Andrew Caulfield, October 29-Kingston Hill (GB) He now looks fairly certain to end the year as Britain PEDIGREE INSIGHTS and Ireland=s leading first-crop sire, thanks principally to B Y A N D R E W C A U L F I E L D the group successes of Amazing Maria (G3 Prestige S.), Craftsman (G3 Killavullan S.) and the unbeaten RACING POST TROPHY-G1, ,200,000, Doncaster, Kingston Hill. In winning the Racing Post Trophy very 10-26, 2yo, c/f, 1mT, 1:44.83, sf. smoothly by 4 1/2 lengths, Kingston Hill is now vying 1BsKINGSTON HILL (GB), 126, c, 2, by Mastercraftsman (Ire) with Toormore and War Command for the title of 1st Dam: Audacieuse (GB) (GSW-Fr), by Rainbow Quest Champion 2-year-old, which Mastercraftsman secured 2nd Dam: Sarah Georgina (Ire), by Persian Bold (Ire) only five years ago. 3rd Dam: Dance by Night (GB), by Northfields Kingston Hill=s Group 1 success came little more than (70,000gns yrl ‘12 TATOCT). O-Paul Smith; B-Ridgecourt an hour after Craftsman had taken the Killavullan S. Stud; T-Roger Varian; J-Andrea Atzeni; ,149,714. The ground conditions at Doncaster and Leopardstown Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, ,176,926. Werk Nick Rating: B. were so soft that both colts recorded roughly eight Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. seconds more than the average time. Click for the Racing Post result, the brisnet.com PPs, or the free This reminded me of when I reviewed Mastercraftsman s pedigree in these pages following his brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, courtesy attheraces.com. = very decisive victory in the Irish 2000 Guineas. I wrote: Unlike their Australian counterparts, European AI can=t think of a better way of describing Danehill breeders were rather slow to appreciate Danehill=s vast Dancer=s progeny than to trot out the old line which potential as a sire and sire of sires. Fortunately Danehill states that, when the going gets tough, the tough get Dancer, a member of his third crop, helped change all going. that. In winning the Phoenix S. and National S. in AThe going was certainly tough at the Curragh over 1995, Danehill Dancer became the first son of Danehill the weekend, when the ground was officially described to become a Group 1 winner in the Northern as heavy. Many horses find such extreme conditions Hemisphere. Unfortunately, some of the shine was beyond their capacityYHowever, the last few years knocked off these achievements when he ended his have taught us that very soft ground is not a problem career with a sequence of six straight defeats at the for many members of the Danehill Dancer clan and the ages of three and four. Consequently, he began his Coolmore stallion notched up three group successes stallion career at the modest fee of IR4,000gns at a during the two-day Curragh meeting, headed by the Coolmore satellite in Ireland. Classic victories of Mastercraftsman and AgainY. That didn=t stop him becoming one of Britain and AThe fact that Mastercraftsman and Again both Ireland=s leading first-crop sires in 2001, when his total started favorite indicates that both these 3-year-olds of 19 2-year-old winners was bettered only by Danehill were proven on very soft ground. Mastercraftsman had himself. After that won the G1 National S. on similarly heavy conditions Danehill Dancer=s fee and Again=s previous group successes had come on soft started its rapid upward and heavy ground. Other Danehill Dancer group climb. By 2006 Danehill performers with winning form on heavy ground include Dancer had taken his first Alexander Tango, Anna Pavlova, Carribean Sunset, title as champion sire of Danehill Music, Deauville Vision, Decado, Indesatchel, 2-year-olds, at the Lizard Island, Pride of Nation, Savethisdanceforme and principal expense of Snaefell... Danehill, and he topped AThe danger with drawing up a list like this is that it the list again in 2008 and can convey the wrong impression. Just because a stallion s progeny can cope with certain conditions does 2009, in addition to = not necessarily mean that they NEED those conditions topping the general sires= to excel. The truth is that the Danehill Dancers can be table in 2009. Kingston Hill very versatile and we have seen Choisir record a One of the major Racing Post photo spectacular sprint double on fast ground at Royal contributors to Danehill Ascot, while another Group 1-winning son, Where Or Dancer=s 2008 2-year-old title and his 2009 sires= When, thrived on a sound surface.