Aquarelliste takes Prix de Diane

by Nigel Pullen ©

The G1 Prix de Diane (French Oaks) has proved a fruitful race for the owner-breeder in recent times. The years 1997 to 1999 saw a hat trick of wins for the Aga Khan owned and bred fillies Vereva, Zainta and Daryaba; while last season it was the turn of the Wertheimer Brothers home bred Egyptband.

This sequence was extended in 2001 when Aquarelliste (by Danehill - Agathe by Manila - Albertine by Irish River - Almyre by Wild Risk), a product of Daniel Wildenstein's Allez France Stable breeding operation, triumphed in his familiar blue colours; with Nadia and Time Away filling the minor places.

Unraced at two, Aquarelliste is now unbeaten in three starts. She began with easy victories in a 2,000 metres race at Longchamp at the end of April, and a listed event over the same distance at Chantilly three weeks later, as a precursor to her Prix de Diane (G1) success.

To get an understanding of the factors at work in Aquarelliste's pedigree it is necessary to begin with her third dam, Almyre (by Wild Risk - Ad Gloriam by Alizier - Ad Altiora by Labrador - Ultima Ratio by Black Devil). This mare's three wins in France included the Omnium, and she was also runner-up in the Prix de Pomone.

Comparing the pedigree of her parents Wild Risk and Ad Gloriam (a mare who actually won over jumps), we find that they are in fact close genetic relatives, with five of the eight names in Wild Risk's third generation also being found in the background of Ad Gloriam. Wild Risk's sire was by Rabelais; his dam was by Blandford; and his granddam was a daughter of Ksar. A glance at the pedigree of Ad Gloriam reveals that Blandford, Rabelais and Ksar all appear in her fourth generation, along with the mare La Bidouze who had a similar Chouberski/Wellingtonia cross to that found in Ksar. This combination of Rabelais and Ksar gives Almyre a strong accumulation of the influential mare Pocahontas.

Pocahontas was foaled in 1837 and produced a total of nine sons and six daughters before her death in 1870. Three of these sons, King Tom (by Harkaway) and the full brothers Stockwell and Rataplan (both by The Baron), exerted a profound influence on the breed; however it was when her sons started appearing in pedigrees with her daughters that many high-class performers were obtained. Looking at the pedigrees of Rabelais and Ksar from this perspective, we find that Rabelais was 4x6x5 to Pocahontas via her sons King Tom and Stockwell, while Ksar was 3x2 to the stallion Omnium II who was himself 5x5x4 to Pocahontas via not only her son Stockwell but more importantly her daughters Ayacanora and Araucaria. What's more Ksar traced tail female to another daughter of Pocahontas named Indiana.

Another source of female strains of Pocahontas present in Almyre came via Ajax who was found 5x5x5 in Almyre's granddam Ad Altiora. Ajax's dam Amie was herself 6x6x5x4x6 to Pocahontas, twice via Stockwell but also via her daughters Heroine Of Lucknow, Ayacanora and Araucaria.

At stud Almyre bred a total of nine winners, amongst which were the Group class performers Ashmore (by Luthier), Acoma (by Rheffic) and Art Bleu (Legend of France), all of whom raced in Daniel Wildenstein's colours. Almyre produced Aquarelliste's granddam Albertine in 1981 after being covered by the first season stallion Irish River the previous spring. This was Irish River's only French crop before his export to America, and in his racing days in Europe he had been an outstanding miler, numbering the French 2000 Guineas amongst his seven Group 1 successes.

His pedigree provided a perfect foil for Almyre, as it reinforced many of the strains present in her genetic background. Irish River's dam Irish Star was by Klairon out of Botany Bay by East Side out of Black Brook. Now Klairon was 4x3 to Ksar and his three quarter sister Karabe; East Side supplied a strain of Blandford, and Black Brook was a three quarter genetic relative to Almyre's third dam Ultima Ratio, courtesy of their Black Devil/Pharos cross. All this meant that three of Albertine's four grandparents, namely Irish Star, Wild Risk and Ad Gloriam had strong genetic links. Just for good measure Irish River was himself 8x7x7x6x6x7x6 to Teddy, a son of Ajax (more daughter strains of Pocahontas).

