Going the Distance with Montjeu

By Jack Werk

I mentioned in my last post that two stallions deserved mention this past weekend, and I wrote about Darley’s underrated Singspiel first, because he absolutely doesn’t get the respect he deserves. The other stallion who had a big weekend is no stranger to headlines – Coolmore’s fantastic Sadler’s Wells horse Montjeu! Now, Coolmore also has the equally fabulous Sadler’s Wells stallion Galileo, whose son Rip Van Winkle won the G1 QE II this weekend and is, with the exception of Sea the Stars, the best 3-year-old colt in Europe up to 10f. Montjeu, however, has the best 3-year-old colt at 12f, again with the exception of Sea the Stars. That would be the G1 Irish Derby winner Fame and Glory, who will get another crack at Galileo’s half-brother – Sea the Stars! – in the Arc next month. But, back to the “Montjeu Show” over the weekend!

COOLMORE'S MONTJEU

Let’s start off with his 3-year-old colt Jukebox Jury, who won the 12f G1 Preis Von Europa on Sunday in Germany to become Montjeu’s 14th G1 winner! On the same day in Ireland, his 2-year-old colt St Nicholas Abbey won the G2 Juddmonte Beresford Stakes. This colt is now undefeated in his first 2 starts and is considered a “live” Derby prospect for next year – maybe another Fame and Glory? If this wasn’t enough, Montjeu also had the winner of Saturday’s G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes in England! What a weekend! The winner was Joshua Tree, and he also could be a potential classic horse for his sire, who has already sired two Epsom Derby winners – Motivator and Authorized! – and three Irish Derby winners – Hurricane Run, Frozen Fire, and Fame and Glory ! – from only 5 crops of 3-year-olds! That is an amazing accomplishment, and it’s the main reason why Montjeu, maybe even more than Galileo, is the premier source of Derby talent in Europe! His runners are absolutely suited for 12f, and in this regard he is his sire’s son! In fact, the average winning distance of his 69 unrestricted SWs is 11.4f!

Both Galileo and Montjeu were Derby winners for Sadler’s Wells. Galileo, like his half-brother Sea the Stars, won the Epsom Derby, as well as the Irish Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes. Montjeu won the French and Irish Derbys, the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, AND the Arc, as well as other G1s, too! These two stallions give Coolmore the best 1-2 punch in Europe (actually 1-2-3 when you throw in Danehill Dancer!) with both stallions standing at 125,000 euros (as well as Danehill Dancer).

The general view, splitting hairs, is that Galileo is the better stallion, because he gets a quicker horse that can win the Guineas or maybe is a better and faster 2-year-old, or a top 10f 3-year-old (like Rip Van Winkle), but in my opinion, I believe Montjeu will go down as one of the very best classic-siring stallions of all-time in Europe. His present record alone is better than lifetime totals for some, and Montjeu’s clear ability to consistently get that high-class 12f Derby type means that he doesn’t really have a peer in Europe. Mark my words!

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Singspiel – Music to Breeders’ Ears!

By Jack Werk

The European big guns are Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley Stud and John Magnier and partners’ Coolmore Stud. Both operations’ stallions had a huge weekend, but I’m going to mention the two big stallions of the weekend in my opinion – Darley’s Singspiel and Coolmore’s Montjeu — in two separate posts. Today, it’s Singspiel (In the Wings-Glorious Song, by Halo), a stallion whose name doesn’t often come up when discussing top European stallions. Yet, Singspiel has 3 G1 winners in 2009. Now, that is huge! He had his 3rd 2009 G1 winner over the weekend when Hibaayeb won the G1 Meon Valley Stud Fillies’ Mile at Ascot.

DARLEY'S SINGSPIEL

Just look at Singspiel’s stats: With just his 9th crop racing this year, he has 70 unrestricted SWs (30 of them Group winners), including 12 G1 winners! These are monster numbers for any top stallion.

