All-American Hero Tests the Water at Deauville

[Wandering Eyes]

American by name, American by deed. In becoming the first Triple Crown winner since the 1970s, American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) scaled a pinnacle that had come to seem beyond the modern dirt runner. But if that made him something of a throwback, as a racehorse, then his next challenge—as a sire for the 21st Century—is a global one.

His lamented predecessor at Ashford, Scat Daddy (Johannesburg), has shown the thirst for stallions of international influence: capable of since producing the century’s second Triple Crown winner, while also becoming a priceless outcross for Europe’s dominant bloodlines.

The quest to achieve something similar starts in Deauville this weekend, when the European market is offered its first two American Pharoah yearlings at the Arqana August Sale.

As a $200,000 freshman, certainly, he was priced with that kind of breed-shaping potential in mind; and that is also how he has been received, so far, at the sales. His weanlings averaged $467,307, while only Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado {Ire}), gilded by seven Grade I winners last year, was able to deny him top billing at Saratoga last week—where two of the sale’s five seven-figure transactions took American Pharoah to a yearling average, to this point, of $601,846.

The proof of the pudding, of course, will ultimately be on the track. To the European market, however, he must also answer two further questions. First, can his stock adapt any inherited brilliance on dirt to a different environment? And second, assuming he can, will that be contingent on the assistance of a mare with turf genes?

A personal conviction is that horsemen, in recent times, have become far too prescriptive and that many dirt runners now at stud would have potential for a radical impact on the European scene, if given the chance. And when you’re talking about one of historic accomplishment, like American Pharoah or now Justify (Scat Daddy), the potential becomes not so much radical as revolutionary.

But even a Northern Dancer can’t do it on his own. It boils down to imagination and resource, on the part of European horsemen, on a scale proportionate to the opportunity. At least American Pharoah shares one set of hands with Northern Dancer, John Magnier’s ongoing quest for outcross sires having meanwhile illuminated for others the versatility, as well as the class, of Scat Daddy and also War Front (Danzig).

So much for the bigger picture. The pair at Arqana, for now, represent a toe dipped in the water: lot 34, presented by Haras d’Etreham; and lot 158, consigned by Ecurie des Monceaux. The consignors of both are adamant that American Pharoah has the mechanical wherewithal to sire turf runners.

Henri Bozo of Monceaux explains that the farm’s mare Marbre Rose (Ire) (Smart Strike), having won a Grade III for Christophe Clement, stayed in the U.S. to meet the retiring champion precisely because his locomotion looks ideal for turf.

“We decided to send her to American Pharoah because we were so impressed with the horse himself, and with his ease—he looks, physically, like one that could be a good turf horse,” Bozo said. “When you see him walk, he’s really impressive. We’ve one yearling and one foal on the farm and both give you that same impression: they are very easy movers.”

Nicolas de Chambure of Etreham saw American Pharoah round off his career in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland. “It was something very special to witness,” he recalled. “Especially after he had been beaten in the GI Travers, to bounce back that way. We went to see him and for a big, imposing horse he was very light on his feet, with a very good walk—a bit of a ‘European’ walk, almost. And Bob Baffert, and some of the others who’d been dealing with him, all felt he would have done really well on turf, too. Because for a horse that only ever ran on dirt, actually it’s not a typical, pure U.S. pedigree.”

American Pharoah’s dam is by Yankee Gentleman, a son of Storm Cat—who, besides being a very potent broodmare sire (and sire of broodmare sires), of course enjoyed so much success with his European stock. The second dam, meanwhile, once covered five furlongs on turf at Atlantic City in :57.31. But acres of green grass also stretch auspiciously behind his sire.

First and foremost, Pioneerof the Nile is out of a mare by Lord At War (Arg). That splendid Argentinian chestnut not only combined frantic speed with ferocious determination but also, built for fluency rather than bulk, produced durable stock that thrived on turf. (He was, after all, a grandson of Brigadier Gerard {GB}.) He also consistently imparted class, with an excellent one-in-nine lifetime ratio of stakes winners to foals. One of those was Pioneerof the Nile’s dam Star Of Goshen, herself out of a mare by Key To The Kingdom—a sire who enjoyed plenty of success in Europe, notably through 1000 Guineas winner Ma Biche.

