a quality 2yo, Pinatubo is not necessarily what Australian buyers think of when they think of a 2yo. Here it is all about the Magic Millions and Golden Slipper, and Pinatubo was not exactly the type for these races. As we can see by his sire, Shamardal, despite him being a similar type of 2yo, he was to produce only three local 2yo black type winners in the six seasons he shuttled to Australia. It may be important to introduce more of our local precocity into the matings with this stallion. To this end, one stallion that is likely to appeal is Written

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Pinatubo is another of the Darley stallions and we might note some similarities in his pedigree with that of Ghaiyyath. His pedigree does not feature a great deal of inbreeding (5.86%). The closest duplication is that of Mr Prospector who appears through his sons Machiavellian and Miswaki. In this case, the all-male duplication of Mr Prospector comes through female influences in both sides of the pedigree. In the sixth generation we see two lines of Northern Dancer, again through two sons this time in Storm Bird and Sadler’s Wells. The other duplications we see in the sixth generation are that of Natalma and also the stallion Never Bend who again appears through two sons in Riverman and Mill Reef.

Tycoon who is free of Danehill. We are finding plenty of his daughters now going to stud, and there should be some of these that will be highly attractive to the stallion’s pedigree. Another stallion who was notable in producing good 2yo’s was Testa Rossa. He is a stallion who is probably becoming a little forgotten, but is another who is free of Danehill who should have some suitable daughters. We saw Pride Of Dubai have success with a daughter of Star Witness and he is also the type of stallion that could find equal success with Pinatubo.

anehill will no doubt be critical to the success of Pinatubo under local conditions, and the best success is likely to occur when we can push this stallion further back. There are many sons of Danehill who should make solid matches and it is the idea of pushing Natalma back beyond the sixth generation of a pedigree that could be a key factor. As long as we see only single lines of the stallion, and that there are no other significant factors such as close duplications of Mr Prospector or the other females we have noted before, this is probably going to be the strategy that makes or breaks the stallion. While we would normally suggest that this is the most significant group of broodmares, our assessment of course has to be tempered by the fact that the stallion stands at Darley. We know just how good that organisation is, but they have not necessarily made their name on Danehill stallions who have been the domain of their major competitors in Coolmore. Darley though will support their stallion well but as they are not a stud to send a large number of yearlings to sale, it allows a good opportunity for outside mare owners to take full advantage of this strategy. What lets it down a little is that the success of Darley stallions is often directly related to the number of quality progeny that they retain and race. It is possible that we might see two distinctly different strategies at play with Darley looking to reinforce the positives of their long term breeding program as opposed to what we are likely to see in outside mares. To further emphasise this point, in the case of Shamardal, Darley bred only four of his local stakes-winners. The issue of the importance of not only a stud supporting their stallions with numbers, but also with compatible mares is one that will need to wait for another day. There is no doubt that the stud plays a critical role in a stallion’s success.

inatubo was a wonderful racehorse, and likely will get his share of quality progeny. In terms of long term success, his pedigree is one of those that may be a case of all or nothing. My suspicion is that he may produce very few of the ‘bread and butter’ type horses. There appears a likelihood that his progeny may be top quality or very moderately performed with few of these in between and we trust that his numbers will allow him to produce more than his fair share of stars.

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RUSSIAN CAMELOT

ussian Camelot was among our best and most popular horses in recent years. As a Northern Hemisphere bred colt, he was certainly at a large disadvantage to the local crop. It did not stop him winning the South Australian Derby with ridiculous ease against a very good class field. He returned as a 4yo to run second to Fierce Impact who also goes to stud this season. This was in the G1 Makybe Diva coincidentally named after another Northern Hemisphere bred champion. Russian Camelot won the G1 Underwood over 1800m at his next start at the prohibitive odds of $1.55. Next it was a second behind the good WA mare, Arcadia Queen over the 2000m of the Neds Caulfield Stakes when again starting a short-priced favourite at $1.40. Russian Camelot then started favourite in the Cox Plate but found the Irish visitors, Sir Dragonet and Armory, a little too good on the day. He had his last race start in the Melbourne Cup finishing eighth behind another Irish horse in Twilight Payment when he did not appear to quite stay the two miles of the race.