Let’s backtrack and put Singspiel’s pedigree and race record in context before we examine the class of horses he is siring. He’s by the Sadler’s Wells horse In the Wings, who won the G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf for Sheikh Mohammed. As a sire, In the Wings sired true to his classic sire and his own staying abilities, getting G1 German Derby winner Adlerflug, G1 Italian Derby winner Central Park, G1 Irish Derby winner Winged Love, G1 French Derby 2nd Act One, etc., and about 8 percent SWs from foals before he was put down in 2004.

Singspiel was similar to the other In the Wings as far as stamina, but he wasn’t a classic horse at 3. He became a top older horse, just like his sire. He won the G1 Japan Cup and the G1 Canadian International at 4 at 12f, and at 5 he won the G1 Coronation Stakes at 12f and the G1 Juddmonte International at 10.5f. But he also won the 10f Dubai World Cup on dirt from Siphon and Sandpit before that race became an official G1.

Now, look at the female family (Click here to view catalog-style pedigree), and you’ll get a clue about his own late-maturing form. His dam is none other than champion Glorious Song, who didn’t get good herself until she was 4 and 5. As an older filly and mare, she won 4 G1s! Her full bothers (all by Halo) were the good sires Devil’s Bag and Saint Ballado!

As a producer, Glorious Song produced the sires Rahy and Rakeen (in South Africa), in addition to Singspiel. And Like their dam and half brother, Rahy and Rakeen didn’t good until they were 4! Rahy was G1 placed at 2 in Europe, did nothing at 3, then won the G2 Bel Air Handicap at 4 on dirt in the US. Rakeen didn’t win a stakes until he was 4 in South Africa!

Obviously, Glorious Song’s family has been prolific in producing sires all over the world, and Singspiel has been carrying on this tradition! However, like many of these sires in his family, Singspiel has sired classy G1 winners at all ages, from 2 and up, from 7f to 20f, around the world!

As I already mentioned, he’s the sire of 12 G1 winners. Here they are:

ASAKUSA DEN’EN (G1 Yasuda Kinen in Japan)
CONFIDENTIAL LADY (G1 French Oaks in France)
*DAR RE MI (G1 Pretty Poly in Ireland, G1 Yorkshire Oaks in England)
*EASTERN ANTHEM (G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in Dubai)
FOLK OPERA (G1 E.P. Taylor Stakes in Canada)
*HIBAAYEB (G1 Fillies’ Mile in England at 2)
LAHUDOOD (G1 Flower Bowl and G1 BC Filly and Mare Turf in US)
LATERAL (G1 Gran Criterium in Italy at 2)
MOON BALLAD (G1 Dubai World Cup in Dubai)
PAPINEAU (G1 Ascot Gold Cup in England)
REWAAYA (G1 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes in Australia)
SINGHALESE (G1 Del Mar Oaks and G1 QE II Challenge Cup in US)
*Indicates 2009 G1 winner

Click individual names to view 5-crosss pedigrees, dosage and the Werk Nick Rating for these 12 G1 winners. Singspiel definitely has an affinity for certain broodmare sirelines. Of the 12 G1 winners, 10 of them are rated A or better (2 A+++’s *Triple Plus*, 3 A++’s, 5 A’s, 1 B+ and 1 C+)

As you can see, 3 of these G1 winners are from this year. The latest was the 2-year-old filly Hibaayeb, as noted, who won the G1 Fillies’ Mile on Sunday, but the 5-year-old Luca Brasi won a Listed race in Sweden on Saturday, and on Sept. 13 Dar Re Mi, one of the best fillies in Europe, was incredibly DQ’d from the G1 Prix Vermeille after finishing 1st!

What’s more incredible is Singspiel’s 2009 stud fee – £15,000! He is, quite frankly, the most underrated sire in Europe.

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El Prado: Making a strong case as a Sire of Sires!

