Bustino's Breeding Bits

  • Please bear with us on the new site integration and fixing any known bugs over the coming days. If you can not log in please try resetting your password and check your spam box. If you have tried these steps and are still struggling email [email protected] with your username/registered email address
  • Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!
Surprisingly the bottom drawer sire Bated Breath had 3 winners at Royal Ascot. No mean feat for a sire who started his stud career with a fee of only 5,000gns. His best winner was Daahyeh, whom I was much taken with. The form was in the book before the race as she had beaten the Queen Mary winner on her only start. Favourite, but against a lot of fillies from big stables, she put them all to the sword. Either they are all rubbish, all had an off day or she is a serious filly.


So first Bated Breath. A very good colt but not a great colt. He didn’t even run as a 2yo but showed enough as a 3yo to be kept in training. As a 4yo he quickly showed why when winning the listed Leisure Stakes and coming second in the July Cup and Sprint Cup. As a 5yo he was 2nd in two more Group 1s (Kings Stand Stakes and Sprint Cup) as well as winning the Temple Stakes (Group 2). Surprisingly Juddmonte chose to stand him at Banstead Manor Stud. When you look at his pedigree you could perhaps see why. He comes from basically an American family but people will know Best in Show (dam of Try My Best), from whom flows El Gran Senor, Redoutes Choice, Xaar and Peeping Fawn. He is also by Juddmonte’s Dansili and held the promise of injecting speed into the breed (alongside his breeding) which Juddmonte backed up by sending several good mares to him. He is a sire, much in the mould of Sharpen Up and his son Kris, who has speed but should be capable of getting horses that stay futher than he ever won over. His covering fee doubled this year.


How about Daahyeh’s breeding. She is out of an Oasis Dream mare who was bred by Juddmonte. In fact she looks a thoroughly Juddmonte filly. However her 4th dam is not Juddmonte, as she is an important mare called Peace (by Klairon) who was owned by Jock Whitmey and trained by Jeremy Tree. Looking back further she traced to the Astor root mare Conjure: a fantastic family that achieved much but that other than Black Caviar has not achieved much for some time. Peace was a good filly but an even better broodmare. She produced a Royal Ascot winner in Peaceful (Crepello), then a tough stayer in Quiet Fling (Nijinsky) and also a Cambridgeshire winner in the shape of Intermission (Stage Door Johny). All of these were trained at Beckhampton by Jeremy Tree. When Whitney died some of his choicest bloodlines were purchased by Khalid Abdullah.

Daahyeh’s 3rd dam was De Stael who was a full-sister to Quiet Fling. Her best produce was Wandesta (Nashwan) who won 3 Group 1s. Sent to Kenmare, De Stael produced a once-raced filly called Valencia, who in turn to Oasis Dream produced Daahyeh’s dam Affluent who was a small 5f handicap winner. There is every chance Daahyeh may get no further than the 6f she has already won over. However there is enough stamina in her bottom line to suggest she may get further and an attempt at 7f at some stage this year may prove informative.
 
Made a note of Grendel’s comment that Headman looked the pick of a fairly hot Newbury field back in April. He disappointed in the soft that day but yesterday won his 2nd race since when taking the Prix Eugene Adam in impressive style.
He is by Kingman out of a King’s Best mare called Deliberate, who’s a Sadler’s Wells full-sister to Enable’s dam Concentric. More powerfully built than Enable he looks suited to 10f. Charlton says he wants to keep him to 3yo races for now. May not get further, but another fascinating Juddmonte prospect.
 
Japanese super sire Deep Impact was euthanised this morning. He had had an operation and was thought to be recovering but found to have a fractured spine.
 
Gutaifan remains at the top of the First Season Sires win table but Night of Thunder is only just behind and scoring at a very high ‘wins to runners ratio’.
 
Should we take Mums Tipple seriously? Being by Footprintsinthesand out of a Xaar mare he doesn’t have the pedigree that gets big pockets sale purchasers excited.
His sire gets forgotten, as after winning his first 3 races he never ran again. He’s been a so-so sire and most people would probably regard this son of Giants Causeway as a miler. However his dam comes from a good Oppenheimer family (the granddam won the Nassau) and it's likely if Footprintsinthesand had gone on racing he'd have attempted 10f. It is strange that the trainer Hannon has another good 2yo by Footprintsinthesand in his stable: Threat.

