HASILI BRINGS HER EXTRAORDINARY QUALITY TO THE
BLUEGRASS
By FRANK MITCHELL
LEXINGTON, Ky. - One of the most famous broodmares in the world,
Hasili slipped away from her paddocks in England to the lush fields
of Juddmonte Farms in Lexington without arousing the equine
paparazzi.
In 2007, the great producer has added one further accomplishment
to her record and will soon add another. This week, the
Thoroughbred Breeders' Association in England named Hasili the
Broodmare of the Year, and in a few weeks Hasili is expected to
produce a foal by the mighty Storm Cat.
As one of the best broodmares of her time, Hasili is mated only
to the best sires, such as European leader Sadler's Wells and the
international favorite Storm Cat. But her most frequent matings
were with Danehill, the outstanding son of Danzig who proved a
revolutionary sire in Australia.
But in the Northern Hemisphere, Hasili's offspring helped to
make Danehill synonymous with racing excellence. And their first
match happened more than a decade ago, before Hasili showed that
she was a star producer.
Part of her success may be that the mare "throws to the
stallion," according to Juddmonte's farm manager, Garrett O'Rourke.
She reproduces the stallion's best qualities, although Hasili is
"not the American commercial type with a blocky body and a big
hip," O'Rourke said. "She is tall and somewhat narrow with not much
hip, yet her progeny have the big hips, apparently from
Danehill."
This successful combination of the mare's scope with the
stallion's power and muscle mass has produced a string of grand
athletes for internationally successful Juddmonte Farms, following
in the footsteps of their sire and dam, both of whom raced for
Juddmonte.
A homebred for Juddmonte, Hasili was a good racehorse, winning
the Prix des Sablonnets at 2 and twice running second in listed
company at 3. Surely such performances are good enough to earn any
mare a place at stud, but Hasili, a daughter of English Derby
winner Kahyasi, left her racecourse form far behind with her
successes as a broodmare.
The bay mare produced five major stakes winners from her first
five foals, and four of those were by Danehill.
DANSILI was the
first, then champion Banks Hill. The mare's third foal, Heat Haze,
also won Grade 1 stakes in the United States, and she is by Green
Desert, another son of Danzig. Heat Haze preceded a second pair of
stars by Danehill: the Grade 1 winners Intercontinental and
Cacique.
Of the five, only DANSILI did not win at the Group 1 or
Grade 1 level, although he was placed in a half-dozen. A muscular
bay son of Danehill, he ran second in the French 2000 Guineas,
Sussex Stakes, and Prix de la Foret, as well as taking third in the
Breeders' Cup Mile and other championship events at his preferred
distance.
Retired to stud at Banstead Manor in England,
DANSILI has proven
nearly as much a revelation at stud in England as his sire proved
in the Southern Hemisphere. In 2006, DANSILI had 11 stakes winners. The best
were Rail Link, who won the Group 1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in
France, and Price Tag, who won the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes in
California.
Both showed more scope and distance capacity than their sire,
who is transmitting more versatility than was required in his own
racing career. Among the stallion's juvenile stakes winners last
year were Passage of Time and Strategic Prince, who are among the
favorites for this year's Guineas.
As a result of his offspring's successes,
DANSILI was the
leading sire in France, and his fee leapt from 12,500 pounds
to 30,000 pounds.
With his own Grade 1 successes in the States and his full
brother's increasing importance as a sire in Europe,
CACIQUE will join
DANSILI at Banstead
Manor at a fee of 12,000 pounds.
The success of all the progeny of Hasili has made her successive
foals objects of great interest. The mare's 4-year-old is the group
stakes-placed Champs Elysees (by Danehill), and she has a
2-year-old colt by Sadler's Wells. For 2006, Hasili was barren
to OASIS
DREAM and went to Kentucky, where she was bred
to Storm Cat.
Hasili's record for producing top athletes is on par with
Slightly Dangerous (English Derby winner Commander in Chief and
four other stakes winners), Toussaud (Belmont winner Empire Maker
and four other stakes winners), and Razyana (Danehill and four
other stakes winners).
O'Rourke noted that "one point of commonality among these
top-class mares is soundness. Their foals go straight into
training, strengthen and race well, advance into top company, and
never have any real problems with soundness. They don't have
excuses and don't need any."
Perhaps this is the essence of stars, and like David Beckham,
Hasili is a great addition to sport in America.
Date:
17 January 2007