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Montjeu

Galileo, Groupthink, National Hunt Breeding And A New Heresy….

Back in 1633, Galileo was convicted of heresy for his espousal of the heliocentric view of the universe. He was sentenced to house arrest which lasted until his death in 1642.

Sadler’s Wells transformed National Hunt breeding, so breeders seem to assume that Galileo will do the same. Here is my heresy; when it comes to National Hunt breeding, I don’t believe in Galileo… The Catholic Church admitted it was wrong in 1992. I wonder if it will take as long to admit to a mistake by National Hunt breeders?

Grounds for Concern:

1. Sadler’s Wells was a great sire of jumpers, Galileo isn’t.

Looking at Racing Post Ratings, from 294 runners over jumps, Galileo has sired just two runners rated over 155, Celestial Halo on 167 and Supasundae on 165 . In contrast from 362 runners, Sadler’s Wells has 11 runners including the imperious Istabraq on 181, Synchronized on 171, Pridwell on 169, Essex on 165 and Theatreworld on 164 .

Galileo also suffers in comparison with Montjeu. Montjeu had fewer National Hunt runners at 249, but has sired 8 horses rated 155 or above, headlined by Hurricane Fly on 173. To date sire sons of Montjeu have also achieved more than sons of Galileo in the National Hunt realm(eg Douvan, Min, Tiger Roll, Might Bite aka Does Bite) but that’s a discussion for another day. The fact that Galileo hasn’t sired good jumpers doesn’t mean that his sons won’t succeed, but it does create a doubt. Where there is doubt, you would expect caution but instead we have a reckless herd mentality on an almost unprecedented scale.

2. Galileo’s National Hunt Stallion Sons are unproven

Galileo has no proven, established National Hunt stallion sons. Mahler has made a good start (eg Chris’s Dream, Ornua) but not enough to warrant 227 mares in 2019. Soldier of Fortune attracted 275 mares in 2019 and 290 in 2018. That is a lot of faith to put in a stallion who still has to deliver a really top horse but who at least has Busted and Lord Gayle as his dams grand-sires.

Displaying even more faith, but without a comparable female line or any racecourse evidence, were the 275 breeders who used Order of St George, the 225 who went to Idaho and the 190 mares who went to Telescope. That is around 1200 mares from those 5 sons of Galileo. Am I the only person who thinks this might be insane?

3. The sheer scale of the problem

Next season those five stallions will be joined by Leger winners Capri and Flag of Honour, who can both expect significant books. There are a host of others including Finsceal Fior, Imperial Monarch, Proconsul, Vendangeur, Sans Frontieres, Shantaram also in the marketplace. The total foal crop in the UK (4655) and Ireland (8788) in 2019 was 13,443 foals. In Britain it is estimated that 23% of the foal crop is intended as NH or dual purpose and in Ireland it is 48%. This would equate to 5,288 national hunt or dual purpose foals. We could be looking at over 1,700 or around one third of the National Hunt crop being by sons of Galileo.

Conclusion:

I’m sure that there will be many good horses sired by the sons of Galileo. The sheer weight of numbers make that almost inevitable. However, the percentages may be less than expected.

No one is asking about the implications of having so many foals from the same sire line. Half of the foals will be fillies so we are the changing the National Hunt breed forever.

French National Hunt breeding has outperformed the UK and Irish sectors over the past two decades. There are a lot of factors at play, but a willingness to embrace diversity in sire lines and smaller books that allow more stallions a chance have an impact. Irish breeders acting individually think they are being rational but the cumulative effect of their group-think could damage everyone in the National Hunt sector…

Bracelet- Another Jewel for Urban Sea

Bracelet put herself into the classic picture with a smart success in the Group 3, 1000 Guineas trial at Leopardstown, run over 7 furlongs on soft ground. She quickened nicely from the highly regarded Balansiya (Shamardal ex Baliyana by Dalakhani) who was bidding to give Dermot Weld an important success for his new owner the Aga Khan.

Bracelet is a representative of the best female line in the book, that of Urban Sea . The list of stars descending directly from the Arc winner include Galileo, Sea the Stars, Born to Sea, Black Sam Bellamy, My Typhoon, Masterstroke and Wonder of Wonders. Bracelet is a full sister to Wading to won the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes at two and was expected to make into a classic contender but never ran again. Their dam Cherry Hinton retired as a maiden but that doesn’t do justice to her level of ability which saw her finish runner up in a Group 3 and finish fifth in the Oaks. She has a two year old filly by Giant’s Causeway called Simply A Star. Cherry Hinton’s 2010 foal was colt subsequently name Lake Michigan. Injury meant he was unraced but he has just secured a place at stud in Park House Stud, Co Carlow as a National Hunt sire.

