Andrew Caulfield, July 21, 2009–Battle of Hastings PEDIGREE INSIGHTS BY ANDREW CAULFIELD VIRGINIA DERBY-GII, $750,000, CNL, 7-18, 3yo, 1 1/4mT, 2:03 1/5, gd. 1--BATTLE OF HASTINGS (GB), 121, g, 3, by Royal Applause (GB) 1st Dam: Subya (GB) (MSW & GSP-Eng), by Night Shift 2nd Dam: Ashshama, by Arctic Tern 3rd Dam: Sheer Fantasy, by Damascus (62,000gns yrl '07 TATOCT; 95,000gns 2yo >08 TATHIT). O-Mike House; B-Myriad Communications & New England Stud (GB); T-Jeff Mullins; J-Tyler Baze; $432,000. Lifetime Record: 11-6-1-0, $906,417. *1/2 to Villa Carlotta (GB) (Rainbow Quest), SW-Ire & Ity, SP-Eng, $116,953. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the brisnet.com chart, the brisnet.com PPs o r the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Made. When a European stallion adds a winner of the GII Virginia Derby to a past winner of the GI American Oaks, one could be excused for thinking that the stallion responsible for these mile-and-a-quarter winners must himself be endowed with a fair measure of stamina. The truth, though, is that the Virginia Derby winner Battle of Hastings is by Royal Applause, a champion sprinter whose 15-race career included 14 starts over five or six furlongs. Royal Applause, who is based at the Queen=s Royal Studs, is probably best known in Europe as an admirably dependable sire of precocious two-year-olds, with nine group-winning juveniles in his first nine crops. He is also the sire of Acclamation, a high-class sprinter who became champion first-crop sire with numerous fast-maturing juvenile winners in 2007. However, the last few years have also shown that there is another facet to Royal Applause=s talents. Perhaps the 2004 American Oaks success of his daughter Ticker Tape helped open trainers= eyes to the fact that Royal Applause can occasionally sire animals which stay much further than he did. BATTLE OF HASTINGS (GB), c, 2006 Northern Dancer Try My Best Sex Appeal Waajib (Ire) Sassafras (Fr) Coryana (Ire) Royal Applause Rosolini (Ire) (GB) Bold Bidder Auction Ring Hooplah Flying Melody (Ire) Whispering Star Sound Track (GB) (GB) Peggy West (GB) Nearctic Northern Dancer Natalma Night Shift Chop Chop Subya (GB) Ciboulette 14-5-2-0 Windy Answer 12Fls, 1GSW, Sea-Bird Arctic Tern 1SW Ashshama Bubbling Beauty 6-1-0-0 9Fls, 1SW Sheer Fantasy Damascus 10Fls, 1SW Bold Bikini ww w. c oo l mor e. c om Although none of his progeny=s stakes successes had There is always a good chance that Royal Applause=s been gained over further than a mile up to that point, better stayers will also have some stamina in the Royal Applause has since raised his total of black-type bottom halves of their pedigrees. Battle of Hastings is winners over a mile and a quarter or more to eight, out of Subya, a versatile performer who gradually thanks to Nice Applause, Royal Intrigue, Spider Power, worked her way up the distance scale, winning over Crime Scene (G3 St Simon S.), Take a Bow (G3 five, six, seven, eight and 10 furlongs. Timeform Brigadier Gerard S.), Apple Charlotte and now Battle of suggested that she might well have stayed even Hastings. The six-year-old Crime Scene initiated a further, given the chance. Battle of Hastings= next three stakes double completed by Battle of Hastings when he dams were all by horses which stayed fairly well--Arctic won the Shadwell Beech House Stud S. three days ago. Tern, Damascus and Boldnesian--and the Boldnesian It is easy to understand why Americans would be mare, Bold Bikini, produced the Irish Derby winner Law interested in a son of Royal Applause when Battle of Society, so Battle of Hastings isn=t the family=s first Hastings came on the market at Tattersalls= Autumn Derby winner. Sales at the end of October last year. Although Royal Applause=s last-of-14 finishing position in the 1997 GI Breeders= Cup Sprint must represent an effective deterrent to trying his progeny on American dirt, his stock has proved very much at home on America=s sharp and fast turf courses. Ticker Tape earned in excess of $1.3 million and this tough filly has been followed by such as Whatsthescript (a dual Grade II winner at up to nine furlongs in 2008, when he was also third in the GI Breeders= Cup Mile), Moth Ball (GIII Morvich H.), Spider Power (runner-up at Grade II and Grade III levels and third in the 2006 Virginia Derby) and now Battle of Hastings. Battle of Hastings had looked only moderate over five and six furlongs for English trainer Michael Bell, but it was a different story when he tackled seven furlongs and a mile to win a pair of nursery handicaps prior to his appearance in the Tattersalls sales ring. His improved form led to his selling for 95,000gns and he has obviously proved a bargain at that price, his Virginia Derby success being his fourth at stakes level. It looks as though his new trainer wasn=t expecting too much stamina, as two of those stakes successes came over six and a half furlongs and a mile, but the gelding=s victory in the GII Colonial Turf Cup established that he stays well by American standards. I must admit that this flow of talented performers at nine furlongs-plus has rather surprised me. As I said earlier, Royal Applause was a champion sprinter and his dam Flying Melody--who had sprinters as her sire and broodmare sire--produced the brilliantly speedy Lyric Fantasy to Sadler=s Wells=s brother Tate Gallery, plus one of Sadler=s Wells=s fastest sons in the G1 Dewhurst S. winner In Command. Also, his third dam Peggy West was a half-sister to Pappa Fourway. This colt earned the reputation for being one of the most brilliant sprinters seen in Britain when he decisively won all eight of his starts at three in 1955, including the July Cup, King=s Stand S. and Diadem S. Obviously there must be some stamina in Royal Applause=s pedigree which occasionally dominates the speedier elements. The most likely source is the female line of his sire Waajib, a good miler who numbered the Queen Anne S. among his victories. Waajib=s first two dams were by the outstanding mile-and-a-half performers Sassafras and Ragusa and his third dam Corbalton produced the highly eccentric stayer Knockroe to a sprinter..