by Nigel Pullen ©

Fortunately, the heavy rain of yesterday relented, but the ground for the first three races was extremely testing, again favouring horses ridden up with the pace. However, for the final three events, the running rails were moved, opening up a strip of fresh ground and certainly providing better underfoot conditions.

PRIX DU CADRAN (Group 1) (4000 metres)
1. GERMINIS 1994 ch g Vaguely Pleasant - Grey Valley (Vigors)
2. GENERIC 1995 b g Hero's Honor - Tweed Girl (Windwurf)
3. SAN SEBASTIAN 1994 ch g Niniski - Top of the League (High Top)
Distances: 6 lengths, 4 lengths Time: 4min.46.30sec.
Germinis always raced prominently and proved much the stronger over this marathon trip of two and a half miles to record his first Group race victory. Germinis is also the first Group winner for his sire, Vaguely Pleasant, an American-bred horse that did his racing in France, the country where he now stands as a stallion. He was a tough performer winning eight of his 41 starts over seven seasons, and versatile enough to pick up the Prix Saint-Roman (G3) as juvenile, finish third to Beau Zam when journeying to Australian as a six-year-old to contest the Tancred Stakes (G1), and gain runner-up spot in the self-same Prix Du Cadran (G1) in his final season.

Vaguely Pleasant had a beautifully balanced pedigree, 4x4 to a son and daughter of Nearco, 5x6x5x5 to two sons and daughters of Hyperion, and 4x4 to the near full relatives Belladonna and Aureole. It would be hard to find two better illustrations of balanced breeding than Belladonna and Aureole, Belladonna being a mare by Donatello II out of Hypericum by Hyperion out of Feola, while Aureole was a stallion by Hyperion out Angelola by Donatello II out of Feola. Finally just for good measure Vaguely Pleasant's fourth dam, Reigh Grey, was a rarely found full sister to the important stallion Count Fleet.

Germinis's dam Grey Valley won one of her nine starts in France, and was a half sister to the top American steeplechaser Yaw (by Seattle Slew). This is also the family of French G1 scorers Vitiges and Victoire Bleue, plus the Argentine Group 1 winning filly Randy Cat. Grey Valley's herself was 4x4 to Coronach's son Cranach; and had Mahmoud (by a son of Blandford out of a daughter of Gainsborough) and Calluna (by a son of Gainsborough out of a daughter of Blandford) appearing 4x4 too. These two were of course yet another pair of perfectly balanced individuals.

Turning now to Germinis, we find that his grandsire Fabulous Dancer reinforced these strains of Mahmoud/Callula by being 4x3 to Mahmoud himself via the closely related individuals Almahmoud and The Axe II. In fact The Axe II was also a close genetic relative to Polamia who appeared as dam of Grey Valley's grandsire Grey Dawn II, both sharing strains of Mahmoud, Pennant, Fair Play, Blue Larkspur and Teddy. Overall Germinis's pedigree was packed with 13 strains of Blandford, 11 of Gainsborough and 5 of Teddy, and what this did was pile up strains of the important broodmare Black Duchess. Equally importantly each of this trio complemented the other, Blandford's dam being a daughter of Black Duchess; Teddy's maternal grandsire Bay Ronald being a son of Black Duchess; and Gainsborough being sired by Bay Ronald's son Bayardo. This trio of Blandford, Teddy and Gainsborough have proved a potent combination when amassed in a pedigree.

PRIX DE L'OPERA (Group 1) (2000 metres) (Fillies)
1. TERRE A TERRE 1997 b f Kaldounevees - Toujours Juste (Always Fair)
2. MOT JUSTE 1998 b f Mtoto - Bunting (Shaadi)
3. REBELLINE 1998 b f Robellino - Fleeting Rainbow (Rainbow Quest)
Distances: 1½ length, 2 lengths Time: 2min.19.30sec.
Mot Juste set out to make the running and looked likely to succeed until Terre A Terre, the only four year old in the field, came with a strong late run to get her head in front inside the final 100 metres. Like Germinis, Terre A Terre was the first Group winner for a French raced and based sire. This time the stallion was Kaldounevees, a Group 3 winner who probably ran his best race were crossing the Atlantic to finish runner-up to Millkom in the Man O'War Stakes (G1). Kaldounevees should certainly do well with strains of Northern Dancer, since he traces tail female to the mare Marita, who is bred on a very similar Gainsborough, Phalaris, Chaucer, Sister Sarah cross to Northern Dancer's sire Nearctic.

