PEDIGREE HANDICAPPING
DECEMBER 16, 2006
Pride and Germany
by Tim Holland
The recent announcement that the top class race mare Pride (Peintre Celebre)
will be bred in 2007 to the German stallion Monsun (Konigsstuhl) may have raised
a few eyebrows. Indeed, with a wide choice of top sires worldwide, the selection
of Monsun does, at first glance, appear a curious one. Somewhat surprising and
pleasing however, while a rarity in this day and age of commercialized breeding,
is that the resulting foal will have absolutely no in-breeding going back at
least five generations.
A foal of 2000, Pride is by the 1997 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (Fr-G1) winner
Peintre Celebre, whose most accomplished runner in America from his first few
crops has been Castledale (Ire), a Grade 1 winner on both turf and dirt. Pride
is out of the stakes-winning mare Specificity (Alleged), who was purchased on
behalf of Pride’s owner, Sven Hanson, for $150,000 at the 1996 Keeneland
November Sale. Specificity is also the granddam of Major Rhythm (Rhythm), a
Grade 3 winner in America, and 2006 English One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) heroine Speciosa (Danehill Dancer). Pride’s second dam is Mandera (*Vaguely Noble), who
won the Princess Royal S. (Eng-G3) and produced the useful turf stayer and Grade
1 runner-up African Dancer as well as the English St. Leger (Eng-G1) winner
Touching Wood.
After making a promising debut at Deauville in August of her two-year-old
season when trained by John Hammond, Pride did not race again until the
following October when she finished second at Lingfield Park on the all-weather
track with Gerald Butler listed as her handler. Two more starts rounded out her
three-year-old season, including a maiden win at Newbury, before she was put
away for the year. The following spring she reappeared at Longchamp with
trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre, who would handle her for the rest of her racing
career.
Pride started her third season of racing with a decent fourth-place finish in
an allowance race, then showed significant improvement through the year with the
highlight being an unlucky third-place finish when she lacked running room in
the prestigious Prix Vermeille (Fr-G1). In 2005, the mare showed further
improvement in her seasonal debut with a fine second to Bago (Fr) in the Prix
Ganay (Fr-G1) only to be disqualified and placed sixth. In June, she beat
Alkaased and Shirocco (Ger) at Longchamp, but her finest race last year may
have been her final start when she finished second in the Champion S. (Eng-G1)
at Newmarket to David Junior (Pleasant Tap).
In late June of her six-year-old season, Pride finally won a Group 1 event,
after eight tries and three in-the-money finishes at that level, in the Prix
Saint Cloud (Fr-G1) at the expense of Hurricane Run (Ire) (Montjeu [Ire]). This
form was confirmed in her next outing when she finished a fast closing third to
Shirocco and Hurricane Run at Longchamp, beaten only a half-length. Next for
Pride was a third attempt at the Arc. This time she did not disappoint by
running the race of her life, rallying boldly to finish a close second to Rail
Link (Dansili [GB]) while defeating Japanese champion Deep Impact (Sunday
Silence), Hurricane Run and Shirocco.
However, the two last races of Pride’s career were the inspiration for her
trainer’s comparison of her to a fine bottle of wine, in that she kept improving
with age. In the Champion S. she went one better than she had in 2005 with a
fairly comfortable win over Rob Roy (Lear Fan) and her swan song resulted in a
narrow win over an international field in the Hong Kong Cup (HK-G1).
With her top-class pedigree and race record, Pride could have been bred to any
of the top stallions in the world and, while it is quite an honor for Monsun to
be chosen, one cannot say that the sire is unworthy upon inspection. Monsun is
by Germany’s Horse of the Year in 1979, Koenigsstuhl, who was that country’s
leading sire in 1988, 1994 and 1996, and Monsun is out of a mare by Surumu, who
has been Germany’s leading sire on six occasions. As well as being a top sire,
Surumu has also excelled as a sire of sires. His son, the recently deceased
Acatenago, has been the German leading sire five times. As a broodmare sire,
Surumu is responsible for more than 60 black-type winners, including champion
Hurricane Run and 1991 German Horse of the Year Lomitas (GB), who would
eventually sire Silvano (Ger), winner of the 2001 Arlington Million (G1).
