Andrew Caulfield-December 23, Dana Platina (Jpn) Perhaps there is simply too big a difference between PEDIGREE INSIGHTS the distances of the two races, with the Futurity over a B Y A N D R E W C A U L F I E L D mile and the Derby over a mile and a half. There is still reason for having high hopes of Danon ASAHI HAI FUTURITY S.-G1, -135,820,000, Hanshin, Platina, as the grey has now won the last three of his 12-21, 2yo, c&f, 1600mT, 1:35.90, gd. four starts and has clearly inherited a good measure of 1--s@#DANON PLATINA (JPN), 121, c, 2, by Deep Impact (Jpn) Deep Impact=s impressive acceleration. 1st Dam: Badeelah, by Unbridled's Song Deep Impact, of course, was a superstar in Japan and 2nd Dam: Magical Allure, by General Meeting his valuation as a stallion reflected his sky-high 3rd Dam: Rare Lady, by Never Bend reputation. He was O-Danox Inc; B-Chiyoda Farm; T-Sakae Kunieda; syndicated for a J-Masayoshi Ebina. -71,274,000. Lifetime Record: Japanese record total of 4-3-1-0. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for the -5.1 billion, the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. equivalent at the time of Dam purchased by Polo Green Stable at KEENOV 2010 nearly $43 million. His first runners did nothing Click for the JRA chart and video. Click for the free to diminish his status brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. when they reached the The narrowness of Dortmund (Big Brown)=s victory track in 2010, with Deep over Firing Line and Mr. Z at Los Alamitos surely Impact running out an Danon Platina jeopardizes any chance he might have had of landing unchallenged winner, not JRA the relevant Eclipse Award. only of the first-crop The same can=t be said, though, about the sires= championship, but also of the overall 2-year-old performance of Danon Platina, the Deep Impact colt sires= championship. Although he didn=t sire the winner who triumphed in the G1 Asahi Hai Futurity--a race of the Asahi Hai Futurity, he was responsible for both which could accurately be described as the Japanese the second and third finishers. equivalent of the GI Breeders= Cup Juvenile. Success in In other words, demand for Deep Impact=s services this mile test seems to carry an automatic ticket to the was as high as ever in 2011. Normally the amount JRA=s award for champion 2-year-old colt. breeders are prepared to spend on a stallion season is The same applies to the fillies= equivalent, the guided by the value of the mare, the proportion often Hanshin Juvenile Fillies, which was contested a week being around a quarter of the mare=s valuation. No such earlier. The winner is invariably named champion calculations were involved in Danon Platina=s 2-year-old filly. As this year=s race was won by Deep production. The colt=s dam, Badeelah, had been picked Impact=s daughter Shonan Adela, the exceptional up only months before for as little as $32,000 as hip Shadai stallion looks sure to add at least two more 1440 in Book 3 of Keeneland=s November Sale. Deep champions to his burgeoning list when the JRA Awards Impact=s fee never appears to be published, but the are announced in January. gamble of sending such an inexpensive mare to Japan=s Of course the Breeders= Cup Juvenile has proved a most sought-after stallion has clearly paid off very poor guide to the GI Kentucky Derby, so has the handsomely. Asahi Hai Futurity proved any more reliable as a You don=t have to look too hard to see why stepping stone to victory in the Tokyo Yushun Badeelah=s new owners were prepared to take this (Japanese Derby)? The answer, sadly, is that it hasn=t, gamble. Although Badeelah was only two, and still as no Futurity winner has gone on to Derby success unraced, when Shadwell decided that she was surplus since Narita Brian over 20 years ago. to requirements, there were elements of her pedigree which were guaranteed to appeal to a Japanese DANON PLATINA (JPN), c, 2012 breeder. Badeelah=s sire Unbridled=s Song had been ably represented on Japanese tracks by Agnes Sonic, a Halo Hail to Reason Cosmah smart sprinter-miler, and more recently by a dirt filly Sunday Silence called La Verita, who was to retire with earnings Wishing Well Understanding Deep Impact Mountain Flower equivalent to $3.6 million. (Jpn) Although Badeelah was sold for only $32,000, Alzao Lyphard Wind in Her Hair Lady Rebecca Shadwell had had to pay no less than $4.2 million for (Ire) her dam Magical Allure when this winner of the GI La Burghclere (GB) Busted (GB) Highclere (GB) Brea S. was sold by the Mabees in 2000. Fappiano The price reflected the fact that Magical Allure had Unbridled Gana Facil built career figures of 12-7-4-1 and was in foal to Unbridled’s Song Storm Cat. Badeelah Trolley Song Caro Unraced Lucky Spell From a Japanese viewpoint, it was arguably more 1Fls, 1GSW, important that Magical Allure was a half-sister to Floral Magical Allure General Meeting Seattle Slew 1SW GISW, 12-7-4-1, Alydar’s Promise Magic, a stakes-winning daughter of Affirmed. $620,480 Rare Lady Never Bend 7Fls 18Fls, 3SW Double Agent Floral Magic was sent to Japan early in her broodmare career, and was eventually followed by her only American foal, the winning Bel Bolide filly Paper Rain. Both mother and daughter were to produce top winners in their new home. Floral Magic=s best effort was Narita Top Road, who followed up a third in the Japanese 2,000 Guineas and a second in the Japanese Derby with victory in the Japanese St Leger (Kikuka Sho) in 1999. He was also third in the Japan Cup, so was of top international standard. Narita Top Road=s exploits were no doubt responsible for his half-sister Paper Rain=s arrival in Japan, where she quickly produced two colts by Deep Impact=s sensational sire, Sunday Silence. The second of the two was Matsurida Gogh, who developed into a formidable performer at the ages of four and five. His finest victory came in the prestigious Arima Kinen over 1 9/16 miles, and he too ran with considerable credit in a Japan Cup, finishing fourth in 2008. Matsurida Gogh is still in the early stages of his stallion career--his eldest progeny are 3-year-olds of 2014--but he has already shown plenty of potential. Each of his first two crops has already produced a graded stakes winner and he is also responsible for Arma Waioli, the colt who chased home Danon Platina in the Asahi Hai Futurity. Floral Green, another of Floral Magic=s daughters, has also enjoyed success with the Sunday Silence male line. This daughter of Forty Niner was mated to the Japanese St Leger winner Dance In The Dark to produce Danon Yoyo, a horse who numbered a second in the Mile Championship among several good efforts in Group 1 races over a mile. The story may not be over yet, as Badeerah=s second foal is a yearling sister to Danon Platina. .