NOTHING QUIET ABOUT SUNDAY SILENCE

Click above to watch Dabirsim winning the Prix Morny (Gr1)
(Image : Racing Post - Footage : Dubai Racing)

DABIRSIM
PRIX MORNY (Group 1)
21 August 2011

Japanese breeding was revolutionized by the arrival of Sunday Silence, as good a sire as there was in the world. Not only was he the perennial champion sire in all categories in his adopted country, but his sons now occupy six of the ten top spots on the Japanese General Sires’ list. The likes of Deep Impact, Neo Universe, Zenno Rob Roy, Manhattan Café and Fuji Kiseki have set Mount Fuji alight, and this weekend it was the turn of his Group One-winning miler, Hat Trick, based at Walmac Farm in Kentucky.

Hat Trick’s unbeaten son, Dabirsim took his tally to three, from three when he flattened the best of Europe’s juveniles by three lengths in the Prix Morny (Gr1) at Deauville Sunday, and as arguably the fastest juvenile in that part of the world, he now has his sights set on England’s Middle Park Stakes (Gr1) at Ascot in October. Traditionally run at Newmarket since its inauguration in 1866, the Middle Park moves for the first time in its history to the Queen’s course on the edge of Windsor Forest, alongside the castle by that name.

The Sunday Silence tribe have all-conquering records across the world, and those that work at Summerhill, will tell you his outstanding son, Admire Main, has thrown us a couple of “pearlers” again this season.

For more information please visit :
www.summerhill.co.za

THE POTENCY OF PEDIGREE

Victoire Pisa - Dubai World Cup (Grade 1)
(Photo : AP Photo / Kamran Jebreili)

NORTHERN DANCER, MACHIAVELLIAN
AND DANEHILL

Pedigree students and readers of these columns will recall our various pieces on the “Machiavellian Factor”, and the strategic reasoning behind our introduction to the Summerhill genetic fold of the influences of Northern Dancer, Machiavellian and Danehill. We are not going to regurge all that now, other than to say there was a purpose behind it, and that the events which unfolded as the Japanese swept the Dubai World Cup on the weekend, have served to reinforce the course we embarked upon.

Victoire Pisa’s nation-building victory in the world’s richest race, added credence to another pillar of our thinking, with the introduction of the Sunday Silence element into the debate. Besides the fact that the continent of Africa was bereft of the influence of this, one of the world’s greatest strains, we had in mind the alchemy which the Halo tribe (from whence Sunday Silence descends) has displayed in combination with the descendants of both Machiavellian and Danehill.

Followers of these things know Andrew Caulfield, and they know him as one of racing’s most astute commentators on pedigree. He wrote thus in Friday’s Thoroughbred Daily News.

Way back in 1970, Sir Michael Sobell’s homebred filly Boulevard showed considerable potential in winning her first three races, notably defeating Hecla and Super Honey in the Princess Margaret Stakes at Ascot. Hecla went on to give the peerless Mill Reef a hard time in the Imperial Stakes, while Super Honey later found only the triple Classic winner Altesse Royale too good for her in the 1000 Guineas. Whereas her rivals flourished, Boulevard failed to build on her excellent start after being transferred to France.

Her chances of making amends as a broodmare weren’t helped when this half-sister to the top-class Sun Prince produced only four foals for Ballymacoll Stud.

However, each of her two daughters has exerted an influence on no less a race than the Dubai World Cup. Boulevard’s younger daughter, the Classic-placed Riverman filly Waterway, is the second dam of the impressive 2002 World Cup winner Street Cry. And now her elder daughter, the Nassau Stakes third Silken Way, ranks as the second dam of Neo Universe, sire of the hugely welcome 2011 World Cup hero, Victoire Pisa.

Victoire Pisa has proved admirably tough and versatile. Officially ranked joint-third among the Japanese 2-year-olds of 2009, when he won his last three starts, he received the top ranking of 121 among the Japanese-raced turf 3-year-olds of 2010, just ahead of his old rival Rose Kingdom and the outstanding English filly Snow Fairy. Now, he is unbeaten in two 4-year-old starts, one on turf and one on Tapeta.

