By Elaine Belval
It has to be hard sharing a stallion barn with the likes of Galileo, Danehill Dancer, and, until his death earlier this year, Montjeu, at Coolmore Stud in Ireland. It is probably fairly easy to get lost in the shuffle, as the expression goes.
But Peintre Celebre has been doing his best to bring his name to the forefront. On June 9th at Chantilly in France, Xanadou won the G3 Prix Paul de Moussac at one mile. He is owned by Daniel-Yves Treves, bred by Yeguarda Milagro, and trained by Jean-Claude Rouget. This victory was the fourth in five lifetime starts for the three-year-old, and he was impressive, as the Racing Post noted: “He drew away for an authoritative success.”
The next day, Slight Advantage won the Silbernes Band Der Rheinlandes at Cologne in Germany. This four-year-old filly won the 15-furlong contest for her third victory for owner Stiftung Gestut Fahrhof, breeder Airlie Stud, and trainer Andreas Wohler.
Peintre Celebre is as well-bred as any stallion standing in the world. He is a son of the world-class sire Nureyev and his dam is the GSW Peinture Bleue, by leading broodmare sire Alydar. While Peintre Celebre is his dam’s only G1 winner, she has produced two other stakes winners, and three of her daughters have already foaled black-type performers. The second dam is GSW Petroleuse, who’s the dam of three SWs and two stakes producers.
Peintre Celebre made only seven lifetime starts. He won a maiden at Deauville at two, before placing third in the G3 Prix des Chenes behind Nombre Premier. At three, he won the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club and the G1 Grand Prix de Paris. His defeat when he was second in his Arc prep, the G2 Prix Niel, did not foreshadow his devastating five-length, record-setting victory in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Among those left in the dust were G1 winners Pilsudski (Breeders’ Cup Turf), Swain (Champion S.), Helissio (previous Arc winner), and Borgia (German Derby).
Peintre Celebre’s first foals were born in 2000, and perhaps his best runner came from that crop, the G1-winning filly Pride. She won the G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, G1 Champion S., and the G1 Hong Kong Cup (after finishing a strong second in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe).
Peintre Celebre has sired 12 individual G1 winners in such diverse races as the Santa Anita Derby (Castledale), Gran Criterium in Italy (Pearl of Love), the BTC Cup in Australia (Bentley Biscuit), and the South African Classic and South African Guineas (Jam Alley). He has three additional winners—Collection, Helene Mascot, and Mighty High—at G1 level in Hong Kong, a Part II country in the International Cataloguing Standards (meaning G1s are not recognized as such in North American and European records).
The progeny of Peintre Celebre win at a variety of distances. While the majority of them win between eight and 12 furlongs, Peintre Celebre has two SWs at 5.5 furlongs (1100 meters) and several SWs at greater than 12 furlongs (including Slight Advantage).
As a final interesting point, both Xanadou (2×3) and Slight Advantage (2×4) are inbred to Nureyev. Peintre Celebre has five SWs with inbreeding to Nureyev, including the G1 winner Vallee Enchantee, who won the G1 Hong Kong Vase.
So while Peintre Celebre does not get the headlines his stable companions do, he has quietly established an enviable sire record. He continues to stand at Coolmore Stud and his 2012 fee is a modest €12,500.