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n all, Russian Camelot started eleven times for four wins including his two G1 victories and earned almost $2.5 million in prizemoney. His wins came between 1400m to 2500m. Russian Camelot was foaled on the 29 March 2017 making him the equivalent of a local starting in February of his 2yo season. That would put his Derby win around about the time that a local 3yo would be running in the VRC Derby, but usually with a lot more experience than only the four starts that had preceded his SA Derby win. If we look at the colt in these terms, it does at least give us some comparison as to where he was in terms of maturity. Maybe this can help when we look at what we can expect of his progeny.

ussian Camelot is by the champion Irish based stallion, Camelot by Montjeu who was out of the Kingmambo mare, Tarfah who had won the G3 Dahlia Stakes over 1800m. Camelot was interestingly also the sire of Cox Plate winner, Sir Dragonet. Tarfah was in turn out of a Danehill mare named Fickle and this may well be important when we look at suitable mares for the young stallion. Russian Camelot was out of a mare called Lady Babooshka by Cape Cross, a son of Green Desert. His dam is out of Sadler’s Wells mare, Balalaika. The female family includes a stallion called Kayf Tara by Sadler’s Wells who was perhaps the best stayer in the world in his day. He won the G1 Goodwood Cup (4000m) and Irish St Leger (2800m) twice each. Owned by Godolphin, Kayf Tara was favourite for the 1999 Melbourne Cup but was scratched a week before the race due to tendon issues. He returned to race in England winning a further three races including his second Goodwood Gold Cup.

t is fair to assume that Russian Camelot is likely to be the source of some stamina which no doubt impacted the decision to stand him in Victoria at a relatively moderate fee. We saw that he won his maiden before he had actually turned three which gives us at least an inkling that the stallion’s pedigree may not be as stamina oriented as it first appears. It is notable that by far the two highest stakes earners of Camelot are Sir Dragonet and Russian Camelot. On the track Camelot won his first five starts that included the 2yo G1 Racing Post Trophy, the English 2000 Guineas and both the English and Irish Derbies at three. He was to win only more race, the G3 Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh before retiring during his 4yo season after only 10 starts. He was crowned both Champion 2yo and 3yo. We did see his sire Montjeu stand at stud in NZ for some years where he produced Australian G1 winners Wall Street (VRC Emirates), Roman Emperor (AJC Derby), and Nom Du Jeu (AJC Derby). He is also the sire of Tavistock, the winner of the G2 VRC Blamey Stakes who won two G1 races in NZ and has become a very good stallion in his own right. His imported UK sons in Green Moon (Melbourne Cup, Turnbull Stakes), Gallante (Sydney Cup) and The Offer (Sydney Cup) have also raced in Australia with success at the highest level. Camelot’s damsire is Kingmambo who we see most notably in International pedigrees as the sire of the Japanese stallion Lord Kamehameha who in turn is the sire of the Champion stallion Lord Kanaloa who is making his mark in Australia through another of our Freshman stallions in Tagaloa. It is perhaps important to note that we see stallions like Storm Cat, Last Tycoon, His Majesty and In Reality in the pedigree of Lord Kanaloa, and this could help to give us some clue as to how to breed to speed lines within the pedigree of Russian Camelot if that is the aim of breeders. The female line of Russian Camelot also includes Cape Cross, another stallion who stood in NZ. He was by Green Desert, the sire of Invincible

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Russian Camelot has a very heavily inbred pedigree (16.80%) and we can only wonder if this may have had some impact on his being relatively lightly raced for a staying type in Australia. The feature is the presence of Sadler’s Wells in both the tail male and female lines of the stallion. Despite Sadler’s Wells having such remarkable success with his sons throughout the world, it should be remembered that few had similar success in Australia with Scenic and High Chaparral being the most notable. Now we see his influence being pushed further back into pedigrees it seems that we are seeing the true benefit of his enduring legacy. The other duplications in the pedigree of Russian Camelot are ones that we regularly see in Danzig, Northern Dancer and Native Dancer. It is perhaps interesting to note that both Scenic and High Chaparral saw a duplication of Native Dancer, a hugely underrated influence, in their pedigrees. Another special note should be made of the presence of Nureyev in the pedigree of Camelot. An outstanding stallion in his own right, Nureyev has become critical in many pedigrees representing a three-quarter brother to Sadler’s Wells.

