OBS JUNE Commences Today HEADLINE ...p. 1-ATW NEWS For information about TDN, DELIVERED EACH NIGHT BY FAX AND FREE BY E-MAIL TO SUBSCRIBERS OF call 732-747-8060. www.thoroughbreddailynews.com TUESDAY, JUNE 21, 2005 BAY MEADOWS CONTENDER FOR H’WOOD P EDIGREE INSIGHTS With a bid of about $275 million, the owner of Bay Meadows has emerged as a leading candidate to ac- BY ANDREW CAULFIELD quire Hollywood Park, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal. The publica- CORONATION S.-G1, £241,200, Royal Ascot at York, tion, which cites ‘numerous 6-17, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:36.59, gd/fm. sources,’ said that Stockbridge 1--sMAIDS CAUSEWAY (IRE), 126, f, 3, by Giant’s Causeway Capital Partners, through its Bay 1st Dam: Vallee des Reves, by Kingmambo Meadows Land Co. unit, came 2nd Dam: Venise, by Nureyev storming into contention for the 3rd Dam: Virunga (Fr), by Sodium (Ire) 240-acre property with a late bid O-Martin S Schwartz; B-The Vallee des Reves Syndi- that surprised Inglewood city cate; T-Barry Hills; J-Michael Hills; £139,896. Life- Racing at Hollywood Horsephotos officials and rival developers time Record: 10-4-4-1, £350,996. *3rd G1SW for alike. The $275-million bid is re- sophomore sire (by Storm Cat). ported to be some 10 percent higher than the next Click for the Racing Post chart or the free brisnet.com closest bid. Stockbridge has also agreed to hire Holly- catalogue-style pedigree. wood’s current owner, Churchill Downs Inc., to manage the track for three years while Stockbridge goes ST JAMES’S PALACE S.-G1, £225,000, Royal Ascot at through the entitlement process. Horse racing would York, 6-14, 3yo, c, 1mT, 1:37.18, gd/fm. continue during that period. 1--SHAMARDAL, 126, c, 3, by Giant’s Causeway 1st Dam: Helsinki (GB) (SP-Fr), by Machiavellian COOLMORE ACQUIRES HURRICANE RUN 2nd Dam: Helen Street (GB), by Troy (GB) Coolmore Stud and Michael Tabor have purchased 3rd Dam: Waterway (Fr), by Riverman the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club (French Derby) runner-up (50,000gns yrl ‘03 TATHOU). O-Godolphin; Hurricane Run (Ire) (Montjeu B-Brilliant Stable; T-Saeed bin Suroor; J-Kerrin {Ire}) ahead of his outing in McEvoy; £130,500. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 2yo Sunday’s G1 Irish Derby at The Colt-GB, MG1SW-Fr, 7-6-0-0, £1,099,290. Curragh. Beaten a neck by Click for the racingpost.co.uk chart or the free Shamardal in the Chantilly Clas- brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. sic June 5, the sophomore will remain in training with Andre When Giant’s Causeway’s first yearlings reached the Fabre and will be partnered by sales ring in 2003, this remarkable racehorse appeared Kieren Fallon in the mile-and-a- Hurricane Run (outside) to have virtually everything going for him, with one half contest. Bought for an un- France-galop.com possible exception: the record of his father Storm Cat disclosed sum from Gestut as a sire of sires. Ammerland’s Dietrich von Boetticher, the colt will be Although Storm Cat had 90 stallion sons listed in the leased back to his breeder for the race. “Hurricane Run 2003 Blood-Horse Stallion Register, he had yet to come has been sold to Michael Tabor and Coolmore Stud,” up with a son anywhere near as effective as himself. confirmed Coolmore’s Richard Henry. “He has been It might have been different had Harlan lived longer, leased back to Dietrich von Botticher and runs for him but the likes of Tabasco Cat and Mountain Cat hadn’t Sunday in the colors of Gestut Ammerland. He looks to made the hoped-for impact, while Catrail had also done be a really, really good horse and we are always on the little to advertise Storm Cat’s eldest stallion sons during lookout for top prospects.” Hurricane Run recorded an his stay in Ireland. Even though Hennessy, Forest Wild- impressive success in the G2 Prix Hocquart at cat, Storm Boot and Tale of the Cat had all given hints Longchamp May 9 before his near-miss in the Jockey- that they might take higher rank, the overall mass of Club, where he ran greenly before finishing fast late. evidence wasn’t convincing. Andrew Caulfield cont. p2 [email protected] www.juddmonte.com TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 6/21/05 • PAGE 2 of 4 Caulfield cont. Just why Maids Causeway attracted so little atten- tion is hard to tell. Perhaps she hadn’t fully recovered Perhaps that’s why Giant’s Causeway’s yearlings met from whatever prevented her meeting her engagement with mixed fortunes at the sales, bearing in mind that in the October