Terre a Terre was her dam's first foal, and Toujours Juste certainly didn't set the Seine alight while racing, winning just once from 20 starts. This particular female family has been in the doldrums for a while, with Polished Brass (G2) and Birdonthewire (G1) its best other recent representatives. However, Toujours Juste was 2x 2 to a couple of close genetic relatives in Carduel (dam of Always Fair) and Alleged (sire of Toujours Juste's dam). Alleged was 3x4 War Admiral, 5x3 Princequillo with a strain of Blue Larkspur, which closely matched Carduel, who had a strain of War Admiral, was 4x5 Blue Larkspur, and had a dam 2x4 Princequillo.

Further back things get even more interesting. Terre A Terre's fifth dam was the French bred mare Rosa Bonheur II who was exported to America. Her sire, the Grand Prix de Deauville winner Kerlor, had a tightly knit pedigree being 3x4 Teddy, 4x5 Sans Souci II, 5x6 St Simon, with a dam 2x2 Ksar. It was a pedigree pattern not dissimilar to that of 1949 Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe heroine Coronation V.  Rosa Bonheur's granddam Revasserie was the produce of another stallion having closely inbred parents. His name was Oversight; and while the latter's sire Halma was 4x4 Lexington, 6x5 Bertrand; with a sire 3x3 Vandal and a dam 4x4 American Eclipse; his dam First Sight had an equally tight pedigree pattern.

After that dip into the past, let us return to the present and Terre A Terre's pedigree. She was 4x5 Prince John, and a comparison between the pedigrees of Petingo and Danzig, who are found 4x3, highlights common strains of Petition, Blenheim II, Hyperion and Nearco. It is worth noting that this Danzig/Petingo combination also cropped up in the pedigree of Pilsudski and in the dam of Almutawakel. Finally, Terre A Terre's grandsire Kaldoun was 4x4 to Relic via a son and daughter, and Relic's strains of Man O'War, Ben Brush and Domino were mirrored in War Admiral, the latter appearing 7x5x5x6x6 in Terre A Terre's dam.

PRIX DE L'ABBAYE DE LONGCHAMP (Group 1) (1000 metres)
1. IMPERIAL BEAUTY 1996 b m Imperial Ballet - Multimara (Arctic Tern)
2. BAHAMIAN PIRATE 1995 ch g Housebuster-Shining Through (Deputy Minister)
3. PIPALONG 1996 b m Pips Pride - Limpopo (Green Desert)
Distances: ½ length, 2 lengths Time: 1min.00.30sec.
A low draw is usually favoured in this sprint, and this proved to be the case, for after Repertory showed his usual blazing early speed it was left to Imperial Beauty to come through on the rails from stall one, to hold off Bahamian Pirate and Pipalong. The first three are all horses that show their best form on a soft surface.

Imperial Beauty's sire Imperial Ballet was yet another stallion to sire his first Group winner on this prestigious day. He was a lightly raced son of the extremely fast mare Amaranda, concluding his seven-race career, which included four victories, with a convincing win in Royal Ascot's competitive Royal Hunt Cup Handicap on soft ground. He initially stood at stud in Kentucky, before moving to Ireland in 2000.

Imperial Beauty's dam Multimara was placed twice from four starts in America, and was a half-sister to the May Hill Stakes (G2) winner Midnight Air (by Green Dancer), herself dam of another May Hill winner and Epsom Oaks third Midnight Line (by Kris S). This is a branch of the family tracing back to Comely Nell, the dam of Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes winner Bold Forbes. The sire and dam of Comely Nell were bred on very similar lines, both having strains of Colonial, Ultimus, Fair Play, Rock Sand and St Simon close up.

Imperial Beauty was line-bred to two of the most important mare in the studbook, being 5x4 to Almahmoud and 5x5 to Lalun, and these duplications appeared via closely related individuals. Firstly Natalma, the dam of Imperial Beauty's great grandsire Northern Dancer, was by Native Dancer out of Almahmoud, while Imperial Beauty's maternal grandsire Arctic Tern was by Native Dancer's grandson Sea Bird out of a daughter of Almahmoud. The double of Lalun came courtesy of the closely related siblings Bold Reason and Never Bend; a combination that has proved it's worth time and time again. Imperial Beauty was also 2x4 to Bold Ruler/Princequillo sources Amaranda and Secretariat.

