Sadler's Wells
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Bill Oppenheim, October 23-Who’s the Daddy? WHO’S THE DADDY? This is an exciting time of the racing season: the year-end championships. On Oct. 6, France hosted an outstanding day of racing culminating in the sensational victory by Treve (Motivator) over a good field in the G1 Prix de l=Arc de Triomphe. Last weekend, British Champions Day saw outstanding soft-ground performances by Olympic Glory (Choisir)--like Treve, owned by racing=s newest high-profile star owner, Sheikh Sadler’s Wells Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar-- in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. at a mile; and by Godolphin=s Farhh (Pivotal), who bested the evergreen Cirrus des Aigles (Even Top) and G1 Epsom Derby winner Ruler of the World (Galileo) in an exciting three-horse finish in the G1 Champion S. In 10 days= time we have the world-class two-day Breeders= Cup meeting at Santa Anita, in which Andrew Lloyd-Webber=s 4-year-old filly, The Fugue (Dansili), could be the hottest favorite of the meeting to topple the boys in the GI Breeders= Cup Turf. It=s all happening. It=s the 30th anniversary of the Breeders= Cup this year, and one of the features will be a television program highlighting some of the great moments in Breeders= Cup history: Personal Ensign nailing Winning Colors in the 1988 GI Breeders= Cup Distaff; Sunday Silence defeating Easy Goer in the 1989 GI Breeders= Cup Classic; Awesome Again=s win in an epic 1998 edition of the Classic; Zenyatta beating the boys in the 2009 Classic, when the roof nearly came off Santa Anita. This month=s racing is memorable, not simply because it=s the best racing going on now, but also because we will consider today=s top racing in the context of the great performances of yesteryear. A decade turns out to be a long time in the horse racing game. For example, 10 years ago, at the end of the 2003 racing season, the Sadler=s Wells sire line was a question mark; the jury was out. Though he was racking up his 13th (and 12th consecutive) British and Irish sire championship (his 14th and last would come in 2004), and his 12th (and 11th consecutive) European sire championship, the prospects for his sire line were far from secure. In an environment where speed was already king, he was more a staying sire. At the end of 2003, Sadler=s Wells= standing as a sire of sires actually depended primarily on: $ In The Wings (1986), from “Tattersalls’ October 2 sale last week achieved a remarkable clearance rate of Sadler=s Wells= 79.3% from the catalogue, meaning a sky-high four of every five yearlings first crop, was a catalogued were sold – like Keeneland September Week 2, though a remarkable Triple Group 1 clearance rate in North America seems to be 73%. October 2 was up 25% in winner at four in average, to 47,529 gns., which translates to just a hair under $80,000. High demand at that level is great news, but studmasters need to be careful that any 1990, including stud fee increases are kept to a little, not a lot.” - Bill Oppenheim the G1 Breeders= Cup Turf and G1 In the Wings breederscup.com Coronation Cup. His first crop included Singspiel (1992), who was a four-time G1 winner at four and five, including the G1 Japan Cup and the second Dubai World Cup (in 1997, when it was still a listed Race), and ran second in the GI Breeders= Cup Turf. Singspiel was a successful sire, though if In The Wings survives as a branch of the Sadler=s Wells sire line, it is actually more likely to be through Soldier Hollow (2000), a four-time Group 1 winner in Germany and Italy who raced through seven, but is now the most expensive sire in Germany (i15,000 for 2014), and is the sire of 2012 G1 German Derby winner Pastorius (2009), who will himself enter stud in Germany in 2014. TATTERSALLS OCTOBER PART 2 (IN GNS) YEAR CAT RING SOLD %W/D %S/R %S/C GROSS AVG $ Barathea (1990) was second to Zafonic in the 1993 2013 965 878 765 9.0% 87.1% 79.3% 36,359,500 47,529 G1 English 2000 Guineas and won the Irish version; as 2012 1,043 937 788 10.2% 84.1% 75.6% 31,039,000 39,390 2011 833 750 635 10.0% 84.7% 76.2% 25,284,500 39,818 a 4-year-old, in 1994, he won the GI Breeders= Cup 2010 1,031 929 685 9.9% 73.7% 66.4% 22,241,900 32,470 Mile. He was a useful sire, but not a top-flight sire. He 2009 820 733 606 10.6% 82.7% 73.9% 20,565,500 33,936 didn=t make Sadler=s Wells a sire of sires. 