TURF MONTHLY January 2023 by turfmonthly

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TURF

January 2023

THIS MONTH

CHESTER - SIMPLY OUTSTANDING GOLD TRIP MANZOICE THE GENE POOL - DOSAGES

Editor’s Letter

Once again it is a New Year and that means Magic Millions on the Gold Coast. Sadly it has been a while since I have managed to get to the sale but next year might be on the schedule. Not only is it a great time to catch up with friends from all areas of the racing industry, but it is the time of dreams for the new stallions whose first crops will be making their public debut. Even though it may only be a handful of yearlings on show, it can be critical to a stallion’s success. Obviously what they do on the track will be the true test, but the presentation of the first yearlings no doubt play a huge role in public perception of the freshman stallions for right or for wrong. We have actually written in past editions on most of these new stallions including the likes of Blue Point, Calyx, Castelvecchio, Magna Grecia, Royal Meeting, Omaha Beach, Yes Yes Yes and Zousain. The quality of these horses on the track is outstanding but we know only too well that this does not always translate to success at stud. Yes Yes Yes holds an interesting place in history being the first Everest winner to ever go to stud. He alone is represented by twenty-nine yearlings at the Magic Millions sale alone. It is clear that the rules that used to relate to opportunity of stallions have long gone by the wayside. We could no doubt mount an argument as to the impact of these huge numbers on the industry and the long-term health of the breed. Given that the official coverings are not yet available through the Stud Book, Yes Yes Yes covered 380 mares in his first two seasons and, although his fertility rate is not the highest, there are over 200 live foals on the ground by the stallion before one even is seen in public. The fact that so many of them have been accepted into this early sale would suggest that he is producing a precocious looking youngster, but there is no guarantee of racing success yet it is easy to see plenty of buyers lining up looking for the next big thing. If we look at comparisons from not that long ago, the immortal Danehill had a total of 99 live foals from 136 mares in his first two seasons. His first crop produced six individual stakeswinners and if any of the new stallions was to go close to that, he would certainly be the next big thing. Irrespective of what happens, the dreams that Magic Millions sells is the very heart of the racing world. Until next month

CONTENTS 4

Gold Trip

Manzoice

Chester

Chester At Stud

Chester Descendants

The Gene Pool DOSAGES - A HISTORY Cover Photo 2022 VRC Derby winner MANZOICE

Dark Star winning the 1953 Kentucky Derby

Ross Prowd

Turf Monthly ABN 64 892 144 940 Phone 0412 712 181

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

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GOLD TRIP

MELBOURNE CUP WINNER 2023

old Trip won his way into Australian racing folklore by winning the 2022 Melbourne Cup on 1 November. The French bred stallion is another of the great results for Australian Bloodstock who have been importing overseas stayers into the country for some years. Despite Gold Trip now having earnings in excess of $6 million, the Cup was only his second race win and his first since arriving in Australia in September 2021. He was also rather harshly treated in the event, carrying top weight of 57.5kg in what can only be a reflection on the field this year. There were 13 Northern Hemisphere bred horses in the 23 horse field which was reduced with the scratching of the Irish bred Point Nepean.

old Trip first faced the starter on 24 October 2019 as a 2yo over a mile at Deauville in France. Getting back in the field he finished strongly to be beaten a head by Nat King by Nathaniel. Interestingly that gelding was to end his career in July 2021, only ever recording one more win in a 3yo Handicap at Chantilly. Three weeks later the colt had his last start at that age, running fifth of ten runners over the same distance at Saint Cloud. The colt returned as a 3yo at Saint Cloud in May 2020 over 2100m, running second to Port Guillaume. That horse is also in Australia arriving in 2021 and finishing twenty-first behind Verry Elleegant in the Melbourne Cup of that year. He has certainly not adapted to Australian racing and his last run was a well beaten ninth behind Port Philip over 2400m at Caulfield in October. Gold Trip was to win his next start in the Group 2 Prix Greffulhe at Lyon. He then started in the French Derby, finishing eleventh behind Mishriff with Port Guillaume a good fifth in the race. After a let up it was a good third behind Mogul in the Group 1 Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris before Gold Trip finished his 3yo season with a fourth behind Sottsass in the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, beaten only two lengths. After another break, the lightly raced 4yo returned to run sixth in the Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt at Longchamp which was won by Skalleti on 11 April 2021. His only other run that campaign was to be a second in the Group 1 Prix Ganay behind Mare Australis who had run second in the Prix d’Harcourt. Gold Trip ran home well but was a length and three quarters behind the mare who had led all of the way. After a break he returned again in a Group 1 race, this time

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the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud where he was to run third behind the Aiden O’Brien trained Broome, who like Mare Australis was by the champion galloper, Australia. On 25 September, Gold Trip arrived in Australia where he was sent to the stable of Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.

old Trip was to have his first start in Australia at Rosehill in the Listed ATC Foundation Winter Challenge over 1500m on 30 July 2022. He was to run a good third behind the Waterhouse/Bott trained Cross Talk beaten 3.5 lengths over the unsuitable journey. Not surprisingly, he settled at the tail of the field and ran home well. After a short break, Gold Trip was off to Melbourne where he was sent over the 2000m at Caulfield in the MRC Foundation Cup. He was able to settle much closer to the lead, but failed to overhaul Smokin’ Romans and Uncle Bryn finishing third. On 1 October he again chased Smokin’ Romans, this time finishing fifth beaten a little less than two lengths. On to the Caulfield Cup and Gold Trip looked the likely winner inside the last 200m before another imported horse in Durston finished too strongly to win by 0.2 lengths. Gold Trip then found the 2040m of the Cox Plate against the weight for age horses not quite to his liking although he ran well finishing ninth but within three lengths of champion galloper Anamoe. Despite his good form, Gold Trip was sent out at $21 in the Melbourne Cup where he was impressive winning by two lengths from another import in Emissary.

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he horse is a son of Outstrip, a stallion we know little of in Australia. He is however a son of the sensational Darley stallion, Exceed And Excel and was a result of that stallion’s shuttle career to the Northern Hemisphere. Outstrip’s performance on the track reflected the speed and precocity that Exceed And Excel is best known for. He was beaten at his first start over 1400m at Goodwood, but at his second run won the Group 2 Champagne Stakes impressively by three lengths. He then ran third in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes behind Command before Godolphin took him to the US where he was victorious in the prestigious Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Returning as a 3yo, Outstrip was disappointing behind Night Of Thunder in the 2000 Guineas Stakes over a mile, and then improved to run third in the St James's Palace Stakes behind Kingman and Night Of Thunder. A fourth of four runners, beaten less than three lengths in the Sussex Stakes again behind Kingman rounded out his campaign. Outstrip was to start three more times without success before retiring to stud at Darley in the UK. After limited success, he was sold to Brazil in 2021 and no doubt his new buyers will be excited by Gold Trip’s success. We might think it odd that Outstrip is siring a Melbourne Cup winner given his sire and his own performance, and it is likely that we need only to look at his damsire, El Prado to find out that genetics are not always so obvious. El Prado’s progeny had an Average Winning Distance of 10 furlongs as compared to Exceed And Excel at 6.8 furlongs. In contrast we see that Outstrip now has an AWD of 8.7 furlong which is noticeable given that the stallion himself won up to a mile. The dam of Outstrip was

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Gold Trip has relatively little inbreeding with only 5.86% which is something we expect to see in many of our stayers in particular in the modern breed. With four lines of Northern Dancer, this is far from unusual but in this case, the duplications of Northern Dancer come with some interesting relationships. Lomond who we see as the damsire of Exceed And Excel is a half-brother to the great US stallion, Seattle Slew who we find in the pedigree of Dubai Destination. On top of that we see Sadler’s Wells appear through El Prado in the female line of Outstrip who of course is a three-quarter brother to Nureyev who appears in the pedigree of Kingmambo. We also see three lines of Sir Gaylord, two of these through his great son, Sir Ivor who is duplicated within the pedigree of the dam of Outstrip, and through another son in Habitat who appears in Gold Trip’s direct female line.

