Footstepsinthesand
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Andrew Caulfield, May 3, 2005–Footstepsinthesand (GB) P EDIGREE INSIGHTS Back in action eight days later, Footstepsinthesand coped well enough with the soft ground to win the G3 BY ANDREW CAULFIELD Killavullan S. And now he has followed in Rose Gypsy’s Classic-winning footsteps by taking the 2000 Guineas in fine style. ULTIMATEPOKER.COM 2000 GUINEAS S.-G1, Footstepsinthesand collected the Classic which, at £320,000, Newmarket, 4-30, 3yo, c/f, 1mT, 1:36.10, gd/fm. the end of last season, seemed to be at the mercy of 1--sFOOTSTEPSINTHESAND (GB), 126, c, 3, by Giant’s Causeway the unbeaten Shamardal, another of Giant’s 1st Dam: Glatisant (GB) (GSW-Eng), by Rainbow Quest Causeway’s first-crop sons. For a while it looked as 2nd Dam: Dancing Rocks (GB), by Green Dancer though Giant’s Causeway was going to complete a 3rd Dam: Croda Rossa (Ity), by Grey Sovereign (GB) magnificent Classic double when Maids Causeway (170,000gns yrl ‘03 TATOCT). O-Michael Tabor & moved determinedly into the lead entering the final Susan Magnier; B-Hascombe & Valiant Studs; quarter mile of the 1000 Guineas, but Kingmambo’s T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Kieren Fallon; £185,600. Lifetime daughter Virginia Waters had much too much finishing Record: GSW-Ire, 3-3-0-0, £226,450. speed for her. The question now is whether Noble Click for the racingpost.co.uk chart or Causeway can round off an excellent spell for the the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Ashford stallion by putting up a bold show in the Kentucky Derby. When Hascombe Stud achieved the second-highest If he does, no one can have any complaints about the price of 750,000 guineas at last year’s Tattersalls adjustments that have been made to Giant’s October yearling sale, it wasn’t surprising that the Causeway’s fee. Having fallen to $75,000 in 2004, his successful bidder on that colt by Danehill out of fee for 2005 was initially announced as $135,000 Rockerlong was Demi O’Byrne. before being upped to $150,000 at the start of the The shrewd Irish buyer has become an admirer of the year. Then, in April, the eight-year-old’s fee was raised yearlings from this comparatively small but very select once again, this time to $200,000, possibly in response stud operated by Anthony Oppenheimer near to breeders looking for viable alternatives to the Newmarket--and with every justification. In 1999, then-sidelined Kingmambo. O’Byrne paid 115,000 guineas for a Green Desert filly from the Hascombe draft which, as Rose Gypsy, Northern Dancer Storm Bird became a Classic winner for the Susan Magnier-Michael South Ocean Storm Cat ‘83 Tabor partnership with her victory over Banks Hill in the Secretariat Terlingua French 1000 Guineas. Giant’s Causeway Crimson Saint Then, four years later, O’Byrne paid 170,000 guineas ‘97 Blushing Groom (Fr) Rahy for Hascombe’s well-related colt from the first crop of Glorious Song Mariah’s Storm ‘91 the admirable Giant’s Causeway. The colt, out of Roberto Immense Rainbow Quest’s Group-winning daughter Glatisant, Imsodear was unraced when O’Byrne splashed out 750,000 Red God Blushing Groom (Fr) guineas for the Danehill colt out of Glatisant’s talented Runaway Bride (GB) Rainbow Quest ‘81 half- sister Rockerlong. We soon discovered why the *Herbager I Will Follow agent was so keen to land Rockerlong’s son. The Glatisant (GB) ‘91 Where You Lead GSW-GB Giant’s Causeway--Glatisant colt, named Nijinsky II 6 Fls, 1GSW Dancing Rocks (GB) Green Dancer Footstepsinthesand, made his debut 12 days later and ‘79 *Green Valley 2nd led throughout to win impressively by nearly five GSW-GB *Croda Rossa Grey Sovereign lengths. 