by Nigel Pullen ©

In 1990, Sadler's Wells became Leading European sire for the first time, a title he has since held continuously, apart from a break for one year (1991) when Caerleon took the crown. The year 1990 also saw the birth of one of Sadler's Wells best milers, the colt Barathea, who gained Group 1 victories in both Irish 2,000 Guineas and Breeders' Cup Mile.

Barathea was a son of the Group 1 winning mare Brocade, and the uncertainties of Thoroughbred breeding were never better illustrated than by the fact that her next two foals, both also by Sadler's Wells, named Foulard and Bracco, never saw a racecourse. Brocade visited Sadler's Wells for a fourth time in 1998, and for the second time the mating looks to have hit the jackpot by resulting in the filly Gossamer, who gained her third win from three starts with an emphatic victory in the Fillies Mile (G1) at Ascot. This follows on from her seven length win in the Prestige Stakes (G3) five weeks earlier, and marks her as a leading contender for classic honours in 2002.

It is only in the last couple of generations that this female family, which traces back to the mare Motley (a three-quarter sister to Touchstone), has entered the classic arena. Gossamer's fifth dam was the seven times winning mare Merrylips, a daughter of little known stallion Walter Gay. Walter Gay was a son of Epsom Derby winner Captain Cuttle, and was still a maiden when a fast finishing second to Trigo in the 1929 renewal of that great race. However, he broke down on his forelegs due to the firm ground at Epsom, but did return as a four-year-old to finish third in the Eclipse Stakes, and record his sole victory in the Atlantic Cup at Liverpool.

Merrylips was 3x2 to the three quarter genetic relatives William The Third (by St. Simon out of a mare by Wisdom) and Reprisal (by a son of St. Simon out of a mare by Wisdom's son Right-Away). Her pedigree also featured two more close relatives in Carbine and Breach, who appeared 4x4. Their pedigrees were almost the reverse of each other, with Carbine's sire Musket being a half brother to Breach's dam Mitrailleuse, and Breach's tail male ancestor Voltigeur a half brother to Carbine's third dam Eulogy. In fact, Carbine's dam, the Mersey was virtually a three-quarter genetic relative to Breach's sire Hagioscope.

In addition, Carbine provided four son strains of Touchstone, which was balanced in Breach by a son and daughter of Touchstone (by Camel - Banter) together with Touchstone's three-quarter sister Jocose (by Pantaloon - Banter). This close genetic relationship between Touchstone and Jocose was sealed by the fact that the dam of Camel was a three-quarter genetic relative to Pantaloon. Additional reinforcement of this background of Touchstone/Jocose was provided by the stallion Saraband, who was the sire of Walter Gay's third dam Catcher. Saraband was 6x4x4x4 to Touchstone/Jocose, as well as having the stallion Lambourn (dam by Pantaloon out of a daughter of Banter, and thus a three-quarter sister to Jocose). Finally, Saraband traced back tail female to the mare Maid Of Honor, herself a three-quarter sister to Banter.

Merrylips was a half sister to Allied Girl, the third dam of Shangamuzo, a top stayer and winner of both Doncaster Cup (G3) and Ascot Gold Cup (G1). However, Merrylips herself bred just a single winner, named Lipreader (by King's Counsel), from eight foals. Amongst Merrylips's seven other foals was the filly Kepwick, who was by another relatively obscure stallion in Linklater. The latter was a tough sprinter who won 14 of his 42 starts over six seasons, recording a victory in the Nunthorpe Stakes. Interestingly enough, Linklater's maternal grandsire Grand Guignol was by Rabelais, a stallion tracing tail female to the mare Slander (by Pantaloon - Pasquinade by Camel - Banter). Now Slander was not only a three-quarter sister to the previously mentioned Jocose, but was also out of Touchstone's full sister Pasquinade. Furthermore, Rabelais's granddam was sired by Wild Oats, and the latter traced tail female to Berenice, who was a full sister to Banter. We thus have a strong build-up of a group of extremely close relatives descending from the mare Banter, and this will be a thread running throughout this article.

Before leaving Kepwick's pedigree it is also worth considering the genetic background of the mare Silver Shot, the third dam of Linklater's sire Fleeting Moment. Silver Shot was by Carbine out of Golden Moments, and since the latter traced tail female the Musket's seven-eights sister Quiver, and was 4x5 to Voltigeur, had a very similar background to the combination of Carbine/Breach referred to above in Merrylips's pedigree. Amazingly, Musket and Quiver had a further important link. Both were by Toxophilite, who traced tail male to Touchstone and was out of a mare by Pantaloon, providing yet another variation of the Banter/Pantaloon cross already referred to.

