FEW observers could have envisaged when Danehill was the launching pad for the dual hemisphere use of sires revolution that in due course the world’s most prestigious race, the English Derby, would become dominated by progeny of sires who have visited Australia or New Zealand.
This year’s Derby, one run at Epsom on June 5, was a show window for the distinguished European or American racehorses from the Coolmore or Darley studs, who have made the journey Down Under. Six of the first seven home in the12 runner field were by sires who have shuttled and the other by one who is to visit for the first time this year.

In order of finish, the seven are Workforce (King’s Best – Soviet Moon, by Sadler’s Wells), At First Sight (Galileo – Healing Music, by Bering), Bewilding (Tiger Hill – Darara, by Top Ville), Jan Vermeer (Montjeu – Shadow Song, by Pennekamp), MidasTouch (Galileo – Approach, by Darshaan), Al Zir (Medaglia d’Ore – Bayou Plans, by Bayou Herbert) and Coordinated Cut (Montjeu – Apache Star, by Arazi). Six of them have the Coolmore giant Sadler’s Wells in their immediate pedigree.

Workforce’s success, an awesome one in which he won by seven lengths and smashed the course record, meant shuttlers have provided the winners of six of the last seven runnings of the Derby. Preceding him have been Sea The Stars (Cape Cross – Urban Sea, by Miswaki) 2009, New Approach (Galileo - Park Express, by Ahonoora) 2008, Authorized (Montjeu – Funsie, by Saumarez) 2007, Motivator (Montjeu – Out West, by Gone West) 2005 and North Light (Danehill – Sought Out, by Rainbow Quest) 2004.

Both Authorized and New Approach were shuttled by Darley to Australia for the first time last year. They are to return for the 2010 season and are to be among 26 Darley sires available here.

Yet another English Derby winner set to come to Australia this year is former New Zealand visitor High Chaparral, a boom son of Sadler’s Wells. He is to be available in the Hunter Valley at Coolmore, a stud which earlier hosted Galileo.

Now one of the leading European sires, Galileo has supplied some170 winners and earners of $12million to date from five Australian visits, 2002-06. He has over 200 females in Australia and they could be very valuable to breeding.

The only other English Derby winners used in this part of the world have been Mid-Day Sun (won 1937), Charlottown (1966), Quest for Fame (1990) and Generous (1991). Mid-Day Sun (New Zealand) and Charlottown (Victoria) were imported when they were mid age, Generous has been a New Zealand shuttler and Quest for Fame has spent much of his career as a resident at Woodlands, Hunter Valley.

King’s Best, the sire of this year’s Derby winner Workforce, and also at the weekend of Japanese Derby winner Eishin Flash (out of a German St Leger winner), only ran six times, but followed up Listed success at two by taking out the English Two Thousand Guineas at three.

A son of the Mr. Prospector sire Kingmambo, King’s Best is three-quarter brother to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner and world super broodmare Urban Sea. She is the dam of seven stakes winners including English Derby winners Sea the Stars and Galileo.

In addition King’s Best, now a resident at Darley’s branch in France after getting all his northern hemisphere runners from use in England, is a half-brother to the dam of Anabaa Blue, winner of the French Derby.

This year’s English Derby winner Workforce has a stout maternal pedigree. The dam Soviet Moon is unraced, but she is a sister by Sadler’s Wells to Brian Boru, a winner of the English St Leger, second in the Irish St Leger and fourth in the Irish Derby.

Workforce’s grandam, the Alleged mare Eva Luna, won up to 2900m and was from Media Luna, runner up in the English Oaks and half-sister to Suni, a third placegetter in this Classic. It is a branch of the historic Pretty Polly family.

The 2010 English Oaks, run on the same course and over the same distance, the day before the Derby, was also a good result for the shuttled brigade. The winner, Snow Fairy, is by Intikhab, a leading European miler by one of the most successful shuttle sires, Vinery’s deceased Red Ransom.

On top of this, Snow Fairy’s dam Woodland Dream is bred on a cross of two other sires who visited Australia, Charnwood Forest (used at Widden) and Marju (briefly used in Australia and New Zealand). Marju is by one of the greatest shuttle sires, Last Tycoon.

Darley shuttled sires had distinction over the first weekend of June of supplying Derby winners in three countries, England, Japan and France.  The French Derby was annexed by Lope de Vega, a representative of the first crop got at Darley, Ireland by the 2005 winner of this Classic, Shamardal, a son of the Storm Cat outstanding miler Giant’s Causeway.

Sire in his first Australian crop of Faint Perfume, winner of the Victoria Oaks and second in the AJC Australian Oaks, Shamardal is on the current sire roster for Darley, Hunter Valley, while Giant’s Causeway made four trips out to Coolmore, 2002-05 and left about 280 foals. Now based at Coolmore in Kentucky, he is considered one of the best sires in the world at this time.

There are five dual hemisphere used sires in the pedigree of Lope de Veda, winner also of the French Two Thousand Guineas, as his dam, like the one that produced the English Oaks winner, is bred on a cross of two sires who have been shuttled to Australia, Vettori (five seasons) and Kendor (one).  The latter was a France bred son of Kenmare, a sire who became a distinguished resident at Arrowfield in the Hunter Valley after initially shuttling.

Tags: Coolmore, Darley
Permalink| Jun 13, 2010

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