Bracelet is a further reminder that Montjeu isn’t entirely useless as a fillies sire! His reputation with fillies benefited from the victory in the Irish Oaks of Chicquita, who is now a Ballydoyle stablemate of Bracelet having sold for for 6 million euros during Paul Makin’s disposal sale. It’s hard to know how far Bracelet will stay, she will certainly stay the extra furlong of the Guineas, should stay 10 furlongs and after that who knows. Bracelet is now best priced 16-1 for the 1000 Guineas and as low as 8-1 for the Oaks. To my mind the 16-1 looks a good price for a filly who should progress considerably from her first run of the season and who has a pedigree that screams classic contender (pedigree listed below). Make up your own mind on her potential by watching the video of her race below

 

Bracelet (IRE) 2011 f b
Montjeu
(IRE) 1996		 Sadler’s
Wells (USA) 1981		 Northern
Dancer (CAN) 1961		 Nearctic
(USA) 1954
Natalma
(USA) 1957
Fairy
Bridge (USA) 1975		 Bold
Reason (USA) 1968
Special
(USA) 1969
Floripedes
(FR) 1985		 Top
Ville (IRE) 1976		 High
Top (IRE) 1969
Sega
Ville (USA) 1968
Toute
Cy (FR) 1979		 Tennyson
(FR) 1970
Adele
Toumignon (IRE) 1971
Cherry
Hinton (GB) 2004		 Green
Desert (USA) 1983		 Danzig
(USA) 1977		 Northern
Dancer (CAN) 1961
Pas
De Nom (USA) 1968
Foreign
Courier (USA) 1979		 Sir
Ivor (USA) 1965
Courtly
Dee (USA) 1968
Urban
Sea (USA) 1989		 Miswaki
(USA) 1978		 Mr
Prospector (USA) 1970
Hopespringseternal
(USA) 1971
Allegretta
(GB) 1978		 Lombard
(GER) 1967
Anatevka
(GER) 1969

Camelot- a new legend?

Camelot has delivered Montjeu, his first Guineas winner. His success didn’t look likely until inside the final furlong, but in the end he was probably worth a little bit more than his official margin of a neck.  His success confirms the greatness of both Montjeu and Aidan O’Brien.

Aidan O’Brien

Camelot was Aidan O’Brien’s sixth 2000 Guineas winner, following King of Kings, Rock of Gibraltar, Footstepsinthesand, George Washington and Henrythenavigator. All of them were making their seasonal debuts and to me the ability to get a horse fully fit on the gallops is one of the hallmarks of a top trainer. The ability to learn from past mistakes and the knowledge that comes from training a lot of the members of the same family or offspring of the same sire can give trainers that extra edge. Aidan has trained more Montjeu’s than anybody else and he was quick to acknowledge that he made mistakes in prepping a previous Racing Post Trophy winner St Nicholas Abbey for the Guineas and he clearly didn’t repeat those mistakes with Camelot.

Camelot’s pedigree

Camelot cost 525,000 guineas at the 2010 Tattersalls October sales which made him the highest priced yearling by Montjeu sold that year.  For that sort of money you would expect him to be both handsome and especially well bred. His pedigree is undoubtedly high class although in truth it has lacked a superstar until Camelot, so we can assume he was a very taking physical specimen.

Tarfah

Camelot’s dam Tarfah was unraced at two, won three of her 4 starts including a listed handicap at Ascot as a three year old and then continued the good work by winning the listed Snowdrop stakes and the Group 3 Dahlia stakes in her first two runs at four. She failed to trouble the judge in the Windsor Forest run at York that year when Ascot was being redeveloped and was last seen disappointing in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom in June 2006. She was reported as having burst a blood vessel that day and was not seen again on the track but retired with a very creditable record of 5 wins from 8 starts. Tarfah’s first foal was a filly by Galileo who cost 240,000 Guineas and named Ideal.  Trained by David Wachman, from her seven starts to date she won a 10 furlong maiden at Clonmel but is clearly a long way short of top class.

Fickle

Tarfah’s dam Fickle was trained by Michael Bell and ran five times as a three year old. She won her maiden at Brighton on her third start and won a listed race on her final start at Newcastle when she got the run of the race and sprung a surprise when winning at 20-1. With the black type secured it was presumably decided to retire her to the paddocks.  At stud Tarfah was by a long way her best offspring with her only other winner being the very modest Sistine who is closely related to Tarfah being by Dubai Destination (a son of Kingmambo).

