THE CLASSIC SCOREBOARD
From this year's 'Go Figure' file: of the 10 Classics run in the three Tripartite European countries (Britain, Ireland, France) so far this year, the Maktoum family has won none, but they won two legs of the American Triple Crown. Since there is no suggestion that Godolphin is about to transfer their main string from Newmarket to New York, we're entitled to regard the American results as somewhat of a fluke of nature: the races were won by American trainers Tom Albertrani (Bernardini, for Sheikh Mohammed's Darley) and Kiaran McLaughlin (Jazil, for Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell). The two owners must marvel at the vagaries of American racing, as, after years of trying, they've won two legs of the American Triple Crown with strictly limited fanfare.
There are a lot more spring/summer Classics in Europe these days (I'm discounting St. Legers) than in America: 12, counting the upcoming Irish Derby and Oaks, versus three in the States. There should be six in America, of course, but there is no agreed Classic series for fillies. New York took a stab for a while with the Triple TiaraBAcorn, Mother Goose, and CCA Oaks B and that would make some sense, except for the Kentucky Oaks, which really is the fillies' equivalent of the Kentucky Derby, though run over nine furlongs rather than 10. Since we could hardly have four fillies' Classics and three for colts, we have none. Typical.
For sheer drama, of course Barbaro's terrible breakdown in the Preakness and subsequent recovery to save him, so far (touch wood), are the biggest stories of the American Classic season, followed at a respectable distance by the fact that the winners of the other two Triple Crown races were Maktoum-owned. I don'tknow that there have been bigger stories, or even that much more diversity, in the European Classics run so far, but there have certainly been more of them.
Classic winners (three are owned by Coolmore associates, which I have summarized in the accompanying Table as >Coolmore Partners'). But where there has been a distinctive and worrying lack of diversity is on the sires' side ofthe Classic-winning equation. Ten out of 10 2006 European Classic winners have been sired by stallions which stand or stood at two farms. You'll never guess which they are. As Mark Twain might have said, we can sit here until sugar turns to salt, and even then you probably wouldn't guess it, so I had better tell you.
Six of the Classic winners were sired by stallions from an obscure Irish farm called Coolmore, and the other four were sired by stallions from an equally obscure Newmarket
stallion station called Dalham Hall, a Darley production. It should have only been nine out of 10, because Prince Khalid Abdullah's Price Tag, by the Juddmonte Farm home stallion Dansili, actually won the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches Gr.1, but was disqualified in favor of Tie Black, by one of two deceased Dalham Hall sires to have hit the target this year, Machiavellian (the other:Polish Precedent, sire of French Derby winner Darsi).
Then there is the influence of two of the many great
sons of Northern Dancer: Danzig and Sadler's Wells. Danzig's descendants won four of the six Guineas races (should have been five, as Price Tag is by Dansili, by Danehill), plus the Prix du Jockey Club (Polish Precedent); the Sadler's Wells branch has been responsible for both Oaks winners: Alexandrova by Sadler's Wells himself, and last Sunday's Prix de Diane winner Confidential Lady is by Sadler's Wells's grandson, Singspiel B as well as the Irish 1000 Guineas winner Nighttime, from Galileo's first crop. The Mr. Prospector line (which also scored with Jazil, by Seeking the Gold, in the Belmont) inherited the French 1000 (Tie Black, by Machiavellian),while the Mill Reef line scored an important victory through Sir Percy, by Dashaan, an underrated son, Mark of Esteem.
Date: 14 June 2006