2008 847 719 509 15.1% 70.8% 60.1% 19,672,700 38,650 $ El Prado (1989) turned out to be a real surprise package at stud in North America. Winner of the G1 National S., Ireland=s most important 2-year-old race, he disappointed at three and was sold from Ballydoyle to Frank Stronach, with the Sangster family, which owned a piece of him at Ballydoyle, retaining an interest. He proved a big success, and was the second-best sire from the 1994 sire crop, behind a horse called A.P. Indy. Though El Prado was established as a very useful sire by the end of 2003, when Medaglia d=Oro had just run second in his second consecutive GI Breeders= Cup Classic and Kitten=s Joy and Artie Schiller were promising 2-year-olds, not that many experts would have predicted he was about to establish a bridgehead for the Sadler=s Wells sire line in North America. TATTERSALLS OCTOBER YEARLINGS TOTAL (IN GNS) $ Finally, there was Fort Wood, like In The Wings and YEAR CAT RING SOLD %W/D %S/R %S/C GROSS AVG Barathea either bred and/or raced by Sheikh 2013 1,778 1,587 1,320 10.7% 83.2% 74.2% 109,006,800 82,581 2012 1,886 1,680 1,405 10.9% 83.6% 74.5% 100,811,100 71,752 Mohammed. Fort Wood, who was out of the 2011 1,687 1,504 1,222 10.8% 81.3% 72.4% 78,783,000 64,471 off-the-graph blue hen mare Fall Aspen, won the 2010 2,230 1,957 1,418 12.2% 72.5% 63.6% 72,327,100 51,006 G1 Grand Prix de Paris when it was still a 10-furlong 2009 1,962 1,754 1,372 10.6% 78.2% 69.9% 76,772,000 55,956 race and had become a leading sire in South Africa, 2008 1,943 1,665 1,190 14.3% 71.5% 61.2% 72,309,000 60,764 But that was it. Data compiled by Brianne Stanley The superstar racehorse Montjeu was about to have He has been champion sire, both in Britain/Ireland and his first 2-year-olds racing in 2004, and Galileo was Europe as a whole four times, and is odds-on to be the about to have his first yearlings. But the whole champion sire for the fifth time this year. He=s also landscape for the Sadler=s Wells sire line looked a lot been leading sire of 2-year-olds twice, the years New different than it does now. Approach and Frankel were 2-year-olds. His celebrated Montjeu was champion sire in France the year he had cross with the Danzig line, especially Danehill, is one of his first 3-year-olds in the most powerful seen for a long time: Frankel, 2005, which has Teofilo, and Intello this year are all out of Danehill actually been his only mares. sire championship. He Galileo=s first two major sons at stud are both Darley has been runner-up to stallions, bought from owner-trainer and--in the case of Galileo on a quite a Teofilo--breeder Jim Bolger. Teofilo was the unbeaten few lists. What champion European Montjeu has done is 2-year-old of 2006, sired four G1 Epsom but unfortunately Derby winners in his never made it back to first nine crops of the races. He=s the Motivator lequesnay.com 3-year-olds. The first, leading North Motivator, from American/European Montjeu=s first crop and who won the 2005 Derby, third-crop (1st foals took a while to get going himself, but last year had the 2009, first 4-year-olds impressive G1 Prix de l=Opera winner Ridasiyna and this 2013) sire by progeny New Approach Racing Post year, of course, has the unbeaten >Arc= winner Treve. earnings this year. He=s a certainty to be champion sire in France this year. New Approach was similarly unbeaten as a 2-year-old Montjeu=s second Derby winner, Authorized, from his in 2007. Then, after losing twice at a mile to third crop, won the 2007 Derby and had his first foals Henrythenavigator in the G1 English and G1 Irish 2000 in 2009, so he has first 4-year-olds 2013. He was Guineas, he bounced back to win the 2008 G1 Epsom looking pretty shaky until midway through this year, Derby. New Approach=s first crop of 3-year-olds this but has since had two year includes two Classic winners: Dawn Approach, Group 1-winning fillies from his first crop in Europe-- unbeaten European champion 2-year-old of 2012 and Ambivalent won the G1 Pretty Polly S.