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Category: French Bloodstock

  • Cavalryman Charges to Glory

    Since the change in distance of the Prix de Jockey Club, the Grand Prix de Paris has assumed the mantle of the ‘real’ French Derby. Run on Bastille Day, this years Grand Prix de Paris was a weak affair and the winning performance of Cavalryman would have to be rated well below the Derby winning performances of Sea the Stars and Fame and Glory. The field comprised only 8 runners, half of them were trained by Aidan O’Brien and there were no previous Group 1 winners in the field.

     In the end it was a triumph for Sheikh Mohammed who owned the winner and third and their respective sires.  It also served as a reminder of the glory days of Godolphin.

    The winner Cavalryman is by Halling (the name of a Nordic folk dance according to wikipedia) who was an early star for Godolphin. Cavalryman is a belated first Group one winer for Halling who incredibly had 12 Group 2 winners before finally breaking through at the top level. Interestingly in his previous run in the Prix Greffulhe he was defeated by the unbeaten Cutlass Bay who is another son of Halling and may also prove Group one class.

    Hallings pedigree and race record:

    Halling was a sound, top class individual. His sire Diesis was a champion two year old who won the Middle Park and Dewhurst. Diesis was a full brother to an ever better horse in Kris. At stud Diesis’ earned a reputation as fillies sire and sired three Oaks winners in Diminuendo, Ramruma and Love Divine. Apart from Halling his best colt was Elmaamul who although a generally disappointing sire is responsible for Muhtathir who has started very promisingly in his stud career.

    Halling’s dam Dance Machine was a winner of the Sweet Solera Stakes at two. Despite his parents precocity, Halling was unraced at two and made his debut in July 1994 for John Gosden. However it wasn’t until his fourth race, a lowly Ripon handicap that he got off the mark. He never looked back and by October 1994 he was an impressive winner of the Cambridgeshire. This victory saw him leave John Gosden for Godolphin. He wintered in Dubai notching 3 modest victories at Nad Al Sheba before he was next seen in July’s Eclipse Stakes. He caused a modest surprise by making all and leaving the likes of Singspiel, Red Bishop, Muhtarram and Eltish in his wake.  He followed up a month later in the Juddmonte International where he was impressive in defeating Bahri.  That victory represented his eight consecutive victory.

    He was then targeted at the Breeders Cup Classic where he met another horse in the midst of a long winning streak- Cigar. However he totally failed to run to form and was eased up in the straight.

    He wintered in Dubai and was Goldolphins primary hope in the Dubai World Cup. However he once more failed to handle dirt or mighty Cigar.

    Back in Europe and on turf, he won a very weak renewal of the Prix D’Ispahan run on very soft ground. He went on to record a second win in the Eclipse defeating Bijou D’Inde and Pentire under another front running ride. He then won his second Juddmonte International again making all. His swansong was the Champion Stakes, where in a vintage renewal he was defeated by Bosra Sham with Timarida in third. He finished his career as the winner of 12 of his 18 starts including 5 Group ones. He had proven himself a top class, courageous performer, who could make all or come from behind. Surprisingly he was never asked to race beyond ten furlongs but there were grounds for suggesting that it would have been within his compass.

    Halling’s stud record:

    Halling’s stud career has been marked by misfortune and mismanagement but he has still compiled a very respectable record. From 480 foals of racing age he has had 361 starters (75%), 240 winners (50%) and 38 (8%) black type winners. His offspring average winning distance is 10.4 furlongs which clearly indicates the stamina that he transmits. Unsurpisingly precococity is not his forte but he has consistently delivered top runners without ever managing a superstar. His first crop included a pair of Group 2 winners in Dandoun and Chancellor as well Foodbroker Fancy who won the Lupe and finished second in the Sun Chariot.

    He has sired classic horses including The Geezer who was second in the St Leger to Scorpion and Something Exciting who was second to Eswarah in the Oaks. Norse Dancer finished third in the 2000 Guineas and fourth in the Derby along with a host of other Group 1 placings. Along with Coastal Path he is probably the best son of Halling to date and he is now at Wood Farm Stud in the UK for £2500.