@ championship was his admirably tough son I have repeated all of the above simply because the Mastercraftsman. He emulated his sire=s victories in the debate will now move on to whether Mastercraftsman=s Phoenix S. and National S. on his way to being rated progeny actually NEED a lot of give in the ground. If the best 2-year-old in Europe. Unlike his sire, Mastercraftsman=s own record is anything to go by, the Mastercraftsman continued to flourish. After adding to answer is ANo.@ Although two of his three Group 1 his Group 1 collection in the Irish 2000 Guineas and St victories came on heavy ground, he owed his position James=s Palace S., he made Sea The Stars work for his as champion 2-year-old largely to his victory in the victory in the Juddmonte International. He then joined G1 Phoenix S. on good to firm going. On that occasion Danehill Dancer at Coolmore, starting at a fee of he pulled 4 1/2-lengths clear of a field which included i20,000, and he too has wasted little time in making Art Connoisseur, an impressive winner of the Coventry his mark. S. and Bushranger, who went on to Group 1 victories in the Prix Morny and Middle Park S. The ground was also good to firm when The first win by Kingston Hill=s dam Audacieuse came Mastercraftsman fought back very gamely to take the in the May of her second season, when she won St James=s Palace S. and when he gave Sea The Stars decisively over a mile at Saint-Cloud. She was better a good race at York. suited by distances around a mile and a quarter by the Although Kingston Hill=s three-race career has taken fall, though, winning the Listed Prix de Liancourt and place on a soft surface, his trainer Roger Varian has no the G3 Prix de Flore. doubts that the colt will prove just as effective on Clearly she wasn=t an out-and-out stayer. For this she faster ground. can thank the fact that her dam Sarah Georgina was a AHe=s a beautiful-moving horse,@ Varian said, Aand six-furlong 2-year-old winner by the speedy Persian usually those very good-moving horses like better Bold. ground.@ The next dam, Dance By Night, did her winning over Varian also added that Kingston Hill has a great seven furlongs as a juvenile. Dance By Night also cruising speed and a great turn of foot, two assets became the dam of Danseuse du Soir, a first-rate which could make him a serious threat to all the other sprinter-miler who numbered the G1 Prix Robert Papin, 2000 Guineas contenders. I see no reason why he G1 Poule d=Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix de la Foret shouldn=t be effective at a mile, especially during the among her successes. early months of his 3-year-old season. All in all, Kingston Hill=s pedigree suggests there is Mastercraftsman probably owed his ability to stay a possibly a bigger question mark hanging over his mile and a quarter to his broodmare sire Black Tie stamina for the Derby than over his speed for the 2000 Affair, winner of the 1991 GI Breeders= Cup Classic Guineas. before siring Evening Attire (GI Jockey Club Gold Cup) and Formal Gold (GI Woodward S. and DonnH.). There is also some stamina in Mastercraftsman=s female line, which traces to Dangerous Dame, who also numbers Broad Brush, Exceller and Capote among her descendants. Mastercraftsman=s third dam Tobira Celeste produced the top-class Celestial Storm, runner-up in the St Leger, the King George and the Champion S., and Thawakib, a Ribblesdale S. winner who became the dam of Arc winner Sakhee. The Arc also fell to Kingston Hill=s broodmare sire Rainbow Quest, who made his mark on the Racing Post Trophy by siring Armiger and Crowded House, the winners in 1992 and 2008. Rainbow Quest went close to defeating the top miler Lear Fan in the Craven S. on his reappearance at three and that effort earned him a tilt at a vintage edition of the G1 2000 Guineas, in which he finished fourth to El Gran Senor. KINGSTON HILL (GB), c, 2011 Danehill Danzig Danehill Dancer Razyana (Ire) Mira Adonde Sharpen Up (GB) Mastercrafstman Lettre D’amour (Ire) Black Tie Affair Miswaki (Ire) Starlight Dreams Hat Tab Girl Reves Celestes Lyphard Tobira Celeste Blushing Groom Red God (Fr) Rainbow Quest Runaway Bride Herbager Audacieuse (GB) I Will Follow 11-3-1-1 Where You Lead 5 Fls, 1 GSW Sarah Georgina Persian Bold (Ire) Bold Lad (Ire) (Ire) Relkarunner (GB) 4-1-0-1 Dance by Night Northfields 13 Fls, 2 GSW (GB) Elvina (Fr) 1 SW 17 Fls, 3 SW.