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by Nigel Pullen © However, amongst his stable-mates in the star-studded Ballydoyle stable of Aidan O'Brien, there lurks a colt that just could rival Johannesburg for attention in 2002 and his name is Hawk Wing. Hawk Wing made his racecourse bow in the Railway Stakes (G3) on Irish Derby Day at The Curragh, a race regularly used as a stepping-stone for the Ballydoyle juveniles. The short-priced favourite for the race was Hawk Wing's more experienced stable companion Rock Of Gibraltar, and the latter made amends for his previous luckless run in Royal Ascot's Coventry Stakes (G3), by dominating from the start and cruising to a facile two lengths victory. In finishing second Hawk Wing showed plenty of potential, and when he reappeared at the end of August in the Futurity Stakes (G2) over seven furlongs, put that initial experience to good use to gain his first success. Always travelling sweetly, he made smooth headway two furlongs out, before quickening away for an impressive victory. The National Stakes (G1) was chosen for Hawk Wing's final juvenile appearance, and a clash with Maktoum Al Maktoum's highly regarded colt, the unbeaten Naheef. Despite still showing signs of greenness, Hawk Wing was once again most impressive, settling the issue in a matter of strides when asked to quicken. The clock stopped for the seven furlongs event at 1 minute 20.90 seconds, a new track record. Hawk Wing boasts a cosmopolitan genetic background, combining North American, French, English and Argentine bloodlines. His fourth dam was the Argentine mare Giraldilla, who although a winner on her debut at Palermo, proved to be a nothing out of the ordinary thereafter. A modest runner she may have been, but Giraldilla's pedigree certainly merited more attention. Her granddam Zaza was a full sister to Zurrun, winner of the Polla De Potrillos (Argentine 2000 Guineas). An initial glance at Giraldilla's pedigree shows that she was 3x3 to two very closely related animals in Macon (maternal grandsire of Giraldilla's sire Seductor) and Zeta (Giraldilla's third dam). Zeta was by Your Majesty out of Alfa by Kendal out of Parvula by Gay Hermit, a pedigree pattern that made her a seven-eighth's genetic relative to Macon, for the latter was by Sandal (maternal grandsire Kendal) out of Bourgogne by Your Majesty out of Albilla by Gay Hermit. Interestingly enough there was a further connection, for both Your Majesty and Gay Hermit traced tail female to the mare Canary Bird, via the closely related mares Ladylike (fourth dam of Your Majesty) and Mrs Quickly (granddam of Gay Hermit). In fact Gay Hermit's dam was actually 6x5 Canary Bird. This becomes even more significant when we look at a further pair of close genetic relatives found in Giraldilla. These were Gilt Brook and Mother In Law, who were present 4x4, and both shared strains of Fusee, Galopin, Blair Athol, Ion, Newminster and Stockwell close up. The critical factor here was the mare Fusee, for she too traced tail female to Canary Bird, in addition to being bred on similar lines to the aforementioned pair Ladylike and Mrs Quickly. But this is not quite the end of the story. Giraldilla's maternal grandsire Rustom Pasha was out of a mare by Flying Orb whose third dam Madeline was 5x5 to Canary Bird's daughter Quadrille; thereby ensuring Giraldilla had a strong presence of this Number 22 family. It would be wrong to leave Giraldilla without mention of the stallion Sandal, who we encountered earlier as the sire of Macon (maternal grandsire of Giraldilla's sire Seductor). Sandal's dam Lindal was by Kendal (by Bend Or out of a Macaroni mare) out of Sunrise. This made her a close relative, and thus a vital balancing strain, to the influential stallion Phalaris; for the latter traced tail male to Bend Or/Macaroni cross Bona Vista, and tail female to Sunrise. Phalaris and Sandal were actually present 3x3 in Seductor. Our story now moves to England, and a horse named Court Harwell. A son of Prince Chevalier, and a descendant