Spirit who is playing a large role in many of our current pedigrees significantly through his son, I Am Invincible. Like Danehill, Green Desert is a son of Danzig and we must also remember that Sadler’s Wells, another son of Northern Dancer, is also present in the pedigree of Russian Camelot through both a son and a daughter.

lthough the market is likely to be quite forgiving on slower maturing types by the stallion, speed lines will no doubt be the key to the stallion’s long-term commercial viability. It is almost impossible to succeed in Australia without being able to produce at least some early 2yo contenders and this will be a test for Russian Camelot. One stallion who might have daughters, and now granddaughters that are a good match with Russian Camelot is the old favourite, Encosta De Lago. He is by Fairy King, a full brother to Sadler’s Wells, which leads to an interesting strategy that could be successful. The problem of course lies in what other lines are in the mare’s pedigree as we know that Encosta De Lago has been crossed with many lines of Danehill. A stallion like Manhattan Rain that is a son of Encosta De Lago but brings in the speed influence of Canny Lad is the type of mating that should appeal. The importance of Canny Lad cannot be discounted as we have already mentioned the success of I Am Invincible, a son of Green Desert out of a Canny Lad mare. In fact, it is these older lines like Canny Lad that probably hold the best outcomes for Russian Camelot. A stallion like General Nediym would have a lot to offer especially through the presence of influences like Sir Tristram and Without Fear to name a couple. There are plenty of these types of lines like Lunchtime, Snippets, Vain and others that may work well with the stallion.

e also identified Storm Cat, Last Tycoon, His Majesty and In Reality in the pedigree of the successful Lord Kanaloa, and these are others that may well match well with Russian Camelot. The real key though is finding these types of stallions in a pedigree in a way that is not dominated by the presence of Danehill. My suggestion would be to try and push Danehill as far back in a pedigree as we can, and ideally that would not be through the sire line of the mare. This is much harder than it seems, but it will come down to balancing the Danehill factor with the other positive influences in the pedigree. There also has to be some query as to the importance of the European lines in a mating. I suspect that strong Australian lines will play a role, but also that US lines have plenty to offer. The influence of More Than Ready, Dehere, AP Indy, Elusive Quality, and more recently Scat Daddy and Street Boss are just some of these that may have success.

verall, Russian Camelot is an exciting prospect, and there will be plenty of interest in his progeny come sales time. Caution though will be at a premium and a close investigation of the pedigree is likely to reap rewards with a special focus on US and Australian influences within the damline.

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TAGALOA

agaloa represents one of the most interesting stallions to go to stud in Australia this season. He is a son of Lord Kanaloa, the sensational Japanese sire out of a Japanese bred mare called Vasilissa. Tagaloa was bred to Southern Hemisphere time and did his racing locally. He also raced against many of the other new stallions this year which seem to include quite a number of last seasons 3yo’s. He was sold at Magic Millions for the seemingly bargain price of $300,000. Tagaloa started his career on Melbourne Cup Day 2019, finishing strongly to run third to Baaqyah in the Maribyrnong Plate. He raced much closer to the lead at his next start turning the tables on that horse over 1000m at Moonee Valley. After a break it was on to the Blue Diamond Prelude where he ran fourth behind Hanseatic. At his first try over 1200m, Tagaloa won the Blue Diamond before heading to Sydney to finish second to Farnan in the Todman and fourth to the same horse in the Golden Slipper. Returning for the Spring, Tagaloa ran third in the G3 McNeil before running sixth to Behemoth in the Open G1 Rupert Clarke. A failure in the Caulfield Guineas saw his Spring campaign ended prematurely. The Autumn saw him run third in the Manfred Stakes at Caulfield before winning the G3 CS Hayes over 1400m at Flemington. It was then on to the Australian Guineas over 1600 starting at $3.50 and running third to Lunar Fox and Cherry Tortoni after leading. A freshen up saw him head to Sydney where he had his final start in the G1 All Aged Stakes at Randwick, finishing ninth behind Kolding.

