Yanks join the debate

ON THE CHARGE: Leading first season sire Charge Forward is proving dominant with Danzig-line mares.

Issue 11, May 28, 2009

Arrowfield Stud’s marketing arm rightly capitalised on the “outcross” factor when the first advertisements promoting their young sire Charge Forward began appearing after the horse was retired to stud in 2005.

Charge Forward, by Red Ransom (by Roberto) from Sydney’s Dream, by Bletchingly (by Biscay) has a pedigree free of Northern Dancer blood. It was the ideal pitch to capitalise on that fact considering the flood of ND sire-lines, particularly through ND’s grandson and in-bred close relation Danehill and his sire Danzig (by ND).

Arrowfield’s decision to secure Charge Forward was good business for a stud that also boasted three of the most prepotent and successful Danehill sons at its Scone farm – Redoute’s Choice, Flying Spur and Danzero.

Charge Forward has done his job. He’s set to win the First Season Sires’ title (prizemoney won), thanks to Headway’s second placing in the G1 Golden Slipper. He also has sired seven individual winners.

And Arrowfield’s prediction of him being the ideal outcross stallion for Danzig-line mares rings true, as all six of his Australian winners (he also has a winner in Japan) are from Danzig-line mares – they are Headway (dam by Flying Spur), Carlton Forward (Bianconi), Capacitator (Redoute’s Choice), Classic Rush (Danewin), Every Man’s Dream (Desert King) and Prerequisite (Danewin).

Legendary trainer D. Wayne Lucas has put the teaser among the mares with his call for a change in distances to the US Triple Crown for 3YOs.

Lucas claims that the third leg of the TC, the G1 Belmont Stakes (2400m) should be reduced in distance because it no longer attracts the interest of stallion owners.

The Lucas plan is for the Kentucky Derby to drop back to 1800m and the Preakness to be run over 1900m – at present the Kentucky Derby is 2000m and the Preakness 1800m – and the Belmont to be reduced to 2000m.

Lucas said in the New York Post: “Nobody cares about mile and a half horses any more. The living proof is that every Belmont winner winds up in Italy, Puerto Rico, you name it. They don’t stand in Lexington. I’ve had four Belmont winners and I don’t know where the hell they are.”

Lucas’s statement shows that the same pressures exist in North America that Australia is experiencing with regard to running staying races, particularly from breeders arguing for a greater emphasis on speed.

Leading blog writer, Steve Haskins (Bloodhorse), came back hard and strong against Lucas. He writes: “When Wayne says, ‘nobody,’ to whom is he referring? Is Wayne basically admitting we’re not breeding racehorses as much as we are future stallion prospects? Isn’t it time breeders start breeding stamina back into the horses before what little we have left is gone forever?”

Haskins followed up by stating that owners need to be encouraged to be patient .

“Let them ask themselves; ‘Would I rather stand in the winner’s circle after a five-furlong maiden race in May or after a Triple Crown race or

the Travers the following year?’” Haskins said.

Haskins goes on to refute Lucas’s claim that Belmont winners finish up in the breeding world’s “Siberia”. This year’s Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird is a son of Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone, and recent Belmont winners Lemon Drop Kid and Empire Maker are proving themselves outstanding stallions.

It’s true in Australia, like in the USA, it is cheaper to buy a staying bred yearling than one bred for speed – yet the best of the prizemoney is offered for horses running over distances greater than 1600m. To mimic Haskins, we all want an early result but we’d really love to win the Cup or the Derby.

To read in full Steve Haskins interesting Bloodhorse.com blog on this subject, CLICK HERE.

DANNY POWER

WORDS BY DANNY POWER

Warming to Elvstroem In an earlier edition of The Breed we suggested that breeders should be patient with Elvstroem (by Danehill) after the stallion’s slow start to his stud career.

Elvstroem should be judged on the performances of his first-crop 3YOs, but the last four months of this season has seen Elvstroem’s 2YOs come to the fore with three promising winners, including Carrara and Dorsoduro, to add to his early season headliner, Gai Waterhouse’s Viking Legend.