Fade

Camelot’s third dam Fade was unraced but she proved a useful producer, leaving 8 winners from 8 runners including 3 other stakes performers besides Fickle in Faru (by Mtoto) , Birdie (by Alhaarth) and Fading Light (by King’s Best).

One over Parr

Camelot’s fourth dam One Over Parr (by Reform out of Seventh Bride) was very useful .  She won the Cheshire Oaks and the Lancashire Oaks, both Group 3’s and was a full sister to an Epsom Oaks winner in the 1974 winner Polygamy who gave Pat Eddery his first English Classic on the day that I was born ! As for the name One Over Parr history buffs might recall that Henry VIII’s sixth wife was called Catherine Parr hence with a dam of Seventh Bride, the name One Over Parr was very clever.

Kincsem

For those who really, really like to delve into a pedigree (and my thanks to the poster who notified me), Camelots 17th dam is no less than the Hungarian supermare Kincsem! Kincsem retired with a record of 54 wins from 54 starts and was dominant on the continent before crossing the Channel and claiming the Goodwood Cup in 1878. For a detailed account of her racing and broodmare career click here

Nicks

Tarfah is a daughter of Kingmambo and he has combined very well with daughters of  Montjeu’s sire Sadler’s Wells.  Kingmambo has sired Henrythenavigator, El Condor Pasa and Divine Proportions on this cross and his son King’s Best has produced Workforce out of a Sadler’s Wells mare.

Conclusion

Camelot is an unbeaten Group 1 winner at two and now a Guineas winner at three. The next logical target is the Derby and he is already an odds on shot in most books for the Epsom showpiece.  The assumption is that being by Montjeu he should have no difficulty in staying 12 furlongs and the triple crown is also now being talked about.  However before getting carried away with the hype, it is worth remembering that neither Tarfah nor Fickle were ever asked to race beyond 10 furlongs and as racehorses themselves the sires in the lower half of the pedigree were all sprinters or milers with the exception of Persepolis who won the Prix Lupin over 10 furlongs. The slight concern is that winning a Guineas shows Camelot to be an atypical Montjeu and perhaps he will also not stay as well as the other high class Montjeu colts.  I certainly wouldn’t be rushing to back him at odds on  for the Derby, however for the sake of racing I fervently hope that he goes on to claim the holy grail that is the triple crown, and for which we have been waiting 42 years to find a successor to Nijinsky.

CAMELOT (GB) 2009 c b
Montjeu
(IRE) 1996		 Sadler’s
Wells (USA) 1981		 Northern
Dancer (CAN) 1961		 Nearctic
(USA) 1954
Natalma
(USA) 1957
Fairy
Bridge (USA) 1975		 Bold
Reason (USA) 1968
Special
(USA) 1969
Floripedes
(FR) 1985		 Top
Ville (IRE) 1976		 High
Top (IRE) 1969
Sega
Ville (USA) 1968
Toute
Cy (FR) 1979		 Tennyson
(FR) 1970
Adele
Toumignon (IRE) 1971
Tarfah
(USA) 2001		 Kingmambo
(USA) 1990		 Mr
Prospector (USA) 1970		 Raise
A Native (USA) 1961
Gold
Digger (USA) 1962
Miesque
(USA) 1984		 Nureyev
(USA) 1977
Pasadoble
(USA) 1979
Fickle
(GB) 1996		 Danehill
(USA) 1986		 Danzig
(USA) 1977
Razyana
(USA) 1981
Fade
(GB) 1988		 Persepolis
(FR) 1979
One
Over Parr (GB) 1972

Montjeu RIP

We all know that death is inevitable, yet we are still surprised when it happens. Montjeu was only 16 when he died today from complications related to septicaemia. He leaves behind an outstanding legacy with too many big winners to name, but even looking at his classic winners gives a sense of his achievements.

Classic Winners (Northern Hemisphere):

Hurricane Run (2002 c ex Hold On by Surumu) won Irish Derby

Motivator (2002 c ex Out West by Gone West) won Epsom Derby

Scorpion (2002 c ex Ard Melody by Law Society) won St Leger

Frozen Fire (2005 c ex Flamingo Sea by Woodman) won Irish Derby

Fame & Glory (2006 c ex Gryada by Shirley Heights)- won Irish Derby

Authorized (2006 ex Funsie by Saumurez) won Epsom Derby

Pour Moi (2008 c ex Gwynn by Darshaan)

Masked Marvel (2008 ex Waldmark by Mark of Esteem) won St Leger

Additional “Classic Winners” (depending on your definition)

Montare (2002 f ex Contare by Shirley Heights ) won Prix Royal Oak (French St Leger)

Jukebox Jury (2006 c ex Mare Aux Fees by Kenmare) won Irish St Leger

That is a remarkable level of consistency for a sire who has only had 8 crops of three year olds to represent him so far. It also goes without saying that there could be plenty more names added to this list before the final total is known with Camelot (ex Tarfah by Kingmambo) a short priced favourite for this years Derby and Guineas.

