by Nigel Pullen©

In 1998, a group of European-based stallions were purchased to stand at the Turkish National Stud. They included the English 2000 Guineas winner Doyoun (1985), who until then had a rather ordinary stud record. Of course, things immediately changed, and while Doyoun was settling into his new home in Izmir, his offspring were winning consecutive Breeders Cup Turf in the shape of Daylami and Kalanisi. Both were bred by His Highness the Aga Khan, who is in fact the breeder of all Doyoun's nine Group winners to date - yet another example of the Aga Khan getting the best from an unfashionable stallion.

The source of Kalanisi's family dates back to the purchase of the mare Lindos Ojos (1928) by Prince Aly Khan. She cost him 950 guineas at the 1935 Newmarket December Sales, being in foal to Apelle. On the racetrack, Lindos Ojos had won six of her eight juvenile starts, and then went on the following year to finish third in the English 1000 Guineas and seventh in the Epsom Oaks.

Her pedigree was a real delight, since her sire, Buen Ojo (1916), and dam, Fourfold (1916), shared very similar genetic backgrounds. The most obvious connection was Lindos Ojos's 4x4 duplication of St Simon, and the 4x3x4 occurrence of a trio of BendOr/Macaroni sources in Laveno, Martagon and Bona Vista. This latter trio were further balanced by the appearance of Bend Or's half sister Rose of York.

In addition, the granddams of both Lindos Ojos's sire and dam, namely the mares Scene and Wedlock were close genetic relatives; Wedlock being by a son of Lord Clifden out of the mare Cybele, and Scene's genetic background featuring both Lord Clifden and Cybele's full sister Viridis.

In the spring of 1936, Lindos Ojos's mating with Apelle bore fruit, in the shape of a bay filly, subsequently named Jennie III. She went on to earn fame as the ancestress of the top performers Devils Bag, Glorious Song, Rahy and Singspiel. After foaling Jennie III, Lindos Ojos visited the Aga Khan's Derby winner Blenheim II, and the result of this union was the filly Joan (1937), who ultimately became the seventh dam of Kalanisi.

Joan was nowhere so talented on the racetrack as her dam, winning just one minor race from nine juvenile starts. However, she certainly had genetic potential, for her sire Blenheim II was out of a mare, Malva, who had the same Desmond/Martagon cross as Lindos Ojos's sire Buen Ojo. This made Joan 2x2 to that pair of genetic relative, and in addition the Bend Or background in Lindos Ojos was further reinforced by Blenheim II, providing a full sister to Bend Or in Rose of Lancaster. Joan was much more successful as a broodmare, producing the good handicapper Joan's Star and Irish Oaks runner-up Amina.

The chain leading to Kalanisi was via one of Joan's slightly less talented daughters, a mare named But Beautiful (1947). However, she was not devoid of ability, winning twice over five furlongs at two, and scoring in the one mile Ebbisham Stakes the following year. But Beautiful was the daughter of another Aga Khan classic winner in Tehran, the latter proving successful in the St Leger and finishing second in both Epsom Derby and Ascot Gold Cup.

The interesting feature in But Beautiful's pedigree was the relationship between Tehran's granddam Mirawala and Lindos Ojos. Mirawala was by Phalaris out of a daughter of the mare Admiration; while Lindos Ojos's sire Buen Ojo was by Craganour (a grandson of Admiration) out of a daughter of the mare Scene; and the latter just happened to be a three quarter sister to the mare Sunrise (third dam of Phalaris). Phalaris also had a similar Bona Vista, St Simon, Wenlock, Hampton background to Lindos Ojos's dam Fourfold. All this meant that Mirawala and Lindos Ojos had quite similar genetic backgrounds, and they appeared 3x2 in But Beautiful's pedigree.

But Beautiful's best offspring was American-bred Going Abroad, a son of Khaled who numbered the Hawthorne Gold Cup amongst his fourteen victories. Five years earlier, prior to her export to the U.S.A., But Beautiful had foaled Kalanisi's fifth dam, a filly named But Lovely. This daughter of another St Leger winner in Sayajirao, raced in France where she won the Prix Vanteaux over 1800 metres. However, as we shall see later, But Lovely's genetic relationship with an influential stallion would play a vital role in the Kalanisi story.

Meanwhile a mating with the miler Venture VII proved most successful when But Lovely retired to the paddocks. Covered by this son of Relic in 1961, the resultant filly raced under the name of Embellie, gaining her most important victory in the Prix du Rond Point. Perhaps the reason that the Venture VII mating was successful was that it brought together 2x2 a pair of close genetic relatives in Rose O'Lynn and Sayajirao, both individuals having pedigrees featuring Pharos and Dark Legend close up.

