Bustino's Breeding Bits

Horses that may be considered for next year's staying races, including the Derby and Oaks, have been few and far between. Over the weekend I believe we saw two.
First up was Kirsten Rausing's, part-owned, Sons and Lovers. By her Deep Impact sire, Study of Man, out of a Smart Strike mare, he looks to have at the very least a 10f pedigree. Looking further back the colt's 5th dam is Rausing's root mare Sushila who was the dam of the useful Petoski. Rausing bought into this family in the early '80s and Sushila traces back to the dam of Valoris, a filly who won the Irish 1000G and the Epsom Oaks (she was the horse that caused the rift in Lester Piggott's relationship with his then retained stable of Noel Murless). Valoris was also a half-sister to French champion, Val de Loir, who won the Prix de Jockey Club. A good family who have become the 'S' family in Rausing's ownership. The latest star is Sandrine, who didn't quite get a mile but won good Group races over 3 years of racing and now goes to stud. Highly likely to be sent to Study of Man at some stage I'd have thought.

Sons and Lovers looks a well-made colt, who travelled well throughout the race but was joint last 3f out. At the bushes he started making progress on the outside with strong encouragement from Egan. He was only in front on the line. Wonderful debut for a young horse as Egan seemed mostly to be driving with hands and heels. One nice touch happened after the race when Egan paraded his winner on the far side of the course where his trainer and the joint owners (not in the best of health) had decided to 'quietly' watch his debut. A colt for next year I think.

The other colt to win was Geography who won Germany's leading 2yo race. A colt by the unfashionable Holy Roman Emperor, he is out of a Montjeu mare called Guajara. Unsurprisingly this is the famous German 'G' family that found its way to England when a daughter of Geography's 4th dam, Gonfalon, was purchased by Lesley Harrison for Lord Howard de Walden's stud. De Walden had some success but after his death there have been two Classic winners in the shape of Fame and Glory and Legatissimo. This is a stoutly bred family who produce classy horses. Similarly Geography is a colt to look out for next year: maybe not in our classic races, but later on who knows?.

 

Liked the debut of Glimpsed in today's 2nd division of the Maiden fillies event. Ryan rode a textbook introductory race on this Night of Thunder filly, making sure she used herself from the start and got the maximum experience from her first run. She was always prominent and when pushed to go forward 2f out did so, coming home under hands and heels, easily asserting herself.
She's out of an Effisio half-sister to Oaks winner, Look Here. Won over 7f today but on pedigree is unlikely to get much beyond 8f. However her half-brother, Scope, won the the Group 1 Prix Royal Oak over 15.5f: another interesting Richmond-Watson bred horse.

 

Major Lionel B will be applauding this result, wherever he is.

 

Impressive victory by Ancient Wisdom. Of course he's by Dubawi, being a Godolphin colt, out of a Dalakhani mare who traces back to Arc winner Gold River. Got some fancy Derby quotes but against him is his size and action. Both would make Epsom in June a difficult venue. On soft ground he'll be fine next year and given that that's been the prevalent going this year he could have a fine 3yo season. Of course his win franks the form of Rosallion but that was on Good ground.

 

A good 2nd day at the Breeder's Cup for top American sire Curlin with 3 winners. He hasn't made a hit over this side of the pond but that may change with these results. Yesterday he had two entire winners, Cody's Wish and Elite Power, who are owned by Godolphin and Juddmonte respectively. If these two go to stud with both studs owning large broodmare bands one or two offspring may find their way over here.
Why the interest? Well Curlin does not trace back to Northern Dancer and that is becoming increasingly rare, especially over here. He does trace back to Phalaris ( as does Northern Dancer) but not through the Nearco line, which makes him a rarity over here.
Of course there will be the usual prejudice against dirt horses but Justify hasn't done so badly over here this year. Though by Scat Daddy, Justify does trace back to Northern Dancer, which is why these two sons of Curlin are so interesting .

 

A poor second run by Glimpsed. Am I imagining it or does this often happen with Beckett-trained horses?

 

With the Flat season about to start just a few thoughts.

Coolmore have been stated as saying that they may be sending 80-100 mares to Justify this year. Amazing figures and to me slightly worrying.

Mehmas covered 250+ mares in 2021 and has a whole shedload of 2yos hitting the tracks this year. This season's First Season Sires are really up against it with so many of his offspring up against them. Maybe the BHA should introduce FSS races to help them out (I jest).

We should be asking ourselves why we have fewer outstanding horses today. When I first got interested in Thoroughbred (see I can spell it: it wasn't me who put that up against my name and I'm unable to change it) Breeding I often heard the phrase 'it's important not to overegg the custard'. Well the custard is truly overegged with all these big books of coverings by today's popular stallions.

 

Today's Guineas Trials at Newbury have to be a disappointment and they followed the two at Newmarket this week. Gone are the days when it was seen as strange to run in the Guineas without a previous run (eg Royal Palace and Brigadier Gerard).

