ZAMINDAR SET TO BE AS GOOD A SIRE AS HIS BROTHER ZAFONIC

Taken from the TDN

By Andrew Caulfield

The other grandson of Mr. Prospector to excel over the weekend was Gone West’s son ZAMINDAR, who was discussed here a week ago. I am considering changing roles to that of tipster, as last week I wrote: ‘The chances are that there are more stakes winners to come from ZAMINDAR’s 2004 crop, which also includes the Italian stakes winner Sweet Wind Music. His highly regarded daughter Coquerelle is among the entries for next Sunday’s G1 Prix Saint-Alary, the main trial for the Prix de Diane, having won her last three races in fine style. One of her wins was gained at the expense of Cinnamon Bay, who is also expected to step up to stakes company.

Cinnamon Bay duly gained her first stakes success in impressive style four days later, and then the well-related Coquerelle took the Saint-Alary to become ZAMINDAR’s second Group 1 winner in the space of eight days, following Darjina’s triumph in the French 1000 Guineas.

ZAMINDAR and his brilliant brother Zafonic had The Minstrel as their broodmare sire, so it was inevitable that breeders would try sending them mares with pedigrees containing The Minstrel’s three-parts-brother Nijinsky II. Zafonic had more than 20 foals out of mares by Nijinsky’s top-class son Caerleon, which created 4x4 to Northern Dancer and 5x4 to Flaming Page. His best result was the Group 2 winner Zipping, fourth in the 2002 2000 Guineas, but Zamindar has done even better with Caerleon mares, which are responsible for the unbeaten Coquerelle and the useful French three-year-old Lost Ark.

In comparing Zafonic andZAMINDAR, it is interesting that ZAMINDAR now has three Group 1 winners among the 263 foals in his first six crops (he has another 51 coming on line in his 2005 crop). Zafonic, on the other hand, sired four Group 1 winners among the 633 named foals in his nine crops, the last of which is four years old in 2007.

This statistic suggests strongly that ZAMINDAR has the potential to be a better sire than his older brother, even though Zafonic had comfortably the better form (Timeform rated Zafonic fully 14 pounds superior to Zamindar). This also supports the view that ZAMINDAR (always held in very high regard by Andre Fabre) never revealed the full extent of his talent on the racecourse, largely because of a reluctance to settle as a juvenile.

Date: 22 May 2007