of Pretty Polly, Court Harwell won both Oxfordshire Stakes and Jockey Club Cup, besides finishing runner-up to Ballymoss in the English St.Leger. At stud he received such scant patronage that a £40,000 offer from Argentine in 1961 was too good to refuse. His last European crop contained the Irish Derby winner Meadow Court, who ironically enough was a grandson of Miss Grillo, a mare who had won both the Argentine Derby and Oaks in 1945. Court Harwell took up stallion duties at the Haras Comalal, where he became an immediate success, but tragically broke a leg in early 1968 and had to be put down. The mare Giraldilla was also resident at this stud, so naturally enough Court Harwell became a regular suitor, and in 1966 this resulted in a filly named La Sevillana. La Sevillana proved to be the outstanding filly of her generation in Argentine. Making her debut in January1969 she was surprisingly beaten by Bocaci, but thenceforth left no doubt as to her place at the head of the fillies division. In all she won seven of her ten starts, her only disappointing effort coming when eleventh of thirteen in the Gran Premio Carlos Pellegrini, in which she met colts and older horses. Prior to this her victories included both Polla de Potrancas (Argentine 1000 Guineas) and Gran Premio Seleccion (Argentine Oaks). At four she raced in America, scoring in the Palomar Handicap, before retiring to the paddocks. The mating of Court Harwell and Giraldilla brought together 2x3 a pair of Tracery/Persimmon sources in Prince Chevalier and Zaza. Tracery and Persimmon complemented each other very well; Tracery tracing tail male to Sainfoin (St. Albans/ Lord Clifden cross) and being out of mare by Orme (son of St. Simon's full sister Angelica), while Persimmon was by St. Simon out of a mare that had the reverse Lord Clifden/St. Albans cross to Sainfoin. Prince Chevalier certainly played an important role in La Sevillana's pedigree. His maternal grandsire Abbot's Speed traced tail female to the mare Strike-A-Light, and a look at the latter's pedigree reveals that she was by a son of Galopin out of the mare Fuse. Not only was Strike-A-Light a perfect balance for the previously mentioned Gilt Brook (by Fuse's son Long Tom out of a mare by Galopin), but provided yet another instance of the female family tracing to the mare Canary Bird. Prince Chevalier had a further branch of this family close up, courtesy of Cylgad (sire of his granddam). Cylgad's granddam Merry Duchess being a three quarter sister to Your Grace, who was the granddam of the previously mentioned Your Majesty (5x4 in Giraldilla). Before leaving La Sevillana, it is worth noting that her pedigree pattern, bringing together as it did Court Harwell, Seductor and Rustom Pasha, made her a seven-eighths genetic relative to the mare Lost Horizon II, who came to the fore recently as ancestress of the French 2000 Guineas winner Vahorimix. At stud La Sevillana produced just four foals, all fillies, and three of them by English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky II. Of this trio the unraced Lucky Us became dam of two Group winners in Lucky Song (by Seattle Song), winner of the Park Hill Stakes (G2) in England, and US Grade 3 scorer Pollock's Luck (by Polish Navy), who gained black-type by taking the Ascot Handicap at Bay Meadows. Another of this trio of Nijinsky II fillies produced by La Sevillana was her second foal The Temptress, the winner of one race in America, and later to become the granddam of Hawk Wing. The Temptress' pedigree featured a 4x2 cross of the close genetic relatives Lady Angela and Court Harwell; both pedigrees boasting Hyperion, Abbot's Trace, John O'Gaunt and Pretty Polly close up. In fact, fourteen of the sixteen animals in Lady Angela's fourth generation featured prominently in Court Harwell too, making him an ideal foil for Northern Dancer. The Temptress' record as a broodmare could justifiably be described as mixed. None of her first three foals, Seville Ciro (by Raise A Native), Sword Ballet (by Damascus) and