    There are a number of top stayers to his credit primarily Coastal Path, Franklins Gardens, Mkuzi and Bauer who came within a nose of winning last years Melbourne Cup.

    Halling was sent to stand in the United Arab Emirates in 2004 and spent three seasons there as part of an experiment by Sheikh Mohammed. He is now back in the UK standing at £8000 but such a move cannot have helped his prospects. Halling seems to work with horses from all backgrounds and he is no doubt is opened up to a huge number of mares by only having a single strain of Northern Dancer and that in his fourth generation (fifth generation of any foal). For those who believe in nicks it is worth noting his success with Danzig mares as this has produced the Group 2 winning brothers Boscobel and Cutlass Bay as well as Group one placed Age of Reason.

    Damside.

    Cavalryman’s dam Silversword was also trained by Andre Fabre for Sheikh Mohammed. She was talented and was placed second in the 12 furlong Group 3 Prix de Royaumont.  She was a daughter of recently deceased Highest Honor who like Halling won the Prix D’Ispahan. Silversword is already the dam of Finity (by Diesis) a three parts sister to Cavalryman who finished third in C L Weld stakes. Cavalryman’s granddam Silver Cobra is also the dam of Double Honour (a sister to Silversword) who finished second in a Goodwood Cup before embarking on a jumping career that saw him run in a Grand National. Silver Cobra is by the Roberto horse Silver Hawk who finished third in the Derby. Interestingly Halling has previously combined with Roberto to produce Mkuzi a multiple stakes winner for John Oxx. Cavalryman’s pedigree is an outcross for the first five generations. 

    Conclusion.

    The Grand Prix de Paris was Cavalrymans’s first effort at 12 furlongs and he clearly improved for the step up in trip. He is still lightly raced and Andre Fabre has indicated that he may target him for the Prix de l’Arc. At the moment that may seem fanciful, but if he takes after Halling it would be unwise to rule out significant further improvement as he matures. Furthermore Fabre has an exceptional record in the Arc and on that basis he is a horse worth considering come Paris in October.

     

    CAVALRYMAN (GB) 2006 c b
    Halling
    (USA) 1991    		 Diesis
    (GB) 1980    		 Sharpen
    Up (GB) 1969    		 Atan
    (USA) 1961
    Rocchetta
    (GB) 1961
    Doubly
    Sure (GB) 1971    		 Reliance
    (FR) 1962
    Soft
    Angels (GB) 1963
    Dance
    Machine (GB) 1982    		 Green
    Dancer (USA) 1972    		 Nijinsky
    (CAN) 1967
    Green
    Valley (USA) 1967
    Never
    A Lady (IRE) 1974    		 Pontifex
    (USA) 1967
    Camogie
    (IRE) 1969
    Silversword
    (FR) 1993    		 Highest
    Honor (FR) 1983    		 Kenmare
    (FR) 1975    		 Kalamoun
    (GB) 1970
    Belle
    Of Ireland (GB) 1964
    High
    River (FR) 1978    		 Riverman
    (USA) 1969
    Hairbrush
    (USA) 1970
    Silver
    Cobra (USA) 1986    		 Silver
    Hawk (USA) 1979    		 Roberto
    (USA) 1969
    Gris
    Vitesse (USA) 1966
    Copperhead
    (USA) 1979    		 Hawaii
    (SAF) 1964
    Basin
    (USA) 1972

  • Vision D’etat

    Last June I wrote about Vision D’etat after his French Derby success. He was then given a traditional Arc preparation which involved a midsummer break before returning in September when he won the Prix Niel. He lost his unbeaten record when finishing a creditable fifth, beaten only 3.5 lengths behind Zarkava in the Arc itself. This year he was third on his reappearance in the Prix d’Harcourt, before winning the Prix Ganay.  Now on his third run outside of France he has claimed his third Group One in the highlight of Wednesday’s Royal Ascot meeting ,the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.  You can read the original report here

  • Binocular-difficult to forsee?

