Andrew Caulfield, August 30, 2005–The Legend Lives On P EDIGREE INSIGHTS BY ANDREW CAULFIELD THE LEGEND LIVES ON With Smart Strike’s versatile daughter Shadow Cast taking the GI Personal Ensign H. and Flower Alley supplying another boost to Distorted Humor’s reputation in the GI Travers S., the Mr. Prospector male line had a pretty good time at Saratoga last week. And they weren’t the only in-form members of this prolific sire line. Mr. Prospector’s son Machiavellian completed a notable stakes treble when Chic repeated her 2004 victory in the G2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood, soon after Quito had landed his third Listed race of the year in the Hopeful S. at Newmarket and Cold Cold Woman had won a stakes race at Del Mar. Perhaps more important, bearing in mind that Machiavellian died prematurely last year, his top-class son Medicean was represented by his first group winner when Nannina took the G3 Prestige S. This youngster’s victory, just half an hour after Chic’s fine win, completed an excellent group-race double for Cheveley Park Stud. It is going to be interesting to see how Machiavellian’s reputation as a sire of sires develops over the next few years. What can be said for sure is that his eldest stallion sons, such as Vettori, Titus Livius and Almutawakel, have all sired some smart performers despite being modestly priced. With Medicean also shaping up well, the outlook has to be favourable for Machiavellian’s lengthy list of unproven sons, which includes Street Cry in the U.S. and Best of the Bests, Medecis, No Excuse Needed and Storming Home in Britain and Ireland. Medicean embarked on his career at Cheveley Park, just across the road from Machiavellian’s base, at a fee of £15,000 in 2002. Bearing in mind that Machiavellian’s fee had soared to £80,000, his son had to have plenty of appeal. After all, Medicean had collected three important mile events, including the G1 Juddmonte Lockinge and G2 Queen Anne S., before confirming that he stayed a mile and a quarter with his determined victory over Grandera in the G1 Eclipse S. Adding to his appeal was the fact that his dam Mystic Goddess was a precocious stakes winner by Storm Bird, from the same female line as that very successful stallion Caro. Medicean attracted 74 mares in his first season, but 24 of them came from the Thompson family’s Cheveley Park operation. As these 24 represented roughly 22 percent of this stud’s distinguished broodmare band, the Thompsons were clearly making a major commitment to their homebred stallion. It is therefore good to see their loyalty to Medicean starting to be rewarded, with Nannina’s first group success representing a major milestone. www.coolmore.com As a pedigree buff, I was intrigued to note that I should also mention the Irish 2000 Guineas third Cheveley Park’s visitors to Medicean included three Democratic Deficit, who is inbred 3x4 to Northern daughters of Danehill--two of them group winners--as Dancer and 4x5x5 to Natalma, and you will find similar this pairing creates a complex pedigree featuring a inbreeding, but a bit further back, in the pedigrees of concentration of lines to Almahmoud. the Irish 1000 Guineas winner Saoire, the Hong Kong Machiavellian’s dam Coup de Folie was inbred 3x3 to Group 1 winner Vengeance of Rain, the Australian Oaks Almahmoud, through Cosmah and Natalma, and winner Dizelle and the Group 3 winner Tarfah. Machiavellian’s pedigree also features another line of There is even a successful British handicapper, Native Dancer, the sire of Natalma. By mating Realism, by Machiavellian out of a Danehill mare, while Machiavellian to Mystic Goddess, a granddaughter of the very good Australian filly Shania Dane is by Danehill Northern Dancer, Medicean is inbred 4x4 to Natalma, out of a Machiavellian mare. The chances are we are 5x5x5 to Almahmoud and 4x5x5 to Native Dancer. going to see a lot more experimentation along these Danehill, of course, was inbred 3x3 to Natalma, so lines over the next few years. mating his daughters to Medicean results in 4x4 to Northern Dancer, 5x5x5x5 to Natalma, 5x6x6x6x6 to NANNINA (GB), f, 2003 Raise a Native Native Dancer and 6x6x6x6x6 to Almahmoud. With Mr. Prospector Gold Digger Nannina’s dam Hill Hopper you add 5x5 to Ribot to the Machiavellian Halo mix. Coup de Folie Raise the Standard Cheveley Park’s other group-winning Danehill mare Medicean (GB) Northern Dancer Storm Bird covered by Medicean was Regal Rose, winner of the G1 South Ocean Mystic Goddess Cheveley Park S. in 2000. With this mare, the Sassafras (Fr) Rose Goddess (Ire) inbreeding also includes 3x4 to Mr. Prospector and 5x4 Cocarde (GB) to Hoist the Flag. Regal Rose’s Medicean foal is a colt Northern Dancer Danzig Pas de Nom named Regal Royale. He created such a favourable Danehill His Majesty impression in winning a newcomers’ race at Newbury Hill Hopper (Ire) Razyana from the future Listed winner Dr Dash that he started a GSW-GB, 7-4-2-0, Spring Adieu $61,687 Great Nephew (GB) clear favourite for the prestigious Acomb S. at York. Sea Harrier (GB) Grundy (GB) 6Fls, 1GSW 2-0-0-0 Word From Lundy Unfortunately, he finished only seventh of eight behind 10Fls,1G1SW Anchor (GB) Major Portion (GB) Machiavellian’s son Palace Episode, but could well 1GSW 10Fls, 1GSW Ripeck (GB) bounce back from this reverse. As Medicean’s winners also include the good Irish filly Abigail Pett, winner of the Listed Silver Flash S., he is making the type of start essential to maintain support in today’s fickle market. It is also in Medicean’s favour that his second crop, sired at a reduced fee of £12,000, is larger than his first, with roughly 20 more foals. It hasn’t all been plain sailing though, as his fee was reduced again in his third season, this time to its current level of £10,000. These reductions were probably partly a response to the arrival of new Group 1- winning sons of Machiavellian at other Newmarket studs. Nannina isn’t this year’s only interestingly bred group winner out of a Danehill mare. The Australian juvenile Perfectly Ready is by the up-and-coming More Than Ready, whose sire Southern Halo is inbred 3x4 to Almahmoud through Cosmah and Natalma. Therefore this Group 1-placed Group 3 winner is inbred 4x4 to Northern Dancer and has three lines to Natalma and four to Almahmoud. Sunday Silence, another stallion by Cosmah’s son Halo, has a pair of good winners out of Danehill mares. Then there’s Flying Pegasus, an Australian Group 3-winning juvenile who is inbred 3x3 to Danzig. .