Carrara’s win in the Listed Doomben Slipper (1350m) at Doomben last Saturday, provided Elvstroem with his first Stakes-winner. Elvstroem’s senior part-owner Frank Tagg and partners bought the colt at the 2008 Inglis Melbourne Premier Sale for $200,000, and trainer Tony Vasil (who also trained Elvstroem) now has Carrara aimed at the Group 2 QTC Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

Carrara is a bay colt from the Hurricane Sky mare, Crystal Sprite. The colt is another fine example of a Danehill/Danzig line stallion combined with a double-cross of the great Star Kingdom – the Star Kingdom blood comes through Elvstroem’s dam Circles Of Gold (by Marscay, by Biscay) and Hurricane Sky (by Star Watch, by Kaoru Star).

Carrara has a wonderful Australian pedigree. His second-dam Crystal Snip is by Snippets from a Century mare, out of a Vain mare.

A win in the Sires’ won’t elevate Elvstroem to the top of the First Season Sires’ list, but it

will be a very positive result – WA’s Oratorio is the only first season sire to produce at least a G2 winner so far this season.

Elvstroem stands at Blue Gum Farm, Euroa, for a 2009 fee of $27,500.

Starcraft’s first Stakes winner

Arrowfield Stud’s Starcraf t sired his first Stakes winner when Don’t Tell Mary won the Listed Hilary Needler Stakes (1000m) at Beverley (UK) on Wednesday.

Don’t Tell Mary, unbeaten in two starts, is Starcraft’s first runner. The son of Soviet Star’s first Australian crop are rising 2YOs, and there are some good reports about how well they are going – “surprisingly precocious” was the comment from one leading trainer.

Starcraft’s first Australian yearlings sold in 2009 – 56 at an average of $100,464 – off a fee of $33,000 (incl. GST). The stud has dropped his fee to $22,000 for the 2009 season.

Don’t Tell Mary (from a mare by Polar Falcon, by Nureyev) settled off the pace before sprinting quickly to win by four lengths. Her next run is likely to be the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes (1000m) at Royal Ascot.

Vinery’s interesting new Boy

One of the more intriguing new sires for 2009 is Vinery’s Myboycharlie, a son of the late Danetime (by Danehill).

Myboycharlie was the champion 2YO of France in 2007. He won his two three starts in brilliant style, including the Group 3 Angelsea Stakes (1200m) before the astute boys at Coolmore Stud stepped in to buy him. Soon after he won the Group 1 Prix Morny (1200m) at Deauville in France by six lengths, and followed with a good third behind New Approach in the Group 1 National Stakes (1200m) at The Curragh.

Danetime shuttled to WA where he has been a wonderful sire – leaving eight Stakes-winners – before his death in September 2005. One of his best progeny is the 2007 Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) winner Megatic (ex Mega Role, by Old Spice).

While Myboycharlie didn’t train on from his brilliant juvenile season, he has a pedigree that will suit Australians. His dam Dulceata is a half-sister to Snowdrift, the

dam of Snowland, Portillo and Snippetson.

You must respect the astute stallion selection capabilities of Vinery’s general manager Peter Orton, who believes Myboycharlie is an ideal horse for Australian conditions. The horse certainly is built like a powerhouse sprinter, being 16.2hh.

While Myboycharlie had abundant speed, he is from a similar Danehill-Riverman cross (one remove back) to Makybe Diva (by Desert King), and his dam-sire Rousillon (by Riverman) is the sire of the 1993 Melbourne Cup winner Vintage Crop, so there also is considerable strength in this pedigree.

Myboycharlie’s 2009 fee is $14,300 (inc. GST).

Breed to jump It’s probably time for the

jumping racing industry to consider setting up a programme to breed jumpers, as they do in Europe, particularly England and Ireland where the National Hunt stallions are promoted separately from the flat-racers.

In Ireland, champion stayer Yeats (by Sadler’s Wells) has no future as a flat sire despite his racing record. When he retires in 2010, Yeats will be sought after by those looking to breed jumpers using Coolmore’s Hunt stallions’ roster.

The current process of sourcing our jumpers from the ranks of failed flat horses is clearly not working – although even in Europe a strong market remains for flat horses going to jumping stables at the end of their 3YO campaigns.

Perhaps, it is something that the Northern Lodge TAFE project could look into – standing suitable stallions to breed strong-boned, staying horses specifically for the jumping market.

ridiculous idea I have come up with.

DANNY POWER

Elvstroem’s first Stakes winner Carrara, pictured as a yearling.