Well, the Melbourne Cup 2008 has been run. As always, it was an exciting race with a very, very close photo finish. However, the winner was clear by – ooh – maybe an eyelash.
I had determined ahead of time that I would have a look at the pedigree of the winner, so here goes…
The place results of the Group 1 VRC Melbourne Cup 2008 (Tuesday, November 4) were:
1st – Viewed [AUS b. h. 2003] by Scenic (IRE 1986) from Lovers Knot (NZ 1990), by Khozaam (USA 1982).
2nd – Bauer [IRE gr. h. 2003] by Halling (USA 1991) from Dali’s Grey (GB 1996), by Linamix (FR 1987).
3rd – C’Est La Guerre [NZ b. g. 2004] by Shinko King (IRE 1991) from La Magnifique (NZ 1987), by Kampala (GB 1976).
Having a glance at the recent ancestors of Cup winner Viewed (AUS), I thought it would be worthwhile having a closer look at some of the names in his pedigree.
Sire: Scenic [IRE b. h. 1986] by Sadler’s Wells from Idyllic, by Foolish Pleasure.
Dam: Lovers Knot [NZ b. m. 1990] by Khozaam from Mount Tryst, from Sir Tristram.
Grandparents:
Sadler’s Wells (USA b. h. 1981) – Northern Dancer x Fairy Bridge
Sadler’s Wells was a winner of several major races, and was the leading sire in various countries for several seasons in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Idyllic (USA b. m. 1982) – Foolish Pleasure x Where You Lead
This mare’s main claim to fame is simply as being the dam of Group 1 winner Scenic!
Khozaam (USA b. h. 1982) – Seattle Slew x Par Excellance
This stallion had success as a racehorse and has stood at stud in Australia and the Philippines.
Mount Tryst (NZ b. m. 1980) – Sir Tristram x Mountain Heights
Great Grandparents:
Northern Dancer (CAN b. h. 1961)
Nearctic (CAN br. h. 1954) x Natalma (b. m. 1957)
Northern Dancer won several major American races, including the 1964 Kentucky Derby. He won several awards both as a racehorse and breeding stallion. His descendants include Danehill (USA b. h. 1986, by Danzig, from Razyana), who sired many great Australian racehorses.
Fairy Bridge (USA b. m .1975)
Bold Reason (USA b. h. 1968) x Special (USA b. m. 1969).
Fairy Bridge won her only two race starts. Interestingly she was half-sister to Nureyev – that is, their mother was Special (USA b. m. 1969). Nureyev (USA b. h. 1977) was the son of Northern Dancer (CAN b. h. 1961). Northern Dancer was bred to Fairy Bridge to produce Sadler’s Wells. Clearly, something about the crossing of these family bloodlines was a success. Both Sadler’s Wells and Nureyev were highly successful and significant sires of champion racehorses. Nureyev was the damsire of Zabeel, who is mentioned below as the son of Sir Tristram (IRE b. h. 1971).
Foolish Pleasure (USA b. h. 1972)
What A Pleasure (USA ch. h. 1965) x Fool-Me-Not (USA b. m. 1958)
Foolish Pleasure carries a triple cross in the first five generations to Blenheim (GB br. h. 1927), through his great-grandfather Mahmoud (FR gr. h. 1933), through the great-great grandparent Mumtaz Begum (IRE b. m. 1932) and through the great-grandmother Bouillabaisse (GB ch. m. 1935). He also carries a double cross to Mumtaz Mahal (GB gr. m. 1921, by The Tetrarch from Lady Josephine), who was considered one of the fastest 2 year old filllies ever and in an influential broodmare in modern pedigrees.
Foolish Pleasure won many significant races and was US Champion 2 year old Colt in 1974. He won the 1975 Kentucky Derby.
Where You Lead (USA ch. m. 1970)
Raise A Native (USA ch. h. 1961) x Noblesse (GB ch. m. 1960)
Where You Lead was placed four times in four race starts, with three major race placings at Group 1 and Group 3 level.