     Binocular is a very short priced favourite for the Champion Hurdle, especially for a horse who was beaten on his only previous visit to Prestbury Park. That aside his pedigree is interesting and serves as a reminder of some stars of yester-year who had disappeared from the public eye.  His sire Enrique ran 8 times for three wins, three seconds and two unplaced runs. At two he won his maiden, the listed Tattesalls Sommerville Stakes before being sent off as joint favourite for the Dewhurst along with Stravinsky. He seemed to be going very well with a furlong to go but found little to finish a disappointing fourth. At three he returned with a win in the Group 3 Greenham, before finishing a close second to Island Sands. It was a substandard Guineas and probably not Kieran Fallons finest hour. He gained his revenge on Island Sands in the Irish Guineas but this time he was convincingly beaten by Aidan O’Briens Saffron Walden.  Enrique was dropped back to 7 furlongs at Royal Ascot for the Jersey Stakes but unfortunately for him he was again beaten into second by outsider Lots of Magic who never before or after showed such a level of form. It was a good renewal of the Jersey as the third was Bertolini and fourth was Stravinsky with fifth going to Industrialist who subsequently did well in Hong Kong.  Back to a mile and Group one company Enriques next and final start was in the Sussex Stakes where he made no impression behind Aljabr. Whether injured or not Enrique’s next public appearance was in the August 1997 Deauville Sales where he fetched a paltry 350000 French francs. Fate is fickle, had the Guineas gone his way he would have been an attractive stallion prospect instead the length of Island Sands neck meant he retired as only a Group 3 winner. His dam Gwydion was a speed machine winning the Queen Mary finishing second in the Diadem and third in a July Cup. In hindsight it would have been interesting to see Enrique dropped back to sprint distances. There was no major demand for Enrique at stud but the fact that he now stands for €4000 at Haras de Hoguenot indicates that some success has come his way and he was certainly a shrewd purchase at 350000 Ffr. His best flat runner is Obrigado (Enrique-Banakill by Funambule by who won a Grade 2 in the States and was narrowly beaten in the Hollywood Turf Cup. He also sired Group 2 placed Baby First (Enrique-First Turn by Alleged). Binocular was useful on the flat winning his only two starts at two, before being listed place at three. However once he switched to the UK and started hurdling he really blossomed and his only defeat from 6 starts was in last years Supreme Novice Hurdle when beaten by the older Captain Cee Bee who is also owned by JP McManus. The dam of Binocular, Blue Ciel et Blanc (literally blue sky and white) is by Pistolet Blue who covered huge books when moved to Coolmores National Hunt division later in his career. He left behind the likes of Sizing Europe, Geos and Katarino with large numbers of runners still to come. Blue Ciel et Blanc bred another winner in Assassino (by Kabool) but Binocular is by far the star of the family. It was difficult to see the union of Enrique of Blue Ciel et Blanc producing a top runner but such fairytales keep the sport from becoming too predictable. The real winner in all this is the slightly unlucky racehorse Enrique who is now lucky enough to be guaranteed decent books as a dual purpose stallion.

    BINOCULAR (FR) 2004 c b
    Enrique
    (GB) 1996    		 Barathea
    (IRE) 1990    		 Sadler’s
    Wells (USA) 1981    		 Northern
    Dancer (CAN) 1961
    Fairy
    Bridge (USA) 1975
    Brocade
    (GB) 1981    		 Habitat
    (USA) 1966
    Canton
    Silk (GB) 1970
    Gwydion
    (USA) 1983    		 Raise
    A Cup (USA) 1971    		 Raise
    A Native (USA) 1961
    Spring
    Sunshine (USA) 1966
    Papamiento
    (USA) 1973    		 Blade
    (USA) 1946
    Commemoration
    2nd (USA) 1953
    Bleu
    Ciel Et Blanc (FR) 1995    		 Pistolet
    Bleu (IRE) 1988    		 Top
    Ville (IRE) 1976    		 High
    Top (IRE) 1969
    Sega
    Ville (USA) 1968
    Pampa
    Bella (FR) 1981    		 Armos
    (IRE) 1967
    Kendie
    (FR) 1963
    Bouge
    De La (USA) 1990    		 Trempolino
    (USA) 1984    		 Sharpen
    Up (GB) 1969
    Trephine
    (FR) 1977
    Syndaar
    (FR) 1978    		 Lyphard
    (USA) 1969
    Sweet
    And Lovely (FR) 1963

  • Arc Weekend-winners and losers

    With 7 Group Ones and four Group 2’s spread over the Saturday and Sunday, Arc weekend is as good as it gets in Europe. All age groups, all distances all sexes are catered for with championship honours up for grabs. This years results threw up a lot of surprises with plenty of items to debate.

