OASIS DREAM ARTICLE BY ANDREW
CAULFIELD
Thursday, Newmarket, Britain
DARLEY JULY CUP-G1, £250,000, Newmarket, 7-10, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:09.94, gd/fm.
1--OASIS DREAM (GB), 125, c, 3, by Green Desert
1st Dam: Hope (Ire), by Dancing Brave
2nd Dam: Bahamian (Ire), by Mill Reef
3rd Dam: Sorbus (Ire), by Busted (GB)
O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms; T-John Gosden; J-Richard Hughes; £145,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-1, £268,237. *1/2 to Hopeful Light (GB) (Warning {GB}), MSW-Eng; Zenda (GB) (ZAMINDAR), G1SW-Fr & G1SP-Eng & US.
I don't suppose many people guessed that we were witnessing the start of an era when Green Desert, a colt from Danzig's second crop, won the July Cup in1986.
In the 18 years between that victory and last week's renewal, Danzig has left an indelible mark on this Group One event, arguably the most competitive six-furlong race in Europe. Following in Green Desert's footsteps came five more of Danzig's sons, with Polish Patriot winning in 1991, Hamas in '93, Anabaa in '96, Elnadim in '98 and Agnes World in 2000. And now it's the turn of Danzig's stallion sons. Green Desert was quickly off the mark, through the 1994 winner Owington, and more recently the Cup has been won by Danehill's champion son Mozart and, last week, by Green Desert's champion son OASIS DREAM. Add these together and you'll find that the Danzig male line has provided nine of the last 18 winners, through six sons and three grandsons.
Of course, it was a great-grandson of Danzig, the flying Australian colt Choisir, who helped turn last week's race into such a compelling battle between first and second. Of course, Danzig has shown some of the versatility which helped his extraordinary sire, Northern Dancer, sire major winners over virtually every distance from five furlongs to a mile and three quarters. In the last ten years we've seen Danzig's sons Chief's Crown and Anabaa sire winners of the Derby and French Derby, while two of Chief's Crown's sons, Grand Lodge and Key of Luck, have sired winners of the Derby and/or the Irish Derby.
The chances are, though, that Danzig's main legacy in Europe is going to be speed, rather than stamina. Remember, he has also sired three winners of the Prix de l'Abbaye over five furlongs, one of the Nunthorpe S. (a race which could be next on OASIS DREAM's schedule) and three of the Sprint Cup at Haydock (Green Desert, Danehill and Dayjur).
Green Desert and Danehill also rank among the three sons of Danzig which have sired winners of the Haydock Sprint Cup, with Green Desert already having three to his credit in Sheikh Albadou, Tamarisk and Invincible Spirit. It is interesting that Danehill and Green Desert haveundoubtedly been Danzig's most successful stallion sons in Europe, because the two had similar racing records. Both won the European Free Handicap over seven furlongs before stepping up to a mile.
Whereas Danehill was third in the 2000 Guineas and fourth inthe Irish 2000, Green Desert was second to Dancing Brave in the 2000 Guineas before finishing last in the Irish version. Unlike Danehill, Green Desert had a third race over a mile, finishing a respectable second in the St James's Palace Stakes over a mile, but proved more at home over six furlongs, as he showed with his wins in two of England's best sprints, including the Haydock Sprint Cup.
Danehill too won two of England's best six-furlong events, including the Haydock Sprint Cup. Each had elements of stamina in his pedigree, Danehill being out of a daughter of His Majesty and Green Desert having a Sir Ivor mare as his dam. In the circumstances you could have expected both to sire some good winners over a mile and a quarter or more. Danehill has done so, with such as Desert King, Aquarelliste, Banks Hill, Indian Danehill and Tiger Hill all winning at the highest level, sometimes over a mile and a half.
However, it has been a different story with Green Desert. From his total of 28 group winners, only the American GI winner White Heart and the G3 winners Desert Shot and Mint Crisp have won a group race over as far as a mile and a quarter. None of his eight Group One winners in Europe, which include the promising stallions Desert Prince and Cape Cross, has won beyond a mile.
This helps explain why OASIS DREAM possesses such tremendous speed (speed which last year enabled him to become the first horse ever to cover Newmarket's six furlongs in less than 1:10.00). Judging solely on pedigree, you would have expected OASIS DREAM to have been a miler. His dam, Hope, who died earlier this year, was a sister to Wemyss Bight, a top-class filly who gained all of her group wins over a minimum of 1 5/16 miles.
However, I suspect that Wemyss Bight might have shown more speed had she been given the chance. Her second foal is Yaralino, a GIII winner over 1 1/16 miles by Caerleon, a stallion whose progeny have an average winning distance of 10.7 furlongs. And her third is the four-time Grade One winner BEAT HOLLOW, who failed by less than a length to add a Grade One victory over a mile to his tally at the age of five, even though he is by Sadler's Wells, whose average winning distance is 11.1 furlongs.
Hope was every bit as effective as her sister as a broodmare. OASIS DREAM is her third stakes winner from her first four foals and her second Group One winner, following her French 1000 Guineas winner Zenda. OASIS DREAM is inbred 3 x 4 to Northern Dancer and 4 x 4 to Never Bend, while Zenda is inbred 4 x 4 to Northern Dancer. None of Hope's winners has lacked speed and it is perhaps relevant that her grandsires were Lyphard, a horse capable of a formidable burst of acceleration over seven furlongs or a mile, and Mill Reef, who cantered home a facile winner of two major six-furlong contests at two. Could it be that OASIS DREAM also owes some of his speed to his fifth dam Sixpence, a very fast filly who took the title of champion juvenile filly in 1953?
Date:
15 July 2003