His impressive record stands at eight wins from 13 starts.

In winning last year’s Satsuki Sho, he provided Neo Universe with his second successive winner of this Japanese equivalent to the 2000 Guineas, following the success of Unrivaled in 2009 - a year that also saw Logi Universe, another colt from Neo Universe’s first crop, land the Japanese Derby. To come up with three Classic-winning sons in his first two crops represents a considerable achievement on Neo Universe’s behalf, even allowing for the fact that these crops totalled more than 300 foals.

I first pointed out the stallion’s potential in these pages in December 2008, writing : “Keep an eye out too for Neo Universe, who provided Sunday Silence with his fifth victory in the Japanese Derby in 2003, when he also won the 2000 Guineas. Neo Universe’s first 2-year-olds raced in 2008, and he appears to have an excellent prospect in Logi Universe, an unbeaten winner of two Japanese Group 3 events, including the Radio Nikkei Hai Nisai Stakes three days ago.”

I went on to make an observation which has taken on more significance since the emergence of Victoire Pisa : “An interesting aspect of Neo Universe’s pedigree is that he is by a son of Halo and his dam Pointed Path is a granddaughter of Boulevard. Street Cry is another hot young stallion out of a granddaughter of Boulevard and he, too, has Halo in his pedigree, as the broodmare sire of his sire Machiavellian. It looks as though Logi Universe’s breeders were intent on strengthening the links between Neo Universe and Street Cry, as the youngster’s second dam is by none other than Machiavellian (creating 3x5 to Halo).”

Victoire Pisa has a high-class daughter of Machiavellian as his dam, so he is inbred 3x4 to Halo, America’s champion sire of 1983 and 1989 (thanks to the Kentucky Derby triumphs of his sons Sunny’s Halo and Sunday Silence).

In addition to Logi Universe and Victoire Pisa, another with two lines of Halo is the exciting young stallion Shamardal, who is out of Street Cry’s sister Helsinki. Shamardal, who has Halo is his fifth and fourth generations, was represented over the weekend by Dunboyne Express, winner of the G3 Leopardstown 2000 Guineas Trial. Others inbred to Halo include the high-class Australian filly More Joyous (3x3) and the major Japanese winners Asakusa Den’en (a half-brother to Victoire Pisa, inbred 3x4) and Danon Chantilly (3x3).

PEDIGREE
VICTOIRE PISA (JPN), Colt, 2007 

VICTOIRE PISA (JPN)	Neo Universe (JPN)		Sunday Silence (USA)	Halo (USA)
				Wishing Well (USA)
			Pointed Path (GB)	Kris (GB)
				Silken Way (FR)
	Whitewater Affair (GB)		Machiavellian (USA)	Mr Prospector (USA)
				Coup de Folie (USA)
			Much Too Risky (GB)	Bustino (GB)
				Short Rations (GB)

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

DUBAI WORLD CUP : VIVA JAPAN

Admire Main
(Photo : Summerhill Stud)

“IGNORE THE JAPANESE AT YOUR PERIL”

If ever a country needed a morale booster, it was the Land of the Rising Sun, and nothing could’ve been more timely than the closing burst of Victoire Pisa in the dying strides of the world’s richest horse race, the Dubai World Cup, on Saturday evening. Sensing a crawler of a pace, jockey Mirco Demuro sent his horse to the head of affairs, where he joined his fellow countryman, Transcend, and it was going to take a very good horse to beat these two once they turned for home, as they were bound to have plenty in reserve when it mattered most. In the wake of the tsunami which hit Fukushima earlier in the month, here was a country desperate for good news, and the son of Neo Universe could not have served up a better tonic for his ailing people.

The spectacular victory of the Crusaders over the Sharks at Twickenham on Sunday evening, was another telling example of the impact natural disasters have on the spirit of a nation. Featured as a home game for the men from Canterbury, the New Zealanders delivered their greatest ever performance to take the laurels 44-28, and they did it against a Sharks side that was just as valiant in defeat.