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s mentioned, the stallion is a son of Lord Kanaloa by King Kamehameha. He was a champion sprinter who went on to become a top stallion producing the famed Japanese mare, Almond Eye among a host of stakes winners. Tagaloa’s dam won over 1800m and is by a son of Sunday Silence in Heart’s Cry. He was a good racehorse with his best win coming in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic. We know him best in Australia as the sire of Cox Plate winner, Lys Gracieux. Tagaloa’s dam, Vasilissa, is a half-sister to the Listed winner, Tricolore Blue and two stakes-placed horses by Deep Impact in Danon Gelato and World Impact. These are all winners between 1800m to 2200m. The second dam of Tagaloa in Penkenna Princess by Pivotal was bred in the UK winning twice as a 2yo and running second in the G1 Irish One Thousand Guineas. It is not a family all that well known in Australia tracing to the Bruce Lowe number 21 line. This particular line has had much of its success in the US and included in the family are horses like Pioneerof The Nile who is the sire of American Pharoah, Indian Charlie who produced Uncle Mo, Ready’s Image and In Reality who was a champion racehorse and influential sire who is present in a myriad of modern pedigrees. The family has ventured to Australia from time to time, and one of the first to hit the headlines was a stallion called Malster who won a host of stakes races including both the AJC and VRC Derbies and went on to become Australia’s Champion Sire on four occasions in the early part of the twentieth century. Another more remote line of the family has been very active through the wonderful mare, Kew Gardens who is responsible for horses like Just Awesome, Onemorenomore and Casino Prince.

he first point is that Tagaloa has a pedigree that is free of Danehill. He does however have six lines of Northern Dancer within the first six generations of his pedigree. Five of those are in the sixth generation, so it is more a matter of which sons appear in his pedigree rather than simply that they are sons. Notably one of these, Nureyev, is duplicated through both a son and a daughter, and adding additional lines of this stallion must be questioned. He was however a wonderful racehorse, but he is closely related to Sadler’s Wells, and he is likely to be of more benefit than another line of Nureyev. We regularly see Sadler’s Wells through High Chaparral and what is interesting with that stallion is that he carries a female line of Kris to complement a male line of that stallion in the female line of Tagaloa. We also see Kris appearing through a female in the pedigree of Invincible Spirit and he is another stallion that may prove important if he is present in a mare’s pedigree.

e mentioned the family of Kew Gardens when looking at the female family of Tagaloa. Kew Gardens had much of her success with Last Tycoon, and that stallion should come to the fore again with Tagaloa. Commonly Last Tycoon can be found in the pedigree of Written Tycoon and that stallion could have good success with Tagaloa when he is present in a pedigree. It could be worth noting that Written Tycoon has been purchased by Yulong Investments and will stand alongside Tagaloa this season. Last Tycoon is often found through a daughter in pedigrees, and the likes of Casino Prince and All Too Hard may struggle a little with their daughters as matings for Tagaloa because of this. The difficulty with a lot of these mares is that the stallion is standing in Victoria where these mares are less common.

o doubt though the success or failure of Lord Tagaloa will depend on mares from Danehill lines stallions. His pedigree features a male presence of His Majesty who is Danehill’s damsire which will attract some line breeding students. Interestingly this may just be a weakness as breeding to this pattern reinforces perhaps one of the lesser parts of Danehill’s pedigree. To this end, it may well be TURF MONTHLY 47

Tagaloa at 4.30% has one of the lowest percentages of inbreeding of stallions we have looked at this season. Historically we see that stallions with a much higher level of inbreeding are often better prospects, but this is a large generalisation. This may be explained by the simple fact that fewer ancestors mean that there are fewer genes in the pool available to be transmitted to a stallion’s offspring. In six generations of the pedigree we see six lines of Northern Dancer with two of these being through his son Nureyev. Nureyev appears through a son in Polar Falcon, the sire of Pivotal, and a daughter in Miesque who is the dam of Kingmambo. Tagaloa has a pedigree that features a lot of influences that we do not see all that often. Among them are Blakeney, an Epsom Derby winner who was champion 2yo sire in Britain. His sire Hethersett shares a family with Tagaloa as well as In Reality who appears in the tail female line of Lord Kanaloa. Another interesting ancestor is Tony Bin who was a very good Japanese stallion after having won the Arc De Triomphe. He was a son of Kampala who stood in NZ and Australia briefly and sired the popular Oompala who ran third behind Jeune in the 1994 Melbourne Cup.