    A good weekend for

     1. French trainers- only two races went to overseas trainers with Paco Boy winning for Richard Hannon and Lady Marian for Germany. It probably emphasises that Arc weekend is the ultimate target for many French trained horses whereas it is often coming at the end of a long hard season for Irish and British trained horses who had peaked earlier in the summer

    2. Juddmonte. A stellar weekend for Juddmonte stallions with Zamindar’s daughter Zarkava’s win in the Arc reinforcing her superstar status. For good measure Beat Hollow emerged from the doldrums with Proportional putting up a very impressive performance in the Prix Marcel Boussac to give him his first Group One winner. The jam on top was provided when Naaqoos won the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere giving Oasis Dream his first Group One winner.

    3. The Aga Khan’s methods. Zarkava represents a triumph for the Aga Khans belief in certain families. It is remarkable that her 10th dam is his grandfathers foundation mare Mumtaz Mahal and her fifth dam is Oaks and Guineas winner Petite Etoile a filly Lester Piggott regards as the best he ever rode. Despite a number of moderate non-entities since Petite Etoile the Aga Khan never loses faith in his families and got his just reward with a great performance from the best filly since Miesque.

    4. Dyhim Diamond. The unherealded Dyhim Diamond had a sparkling weekend that emphasised his versatility. Firstly five year old Bannaby won the 20 furlongs Prix de Cadran defeating Yeats and on Sunday Milanais came within a neck of winning the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere. Dyhim Diamond was a son of Night Shift who never won above Group 3 level, but previously gave notice of his ability to upgrade his mares with the exploits of Prix Jean Prat winner Turtle Bowl.  Dyhim Diamond stood in France for €2000 at Haras de la Tuilerie, but is now plying his trade in Haras de Ulzama in Spain. This weekends results might see efforts to repatriate him to France.

    5. Nayef. Lady Marian’s win in the Prix de l’Opera caps  a fine year for the Shadwell stallion who has emerged as an important sire as earlier highlighted by Tamayuz’s Group 1 double and Spacious runner-up slot in the 1000 Guineas. His fee has been increased to £15000 for next year but that still represents tremendous value.

    6. Desert Style.  Paco Boy provided Desert Style with his second Prix de la Foret winner in three years, following in the hoofprints of Caradak. He has always been an inconsistent sire but is well capable of getting a top class performer such as Mandesha and Bachir. At a fee of €12,000 he could no longer be considered cheap but this was a nice reminder of his ability.

    Disappointing weekend

    1. Coolmore. Amazingly Peintre Celebre’s son Trincot’s victory in the Group 2 Prix Dollar was the only pattern success for a Coolmore stallion at the weekend.

    2. Ballydoyle/Aidan O’Brien. Before his horses left Tipperary Aidan O’Brien would have expected at least two Group One wins with hopes of adding another one or two. He left with none after odds-on defeats for Yeats and Mastercraftsman and disappointing runs by Duke of Marmalade and Moonstone. Only Soldier of Fortune performed with credit.  His odds of reaching the record of 26 Group ones in a season lengthened after the weekend.

    3. Gallic Farce: The failure of Fleeting Spirit’s stalls to fully open in the Prix de l’Abbaye led to a false start. Unfortunately a number of jockeys didn’t notice the false start flag and Hungarian superstar Overdose ran flat out for the five furlongs ‘winning’ the race in a time just outside the course record.  Had he triumphed it would have been a real fairytale success for an unwanted son of Starborough who cost just £2000