by Nigel Pullen ©

Melbourne Cup Field So Nearly "Given The Slip" 

The English challenge for the 2001 Melbourne Cup came tantalisingly close to success when the front-running Give The Slip was caught in the last fifty yards by the New Zealand-bred mare Ethereal.

A Group 1 success would have been just reward for Give the Slip's efforts in 2001; a year that saw him faithfully act as a pacemaker in the major European middle distance races for his stable companion Fantastic Light. His combination of speed and stamina made him ideally suited to this role, and these talents were spotted by Godolphin after his gutsy all-the-way victory in last season's ultra-competitive Ebor Handicap over a mile and three quarters. This was the culmination of a successful 2000 for Give The Slip, when he won three of his six starts including another competitive event, the King George V Handicap, over 12 furlongs at Royal Ascot.

Give The Slip comes from a branch of a family that was originally developed by the Aga Khan back in the early Twentieth Century, following his purchase in 1921 of the yearling filly Voleuse for 470 guineas. Although Voleuse bred two above average colts for the Aga Khan in English 2,000 Guineas runner-up Theft (by Tetratema) and Dewhurst Stakes winner Bala Hissar (by Blandford), it turned out to be one of his less successful families, and only in recent times has it shown signs of recovery. However, it would be unwise to dismiss it out of hand, for the fascinating feature common to nearly all the mares in Give The Slip's tail female ancestry were their duplications of important broodmares.

Consider the pedigree of his sixth dam, Broderie. This dual race winner in France was a daughter of Royal Charger, a stallion who undoubtedly attracted the attention of the Aga Khan by virtue of the fact that he was a three-quarter brother to his own Nasrullah. However, a look at Broderie's pedigree pattern reveals it was a mating in the true Aga Khan tradition. Broderie's granddam, Bakou, was by Blenheim II out of a daughter of Sun Worship; a perfect balance for Royal Charger's dam Sun Princess, who was by Sun Worship's son Solario out of a daughter of Blenheim II. Broderie was thus 2x2 to those close relatives, and in addition had the full brother and sister Rabelais and Simone 5x4.

One of the best descendants from another branch of the Voleuse family, the top-class racemare Park Top, was herself out of a mare 4x3 to Solario (by Gainsborough out of Sun Worship) and his three quarter sister Chor Bazar (by Gainsborough out of Sun Worship's daughter Voleuse).

Another unlikely connection with Broderie appears in the American Grade 1 winner and stallion Cox's Ridge. Just like Broderie he hailed from the Royal Charger male line, and his maternal grandsire, the rarely found Ballydonnell, was 3x3 to the full siblings Solario and Imagery as well as having a strain of Finglas (maternal grandsire of Broderie) close up.

At stud, Broderie's best offspring was the useful winner Koshka (by Palestine), but her legacy to today's pedigrees came via her daughter Faveur. Faveur won a minor race in France, and was sired by Buisson Ardent, a stallion who won both Middle Park Stakes and French 2,000 Guineas in his racing days for the Aga Khan. Her pedigree had further reinforcement of the important broodmare Mumtaz Mahal, for Faveur was 3x2 to the very close relatives Pherozshah and Royal Charger. Pherozshah was by Pharos out of Mah Mahal by Gainsborough out of Mumtaz Mahal, and the strains of Pharos, Gainsborough and Mumtaz Mahal featured prominently in Royal Charger too. In fact, Buisson Ardent, had strong concentrations of another influential broodmare in his own background, for his grandsire War Relic was 2x2 to the half brothers Fair Play and Friar Rock (both sons of the mare Fairy Gold), while his dam supplied these two siblings' half sister St Lucre.