There were some good horses behind Victoire Pisa on Saturday, not the least of whom was the highest rated middle distance horse in Europe, Twice Over, who’d put up such a blinder in the third round of the Al Maktoum Challenge, a few weeks before, and looked a cinch for the laurels with the scratching of South Africa’s Bold Silvano. Twice Over was not alone among the vanquished however; they included American Grass Champion, Gio Ponti, Irish Derby winner, Cape Blanco and Japanese Champion, Buena Vista.

“The image of Japan has recently been darkened, and the people have been put down, but, thanks to the invitation of Sheikh Mohammed, we were able to come here for the Dubai World Cup and give some smiles to the Japanese people,” trainer Katsuhiko Sumii said through an interpreter of his troubled homeland.

We’ve said it often enough, but you ignore the Japanese at your peril. They’ve cornered the market in quality stamina horses, entering the gap the Europeans and the British were once famous for, when they eschewed those that had traditionally forged their breed. These were the horses that could stay the true test of a properly run mile and a half, in the wake of was popularly known as the “American invasion”, headed by the likes of Sir Ivor and Nijinsky in the 1970’s. Since then, Japanese horses have run proud the world over, and this was by no means the first time they’ve shone at the Dubai World Cup meeting.

Pedigree pundits will ask themselves who the hero’s sire, Neo Universe is, and the answer is axiomatic. He’s yet another Japanese Guineas and Derby winning son of the legendary Sunday Silence, which provides South Africans with of an idea of the source of our enthusiasm for our own Admire Main.

Victoire Pisa’s breeder, Shadai Farm, is the founding property of the celebrated Yoshida family’s remarkable turf holdings on Hokaido in Northern Japan, and while our affiliations with the family come via Katsumi Yoshida’s Northern Farm, Admire Main himself is a graduate of the Shadai Stallion Station.

NEO UNIVERSE COLT TOPS JRHA SELECT FOAL SALE

Takaya Shimakawa
JRHA Select Sale Foal Session Lot 355 Neo Universe x Accoustics
(Photos : Thoroughbred Daily News) 

JAPAN RACING HORSE ASSOCIATION
SELECT SALE 2010 

No matter how challenging it might be or how unfathomable to people in other markets, Japanese owners still have a yen for buying foals as their primary racing prospects.

They demonstrated their zeal on Tuesday when spirited bidding duels reminiscent of headier financial times broke out in the Northern Horse Park sale pavilion during the foal session of the Japan Racing Horse Association select sale. When the hammer fell for the final time, three foals still at their dams’ sides each had sold for the equivalent of more than $1-million.

Overall, six foals surpassed the top price paid for a yearling on Monday, the ¥66-million (about $733,333) bid for a colt by Deep Impact (Jpn).

More aggressive spending had been predicted by JRHA Vice Chairman and Shadai Farm owner Teruya Yoshida, who said the quality of the foal section of the catalog was superior. Still, with sellers bracing for a continuation of a problematic market, the results were better than anticipated for some, giving a boost to Japan’s elite auction that has declined annually ever since 2006 as global and national economies suffered.

Of the 208 foals offered, 141 were reported sold for a clearance rate of 67.8 percent, up from the 64.7-percent rate in 2009 during two foal sessions that featured 207 sold from 320 offered. The gross reached ¥3.339-billion ($37,100,000) as compared to ¥4,913,200,000 during two foal sessions in 2009. The average price of ¥23,680,000 ($263,121) declined by less than one percent, despite ongoing economic woes, providing a reason for some celebrations.

“This is much better than we anticipated, no doubt - the prices were very good,” Yoshida said. “The main reason that expectations were exceeded is that people love horses and they have money, a little bit of money, to spend.”

The atmosphere in the pavilion, which had been politely quiet other than the rhythmical droning and gavel rapping by the auctioneers, crackled about a quarter through the 214 foal catalogue pages when a Neo Universe (Jpn) colt (hip 355) with a white face and three white legs scampered into the ring.