Asi Siempre who was the winner of the Spinster Stakes in the US over 9 furlongs. As for Gold Trip, he was out of a mare called Sarvana by Dubai Destination. She is also the dam of Got Wind by Olympic Glory who was placed in the Listed Aymeri de Mauleon at Toulouse over a mile at only her third race start as a 3yo. Sarvana was a half-sister to Sarkiyla by Oasis Dream who won the Group 3 Prix de Lieurey and was placed in the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet. While it is very much a French family in recent times, some lines of the family have made it to Australia. The most notable we see of late is that of the full siblings Saxon and Power Of Destiny by Danehill. Saxon won the Queensland Guineas and Doomben Classic and ended up at stud in WA where he produced four stakes winners. Power Of Destiny was placed in the Pago Pago as a 2yo behind eventual Golden Slipper winner Stratum and as a 3yo was second in the Gloaming Stakes behind Pendragon. At stud he produced only one stakes winner in Destiny’s Kiss who was quite remarkable winning ten times at Listed level and was placed in black type races on sixteen occasions. He was to run seventh behind Gallante in the 2016 Sydney Cup and the following year ran fourth behind Big Duke in the St Leger. All up, Destiny’s Kiss was to start on 102 occasions, winning nineteen races and over $1.5 million in stakes.

s an entire, the future of Gold Trip will be interesting. We often hear that Melbourne Cup winners do not make stallions, but we have seen plenty of champions of the past excelling after their Cup victory. In recent times we have seen Shocking and Americain producing their share of winners, and we cannot forget that one of our top stallions in So You Think ran third in the Melbourne Cup. We must remember that few stallions get their chance to run in the Cup after all, and few of those go to stud so perhaps it is time to rethink the future of stayers at stud locally. While Gold Trip is from a family that gave us only a couple of moderate stallions locally, if we delve further into his pedigree we see that it also boasts stallions like Devil’s Bag, Saint Ballado and Singspiel who all had significant success overseas. Most likely the greatest chance for Gold Trip succeeding at stud may lie in New Zealand where he is much more likely to get the opportunity that he deserves. On the track no doubt connections will be trying to see if he can win a Group 1 race between 1600m to 2000m to convince breeders here that there is more to him than winning a Melbourne Cup. Hopefully we will get the chance to have a look at his future in the breeding barn in years to come.

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MANZOICE

A SURPRISE DERBY WINNER

anzoice caused an upset in the VRC Derby winning impressively at the lucrative odds of $21. The colt, from the first crop of Almanzor, made $340,000 at the Magic Millions Yearling sale in 2021 when knocked down to a bid from Waller Racing and Mulcaster Bloodstock. His dam Choice by Mastercraftsman was a Group 3 winner in New Zealand with victory in the Eulogy Stakes at Manawatu. She was also twice placed in Listed races. Manzoice is her third foal, with her first by Night Of Thunder called Regal Ruby who won a maiden over 1400m, and a colt by Iffraaj called Raajoices who recently won a maiden over 1950m. His second dam was Femme Britannia by Encosta De Lago who had six foals for one winner. His third dam was Baroness Britney by Barathea who was a half-sister to good Brisbane performers, Listed winners Latin Quarter and Elected. While this may sound quite moderate, if we look more closely, we see that this family, the Bruce Lowe 16c line, is actually that of the great stallion, Zabeel. Manzoice was the first local stakes winner for Almanzor, a son of Wootton Bassett who stands appropriately at Cambridge Stud in NZ, the home of Zabeel.

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Manzoice at 8.59% has a relatively high level of inbreeding however again we see that none is closer than the fifth and sixth generations. We can rightly describe the pedigree as a five generation outcross which is a little misleading when we see the level of inbreeding that sits behind that. With Almanzor having a relatively unknown pedigree in Australasia, the lack of close inbreeding will be a regular feature of his progeny, and perhaps a factor that will impact his long term success. In this pedigree though it tends to be the names that we know well that we see duplicated. Stallions like Mr Prospector, Northern Dancer and Danzig are common influences, and interestingly we see the three-quarter sibling sons of Northern Dancer in Nureyev and Fairy King present. Sharpen Up and Mill Reef are not unusual influences to see duplicated but it is Caro, a champion Irish bred and French raced stallion who stood at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky who offers a relatively unique influence in this colt’s pedigree.

fter two moderate trials, Manzoice had his first race start at Wyong in a 2yo maiden on 28 July, days before he was to turn three. He ran second, beaten 1.3 lengths by Major Beel running on well in the straight after settling midfield. Over the same distance at Rosehill two weeks later, now as a 3yo, he was to win a BM72 with Backrower a close second and Major Beel in third. He was then ninth in the Group 3 Ming Dynasty behind Golden Mile before a good second when stepping up to 1800m in a BM72 behind the imported Irish horse, White Marlin. Connections challenged the colt by sending him to the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes where he finished eighth behind Sharp ’n’ Smart who was to start favourite in the VRC Derby. Sharp ‘n’ Smart is another NZ bred colt, this time by Redwood, a son of High Chaparral. He had also won the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes and was a heavily backed $2.90 favourite in the Derby.

n Melbourne, Manzoice was relatively unwanted in the betting especially in light of the support for the favourite. Sharp ‘n’ Smart hit the front but was run down late by Manzoice who showed that he appreciated the 2500m journey. The third horse home was Aberfeldie Boy who is a son of So You Think, another son of High Chaparral. High Chaparral is a son of Sadler’s Wells and if we look back into the pedigree of Manzoice, we also see that Barathea, his great grandsire, is a son of Sadler’s Wells who is now playing such a critical role in terms of stamina in the local breed. For Manzoice, and in fact all of the runners in the VRC Derby, we will see how they progress in the Autumn. Sadly, the importance of the VRC Derby has been reducing and this is especially glaring when we look at the history of that great race. Hopefully Manzoice, and his impressive sire Almanzor, will buck the trend and see him excel in the staying races during the Autumn.

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CHESTER

THE ORIGINS OF THE BREED

ast month we looked at the great Yattendon. Now we turn our attention to arguably his greatest son in Chester. He was bred by Edward King Cox out of his impressively bred imported English mare Lady Chester by Stockwell which resided at his famed Fernhill Stud. King put the yearling through the sales of George Kiss and Thomas Clibborn on 18 April 1876. He was an outstanding type and took the eye of many onlookers including one scribe from the Evening News who described the colt in glowing terms. ““No grander yearling was ever seen at Randwick whilst his condition, and likewise all that offered from the same stud, showed that neither expense nor trouble had been grudged in bringing them to market under the most favourable auspices.” Another who liked the colt was the Hon. James White who signed for the yearling on a bid of 490 guineas.