Faveur's second foal, named Shahla, would become the next link in the chain leading to Give The Slip. A daughter of Ascot Gold Cup winner Sheshoon, she showed plenty of stamina herself, winning a 2,400 metres maiden event in France. The mating with Sheshoon was to result in the reinforcement of another important broodmare in Shahla's background, for she was 5x6 to the mare Simone, via her daughters Sky Glory and Fair Simone. Of course, we have already mentioned that Shahla's granddam Broderie had Simone's full brother Rabelais, and the latter appeared again here via Sheshoon. It is also worth noting that Sheshoon's dam, Noorani, had an almost identical Nearco, Gainsborough, The Tetrarch and Sundridge pattern to both the previously mentioned Pherozshah and Royal Charger; thus making Shahla 2x4x3 to this trio of close genetic relatives.

With the retirement of Shahla to the paddocks the welcome sight of some black-type began to appear on this family's pages in sales catalogues. Her daughter by Targowice, named Tayyara, started the ball rolling by winning the 1,600 metres Prix de la Grotte (G3), and being placed in three other Group 3 events. She won one other race in France, before crossing the Atlantic and adding four further victories in America. Tayyara's full brother, Marc Aurele, one of the five winners bred by Shahla, became an evergreen campaigner in France, where he recorded ten victories from ninety-six starts over nine seasons racing. Another of Shahla's offspring worthy of mention is the maiden Coup De Veine (by Gift Card). She added to the family's prestige by producing the Beeswing Stakes (G3) winner Farajullah (by Jaazeiro).

Tayyara's sire Targowice had been a dual Group 3 winner as a juvenile, capturing both Prix Eclipse and Prix Thomas Byron. He proved a versatile sire, with his Group winning offspring ranging from the sprinter Cooleen Jack; through the French 1,000 Guineas heroine Ukraine Girl, and Prix de L'Arc De Triomphe winner All Along; right up to the stayer Tipperary Fixer. Targowice provide a strain of Nasrullah, important here by virtue of the fact that he was a three quarter brother to both Pherozshah and Royal Charger, who were found 3x2 in Tayyara's granddam. Equally as significant for the future was the fact that Targowice's sire Round Table was a son of the mare Knight's Daughter, herself a daughter of the influential broodmare Feola.

Remembering that Tayyara's third dam Broderie was bred on similar lines to Cox's Ridge, and that her sire Targowice was by Round Table out of a Bold Ruler mare, it is instructive to consider the pedigree of U.S. Grade 1 winner Trapp Mountain. A son of Cox's Ridge, Trapp Mountain's own dam was by Round Table out of a Bold Ruler mare too; giving almost the reverse pedigree pattern to Tayyara. Furthermore Cox's Ridge's granddam was 3x3 to Friar Rock/Fair Play, who of course were 2x2 in the previously mentioned War Relic.

Tayyara's most important offspring proved to be her daughter Noble Tiara. Foaled in 1981, she only raced at three winning twice from nine starts in France over 2,000 and 2,400 metres. Twice runner-up in listed events, the Prix des Tourelles and Prix Joubert, she also finished fourth in both Prix de Flore (G3) and Prix de Royallieu (G3).

Her sire was the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe winner Vaguely Noble, and since the latter's grandsire Aureole was himself a granddaughter of Feola, it made Noble Tiara 5x5 to that important broodmare via Angelola and Round Table. Interestingly enough, Vaguely Noble was 4x4 to Bahram who had a similar Blandford, Friar Marcus, William The Third background to Angelola, and shared strains of White Eagle, Friar Marcus and St Simon with Round Table.

Give The Slip's dam Falafil was to be Noble Tiara's first foal, but meanwhile a portent for the future came with the arrival of Noble Tiara's third foal On Credit. This daughter of No Pass No Sale was a winner once at 1,400 metres as a juvenile, and twice at 2,000 metres the following season in France. She also finished runner-up in back-to-back runnings of the Prix Fille De L'Air (G3).

On Credit was covered by Give The Slip's sire Slip Anchor in 1993, and a few months after the birth of Give The Slip himself in 1997 the Slip Anchor/On Credit colt won the Gordon Stakes (G3) and Great Voltigeur Stakes (G2) under the name of Stowaway.