The second bid boosted the price up to the equivalent of $500,000, making it clear that advance billing from consignor Northern Farm that the colt out of the unraced mare Acoustics (Jpn) (Cape Cross) could be the star of the sale was not just hype.

While the colt, a full brother to 2009 champion Japanese three-year-old male and G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) winner Logi Universe (Jpn), stood calmly, prominent owners Riichi Kondo and Takaya Shimakawa fired bids from opposite sides of the pavilion.

Kondo took his time, but Shimakawa - a jovial health foods entrepreneur who had demonstrated a playful mood by bidding more than $500,000 on another colt moments earlier while casually walking into an office at the rear of the pavilion - retorted immediately during their duel.

Relaxed but determined, Shimakawa prevailed, going to ¥112-million ($1,244,444), which, while markedly higher than the top yearling price, was significantly lower than last year’s most expensive foal. A big half-brother to Triple Crown winner Deep Impact (Jpn) by Daiwa Major (Jpn) elicited a ¥165-million ($1,736,842) bid from Shimakawa in 2009.

“This is not the foal I loved the most, but when I went to Northern Farm, owner Katsumi Yoshida recommended this one very highly,” Shimakawa said of the Neo Universe colt. “I respect Katsumi, and I was happy to take his advice. I was ready to pay more for the colt, so I am happy.”

The Neo Universe colt was just one of many highlights of the sale for Katsumi Yoshida, whose Northern Farm reigned as leading consignor for the 12th time in the 13-year history of the JRHA sale. Five of the eight highest selling foals were dispatched by Northern Farm.

“I am very happy,” a beaming Yoshida said as he hosted a celebratory dinner party while noting that only four horses of the 130 he entered in the sale were not sold. “The prices were very good.”

His son, Shunsuke Yoshida, who manages Northern’s Kuko branch, said the sale of the Neo Universe colt was significant for several reasons, including the excitement factor of the more than ¥100-million winning bid, which he hoped would fire market momentum.

Some of the sale’s 350 registered buyers more than did their part to maintain the momentum. Just 15 hips after buying the Neo Universe colt, Shimakawa jumped back into action, revealing which foal he had really fallen in love with by turning back Kondo again in bidding ¥92-million ($1,022,222) for a Deep Impact (Jpn) colt out of Argentine Group 1-placed winner Data (Arg) (hip 370).

“This was the one I liked the most and wanted to buy,” Shimakawa said while more than 25 members of the Japanese news media clustered around him. The Deep Impact colt is the second foal of Data, who is a half-sister to Group 2 winner Danish (Arg) and to Chilean Group 1-placed Diamond (Arg), and will eventually join the Shimakawa racing empire that currently spans about 150 horses in training.

But Shimakawa wasn’t the only buyer at the top end of the foal market. Shortly after the Deep Impact colt was led out of the ring, agent Nobutaka Tada of Globe Equine Management Co. Ltd. lassoed a Zenno Rob Roy (Jpn) colt (hip 377) out of Festa Delle Donna (Jpn) (Hector Protector), for ¥105-million ($1,166,666), the second highest price of the day. The colt is from the family of Japanese Group 2 winner Tosen Jo O (Jpn) (Timber Country).

“The trainer likes Zenno Rob Roy - he trained him,” Tada said, referring to leading conditioner Kazuo Fujisawa, whose major clients include Hidetoshi Yamamoto, chairman of Tokyo-based Fields Corp., a distributor of pachinko gambling machines.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t win the G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) this year with Pelusa (Jpn) (Zenno Rob Roy), but he’s a really good colt and we bought him at the JRHA sale, so we’re hoping we got another good Zenno Rob Roy today.” Tada continued.

The colt was consigned by Teruya Yoshida’s Shadai Farm, and Yoshida had said he was the best individual in the Shadai foal consignment this year.

While the Yoshida family did very well in both selling the vast majority of their horses and at the highest prices, other breeders and consignors were not so fortunate. An unofficial analysis of the sale results by an independent consignor showed that 61 percent of the horses offered by those not affiliated with the Shadai Group were led out of the ring unsold.