In addition he did very well from his stint down under (although it took some time to recognise this) and he has also enjoyed  major national hunt success including festival winners Hurricane Fly and Noble Prince.

Legacy

When Montjeu’s first crop of three year olds hit the track it was a phenomenon. He sired the first two in the Epsom Derby (Motivator and Walk in the Park) and Irish Derby (Hurricane Run and Scorpion). For good measure Scorpion added the St Leger and Hurricane Run the Arc that season. It seemed the true successor to his sire Sadler’s Wells had finally arrived. And then along came Galileo.  Now it seems that Montjeu is always to be compared to his more expensive stud mate and almost invariably unfavourably. “He doesn’t sire milers and he doesn’t sire fillies and they carry their heads a little high” so the cream of the mares go to Galileo, just like their sire Sadler’s Wells kept the best mares from Caerleon. Indeed one wag suggested to me that the cause of his death was a broken heart as he felt like a jilted lover losing so many of his mares to Galileo!

But the comparison with Sadler’s Wells and Caerleon and the conventional wisdom is unfair. Montjeu is to my mind a better sire than Caerleon and in many respects a better sire than Galileo. The most important stat is usually stakes winners to foals- Galileo has 98 from 1651 foals of racing age (6%), Montjeu is currently 100 from 1318 foals (8%). If we factor in the superior quality of Galileo’s mares then Montjeu’s comparative record is all the more laudable. He also outperformed Galileo from their shuttle crops. As for his supposed failings with fillies and milers, those perceptions could easily change and very rapidly if for instance Camelot won a Guineas and Wading a fillies classic. With further crops to come it is worth waiting to see if his record with fillies and milers will improve in time. Even if they don’t, he has done enough to be regarded as one of the ten greatest sires to ever stand in Ireland. The others probably consist of Sadler’s Wells, Danehill, Habitat, Galileo, Birdcatcher, Gallinule, Blandford, Gallinule and Desmond.

Sons at Stud

To date the record of his sons at stud is underwhelming. Motivator seemed afflicted by bad luck suffering injuries and having small resultant crops but he was disappointing. Hurricane Run has got plenty of stakes horses but quickly needs a big name to keep his name in lights. Authorized had a quiet first season last year with his two year olds so he needs them to improve considerably as three year olds. There are still plenty of sons either yet to retire or just retired so there is plenty of time for a successor to emerge and it is worth remembering that Sadler’s Wells had more failures than successes before Montjeu came along.

Broodmare Sire

It is also very early to make pronouncements Montjeu as a Broodmare sire.  However last year saw Montjeu as broodmare sire of two of the best two year olds in Europe via Dewhurst winner Parish Hall (2009 c by Teofilo ex Halla Siamsa by Montjeu) and Group 2 winner Restiadargent (Kendargent ex Restia by Montjeu). Given Montjeu’s rivalry with Galileo it is interesting to see them combine in the pedigree of Parish Hall who is by Galileo’s son Teofilo and we can expect to see there names increasingly linked in future pedigrees.

Final Word

Montjeu was an outstanding racehorse and his performance in the 2000 King George was as impressive as you could wish for. He had a great turn of foot for a horse who truly stayed 12 furlongs and would have got further. He also had courage as he demonstrated in a tough Arc when El Condor Paso got first run on him in heavy ground. He passed on many of these attributes to his offspring and he is huge loss to the European breeding industry.

Pour Moi

Pour Moi’s win in the Derby was further proof that Montjeu is the pre-eminent sire of Derby colts in Europe. Galileo is enjoying a stellar year but Montjeu is still to my mind a better bet to throw a top middle distance colt.  Pour Moi’s performance at Epsom was all the more meritorious as he sweated up quite a lot lot beforehand and Mickael Barzalona stood up in the irons having perhaps misjudged the finishing line.  The sustained run of  Pour Moi was impressive as he made up a lot of ground in the last two furlongs and it reinforced the visual impression he gave in the Prix Greffulhe of a horse with a serious turn of foot.

Pedigree Assessment

Montjeu’s major Derby record is seriously impressive. Below is a full list of his Derby and Irish Derby runners to date. Six individual Derby winners since his first crop of three year olds in 2005 (3 Epsom and 3 Irish) is an exceptional record. Breeders have their reservations about Montjeu based on concerns over temperament and the relative failure of his fillies, but the regularity of his production of top class colts should outweigh these concerns.