By Jack Werk

In my last post, I noted that Adena Springs’ El Prado has become the “transitional” sire for the Sadler’s Wells line in North America, in that this traditional turf line has made a breakthrough on the dirt and all weather in North America. We’ve seen it with El Prado himself, and he’s passed this ability on to his son Medaglia d’Oro – the sire of superstar Rachel Alexandra and a bunch of other talented dirt runners. In fact, just 3 of Medaglia d’Oro’s 10 SWs have won on the turf. Well, I highlighted another son of El Prado, Kitten’s Joy (click here to view stallion directory page), in this space in August (click here to read), and since then he’s been represented by two black type winners from his first crop – both on dirt, too!

EMERGING SIRE OF SIRES EL PRADO

On Saturday, William’s Kitten (click here for pedigree) destroyed the field in the $150,000 Sunday Silence Stakes (click here to watch the race) at Louisiana Downs (in second was a Perfect Soul – another son of Sadler’s Wells!) on dirt.

On the same day at Woodbine Becky’s Kitten (click here for pedigree) ran 2nd in the G3 Summer Stakes on turf. The Summer was a $306,050 stakes at a mile, and the Sunday Silence was at 1 1/16 miles – which is exactly the distances the Kitten’s Joy runners need! Kitten’s Joy was the champion turf male who won 9 of 14 starts and earned $2,075,791 at distances of up to a mile and a half, so the stamina is there. But with 11 first-crop 2-year old winners to date, he’s showing that he’s not going to be just a sire of late-maturing plodders! His runners can mature early, and they are telling us that they are probably going to get even better with age.

Kitten’s Joy’s other stakes winner is Sweet Kitten (click here for pedigree), a filly who won the G2 Eduaro Cautino Insua in Puerto Rico on Sept. 13 at 6 furlongs. Now, Puerto Rico is a Part II country in International Cataloguing Standards, which means that the “Grade” doesn’t count, BUT the black type does! Sweet Kitten, therefore, is a legitimate black type winner! And this race was on the dirt, too!

Another update from my original post on Kitten’s Joy is the maiden special winner Shrimp Dancer (click here for pedigree), who won at Belmont on turf at 1 1/16 miles last Thursday. He looks like he’s got a future, too.

The impressive thing about the Kitten’s Joys is that with the exception of one runner, all the others have won maiden special weights, which tells you something about the class of his runners.

With the way Medaglia d’Oro has proven himself, and the way Kitten’s joy is establishing himself with his first crop, you have to take a close look at two other sons of El Prado at stud: Artie Schiller and Borrego.

Artie won 10 of 22 starts and earned $2,088,853, with a win in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Mile. He stands at Ben Walden’s Paul’s Mill (click here for his stallion directory page). Borrego won 5 of 20 starts and earned $2.052,90, with a wins in the G1 Pacific Classic and Jockey Club Gold Cup at 1¼ miles. He stands at Wintergreen (click here for his stallion directory page).

Medaglia d’Oro won 8 of 17 starts and earned $5,754,720, with a win in the G1 Travers at 1¼ miles.

The pattern is obvious: Each was a G1 winner with high racing class that won at routes from a mile up to 1½ miles, at the highest level. This stamina, plus the class of El Prado and Sadler’s Wells, could well make this branch of Northern Dancer the new force to be reckoned with in North America!

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The Danzig Dynasty

By Jack Werk

I’ve been saying for several years now that Danzig is the most influential sire line worldwide, because of Danehill’s influence in both Europe and Australia and Green Desert’s influence in Europe. Danehill, of course, has become the most dominant sire line in Australia since Sir Tristram. Lately, the Green Desert branch of Danzig has been on fire in Europe with Cape Cross (sire of one of the all-time greats Sea of Stars), Oasis Dream (having a dream season with 18 SWs and 3 G1 winners), and Invincible Spirit. Argentina is starting to appreciate Orpen (by Lure, by Danzig), who has an incredible 4 G1 winners worldwide in 2009, and Brazil has had Burooj, the sire of Hot Six, one of the best older horses there and the winner of the G1 Latinoamericana this year.