“It means a lot of us will have big yearling consignments next year,” said Irish native Harry Sweeney, who operates Paca Paca Farm, which offered 10 foals on Tuesday. Only one of those foals was reported as sold.

“It’s tough,” he reflected. “We’re suffering from a double whammy - this market is transitioning from a foal market to a yearling market, requiring more investment and a longer wait on possible returns, and it’s happening during a recession.”

Despite the much discussed development of a yearling market in Japan, buyers still seem eager for foals.

“No one has asked me to wait to sell them until they are yearlings,” said a smiling Teruya Yoshida, who replied light-heartedly when asked why buyers still are willing to play in the riskier side of the market with unweaned youngsters : “Foals are prettier – it’s simple. It’s the same as humans. One at three to four years old is nicer than one who is 14, and who can say very bad things.”

Yoshida also said that Shadai Group horses sell strongly even when other consignors are struggling because the family farms have a long record of proven performance with their horses.

“If other breeders have a good horse, it’s no problem, but you have to have established credibility,” Yoshida said. “Not many breeders are strong enough to do that.”

“We work hard,” he stressed. “We choose which horses to sell in this market and we do not just try to sell horses based on our name.”

Overall, the reformatted JRHA sale - which was shortened from two days of foals and one day of yearlings in 2009 to one day each for yearlings and foals this year - yielded a gross of ¥6,496,100,000 ($72,178,889), while 314 horses were sold from 422 offered.

While true comparisons are not possible due to the differing format, the number of horses sold this year was just 15 fewer than in 2009. Average price of all horses sold was ¥20,690,000 ($229,869) or 10.6 percent lower than the average for all horses sold in 2009.

JRHA SELECT FOALS
TOP 10 LOTS 

Hip	Sex	Sire	Dam	Price ($)
355	C	Neo Universe	Acoustics	1,244,444
377	C	Zenno Rob Roy	Festa Della Donna	1,166,666
370	C	Deep Impact	Data	1,022,222
402	C	Deep Impact	Sonic Groove	888,888
415	C	Heart’s Cry	Moteck	777,777
324	C	Zenno Rob Roy	Exige	744,444
348	C	Deep Impact	Shes All Eltish	733,333
383	C	War Emblem	Cecil Cut	644,444
423	C	Chichicastenango	Fusaichi Mignon	600,000
447	C	King Kamehameha	Via Lactea	588,888

Extract from Thoroughbred Daily News

JAPANESE STALLIONS : Heirs to the Throne...

Deep Impact
(Photo : Great Horses)

Deep Impact, Symboli Kris S, Daiwa Major, Neo Universe

Japanese stallions continue to duel through their progeny’s accomplishments for the title of successor to Sunday Silence as the nation’s predominant sire. Deep Impact, Symboli Kris S, Daiwa Major and Neo Universe, all have indicated they might at least vie for the crown.

Thoroughbred Daily News writes that Deep Impact has left his mark all over the Japan Racing Horse Association’s select sale for the second consecutive year. The Triple Crown winner generated about 20 percent of last year’s gross with his first crop, and has been connected to many high-priced horses this year, either by siring them or being related to them through the female family.

Horsemen generally believe that Deep Impact’s second crop appears to be superior to his first, said JRHA spokesman Naohiro Goda. Deep Impact is known for siring athletic and balanced offspring, many of whom have lovely heads and eyes.

Neo Universe is perhaps the stallion that horsemen are talking about the most. With two male Classic winners from his first crop and the final Japanese Classic race still to be run, this striking son of Sunday Silence already has accomplished something no other sire has been able to do in Japan. This year, Neo Universe covered about 250 mares at the Shadai Stallion Station, more than any other Japanese stallion. “He is such a fantastic stallion,” praised Teruya Yoshida, who runs the nation’s leading stud with his brothers and knows Sunday Silence’s sons as well as anyone. “His foals look so smart; they have a sharp expression and refined heads, and he’s good to mate with any kind of mares”.

Click above to watch
Deep Impact in the Japan Cup 2006