At stud, Kepwick was slightly more successful than her dam, producing three winners from nine foals. She was covered by a collection of modest stallions, easily the best known being the 1949 Epsom Derby winner Nimbus. This mating, in 1960, a couple of years before Nimbus was exported to Japan, resulted in the filly Clouded Lamp. She was to become Kepwick's best offspring and proved a speedy early season juvenile notching up three wins before the end of June. The following season she scored in a seven furlongs handicap and was runner up three times.

In view of the build up of Banter and her offspring already described, a look at the pedigree background of Nimbus is most informative. The closest duplications in Nimbus's pedigree were 4x4 Bromus, 5x7x5 Canterbury Pilgrim, 6x6 Musket and 4x5 Polymelus. Examining each in turn we find that Bromus was 2x3 Springfield, who was in turn 3x4 to The Libel/Touchstone. The significant point here being that The Libel (by Pantaloon - Pasquinade) provided yet another Banter/Pantaloon variation, by virtue of the fact that his dam Pasquinade was Touchstone's full sister. Moving on, Canterbury Pilgrim provided a 4x5x4 cross of Touchstone/Jocose; while Musket was by the previously mentioned Toxophilite (Touchstone/Pantaloon cross). Finally, the duplication of Polymelus (a grandson of Quiver) added yet another important source of the Pantaloon/Banter cross via his grandsire Bona Vista.

Bona Vista was just one example of many important horses bred on the Bend Or/Macaroni cross. When these two met up in a pedigree one of many important factors it brought together was the combination of Windhound (by Pantaloon out of a Touchstone mare) and Jocose (by Pantaloon - Banter). Windhound being the sire of Bend Or's maternal grandsire Thormanby, and Jocose being the dam of Macaroni. Bona Vista was an especially important source of this Bend Or/Macaroni cross in the context of Clouded Lamp's pedigree since Bona Vista's third dam May Bloom was almost unbelievably by a son of Touchstone out of mare by Windhound....yes, that same pattern yet again.

The mare Clouded Lamp was mated almost exclusively with sprint-bred stallions and produced five winners from her 12 foals, nine of which were fillies. Her three best offspring, Irma Flintstone (by Compensation), Liberty Light (by Henry the Seventh) and Canton Silk (by Runnymede), all won races over five furlongs. Our interest focuses on Canton Silk, who was to become the granddam of Barathea and Gossamer.

Canton Silk (by Runnymede) was, like her dam, a speedy juvenile, winning three times at five furlongs from eight starts. She trained on at three taking a five furlongs handicap from her five visits to a racecourse that season. Her pedigree was pretty much an outcross, the only duplication in the first six generations being a 4x4 cross of the full brothers Fairway and Pharos, both of whom had their fair share of Pantaloon/Banter sources. One interesting name that does appear in the context of our previous discussions is the mare Art Paper, dam of Runnymede's sire Petition. Art Paper was 6x4 Musket (by Toxophilite), while her sire Artist's Proof traced tail female to Banter's three quarter sister Etiquette, via the previously mentioned Maid Of Honor. Runnymede's granddam Entreat merits a mention too. She was by Tetratema, and yes you've guessed it, he traced tail female to the previous mentioned mare Slander (by Pantaloon - Pasquinade). Finally Runnymede himself was 5x5 Desmond, and the latter's dam was 4x4x4 Touchstone/Jocose.

On retiring to the paddocks, Canton Silk soon proved her worth as a broodmare. Her first foal, Royal Pinnacle (by High Top), was a useful juvenile, wining the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom, and finishing third in the July Stakes (G3). The following season he showed his liking for Epsom being runner-up in the Blue Riband Trial (G3). A later mating between High Top and Canton Silk resulted in the filly Organza. She ultimately became the dam of the Group 3 sprinter and stallion Desert Style (Green Desert), who sired French and Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Bachir from his first crop. However, it was Canton Silk's sixth foal that brought her name to the fore.

Named Brocade, this filly was a daughter of the top miler and excellent sire of fillies Habitat. Like her sire, Brocade was unraced as a two-year-old, but after winning on her three-year-old debut, improved throughout the season, ending up with a three length beating of the colts in the Challenge Stakes (G3). At four she continued to progress, and her final racecourse appearance saw her claim an easy victory in the 1,400 metres Prix de la Foret and secure that important Group 1 win.