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o one ever disclosed what transpired, but when the colt went to the track it was not in the name of White, but rather that of his breeder, EK Cox. It was speculated that the colt had failed a veterinary examination but, in a time when horses changed hands regularly, we will never know the reason. Nonetheless, Chester entered the stables of Sam Harding who had trained the 1874 Melbourne Cup winner, Haricot for the Chirnside brothers, Andrew and Thomas. The AJC did not allow for racing of 2yo’s before January, and Chester faced the starter for the first time on New Year’s Day 1874 over five furlongs at Randwick. The impressive looking colt had attracted plenty of interest in trackwork and was sent out as the 5/2 favourite. Chester led into the straight but the Victorian colt, Viscount, who had run fourth in the Maribyrnong Plate and was owned by Sir Hercules Robinson, issued a strong challenge, eventually winning by a head. By now, Chester was an impressive 16 hands and most racing men of the time concluded that given time, he would furnish into the best horse in the land. This opinion was shared by Sir Robinson who had been offered Chester as a yearling on his own terms, but refused the offer considering the colt too coarse. The colt was put away and did not race again until the Autumn.

eappearing on 2 April 1877, Chester did so under the care of the legendary trainer Etienne de Mestre. He raced three times during the carnival for three wins. His first was in the Champagne Stakes over five furlongs in what was the largest 2yo field ever seen at Randwick at the time with seventeen starters. It was a quality field that included Viscount, his first up conqueror together with Habena and Expectation, who had quinellaed the VRC Maribyrnong Plate. Chester again led into the straight, but a more mature galloper by now he careened away to win by six lengths with Expectation in second and Royalty third. The colt had started the pronounced 2/1 favourite. On the second day of the carnival two days later only six runners lined up for the Breeders’ Plate. Again, Chester dominated the field as the 5/2 on favourite, winning comfortably from Royalty. Two days later, on the final day of the carnival, six 2yo’s lined up in the Sires’ Produce over seven furlongs with Chester the strong favourite at 6/4 on. This time Waterford, a son of The Marquis owned by HT Bowler led the star colt into the straight. At the distance, Chester ran past the plucky little chestnut who refused to give in, battling with Chester who won by a short neck. Cap-a-Pie trained by de Mestre was third.

ames White by now must have been regretting that he let the star colt get away. He offered Cox £2,000 for Chester, a figure that Cox could not pass up. White clearly was impressed with the pedigree of the colt as the same week he purchased Chester’s full brother which was later named Roodee for 1150 guineas at the annual Clibborn and Company sale. That was the highest price ever paid for a yearling in Australia at the time. Both Chester and his young brother were sent to de Mestre at Terrara despite rumours that White was intending to send them to another trainer.

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uring the break, the stable backed Chester heavily for the Spring riches. He was backed heavily in the AJC Derby, VRC Derby and Melbourne Cup. Surprisingly, the VRC handicapper had actually rated another rising 3yo in the Melbourne based First King ahead of Chester, and racegoers were excited at the prospect of a clash of the two. When the market for the AJC Derby opened, Chester was installed the 7/2 favourite, and as time progressed, he would line up as the 5/4 pick. First King had not been nominated for the Sydney event, and a field of only ten runners faced the starter at Chester’s first run as a 3yo in the Derby on 1 September 1977. Chester’s jockey George Donnelly had not expected to retain the mount on the colt given the change of ownership, and his weight ballooned between the carnivals. Donnelly was surprised to be engaged to ride Chester in the Derby and had to lose around four kilograms in the week leading up to the race. Many onlookers claim that Donnelly was unable to do justice on his mount in the concluding stages due to his weakened state from wasting. It had rained for the week preceding the Derby, and the poor weather continued on Derby Day. The horses went to the start still carrying blankets with the jockeys following on foot. The Victorian visitor Salisbury who had drawn the outside took the lead but was fighting with his jockey for the entire trip. He had run his race and he raised the white flag as the field came towards the home turn. Chester who had travelled well went to the lead along with Cap-a-Pie and Woodlands. The three went head to head for the entire straight and it was a bob of the head finish. The race was so close that several telegrams were sent from the course declaring Chester the winner before the judge raised the number of Woodlands. The public were vocal about Donnelly’s handling of Chester, and it was to be among the last race ride that George was to ever take. He had been prudent with his money and was later to become the licensee at the AJC Hotel at Randwick and trained a small but successful string of horses. Woodlands was a son of the top stallion Maribyrnong and had been bred by Thomas Lee. He was a half-brother to the 1871 Derby winner Javelin. Woodlands had been best backed to beat Chester on the strength of wins in the Maiden Plate and Hawkesbury Guineas before the Derby.

he Derby was to be Chester’s only defeat for the Spring. At the end of the Randwick carnival five days later he turned the tables on Woodlands, easily winning the ten-furlong Mares’ Produce as the 5/4 favourite with a new jockey, Paddy Pigott in the saddle. De Mestre then took the colt to Melbourne where he lined up in the VRC Derby at his first run. It was also to be his first meeting with the Victorian star, First King. Unfortunately First King had an interrupted preparation suffering from a split hoof. He was forced to run in racing plates while Chester was barefoot in an interesting insight into racing of the day. An estimated crowd of 23,000 witnessed the VRC Derby at Flemington. The trainer of Woodlands chose to bypass the race

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James White

and was to run second behind the great Robinson Crusoe in the weight-for-age Melbourne Stakes. Chester was 5/4 on favourite for the Derby in a field of twelve with First King at 5/1. The start was delayed for some time as was common in the day under the flag start conditions. When they finally jumped, Devilshoof lead at a strong pace with both Chester and First King well back. Piggot though had taken the champion to the front before the half-mile and by the time the field entered the straight had cleared out. Chester coasted to the line to win in a time of 2 minutes 43 seconds making it the fastest Derby run to date. Plato was to run second while First King ridden by legendary jockey Tom Hales finished a creditable third. As a result of his win, Chester was promoted to joint favourite for the Melbourne Cup, along with another 3yo in Savanaka owned by VRC committeeman and steward, Herbert Power. Power had swapped his beaten Melbourne Cup favourite, Feu d’Artiface for the unraced grey colt with breeder John Lee. The brother to Lecturer and Kingsborough had been sensationally backed by the connections of the St Albans stable of James Wilson. Not thinking that Savanaka would be suited by the set weights conditions of the Derby, connections had always had the Cup in mind. He had only had two starts with his first an unplaced run in the Maribyrnong Plate. He then won a Flying Stakes at the same meeting over six furlongs beating some good horses in the process. Connections backed him to win more than £40,000 in a single day at the Tattersall’s Club in Melbourne but the public was dubious about a horse that had only two starts, with the longest over six furlongs, and having his first start for the season in the Melbourne Cup. As a result, the small punter was happy to be on Chester. This was something of a dark time in Australian racing, with bribes and nobbling almost commonplace. In fact, Woodlands had been the subject of an attack before the race when a window to his stall was broken and a broken bottle and oyster shells were thrown in with the hope that the horse would be injured. Luckily the worst was a few scratches on his rump. Just prior to this, the VRC had announced its intention to start a register of all qualified respectable jockeys and trainers in an attempt to improve the image of racing.

crowd of 76,000 were in attendance under heavy skies for Cup Day. Rain throughout the day made the Flemington track greasy, and although Chester was again racing without plates, de Mestre hammered a few nails into his hooves to prevent the colt from slipping. A field of thirty-three runners lined up with the rain holding off for the race. The race started sensationally with Robinson Crusoe and Amendment facing backwards when the field was let go, both losing many lengths in the process. Fisherman led early at a good pace, but started to drop back as the field passed the abattoirs. As a result, Waxy was to fall which was to bring undone the plunge on Savanaka who was travelling behind Waxy and badly TURF MONTHLY 17

