Andrew Caulfield, June 5, 2007–Light Shift P EDIGREE INSIGHTS BY ANDREW CAULFIELD Friday, Epsom, Britain VODAFONE OAKS-G1, ,375,000, Epsom, 6-1, 3yo, f, 12f 10ydsT, 2:40.38, gd/sf. 1--@sLIGHT SHIFT, 126, f, 3, by Kingmambo 1st Dam: Lingerie (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB) 2nd Dam: Northern Trick, by Northern Dancer 3rd Dam: Trick Chick, by Prince John O-The Niarchos Family; B-Flaxman Holdings, Ltd; T-Henry Cecil; J-Ted Durcan; ,222,350. Lifetime Record: 6-4-1-1, ,261,040. *1/2 to Limnos (Jpn) (Hector Protector), MGSW-Fr, $191,886; Shiva (Jpn) (Hector Protector), 2X Hwt Older Mare-Eng at 9.5- 11f, G1SW-Eng, $360,890; Burning Sunset (GB) (Caerleon), SW & GSP-Fr. Click for the Racing Post chart or the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. With much of the media attention on the Epsom Classics being focused on the human personalities, it was easy to overlook the fact that the Vodafone Derby and Oaks paid tribute to two of today=s most outstanding stallions. LIGHT SHIFT, f, 2004 Native Dancer Raise A Native Raise You Mr Prospector Nashua Gold Digger Sequence Kingmambo Northern Dancer Nureyev Special Miesque Prove Out Pasadoble Santa Quilla Never Bend Mill Reef Shirley Heights Milan Mill (GB) Hardicanute Lingerie (GB) Hardiemma (GB) 2-0-4-1, $28,366 Grand Cross 11Fls, 3GSW, Nearctic Northern Trick Northern Dancer 1SW Hrs of the Yr, Ch Natalma 3yo Filly-Fr, Trick Chick Prince John 12Fls, 1SW 17Fls, 4SW Fast Line Montjeu=s first three crops have now produced two impressive winners of the Derby in Motivator and Authorized, plus an Irish Derby winner in Hurricane Run. In two of these Classics he was also responsible for the runner-up, which adds up to a tremendous achievement B-especially when Montjeu=s fee in his first four seasons never equated to as much as $40,000. Similarly, Light Shift=s highly popular victory for Henry Cecil in the Oaks highlighted the talent which encouraged Darley to pay $11.7 million for one of Kingmambo=s sons last September. Although Lemon Drop Kid remains Kingmambo=s only Classic hero in the USA, rarely a year seems to go by without a Classic victory for the Lane=s End stallion elsewhere in the world. www.coolmore.com His string of victories began in 2000, when King=s Stavros Niarchos therefore had every right to expect Best took the 2000 Guineas and Bluemamba the French Northern Trick to prove just as outstanding in her new 1000 Guineas, and continued in 2003, when Russian role as a broodmare. It wasn=t to be, but it wasn=t for Rhythm triumphed in the 1000 Guineas. A year later his want of trying. Her connections tried everything to son King Kamehameha confirmed his champion status unlock her potential. They tried moving her from Europe with victory in the Japanese Derby, while Rule of Law to the USA. They tried sending her to a wide range of took the St Leger in England. Kingmambo did even physical specimens, ranging from the diminutive Rahy better in 2005, when the brilliant Divine Proportions to the imposing Kris S., and they also tried sending her carried the Niarchos colors to victory in the French to different types of performers, ranging from Mr. 1000 Guineas and Oaks and Virginia Waters won the Prospector=s fast sons Machiavellian, Miswaki and Gulch to Classic performers of the calibre of Shirley 1000 Guineas. Light Shift=s victory means that Heights and Seattle Slew. Kingmambo has now sired five British Classic winners, Remarkably, it wasn=t until she was 20 in 2001 that including winners over a mile, 12 miles and an Northern Trick finally produced a stakes winner, at the extended 1 miles. : 12th attempt. This represented pretty much a last Exceptional though these achievements are, they pale shake of the dice, as her mate was Keos, a Niarchos alongside Northern Dancer=s 1981 crop. For the record, colorbearer who stood at only $5,000. KeosB-a brother this crop contained only 31 named foals, yet they to the record-priced KonafaB-succeeded where so many included seven group winners and no fewer than four others had failed and his daughter Onda Nova won the Classic winners. In case you=ve forgotten, these four 2004 Prix Imprudence. This filly visited Kingmambo=s were El Gran Senor, a brilliant winner of the 2000 son Dubai Destination in 2006, having produced a filly Guineas and Irish Derby, Secreto, who short-headed El by Danehill Dancer. Gran Senor in the Derby, Sadler=s Wells, winner of the Onda Nova must have a bright future, if the Irish 2000 Guineas and second in the French