The bottom half of Mums Tipple at first sight offers little support for his class or stamina. His dam raced 4 times and was never placed while his granddam was unraced. When you look back another generation you find yourself in Godolphin country. In fact this is one of the families Sheikh Mohammed first bought into back in the early '80s. When Jim Philipps died his Dalham Stud and its bloodstock was bought up by Sheikh Mohammed. The initial jewel was Oh So Sharp but by purchasing Running Ballerina amongst Philipp's mares he bought into the family of one of the most fascinating horses of the 1940s. That horse was Honeyway. Some people may know this Philipps' owned stallion sired Great Nephew for Philipps. Great Nephew (a Champion European miler) went on to become the sire of two good Derby winners: Grundy and Shergar.

However what of Honeyway the racehorse? Well he was trained by Sir Jack Jarvis He raced 30 times, winning 16 of them but was good enough to win the July Cup, the Cork and Orrery (became the Golden Jubilee), the King George V and the top handicap the Victoria cup. He was considered a 5 to 7f horse but then surprised everyone as a 5yo by winning the Champion Stakes over 10f.

It's good to see Honeyway's family still capable of getting good horses. If you look at the bottom line sires you get Xaar, Groom Dancer, Habitat and Nijinsky. all good sires and certainly no reason to believe the line was weakened by the use of poor or inadequate sires. The lack of success of this family is perhaps one of those inexplicable things that happens sometimes. Families wax and wane.

So what might it tell us about Mums Tipple? He definitely has speed but his pedigree and especially the influence of the Honeyway family could mean he could also get further. My feeling is for now he should stick to 6f, with targets like the Mill Reef and then the Middle Park. But it wouldn't surprise me if next Spring (all being well) Hannon considers a 2000G trial or indeed a start in the 2000G. He won't be the first. So let's see how he runs next time. There is no reason why, given his pedigree, that he couldn't be a very good horse.
 
Last edited:
Cyclonic said:
I've been half following the fortunes of Brazen Beau Bustino. It's a bit of an uphill slog trying to inject pace into the UK scene, but I'm hoping that Darley give him a decent chance. He's a quality sprinter.
Click to expand...
He's not done badly. He is about 5th or 6th in terms of wins. He needs a big winner.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cyclonic
The Jockey Club has announced that they are considering bringing in a limit to the number of mares a stallion can cover in a breeding season. If passed the start season will be 2021. The proposed cap is 140 coverings.

Long overdue to my mind.
 
Bustino74 said:
The Jockey Club has announced that they are considering bringing in a limit to the number of mares a stallion can cover in a breeding season. If passed the start season will be 2021. The proposed cap is 140 coverings.

Long overdue to my mind.
Click to expand...

What will the lads think of that I wonder?
 
Bustino74 said:
The Jockey Club has announced that they are considering bringing in a limit to the number of mares a stallion can cover in a breeding season. If passed the start season will be 2021. The proposed cap is 140 coverings.

Long overdue to my mind.
Click to expand...
Quite agree
 
Gutaifan is increasing his lead (27wins) over Night of Thunder (21) and Due Diligence (20). However on wins to runs NOF leads from Due Diligence and Gleneagles.
 
Today, owner-breeders means Coolmore, Godolphin and Juddmonte. Once it meant a whole set of owner-breeders, who but for a small set I still talk about have eroded over the last 40+ years.
One of those breeders was Lord Howard de Walden. His best horse was probably Kris, but he also bred a Derby winner in Slip Anchor. The genesis of Slip Anchor was the purchase of the German mare Sayonara, who De Walden's breeding expert, Leslie Harrison, felt would be suited to Mill Reef line sires. The first try was Mill Reef and the produce was a filly called Sandy Island, who won the Pretty Polly and Lancashire Oaks. Later she bred a good clt called Sandmason, who Henry Cecil trained to win the Hardwicke Stakes. The second try was Mill Reef's son Shirley Heights. The result was the Derby winner, Slip Anchor.
Soon after Sandmason's victory at RA de Walden died, his main stud was sold and his wife continues to this day with just one mare. So why am I writing about this today? Well Saturday's sprint winner, Hello Youmzain, is a great grandson of Slip Anchor's sister Sandy Island. The family has had a quiet time for more than 15 years but has sprung back with an interesting colt, and a sprinter.
 
