Andrew Caulfield, October 26, 2010-Casamento Always Fair was a 400,000-dollar acquisition at PEDIGREE INSIGHTS Keeneland in 1986. With a Buckpasser mare as his BY ANDREW CAULFIELD dam, this son of Danzig represented a cross which was later to enjoy Graded/Group 1 success with Versailles Saturday, Doncaster, Britain Treaty, Easy Now and Polish Precedent. As Polish RACING POST TROPHY-G1, ,200,000, Doncaster, Precedent is the broodmare sire of Dunboyne Express, 10-23, 2yo, c/f, 1mT, 1:37.03, gd. Shamardal=s two runners in the Racing Post Trophy are sCASAMENTO (IRE), 126, c, 2, by Shamardal bred along similar lines. 1st Dam: Wedding Gift (Fr) (SW & MGSP-Fr), by Always Fair Always Fair didn=t rise to quite such exalted heights, 2nd Dam: Such Style (GB), by Sassafras (Fr) but he was also well above average. He looked as 3rd Dam: Regal Lady (Fr), by Relko (GB) though he was potentially top class after he=d won his (i54,000 wnlg '08 GOFNOV). O-Sheikh Mohammed first three starts as a two-year-old, including the G3 bin Rashid Al Maktoum; B-D & J Cantillon & C & K Coventry S. and Acomb S. Indeed punters couldn=t Canning; T-Michael Halford; J-Frankie Dettori; choose between him and the future champion Warning ,140,790. Lifetime Record: 4-3-1-0, ,240,184. *2nd when they met in the G2 Champagne S. G1SW for sophomore sire (by Giant=s Causeway). Always Fair added another success when he took the Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. G3 Prix Quincey over a mile at three but he cracked a Click for the Racing Post chart, the brisnet.com PPs, or cannon-bone before he could win at four. He retired to the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, stud in France, where he ended up at Jean-Luc courtesy attheraces.com. Lagardere=s Haras du Val Henry. He sired just over 300 foals, of which three became Group winners and For any horse to develop into a major force as a another eight won at listed level. None of his offspring stallion, it is essential that he is able to shine with the managed to win at Group 1 level, but it is reassuring most widespread bloodlines in his nation=s broodmare that Casamento isn=t the first Group 1 winner out of band. In the Anglo-Irish industry, the Danzig branch of one of his daughters. The colt=s predecessor was that the Northern Dancer line is undoubtedly the male line fine mare Terre A Terre, winner of the Prix de l=Opera with the most representatives, thanks largely to its and the Dubai Duty Free. reputation for precocity and speed. As neither of Casamento=s parents was ever asked to It is therefore no surprise that Galileo, who has his tackle more than 1 5/16 miles, it is a little surprising second championship in the bag, owed his Dewhurst that so much emphasis is being placed on the colt Stakes one-two with Frankel and Roderic O=Connor to being a potential Derby winner, rather than a possible two grand-daughters of Danzig, by Danehill. Similarly, 2,000 Guineas horse. One thing Shamardal didn=t lack the increasingly impressive Dubawi owes his best was speed, as he showed in wiring the field in four winners, Makfi and Poet=s Voice, to other Group 1 events--the Dewhurst S., Poule d=Essai des grand-daughters of the legendary Claiborne stallion, Poulains, Prix du Jockey-Club and St James=s Palace S. their dams respectively being by Green Desert and His son Lope de Vega also showed plenty of pace when Chief=s Crown. Pivotal, one of England=s highest-priced he emulated Shamardal=s victory in the Jockey-Club, stallions, has two Group 1 winners from his 2007 crop having earlier taken the Poulains. out of Danehill mares, and three in all. Lope de Vega seemed not to stay a mile and a half in Now Shamardal, another who very definitely has the Arc, but Casamento=s pedigree contains much more what it takes, has won the G1 Racing Post Trophy with stamina, thanks to his second dam, Such Style. the admirable Casamento, yet another whose dam is a This mare=s pedigree harks back to the days when grand-daughter of Danzig. It is worth remembering that stamina wasn=t a dirty word. Her sire Sassafras Shamardal, like Dubawi, is still only eight years old, but inherited a fair measure of the stamina which enabled his list of good winners out of Danzig line mares is his sire Sheshoon, to win the Ascot Gold Cup over two becoming increasingly impressive. In addition to and a half miles. Sassafras will always be best Casamento, he has sired the Group 3 winners remembered for his victories in the Prix du Jockey-Club Dunboyne Express and Elle Shadow from mares by and the Arc, in which he became the first horse to Polish Precedent and Roi Danzig respectively. For good defeat the great Nijinsky. However, Sassafras had measure he has two Australian group winners with warmed up for the Arc by finishing second in the Prix second dams by Danehill, including that fine filly Faint Royal-Oak over nearly two miles (and was awarded the Perfume. race by the stewards). Casamento=s dam Wedding Gift had a classic Such Style=s broodmare sire, Relko, had a similar background, finishing a five-length fifth in the 1996 Prix record, as he won the Derby and the Prix Royal-Oak. de Diane. She had earlier won a listed race over a mile Both Sassafras and Relko combined stamina with a at the end of an eight-race juvenile career. Even so, one degree of speed, though, as they both scored at around doesn=t expect to see the name of her sire Always Fair a mile early in their second season. Such Style=s dam in the pedigree of a potential classic star. Regal Lady also had the distinction of being a half-sister to the great Vaguely Noble. Caulfield cont. Coincidentally, Vaguely Noble first shot to fame in the Observer Gold Cup, the equivalent to the Racing Post Trophy, in 1967. In similar style to this year=s star Frankel, Vaguely Noble had highlighted his potential with a very wide-margin victory at Ascot before stepping up in company at Doncaster, where he coasted home seven lengths clear. The tragedy of Vaguely Noble=s brilliant win was that he held no classic engagements, so he was auctioned at the end of the year. Although his price of 136,000gns was more than three times higher than the previous record for a horse in training at auction, he still proved a bargain, as he showed with his decisive victory over Sir Ivor in the 1968 Arc. Casamento has also changed stables following his Doncaster victory, and he is Dubai bound for the winter. It will be interesting to see whether Sheikh Mohammed adopts a similar policy with Shamardal=s unbeaten son Dubai Prince, who won the G3 JRA Killavullan S. in fine style yesterday. Incidentally, it is tempting to concentrate solely on the Dewhurst S. and Racing Post Trophy as Britain=s most prolific sources of classic winners. The last ten Dewhurst winners feature Rock of Gibraltar, Shamardal, Sir Percy and New Approach, whereas the Racing Post=s roll of honour features High Chaparral, Brian Boru, American Post, Motivator and Authorized. Spare a thought, though, for Dubai Prince, as the Killavullen=s previous winners include Grey Swallow (2004 Irish Derby) and Footstepsinthesand (2005 2,000 Guineas). Storm Bird Storm Cat Terlingua Giant’s Causeway Rahy Mariah’s Storm Immense Shamardal Mr. Prospector Machiavellian Coup de Folie Helsinki (GB) Troy (GB) Helen Street (GB) Waterway (Fr) Northern Dancer Danzig Pas de Nom Always Fair Buckpasser Carduel Wedding Gift Minstrelete SW & MGSP Sheshoon (GB) 7Fls, 1GSW Sassafras (Fr) Ruta (Fr) Such Style (GB) Relko (GB) Regal Lady (Fr) Noble Lassie (GB).