Dam- Gwynn

Pour Moi’s dam Gwynn was unraced but she comes from an outstanding family and it is easy to see why she was sent to Montjeu.  The Sadler’s Wells Darshaan cross has produced countless top class individuals and Gwynn herself produced Gagnoa (by Sadler’s Wells) who was a dual Group 3 winner and twice a runner up in Group 1 company (the Prix Saint Alary over 12 furlongs and the 10 furlong Prix de Diane aka the French Oaks). Pour Moi’s second dam Victoress was a winner in France but an unremarkable broodmare, producing just 2 winners from 10 foals.  However once we hit the third dam, the winning Northern Dancer filly Royal Statute , the family starts to produce some top class individuals.   Royal Statute is the dam of Awaasif (by the 1974 Derby winner Snow Knight) a winner of the Yorkshire Oaks and close third in the Prix de l’Arc.  At stud she was the dam of a classic winner in Snow Bride (by Blushing Groom) who was awarded the 1989 Oaks on the demotion of Aliysa (ironically by Darshan) for a failed drugs test.  At stud Snow Bride become dam of the 1995 Derby, King George and Arc winner Lammtarra (by Nijinksy) so this is a family with plenty of classic connections.

Konafa (by Damascus)  another daughter of Queens Statute was placed in the 1000 Guineas and started her own dynasty. She is dam of Korveya (by Riverman) a Group 3 winner who achieved renown as dam of champion two year old and French Guineas winner Hector Protector (by Woodman), 1000 Guineas and Champion Stakes winner Bosra Sham (also by Woodman) and French Guineas winner (Shanghai by Procida).

Pour Moi’s 4th dam Queens Statute was unraced but was the dam of Canadian Oaks winner Menedict by (Menetrier) and a Candadian champion in Dance Act (also by Northern Dancer). Unsurprisingly given the names involved Queens Statute and Royal Statute were part of E P Taylors broodmare band at Windfields farm.

Conclusion

Pour Moi’s family has plenty of top class connections. Her dam Gwynn has already shown herself to be capable of producing a Group 1 performer to Montjeu’s sire, Sadler’s Wells. Montjeu is an outstanding sire of Derby class colts and the stated intention for Pour Moi is now the Prix de l’Arc a race in which his trainer Andre Fabre has a superb record. There looks to be a very strong crop of four year olds on the scene this year but they will have a worthy adversary in Pour Moi.

 Epsom Derby
 Year  Horse  Dam (Broodmare sire)  Position
 2005  Motivator  Out West (Gone West)  1st
 2005  Walk in the Park  Classic Park (Robellino)  2nd
 2005  King’s Quay  Glen Rosie(Mujtahid)  10th
 2006  Mountain  Skidmore Girl (Vaguely Noble)  8th
 2006  Papal Bull  Mialuna (Zafonic)  10th
 2006  Snoqualmie Boy  Seattle Ribbon (Seattle Dancer)  16th
 2007  Authorized  Funsie (Saumarez)  1st
 2007  Anton Chekhov  By Charter (Shirley Heights)  12th
 2008  Washington Irving  Shouk (Shirley Heights)  5th
 2008  Alessandro Volta  Ventura Highway (Machiavellian)  6th
 2008  Frozen Fire  Flamingo Sea (Woodman)  11th
 2008  King of Rome  Amizette (Forty Niner)  12th
 2009  Fame and Glory  Gryada (Shirley Heights)  2nd
 2009  Montaff  Meshedd (Gulch)  12th
 2010  Jan Vermeer  Shadow Song (Pennekamp)  4th
 2010  Victor Delight  Apache Star (Arazi)  7th
 2011  Pour Moi  Gwynn (Darshaan)  1st
 2011  Recital  Dibenoise (Kendor)  6th
 
 Irish Derby
 Year  Horse  Dam (Broodmare sire)  Position
 2005  Hurricane Run  Hold On (Surumu)  1st
 2005  Scorpion  Ardmelody (Law Society)  2nd
 2005  Walk in the Park  Classic Park (Robellino)  8th
 2006  Mountain  Skidmore Girl (Vaguely Noble)  6th
 2006  Land Before Time  Last Spin (Unfuwain)  13th
 2008  Frozen Fire  Flamingo Sea (Woodman)  1st
 2008  Alessandro Volta  Ventura Highway (Machiavellian)  4th
 2008  Washington Irving  Shouk (Shirley Heights)  11th
 2009  Fame and Glory  Gryada (Shirley Heights)  1st
 2009  Drumbeat  Maskaya (Machiavellian)  11th
 2010  Jan Vermeer  Shadow Song (Pennekamp)  3rd
 2010  Victor Delight  Apache Star (Arazi)  7th

