Pedigree Insights: Highland Reel

There were enough notable performances last week to make it difficult to choose just one stallion to write about. In the U.S., the week belonged to Smart Strike, the two-time champion sire who proved such an asset to Lane's End prior to his demise at the age of 23 in March.

Although Smart Strike's stakes success last week came in Japan, where his daughter Amour Briller won a Llisted race on dirt, his stallion sons made their presence felt in North America. Curlin consolidated his top-ten position with the stakes successes of Curlin's Fox and Exaggerator, with the latter displaying some of his sire's toughness and determination to take the GII Saratoga Special S.

English Channel was the other in-form Smart Strike stallion. Now at Calumet, the former Lane's End resident enjoyed a rewarding weekend, with The Pizza Man delivering in the GI Arlington Million and Interpol in the GII Sky Classic S. It was very nearly a notable treble, as his daughter Return To Grace failed by only a nose to snatch victory in the GIII Pucker Up S.

Scat Daddy also deserves a mention, as he tops the 2-year-old sires after one of his daughters, Pretty N Cool, kept her unbeaten record in the GII Sorrento S.; and one of his sons, Unbridled Daddy, earned 'TDN Rising Star' status in leading home a Scat Daddy one-two over Saratoga's turf. We should be hearing more of Scat Daddy's juveniles when the strapping filly Acapulco returns to Britain to take on her elders in Friday's G1 Nunthorpe S.

Over in Europe, there was considerable interest at the Arqana yearling sale in youngsters by Invincible Spirit (Ire), with four selling for prices between €550,000 and €1,400,000. On the track, though, it was Invincible Spirit's three-parts-brother Kodiac (GB) who shone. Although this son of Danehill is renowned as a sire of quick-maturing juveniles, it still takes some believing that he has already been represented by 88 individual 2-year-olds in Europe this year. It was one of these 2-year-olds, the Listed winner Whatdoiwantthatfor, who formed part of a stakes treble for Kodiac last week. Kodiac isn't just a sire of juveniles, though, as it was the three-year-olds Kodi Bear and Adaay which respectively supplied him with success in the G3 Sovereign S. and G2 Hungerford S.

Even so, my idea of the performance of the week was by Galileo (Ire), whose celebrated partnership with Danehill's broodmare daughters was responsible for “winners” of two of Arlington Park's Grade I turf contests on Saturday. Unfortunately the quote marks around “winners” is necessary following Irad Ortiz's histrionics on Stephanie's Kitten. These contributed to the demotion of Secret Gesture, a mare who was undoubtedly the best horse on the day.

Thankfully, there was absolutely no controversy concerning the Secretariat S. victory by Highland Reel, who forged more than five lengths clear after leading virtually throughout. Already a dual group winner and runner-up to New Bay in the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club, Highland Reel is the 11th Grade I/Group 1 winner sired by Galileo from a Danehill mare (his predecessors being Frankel, Teofilo, Intello, Noble Mission, Roderic O'Connor, Cima de Triomphe, Golden Lilac, Maybe, Romantica and Tapestry).

Altogether there are 22 group winners among this nick's 215 foals of racing age, which equates to a stunning 10%. Add in another nine which have won at Listed level and the total rises to 31 black-type winners, or 14.4%. These figures have been boosted this year by the Group 3-winning 3-year-olds Bondi Beach and Fields of Athenry, both of whom are prominent in the St Leger betting.

There is every chance that there will be plenty more black-type winners from this cross, as it has 26 2-year-olds this year including Highland Reel's 750,000-guineas brother Idaho. One of them–Deauville–has already become a Group 3 winner in the Tyros S. and last week saw Unicorn–a brother to Bondi Beach–win in very good style on his second start.

Several of the as-yet-unraced 2-year-olds are siblings to animals which helped make the Galileo-Danehill cross so famous. Among them are Proconsul, a brother to Frankel and Noble Mission trained by Andre Fabre; The Major General, a €1,500,000 brother to those fine fillies Cuis Ghaire, Gile Na Greine and Scintillula; San Francisco, a brother to Tapestry; Monarch, a brother to Roderic O'Connor; and Celtic Chieftain, a brother to that fine filly Maybe.

Highland Reel is also the third son of Galileo to win the Secretariat for Aidan O'Brien, following Treasure Beach in 2011 and Adelaide last year. If you were put off the idea of backing Highland Reel because he became so warm, despite the Chicago rain, a glance at my 2011 notes on Treasure Beach might have reassured you.