Yearling sale. Or perhaps buyers were they had been conceived at a fee of Ir100,000gns deterred by some flaw in her conformation. But if she during his only season in Ireland. has a flaw, it hasn’t been serious enough to prevent her When I assessed the first-crop sires for TDN in the racing regularly at a high level, on all types of ground, spring of 2004, my comments on Giant’s Causeway from soft to firm. As a veteran of nine races, she was included: the most experienced filly in the Coronation S. field and “The universal admiration he generated on the track she embodies all the toughness and fighting qualities didn’t extend to all of his first yearlings, with some which made her sire such a favorite. judges complaining that he hadn’t stamped his stock. I MAIDS CAUSEWAY (IRE), f, 2002 recall similar complaints about two other stallions. One, Northern Dancer Storm Bird Caerleon, became champion sire in 1988 with only two South Ocean Storm Cat crops on the track, and the other, Warning, headed a Secretariat Terlingua strong team of new sires in 1993! Giant’s Crimson Saint “I expect Giant’s Causeway to silence his critics in Causeway Blushing Groom (Fr) Rahy the best possible way. With over 130 youngsters, he Glorious Song Mariah’s Storm has numbers very much on his side and he has every Roberto Immense right to sire quick-maturing individuals, having won all Imsodear three of his juvenile starts, beginning in July.” Raise a Native Mr. Prospector It makes an interesting exercise to look at the record Gold Digger Kingmambo of some of these sales yearlings. At the top end of the Nureyev Miesque scale were Mona Lisa, a 1,250,000-guinea purchase, Vallee Des Reves Pasadoble Unraced Northern Dancer who was third in the G1 Coronation S. last week; and 5Fls, 1GSW Nureyev Venise Special Noble Causeway, the $1,150,000 colt who was second Unraced in the GI Florida Derby. My Typhoon, a stakes-winning 14Fls, 2GSW Virunga (Fr) Sodium (Gb) turf filly, was another very high-priced purchase, at 10Fls, 2GSW, 1SW Vale (Fr) 1,800,000 guineas as a weanling. The lack of interest in the young Maids Causeway is But it was the yearlings down at the other end of the all the more surprising in view of the quality of her scale which helped Giant’s Causeway complete another female line. She is the third foal of Vallee des Reves, an magnificent Group-1 double at last week’s Royal York unraced mare whose bloodlines were sufficiently im- meeting. Shamardal, who was so impressive in adding pressive for her to fetch 320,000 guineas as an in-foal the St James’s Palace S. to his pair of French classic three-year-old. That price placed her joint-fifth on the successes, had been the cheapest of the Giant’s Cause- list of high-priced mares at the 1999 December Sales. way yearlings which found a buyer at the Houghton Being in foal to Danehill no doubt contributed to Sale, selling for only 50,000 guineas. And Maids Vallee des Reves’ popularity, but she also had several Causeway, who showed such courage in grabbing other factors in her favor. For a start, she is by the victory in the Coronation S., was ignored at Tattersalls’ accomplished Kingmambo, and two of her half sisters, December Yearling Sale to the extent that this Marston the high-class Nureyev filly Verveine and the minor Stud filly was knocked down unsold at 25,000 guineas. winner Vanishing Prairie, had produced group winners. www.coolmore.com TDN P HEADLINE NEWS • 6/21/05 • PAGE 3 of 4 Caulfield cont. Maids Causeway’s emergence as a first-rate per- former is yet another reason for hoping that This female line has served the Wildenstein family Kingmambo is able to cope with the arthritic condition extremely well over the years, Vallee des Reves being which has been so troublesome this year. out of a half sister to the very good French colts Kingmambo is also the broodmare sire of Suzuka Vacarme and Vin de France. Her second dam, the Clas- Mambo, winner of the very important Tenno Sho this sic-placed Virunga, was a half sister to Vitiges, who spring, and of Indigo Cat, another stakes winner at the numbered the Prix Morny and the Champion S. among Royal meeting last week. Kingmambo is also attracting his successes. attention as a sire of sires, thanks to the efforts of The family has continued to flourish since Vallee des King’s Best and the French-based first-crop sire Reves’ sale in 1999. Verveine and Vanishing Prairie Kingsalsa. Dubai Destination, his winner of the 2003 now have a total of five group winners to their credit, Queen Anne S., is going to be one to keep an eye on.