On the racetrack Albertine was pretty useful, winning twice. When stepped up to pattern race company she was not found wanting, for she finished a close third in the Prix de L'Opera (G2) and fourth in the E. P. Taylor Stakes (G2). At stud however, she did even better. Her son Arcangues, sired by another Wildenstein bred horse in Sagace, caused a major sensation when winning the Breeders Cup Classic (G1) as a five year old in 1993 at the rewarding odds of 133/1. Arcangues year younger full sister, Afrique Bleu Azur, became the dam of English 1000 Guineas (G1) winner Cape Verdi (by Caerleon).

Three years after foaling Arcangues, Albertine produced Aquarelliste's dam Agathe. She was a daughter of Manila; a top U.S. turf performer who won twelve of his last fifteen starts, including the Breeders Cup Turf and Arlington Million. Although Manila (by Lyphard - Dona Ysidra by Le Fabuleux) was U.S. bred and raced, his pedigree has a very strong French background, which again proved ideal for Albertine.

To begin with Manila was 2x3 to the close genetic relatives Barra II (granddam of Lyphard) and Le Fabuleux, who both had strains of Ksar, Rabelais and La Farina. These common strains have a familiar ring to them, and their significance becomes apparent when we compare Barra II and Le Fabuleux with the ancestors of Albertine. Barra II's cross of Rabelais's son Biribi with Ksar and Ajax is picked up in Albertine by Labrador (sire of Albertine's third dam) who is a slightly closer than three quarter genetic relative to Barra II. Le Fabuleux's links with Albertine come not only as a result of his sire Wild Risk also being the latter's maternal grandsire, but thanks to his general Rabelais/Ksar/Blandford background, which was so prevalent in Albertine.

Agathe lived up to her pedigree on the racetrack in France. Her two wins included the Prix de Psyche (G3), and she proved good enough to be placed in two classics, runner-up in the French 1,000 Guineas and third in the French Oaks. Retired to the paddocks in 1996, Agathe's first foal, Aigle Royal (by Nashwan), won one of her five starts.

Aquarelliste followed a year later, being a daughter of the very good sprinter and even better sire Danehill. Most of Danehill's success has come from his Southern Hemisphere crops, but in Europe he has sired G1 winners such as Desert King, Indian Danehill, Regal Rose, Tiger Hill and Wannabe Grand. Danehill himself is 3x3 to the mare Natalma via her son Northern Dancer and daughter Spring Adieu.

Aquarelliste is in fact 3x4 Northern Dancer via Danzig and Lyphard, two horses who are bred on quite similar lines, since Lyphard's maternal grandsire Court Martial has the same Fair Trial/Gainsborough cross as Petition, the sire of Danzig's granddam. This Danzig/Lyphard cross has already produced three other G1 winners in Agnes World, Glamour Boy and Tamarisk, however, this may not be the whole reason for Aquarelliste's undoubted ability.

Her dam Agathe was 4x3 to Wild Risk through a son and daughter, and Wild Risk's importance in pedigrees stems not only from the fact that his fourth dam Poets Star (by Chaucer out of a full sister to Polymelus) is a perfect balance to the plethora of Phalaris/Chaucer crosses found in so many thoroughbreds; but also because he traces tail female to another very influential broodmare in Quiver.

Turning now to the pedigree of Danehill we find he has a strong concentration of this family. For instance he provides Beau Pere (dam 3x3 Quiver), Felstead (3x4 to Carbine, whose sire Musket is a five-eights relative to Quiver), Art Paper (6x4 Musket), Crafty Admiral (4x6x5 to Carbine's son Spearmint) and Heliopolis (6x5 Musket/Quiver).

But the real gem comes when we discover that Quiver's granddam Brown Bess descends from the same mare as Pocahontas, and in fact Brown Bess and Pocahontas share remarkably similar pedigree patterns. Both these mares were among the most influential in the development of the thoroughbred, and perhaps the numerous concentrations of them ultimately benefited each other.

Aquarelliste, will now probably be given a break and brought back to contest the major French races in the autumn such as the Prix Vermeille and Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe. This family has certainly done her owner-breeder Daniel Wildenstein proud.