P EDIGREE INSIGHTS Favourite for the 1988 Derby, Only to Turn in the One Disappointing Effort of His Distinguished Career in by ANDREW CAULFIELD Finishing Seventh
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Andrew Caulfield, May 4, 2004–Haafhd (GB) P EDIGREE INSIGHTS favourite for the 1988 Derby, only to turn in the one disappointing effort of his distinguished career in BY ANDREW CAULFIELD finishing seventh. I should add though that Unfuwain did sire an English classic winner in Lahan, who took the ULTIMATEBET.COM 2000 GUINEAS S.-G1, £300,000, 1000 Guineas, a race also won by Unfuwain's second Newmarket, 5-1, 3yo, c/f, 1mT, 1:36.60, gd. dam, Highclere. 1--sHAAFHD (GB), 126, c, 3, by Alhaarth (Ire) Haafhd's dam Al Bahathri was also a classic 1st Dam: Al Bahathri (Ch. 3yo Filly-Ire, G1SW-Ire, contender. This wonderfully game front-runner started MGSW & MG1SP-GB, $252,663), by Blushing at 11-1 for the 1985 1000 Guineas, following an Groom (Fr) unexpected defeat in her trial, but showed her true 2nd Dam: Chain Store, by Nodouble worth at Newmarket. She flashed across the line in a 3rd Dam: General Store, by To Market three-way photo which showed her to be a short head O-Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-Shad- behind Oh So Sharp, who went on to complete the well Estate Company Ltd; T-B Hills; J-R Hills; Fillies' Triple Crown. Classic success didn't elude Al £174,000. Lifetime Record: 6-4-0-2, £265,164. *1/2 Bahathri, as she triumphed in the Irish 1000 Guineas to Hasbah (Ire) (Kris {GB}), Hwt. 3yo Filly-Ire at three weeks later. 7-9.5f, SW-Ire, G1SP-GB, $117,857; Za-Im (GB) Haafhd's broodmare sire Blushing Groom would no (Green Desert), GSP-US, SP-UAE, $132,252; and doubt have won the English 2000 Guineas in 1977, but Munir (GB) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), MGSW-GB, went instead for the French version, in which he easily $155,760. Click for the brisnet.com pedigree or the recorded his fifth Group 1 success. Of course, Blushing racingpost.co.uk chart. Groom proved to be every bit as exceptional at stud, as witnessed by his whopping total of 92 stakes winners When Haafhd lined up as one of the favorites for the from 512 named foals. One of his finest achievements 2000 Guineas, this Captain Kirk of the horse world was was to sire Unfuwain's brilliant half brother Nashwan, attempting to boldly go where no member of his who became the only horse since Nijinsky II to win both immediate family had gone in recent years: the winner's the 2000 Guineas and the Derby. Haafhd's enclosure after an English classic. owner-breeder, the astute Hamdan Al Maktoum, has His half brother Munir had started third favorite for wisely decided that there isn't sufficient stamina in his the 2000 Guineas three years ago, but failed to colt's pedigree to attempt to match Nashwan's feat. reproduce the form which had seen him easily beat the The fact that Unfuwain was a half brother to Nashwan played an important part in his stallion career, Guineas third Frenchmans Bay to win the G3 Greenham which was arguably more productive than Nashwan's. S. Munir finished sixth. Haafhd's sire Alhaarth had also Breeders inevitably sent daughters of Blushing Groom to tackled the 2000 Guineas in 1996, finishing only a Unfuwain at the Nunnery Stud in Norfolk and were modest fourth as the 2-1 favourite. quickly rewarded. This pairing's first good winner, from Although Alhaarth's stoutly bred sire Unfuwain was Unfuwain's second crop, was the two-year-old group never a candidate for the Guineas, he started second winner Mamlakah. The cross enjoyed further stakes www.coolmore.com success with Arabride, Ghaali, Shamikh, Elmutabaki and With his first crop doing well on the track in 2001, Kind Regards. These six stakes winners came from a Alhaarth stood the 2002 season at the slightly total of only 19 foals bred this way--an eye-catching 32 increased fee of i12,000 (IR9,000 