Derby, achievements of her half-sister Lingerie are anything to and Northern Trick, a five-length winner of the Prix de go by. This daughter of Shirley Heights didn=t lack Diane. No wonder a nomination to Northern Dancer toughness, as she raced 10 times as a three-year-old, made a cool $1 million at Matchmaker=s 1985 January and she was considered good enough to tackle listed sale. company on one occasion. However, she kept finding The reason I mention this stellar collection is that one too good for her, including when dispatched to Light Shift=s second dam is none other than Northern places like Vichy and Amiens, and ended up with the Trick, who was acquired by Stavros Niarchos for frustrating record of four seconds. $530,000 as a yearling at Keeneland. To give you some Although clearly nowhere near as good as her dam, idea of how good Northern Trick was, her five-length Lingerie has proved a much better producer. Light Shift victory in the French Oaks was gained at the expense is her fourth stakes winner and third group scorer. The of the previously unbeaten Grise Mine, while her main first two were Limnos, a dual Group 2 middle-distance victim in the G1 Prix Vermeille was Circus Plume, winner in France, and Shiva, who gained champion status at around 1 miles, thanks notably to her win in winner of the Oaks and Yorkshire Oaks. However, it 3 the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. These two resulted from was her effort in the Arc which showed the full extent Lingerie=s innovative trip to Japan to visit Hector of her talent as, in finishing second to Sagace, she Protector, another Niarchos colorbearer. finished at least six lengths clear of the remainder, The fact that Hector Protector is a grandson of Mr. which included Strawberry Road, Sadler=s Wells, Protector made Lingerie an obvious candidate to send Rainbow Quest and the Classic-winning fillies Sun to Kingmambo, a Mr. Prospector horse who won three Princess, Time Charter and Princess Pati. The official of Europe=s most important mile contests for Stavros handicappers rated her Europe=s best three-year-old Niarchos. With the considerable benefit of hindsight, it filly, with her rating of 127 placing her just four pounds is also possible to say that Lingerie=s suitability was below Darshaan and three pounds below Sadler=s Wells. increased by her being by Shirley Heights, a As you would expect of a daughter of Northern Derby-winning son of the Derby winner Mill Reef. Dancer, Northern Trick also had first-rate bloodlines. A Mill Reef mare appears as the second dam of the The third of four stakes winners to represent the excellent Divine Proportions (and of the triple Group 1 unraced Trick Chick, she was a half-sister to On The winner Whipper, by Kingmambo=s brother Miesque=s Sly, winner of GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. Her second Son). Another Shirley Heights mare is the second dam dam Fast Line had distinguished herself by producing of Kingmambo=s Classic-winning daughter Virginia White Star Line, winner of the Kentucky Oaks and Waters. Alabama S., to Northern Dancer and the Prix Morny Coincidentally, Northern Trick=s three-parts sister winner Filiberto to Ribot. Trick Chick was one of three White Star Line also failed to produce anything quite as daughters of Fast Line which had already started to good as herself, but she too produced an excellent extend the family=s influence, the others being Fairway broodmare when mated to a Derby-winning son of Mill Fun (dam of Fairway Flyer, Torsion, Fun Forever and Reef. Her Reference Point filly Hill of Snow produced Fairway Fable) and Day Line (dam of the 1973 CCA the Group 1 winner Preseli, the Group 3 winner Kong and Snowfire, a Machiavellian filly beaten only a neck in Oaks winner Magazine). the 2002 1000 Guineas. Caulfield cont. Another daughter of White Star Line produced the Italian Oaks winner Valley of Gold to Shirley Heights. Light Shift follows the runaway winners Lady Carla and Alexandrova as the third Oaks winner out of mares by Shirley Heights, who was also responsible for the second dam of Lawman, winner of Sunday=s Prix du Jockey-Club. American readers will no doubt already have recognised that Light Shift comes from the same Fast Line family as Bernardini, who comes from the branch descending from Fairway Fun. It is worth pointing out that four of the six animals in Light Shift=s first two generations raced for the Niarchos family, as did two of the animals in the third generation. How satisfying must that be?.