What was more interesting today were the two 3yo maidens. The first was won by Haggas's Economics, who was backed as if defeat was out of the question. He didn't have the run of the race as he was on the far side while all the pace was on the stands side. However he was always travelling easily and took the lead of his group 3f out and came through to take the overall lead at the distance coming away to win relatively easily by 1&1/2 lengths. He's by Night of Thunder out of a Peintre Celebre mare called La Pomme d'Amour, who was trained to win the G2 Prix de Pomone (12&1/2f) twice. She was bred by Guy Reed and Economics was bred at the Copgrove Hall Stud, which used to be owned by Guy Reed, but it used to be the home of Major Lionel Holliday. The mare traces back to perhaps Reed's best mare Ardneasken who produced 2 of Reed's best horses Dakota and Warpath. This is family 21-a, also the best family of Holiliday's stud, though Holliday had nothing to do with Ardneasken.
Economics should get further and he's entered in the Dante and Derby. They may come too soon but this could be a useful colt.

Talking of Holliday, the 3rd in the race was a filly called Clove Hitch owned but not bred by Juddmonte. Clove Hitch jumped well but having led the stands side group (and the race) to the distance appeared to get tired. Murphy didn't give her a hard race and she can come on for this run. She's by Siyouni out of an Galileo mare who's a half-sister to Lillie Langtry (the dam of Minding). This is the family of Holliday's Vaguely Noble (the best horse he bred).

The following race was an 11f maiden and it was won in taking style by Hidden Law (by Dubawi). This wasn't a strong renewal of this maiden but there was no doubting the dominance of the winner. He is out of Oaks 2nd Secret Gesture, who is a full-sister to Japan and Mogul. He should get the Derby distance but is not entered and would have to overcome the statistic that non-running 2yos have an awful record in the Derby. However, he could be a colt for the future. Incidentally, when Secret Gesture was beaten in the Oaks the winner was not only her stablemate but also from the same family (that being the family of Mark Dixon's Felsetta/Felucca horses: family 11-d). However you do have to go back to Secret Gesture's13th dam to find a common ancestor!

Friday saw a surprise win by Kirsten Rausing's Sinology in a 10f maiden. She owns both parents of this filly who is by her stallion Study of Man out of her Champion Fillies Stakes winner Madame Chiang. Again she has no future entries but she may be the type of filly to go for something like the Ribblesdale. Rausing bought into this family in the early '80s and it couldn't be a better family as Sinology's 5th dam is Special, who not only was the dam of Nureyev but also the filly Fairy Bridge (the dam of Sadler's Wells).
Study of Man seems to be making a name for himself for well-made scopey offspring.

 

I normally try not to write stuff on here that you can read about elsewhere So when on starting a post about Deep Impact’s two European stallions I read a Racing Post article on Study of Man I put my metaphorical pen down. However, I’ve thought about it and decided although there’ll be some overlap that it was still worth my time, or in fact yours if you read it.

There are currently two sons of Japanese champion Deep Impact with 3yos on the UK racecourses. One son is with Coolmore, the other is at the Lanwades Stud of Kiersten Rausing. Both were born in the same year, 2015, and both the result of European breeders belatedly realising there was a sire of some consequence in Japan. When both these horses were born Deep Impact was a 12yo and looked to have years of greatness ahead of him: unfortunately, he only had 4 more covering seasons ahead of him.
When Coolmore’s Saxon Warrior won the Racing Post the talk was that this was a horse who could achieve the Triple Crown in 2018. He won the 2000G as expected but was found wanting in the Derby, finishing 4th to Masar and it appeared he did not get the trip. He was tried again over 12f in the Irish Derby but finished only 3rd to Latrobe. The sensible thing was to go back to 10f but again he missed out finishing 2nd twice to Roaring Lion in the Eclipse and Irish Champion before a disappointing 4th in the Juddmonte. The wheels hadn’t totally come off, but it was disappointing after the high expectations put on him. In the September of his 3yo career he was retired to stud after sustaining an injury.
Flaxman Holding’s Study of Man raced only once as a 2yo, winning a maiden. He appeared a different horse as a 3yo winning a Group 2 over 10f before taking the 10&1/2f Prix de Jockey Club. Like Saxon Warrior he was not to win again. He did race as a 4yo getting places in Group races with his best performance being a 2nd in the Ganay to Waldgeist.
On balance, Saxon Warrior probably edged it on overall racing performance but on pedigree Study of Man might be considered to have the upper hand (by a short head). Both were by Deep Impact but Study of Man was out of a half-sister to Kingmambo as her granddam was the excellent Miesque. Saxon Warrior’s family has been in and around the Coolmore organisation since the late ‘70s. Further back he traces to a French family with typical in-breeding to Tourbillon (so favoured by Boussac but not in fact from his families).
Deep Impact was Japanese bred but there’s nothing Japanese about his pedigree being by true American champion Sunday Silence out of an Irish mare called Wind in Her Hair. This filly was by Alzao out of a 3 parts sister to Height of Fashion and so from the Royal Stud family of Highclere, Hypericum and Feola (and of course Nashwan, Baaeed etc.).
Saxon Warrior retired at a fee of €35,000 while Study of Man stands at the Lanwades Stud for a fee of £12,500. Saxon Warrior had his fee reduced for 2024 to €25,000.
Study of Man is a year behind Saxon Warrior so we can’t quite judge them alongside each other. In 2022 Saxon Warrior covered 171 mares, in the same year Study of Man covered 75. In 2023 Saxon Warrior covered 203 mares and Study of Man covered 68. In 2022 Saxon Warrior had his first crop of 2yos on the racecourse and had 57 runners of whom 22 were winners that won 30 races and so finished 5th in the table of first season sires. A great start from a sire who probably was looked at as a source of miler/middle distance horses. It was probably this that caused his covering figure to go up in 2023.
In 2023 Study of Man had 29 runners of whom 9 were winners of 11 races. Although a respectable start for a stallion that you’d expect to sire middle distance horses, he finished only 13th in the table of first season sires. But how did Saxon Warrior’s 2023 2yos do? Well, he had 55 runners of whom 13 were winners of 14 races. Only a little better than Study of Man in terms of winners but with nearly twice as many runners. It was perhaps this that led to Saxon Warrior’s covering fee being reduced.
Both sires have 3yos racing for them this year and it’s my guess that their 3yos, and how they perform, that is going to be the real test of these two paternal brothers. It’s early days of course but so far in the table of 3yo winners Saxon Warrior lies in 13th place (48 runners, 14 winners of 19 races) while Study of Man lies in 26th place (27 runners, 11 winners of 13 races). We have drilled into us by pN that making a stallion is often a numbers game and Saxon Warrior has the advantage of covering many more mares and having more foals (so far). But when you look at the winners to runners ratio Study of Man has it by 41% to 29% and even wins to runners has it by 48% to 40%. Who would you rather have as a stallion for your mare?

