Pedigree Insights
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Andrew Caulfield, July 9, 2002 – Megahertz P EDIGREE INSIGHTS Pivotal makes the most of limited Opportunities Among Pivotal’s current representatives are Kyllachy, BY ANDREW CAULFIELD who put up one of the year’s best sprinting performances in the G2 Temple S.; Golden Apples, Saturday, Hollywood Park winner of the GII Santa Ana H.; and Megahertz, the AMERICAN OAKS, $500,000, HOL, 7-6, 3yo, f, remarkable import who kept her unbeaten record intact, 1 1/4mT, 2:00 2/5, fm. thanks to the stewards, in the $500,000 American 1--MEGAHERTZ (GB), 121, f, 3, by Pivotal (GB) Oaks. 1st Dam: Heavenly Ray, by Rahy From a total of 94 live foals in his 1998 and 1999 2nd Dam: Highest Truth, by Alydar crops, Pivotal has already sired seven Group winners, 3rd Dam: Plankton, by Quack plus another two stakes winners, and some of his other (12,000gns yrl ‘00 TATDEC). O-Michael Bello; representatives, such as Red Carpet, Needwood Blade, B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd (GB); T-R Frankel; J-A Ratio and Ho Choi, have shown form worthy of a Solis; $300,000. Lifetime Record: SP-Fr, 13-6-1-2, stakes victory. Considering that many of the members $564,646. of these first two crops were produced by unremarkable mares, these are remarkable figures. The story goes that Atty Persse--the champion trainer It is going to be interesting to see whether Pivotal who turned The Tetrarch into one of the legends of the can maintain this high profile with his third crop, sired English turf--was asked at a dinner party what he at a reduced fee of £5,000. The signs are encouraging, considered the most important quality in a racehorse. judging by Saturday’s Leopardstown success by his “Speed,” was the immediate reply. When Persse was daughter Plume Rouge, whose victory came at the main pressed to name the next most important quality, expense of Some Kind of Tiger, a half brother by Storm “More speed” was the response. When his persistent Cat to the Oaks and Irish Derby winner Balanchine. questioner tried to extract a different answer by asking Pivotal was bred at Cheveley Park Stud, as was “but after that?” an unrelenting Persse replied, “Still Megahertz. Although it was normally Cheveley Park’s more speed.” policy at that time to offer their colts at auction, either Persse’s belief still holds true many years later, even as foals or yearlings, the son of Polar Falcon did not though racing has changed a great deal in the interim. make it to the sales ring. Pivotal managed only six starts The enduring value of speed has been well illustrated in during the two seasons he spent with Sir Mark Prescott, Europe in recent years by the stallion success enjoyed but he was good enough to win four of them, including by such as Danehill, Indian Ridge, Green Desert, the G2 King’s Stand S. and the G1 Nunthorpe S. Cadeaux Genereux, Royal Academy, Anabaa and His wins prompted me to ask, in a Sporting Life Pivotal, all of whom were major winners over a distance column, “How is it that this season’s top British of five or six furlongs after the age of two. five-furlong performer has two parents who never even Pivotal, a resident at Cheveley Park Stud, is shaping tackled a distance as short as five furlongs?” up as one of the most distinguished members of this I went on to explain that not only had Pivotal’s select band, even though his fee in his first five years-- parents never tackled Britain’s minimum trip, but they from 1997 to 2001--was never higher than £6,000. had also run respectably over distances beyond a mile. You can get some idea of the impact he has made with Indeed, it wasn’t until after Polar Falcon had raced 12 his first two crops of racing from the fact that his fee times, and won four races over a mile (including the G2 was doubled from £5,000 in 2001 to £10,000 this Lockinge S.), that he finally showed himself to be year, and there’s every chance that another substantial equally at home over six furlongs. This he did by rise is on the cards for 2003. producing a startling late run to collar Sheikh Albadou in the G1 Ladbroke Sprint Cup. (Insights cont.) www.coolmore.com (Pedigree Insights cont.) Group 1 winner Exclusive from an Exclusive Native Pivotal’s dam, Fearless Revival, was third of 10 in the mare and his other Group 1 winner, Shibuni’s Falcon, Ballymacoll Stud S., a Listed race over 1¼ miles. At from a grand-daughter of Mr. Prospector. two, she had quickly stepped up to seven furlongs after a facile win over six, and the daughter of Cozzene proved very much at home over the longer distance. I could have added that the four stallions in the third generation of Pivotal’s pedigree--Northern Dancer, Jefferson, Caro and Bustino--all won over at least 1¼ miles. Pivotal had clearly done extremely well to show such considerable speed. The source of this speed could be his third dam, Zerbinetta, a dual five-furlong winner at two who was herself a daughter of the fast juvenile Yucatan. However, we mustn’t forget that Pivotal’s grandsire, Nureyev, sired some very fast offspring, including Fasliyev, Stravinsky, Wolfhound, Dancing Dissident, Great Commotion, Diffident and Vilikaia. Kyllachy, who will eventually stand alongside his sire at Cheveley Park, has shown that Pivotal is capable of passing on his speed. The signs are, though, that Pivotal is going to be quite a versatile stallion, thanks to the middle-distance elements in his pedigree. Golden Apples, who is inbred 4x3 to Caro, has gained all three of her Graded wins over 1 1/8 miles, including the GI Del Mar Oaks, while Silvester Lady, a filly inbred 3x3 to Nureyev, won the G1 German Oaks over 1 3/8 miles. Now Pivotal has a third Oaks winner in Megahertz, whose American Oaks success came over 1¼ miles. These winners are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg. The widespread success of Pivotal’s first juveniles in 2000 brought him a book of around 100 mares in 2001 and he filled rapidly for this year’s season. Cheveley Park showed its faith in Pivotal by committing 22 of the stud’s 108 mares to him this year, including daughters of Sadler’s Wells, Unbridled, Caerleon, Darshaan, A.P. Indy, Shirley Heights, Fabulous Dancer, Slip Anchor and Nashwan. Clearly the hope is that Pivotal’s speed will prove very beneficial to these stoutly-bred mares. Cheveley Park’s 22 include Megahertz’s dam, the dual-winner Heavenly Ray, and two half sisters to Golden Apples. Heavenly Ray returned to the races after conceiving Megahertz and showed improved form to win over seven furlongs at Goodwood, where she accounted for the future Group 1 winner White Heart. This daughter of Rahy had cost only $52,000 as a yearling, even though she was a grand-daughter of the high-class Plankton. The class of Heavenly Ray A Graded winner at the ages of two, four and five, Plankton also reached the first three in each of the New York Fillies’ Triple Crown events. As Plankton stayed pretty well, it was no surprise when Buckley Boy, her son by Alydar, developed into a Graded winner at up to 1 5/8 miles. Megahertz’s second dam, Highest Truth, is a winning sister to Buckley Boy. It is worth noting that Megahertz’s dam has some Raise A Native blood because Pivotal’s sire Polar Falcon did well with Raise A Native’s descendants, siring the.