Ette de Mestre

inconvenienced, losing a lot of ground. Meanwhile, Chester and Ormiston had taken over with Chester going well clear as the field entered the last furlong. The colt was travelling so easily that Pigott began to ease up his mount not knowing that the unlucky Savanaka was finishing with great strides. In the end, the plunge failed by only a half-head with The Vagabond three lengths away in third. There was a furore though about the “Savanaka coup” that lingered in Australian racing. The Press in particular was vehement in their condemnation of the actions of Power and Wilson. Remembering that Herbert Power was a significant figure in Australian racing whose name is still honoured by the VRC, his response was telling. He simply stated that Savanaka was his horse and that he would do with it what he wished. It was his business, and his alone, if he chose not to run the horse in public. Such a response did not endear connections of St Alban with the public, and again one reporter of the day said that “the public gained intense satisfaction that the clever party at St Albans, whose deeds are dark and ways mysterious, got bowled over for once and that Mr de Mestre had won the Cup for the Hon James White, a man who races for sport, not money.” Power again responded, this time pointing out that White had been very publicly paid out £10,000 to £400 by the big betting bookmaker, Joe Thompson. The difference of course is that White and his stable had been very public in backing their charge as soon as betting for the features opened, and the colt’s form, together with the stable’s opinion of him, was very public. Chester’s win in the Melbourne Cup of 1877 saw him become only the third horse to have won the VRC Derby/Melbourne Cup double after Lantern and Briseis. Chester was also to line up again the following Saturday over the ten furlongs (2000m) of the Mares’ Produce with First King his main danger in the field of six. Chester again proved himself superior beating the Victorian colt by a length at the prohibitive odds of 4/1 on.

he Autumn of Chester’s 3yo season was to tell a different story. The colt had stayed at Williamstown to prepare for the Champion Stakes over three miles on New Year’s Day. By then, the hoof issue that had plagued First King had cleared but rather ironically, Chester was showing foot issues from the hard surfaces he struck in training after the wet Spring. First King returned in impressive style in trackwork at St Albans, reportedly beating Savanaka comfortably when giving that horse 12.5 kg in a gallop over three miles. James Wilson’s confidence in First King was rewarded when the colt was taken to the front in the Champion’s Stake with a mile left to run, and he cruised home four lengths to the good of Chester. The race was run some 8.5 seconds faster than the Australian record for the distance. The time led to the VRC Secretary, a surveyor in Mr Bagot, having the track re-surveyed only

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to find that it actually measured around eight inches shorter than it should. The pair met again in a three horse field in the St Leger at Flemington on 2 March with the other runner being Pardon, a stablemate of First King that Wilson had entered as a pacemaker. Again it was to be the Victorian colt that was successful, but it was a terrific race with Chester failing by only a short head. Most onlookers were critical of the ride of Piggott claiming that he had let the colt go too early allowing First King the chance to head him on the line. First King then won the Australian Cup but the pair met again on the last day of the carnival only a week later in the Town Plate this time with Chester winning against a colt that may have been showing signs of his tough campaign. Wilson certainly thought so and chose to keep the colt in Melbourne while Chester returned to Sydney for the remainder of the Autumn. In the Cumberland Plate over two miles Chester dead-heated with Cap-a-Pie who had changed stables to that of Albert Cornwell for owner Andrew Town, but then defeated that horse in the run-off. To round off his 3yo career, Chester then again beat the same horse in the three-mile AJC Plate on the last day of the carnival as the red hot 4/1 on favourite. Chester’s performances for the season ensured that Yattendon won the sire’s title for the season, and also that James White topped the leading owner’s list for the first time to begin a dominance that was last over a decade. He raced five horses for the season who won a total of nineteen races and relegated his trainer, de Mestre into second place.

hester resumed as a four-year-old winning the Spring Stakes beating Woodlands. A week later he again beat Woodlands in the Craven Plate over two miles. He started at 5/1 on in the three horse field. Two days later it was a victory in the three-mile Randwick Plate where he beat his younger brother Roodee. Connections largely kept the horse to weight-for-age events for the latter part of his career as he was burdened with big weights in the handicaps. Nonetheless, de Mestre took Chester back to Melbourne where he again beat Cap-a-Pie in the Melbourne Stakes over 10 furlongs carrying 57kgs (9 stone). Chester then carried the same weight in the 1878 Melbourne Cup where he had his first unplaced run of his career. It was a harsh assessment as Chester early in the race veered out and ran into a post, resulting in his jockey Joe Morrison badly breaking his leg. In fact, Morrison was to be kept out of the saddle for many months and walked with a cane as a result of the fall. Both White and de Mestre gifted Morrison £100 each to see him back on his feet. As a sad footnote to that story, Morrison was to die on the operating table some years later during a procedure to alleviate the pain that he suffered from the injury. It is uncertain what effect this fall had on Chester as he fronted up two days later to run second to Warlock over two miles in the Royal park Stakes as the 7/2 on favourite. Another two days hence, Chester put in one of his worst performances to run fifth in the Canterbury Plate behind that same horse. He was quickly sent out for a break, and when he returned for the Autumn it was in the care of Michael Fennelly, who had become James White’s preferred trainer.

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First King

t seemed the break and the change of scenery did the trick as Chester was to win the Autumn Stakes over 12 furlongs (2400m) first up beating Savanaka. Connections of that Melbourne Cup plunge horse from a couple of years before finally got their revenge when Savanaka beat Chester in the Sydney Cup at his next start. Two days later only three runners faced the starter in the Cumberland Stakes with Chester beating Le Loup. The following day in the three-mile AJC Plate, Chester again was victorious in a three horse field with Le Loup again the runner up. He was sent for another spell, returning again on 30 April to win the Spring Stakes beating Hubert as the 7/2 on favourite. On 4 September he was to have his second and last start as a 5yo in the Craven Plate, finishing third of four horses behind Baronet. By now Chester was displaying leg issues and he was not to race again for over a year. He turned up for the Melbourne Stakes at Flemington with his legs swathed in bandages and he managed to overcome Hubert to win by a neck despite the bandages unravelling during the race. Chester returned to scale showing signs of lameness much to the dismay of many. He was to have only one more start, in the Melbourne Cup a few days later. Chester was to start at 20/1 against the emerging star of Australian racing in the remarkable unbeaten Grand Flaneur and was a creditable sixth to the wonder colt. Connections though wisely decided that the time had come for Chester to retire, and he was to stand as the foundation stallion for White’s new Kirkham Stud near Camden in NSW. Chester went on to become a champion stallion, winning the Sires’ Title on four occasions. In all, Chester retired with 19 wins, seven seconds and one third from 30 starts and prizemoney of £7,887. His victories ranged from five furlongs to three miles. Later we will have a look at his career at stud and Chester’s enduring influence on the Australian thoroughbred.

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Chester has quite a heavily inbred pedigree at 15.63%, but interestingly we see much of the inbreeding in the fifth and sixth generations. We must remember that the era in which he was born, the thoroughbred population was much smaller. With fewer horses, higher inbreeding was inevitably. It is still quite a remarkable pedigree and while the article from the Telegraph pointed out some interesting features, it neglected some very important ones. Most obvious was that Chester traced to the Delpini mare and we see in his sire line the stallion, The Colonel who is by Whisker out of the same mare. In fact, The Colonel and Apollonia were three-quarter siblings. To make this even more interesting, Sir Hercules who we see duplicated in the pedigree was by Whalebone, a full brother to Whisker.