that stallions who carry Danehill through their female lines may be better suited to Tagaloa than his sons. Alternatively pushing Danehill back in the pedigree might be advantageous and if we look at some of his grandsons like Snitzel and Not A Single Doubt, there are many of these mares that could be very good matings for the stallion.

he Victorian factor cannot be ignored and two stallions who have stood in that State and have some good daughters at stud are Encosta De Lago and Bel Esprit. Encosta De Lago and his sons see a female line of Mr Prospector to balance the son of that stallion, Kingmambo, who appears in the pedigree of Tagaloa. Bel Esprit picks up on the presence of Storm Cat in the pedigree of our stallion through the close relationship with Royal Academy who is the sire of Bel Esprit. More obscure stallions like King Of Prussia and Glass Harmonium are other local stallions who have lines that might suit the stallion. With the family having had such success in the US, it probably comes as little surprise that some US bred stallions might appeal as mates for Tagaloa. Medaglia D’Oro produced many good daughters and these should find some success with this stallion while some others like Scat Daddy, and Animal Kingdom might also appeal. Overall though the stallion has an interesting pedigree, but he may struggle to find a large broodmare population to suit. Strong speed lines might be the key to his success and we will await with interest his first progeny.

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VEANDERCROSS VS MANNERISM THE MOST TALKED ABOUT RIDE 1992 CAULFIELD CUP

he 1992 Caulfield Cup on face value did not appear to be a race for the ages. The field was a good one without being exceptional. Melbourne’s weather over the Spring had seen plenty of wet tracks and it was a slow track, bordering on heavy that confronted the field as they lined up. The dominant favourite was Veandercross at 5/2. The champion NZ horse had won nine of his eighteen starts at that point. He was having his first start in Australia for the season having won the G1 Kelt Capital Stakes at Hastings at his prior start a fortnight earlier. Veandercross had been in Australia for the Autumn winning the Canterbury Guineas and running second to Naturalism in both the Rosehill Guineas and AJC Derby. Trained by John Wheeler, the gelding was ridden by Shane Dye, an outspoken young Kiwi jockey who was establishing himself as one of the best jockeys in the world. It was Dye’s first ride on Veandercross, and he rode him only for that Spring, winning the Mackinnon Stakes at his next start before finishing second to Subzero on a heavy track in the Melbourne Cup.

rainer Lee Freedman dominated the field with five runners in the race including Mannerism ridden by a young Damien Oliver. Mannerism had not raced until a 3yo and won the SAJC Australasian Oaks that season and later finished third behind Triscay in the AJC Oaks. Her 4yo season saw her win the G2 Feehan Stakes and the G1 Futurity at Caulfield. Returning as a 5yo she had won the Listed VRC Milady Stakes and G1 Vic Health Cup both over 1400m on rain affected tracks. A week before the Caulfield Cup she had run fourth behind Castletown in the 2000m G1 Caulfield Stakes as a short-priced favourite. Mannerism was well in the market as third favourite at 9/1 in a fairly open betting race outside of the favourite. Freedman also had subsequent Melbourne Cup winner, Subzero, Gatherneux, Regal Sea and Heroicity in the field. Tommy Smith was represented by Acquidity while his daughter, Gai Waterhouse who had not had her licence for all that long had Te Akau Nick entered. Star SA trainer David Hayes had taken over the reigns from his legendary father, Colin and had Dark Ksar in the race. Second favourite though was another NZ horse in Royal Magic trained and ridden by the famed O’Sullivans from across the ditch.

hane Dye became known as one of the most analytical jockeys. He was exceptional in rating every race and assessing the conditions. He always maintains that he rode the race well, and to be fair Mannerism was only ahead on the post winning in the closest of photos. An interesting factor in the race was just how wet was the track that day. The three placegetters in the race jumped from wide barriers suggesting that being close to the rail was not where you wanted to be. The race was run in a time of 2.34.90. In comparison, Descarado won on a Heavy 9 in 2010 in a time of 2.35.69. Both Even Stevens (2.34.10) and Redcraze (2.33.75) recorded

