On Friday 14th January, the Cape Premier Yearling Sale presented the film premier of the movie SECRETARIAT to a packed audience of owners, trainers, breeders and racing fans at the Nu-Metro theatre in Cape Town.
The story of the rise of the superstar horse who widely recognized as the best racehorse of the 20th century is inspiring and enervating and no one can leave the theatre untouched by a desire to be a part of greatness. Secretariat, in his time, proved it was possible.
It also got me thinking. SECRETARIAT won the American Triple Crown of 1973 - to what extent does his legacy affect the Cape Premier Yearling Sale, to be held on 27-28 January.
Well, firstly, for those who have not yet seen the movie, I urge you to do so. It shows that Disney’s tag line of “an impossibly true story” actually is possible – its one of the great attributes of racing that the best bred, best looking horses are often owned by the wealthiest of people, but then fortune can smile on almost anyone brave enough to get involved and lucky enough for the right horse to find him.
Racing is a game of great passion, as the movie showed, and it does require courage, fortititude, perseverance and consistency, traits commonly shared by both the owner and his/her horse. What’s also shared is that the ‘impossibly true story’ is commonly possible, in every corner of the racing world, including our own.
Let me share some parallels with you as we consider the legacy of SECRETARIAT.
The first lies in South Africa’s all time record earner, the champion JAY PEG, who was bred in Hermanus and bought by a syndicate of four owners as a yearling at the Cape Vintage Sales for R140,000 (US$19,000), became a champion here winning the BloodStock SA Cape Guineas Gr.1 and Investec Cape Derby Gr.1 before taking his owners on an international journey, winning the US$5m Dubai Duty Free Stakes Gr.1 in Dubai beating 8 European Gr.1 winners, as well as heading to Singapore and victory in the $3m Singapore Airlines Cup. He retired with the bank roll of US$4,2million – ironically, about 4 times the total earnings of Secretariat 37 years ago!
What’s interesting is that SECRETARIAT features in Jay Peg’s pedigree in the 4th generation. It is Secretariat’s daughter WEEKEND SURPRISE who is the dam of AP INDY, grandsire of Jay Peg.
Weekend Surprise also produced Wilgerbosdrift Stud’s sire TIGER RIDGE to the cover of STORM CAT, whose own dam is a daughter of SECRETARIAT, meaning that Tiger Ridge, who has 10 yearlings on the CPYS, is closely inbred to SECRETARIAT 2x3.
Although Secretariat did not leave any sons who have formed a lasting male line dynasty, his daughters were fabulous broodmares and he topped the American Sires Championship more than once as a Broodmare Sire of note.
One of his fastest daughters Terlingua became the dam of STORM CAT, 7 times Champion 2YO Sire and twice champion of the General Sires List in USA, and sire of over 100 Stakes Winners. Sons and grandsons of STORM CAT take the blood of SECRETARIAT into the CPYS: Classic Winner and G1 Sire BLACK MINNALOUSHE (25), the brilliant sprinter VAR (16), TIGER RIDGE (10), and well bred new sire CARPOCRATES (2).
Highlands Farm’s stallion WINDRUSH is by Seeking the Gold out of a Storm Cat mare. Therefore, he also carries the blood of SECRETARIAT and I wonder if his daughter, the ruling favourite for the J&B Met Gr.1 , the magnificent MOTHER RUSSIA realized this as she pounded to her 13th victory and fourth Gr.1 in the recent L’Ormarins Queens Plate Gr.1, taking her earnings beyond R4 million.
Of course, it’s therefore Mother Russia’s full sister, lot 184, who probably is the most high profile yearling on the CPYS that counts SECRETARIAT in her parentage.
Another famous American sire of sires that’s out of a SECRETARIAT mare is GONE WEST, father of SA Champion Sire WESTERN WINTER, and grandsire of another in COUNT DUBOIS, as well as DUPONT.
Western Winter has 16 yearlings in the CPYS, Count Dubois has 10 and Dupont 1.
I mentioned Storm Cat’s dam Terlingua, almost certainly the fastest filly sired by Secretariat. She is also grandam of GOLDKEEPER, who has only one yearling in the CPYS in the Netherfield Stud draft.
Now it starts to get interesting! New young Gr.1 winning sire GO DEPUTY, who stands alongside Western Winter, happens to be out of a Secretariat mare and his only yearling in the sale, lot 31 from the Sandown Stud draft, happens to be out of a Western Winter mare so in inbred to Secretariat!
James Armitage, master of Sandown, has done inbreeding to Secretariat before by using resident sire Goldkeeper in various combos, so this construction is probably no accident. James presents the first yearlings of his own new sire ASHAAWES – and I see that Secretariat also appears in his female line. No doubt Goldkeeper mares are going to him in order to get the inbreeding to the great racehorse.
Avontuur Stud’s lot 74 is a filly inbred to SECRETARIAT, by VAR (Storm Cat) from a daughter of Kriusenstern, who is out of a Secretariat mare!
There is a VAR colt out of a Goldkeeper mare (lot 284) also inbred to Secretariat: you guessed it, James Armitage bred this one.
Ambiance has lot 49, a colt by Tiger Ridge out of the Western Winter mare Forecast, and this colt has no less than 3 lines of SECRETARIAT. Cheveley Stud did the same cross, getting a chestnut filly Lot 261 – also 3 lines of the great horse.
Another inbred to Secretariat is Klawervlei’s lot 178, a filly by COUNT DUBOIS out of a Gr.1 placed Rock Goddess by Storm Cat’s best son Giants Causeway.
Lot 47, a filly consigned by Maine Chance, is also inbred to Secretariat. She is by Storm Cat horse Black Minnaloushe out of a Western Winter mare. Lot 105, a colt by young sire Carpocrates out of a West Man, is another inbred to Secretariat. The colt is consigned by Middlefield Stud. Lot 125, a chestnut filly consigned is also inbred to the Triple Crown winner of 1973. She is by Storm Cat horse Black Minnaloushe out of a Western Winter mare. A horse intensely inbred to Secretariat (carrying three lines) is lot 224. Consigned by Highlands, the colt is by Storm Cat horse Black Minnaloushe out of a mare by A P Indy. His granddam is by Storm Cat.
Champion Sire Captain Al and Victory Moon are both sons of Al Mufti (USA) – and they don’t have Secretariat in their pedigrees but they do have his half brother Sir Gaylord (Turn To-Somethingroyal), another great horse bred by Penny Chenery Tweedy’s Meadow Stable. Captain Al has 30 progeny in the CPYS and Victory Moon has 7.
So the great SECRETARIAT has influence right into the heart of our Cape Premier Yearling Sales – counting Captain Al and Victory Moon’s stock, it comes to 151 yearlings – more than half the sale !
All this proves that blood does count: So my advise is : Go and see the MOVIE ! Then go figure. Toss a coin, or choose him yourself, buy a yearling related to the champ, live the dream, achieve fame and fortune. It’s waiting for YOU – at the Cape Premier Sale 27-28th January, 2011.
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