CHESTER AT STUD

Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld: 1872 - 1947), Friday 22 July 1927, page 12

N EXTRAORDINARY SIRE. Though a great racehorse, I think it can be shown that Chester was something more than that as a sire, one that gained distinction that has not fallen to any other Australian sire. In the first place his treatment was unusual, he being almost confined to the little band of mares belonging to his owner at Kirkham, It is questionable if quite half a dozen of his progeny could be named apart from the home-bred ones, while a grand total of his sons and daughters to attain maturity would probably not exceed 70. This would be less than an average of seven a year for the eleven seasons he did stud duty if we Include his last season, which he did not live to complete. And yet so superior were those of his progeny that survived casualties and reached the racecourse, that Chester was at the head of the winning sires in Australia four times, and close up on all other occasions. His case is unique, the record of this remarkable horse being only slightly exceeded by the best of modern sires whose stud careers were in some cases twice as long as that of Chester, and who sired as many foals in perhaps two seasons (certainly in three) as Chester did during the whole of his career. Chester's first foals appeared in 1882, four in number, but one of them died early, leaving three possible runners — Monte Christo, Uralla, and First Chester. When I state that all three were not only runners, but noted winners, I believe I am stating a case that Is without precedent in turf

Camoola by Chester TURF MONTHLY 23

history. The grey Monte Christo, whose dam was by no means a fashionably bred mare, was the first of the Chester’s to win a race. Starting well by running second in the Maribyrnong Plate, Monte Christo broke the ice by winning the Juvenile Stakes at Caulfield on Boxing Day, 1884, beating a field of nine, which included two future Melbourne Cup winners In Arsenal and Dunlop. Although his wins later in the season included the V.R.C. Sires' Produce Stakes, Uralla was much hotter than Monte Christo, and her brilliant two-year-old career was crowned when she repeated her sire's triumph by winning the three great two-year-old races at Randwick Autumn Meeting, 1885. So completely did those two youngsters dominate the two-year-old situation that they place Chester fourth on the winning sires' list in his first season. First Chester ran well without winning in his first season, but the following season his wins included the Hawkesbury Guineas, while he ran third to Nordenfeldt and Uralla in the A.J.C. Derby and second (only beaten by a neck) in the V.R.C. Derby to Nordenfeldt, who was certainly one of Musket's greatest sons. In his second lot of foals, those of 1883, Chester had six runners, just twice the number of the first year, and they wero probably quite as brilliant. The pick of them was undoubtedly the beautiful brown filly Acme, who won the Richmond Stakes, Maribyrnong Plate and other races at two years, and after being spelled a year, come out again at four and proved herself a great mare by winning the Carrington Slakes and Tattersall's Cup. Never before or since on the Australian turf have we seen three such colts in the same stable, same season, and by the same sire as Abercorn, Cranbrook, and Carlyon. They were the pick of the Chester crop of 1884, but Lava was a really good mare that appeared at the same time, and the other Chester’s that run that year were winners also. Every runner sired by Chester in his first three seasons proved a winner. The untimely death of a magnificent chestnut brother to Acme robbed the Chester 1885 crop of its most promising member, but the following three years— 1886, 1887, and 1888 — each produced a splendid representative of

TURF MONTHLY 24

Spice - by Chester a winner of the Oaks

the clan. Although Dreadnought won the V.R.C. Derby and Australian Cup, his six battles at weight for age were alone sufficient to show what manner of horse he was. Titan, the phenomenal two-year-old, afterwards lost his form for a time, but eventually regained it completely, and was one of the great horses of the turf prior to his sudden death as six years of age. Stromboli was another brilliant two-year-old, while at three he won the A.J.C, Derby, Sydney Cup, and other races, and was second to Strathmore in the Caulfield Guineas and V.R C. Derby. Stromboli had a most unusual, indeed remarkable, career. After doing a season at the stud In Queensland he was taken by the late Mr. Bruce Lowe to America, where he earned distinction, both as a racehorse and a sire. His daughter, Obsidian, was considered the best twoyear-old in California in her year, while the following season two of his sons wero very good three-year-olds. Before his progeny had proved themselves Stromboli had returned to Australia. Chester's foals of 1889 were a wonderful lot. Six out of the seven were really good, four of them very good Indeed. Camoola and Autonomy were a pair of great colts both at two and three years of age. Warpaint, moderate at first, improved immensely as the years went on, was a high-class racehorse before he left the turf. Trieste was a galloper of the highest order, a worthy sister to Titan. Projectile was the best of the next year's lot. He was a good two-year-old, and at four won the Metropolitan and other races. In 1891 there were but three foals by Chester, now a sufferer from internal troubles. Still, wonderful to relate, all three were winners, two of them Chesterman and Malachite, making a bold bid for classic honours. Chesterman, a great stayer and winner of the Randwick Plate, was only beaten a head by Bonnie Scotland for the A.J.C. Derby, Malachite ran second to The Harvester in the V.R.C. Derby, with the A.J.C. Derby winner, Bonnie Scotland, third. Chester was a dying horse in the season of 1891, but the three foals he left have all played a part, and one of them, Fearnaught is the ancestress of the last Sydney Cup winner, that good Queensland performer, Piastoon. BID FOR ENGLISH DERBY.

he attempt to win an English Derby with a son of Chester ended in disappointment, but that would have been a miracle if out of the few sent home one had been

Kirkham

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found to survive foal-hood ailments, weather, the long journey home as a youngster, not be affected in any way by the change of climate, and then prove class enough to beat the best English colts. Just remembering the number of English nominations alone, to say nothing of those from France and America, and then think of the number that never reach the post. Still, I cannot help feeling that one of Mr. White's colts in Kirkham was unlucky not to win some good races in England. The form he showed at his first appearance was distinctly promising, as he finished third to two colts of class in a three-year-old race of some importance, with a goodly sized field behind him. With very slender chances Kirkham sired a number of winners, one of which, Kirkland, showed himself a horse of much more than ordinary grit by winning the Liverpool Grand National Steeplechase after having run second in the same event the year before. ABOUT ABERCORN.

n Abercorn Chester sired the greatest of all horses that were Australian bred in the male line for four generations. It was certainly a coincidence that Hanover was foaled the same year (1884) in America that Abercorn was foaled in Australia. For Hanover was four generations American bred in the mala line, and it was generally conceded that he was the greatest of all American horses of that generation. There may possibly have been some of the old-time sportsmen in America unwilling to admit that Hanover was superior to Lexington, who was also American bred to the same extent. And it is quite certain that most Americans to-day will declare that Man o' War now holds the position instead of either Lexington or Hanover. But no other horse so fully Australian bred has ever approached the form of Abercorn, whether before or since his day. That is another of the many distinctive features in Chester's record as a sire, but that he has another equally striking, that the following will help to show: —

Abercorn/Cocos Cranbrook/Cranberry

Carlyon/Gunga Din

Dreadnought/Renown

rom Sir Hercules to Cocoa or any the other horses named in the bottom line we have five generations of Australian-bred horses. Of those of the fifth generation Cocos won the V.R.C. Derby, Cranberry the A.J.C. Derby, Gunga Din the S.A.J.C., Derby, and Renown, the Canterbury (N.Z.) Derby and Auckland Grand Northern Derby. In addition to these, other sons of Carlyon and Dreadnought won Derbies also, making over half a dozen Derbies won by sons of Chester. Now seeing that, apart from these, there is not a single instance of an animal of any line of blood, Australian-bred to the fifth generation, either winning or ever being placed in a Derby of any sort, it would indeed be something if even one Derby had fallen to the line in question. What then shall we say of Chester, whose sons have sired winners of so many Derbies, to say nothing of places in others not referred to? Simply this, that Chester stands in a place by himself among Australian-bred sires.

