PEDIGREE FOCUS ON RAIL LINK
While we did not get the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe that most of us expected, we did get, in the victory of Rail Link, a first-rate affirmation of the importance of family. One may well imagine the pride of his breeder, Khalid Abdullah, of the triumph in Europe’s supreme test of a colt whose parents both derive
from families developed in his stud over several generations.
Abdullah is, of course, no stranger to success in the Arc, having won the race twice before with Rainbow Quest (Blushing Groom) in 1985 and Dancing Brave (Lyphard) the following year. But each of those was purchased as a yearling, Rainbow Quest as a $950,000 acquisition at Fasig- Tipton’s July sale in 1982, and Dancing Brave with a bid of $200,000 at the same auction two years later. There is
inevitably so much more satisfaction to be gleaned from the triumph of a home-grown product, and the Prince will surely regard Rail Link’s win as his most noteworthy achievement to date in the story of Juddmonte Farms.
Having experienced a dream start as an owner, obtaining Classic success through the medium of Known Fact (In Reality), one of his earliest auction buys, Abdullah determined to establish a stud capable of competing at the top level on both sides of the Atlantic, and he recognised the crucial importance of securing top-quality females as foundation mares. It is history now, how, within a very short period of time, he was able to withdraw from the yearling market and relish the top-level racecourse successes delivered by the products of his own broodmare band.
Before we trace the descent in tail-female lines of Rail Link’s sire, Dansili, and dam, Docklands, we should remember that Abdullah was also the breeder of the Arc hero’s paternal grandsire, Danehill, another representative of an outstanding family. Danehill’s dam Razyana was a granddaughter of Northern Dancer’s dam Natalma, and she was purchased for $350,000 as a Saratoga yearling by James Delahooke, who also made the successful bids for Rainbow Quest and Dancing Brave. The mating of Razyana with Danzig meant that Natalma featured twice within three generations in Danehill’s background, a factor cited by some as a possible reason for his extraordinary success as a sire.
It might well be argued that Abdullah’s principal contribution to the Thoroughbred has been as the breeder of Danehill, but that horse’s world-wide influence is all about Coolmore, who purchased him after his victory in the 1989 Haydock Sprint Cup and who managed his stud career in two hemispheres while he established himself as the most prolific sire of all time. One can only guess what Danehill might or might not have achieved if he had been retained by Juddmonte, and, no doubt, been managed in a different way.
A number of Danehill’s best progeny were Juddmonte bred, among them the four products of Hasili who excelled at the highest level of international competition, namely Dansili, Banks Hill, Intercontinental and Cacique. That quartet trace their female-line descent to Sookera, winner of the 1977 Cheveley Park Stakes for Robert Sangster and acquired for Abdullah some 25 years ago. Sookera was in foal to a very
late covering by Hello Gorgeous at the time of her purchase and, after delivering his daughter Ricura at the end of May, it was decided to rest her for a season. Her first Juddmonte arranged mating was with High Line, and the outcome was Kerali, winner of a minor race at Kempton at three.
In due course Sookera would produce Pattern-winning sons in So Factual and Bold Fact (both by Known Fact), but the mare’s long-term influence has been down largely to Kerali, and the daughters she had in 1989, 1990 and 1991. The first of those was Dissemble (Ahonoora), who became the dam of multiple US Gr1 winner Leroidesanimaux (Candy Stripes); the second was Skiable (Niniski), whose son
Three Valleys (Diesis) found success in England and America; and the third was Hasili (Kahyasi), whose wonderful brood includes the four Danehill products mentioned above, plus Heat Haze (Green Desert). Dansili was the only one of the five not to have won at Gr.1 level, but he was desperately unlucky not to have done so.
While Dansili is descended from a Juddmonte acquisition who had excellent racecourse form to commend her, Docklands goes back to one who had no track record at all. Purchased in 1984, along with her Riverman filly-foal Dockage, Golden Alibi was by the moderate Derby winner and even more moderate sire Empery, but he was a son of Vaguely Noble, and the latter was responsible for Golden Alibi’s illustrious half-sister Dahlia. Dahlia had 11 wins in Gr.1 company on her CV as a runner, often against male competition, and she was top-notch, too, as a broodmare. She had four top-grade winners in Dahar (Lyphard), Rivlia (Riverman), Delegant (Grey Dawn) and Dahlia’s Dreamer (Theatrical), along with Wajd (Northern Dancer), who won a Gr.2 in France, and Llandaff (Lyphard), successful at the same level in the States.
Golden Alibi had nothing like so good a record at stud, delivering only six foals in 14 seasons; of the four to run, only one, Dockage (Riverman) managed to register a win at Listed level. Dockage, in turn, produced two smart performers in Wharf (Storm Bird), who won a July Stakes, and Mooring (Zafonic), a Listed s0corer in France, but in the longer term her influence has been best manifested through two quite modest daughters in Colza (Alleged) and Docklands (Theatrical). Colza is the dam of Linda’s Lad, winner of the Criterium de Saint-Cloud in 2005, while Docklands had a Gr.3 winner in Chelsea Manor (Grand Lodge) to her credit before Rail Link clicked at Gr.1 level with his Grand Prix de Paris/Arc de Triomphe double.
Date:
03 October 2006