2005

POUR MOI (IRE) 2008 c b
Montjeu
(IRE) 1996		 Sadler’s
Wells (USA) 1981		 Northern
Dancer (CAN) 1961		 Nearctic
(USA) 1954
Natalma
(USA) 1957
Fairy
Bridge (USA) 1975		 Bold
Reason (USA) 1968
Special
(USA) 1969
Floripedes
(FR) 1985		 Top
Ville (IRE) 1976		 High
Top (IRE) 1969
Sega
Ville (USA) 1968
Toute
Cy (FR) 1979		 Tennyson
(FR) 1970
Adele
Toumignon (IRE) 1971
Gwynn
(GB) 1997		 Darshaan
(GB) 1981		 Shirley
Heights (GB) 1975		 Mill
Reef (USA) 1968
>Hardiemma
(GB) 1969
Delsy
(FR) 1972		 Abdos
(FR) 1959
Kelty
(FR) 1965
Victoress
(USA) 1984		 Conquistador
Cielo (USA) 1979		 Mr
Prospector (USA) 1970
K
D Princess (USA) 1971
Royal
Statute (USA) 1969		 Northern
Dancer (CAN) 1961
Queen’s
Statute (USA) 1954

Hurricane on a run

Hurricane Run (Montjeu ex Hold On by Surumu) was his father’s truest son. I have never seen a better example of a horse whose career almost totally mirrored that of his sire. It is worth listing their respective careers from the time of the French Derby in the Summer of their three year old careers. 

Race  
Montjeu  
Hurricane Run  
Prix de Jockey Club 
1st 
2nd 
Irish Derby
1st 
1st 
Prix Niel 
1st 
1st 
Prix de l’Arc 
1st 
1st 
Japan Cup 
4th 
na 
Tattersalls Gold Cup 
1st 
1st 
Grand Prix de Saint Cloud 
1st 
2nd 
King George 
1st 
1st 
Prix Foy 
1st 
2nd 
Prix de l’Arc 
4th 
3rd 
Champion Stakes 
2nd 
3rd 
Breeders Cup Turf 
7th 
6th 

As you will see Hurricane Run ran in 11 of the 12 races that his sire contested- an incredible statistic. They differed in that Hurricane Run did not contest the Japan Cup at the end of his three year old season.  In addition their runs  in the French Derby are not entirely comparable as that classic was shortened in distance to 10 furlongs in 2005, a change that almost certainly cost Hurricane Run victory in that classic. However their careers are remarkably similar and at his peak Hurricane Run came within a few pounds of his sire. Timeform rated Hurricane Run at 134 as a three year old and 130 as a 4 year old compared to 137 for Montjeu at three and four. The hope at Coolmore is that he will achieve similar success as a sire. The good news for Coolmore is that his three year olds are stepping up considerably on their two year old form and he looks set for a good season.

First Crop 2 year old Results

Hurricane Run has 147 representatives in his current crop of three year olds. 18 of them managed to win as two year olds which was a creditable outcome. The best of last years runners was the filly Cochabamba (ex Bolivia by Distant View) who finished her campaign with a close second to Cape Dollar (Cape Cross ex Green Dollar by Kingmambo) in the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes. Both of those fillies have genuine classic aspirations and to me represent good ante-post bets for the Oaks for which they are available at around 80-1 on betfair.

First Crop Three Year Old results

The table below shows the results for all of the three year olds by Hurricane Run to have raced in the UK so far this year. The races involved are low class affairs, mostly run on the all-weather but the results could hardly be much better. From 11 runs, there have been five wins, four seconds and one third an outstanding strike rate. In addition his early season result in France include Stakes placings for Don’t  Hurry Me (ex Beringold by Bering) and Kreem (ex En Public by Rainbow Quest). It was always to be hoped that his progeny would improve significantly with age and they seem to be fulfilling that promise. This time last year Dubawi started the season with a lot of early low grade winners and it proved a harbinger of an outstanding season and it will be interesting to see whether Hurricane Run can match his success.