On Credit's daughter, Falafil, won two of her six starts over distances of 2000 and 2300 metres. Her sire Fabulous Dancer had been a Group 3 winner in his racing days, thanks to victories in the Prix du Lys and Prix La Force; and he also occupied the runner-up spot in the Gran Premio Del Jockey Club (G1) in Italy.

A look at his pedigree shows that he had three important factors that made him an ideal mate for Noble Tiara. Firstly, Fabulous Dancer was 4x3 to Epsom Derby winner Mahmoud, via a daughter and son. Mahmoud's pedigree closely linked to that of three individuals found prominently in Noble Tiara, namely Pherozshah, Nasrullah and Royal Charger. Pherozshah was Mahmoud's half brother, while Mahmoud's three quarter sister Mumtaz Begum was the dam of Nasrullah and granddam of Royal Charger; so that quartet of close relatives appeared 5x4x6x7x6 in Falafil.

The second important strain provided by Fabulous Dancer was that of his grandsire Nearctic. The latter, being by Nearco out of a mare by Hyperion and tracing tail female to Pretty Polly, made a perfect foil for Noble Tiara's sire Vaguely Noble, for he had almost the reverse pattern. Vaguely Noble's sire Vienna traced tail male to Hyperion and tail female to Pretty Polly, and his dam Noble Lassie was a daughter of Nearco. Since Nearctic was the sire of Northern Dancer, this relationship between him and Vaguely Noble helps explain the success of the Northern Dancer/Vaguely Noble cross.

The final salient feature of Fabulous Dancer's pedigree was probably the most important, and it centred on his third dam Belladonna. It would be hard to find a better illustration of balanced breeding than Belladonna and his "cousin" Aureole, and right on cue they are found 4x4 in Falafil's pedigree, since Aureole was the grandsire of Vaguely Noble. Comparing their pedigrees we find that Belladonna was a mare by Donatello II out of Hypericum by Hyperion out of Feola, while Aureole was a stallion by Hyperion out of Angelola by Donatello II out of Feola.

If you think all this sounds familiar, then full marks for doing your homework; because this identical pattern cropped up recently in the pedigree of the stallion Vaguely Pleasant, sire of 2001 Prix du Cadran (G1) winner Germinis. It certainly didn't do any harm either that both Belladonna and Aureole had a similar Gainsborough/Blenheim II cross as the aforementioned Mahmoud. Falafil actually had a third strain of the mare Feola, who you may recall was the granddam of Targowice's sire Round Table. Targowice provided a further balance to Belladonna and Aureole with a daughter strain of Blenheim II, the latter also being the sire of the previously mentioned Donatello II.

At stud Falafil's first three foals were all winners in France; her first, Rebenac (by Highest Honor), including the listed La Coupe Piaget Des Deux Ans amongst his five victories. Give The Slip was Falafil's sixth foal, and a daughter of Epsom Derby winner Slip Anchor. Slip Anchor improved dramatically during the spring of his three-year-old season. After making all of the running to win a weak Lingfield Derby Trial (G3) by 10 lengths, the son of Shirley Heights then ran clean away with the real thing at Epsom, beating Law Society by seven lengths with a further six lengths back to the third horse Damister.

In doing so he became only the sixth Thoroughbred to join a very exclusive club, admission to which was reserved for Epsom Derby winners whose sire and grandsire had also triumphed in the Blue Riband of the English Turf at Epsom. In over 220 years this grandfather-father-son chain has yet to be exceeded, and with Epsom heroes Mill Reef and Shirley Heights being his own grandsire and sire, he joined previous members Lap-Dog, Spaniel, Ellington, Ormonde and Felstead. One other candidate for membership was Owen Tudor, but although his sire Hyperion scored at Epsom, both Owen Tudor and his grandsire Gainsborough won wartime Derbies held at Newmarket rather than Epsom.