an unnamed colt by Youth ever saw a racecourse, but her fourth and fifth foals were a very different proposition. Covered by Tentam in 1981, The Temptress produced a colt named Mister Lorenzo. He certainly atoned for his unraced siblings by racing for a total of nine seasons, and in that time recording ten wins from seventy-nine starts. The Temptress' fifth foal, a filly named La Lorgnette, proved even better. She was a daughter of French Derby winner Val De L'Orne, a top-class colt who met his only defeat from his five starts when runner-up in the Grand Criterium (G1) as a juvenile. He originally stood in France, but then moved to Windfields Farm, Maryland, as a cross for Northern Dancer mares, at about the same time as that establishment imported Master Willie for a similar purpose. La Lorgnette developed into an extremely large filly standing 17.1 hands, and taking very much after both her sire and maternal grandsire in stature. On the racetrack she scored in the Natalma Stakes (G3) as a two-year-old, and the following season earned the crown of Canada's champion filly through not only taking the Canadian Oaks, but by also becoming the first filly since Flaming Page to beat the colts in the Queens Plate. Flaming Page was of course the dam of La Lorgnette's maternal grandsire Nijinsky II. La Lorgnette was bred on the reverse Val De Loir/Nijinsky II cross to French 2000 Guineas winner Green Dancer, while another Group 1 winner Petoski had Nijinsky II as his grandsire and Val De Loir's full sister Shenandoah as his granddam. As with many of Northern Dancer's offspring, Nijinsky II reacts favourably with reinforcement of the strong Bend Or/Macaroni heritage present in his pedigree. It is therefore no surprise to see that Val De L'Orne's grandsire Vieux Manoir was 4x5 Sans Souci II, and his dam Aglae 6x4 to the same stallion. Especially when you consider that Sans Souci II's granddam Golden Iris was a rarely found daughter bred on the Bend Or/Macaroni nick. We will return to this Bend Or/Macaroni theme a little later. However, delving a little deeper into La Lorgnette's background it appears that yet again the strain of Prince Chevalier was equally important. Prince Chevalier grandsire Rose Prince was a grandson of the mare Rose De Mai, while Prince Chevalier himself traced tail female to the mare Farizade. This made him an ideal foil for Val De L'Orne's dam Aglae. She was sired by Armistice (fourth dam Farizade) out of the mare Aglae Grace (4x4 Rose De Mai, once via Prince Rose). La Lorgnette's first foal, Alexandrina, won a valuable fillies sales race amongst her three victories from twenty-six starts, which went some way to repaying the $405,000 paid for this daughter of Conquistador Cielo as a yearling. At stud Alexandrina's best offspring proved to be Thornfield, a late maturing gelding who took both Niagara Handicap (G2) and Canadian International (G1) as a five year old. Thornfield was a sired by another Canadian International winner in Nijinsky II's son Sky Classic, making Thornfield 2x4 to the last English Triple Crown winner. Inbreeding to Nijinsky II has resulted in six other Group/Grade 1 winners to date, namely Bohemiath (3x3), Buzz Lightyear (4x3), Desert Sky (3x3), Explosive Burst (4x3), Final Meeting (3x3) and Veandercross (3x3); but oddly enough all of them were raced in the Southern Hemisphere. Over the next few years the progeny of La Lorgnette proved less popular at the sales, her second and third foals Elegant Wisdom (by Devil's Bag) and Halo My Darling (by Halo) fetching $205,000 and $172,900 respectively. By the time her sixth foal, La Andaluza (by Regal Classic) went thorough the ring as a yearling, a bid of just $10,000 was enough to secure her. She did win two races, but had to be exported to Peru to do so. La Lorgnette's fortunes improved slightly with her next foal, a colt by Rahy named Dr Sardonicus, for he won twice from nine starts and gained black type by finishing runner-up in the Cinema Handicap (G3). However, the exploits of Thornfield ensured