Date
Track
Horse
Dam & Damsire
Pos.
Dist.
03/01/2011
Wolverh.
Roi de Boeuf
Princess Killeen by Sinndar
5th
9 f
08/01/2011
Lingfield
Hurricane Higgins
Mare Aux Fees by Kenmare
1st
10 f
17/01/2011
Wolverh.
Sheila’s Star
Yaselda by Green Desert
2nd
9 f
17/01/2011
Wolverh.
Roi de Boeuf
Princess Killeen by Sinndar
1st
9 f
26/01/2011
Kempton
Sheila’s Star
Yaselda by Green Desert
2nd
10 f
26/01/2011
Kempton
Roi de Boeuf
Princess Killeen by Sinndar
3rd
10 f
25/02/2011
Wolverh.
Barbican
The Faraway Tree by Suave Dancer
1st
9 f
26/03/2011
Lingfield
Viking Storm
Danehill’s Dream by Danehill
2nd
10 f
03/04/2011
Doncaster
Barbican
The Faraway Tree by Suave Dancer
1st
10 f
06/04/2011
Beverley
Pretty Diamond
Cheal Rose by Doctor Devious
1st
12 f
07/04/2011
Kempton
Swindy
Red Passion by Seeking the Gold
2nd
10 f

 Hurricane Run’s Pedigree

Hurricane Run was part of the sensational first crop of Montjeu that also included classic winning colts Motivator and Scorpion. To date we have little evidence of Montjeu’s prowess as a sire of sires, apart from the slightly disappointing Motivator. In his defence we should probably withhold judgement on Motivator as his stud career has been hampered by injuries. Hurricane Run’s dam Hold On was Listed placed and second dam Hone was dam of Group 2 winner Hondo Mondo (by Caerleon). However this is an unexciting female line, largely unfamiliar to UK & Irish breeders. This meant that despite his racecourse prowess Hurricane Run’s stud fee could not be set at more than €30,000 on his retirement. It remained at that level in his second season at stud but is listed as €15,000 for 2011.  It is interesting that Hurricane Run’s dam sire is the 1977 German Derby winner Surumu, who occupies the same place in the pedigree of outstanding German sire Monsun and decent sire Lomitas.

Conclusion

This is a critical year for Hurricane Run. He wasn’t expected to make a big impact with his two year olds and they performed respectably but not exceptionally. However the very early signs are that his progeny are coming into their own as three year olds.  It is hoped that just as he was almost a replica of his sire as a racehorse he may come to replicate his success as a stallion. If that comes to pass, his current fee of €15,000 will look like value.

HURRICANE RUN (IRE) 2002 c b
Montjeu
(IRE) 1996		 Sadler’s
Wells (USA) 1981		 Northern
Dancer (CAN) 1961		 Nearctic
(USA) 1954
Natalma
(USA) 1957
Fairy
Bridge (USA) 1975		 Bold
Reason (USA) 1968
Special
(USA) 1969
Floripedes
(FR) 1985		 Top
Ville (IRE) 1976		 High
Top (IRE) 1969
Sega
Ville (USA) 1968
Toute
Cy (FR) 1979		 Tennyson
(FR) 1970
Adele
Toumignon (IRE) 1971
Hold
On (GER) 1991		 Surumu
(GER) 1974		 Literat
(GER) 1965		 Birkhahn
(GER) 1945
Lis
(GER) 1960
Surama
(GER) 1970		 Reliance
(FR) 1962
Suncourt
(GB) 1952
Hone
(GB) 1974		 Sharpen
Up (GB) 1969		 Atan
(USA) 1961
Rocchetta
(GB) 1961
Lucy
(GB) 1966		 Sheshoon
(GB) 1956
Laverock
(GB) 1961

Hurricane Fly and Noble Prince

Leopardstown today almost witnessed a Grade 1 double for Montjeu. Hurricane Fly was impressive in the Irish Champion Hurdle and Noble Prince came within a short head of winning the Arkle chase. Noble Prince is similar to Hurricane Fly in that he was more than useful on the flat. In fact he was a Listed winner for Andre Fabre and he was a Group 2 placed.

Noble Prince comes from a very decent German family and was sold as a yearling for €90000 at Baden Baden in 2005. That proved to be a very good investment as he sold for 230,000 guineas at the April 2006 Tattersalls breeze up sales. His subsequent prowess on the flat meant that he fetched €150000 at Arqana sales on the 4th October 2008. Interestingly the 4th October (Arc day) saw him finish a disappointing last in the Prix de Cadran. This was his last run run for Fabre before joining Paul Nolan’s stable. In total he ran 13 times for Fabre (7 times at 3, 6 times at 4) winning twice over 10 furlongs and a listed race over 15 furlongs. His best run was probably when a close second to Coastal Path over 15 furlongs in October 2007. He ran well at four without winning before his final disappointing run in the Cadran.