INE OF WHISKER. By Yattendon (17), dam Lady Chester (8), by Stockwell (3), Chester's pedigree shows an entire absence of Touchstone and Melbourne blood. He is particularly strong in Whisker, as he not only comes in direct male line from that horse but has altogether four strains of the handsome Derby winner of 1815. And another celebrated Derby winner, Emilius, appears twice in the pedigree, together with a third strain of Orvllle (a St. Leger winner and sire of Emilius), through Muley. Whisker and Orville may therefore be said to predominate in the breeding of Chester.

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CHESTER DESCENDANTS

hester was a son of Yattendon who we looked at in detail last month. The stallion was to win the Sires’ Title in Australia on four occasions and was fundamental in the development of his owner, James White’s Kirkham Stud during such an important time for the Australian thoroughbred. The end of the nineteenth century was a time of great consolidation for the industry and for the community as our resources were highly sought after across the world. The dam of Chester in Lady Chester represented a growing trend by breeders such as Hurtle Fisher and Edward King Cox to import the best bloodlines that England had to offer. Lady Chester was a daughter of the great Stockwell and she made an incredible mark on the Australian thoroughbred even without the success of Chester. host of top quality horses trace back to Lady Chester. Last month we discussed Kilboy, Lovely Jubly and her son, Chautauqua through their relationship with Yattendon. What might surprise many readers, and quite a few breeders, is that these three stars all trace back to Lady Chester. Clearly the genetic strength of these two families continues to pay dividends almost 150 years on. If we can consider Lady Chester among our equine royalty, it again is interesting to note that Australia’s First Lady of racing, Gai Waterhouse has had her share of success with this family. Two of the horses that helped to establish her reputation as a trainer both traced back to Lady Chester. These were Pharaoh and Nothin’ Leica Dane. Pharaoh by Sackford out of Chateua Leica won 11 of his 57 starts and a little over $2 million in prizemoney in the early 1990’s. Included in his tally were three Group 1 races that featured back to back wins in the AJC Doncaster in 1994 and 1995. He was also to win the AJC Chipping Norton, another of Sydney’s great mile races in 1995. Nothin’ Leica Dane is probably best remembered for his 3yo season when he was one of a star crop that included Octagonal, Saintly and Filante. He beat Octagonal in the VRC Derby before going on to run a gallant second to Doriemus in the Melbourne Cup with Vintage Crop in third. Nothin’ Leica Dane was also important in that he

Pharaoh - Apollo Stakes

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was a son of the immortal Danehill out of another of the NZ Leica family in Leica Pretender. He finished his racing career overseas and ran second in the Group 3 Prix Foy at Longchamps in France before returning to stud in Australia where he had moderate success. His racing career ended with him earning over $1.7 million with six wins from 26 starts. At stud he sired eight stakes winners including Hot Danish who won 13 stakes races including the Group 1 AJC All-Aged Stakes and Doomben 10,000 and Cinque Centro who won the Group 1 Doomben Cup. s good as these horses were, there is one descendant of Lady Chester who many readers will remember fondly. The 1975 Australian Horse of the Year, and later a Hall of Fame entrant was the brilliant mare, Leilani who was trained by another of Australia’s legends in the great Bart Cummings. The daughter of Oncidium out of Lei was part-owned by Australian politician Andrew Peacock but was a late maturing type who did not race until she was three. She was also not a robust filly who suffered regularly from injury. Nonetheless, at her best there were few horses in Australia who could match her. She won the AJC Oaks by an impressive five lengths but in doing so fractured a bone in a hock, requiring her to spend six weeks in plaster. The Spring of her 4yo season was an outstanding display of galloping. In a little over a month, from early October to November, she stamped herself as a champion. On 5 October 1974 Leilani won the VRC Turnbull Stakes over 2000m by 1.25 lengths starting at odds-on on a heavy track. Next she won the Toorak Handicap, also at Group 1 level beating Bellora and Dandy Gem with margins of 3 lengths by 5 lengths. Leilani then had perhaps her finest moment winning the Caulfield Cup by almost three lengths bearing Broadway Hit and Turfcutter. Next up was the Mackinnon Stakes when she beat Battle Heights by a length. Leilani was the 7/2 equal favourite in the Melbourne Cup but it was her stablemate Think Big who spoiled the party winning by a length from the gallant mare. The following Saturday she made amends by winning the Queen’s Cup by 2.5 lengths from Gala Red and Battle Heights to round off a remarkable Spring. Leilani returned in the Autumn to win the CF Orr Stakes, St George Stakes, Queen’s Plate and Australian Cup before heading to Sydney. There she ran second to Gilt Pattern in the All-Aged

TURF MONTHLY 28

Leilani

Stakes over a mile before being beaten a short half head in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes behind Jandell despite starting the 2/1 on favourite. By now Cummings was having a battle to keep Leilani on the track with her constant injury issues and she had only six starts as a five year old. Her only win at that age was the St George Stakes and she ran second to the good galloper Taras Bulba in the Queen’s Plate and third to that galloper in the Queen Elizabeth. Leilani was to break down in the Tancred Cup and retired to stud with earnings of over $270,000 making her the highest stakes earning mare in Australasian racing at the time eclipsing the performance of Wiggle. She won 14 of her 29 starts, and her only unplaced run was her final appearance when she failed to finish. Her line continues to breed on although none to date have gone close to matching her own success. Among the stakes winners we see tracing to Leilani are Grand City by Citidancer, Forest Jim by Grosvenor and Hopfgarten by Mossman. eturning to Chester, he produced 26 stakes winners in a time when stakes races were far less common than they are today. Arguably his best progeny was Abercorn who we studied in detail some time ago. He won 18 stakes races including both the AJC and VRC Sires’ Produce, the AJC and VRC St Leger, the Champion Stakes and the AJC Derby. Among his other outstanding runners were Derby winners, Camoola, Dreadnought, and Stromboli, and Oaks winners, Lava, Spice, Tamarisk, Trieste and Uralla. rguably the most important long-term influence of Chester’s daughters came from Vestatia. Her dam was Volley by Musket and she was to produce one stakes winner in Vitula by Haut Brion who won the AJC December Stakes in 1903. Her descendants include one of the greatest mares of the Australian turf in Tranquil Star as well as Street Ruffian, the Manikato Stakes and dual VATC Chirnside Stakes winner, Calaway Gal, winner of the 2002 Golden Slipper, and Soorak who won the AJC December Stakes and Sires’ Produce and VATC Caulfield Guineas and Toorak Handicap. Other daughters of Chester have also been responsible for some of our great stars.