Before leaving Imperial Beauty it is also worth mentioning the pedigree of her granddam Evening Air. She had a strain of Imperium, a rarely found half brother to the important broodmare Somethingroyal, and these half siblings were actually present 4x3 in Evening Air. Even more fascinating was the background of the mare Hill Shade, the dam of Evening Air's sire J. O. Tobin. Hill Shade was a pretty good race mare winning the Nassau and Sun Chariot Stakes, and a look at her pedigree shows a host of line breeding to the influential broodmares Black Ray and Gondolette. Firstly she was 3x4x4 to Black Ray's son Jacopo and daughter Éclair. There was an even stronger background of Gondolette, for Hill Shade was 5x5x5x5 to Gondolette's daughter Serenissima and son Sansovino, the three strains of Serenissima coming via her son Bosworth and daughter Selene. Note how each time there is a balancing son and daughter strain.

PRIX MARCEL BOUSSAC (Group 1) (1600 metres) (2yo fillies)
1. SULK 1999 ch f Selkirk - Masskana (Darshaan)
2. DANSEUSE D'ETOILE 1999 b f Highest Honor - Latifolia (Dancing Brave)
3. KOURNAKOVA 1999 b f Sadler's Wells - Bermuda Classic (Double Form)
Distances: head, 3 lengths Time: 1min.43.00sec.
A fresh strip of ground was opened up for this and subsequent races, and while still soft was certainly less testing. After the early leaders went of too fast, it looked as if Danseuse D'Etoile's well-timed challenge on the outside would prevail. However, she was caught close home by the late surge of Sulk, who was racing in a visor for the first time.

Sulk is the fourth Group 1 winner (all incidentally fillies) for her sire Selkirk, an excellent miler very much at home himself on soft ground. Selkirk was 6x6 to the full siblings Stafaralla and Sind (by Solario - Mirawala), and this pair's granddam, named Miranda, was a full sister to the peerless Pretty Polly. The latter was one of the greatest racemares of the twentieth century winning 22 of her 24 starts, and has exerted an enormous influence via her numerous descendants. Pretty Polly herself actually cropped up 8x8 in the dam of Selkirk via Cappiello and Court Harwell, and she was also tail female ancestress of Sulk's dam Masskana, as well as featuring as the ancestress of Colorado Kid who was present in Masskana's sire Darshaan.

Masskana was the product of two French classic winners in Darshaan (French Derby) and Masarika (French 1000 Guineas), who both came from the same classic generation, winning their respective races within five weeks of one another. Masskana did not aspire to those dizzy heights, but still managed to win three of her eleven starts in France. Her granddam Miss Melody was by Tudor Minstrel's son Tudor Melody, and as has already been related traced tail female to Pretty Polly. This created a similar genetic pattern to Mixed Marriage (dam of Selkirk's grandsire Atan), for she was by Tudor Minstrel and her maternal grandsire Tehran traced tail female to Pretty Polly's full sister Miranda. The double of Tudor Minstrel was further reinforced by Forli (grandsire of Masarika), who was bred on very similar lines.

Masarika was a daughter of Thatch, and it is instructive to compare the latter's granddam, the influential mare Rough Shod, with the stallion Golden Cloud, who is present in Selkirk's pedigree via Be Friendly. Both were by Gold Bridge, and both of their maternal grandsires were sons of Swynford; while further back there were also common strains of St Simon and Isinglass. This combination of Rough Shod and Golden Cloud has cropped up in quite a few Group 1 winners right across the world, for instance Classic Cliche and Namid in Europe; Dog Wood in South Africa; Able Master, Coco Cobanna and Testa Rossa in Australia; and Hello in America.