guineas). He was percent--and Unfuwain also sired two stakes winners then quickly booked full at a fee of i20,000 in 2003 from mares by Blushing Groom's son Crystal Glitters. and it was the same story this year, with his fee raised Although daughters of Blushing Groom are now a to i25,000. The size of his book has also increased, dwindling breed, a few of them have been sent to rising from around 80 mares in his first four years to Alhaarth in his first early years at Sheikh Hamdan's 115 in 2002, so there is every reason to think that Derrinstown Stud in Ireland. Haafhd is the best of the Alhaarth's record is going to get better and better. four foals bred this way, which also include a Al Bahathri is visiting Alhaarth again this year at the Listed-placed filly, and Alhaarth has also sired Arabic age of 22. She also has a yearling colt from the second Song, a graded-placed stakes winner in the U.S., from a crop by King's Best. She has only a handful of surviving mare by Blushing John. daughters, but one of them, the Zafonic filly Almurooj, I am delighted to see Alhaarth doing so well as a produced Judhoor, a Listed winner over six furlongs, to stallion, as he retired at only IR7,000 guineas after Alhaarth. Another daughter, Alyakkh, is represented in failing to scale the heights which once seemed likely. the Shadwell stud book by Nafisah, a very useful Alhaarth's original trainer, the late Dick Hern, was middle-distance filly inbred 3x5 to that very good happy to race classically bred horses as two-year-olds broodmare Generals Sister, the fourth dam of Haafhd. and he produced Alhaarth as early as July. Starting One of the best recent American representatives of this favourite for a classy maiden race at Newmarket, very good family was Spanish Fern, the ill-fated Yellow Alhaarth won by a neck from the future 2000 Guineas Ribbon S. winner, who was out of Al Bahathri's sister winner Mark of Esteem. Alhaarth was kept quite busy Chain Fern. by English standards, having a further four races over seven furlongs and he won them all. His victory over the previous Group 1 winners Danehill Dancer and Tagula in the G1 Dewhurst S. was good enough to earn him the title of Europe's champion two-year-old and the position as winter favorite for the 2000 Guineas and the Derby. Alhaarth was to finish only fourth in the 2000 and fifth in the Derby and he'd suffered six straight defeats by the time he successfully ended his sophomore campaign in the G2 Prix du Rond-Point over a mile. After being switched to Godolphin, he collected Group 2 successes in Ireland and France in 1997, in the process proving that he stayed a mile and a quarter. The fact that he was rated 13 pounds below the best of his age both at three and four took some of the gloss off his shining juvenile record, hence his comparatively modest opening fee. That fee stayed static for four years, so all of Alhaarth's four crops of racing age were sired at this low fee. In the circumstances he has done extremely well to sire seven group/graded winners from the 184 foals in his first three crops. This is nearly 4 percent group winners, which is very good by today's standards. It is also interesting that he has sired a wide variety of stakes performers. Although Unfuwain is generally an influence for stamina, Alhaarth's dam Irish Valley is a grand-daughter of the very fast Sly Pola. Consequently, it isn't so surprising that he has sired Dominica (G2 King's Stand S. over five furlongs), Misterah (G3 Nell Gwyn S. over seven), Haafhd (a classic winner over a mile) and Hoh Buzzard (a Grade II winner over 8 1/2 furlongs), in addition to Phoenix Reach (GI Canadian International over 1 1/2 miles), Bandari (G2 Great Voltigeur S. over 1 1/2 miles) and Maharib (G3 Curragh Cup over 1 3/4 miles). It should also interest American readers that Phoenix Reach, Hoh Buzzard, Arabic Song and Cellamare have all scored at stakes level on turf in North America..