“There's a saying which runs roughly along the lines that men perspire, women glow and horses sweat,” I wrote. “However, some of Britain's racing commentators seem to have forgotten the last part of this [adage]…

“Horses do indeed sweat, to varying degrees, but how much should it worry us before a race? The answer seems to be 'not at all' if the perspiring horse is by the remarkable Galileo. If I remember correctly, the many-times champion jockey John Francome issued dire warnings that Galileo's son Frankel was sweating between his hind legs before he made his reappearance in the G3 Greenham S. Frankel, apparently unaware of the danger, scooted home four lengths clear of a colt who took the German 2,000 Guineas by seven lengths on his next appearance.

“Nathaniel, another son of Galileo, became very warm prior to the G2 King Edward VII S. at Royal Ascot, but then won so well that his connections are now considering a tilt at the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

“Then, two days ago, the irrepressible Matt Chapman on Attheraces warned that Treasure Beach–yet another son of Galileo–was sweating up badly prior to the Irish Derby. Yet again this tendency to sweat made no difference, with Treasure Beach finishing strongly to gain well-deserved compensation for his narrow defeat in the Epsom Derby.

“Turn to Galileo's essay in Timeform's Racehorses of 2001 and you will find the following:

“'The game and genuine Galileo acted on any going. He was equipped with a crossed noseband in his races and tended to sweat, though he did not get anything like so warm as usual before the Irish Champion….'

“Incidentally, the Irish Champion was the race in which Galileo suffered the first defeat of his career.

“Timeform also recorded that Galileo's second dam, Allegretta, sweated up when blinkered on her final appearance and there are good grounds for thinking that a tendency to sweat can be hereditary. In its analysis of Nathaniel's Royal Ascot victory, the Racing Post commented that 'while he got edgy and warm in the preliminaries, his trainer was unconcerned (apparently it's a trait of the family) and it clearly didn't have any effect on the way he ran'”

My TDN article prompted an interesting response. Unfortunately I no longer have the e-mail, or the name of the kind correspondent, but if I remember correctly, he worked nights at Walmac in the days when Galileo's broodmare sire, Miswaki, was a member of the stallion team. Apparently Miswaki would get uncomfortably hot if rugged up and would sweat, even when temperatures were very low.

There is a potential link between Highland Reel and Galileo's 2014 Secretariat winner Adelaide (another who sometimes sweated up). Highland Reel may attempt to follow in Adelaide's hoof-prints by tackling the Prix Niel and the G1 Cox Plate in Australia–a race which Adelaide won, to earn a place in Coolmore's Australian stallion team.

Highland Reel would be an appropriate horse to send to Australia, as his dam Hveger is a member of one of Danehill's sensational Australian crops. Hveger's best efforts included her third in the G1 Schweppes Oaks over a mile and a quarter and a second, nine days later, in the G1 South Australian Oaks over an extended mile and a half.

Hveger's year-older brother Elvstroem was even better. A Group 1 winner at the ages of three, four and five, Elvstroem was good enough–and versatile enough–to win the C.F. Orr S. over seven furlongs, the Underwood S. over nine and both the Victoria Derby and Caulfield Cup at around a mile and a half. His tactical speed also served him well when sent to the UAE for the Dubai Duty Free S. over a distance just short of nine furlongs. After gradually quickening the pace from the front, Elmstroem was much the best in the sprint to the line.

As you might guess from the records of Hveger and Elvstroem, they are out of a mare who stayed pretty well. Their dam Circles of Gold won the G1 AJC Australian Oaks and was also runner-up in Caulfield Cup. The mare's broodmare sire, the French import Zamazaan, had excelled over long distances, once finishing a close second in the Prix du Cadran over two and a half miles.

Highland Reel's family is of true international standard, as Hveger is also a half-sister to Haradasun, an Australian champion who traveled to Royal Ascot to win the G1 Queen Anne S. This female line also enjoyed Group 1 Royal Ascot success with another Australian champion when Starspangledbanner won the Golden Jubilee S. Starspangledbanner, whose second dam National Song is a half-sister to Circles of Gold, has enjoyed remarkable success with his small first Irish crop, so it will be no surprise if Highland Reel also becomes a member of the Coolmore Australia team.

Saturday, Arlington Park
SECRETARIAT S.-GI, $450,000, AP, 8-15, 3yo,
1 1/4mT, 2:02.26, fm.
1–&HIGHLAND REEL (IRE), 121, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Hveger (Aus) (MGSP-Aus), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Circles Of Gold (Aus), by Marscay (Aus)
3rd Dam: Olympic Aim, by Zamazaan (Fr)
(460,000gns Ylg '13 TAOCT). O-Derrick Smith,
Susan Magnier & Michael B. Tabor; B-Hveger
Syndicate (Ire); T-Aidan P. O'Brien; J-Seamie
Heffernan. $267,300. Lifetime Record: 8-4-2-0,
$854,823. *1/2 to Valdemoro (Aus) (Encosta de
Lago {Aus}), MG1SP-Aus, $337,006. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating:
A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs
or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.