Another Arc winner for Galileo but our unquenchable thirst for the future makes some of us feel that this is Shamardal’s year. For many sires the 5yo Blue Point would have been a significant representative and he is, but there are now at least 3 others and they are all 2yos

Shamardal is probably the best racehorse Mark Johnston has trained. He was from the first crop of Giants Causeway (the O’Brien trained iron-horse of the 2000 Classic Year) who was an unbeaten 2yo and as a 3yo won 5 Group 1s on the trot. In his first crop he bred the unbeaten 2000G winner Footprintsinthesand, but he also sired Shamardal. This colt was out of a Machiavellian mare called Helsinki, who was a fairly ordinary racefilly but she was a full-sister to US champion and top sire Street Cry. Though both were listed as US bred to European eyes they’d seem European bred as Machiavellian was a French racehorse (who did most of his racing in Europe) and the dam Helen Street had won the 1985 Irish Oaks for owner-breeders Sir Michael Sobell and Lord Weinstock (owners of Ballymacoll Stud). Helen Street traces back to the family of Sun Prince, Sun Princess and Conduit, amongst others. She was by Troy (their Derby winner) and strangely at the end of her racing career she was sold to Sheikh Mohammed. It proved to be a costly sale for Ballymacoll but an inspired purchase for Sheikh Mohammed.

Amazingly Shamardal was a wobbler as a foal and yearling but after being cured (which is rare) he was sold to the Darley group for $50,000 as a yearling. As one of their lesser lights he was leased out and ended up at Middleham. After 2 victories at Ayr and Goodwood he was taken back by Gainsborough Stud. He ran only once more as a 2yo when winning the Dewhurst. Transferred to Bin Suroor he appeared at Meydan in the Godolphin blue as a 3yo and ran poorly. Returned to the turf he then reeled off 3 wins in Group 1s at Longchamp (8f), Chantilly (10f) and Royal Ascot at York.

At stud he produced the good colts Lope de Vega (now a promising sire) and Mukhadramah (a first season sire this year), and as good as these were nothing could have prepared us for this season. Yes Blue Point looked just about the best sprinter of 2018 (and 2019) but it is the 2yos of 2019 who have pushed Shamardal to new heights.

Victor Ludorum is a particularly interesting colt as his 3rd dam is also the 3rd dam of Shamardal, so Victor Ludorum is inbred 3X3 to Helen Street. To be closely inbred to a mare is fairly unusual but not unknown. The Derby winner Harzand was inbred 3 x 3 to his 3rd dam, while Danehill was inbred 3 X 3 to Natalma (but not quite in the same way as Harzand and Victor Ludorum). Whether having 7 great-grandparents instead of 8 is a problem is hard to answer. What you can say about VL is that he has enough strands of stamina in the bottom half of his pedigree to suggest that he could get further. One strange element in his pedigree is the dam’s sire Kaldounevees, who was basically a miler (Group 3 winner) who also managed a 2nd in the Arlington Million in the mid-90s. A real outcross sire (almost unconsidered in the UK and Ireland), he should not stop Victor Ludorum getting 10f.

We’ve already talked about Pinatubo , who comes from the same family as Kingman’s sire Invincible Spirit. There is every reason to believe he could stay 10f. Earthlight comes from the same family as Golden Fleece and would appear to have the most stamina in his pedigree when compared to his 2 peers.

Of course Blue Point is a sprinter and that may make people think Shamardal is a source of speed in a pedigree and that maybe these Godolphin 2yos may not have the ability to stay a lot further than a mile. However Blue Point is totally different to these other colts. His maternal grandsire is Royal Applause, the great grandsire is Ballad Rock and going back a generation further you get who won over a mile but was raced over 6f. All these sires will have injected speed into Blue Points pedigree so it should be no surprise that Blue Point was a sprinter. It is positive that Shamardal can breed such a fast horse as when it comes to it speed is what it is about.