that when La Lorgnette's colt foal by Woodman was consigned to the Keeneland November Sales in 1999 considerably more interest ensued, since he changed hands for $225,000. He went back through the sales ring the following summer at Saratoga, being purchased there for $300,000 to run in the colours of Mrs Sue Magnier, wife of Coolmore supremo John Magnier. Hawk Wing's sire Woodman has proved an excellent stallion, no doubt owing some of this success to his double of La Troienne and triple of Selene; so it is worth spending a few moments considering the important genetic relationship between these two influential broodmares. La Troienne's pedigree bristled with examples of the famed Bend Or/Macaroni nick. Her sire Teddy was 4x2 to Bend Or/Macaroni sources Ormonde and Doremi; while her dam Helene de Troie was herself 3x4 to a couple more in Bona Vista and Ornament. Just one of the strengths behind this Bend Or/Macaroni nick was the combination of Windhound (by Pantaloon out of a mare by Touchstone; Touchstone being by Camel out of the mare Banter) and his close relative Jocose (by Pantaloon - Banter). Just for good measure Camel's maternal grandsire Selim was a full brother to Pantaloon's sire Castrel. Now, turning to Selene, she was 3x4 to Pilgrimage, via Canterbury Pilgrim and Loved One, with that same Touchstone/Jocose cross appearing 4x5x4 and 5x5x4 in Canterbury Pilgrim and Loved One respectively. Furthermore Loved One's grandsire Buccaneer traced tail female to Berenice (full sister to Banter's dam), while Selene's maternal grandsire Minoru had Jocose/Touchstone 5x6x5x6x6. So when concentrations of these two mares met up in a pedigree it proved potential dynamite. After that brief history lesson, let us see how that relates to Hawk Wing's dam La Lorgnette. Well, even through she had no strains of La Troienne, she did have plenty of the latter's sire Teddy, together with strains of Selene's sons Hyperion, Pharamond II and Sickle, plus Selene's half siblings Bosworth and Composure. Of course there is also Golden Iris's variation of the Bend Or/Macaroni theme provided by Val De L'Orne. Hawk Wing's cross of Woodman and Nijinsky II has proved quite successful, some recent examples being Bahhare, Ciro, Dr. Johnson, Teggiano and Way Of Light. Of course, it brings together that reliable combination of close genetic relatives Tom Fool and Flaming Page, who were bred on the reverse Menow/Bull Dog cross. However, in the Woodman/Nijinsky II cross this is taken a stage further by the appearance of Tom Fool's son Buckpasser (maternal grandsire of Woodman). Not only did Buckpasser and Flaming Page share strains of Menow and Bull Dog, but also those of Man O'War and Blue Larkspur. Given the presence in Woodman of La Troienne, regular readers may recognise that yet again we have that potent combination of Blue Larkspur, La Troienne, Man O'War, Plucky Liege and Teddy cropping up, a mix that appears too often in leading horses to be mere coincidence. The Mr Prospector/Val de L'Orne combination found in Hawk Wing is less obvious, but it has certainly worked, for in addition to Hawk Wing and Thornfield it has resulted in the above average performers Archers Bay (Queens Plate G1), Le Belvedere (Inglewood Handicap G2) and Lycitus (Prix du Lys G3). Even more interesting was the similarity between these pedigrees. Archers Bay's cross of Mr Prospector, Val De L'Orne and Nijinsky II made him a close relative of Hawk Wing, while the later had an even closer genetic relationship with Le Belvedere. Le Belvedere was a son of Miswaki (three quarter genetic relative to Hawk Wing's sire Woodman) out of a Val De L'Orne mare, and his third dam Flirting Lady completed the link by being a full genetic sister to none other than Woodman's granddam Intriguing, this pair being by Swaps out of the full sisters So Chic and Glamour respectively. With the test flights of 2001 completed successfully, 2002 will prove whether this particular Hawk Wing really can fly. February 17, 2002. Copyright by Nigel Pullen 2002. |