The extent of the Danehill/Green Desert influence in European racing is best illustrated by viewing the latest list of unrestricted SWs by European sires. FIVE of the 11 stallions (8 or more SWs) descend from these two Danzig branches. Danehill Dancer (Danehill) leads with 19, Oasis Dream (Green Desert) has 18, Dansili (Danehill) has 10 SWs, Cape Cross (Green Desert) has 9 SWs, and Invincible Spirit (Green Desert) has 8 SWs. Click here to see the complete list.

WAR CHANT

North America has always had some moderately successful sons of Danzig like Exchange Rate, Langfuhr and Polish Numbers, as well as a bunch of sons at the regional level from California to New York, but none that have really sizzled because the Danzigs are basically turf horses, and, in America, there is a much greater demand for dirt horses than turf horses. After all, a turf horse is not likely to get an owner or trainer on the Triple Crown trail.

I was again reminded of this today because War Chant, who stands at Three Chimneys and was bred and raced by WTC client Irv Cowan, had his biggest winner to date this year, and you guessed it – it was in Europe on the turf!

Kingsfort, a 2-year-old colt by War Chant, won the G1 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes at the Curragh yesterday over a field jam packed with quality runners.

War Chant is a good stallion and a great value. Consider this: Currently, War Chant is tied for 6th place as North America’s leading sire of unrestricted SWs with 8, and tied for 4th place as leading sire of first-time unrestricted SWs with 7. The seven stallions ahead of him have an average stud fee of $135,714. War Chant’s stud fee? $15,000!

But, with 19 of War Chant’s 21 unrestricted SWs winning on the turf, demand for his progeny by U.S. buyers has been less than overwhelming. Considering the Danzig sireline’s success in Europe, there’s no telling how big a stallion he might be right now had he retired to stud in Europe. Well, one thing’s for sure. If the American buyers don’t warm up to his progeny, the European buyers will have a hay day picking up War Chants at bargain prices.

HARD SPUN

Well, this brings me to Danzig’s last best hope in the U.S. and a stallion I absolutely love- Hard Spun! He was different than most of the Danzigs because he relished the dirt. In fact, he NEVER ran on the turf. He was basically a miler with the heart to go a mile and a quarter and did so running 2nd in the Kentucky Derby to Street Sense and 2nd in the Breeders’ Cup Classic to Curlin!

I believe Hard Spun will be for the Danzig line in North America what El Prado is for the Sadler’s Wells line in here – the “transitional” sire in a line of turf sires that adapts to dirt.

You heard it here first!

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Sea the “Super” Stars!

By Jack Werk

Some of you might have thought that I’d gone “over the top” in my last post by calling Rachel Alexandra and European 3-year-old sensation Sea the Stars two of the “greats.”

Well, in this country, you’d have to be in daze to think that Rachel isn’t one of the greats – I even said that she’s the best filly I’ve ever seen, and that includes Ruffian. Racing legend John Nerud did the same thing in a recent Steve Haskin column. One thing is for sure – if she comes back at four and dominates in the same way as she has this year, pundits may not be talking strictly about one of the greatest “fillies” ever – they’ll be talking about one of the great horses ever.

I got a little ribbing from some of my knowledgeable friends over my Sea the Stars post on 9/6. I noticed that even the eminent writer John Sparkman qualified Sea the Star’s “greatness” in his blog, The Pedigree Curmudgeon, using the Timeform ratings that have placed the great Sea-Bird alone at the top at 145 lbs since 1965.

Well, quicker than you can blink, Timeform had the naysayers “Seeing Stars” this week when they rated the son of Cape Cross and Arc winner Urban Sea at an incredible 140 rating, with room to improve on that in his next two starts!

