Horatio Luro

Horatio Luro, a sire in Hungary

by Miodrag Milovanovic ©

Reasons for Pedigree Post articles could be very different. Mostly, authors discuss recent big race winners, and this text is the result of Ann Ferland's TBPedix discussion group e-mail regarding one such horse: Terre A Terre (FR), winner of Arc's day Prix de l'Opera (G1) that suddenly became very open when connections of favoured Banks Hill decided that conditions are too heavy for her. It is also interesting that Terre A Terre is first group winner (G1, at once) for grey French colt Kaldounevees (himself only G3 winner). But this is not article about her, nor about her sire (for that, see Nigel Pullen's discussion of Terre A Terre on Arc Day 2).

In a short remark, Ann stated that the interesting thing in the pedigree of this brave bay filly is that in Terra A Terre's tail female line we could find one very rare sibling Gaurisankar, and that lit some lamps in my brain. This tail-female family line looked so familiar to me. A quick check at Del Mar, and the reason emerged: this is family line of the stallion Horatio Luro, whose pedigree I've checked a few years ago when he entered stud in nearby Hungary.

Gaurisankar's dam was French Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner, the chestnut filly Diavolezza (1911), who was after her racing days frequently bred to sire Sardanapale, producing, at least, three colts (Gaurisankar 1919, Aldabaran 1920, and Rhesus 1924) and three daughters (Menzala 1917, Farizade 1921, and Apotheose 1930). She also produced, with Teddy, the filly Celerina 1928, that was runner-up in the race won by her mother, as well as the filly La Montagne 1916, with Verdun.

This was enough to offer plenty opportunities for pedigree enthusiasts to play with crossing siblings, but only at first sight. Rhesus produced nothing. Aldebaran produced only one daughter that bred on: Patsie McKim, but with little success.

Gaurisankar won seven races in France, putting up his best performance in winning the Prix Eugene Adam (now a Group 2 race) over a distance of 2,000 metres at St Cloud in 1922. He was also unplaced behind Ksar in the 1922 Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe. He was owned by Monsieur Leon Mantacheff and went to stud, but with little success. The only Gaurisankar daughter that bred on successfully was Pasiflore III (FR) (1932 out of Revasserie), that was dam of Rosa Bonheur II (1949) by another horse with an interesting pedigree, Kerlor (FR).

Rosa Bonheur II raced with success in France, winning Prix Negofol, Prix de Pompadour, Grand Prix de Deauvile (as six-year-old), also she was third in the Prix Henry Foy. After a long racing career she was sent to the U.S.A., but she did not managed to produce a stakes winner from 10 foals (six winners), although the list of stallions she was bred to is more than impressive: Nearco, Native Dancer, Bold Ruler (2x), Turn-to, Bagdad, Double Jay, Tom Fool, Forli (2x), and Bold Lad (USA).

Her second foal, Lahaina (1959) was sired by Native Dancer and from 11 starts she managed to won one small race and to be placed three times. As a broodmare, she was bred seven (!) consecutive times to the same stallion, Royal Dorimar, practically without results. A change of stallion to Jontilla (son of Royal Dorimar) resulted in stakes-placed Silk And Wrapper (1974, dam of Vosburgh Stakes winner and sire Birdonthewire), but it was her last two matings with Solo Landing that produced two stakes winner fillies, Solo Haina (1976) and Solo Sweetheart (1977).

Solo Haina won four stakes races, and was second in Orchid H. (G2), successfullly racing from two to five. Her results as a producer are far from spectacular, and by a wide margin her best produce was Horatio Luro, the adequately named son of El Gran Senor (both father and son are named for Horatio Luro, the famed Argentine trainer, of El Gran Senor's sire Northern Dancer among others). Owned by Sheikh Mohammed, he was sent to Europe to race and finished at the hands of Andre Fabre. As a two-year-old he was decent two lengths second in a three horse G2 race, the Prix de Fontenoy (1600m), behind the now top French stallion Linamix (see Nigel Pullen's article on Linamix's offspring Vahorimix). In his next start he was again second in the Prix Saint Roman (G3) (1800m). That was why he was entered as even money favorite in the Prix Noailles (G2) (2200m), but on soft Parisian ground he was last of six. And that was the end of hopes.

As he didn't managed to fullfill expectations on the track (112 on the International Classification), he was doomed to seek his future as a stallion in Hungary, country that long ago passed her zenith in horse racing sport with unbeaten 1876 filly Kincsem. Horses from Hungary (especially home-breds), as well as other Central European countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Yugoslavia, etc. are still unable to compete equally with best British, Irish, French, and German bred horses, so this was an opportunity for regional breeders to try to find some value in this stallion. Hungarian records say that Horatio Luro started his stallion duties in 1993 and his first two-year-old started in 1996 with a success.

In 1999, the dark bay/brown horse Akito (HUN) headed the Hungarian two-year-old classification, as a winner of Ketevesek Kriteriuma (1600m), and next year fulfilled promises winning first and third legs of the Hungarian Triple Crown (1,600m and 2,800m), and was narrowly beaten in the Hungarian Derby (2,400m). The tail-female descent of his dam Assunta is Hungarian up to the seventh generation, where we find the British-bred mare Asiatic (1945 by Donatello II). Some good sires could be found in the family, namely chestnut Imperial (1960 by Imi), maybe the best post-WW2 Hungarian horse, who can be found in the pedigrees of some very good international horses via his son Prince Ippi. But this female family had not produced any important regional race winner in the last 20 years. (Akito's fourth dam was Hungarian Derby winner Anda, 1970, sired by mentioned Imperial, and she, with Jolly Jet, produced winner of Checz 1000 Guineas-bay filly Andalito 1980, and Austrian Derby-bay colt Andor 1977, but nothing since.)

What was first thing to check when I saw Ann Ferland's remark about Gaurisankar? Does Akito have in his pedigree any sibling of Gaurisankar? Again, a quick check at Del Mar (this is not advertising) and there she is, in the pedigree of Assunta's sire, Sapano, whose second dam, Ludham, was a daughter of Pampered King, by Prince Chevalier. Prince Chevalier's third dam was Diavolezza's daughter Farizade, a full sibling of Gaurisankar. Coincidence? Maybe, but in a pedigree of so many good horses we find such "coincidences" that I think that any regional breeder with an adequate mare carrying Prince Chevalier, Lyphard, Soviet Star, Armistice, etc. who are all tracing tail-female to Diavolezza, could try to use all its benefits.