Pedigree Insights
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Andrew Caulfield, May 27, 2003 – Indian Haven (GB) P EDIGREE INSIGHTS Of course we are all used to seeing plenty of inexpensively produced horses do very well on the BY ANDREW CAULFIELD track, but we don’t usually expect them to carry on the good work as stallions. Their run-of-the-mill bloodlines ENTENMANN’S IRISH 2000 GUINEAS-G1, i397,200, are often enough to deter breeders from trusting their Curragh, 5-24, 3yo, c/f, 1mT, 1:41.50, sf. best mares to them, and it is a very unusual stallion 1--INDIAN HAVEN (GB), 126, c, 3, by Indian Ridge (Ire) indeed who can overcome such a handicap. Indian 1st Dam: Madame Dubois (GB) (GSW-GB & Fr, Ridge, though, has done so. $206,924), by Legend of France He started his stallion career in England--the scene of 2nd Dam: Shadywood (GB), by Habitat his successes in the G3 Jersey S., G3 Duke of York S. 3rd Dam: Milly Moss (GB), by Crepello (GB) and G2 King’s Stand S.--but didn’t find the going easy (62,000gns yrl ‘01 TATOCT; 95,000gns 2yo ‘02 and his fee had to be reduced to £3,000 from its initial TATAUT). O-Peter Gleeson, Julian Smith, Loz 5,000 guineas in his third and fourth seasons. None of Conway; B-Cliveden Stud Ltd; T-Paul d’Arcy; J-John his first three crops numbered as many as 40 foals, yet Egan; i225,200. Lifetime Record: 7-3-0-0, i262,788. this didn’t stop him making an immediate impact. What Click for the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. was particularly impressive was his ability to sire stakes winners from what seemed to be distinctly limited One of the undoubted fascinations of Thoroughbred opportunities. breeding is that, just as we are in danger of thinking In a report I compiled for a client in the summer of that we know all the rules, along comes a horse that 1996, I pointed out that “nearly all of the dams of effectively rewrites the rulebook. A good example is the Indian Ridge's good winners were only moderate on the 18-year-old Indian Ridge. This Irish National Stud racecourse.” Many of these early winners achieved resident came up with his second winner of the Timeform ratings 20, 30 or even 40 pounds higher than Breeders’ Cup Mile last October, when Domedriver those of their dams, which seemed a sure indication defeated Rock of Gibraltar, and he has now been that Indian Ridge was upgrading his mares. represented by his second Irish classic winner in Indian Needless to say, plenty of other people also noticed Haven. Indian Ridge’s achievements and he was switched to Indian Ridge’s current fee of i75,000 makes him one the Irish National Stud--the scene of his conception-- of the highest-priced stallions in Ireland, yet he is the after the 1993 breeding season. He has proved a product of a season which cost IR£2,750, the worthy heir to his remarkable sire Ahonoora (currently equivalent of little more than $3,100 at the time. His in the spotlight as the broodmare sire of Azeri) and his sire Ahonoora had cost only 7,600 guineas as a tally of Group winners in the Northern Hemisphere now yearling, whereas his dam Hillbrow, a granddaughter of stands at 23, from his first 10 crops of racing age. Delta Judge, had sold for only 3,300 guineas at the end So why has Indian Ridge bucked the trend when so of her racing career. many others have failed? Perhaps the answer is simply that he has inherited the ability that allowed Ahonoora to make the same rags-to-riches journey. We shouldn’t forget, though, that the bottom half of Indian Ridge’s pedigree is packed with speed or that he is inbred 3x3 to a distinguished mare called Discipliner. This daughter of champion sire Court Martial produced Martial, winner of the 2000 Guineas; Skymaster, a very tough and fast sprinter; and El Gallo, another very good sprinter. These three colts earned Timeform ratings of 131, 126 and 122, so Discipliner was a remarkable producer. Indian Ridge also has four lines to the champion sire Fair Trial in the sixth generation of his pedigree, two of them through Court Martial. It is no coincidence that Indian Ridge has done very well with mares from the Fair Trial male line, notably the 2000 Guineas winner Tap On Wood (broodmare sire of five stakes winners from 15 foals) and Tap On Wood’s sire Sallust. I could have listed the absence of Northern Dancer from Indian Ridge’s pedigree as one of the reasons why he has done so well in Europe, where outcrosses to the Windfields Farm champion are much sought after. However, I’m not so sure that this has been a particular help to him. Certainly he has sired Namid (G1), Cassandra Go (G2), High Pitched (G3) and Campsie Fells (G3) from mares by sons of Northern Dancer, but these four come from a sample of well over 100 foals. Coincidentally, Indian Haven is a half-brother to the dam of High Pitched, and his dam is by Legend of France, a grandson of Northern Dancer. Significantly, Legend of France was inbred 3x4 to Court Martial and Indian Haven’s female line traces to Fair Angela, a successful broodmare daughter of Fair Trial, so the Fair Trial link has surely played its part. Indian Haven is the second consecutive Group 1 winner produced by Cliveden Stud’s Madame Dubois, following her Zafonic colt Count Dubois (Gran Criterium). The mare has clearly benefited from being sent to stallions which shone at up to a mile, to balance the stamina she showed. Madame Dubois numbered the G2 Park Hill S. over 14.6 furlongs and the G2 Prix de Royallieu over 1 9/16 miles among her successes, while her dam, Shadywood, stayed very well for a daughter of Habitat, once finishing second in the G3 Lancashire Oaks over 1 1/2 miles. Indian Haven’s third dam, Milly Moss, also stayed well, winning the Chester Oaks and finishing fourth in the Oaks, while Milly Moss’ sister Mil’s Bomb won the Lancashire Oaks, Nassau S. and Park Hill S. With there being so much stamina in this family, it is possible that Indian Havens will stay beyond a mile, especially as his close relative High Pitched won at up to 13.3 furlongs. However, his trainer has made the sensible decision to stick to a mile for the time being and it will be interesting to see whether he can boost his reputation once more at Royal Ascot, the scene of two of Indian Ridge’s finest performances. .