Andrew Caulfield, February 6, 2007–Invasor (Arg) P EDIGREE INSIGHTS -that admirable miler Leroidesanimaux, who was considered inferior only to Ghostzapper and Saint Liam BY ANDREW CAULFIELD among America=s older horses. Then in 2006, a third son, Invasor, was officially rated the best horse in the world, with a rating of 129. For good measure, Candy Saturday, Gulfstream Park Stripes ranked as the broodmare sire of Candy Ride, DONN H.-GI, $500,000, GPX, 2-3, 4yo/up, 1 1/8m, who, on the same mark of 127 as Mineshaft and Johar, 1:48 2/5, ft. shared the title of America=s highest-ranked older horse in 1--INVASOR (ARG), 123, h, 5, by Candy Stripes 2003. 1st Dam: Quendom (Arg), by Interprete (Arg) How do we reconcile this list of important 2nd Dam: Queen of Victory (Arg), by Cipayo (Arg) descendants with the fact that Candy Stripes had gone 3rd Dam: Twitch Crown (Arg), by Crown Thy Good virtually unnoticed when he started his stallion career in O-Shadwell; B-Haras Clausan (ARG); T-K McLaughlin; the U.S. in 1987 and 1988? His first crop, conceived at J-F Jara; $300,000. Lifetime Record: Horse of the the age of five, consisted of three live foals from seven Year & Ch. Older Horse-US, Horse of the Year & Ch. mares bred, and his next crop numbered four foals from 3yo-Uru; MSW-Uru, 11-10-0-0, $4,204,070. eight mares. I believe that three of his seven foals Click for the brisnet.com chart or the free brisnet.com raced, but only one was a winner. Clearly Candy catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Stripes would have quickly slipped into total obscurity Made. had he stayed in Maryland, but a deal was done which took him to Argentina. No one would be too surprised if, year after year, Breeders in the Southern Hemisphere have A.P. Indy or Sadler=s Wells were to come up with highly traditionally made very good use of stallion prospects rated offspring on the World Thoroughbred Racehorse which were considered not up to scratch by their Rankings. But we are surely allowed to be a little taken northern counterparts. The main blot on Candy aback that the much-travelled Candy Stripes, who Stripes=s CV was his failure to win a stakes race, but he never won a stakes race, has managed to do so. had been beaten less than two lengths in the French In 2004 and 2005 his Brazilian son Lundy=s Liability 2000 Guineas, to earn a Timeform rating of 115. was rated 115, thanks to Grade II successes in Dubai There was also plenty to like about his bloodlines. and the U.S. Much higher up the list in 2005, with a figure of 124, was another of Candy Stripes=s sons- Caulfield cont. www.coolmore.com Caulfield cont. Invasor=s fifth dam, Umbella, was imported from Candy Stripes=s arrival in Argentina in 1989 coincided Britain to Argentina, her main attraction being that her with some major successes for his sire, the highly female line traced to the legendary Pretty Polly, through effective Blushing Groom, in Europe, where Nashwan Pretty Polly=s very talented granddaughter Arabella. This won the 2000 Guineas and Derby to initiate a Group 1 branch of the Pretty Polly family is perhaps best known four-timer, and Snow Bride finished second in the Oaks in recent decades for having produced the top European (a race she was later awarded). Candy Stripes also had sprinters Marwell, Huntercombe, Sigy and Double Form. Classic connections on his dam=s side, even though his With his record now standing at 10 wins from 11 second dam, Prodice, had cost the equivalent of only starts following his Donn H. success, Invasor has around ,500 as a yearling in France. Prodice proved a already done enough to earn a place as a stallion. With bargain, winning the G1 Prix Saint-Alary on a his first four dams being daughters of Interprete, disqualification prior to finishing second in the French Cipayo, Crown Thy Good and Atlas, his pedigree is Oaks. Timeform considered her a rather unlucky loser of pretty much an outcross for most mares and he could the French Oaks, noting that AProdice didn=t have the have a very useful function to serve in the Maktoums= run of the race, and Piggott, who rode her, claimed that breeding operation. she should have won. After being shut in, she produced an electrifying burst of speed over the last furlong INVASOR (ARG), c, 2002 which carried her into second place in the field of 21, *Nasrullah just half a length behind Rescousse. As Rescousse Red God @ Spring Run went on to finish second in the Arc, Prodice clearly Blushing Groom (Fr) Wild Risk (Fr) possessed a lot of ability. Runaway Bride (GB) Aimee (GB) Prodice passed on a large measure of this ability to Candy Stripes Northern Dancer her daughter Sangue, a triple Grade I winner in the U.S. Lyphard Bubble Company Goofed Candy Stripes=s dam is Sangue=s winning sister Bubble (Fr) Prominer (Ire) Company, who, though not as talented on the Prodice (Fr) Euridice (Fr) racetrack, proved the better broodmare. In addition to Good Manners producing Candy Stripes (her first foal), Bubble Farnesio (Arg) La Farnesina (Arg) Company became the dam of the Group 1 winners Interprete (Arg) Liloy (Fr) Intimiste (in France) and Bubble Gum Fellow (in Japan). Inaccesible (Arg) Quendom (Arg) Iliada (Arg) Argentina=s breeders showed more faith in Candy Unraced Lacydon (GB) Stripes and were quickly rewarded. His second crop 3Fls, 1Ch, 1G1SW Queen of Victory Cipayo (Arg) contained four group winners, including Seaborg, who (Arg) Tsarina (GB) Wnr took the G1 Gran Premio Internacional Carlos Pellegrini, Twitch Crown (Arg) Crown Thy Good 9Fls, 2GSW 14Fls, 6wnrs and Criollito. Both these colts were transferred to the Twins (Arg) U.S., where they were joined by Different, a champion filly from Candy Stripes=s third crop. Criollito and Different adapted very well, becoming graded winners in 1996. Different=s Grade I successes helped earn Candy Stripes a place at Taylor Made from the 1997 Northern Hemisphere season. Although his reputation received another boost when his imported daughter Victory Stripes became a Grade II winner in 1999, Candy Stripes American crops again generally proved much less effective than his excellent South American foals, presumably because his mares weren=t of an equivalent standard. Invasor=s pedigree supports this theory. His dam, Quendom, is an unraced sister to Reina Victoriosa, a winner of the G1 Gran Premio Eliseo Ramirez over seven furlongs on turf as a two-year-old, and to Qualified, a Group 2 winner over 1 9/16 miles on dirt. Imported to the U.S. for her broodmare career, Reina Victoriosa has made a bright start, her first two foals being the stakes winners Ready Ruler and More Than Regal (both by More Than Ready). Invasor=s broodmare sire, Interprete, was the champion juvenile of his generation in Argentina, thanks to an unbeaten campaign of four victories. Three of those wins came at Group 1 level over six, seven and eight furlongs. Although he won only two of his five subsequent starts, he was good enough to win the Gran Premio de Potrillos in a record time of 1:33.20. .