Godolphin own these three colts and this again should be no surprise as a few years back they took him off the general stallion market so that their stud and related studs could use this stallion. It appears to have paid off in 2019, will we be saying the same in 2020?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cyclonic
The Queens WEMYSS WARE (Stoute) is entered at Windsor tomorrow. Also has an entry in the Tattersalls November sale. Thought you might be interested.
 
Thanks Stick. Every horse (just about) the Queen has entered at the moment is heading for the Sales. A poor show by Warren etc. I'd call it.

Obviously Wemyss Ware is slightly different as he's a donated horse from Sheikh Mo.
 
For first season sires the champion is the stallion who has most UK/Ire wins. At the moment Gutaifan and Cable Bay share the lead on 29 with Night of Thunder on 27: tight.

If you look at the European picture and whose produce has won most then Cable Bay is top with Gleneagles and Night of Thunder just behind.

As I dismissed Cable Bay in some posts pre-season I have to say he’s done very well.
 
In 1978 Jeremy Tree was beginning to put in place what he felt he needed for his retirement. He’d been training for nearly 20 years and he reasoned that when his chief owner Jock Whitney gave up or died that he’d retire soon after. It was at this point that a Saudi gentleman called Prince Khalid Abdullah entered his life. KA wanted Tree to buy him some racehorses. Tree did as he was told and went to Keeneland Sales and bought 3 horses. In 1979 KA had the winner of the Queen Mary Stakes (Abeer) at Royal Ascot. Later in the year, Known Fact won the Middle Park Stakes. When the next year he won the 2000G KA must have thought this was easy. KA soon became Tree’s most important owner and at one time had 40 horses at Beckhampton

In 1982 Jock Whitney died. A fabulously rich man, his foray into UK racing was a fun pastime (he was a big US owner), but having the resources he had he not only owned horses but had a small breeding operation in the UK as well (today Whitney is best known to Racing people through a horse he owned called Sea Pigeon; to people who like Musicals then in Guys and Dolls the girlfriend of Frank Sinatra’s character describes the colours of their future home, Sinatra sighs ‘ah the Whitney colours’). When he died Tree secured some of his best mares for KA. One of those mares was a Stage Door Johnny filly called Rockfest who was no world beater but had won a couple of races and had some black type. KA, now with the Juddmonte machine in full flow, bred from her, and her 5th foal was a Rainbow Quest (trained by Tree to win the Arc for KA) filly called Rainbow Lake who Henry Cecil trained to win the Lancashire Oaks. Rainbow Lake was a good mare and produced a good colt called Powerscourt (by Sadler’s Wells). When sent to Danehill (a super-sire but trained for KA by Tree) she produced a filly called Kind (trained to win 6 races by Charlton at Beckhampton). The rest is history as Kind went on to produce Frankel and Noble Mission.

Tree also secured him a Stage Door Johnny filly called Intermission as well as her dam Peace (by Klairon). Peace had been a good dam for Whitney and had produced 3 good colts (Peaceful by Crepello, and Peacetime and Quiet Fling both by Nijinsky). Intermission‘s story is worth telling. She was a 3yo during the drought Summer of 1976. Initially she was tried over long distances and finished 4th in the Cheshire Oaks. Later Tree dropped her in distance and she showed improved form, but with a Cambridgeshire entry Tree was concerned with being able to work her on the Beckhampton gallops. Having met with a young trainer called Michael Stoute who told him about the benefits of the new all-weather gallop at Newmarket, Tree sent Intermission and Bright Finish (another Whitney home bred) to be trained by Stoute. Stoute trained Bright Finish to win the Jockey Club Cup and followed up with Intermission in the Cambridgeshire. Later Stoute recalled that this was a huge element in establishing him as a top trainer: two years later he won his first classic, which he directly attributed to these 2 wins and Tree’s generosity.