Kalanisi's third dam Kermiya was foaled by Embellie in 1973. This daughter of Vienna earned some welcome black-type for the family when winning the listed Prix Belle de Nuit, and a closer look at the pedigree of Vienna gives us a clue to the ability of this filly. Vienna carried two key ancestors in his second generation, namely the mares Angelola and Rusk; who linked back to Embellie's ancestress Joan.

Firstly, Angelola was by a son of Blenheim II out of a Friar Marcus mare; this being reflected in But Beautiful's dam Joan, whose sire was none other than Blenheim II, and whose granddam Fourfold carried a similar Bona Vista, Persimmon cross to Friar Marcus. The mare Rusk's link was even closer, as she was a near full relative to Mirawala, the granddam of But Beautiful's sire Tehran; Mirawala being by Phalaris out of Miranda; while Rusk was by a son of Phalaris out of a daughter of Miranda's full sister Pretty Polly.

In 1978, Kermiya met her date with destiny when she visited the stallion Riverman. It proved an inspired choice and added some crucially important building blocks towards the ultimate production of Kalanisi. It was mentioned earlier that Kermiya's granddam But Lovely had a strong genetic link with a certain influential stallion, that stallion was Nasrullah. Nasrullah was by Nearco out of Mumtaz Begum by Blenheim II out of Mumtaz Mahal by the Tetrarch. That cross of Nearco, Blenheim II and The Tetrarch meant that seven of the eight ancestors in Nasrullah's third generation were also present in the pedigree of But Lovely. This, in effect, made Kermiya's foal by Riverman, subsequently named Kareena, 3x3 to near seven-eights genetic relatives, through male and female sources. However, this is not all that Riverman provided, for he had links that would be picked up in the next two generations leading up to Kalanisi.

Kareena lived up to her pedigree winning four times, and proved a tough filly at around a mile. Her victories included the listed Fern Hill Stakes, and she put up good efforts to finish second in the G3 Child Stakes and fourth in the G2 Waterford Crystal Mile. She foaled Kalanisi's dam Kalamba in 1991 after being covered by Green Dancer the previous year. Kalamba was lightly raced, managing to finish third in France over nine furlongs at two, and ten furlongs at three.

Probably the most important name in Green Dancer's background in the context of Kalamba's pedigree was that of Pavot, the sire of Green Dancer's third dam Ampola. The reason for this was that Pavot was by a son of Teddy out of the mare Coquelicot; exactly the same pattern that produced Riverman's third dam Azalea.

On being retired to the paddocks Kalamba wasted no time making her mark, as Kalanisi was her first foal. Once again the Aga Khan's choice of stallion, English 2000 Guineas winner Doyoun, to be Kalamba first mate, was to be an inspired one. We have already seen that Kalamba's dam Kareena was 3x3 to Nasrullah and close genetic relative But Lovely; and Doyoun provided the perfect foil to this by being 3x4 to Nasrullah and his full sister Malindi. In fact, Doyoun had another near Nasrullah genetic equivalent in Queen Of Speed, the dam of his maternal grandsire Kashmir II. Queen of Speed traced tail male to Fairway, a full brother to Nasrullah's grandsire Pharos; and her dam Bishopscourt was by Blenheim II's full brother His Grace and traced tail female to the mare Lady Josephine, making Bishopscourt a three quarter sister to Nasrullah's dam Mumtaz Begum.

However, the interest certainly does not end there, since Doyoun was also 1x3 to close relatives Mill Reef (by Nasrullah's son Never Bend out of a mare by Prince Rose's son Princequillo) and Prince Taj (by Prince Rose's son Prince Bio out of Nasrullah's full sister Malindi). But the real clincher, as far as Kalanisi was concerned, was the fact that Mill Reef, with his Never Bend, Princequillo, Count Fleet background was a seven-eighths genetic relative to none other than Riverman.

So what Kalanisi's pedigree represents is the potent 2x3 cross of Mill Reef and Riverman, with their grandsire Nasrullah balance on both sides of the pedigree by his full sister Malindi and close genetic relative But Lovely. With its links to so many of Kalanisi's ancestors, it does seem that Riverman is the pivotal strain around which all resolves. Kalanisi stays in training as a five year old in 2001 and should be a strong contender for the big middle distance prizes.