Timeform editor Jamie Lynch said, “Mastercraftsman (130) appears to have run his race in third, and there is also good reason for believing that Fame and Glory deserves a rating of 135, and to be bracketed in the same league as Sinndar (134), Galileo (134) and St. Jovite (135).

“Therefore the form of the race looks solid, and we have given Sea the Stars a provisional rating of 140. (Click here to view Timeform ratings. Note that Rachel Alexandra is tied with Mastercraftsman!)

“Furthermore, Sea the Stars again didn’t look all out, leaving the impression there could be an even better performance in him if ever comes up against something able to test him fully.

“He should now be classed as one of the all-time greats.”

So, what company does this place Sea the Stars in on the Timeform ratings? How about Brigadier Gerard (144), Mill Reef (141), Dubai Millennium (140), Dancing Brave (140), and Shergar (140)!

Well, that’s all-time great company for sure!

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Sea Rachel Run!

By Jack Werk

How about that Rachel Alexandra? I try not to go “over the top” in praise of a horse, but this very special 3-year-old filly by Medaglia d’Oro, in my book, became the greatest filly I’ve seen in my lifetime – and that includes Ruffian! It takes a special filly to win the Preakness or any of the classics against 3-year-old colts, but to defeat the best older horses in training in a G1 race on dirt at Saratoga, well, that’s in another dimension altogether! She’s a great filly and one for the ages. And by the way, no other 3-year-old filly has done what she did yesterday since races were Graded in the early 1970s.

As it turns out, my opinion of her was understated in my blog of April 7: “Since then, Medaglia d’Oro has been on a tear! He is now the sire of 6 SWs through April 5 (obviously all of them are from his first crop, now 3), and HIS daughter Rachel Alexandra (out of Lotta Kim, by Roar) may now be the best 3-year-old filly in the country! On Sunday, she won – I should use the cliché decimated! – the G2 Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park by 8¾ lengths leading all the way.”

She’s not the best 3-year-old filly in the country. She’s actually the best horse in the country, period!

Usually, you only get a chance to see a “great” race and a “great” horse once in a while, but that wasn’t the case Saturday because we had a chance to see two great races with two great horses. In Ireland, there’s a colt that rivals everything Rachel Alexandra has done here, and he’s Sea the Stars.

He ran another unbelievable race yesterday to win the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown for his 5th consecutive G1 this year, and there isn’t another 3-year-old or older horse that can race with him in Europe. This colt is beautifully bred, too. He’s by Cape Cross, a son of Green Desert (by Danzig), and he’s out of Arc winner Urban Sea, who’s the dam of 4 G1 winners, including Coolmore’s sire sensation Galileo!

Sheikh Mohammed already owns Sea the Stars’ sire, Cape Cross, and he’s paid $15 million to the Irish National Stud for 25 percent of Invincible Spirit, another son of Green Desert. That puts a value on Invincible Spirit at $60 million. Now, Sea the Stars, with his pedigree and race record, has to be worth more than Invincible Spirit on paper, but there aren’t many in the business who can pay that kind of money besides Sheikh Mohammed and Coolmore.

Coolmore was the co-breeder of Galileo with the Tsui family, which has a longstanding relationship with John Clarke at the Irish National Stud. The Irish National Stud is where Invincible Spirit stands, and it already has a partnership with Sheikh Mohammed! So, there are two huge questions facing Sea the Stars future stud career: Who’ll be his owner(s) and where will he stand? It’ll be extremely interesting to follow the developments on this one!

Click here to read a post I wrote on May 6th about the mating that produced Sea the Stars.

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Announcing eNicks for the iPhone . . . and other Smartphones as well!

By Jack Werk

Can you believe it? You can now get Auction eNicks on your iPhone, Blackberry and other smartphones. I don’t know how these things are done but fortunately our IT people do, and I think it’s simply amazing!

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale is now online and anyone can get FREE Werk Nick Ratings for 3,730 yearlings absolutely FREE, including 389 yearlings rated A+++ *Triple Plus*

You can do it in just 3 easy steps. Here’s how – Go to m.enicks.com and:

1) Select a sale

2) Select a hip no.

