“If anything, we have a shortage of reliable sources of Classic ability”
Yesterday’s newsletter questioned whether South Africa needed to source a specialist sprinting sire.It touched on some of the great stallions of the past, including Harry Hotspur, who gained the reputation as a specialist sprinting sire, as well as Drum Beat and others, who all looked capable of producing world class sprinters.Oscar Foulkes of Normandy Stud responded with a fascinating and insightful letter which is published below:There was something magical about Harry Hotspur. One could start with his looks, his fragile brilliance on the racetrack, or the way he stamped his progeny. It’s impossible to not highlight his inbreeding to Gold Bridge, one of the world’s great speed influences, or his broodmare sire, Silver Tor, the ill-fated Kings Stand Stakes winner by the breed-shaping Grey Sovereign.But any discussion about Harry Hotspur is surely incomplete without referencing his grandam’s sire, Persian Gulf, a late-maturer who won the Coronation Cup. There are further stamina influences in Harry Hotspur’s pedigree: his fourth dam was by the St Leger and Ascot Gold Cup winner Solario, and his fifth dam was by another St Leger winner, in Hurry On.While Harry Hotspur was undeniably a speed influence, one has to wonder to what extent these great stamina influences supported the brilliance of the speed influences.Drum Beat, who also stood at Noreen Stud, was a similarly mythical stallion, possessed of as much quality as one could imagine in a Thoroughbred. As a Kings Stand Stakes winner by breed-shaping Fair Trial, he was an extraordinary stallion prospect. He was inbred 3×4 to the Stout influence Son-In-Law, and one has to wonder to what extent this was critical to his stud success.To invoke Drum Beat is to do something bold. He sired 67% winners from foals (yes, foals, not runners), and over 10% stakes-winners from foals. Plus, his sons and daughters were also successful at stud, his daughters especially so. Opinions are easy to express; stats like that are something else altogether.My view is that we have more than enough sources of speed in South Africa. Yes, none have the dominance of Drum Beat, but stallions like him come along very rarely.If anything, we have a shortage of reliable sources of Classic ability. The two most sought-after stallions at present, Vercingetorix and Gimmethegreenlight, do not reliably sire runners that will get 2000m (or even 1600m, in many cases).Anecdotally, Australia is one of the best resale markets for British horses with proven ability over 10+ furlongs, because they struggle to breed those horses themselves. Their mania for speed has had an inevitable impact on their local breed. If our export markets ever open up, we’d have instant customers if we could breed horses that have top-class ability over classic distances.Silver Tor and Drum Beat were not the only Kings Stand Stakes winners to stand at stud in South Africa. We also had Fearless Lad and Flirting Around, both substantially less successful as stallions. Indeed, the list of winners of the world’s great sprint races has very little overlap with the list of breed-shaping (or even Champion) sires. If you have any doubt, simply compare the winners of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint with the Breeders’ Cup Classic.On the other hand, the top seven furlong races in New York, such as the Vosburgh, have a decent record as sources of future breed-shapers. Perhaps the answer lies in the different aptitude required to win races like that. Speed is critical, but so is stamina.Oscar Foulkes