Seattle Slew (USA br. h. 1974)
Bold Reasoning (USA br. h. 1968) x My Charmer (USA b. m. 1969)
Seattle Slew was winner of multiple major races including the 1977 Triple Crown, which consists of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes.
Par Excellance (CAN b. m. 1977)
L’Enjoleur (CAN b. h. 1972) x Cam Shaft (CAN ch. m. 1962)
Par Excellance was the winner of a few major races.
Sir Tristram (IRE b. h. 1971)
Sir Ivor (USA b. h. 1965) x Isolt (USA b. m. 1961)
A sire of Melbourne Cup winners Gurner’s Lane, Empire Rose and Brew, and major Australian and New Zealand major race winners. Sir Tristram’s son Zabeel was also a successful racehorse, and is the sire of major Australian race winners such as Might and Power (1997 Melbourne Cup), Octagonal (1996 AJC Derby), Jezabeel (1998 Melbourne Cup), and Efficient (2007 Melbourne Cup).
Mountain Heights (NZ br. m. 1972)
Rocky Mountain (FR br. h. 1966) x Wuthering Heights (NZ m. 1956)
In the first 5 generations, Viewed carries a double cross to Native Dancer (USA gr. h. 1950), through Northern Dancer’s dam Natalma (USA b. m. 1957) (Native Dancer x Almahoud); and through Where You Lead’s sire Raise A Native (USA ch. h. 1961) (Native Dancer x Raise You).
I always find it interesting exploring the families of major Australian race winners. Often, what one finds, is a rich history of amazing names in Thoroughbred horseracing. The human history that goes with these horses is likewise fascinating. Clearly, today’s Melbourne Cup winner has come from some quality bloodlines – and what an exciting race that was!
Key:
In case you aren’t sure, here’s a rough guide to interpreting the information.
“Sadler’s Wells (USA b. h. 1981) – Northern Dancer x Fairy Bridge”
This means that the horse Sadler’s Wells was born in the United States. “b. h.” is short for bay horse, that is, a bay coloured stallion. He was born in 1981. His father was Northern Dancer and his mother was Fairy Bridge.
Dam = mother horse
Sire = father horse
Colour:
b = bay
gr = grey
bl = black
br = brown
ch = chestnut
Gender:
h = horse (stallion)
m = mare (female horse)
Country of birth:
USA = the United States of America
AUS = Australia
GB = Great Britain
FR = France
CAN = Canada
NZ = New Zealand
“by” = “referring to the last horse mentioned, its father was…”
“from” or “out of” = the horse’s mother
“Viewed [AUS b. h. 2003] by Scenic (IRE 1986) from Lovers Knot (NZ 1990), by Khozaam (USA 1982)” means:
The horse in question is named Viewed. Viewed is a bay stallion born in Australia in 2003. Viewed’s father is Scenic. Scenic was born in Ireland in 1986. Viewed’s mother is Lovers Knot. Lovers Knot was born in New Zealand in 1990. Lovers Knot’s father is Khozaam. Khozaam was born in the USA in 1982. This makes Khozaam the maternal grandsire (grandfather) of Viewed.
*You are encouraged to do the research yourself regarding these bloodlines. Information is given here in good faith but its accuracy is not guaranteed.*
References (all accessed 4 November 2008):
http://www.pedigreequery.com/viewed2
http://www.pedigreequery.com/
http://www.studbook.org.au/
http://www.studbook.org.au/Horse.aspx?hid=858345
http://www.racingvictoria.net.au/rvl/racing.horse.view.cmd?FIELD_ID=1336279
http://www.virtualformguide.com/cgi-bin/tvf/displaystats.pl?sire=scenic
http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/seattle+slew
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Slew
http://www.thetriplecrownchallenge.com/TripleCrown.aspx?page=68
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Dancer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zabeel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_Tristram
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foolish_Pleasure
http://www.kentuckyderby.com/2006/derby_history/derby_charts/years/1975.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/horse_racing/7396952.stm
The Amalgamation 