And, on the iPhone, you can also view the pedigree!

1) Go to: m.enicks.com
2) Press the “+” at the bottom center of the screen
3) Press the “Add to Home Screen” button and you’re done!

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The Industry’s Premier News Sources

By Jack Werk

I was speaking to a longtime client the other day who was complaining about a weekly magazine that he subscribes to because the information was stale, boring, and not very helpful to his business – breeding and selling racehorses. “I guess I’m gonna have to join the younger generation and start getting my news on the internet. I guess it’s true what they say, that the days of the print media are numbered,” he said, and then asked me how I got my news and kept up to date with the breeding industry.

Well, he is right: It’s ALL on the internet now. The days of waiting for the snailman to deliver a weekly were over several years ago, as far as I was concerned. So, here is what I told him:

There are four main sources of news and content that are a daily “must read” for me.

TDN: The first thing I read is Thoroughbred Daily News, or TDN as it’s referred to by just about everyone. This publication, which is run by Barry Weisbord and Sue Finley, was once delivered by fax, but now it arrives by email every night – which is when I read mine.

For the serious horseman, and especially breeders, it’s the “bible.” TDN covers race results from around the world, including every stakes race that qualifies for black type from the International Cataloguing Standards book. My company, Werk Thoroughbred Consultants Inc., actually provides the pedigrees and Werk Nick Ratings to TDN for all the Graded or Group race winners. More than that, TDN covers maiden and allowance races, too, and highlights promising maiden winners as “TDN Rising Stars.” The eZine – electronic magazine – also has great news coverage both here and abroad, and it’s interactive enough, too. You can get charts of the races and videos, etc.

TDN also provides a wealth of statistical data on stallions: TDN Sire Stats, TDN Progeny PPs, TDN Sales PPs, TDN Insta-Tistics, etc., not to mention informative weekly columns by Andrew Caufield and Bill Oppenheim.

In one shot, you can get everything you need as an owner and breeder to stay current with industry news with TDN. And the best news, which I told my client, is it’s FREE!! All you have to do is go and sign up, and they do the rest. Click here to sign up – for FREE! If you’ve never seen it, click here to view today’s edition.

TODAY: Next I read Thoroughbred Times Today, which is the eZine for the Thoroughbred Times weekly. It’s very similar in content to TDN, including delivery by email. But it’s not free. You have to be a subscriber to the weekly print magazine to get the daily free. Today is published by Joe Morris and edited by Mark Simon – two very savvy newspaper guys – and they do a heck of a job with its editorial content. I particularly like their various leading sires’ charts that are published daily, as well as John Sparkman’s weekly pedigree column. Like TDN, I read Today every night. If you’ve never seen Today, click here to view today’s edition. By the way, the Thoroughbred Times also has an outstanding website (www.thoroughbredtimes.com ) which I use daily.

The Thoroughbred Times has taken their print weekly into the 21st century with an electronic edition that arrives in my email box each Tuesday (no waiting a week for the hard copy!). It’s the actual print magazine delivered electronically with a multitude of options that makes for easy read, including zoom (I don’t even need my glasses!)

Between TT Today, the website, and the electronic edition of their weekly magazine, the Thoroughbred Times has set the bar for industry trade magazines.

PAULICK REPORT: After TDN and TT Today, I go to the Paulick Report (www.paulickreport.com). Here, Ray Paulick, the former editor of The Blood-Horse, aggregates news stories from print and internet media and the blogosphere. Plus Ray writes original commentary as well several times a week. Ray also provides all sorts of interesting links to prominent racing writers and blogs, and he’ll spice up some stories tabloid style! Hey, you gotta have a sense of humor sometimes, too. I’ve been so impressed with Ray’s site and its volume of traffic that I’ve been running a front-page ad for eNicks for months now.

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