GRAND CRITERIUM (Group 1) (1400 metres) (2yo's)
1. ROCK OF GIBRALTAR 1999 b c Danehill - Offshore Boom (Be My Guest)
2. BERNEBEAU 1999 ch c Green Tune - Princesse Bilbao (Highest Honor)
3. DOBBY ROAD 1999 b c Grape Tree Road - Domino Queen (Primo Dominie)
Distances: 3 lengths, 1½ lengths Time: 1min.22.90sec.
Imtiyaz set the pace, but Rock Of Gibraltar was always travelling smoothly, and when asked, settled the issue in a few strides, drawing clear for a decisive win. It must be said that the remainder of the opposition did not look up to Group 1 standard.

Rock Of Gibraltar is a half brother to five other winners, who gained victories across the globe in locations as diverse as Switzerland, Hungary, Macau and Turkey; his year older half-brother D'Articleshore (by Definite Article) being one of the best three-year-olds in Turkey in 2001. His dam Offshore Boom won one of her six starts, and was runner-up in the listed Irish National Stud Stakes. This is also the family of the top stallion Riverman, who was a 5/8ths brother to Offshore Boom's dam.

Rock Of Gibraltar was 3x3 to Northern Dancer, via his sons Danzig and Be My Guest, and this was balanced by the appearance of Northern Dancer's half sister Spring Adieu as the granddam of Danehill. The recent Prix du Bois (G3) winner Ziria had a very similar pattern, being by Danehill's son Danehill Dancer out of a Be My Guest mare; while last season French and Irish 2,000 Guineas hero Bachir was by a grandson of Danzig out of a mare by Be My Guest.

Danehill was 6x5 to War Admiral and this is quite significant when we consider the pedigree of Rock Of Gibraltar's dam Offshore Boom. She was 5x6 to Eighty Thirty/Herodiade, and this pair combined with War Admiral formed a fascinating triumvirate together. War Admiral was by Man O'War and his third dam was a mare named Bathing Girl. Now Eight Thirty's granddam Seaplane was by Man O'War out of Bathing Girl, while his sire Pilate was a son of the mare Herodias. These were now linked together by Herodiade, who was by Bathing Girl's full brother Over There out of Herodias. Notice how it takes all three individuals, namely War Admiral, Eight Thirty and Herodiade, to complete the links.

Eight Thirty appeared in Rock Of Gibraltar's pedigree via the mare Rare Treat, and the latter was bred on similar lines to the mare River Lady, the source of Herodiade. As well as this link, Rare Treat and River Lady both had Sir Gallahad III close up, and Rare Treat's grandsire Equestrian was in fact a 7/8ths genetic relative to River Lady's third dam Coquelicot by virtue of the shared strains of Man O'War, Broomstick and Pennant. Rare Treat and River Lady also had very similar backgrounds to the two sources of War Admiral found in Danehill, namely Crafty Admiral and Buckpasser.

PRIX DE L'ARC DE TRIOMPHE (Group 1) (2400 metres)
1. SAKHEE 1997 b c Bahri - Thawakib (Sadler's Wells)
2. AQUARELLISTE 1998 b f Danehill - Agathe (Manila)
3. SAGACITY 1998 br c Highest Honor - Saganeca (Sagace)
Distances: 6 lengths, 1 length Time: 2min.36.10sec.
Just as he did in the International Stakes at York, Sakhee turned this into a one horse race. He was always well placed just behind the leaders, travelling supremely well. Taking up the running entering the home straight he quickly asserted his superiority, drawing further and further ahead for a magnificent six lengths success. However, there have certainly been stronger renewals of this race in recent years, and I would rate Sakhee's performance here just a couple of pounds below that put up by recent winners Peintre Celebre and Montjeu. Sakhee's victory also creates an interesting piece of trivia; with the 2000 Epsom Derby first and second (Sinndar and Sakhee) both having going on the win the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe.

A detailed analysis of the pedigrees of both Sakhee and Aquarelliste can be found elsewhere in Pedigree Post.

Summary: Unlike the first day, no consistent patterns emerged from the winners on the second, and strangely enough, stallions that had never previously sired a Group winner were responsible for three of the scorers. It is also interesting to compare the pedigrees of Sakhee and Imperial Beauty. Both featured duplications of the mare Lalun via Bold Reason and Never Bend, and while Sakhee had a double of Northern Dancer, Imperial Beauty had Northern Dancer's dam Natalma and close relative Arctic Tern. Both also shared strains of Bold Ruler, Roman, Bull Lea and Princequillo close up.