Noble Prince was not an immediate success over hurdles and took three runs before breaking his duck at Gowran in April 2009. Since then he won twice more over hurdles but showed gradual improvement without winning including when he ran a good third in a Grade 2 hurdle at Leopardstown at the Christmas 2009 meeting. He also ran well to be fifth in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham after meeting some interference and finished last season with a fine fourth in the Grade 1 world series hurdle at Punchestown over 3 miles.

Sent Novice chasing he made an impressive reappearance at Punchestown in November, before finishing a 5 length second to Realt Dubh in a Grade 1 at the Christmas meeting.

That margin was reduced to a short head today and he should pick up a top prize sooner rather than later. He was versatile regarding ground on the flat and he has run well at up to three miles over hurdles so there are plenty of options regarding upping in him trip over fences.

Pedigree

Noble Pearl, the German trained dam of Noble Prince won only twice but signficantly she went to the paddocks as a Group 1 winner. The highlight of her career came on her second start in the 1998 Gran Criterium at San Siro where she caused an upset at 26-1 when she defeated Zindabad. She failed to add to her tally at three, running without success including when well beaten in the Poule D’Essai des Pouliches behind Valentine Waltz. At stud she started promisingly by producing Noble Stella (by Monsun) who was a five time winner between Italy and Canada including at Grade 3 level. She subsequently visited other lesser German sires such as Acatenango, Kornado and Sholokov without comparable success.

She is a daughter of Dashing Blade who was a dual Group 1 winner in 1989 winning the National Stakes at the Curragh and a rather substandard Dewhurst (in which Royal Academy disappointed). At three he disappointed in the Guineas, ran somewhat better in the St James Palace and then won the Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam. His form was then inconsistent before finishing his career with an easy Group 1 success in the 12 furlong Gran Premio D’Italia. As a three time Group 1 winner he obviously deserved a place at stud but his pedigree was unfashionable and he was retired to Germany. At stud he has done well and is the sire of 50 Black type winners from 896 foals or a respectable 6%. His best offspring include Proudwings (ex Peraja by Kaiseradler) who won the Falmouth Stakes (Gr 2) and was a disqualified from first place in the Prix Jacques le Marois and Group 1 winners Lord of England (ex Loveria by Los Santos) and Faberger (ex Friedrichslust by Caerleon). Dashing Blade was a son of Elegant Air who won a Group 3 Horris Hill stakes at 2 and the Group 2 Tattersalls Rogers Gold Cup at 4. Elegant Air died after only 5 seasons at stud but he also sired Air de Rien who won the Group 1 Prix Saint Alary in 1990. However his overall record of 6 stakes winners from 173 foals is unremarkable.

Elegant Air is a son of Shirley Heights so Noble Prince is a representative of the famed Sadler’s Wells- Shirley Heights cross that has given us the the likes of In the Wings and Alexandrova and Montjeu has sired Fame and Glory and Montare out of Shirley Heights mares. Noble Pearl’s second dam Noble Girl was a four time winner in Germany. She was a daughter of Esclavo who was a fast German son of Northern Dancer’s first crop son Vice Regal (brother to a much better sire in Vice Regent) who was exported to France after making little impression as a sire in Canada.

Conclusion

Noble Prince was high class on the flat and looks top class over jumps. Montjeu is following his sire Sadler’s Wells in becoming an exceptionally useful National Hunt stallion. Noble Prince seems effective from 2-3 miles and on varying ground conditions. With his German background there are some unfamiliar pedigree elements but it is also another example of the very familiar Sadler’s Wells Shirley Heights cross.

NOBLE PRINCE (GER) 2004 c

Montjeu

(IRE) 1996

Sadler’s

Wells (USA) 1981

Northern

Dancer (CAN) 1961

Nearctic

(USA) 1954

Natalma

(USA) 1957

Fairy

Bridge (USA) 1975

Bold

Reason (USA) 1968

Special

(USA) 1969

Floripedes

(FR) 1985

Top

Ville (IRE) 1976

High

Top (IRE) 1969

Sega

Ville (USA) 1968

Toute

Cy (FR) 1979

Tennyson

(FR) 1970

Adele

Toumignon (IRE) 1971

Noble

Pearl (GER) 1996

Dashing

Blade (GB) 1987

Elegant

Air (GB) 1981

Shirley

Heights (GB) 1975

Elegant

Tern (USA) 1971

Sharp

Castan (GB) 1977

Sharpen

Up (GB) 1969

Sultry

One (GB) 1961

Noble

Girl (GER) 1987

Esclavo

(FR) 1976

Viceregal

(USA) 1966

Esclave

(FR) 1964

Novenka

(GER) 1973

Waidmannsheil

(GER) 1957

Nordica

(GER) 1966