Imposing - 1979 Epsom

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he South Australian horse Royal Gem was another standout horse that traces back to a daughter of Chester, this time one called Enigma. Owned and bred by George Badham who was also the owner of Aurie’s Star, Royal Gem appears more commonly in pedigrees as Royal Gem II as he was taken to the US where he made his mark. Before we get to his stud career, Royal Gem was a daughter of Dhoti from a mare called French Gem who was to prove truly outstanding. In total she was to produce five stakes winners including Royal Gem. Her other stakes winners were Beau Gem who won nine stakes races including the VRC Derby, two Underwood Stakes and a Turnbull Stakes, Crown Gem, Royal Gem and Solar Gem. We should also remember than French Gem was a top race filly in her own right winning the 1938 VRC Oaks beating the favourite Talkalot in a close photo. But it is Royal Gem who was to be her most important son. In all he was to win 23 of his 51 starts that included 13 stakes wins. As a 2yo he was to win five of his seven starts including the Ascot Vale Stakes beating Nestor by two lengths. At three, he resumed to win the Whittier Handicap before running second in the Underwood Stakes behind St Fairy and in the Moonee Valley Stakes behind Attley. He then dead-heated with Attley in the Caulfield Guineas before closing the Spring with a string of wins in the Spring Stakes, Cantala Stakes and Linlithgow Stakes. The Autumn was less productive but he finished off the season with a victory in the Goodwood, another dead heat in the Sir Willoughby Norrie Stakes and a win in the Adelaide City Handicap. The following Spring saw Royal Gem win the Toorak Handicap and then his biggest win in the 1946 Caulfield Cup beating the lightly weighted Columnist by a neck. It was not the most popular of wins as he started at 33/1 in a race that saw the boom horse Bernborough unlucky in the run to finish fourth. As a 5yo he won the Futurity and Newmarket in Melbourne, and as a 6yo, his final season, he was to win the Underwood Stakes, equalling the course record in the process. etiring to stud in the US, Royal Gem was best noted as the sire of Dark Star who won the 1953 Kentucky Derby. He was also to run second in the Preakness behind another son of Royal Gem in Royal Bay Gem. Dark Gem went on to

TURF MONTHLY 30

Laser Hawk

Royal Gem’s Caulfield Cup

a good career at stud and he continues to play an important role in the modern thoroughbred. His descendants include the good stallion Bakharoff who we see in the pedigree of AJC Australian Derby winner, Headturner and fittingly the 2007 Caulfield Cup winner, Master O’Reilly. Another of his descendants is Prized who also stood at stud in NZ where he produced Prized Gem who won the Kelt Capital Stakes in NZ and the Brisbane and Prime Minister’s Cup in Queensland. Dark Star is also present in the pedigree of Artie Schiller who started shuttling to Australia in 2006 and has been here permanently since 2017. Among his best progeny born in Australia are Group 1 winners Flying Artie, winner of the Coolmore Stud Stakes and Laser Hawk who won the Rosehill Guineas. ne of the best sons of Todman to race was Imposing who won the George Main Stakes, Epsom Handicap, Hill Stakes and Tramway Handicap in 1979 before going on to a wonderful career at stud. In all he produced 22 stakes winners including Caulfield Cup and SA Oaks winner, Imposera, NZ Oaks and Avondale Cup winner, Solveig and the champion Super Impose who won 17 stakes races including a Cox Plate, two Epsoms, Doncasters and Chipping Nortons in a remarkable career that saw him earn a place in the Australian Racing Hall of Fame. Even with all of these stars, there is perhaps one that stands head and shoulders above all of the other descendants of Chester. That horse was the wonderful Peter Pan and we might wait until next month to talk more of this great champion that carried on Chester’s legacy.

Royal Bay Gem beats Dark Star in the Preakness

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DOSAGES A HISTORY

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Hurry On

Over 100 years ago, a French Cavalry officer by the name of Jean-Joseph Vuillier while researching pedigrees discovered that a very limited number of horses could be found in the pedigrees of the most successful racehorses. He termed these horses “chefs-de-race” which is quite literally French for the “leaders of the thoroughbred.” Basically though, Vuillier was concerned principally how often these “chefs” appeared in a pedigree, thereby conducting fundamentally a quantitative study. His results were exceptional, and he used these original dosage theories in the employ of the Aga Khan to establish one of the most successful thoroughbred breeding programs in the world. During the 1950’s, an Italian lawyer called Dr Franco Varola continued Vuillier’s study. His seminal work, “The Typology of the Racehorse” though was not published until 1974. He expanded the list of “chefs” to update the more modern influences. Critically, Varola looked not only at the number of times that these horses appeared, but at the influence that they had on their progeny. Because most were prolific stallions in their era, we have a large number of horses to assess and therefore a good vantage from which to observe the characteristics that they most commonly pass on to their progeny. It is critical at this stage to emphasize that we are looking at traits that stallions pass on to their progeny. While these may reflect their own racing performance, this is not always the case. This distinction also is one of the greatest misconceptions about genetic inheritance. Many pedigree students assume that it is the best or strongest genes that get passed on from generation to generation. We simply do not know this. It is just as likely that a top stallion is imparting the qualities of an unheralded ancestor as a champion. In dosage, we are looking at the inheritance of characteristics, not specific genes, although there is no doubt that there is a link. We do know that genes are modified by each individual. For example, if it was suggested that Hurry On, who appears twice in the pedigree of our first Champion Rain Lover, had genes that were present in that horse, it would be open to interpretation. There is not a Hurry On gene that may appear. In fact, the genes that he passed on to his son, Precipitation, and his daughter, Hurrybelle were different. Even if they were not, as in the case of identical twins, both Precipitation and Hurrybelle would transmit genes that were influenced by their own environment, and here I am using the term as one that is all encompassing. However, while the individual

Cyllene

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genes may vary, there are still dominant characteristics that can remain, and this is the basis of my understanding of the thoroughbred through my interpretation of the dosage system. The idea of trait inheritance is relatively old hat in terms of modern genetic understanding, but it allows us to understand the thoroughbred in a way that explains their performance and development. We can never forget that we are breeding for racing, and no individual genes are responsible for racing ability. Again, this is an area that has often been confusing for many breeders. In cases of cattle and sheep as examples, genetics and inbreeding have created animals with increased meat or wool production. Such simple genetic characteristics are not the aim of the thoroughbred breeder. We all know that there are myriad cases of the best physical specimen being the slowest. Serious genetic flaws are commonly found in the best racehorses, so the methodology must insist that the thoroughbred is far more than the sum of its parts. It is the unknown that we seek to understand; the spark that makes each particular thoroughbred champion. Returning to Varola, he was a man who concentrated on the “type” of a horse. He identified five major characteristics of the breed and classified them in terms of speed or stamina. The five components in order of speed are Brilliant, Intermediate, Classic, Solid and Professional. As well as relating to distance, these individual classifications do much more. They associate a range of factors that help us to predict the “type” of a horse including specific physical characteristics and even how quickly they are likely to mature. These key ancestors were first identified because of the frequency that they appear in the pedigrees of our successful racehorses. What we have been able to do because of the number of progeny that they produce, is to accurately predict the qualities that they are most likely to contribute to their offspring. We are looking not necessarily at physical characteristics, but often rather more intangible qualities although they are all inexorably linked. Brilliant ratings denote speed, and with speed come other common characteristics including horses that are close coupled, meaning they are of a short body type, and

TURF MONTHLY 34

Ladas

are also quite often relatively well muscled and heavy. As a comparison, these types are more like the 100m sprinter in human terms. In addition, these horses can often be of a nervous, flighty disposition. Intermediate ratings are also speed ratings, but not quite the same explosive type as our Brilliant ratings. In terms of distance, we often see that these are more of the 1400-1600m type horses. This characteristic has been linked to a will to win by some commentators, although this is a little of a stretch. They do however carry their speed quite often that little further than their Brilliant counterparts. They are also less likely to be the Champion 2yo that possesses blistering speed but are often the sprinters that will continue on as older horses. Again, if we were to compare them to our human athletes, we might suggest that they are the 400m runner in type. Not quite as defined or explosive as our pure sprinters, but still a long way from our marathon runners. Classic ratings have been central to the development of the thoroughbred perhaps more than any other. We see a growing number of stallions being classified as dual category stallions although usually we see that Classic is one of the two ratings. The history of the international thoroughbred has long seen the 3yo Classic races in the Oaks and Derby races as the most important. Horses compete over essentially the same distance even if there is a growing trend to reduce the distance of a number of these races. More importantly, they compete against their own age. Europe still retains their great heritage of these races, while they are seemingly of lessening importance in Australia. Classic ratings though are still critical to our understanding of the thoroughbred. These are the horses that we see winning quality races as 3yo’s although many true Classic horses will struggle against the older horses over staying journeys. We usually see these types as more of a versatile horse, often with the ability to perform early and train on in their 3yo season. To continue our comparison purely with a distance analogy in human athletes, we are more likely to see these as our “miler” types or those who perform over 1600m and a little further.