American Pharoah’s GI Kentucky Derby success took his sire-line’s record in the race to 1-2-2-1, Pioneerof the Nile and Empire Maker both finishing second since Unbridled’s success. So you can’t get “dirtier” than that. Empire Maker’s period of exile, moreover, reflected his modest returns from Juddmonte’s turf mares. But the fact remains that his blue hen dam Toussaud—by El Gran Senor, after all—includes an GI Arlington Million winner and a Grade II turf winner among her other foals.

And don’t forget that Pioneerof the Nile himself broke his maiden on turf at Saratoga, and won two Grade Is on a synthetic track.

Overall, then, there is plenty to encourage Europeans in American Pharoah’s own background. And if anything is going to draw out a latent turf potential, it will be a filly like the one consigned by de Chambure and his team. For she is out of listed winner Shawara (Ire) (Barathea {Ire}), a conduit of an Aga Khan family extending back half a dozen generations. Her previous foals include dual Group 1 winner and Arc runner-up Shareta (Ire) (Sinndar {Ire}).

Now 20, Shawara was bought for €550,000 at Goffs November in 2013 by David Nagle’s Barronstown Stud, who last year consigned her filly by Declaration Of War through Etreham at the equivalent Deauville sale—fetching €500,000 from Mandore International.

“As I say, I think American Pharoah is a really interesting sire to be trying on turf anyway,” de Chambure said. “But especially, as with this filly, when crossed with a mare with a lot of turf influences. That should give people plenty of confidence.”

“This filly came to us from Kentucky in June. I saw a good few American Pharoahs in Keeneland last November and I feel she’s quite typical. He makes a great stamp, it seems, and this filly is strong, tall, with great substance, but is also very athletic, with a huge walk. And great bone. The ones I’ve seen all seem pretty relaxed and laidback, too, and she is the same: a confident filly with a good attitude. Obviously the sire must have had a great mentality to do everything he did.”

As she was a May delivery, the dam was rested a year but it speaks well of this filly that she was sent back to American Pharoah this spring. “She’s very well developed for a May foal, though obviously she’s still going to change and do a lot,” de Chambure said. “But she’s certainly mature enough to have been accepted for an early sale like this.”

As you would expect, the Monceaux filly also represents a strong family—notably with its female runners. Yes, she is the first foal of a first foal. But her dam Marbre Rose is out of a half-sister to Canadian Grade I winner (and GI Ashland S. runner-up) Zoftig (Cozzene), herself responsible for two daughters who scored at the elite level in Mother Goose S. winner Zo Impressive (Hard Spun) and Acorn S. winner Zaftig (Gone West).

“I am really, really excited about this filly,” enthused Bozo. “The story behind Marbre Rose is that we bought her dam as a yearling, then raced her in America with Christophe Clement where she won a sprint. We kept her, sent her to Smart Strike and brought her back here to Monceaux. Her first foal was Marbre Rose who we [offered] at the sales in Deauville, but she was not sold for some reason. We kept her, she went into training with Freddy Head and she was a very good filly: she was twice group-placed in France as a 2-year-old, and Andreas Putsch bought 50% of her.”

The Stateside switch paid off for Marbre Rose on the track and, judging from Bozo’s excitement about her filly, it may well have kick-started her new career, too.

This kind of transatlantic traffic encourages de Chambure, for one, that we may be seeing a new cycle of mutual regeneration. “Very much so,” he says. “It’s become polarised in Europe, people all tending to go to the same stallions. But I think people are beginning to open their minds a little, to think about stallions outside Europe; and at the same time there are more horses coming through, in America, that would suit Europe.”

Sure enough, de Chambure himself sent one of Etreham’s own mares to American Pharoah in his second season; has a Medaglia d’Oro filly selling at Keeneland September; and mares in foal to Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}), Violence (Medaglia d’Oro) and Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song). He also gives a warm recommendation for a Temple City (Dynaformer) filly, presented as lot 97 at Arqana, with a recent update in the Group 3 success of her Classic-placed half-sister Honerique (Exchange Rate).

“We’ve already seen what Temple City can do on turf,” he said. “I feel over the next three or four years there will be more exchange in everything: horses in training, breeding, stallions. Both sides of the Atlantic, people need to be working together to change their ideas—and I think that’s all very positive.”

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