The real reason for this bit on breeding is the exploits of two 2019 2yo fillies who have had good juvenile seasons and could be contenders for next year’s Group 1/2 events. The first is Daahyeh: Daahyeh’s exploits are well known and I don’t have to list them. She is just off the top of being the leading 2yo filly, but so far has fallen just short of that. Daahyeh’s 4th dam is Peace. KA sent Peace to Nijinsky and she produced a mare called De Stael who in turn produced Daahyeh’s 2nd dam Valencia (by Kenmare). De Stael also produced the top filly Wandesta (by Nashwan) who won 3 Group 1s Stateside. Once-raced Valencia was kept by Juddmonte but somewhere along the way her daughter Affluent (Oasis Dream) found her way to the stud of Al Kazeem’s breeder John Deer and he sent her to Juddmonte’s Bated Breath: he sold the produce. Bated Breath probably stayed 8f although never winning over that distance. Looking at Daahyeh’s pedigree and the efforts of other Valencia foals you’d have to say Daahyeh is unlikely to stay further than 8f.

The second is Pocket Square, who is owned by KA and trained by Charlton (remarkably one of the few trainers to ride a Cheltenham Festival winner). This filly traces back to Intermission’s daughter Interval (by Habitat) who was a good 2yo, and even better 3yo winning the Prix Maurice de Gheest. Sent to Zafonic Interval produced a filly called Imbabala who was just off Group level. She produced a good colt to Dansili called Zambezi Sun, who won the Grand Prix de Paris and Prix Foy. Pocket Square’s dam, Shared Account, is a full-sister to Zambezi Sun. Being by Night of Thunder you’d expect 8f to be easily reached and really Pocket Square could get 10f or further. She started over 8f at Yarmouth and ran a promising 3rd. She then turned out 2 weeks later at Ascot and took an 8f Novice event at Ascot very comfortably. She then picked up an 8f Group 3 race at Deauville 6 weeks later beating Gosden’s favourite, Run Wild, who’d run 4th in the May Hill. A literal reading of that form (which is probably dangerous) puts her just behind Quadrilateral. There was a lot to like about Pocket Square’s win and victory was never in doubt. She has now won on Good to Firm and Heavy.

Fillies often improve a great deal between 2 and 3, and both of these would have to do that to get to Group 1 level. Daahyeh does not have to improve that much but I can’t help thinking that of the two Pocket Square has the greater scope for improvement: time will tell. All being well, Daahyeh is likely to reappear at Newmarket or Newbury in a Guineas trial. With Pocket Square being in Charlton’s stable, it is unlikely that she will go for the Guineas and something like the Newmarket Pretty Polly is a likely target. More than anything I’m pleased to see this success for the Peace family. It is doubly pleasing (for me) when you look back a bit further and see this is actually the family of the Astor foundation mare Conjure.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: floridaspearl
Bustino74 said:
In 1978 Jeremy Tree was beginning to put in place what he felt he needed for his retirement. He’d been training for nearly 20 years and he reasoned that when his chief owner Jock Whitney gave up or died that he’d retire soon after. It was at this point that a Saudi gentleman called Prince Khalid Abdullah entered his life. KA wanted Tree to buy him some racehorses. Tree did as he was told and went to Keeneland Sales and bought 3 horses. In 1979 KA had the winner of the Queen Mary Stakes (Abeer) at Royal Ascot. Later in the year, Known Fact won the Middle Park Stakes. When the next year he won the 2000G KA must have thought this was easy. KA soon became Tree’s most important owner and at one time had 40 horses at Beckhampton

In 1982 Jock Whitney died. A fabulously rich man, his foray into UK racing was a fun pastime (he was a big US owner), but having the resources he had he not only owned horses but had a small breeding operation in the UK as well (today Whitney is best known to Racing people through a horse he owned called Sea Pigeon; to people who like Musicals then in Guys and Dolls the girlfriend of Frank Sinatra’s character describes the colours of their future home, Sinatra sighs ‘ah the Whitney colours’). When he died Tree secured some of his best mares for KA. One of those mares was a Stage Door Johnny filly called Rockfest who was no world beater but had won a couple of races and had some black type. KA, now with the Juddmonte machine in full flow, bred from her, and her 5th foal was a Rainbow Quest (trained by Tree to win the Arc for KA) filly called Rainbow Lake who Henry Cecil trained to win the Lancashire Oaks. Rainbow Lake was a good mare and produced a good colt called Powerscourt (by Sadler’s Wells). When sent to Danehill (a super-sire but trained for KA by Tree) she produced a filly called Kind (trained to win 6 races by Charlton at Beckhampton). The rest is history as Kind went on to produce Frankel and Noble Mission.