Once again Brocade's pedigree was very much an outcross one, being just 5x4 to Nearco. However, Habitat's grandsire Turn-to was 3x3 to Pharos, and the latter and his full brother Fairway were of course 4x4 in Brocade's dam Canton Silk. Habitat was also 6x4 to Teddy, and this stallion was himself 4x2 to Bend Or/Macaroni sources Ormonde/Doremi.

The upsurge in this particular families fortune was completed when Brocade retired to stud. Her first foal Free At Last (by Shirley Heights) won the Somerville Tattersall Stakes at two, was fourth in the English 1,000 Guineas, and then won $356,000 in American where she was G1-placed. A year later followed the colt Zabar (by Dancing Brave), a smart miler in France and G3 winner both there and in Germany. Barathea (by Sadler's Wells) was Brocade's fourth foal, and as recounted earlier became a top class miler. In addition to success in both Irish 2,000 Guineas and Breeders' Cup Mile, Barathea finished runner-up in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (G1) twice, Sussex Stakes and English 2,000 Guineas. Since retired to stud he has sired three Group 1 winners, namely Easy Rocking, Porto Roca and Tobougg.

The cross of Sadler's Wells and Brocade that resulted in both Barathea and Gossamer is worth looking at in detail. The most obvious staring point being the 5x4 cross of Turn-to, which further reinforces the Pharos/Fairway background already present in Brocade, and is brought into sharp focus by the close genetic relationship between Hail To Reason (sire of Sadler's Wells maternal grandsire Bold Reason) and Habitat. Hail To Reason's strains of Turn-to, Sir Gallahad III and Blue Larkspur were closely matched in Habitat by Turn-to, Bull Dog and Miss Bunting; Sir Gallahad III and Bull Dog being full brothers and Blue Larkspur and Miss Bunting sharing a similar background of Peter Pan, Ben Brush, North Star III, Bend Or and Hasty Girl.

This cross of Sadler's Wells and Habitat has certainly produced its fair share of Group performers, amongst which are Group 1 scorers Dance Design, King Of Kings and Kutub. However, perhaps just as important here is the appearance of Northern Dancer, and as we shall see his maternal grandsire Native Dancer. To begin with Northern Dancer had a pedigree background full of Bend Or/Macaroni crosses. Remember that this brought together the Pantaloon/Banter sources Windhound and Jocose. A look at the background of Native Dancer reveals some even more fascinating links with this Pantaloon/Banter background. His sire Polynesian was 5x5x5x6 to the full siblings Sainfoin/Sierra, and we have already encountered their sire Springfield, who was 3x4 to The Libel/Touchstone. In addition the Touchstone/The Libel combination also appeared in the mare Perdita II, dam of the full brothers Persimmon/Florizel II, and right on cue these full siblings are found 5x8x8x7 in Native Dancer. Just for good measure Polynesian's fifth dam, Poule Au Pot, was a granddaughter of the aforementioned Rabelais and traced tail female to Jocose. Moving on next to Native Dancer's maternal grandsire Discovery, we find that the latter's fourth dam was sired by a horse called Darebin. Believe it or not he was 2x3x4 to Cinizelli (by Touchstone out of a Pantaloon mare), The Libel (by Pantaloon out of Touchstone's full sister) and Evening Star (by Touchstone out of a half sister to Banter). As well as appearing in Discovery, the stallion Darebin was also found as maternal grandsire of Commando, himself the grandsire of Black Toney (sire of Polynesian's third dam). Interestingly, Commando also appears 5x4 in the dam of Nantallah, the sire of Sadler's Wells third dam.

Yet another weave in this intricate tapestry was provided by Discovery's sire Display. He was out of a mare by Nassovian and the latter's granddam was the influential broodmare Admiration (incidentally also the dam of the peerless Pretty Polly). Admiration was a daughter of the previously mentioned strong Pantaloon/Banter source Saraband, and traced tail female herself to Banter's three quarter sister Etiquette. Admiration actually had a total of nine strains of Banter and two of Etiquette. This is not quite the end of the story for Ben Brush, to whom Native Dancer's granddam Miyako was 4x3, was himself out of a mare by Reform. Now Reform was sired by Leamington (dam by Pantaloon out of a mare tracing tail female to Banter's three quarter sister Etiquette), and Reform's third dam Caricature was by Pantaloon out of Pasquinade, making her a full sister to The Libel.

This article is just one interpretation of the background strains at work in the pedigrees of Barathea and Gossamer, which would certainly not be obvious from a cursory glance at their pedigrees. Gossamer now goes into winter quarters a leading fancy for next season's fillies' classics.

October 7, 2001. Copyright by Nigel Pullen 2001.