At stud, Slip Anchor was never going to be the height of fashion with the commercial breeders requiring a quick return. However, he is the sort of stallion who will give you the realistic chance of breeding an excellent middle distance performer at a very reasonable fee, for instance the 2001 Italian Derby winner Morshdi (see Pedigree Post article on Morshdi). To date he has sired 15 Group winners, including Group 1 scorers Morshdi, Posidonas, Slicious and User Friendly.

Slip Anchor comes from a highly successful German family, and therefore not surprisingly the pedigree of Give The Slip appears very much an outcross at first sight. The most obvious connection between Slip Anchor and Falafil being the 3x4 cross of Mill Reef and Targowice, who have the reverse Nasrullah/Princequillo combination. When discussing the genetic heritage of Falafil, we noted the similarity between the pedigrees of Nearctic and Vaguely Noble, and interesting enough this pair have a close genetic relative in Slip Anchor, courtesy of Bramouse (dam of Slip Anchor's sire Birkhahn). A comparison between the pedigrees of Nearctic, Vaguely Noble and Bramouse shows that they shared strains of Phalaris, Spearmint, St Frusquin and Pretty Polly.

Indeed this mare Bramouse could be the pivotal strain in Slip Anchor. Bramouse had a very similar St Frusquin, Cyllene, Dutch Mary, Phalaris, Sunstar and Melton background to a mare named Picture Play. Now Picture Play was the third dam of Welsh Pageant, who was none other than the maternal grandsire of two of Slip Anchor's Group winners, namely Safety In Numbers and Up Anchor. Furthermore the granddams of three more of Slip Anchor's Group winners (Posidonas, Red Sea and Sailing) were by Welsh Pageant too, and finally his English/Irish Oaks heroine User Friendly actually had Picture Play as her fifth dam. Thus a total of six of the 15 Group winners sired by Slip Anchor have this single mare Picture Play in the pedigree of their dams - most certainly something to think about.

Let us return now to Give The Slip, and consider another interesting individual lurking in Slip Anchor's pedigree. She is the mare King's Cross, the fourth dam of Slip Anchor's sire Shirley Heights. A glance at her pedigree reveals that she had a very similar Malva, Son-In-Law, St Frusquin, Altoviscar, Gas background as our old friends Belladonna and Aureole, a pattern which was very nearly repeated, although slightly more remotely, in the previously mentioned Targowice.

We end almost where we began, for Slip Anchor's grandsire Mill Reef has always worked well with reinforcement of two particular crosses, namely Sundridge/Violet/Feronia and Hermit/Maid Of Masham. It is therefore worth returning to Give the Slip's sixth dam Broderie, who was 2x2 to Blenheim II/Sun Worship sources. Sun Worship was by Sundridge out of a mare by Ayrshire (granddam Feronia), out of a mare by Peter (Hermit/Maid Of Masham cross). While Blenheim II's granddam was by Robert Diable (by Ayrshire out of a mare by Melton; the latter a grandson of Feronia's full sister Violet).

How does Bramouse fit in with this particular pattern - the answer is very well indeed. Her granddam Clotho was by Sundridge's son Sunstar out of a mare by Melton, and her third dam was by Feronia's son St Serf. Just to add a final twist, the previously mentioned important mare Picture Play was a granddaughter of Gesture, and guess what - Gesture was by Sundridge's son Sunstar out of a mare by Melton, out of a mare by Peter's full brother Timothy. Almost exactly the same pattern as Sun Worship all over again, and surely no coincidence.

Finally, Peter and Timothy had a full sister named Pauline, and believe it or not she was the granddam of the mare Fairy Gold, whose three offspring St Lucre, Fair Play and Friar Rock cropped up earlier in this article in the pedigree of Buisson Ardent, the sire of Give the Slip's fifth dam Faveur, bringing us just about full circle.

Given this latest effort, it will be interesting to see what role Give The Slip is given to play in Godolphin's cast of equine stars in 2002.

December 2, 2001. Copyright by Nigel Pullen 2001.