Tree also secured him a Stage Door Johnny filly called Intermission as well as her dam Peace (by Klairon). Peace had been a good dam for Whitney and had produced 3 good colts (Peaceful by Crepello, and Peacetime and Quiet Fling both by Nijinsky). Intermission‘s story is worth telling. She was a 3yo during the drought Summer of 1976. Initially she was tried over long distances and finished 4th in the Cheshire Oaks. Later Tree dropped her in distance and she showed improved form, but with a Cambridgeshire entry Tree was concerned with being able to work her on the Beckhampton gallops. Having met with a young trainer called Michael Stoute who told him about the benefits of the new all-weather gallop at Newmarket, Tree sent Intermission and Bright Finish (another Whitney home bred) to be trained by Stoute. Stoute trained Bright Finish to win the Jockey Club Cup and followed up with Intermission in the Cambridgeshire. Later Stoute recalled that this was a huge element in establishing him as a top trainer: two years later he won his first classic, which he directly attributed to these 2 wins and Tree’s generosity.

The real reason for this bit on breeding is the exploits of two 2019 2yo fillies who have had good juvenile seasons and could be contenders for next year’s Group 1/2 events. The first is Daahyeh: Daahyeh’s exploits are well known and I don’t have to list them. She is just off the top of being the leading 2yo filly, but so far has fallen just short of that. Daahyeh’s 4th dam is Peace. KA sent Peace to Nijinsky and she produced a mare called De Stael who in turn produced Daahyeh’s 2nd dam Valencia (by Kenmare). De Stael also produced the top filly Wandesta (by Nashwan) who won 3 Group 1s Stateside. Once-raced Valencia was kept by Juddmonte but somewhere along the way she found her way to the stud of Al Kazeem’s breeder John Deer and he sent her to Juddmonte’s Bated Breath: he sold the produce. Bated Breath probably stayed 8f although never winning over that distance. Looking at Daahyeh’s pedigree and the efforts of other Valencia foals you’d have to say Daahyeh is unlikely to stay further than 8f.

The second is Pocket Square, who is owned by KA and trained by Charlton (remarkably one of the few trainers to ride a Cheltenham Festival winner). This filly traces back to Intermission’s daughter Interval (by Habitat) who was a good 2yo, and even better 3yo winning the Prix Maurice de Gheest. Sent to Zafonic Interval produced a filly called Imbabala who was just off Group level. She produced a good colt to Dansili called Zambezi Sun, who won the Grand Prix de Paris and Prix Foy. Pocket Square’s dam, Shared Account, is a full-sister to Zambezi Sun. Being by Night of Thunder you’d expect 8f to be easily reached and really Pocket Square could get 10f or further. She started over 8f at Yarmouth and ran a promising 3rd. She then turned out 2 weeks later at Ascot and took an 8f Novice event at Ascot very comfortably. She then picked up an 8f Group 3 race at Deauville 6 weeks later beating Gosden’s favourite, Run Wild, who’d run 4th in the May Hill. A literal reading of that form (which is probably dangerous) puts her just behind Quadrilateral. There was a lot to like about Pocket Square’s win and victory was never in doubt. She has now won on Good to Firm and Heavy.

Fillies often improve a great deal between 2 and 3, and both of these would have to do that to get to Group 1 level. Daahyeh does not have to improve that much but I can’t help thinking that of the two Pocket Square has the greater scope for improvement: time will tell. All being well, Daahyeh is likely to reappear at Newmarket or Newbury in a Guineas trial. With Pocket Square being in Charlton’s stable, it is unlikely that she will go for the Guineas and something like the Newmarket Pretty Polly is a likely target. More than anything I’m pleased to see this success for the Peace family. It is doubly pleasing (for me) when you look back a bit further and see this is actually the family of the Astor foundation mare Conjure.
Click to expand...
Outstanding and informative piece.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back