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quicker times in their wins on tracks that were rated as Heavy. Gurner’s Lane won on a Slow track in 1982 in 2.32.50 while Sydeston in 1990 won in 2.31.60 again on a track supposedly rated as Slow. We can probably suggest that the track raced as a genuine Heavy track in 1992. Dye rode Veandercross as the best horse in the race which he clearly was. We need to remember that this was the first time that Dye had ridden the horse, and it seems likely that he hit the front earlier than was intended. Veandercross accelerated incredibly quickly when asked for an effort that may well have surprised his jockey a little. With the benefit of hindsight though we know that Veandercross, in a stellar career, never won past 2000m. Certainly he should have won the Caulfield Cup, and he was taking ground at the end of 3200m in the Melbourne Cup, but realistically the 2400m might have just been a few metres too far for him. Pay careful attention to the jump when you will see Dye take hold of Veandercross. We will let you make up your own mind. 1992 FOSTER'S CAULFIELD CUP

2400 metres (Saturday, October 17) Group 1. Handicap of $1,000,000 and $3000 trophy. First: $650,000 plus trophy; Second: $200,000; Third: $100,000; Fourth: $50,000. 1 9-1 2 5-2 fav 3 20-1 Then followed: 4 11-1 5 66-1 6 11-2 7 16-1 8 20-1 9 80-1 10 16-1 11 100-1 12 14-1 13 16-1 14 50-1 15 12-1 16 10-1 17 50-1 18 40-1

MANNERISM (b m 5y, Amyntor (FR) - Northwood Manner) Tr: Lee Freedman VEANDERCROSS (NZ) (b g 4y, Crossways (GB) - Lavender (NZ) Tr: John Wheeler AQUIDITY (NZ) (br g 8y, Avaray (Fr.) - Lady Joelyn (NZ) Tr: Tommy Smith

54.5kg 55kg 54.5kg

Damien Oliver Shane Dye Jim Cassidy

Subzero (gr g 4y, Kala Dancer (GB) - Wiley Trade (USA) Lee Freedman Gatherneaux (b m 4y, Twig Moss (Fr.) - Royal Deal (NZ) Lee Freedman Royal Magic (NZ) (ch m 4y, Tumblin Hill (USA) - Sunflower (NZ) D J O'Sullivan Castletown (NZ) (b g 6y, One Pound Sterling (GB) - Mona Curragh (Ire.) P M Busuttin Dr. Grace (NZ) (br h 6y, Sir Tristram (Ire.) - English Wonder) Dr Geoff Chapman Staring (NZ) (b m 4y, Fiesta Star - Sweet Violet (NZ) M P Baker Te Akau Nick (NZ) (b g 4y, Grosvenor (NZ) - Antoinette (NZ) Gai Waterhouse Regal Sea (NZ) (b m 4y, Dahar (USA) - Evening Sea (USA) Lee Freedman Ramyah (b/br m 4y, Raami (GB) - Rich Fantasy (NZ) Gerald Ryan Heroicity (gr h 4y, Cheraw (Ire.) - Fleeting World (NZ) Lee Freedman My Brilliant Star (b/br m 4y, Copper Kingdom (USA) - Centida) R V Clelland Dark Ksar (br g 4y, Ksar Royal - Gentle Pal) David Hayes Star Of The Realm (ch g 4y, Imperial Prince (Ire.) - Stage Girl (GB) John Meagher My Eagle Eye (NZ) (b g 5y, Grosvenor (NZ) - Ogle (NZ) M P Baker Grooming (b g 5y, Nassipour (USA) - Constella (NZ) E F Cameron

54.5 49 51 57.5 55 50 53.5 49.5 49.5 54.5 50 51.5 54 57 55

G Hall D Nikolic L A O'Sullivan N G Harris B York P Payne L Dittman A Matthews D Taggart S D Marshall P Hutchinson M Clarke S King G L Cooksley C Munce

Scratched: Mantlepiece. Won by: short 1/2 head, 2 lengths. Time: 2:34.9. Track: slow.

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