Marconigram

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Often the ability of many of these types to run the 2400m of a Classic relates a little more to their comparison with their peers at the age, rather than a true staying ability. Solid ratings have sometimes been a little underappreciated within the thoroughbred, but they are critical in the breed, and in fact this may be the greatest difference in the breed today than in many of their ancestors. With a lot of the staying races, especially in the US, being reduced in distance, we do not always see horses bred with the true stamina characteristics fully taken advantage of. These characteristics are more associated with types that are most likely to perform at distances from around 1800m to the 2400m that is now considered as staying races. In terms of our human counterparts, these are the runners that would perform at 5000m. Professional ratings are our true stamina ratings and are associated with slower maturing types. We must always remember that we can have sprinters who carry professional ratings that reflect not their ability to run over extreme distances, but more the fact that they are late bloomers. We do not often see horses with strong stamina ratings appearing on the track as 2yo’s and it is not unusual for some to not reach their peak until they are 5yo. Modern racing sees the limit of distance for thoroughbred races at 3200m, at least in Australia. In times gone by, it was not unusual to see races over 4000m or more. However, we now see the number of 3200m races being reduced, and traditional Cups races having their distances cut back to 2400m. This no doubt has an impact on the breed, and we are

TURF MONTHLY 36

Swynford

currently seeing a lessening of the frequency of these ratings in pedigrees. Perhaps it is the growing costs associated with racehorse ownership, but modern owners are certainly looking for returns from their horses before they reach the maturity and distance that Professional ratings have traditionally reflected. These are the marathon runners of the breed and it is easy to see the difference in type that these characteristics reflect. Imagine, if you will, the Olympic 100m Men’s Gold Medalist standing side by side with the Marathon Gold Medalist and you will understand a very basic lesson in typology between the Brilliant and Professional characteristics within dosage. When we talk of a horse’s dosage profile, we refer to the balance of the traits that individual possesses. The most common mistake in assessing horse pedigrees is to assume that the characteristics individuals show in their own performance are the ones that they will pass on to their progeny. During the 1980’s, a US mathematician by the name of Dr Steven Roman further quantified these influences by developing a set of mathematical equations to assess these influences. He called these relationships the Centre of Distribution [CD] and Dosage Index [DI]. In fact, it was the accessibility of Dr Roman’s dosage model that popularized the theory in the modern thoroughbred. The mathematical equation for determining the [CD] is [(Brilliant x 2) + Intermediate] - [Solid + (Professional x 2)] Total Points The formula for calculating the [DI] is – Brilliant + Intermediate + ½ Classic ½ Classic + Solid + Professional To calculate the CD and DI, we must first identify the presence of any chefs-de-race within the pedigree. If a chef-de-race is present, they are allocated sixteen points of influence in the first generation. This is allocated to their prescribed area of influence in any of the five classifications. Some stallions’ influence transcends one classification, and we may see that some are classified as Brilliant/Classic influences for example. This would suggest in terms of speed, that their progeny had a tendency to carry their speed across a range of distances. In terms of developmental issues, it may indicate that a stallion may produce offspring that will perform as 2yo’s but will also train on as 3yo’s. In the case of a stallion whose classification transcends two categories, their influence is split equally between both. In the first generation, that would mean eight points in Brilliant classification, and eight in Classic as per our example. If a stallion appears in the second generation of a pedigree, we can imagine that their influence is reduced. In terms of our calculations, our influence is halved so a stallion appearing in the second generation would be attributed only eight

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points in total to their classification. Similarly, the third generation influence would again be halved to four, and the fourth generation to two, until finally in the fifth generation, we see only one point of influence being allocated for each chef-de-race. If a chef-de-race appears more than once in a pedigree, it is important to note that its influence is allocated for each appearance. The reduced influence further back in pedigrees relates to the theory of genetic inheritance first espoused by the famous Gregor Mendel. To best illustrate this, it is easiest to look at some examples. We will use only a four generation calculation in this instance. Dr Steven Roman uses the four generation profile as the basis for his studies, and so much of the literature uses only the fourgeneration profile. For the remainder of the book, I have included both four and five generation profiles as I believe that we can learn from the variation in the two figures. Quite often there will be an influence in the fifth generation that plays a larger role in the overall balance of the individual. We would be unaware of this if we did not consider the extra generation, and perhaps poorer in our understanding for the sake of ease. For illustration, Black Caviar was the darling of the Australian turf not too long ago, and many will probably argue that she is our greatest ever thoroughbred. Her dosage profile reads for four generation: [CD/DI]

[B-I-C-S-P]

[1.37/6.50]

[19-5-4-2-0]

Looking at the individual points from the chefs-de-race in her pedigree we see that there are eight chefs-de-race in the first four generations of her pedigree which are shown, with their influences, in the following table: Stallion B

Danzig 0

Lunchtime 2

Nijinsky 0

Northern Dancer

Royal Academy

Snippets 4

Vain 6

Wilkes 2

Total 19

Clearly, the pedigree of Black Caviar is dominated by a number of speed influences. We see that Royal Academy in the second generation of her pedigree has the greatest number of points with eight shared between Brilliant and Intermediate ratings. Next, we see Vain, who appears twice in the mare’s pedigree, in both the third and fourth generations where he earns four and two points respectively.

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It is quite straightforward then to see how the individual ratings of each stallion is obtained. Next, we need to understand the relationship between the individual points and the Centre of Distribution and Dosage Index. The Centre of Distribution [CD] is a mathematical equation where we add two times the Brilliant ratings, in this case 19 x 2 =38 plus the Intermediate ratings [5] for a total of 43. We then subtract the Solid ratings [2] plus twice the Professional ratings [2 x 0 = 0]. This subtotal of 41 which is equal to 43 minus 2 is then divided by the total number of points which is 30 for a CD of 1.37. There is no real need to understand this equation, as long as we remember that there is largely more speed in the mating than there is stamina. The Dosage Index is a little more complicated but again it is not critical to remember the equation, just what it means. To find the DI we must add the Brilliant plus Intermediate ratings, in this case 19 plus 5 together with one half of the Classic ratings [4 divided by 2 equals 2] to give a total of 26. We then add half of the Classic ratings to the Solid and Professional ratings, which we see here is 2 plus 2 plus 0 giving a total of 4. We then divide 26 by 4 to give us a total DI of 6.50. Again, the DI, just like the CD, is a relationship between speed and stamina factors in the pedigree. Dosages remain an important tool in understanding the thoroughbred. However it is one of the most misunderstood theories in thoroughbred breeding espeically in a time when people think that there is an easy solution. There is no magic bullet, despite what some marketers say. We need to understand the thoroubred rather than rely on a computer programme to tell us what a suitable stallion is. Dosages is a great tool for undertanding the thoroughbred, but it is just that, a tool, albeit we would argue an importnat one. If you are interested in more information on doages, and how they can be applied to the modern thoroughbred, there are online resources at dosageprofile.com, dosages.com.au and dosage.online.

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