Monsun, who retired with a record of eight wins from 16 starts and more than
$1 million in earnings, recorded his most valuable success in the 1994 Ems
Kurierpost Europa Preis (Ger-G1) at Cologne, a race he had also won the year
before as a three-year-old. However, his most notable performance may have been
when he was beaten a neck by George Augustus in the 1993 Aral Pokal (Ger-G1) at
Gelsenkirchen, but was awarded the race in the stewards’ room. George Augustus
had won the Tattersalls Gold Cup (Ire-G2) two starts previously and others in
that field included Apple Tree (Fr), who would travel to America to win the Turf
Classic (G1) at Belmont Park in his next start.
With more than 40 black-type winners to his credit, Monsun has proved himself
as a top-class stallion and his success has not been limited to Germany. His
most famous runner is Shirocco, who took the 2005 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) when
defeating fellow European invaders Ace (Ire) (Danehill), Azamour (Ire) and Bago.
Shirocco’s 2006 campaign started well with wins in his first three races,
including the Coronation Cup (Eng-G1) over Ouija Board (GB) (Cape Cross [Ire])
and a victory over Hurricane Run and Pride in the Prix Foy (Fr-G2). However, his
year ended on a disappointing note with a last place finish in the Arc, a poor
showing which may be partly explained by the fast ground, for it seems the
offspring of Monsun generally enjoy softer conditions.
The liking of soft turf by Monsun’s offspring was exemplified in America
this year by Nobel Stella (Ger). The front-running, gray mare found suitable
give in the ground and used it to her advantage when defeating Angara (GB) in
Belmont’s New York Breeders’ Cup H. (G2) and when winning the Glens Falls H.
(G3) at Saratoga. Another daughter of Monsun seen in America this year
is Royal Highness (Ger), who finished third in the Turf Classic (G1) prior to a
second-place finish in the Long Island H. (G2). She’s entered in Saturday’s La Prevoyante S. (G2) at Calder. Meanwhile, in Europe some of Monsun’s most notable
progeny include German champions Samum, Salve Regina, Anna Monda, Arcadio, Royal
Fantasy, Speedmaster and Gentlewave, winner of the 2006 Derby Italiano (Ity-G1)
and runner-up in the Irish Derby (Ire-G1).
As well as a preference for soft ground, the majority of Monsun’s produce
have shown improvement with age and distance — attributes which were of course
owned by Pride. With this in mind, one may not expect to Pride’s first foal to
be a precocious sort, but he or she should be a mouthwatering prospect as an
older horse.
While Germany’s bloodstock has achieved a measure of international success
through the years — Star Appeal’s 1975 Arc victory is one notable example — it
has really blossomed in the last decade or so. Indeed, in addition to Shirocco
and Silvano, major recent successes by German bred performers abroad include
Lando (Ger) (Acatenango) (1995 Japan Cup [Jpn-G1]); Borgia (Ger) (Acatenango)
(second in the 1997 Breeders’ Cup Turf [G1]); Sabiango (Ger) (Acatenango) (2004
Charles Whittingham Memorial H. [G1]); Osorio (Surumu) (2003 Italian Derby
[Ity-G1]); and Blue Canari (Acatenango) (2004 French Derby [Fr-G1]).
This rise in fortune of the German bloodstock has not gone unnoticed in the
bloodstock world. Indeed, Barry Irwin, president of the successful Team Valor,
attended this September’s BBAG (Baden-Baden Auction Germany) annual national
yearling sale and said: “Horses bred in Germany have never been more popular
than they are in the world today because they are sound, tough and carefully
bred.
“German horses, by and large, are bred by breeders that judiciously cull
their broodmare bands, have strict standards and breed to race, not sell,” Irwin
added.
At the sale, half of the lots sold were purchased by interests outside of
Germany, prompting Irwin to ask, “How about that for a testament to the
desirability of German bloodstock?”
Indeed, the selection of a German sire to be matched with a mare as classy as
Pride echoes that sentiment.