As I said it is early days, but I think we’ve seen enough to suggest that Study of Man could just turn out to be the better proposition. He has had 3 excellent 3yo performances this year. The first was by the filly Kalpana who won as a 2yo but then won a good handicap at Newmarket by 10 lengths. She’s out of a Dansili mare called Zero Gravity who is owned and bred by Juddmonte and traces back to a Whitney mare called Peace. She is entered in Sunday’s Pretty Polly Stakes at Newmarket. The second is another filly called Sinology who I’ve mentioned in an earlier post. She’s out of the excellent staying filly Madam Chiang (by Archipenko). Owned by Rausing, she won at Newbury and is entered for next week’s Cheshire Oaks. The third is Sons and Lovers, who won his only 2yo race then ran 3rd in the Craven looking outpaced and as if he already needed further. He traces back to Rausing’s dam of Petoski and is the same family as the filly Sandrine. He has an Irish Derby entry. I’d be surprised if there aren’t more (Ghorgan, Deepone and Francophone may be others).

In Study of Man’s favour I think there is that he was probably the better 3yo. Saxon Warrior was the more precocious of the two but by midsummer of their 3yo career there was little difference. An advantage for the future may be that there is no Galileo or Sadler’s Wells in Study of Man’s pedigree. Sure, there is some Northern Dancer but it’s 5 x 5 x 4, so hardly close inbreeding. Study of Man may be a worthy mate for all those Galileo (and Frankel) mares out there. That could be useful

 

The first two in the Pretty Polly must be fairly useful as they finished 12 lengths ahead of the rest. Kalpana (Study of Man's daughter) ran well but found one too good in Friendly Soul, a daughter of Kingman (he had a good day didn't he?) out of a Inchinor mare. I'd say the latter's pedigree suggests she'd struggle to be at her best at 12f and Kalpana may have her measure at that distance.
It will be instructive to see where these two next run.

 

The pedigree of Elmalka speaks volumes for British sires. First of all she is by the Juddmonte based Kingman, who not only had the 1000G winner on Sunday but the Pretty Polly Stakes winner too. Elmalka is out of a Selkirk mare. This sire stood at the Lanwades Stud in Newmarket and was the go-to sire for an outcross to Northern Dancer based mares. The next maternal sire was the Derby winner Generous, who although from American stock was Irish bred and stood in Newmarket at Nearco's old stud. The next maternal sire is the great Mill Reef who stood at the National Stud. The next maternal sire might have you scratching your head as it's a stallion called Copenhagen. Now this fellow was British bred and raced for one of the most important Owner Breeders of the 20th Century, the 6th Lord Rosebery (his father, the 5th, had been Prime Minister and owned and bred 3 Derby winners). Copenhagen wasn't up to much, though traced back to one of the most important mares in the British Stud Book, Chelandry. Numerous Classic winners all over the World trace back this mare. At the end of his racing career the beautifully bred Copenhagen (he was by Royal Charger) was sold to New Zealand where he was a highly successful sire in the '60s and '70s.
Though there's that succession of stout sires on her distaff side it's unlikely Elmalka will stay further than 9 or 10f. I feel we'll have to look elsewhere for the Oaks winner.

 

What did I Tulyar?

I think he could easily get 12f but Haggas seems set on him not being reinstated. Runs like a Rocking Horse, Marquand was always comfortable.

 

Thought you'd be too young to remember the 1952 Derby Winner and Charlie Smirke's famous words after the race!

 

Bustino, too young? He’s been around forever!