11 Fls, 1 GSW, 2 SW 11 Fls, 1 GSW Crenelle (GB) www.coolmore.com Incidentally, Kingmambo had a magnificent weekend. Another incentive was that Giant’s Causeway’s sire In addition to siring three consecutive Group winners at Storm Cat had already hit the jackpot with other Newmarket, he was responsible for the dams of Maids granddaughters of Blushing Groom, siring the multiple Causeway and Suzuka Mambo, winner of the G1 Tenno Group 1 winner Aljabr in addition to Giant’s Causeway. Sho. Sending a daughter of Rainbow Quest to Giant’s Footstepsinthesand is the latest of an increasingly Causeway produces 4x3 inbreeding to the exceptional impressive number of Group 1 winners to have Blushing Groom, through Rahy and Rainbow Quest. emerged in recent years from Hascombe, which has Significantly, Rahy has a mare by Herbager as his been owned by the Oppenheimer family since the end second dam, while Rainbow Quest is out of another of 1965. His predecessors include Sasuru (1997 Prix Herbager mare, so the inbreeding to Blushing Groom d’Ispahan), Rebecca Sharp (1997 Coronation S.), comes through two very successful stallions with Compton Admiral (1999 Coral-Eclipse), Balisada (1999 similar bloodlines. Coronation S.), Summoner (2001 Queen Elizabeth II S.) Inbreeding to Blushing Groom is well worth trying, as and Rose Gypsy. he won five Group 1 events before siring as many as Footstepsinthesands’ second dam, the Green Dancer 92 stakes winners from only 512 named foals. This mare Dancing Rocks, was another of Hascombe’s stratagem hasn’t been tried very often, but has also accomplished graduates. Despite being foaled as late as produced the Group 3 winner Clifden (inbred 3x3). May 22, she was a very promising winner of both her Footstepsinthesand’s win extends the remarkable run juvenile starts before developing into a very good of Classic success being enjoyed by Rainbow Quest’s three-year-old. Her finest moment came when she broodmare daughters. Rakti took the 2002 Italian defeated the Oaks winner Time Charter to take the G2 Derby, Kris Kin the 2003 Derby and North Light the Nassau S. over a mile and a quarter. She appeared to 2004 Derby. An impressive record for a stallion who is find a mile and a half too far when fourth in the still active at the age of 24! Yorkshire Oaks. Dancing Rocks had every right to develop into a very good broodmare. In addition to coming from the female line responsible for Blenheim, a Derby winner who became champion sire in North America, she was a daughter of Croda Rossa, winner of the prestigious Premio Lydia Tesio. Croda Rossa was herself a half-sister to Cerreto, winner of the Italian Derby, and Croda Alta, a smart filly in Italy. Dancing Rocks lived up to expectations, producing three stakes-winning daughters plus two others which have produced stakes winners. Although her General Assembly filly Council Rock failed to win in 10 attempts, she produced the very speedy Superstar Leo, Europe’s top-ranked juvenile filly of 2000. Dancing Rocks’ mating with Rainbow Quest in 1990, which resulted in Glatisant, came soon after the Derby victory of Quest For Fame, a Rainbow Quest colt out of another Green Dancer mare. Glatisant followed in her mother’s footsteps to an extent. Although foaled as late as May 21, she too won both her starts at two, including the G3 Prestige S. over seven furlongs. However an injury to a hind leg ruled her out of the G1 Cheveley Park S. Her three-year-old campaign was largely an anti-climax, although she turned in one good effort, when second in a Listed race over a mile. As Glatisant failed to show she stayed a mile and a quarter and her dam struggled over a mile and a half, Footstepsinthesand strikes me as a rather unlikely Derby candidate and I feel the Irish 2000 Guineas is a more sensible next step. Another consideration is whether he has the temperament of a mile-and-a-half horse. He sweated up at Newmarket and it is interesting that Timeform notes that Glatisant sweated up profusely when she disappointed on her final start. Dancing Rocks also displayed a tendency to sweat up and Timeform said she “seemed a rather nervous type.” Perhaps this inclination was one of the reasons behind the choice of the unflappable Giant’s Causeway as a mate for Glatisant..