by Scott Thompson © 2005

If last Easter’s Sydney yearling sales are anything to go by, the upcoming New Zealand National Yearling Sales in Karaka will be the subject of a ‘Danehill effect’. Twenty-six Danehills were sold in Australia, averaging $600,000, with a colt out of Prawn Cocktail (brother to stakes winners Langoustine and One World and from the family of champion sire Storm Cat) topping the sale at $2.2 million. At Karaka, there’ll be nineteen Danehill yearlings in what promises to be the very last chance saloon as far as this late great stallion is concerned.  With so much attention being devoted to Danzig’s finest son, the casual observer could be forgiven for overlooking some of the other bounty poised to go under the hammer in just over a month’s time.

Recently Coolmore announced the fees for its Irish stallions, with most sires standing at a lower price next season. Fasliyev's fee has been slashed to E25,000 from E75,000 last season. Dual Derby winners and Sadler's Wells sons Galileo and High Chaparral have also had their fees cut, along with Rock Of Gibraltar and Choisir.

The one significant fee rise is Montjeu, whose first two-year-old runners this season performed well. He will stand for E45,000, an increase of E15,000. Danehill’s last crop might capture the lions’ share of column inches comes sale time, but those within the bloodstock industry are already turning their attention to yet another Coolmore heavyweight in no uncertain terms; arguably Sadler's Wells’ finest, Montjeu.

On the track Montjeu was special, a mile-and-a-half horse with a devastating turn of foot. He romped away with French and Irish Derbies, toiled with Fantastic Light in the King George and bested Japan ‘s finest, El Condor Paso in the Arc during a memorable three year-old season.  Mick Kinane suggested Montjeu was the finest he’d ever ridden and a Timeform rating of 137 tells its own story. The acceleration which made Montjeu famous on the racetrack is now being passed down to his progeny, enabling him to sire 16 individual winners (eight stakes performers) from his highly successful first crop to race in the Northern Hemisphere. Winners have ranged from the minimum five furlongs up to a mile, with the undoubted highlight being the Gr. 1 Racing Post Trophy winner Motivator. Not a bad achievement considering Montjeu himself was out of stayer Floripedes whose Group 3 victory came over 15 furlongs in the Prix de Lutece, and Group 1 place was gained over a similar trip in the Prix Royal Oak during a racing career which lasted only four months.

Incidentally, the three previous winners of the Racing Post Trophy, American Post (2003), Brian Boru (2002) and High Chapparal (2001) all went on to win Group One Classics the following season. There appears no reasons why Motivator shouldn’t continue the trend.  Despite both only visiting the track twice himself as a two year old (for two wins) and possessing a stamina-ladened pedigree, Montjeu’s ability to produce serious two-year olds shouldn’t be underestimated and is a tribute to his outstanding natural ability. Furthermore, if Montjeu’s own pedigree and racecourse fortunes are anything to go by, his progeny will only improve with age. He will surely produce a raft of high quality middle-distance performers at 3 and 4 over the next few years. Such ability will surely be recognised at Karaka when his second crop are sold. Montjeu’s first southern hemisphere yearlings averaged $130,000 at last year’s sale. A filly out of Mazarine (unraced sister to Group 1 winner Shower of Roses and three quarters sister to Octagonal, Don Eduardo, Mouawad and Peruzzi) was the Montjeu sale topper at $460’000. This time around, buyers will have seen the results for themselves on the track and business promises to be brisk. With Danehill sadly gone and Montjeu’s own sire, Sadlers Wells seemingly in the twilight of his stud career, there is certainly a vacancy for a new ‘super-sire’; we could well be witnessing the start of the Montjeu effect.

Montjeu, pictured at Windsor Park stud recently.

The Prix De l’Arc De Triomphe winner has recently finished serving his third book of mares at Windsor Park Stud and once again the book contains a host of the best-credentialed mares available in New Zealand. Te Akau Secret (Lord Ballina) dam of last season’ Group 1 Kelt Capital Stakes winner Distinctly Secret, has visited Montjeu this season, together with the 2002 Brisbane Cup winner Prized Gem. The daughter of Prized won nine races and over $1million in her distinguished racing career. Eidercrown, the dam of October’s Gr. 1 New Zealand Two Thousand Guineas winner Clean Sweep has been covered by Montjeu this year too.

Windsor Park Stud is responsible for 22 of Montjeu’s progeny at Karaka and I have been fortunate enough to have help prepare a number of them. Below is a small selection of my favourite yearlings. Predicting the future fortunes of those so young is a thankless task, but collective hopes are high that those mentioned should all make their mark at some point in the future.
 
Montjeu X Greta Hall (Filly, Lot 439) – A fine looking full-sister to a Montjeu filly (since named Seraphina), who realised $400’000 at last year’s yearling sale and has been showing promise on the trial ground of late.

Greta Hall was proficient on the racecourse, winning 5 races including three listed races at distances ranging from 5f to 7f. Previously the dam of two living foals, Seraphina and a four-year unraced filly by Volksraad, (Monica Hall who herself has a Montjeu foal at foot) she comes from a proven, blue-blooded Windsor Park bloodline.

Her dam, Lovenvain died in 1986 having produced nine living foals, eight of which raced, with seven winning. One of those, Golden Sword (Kaapstad) won eight times including three group ones, amassing a total of $739’375 in career earnings whilst another, Windsor product, Madam Valeta (Palace Music) in addition to earning black-type on the track herself, also produced multiple Group II winner Falkirk, Group II winner Mulan Princess and stakes winner Luscilla. Lovenvain’s final colt, Suresh (Star Way) was a $300,000 yearling whose racing career was cut short after seven starts due to a heel infection. Considered a potential Group 1 horse he won in Sydney and Melbourne as a two and three year old and currently stands at stud in Australia. Suresh was Lovenvain’s only two-year-old winner so there’s every chance that Greta Hall’s offspring will need time to be seen at their best. With Montjeu’s progeny expecting to come into their own at middle distances, anything this Greta Hall filly achieves as a two year-old will be regarded as an added bonus. She ought to develop into a serious racehorse at distances around a mile later on.

Races aren’t won on paper though so it is particularly pleasing to report that this year’s filly possesses both the size and confirmation which should hopefully enable her to make a real impact on the racecourse.  Taking features include a well-proportioned head and front legs, which are well set and supported by a good length of well muscled forearm which extends to create a strong chest. This filly though really comes into her own as one moves down the body. Her quarters are particularly well developed and muscular and should provide an effective power base for her racecourse endeavors.

Montjeu X Spring Rain (Filly, Lot 164) – A champion two year old for trainer Roger James in 1999-2000, this is Spring Rain’s first foal and is sure to attract plenty of interest at Karaka.  By the champion two year-old sire of the same year, the speedy Centaine, she won her first four starts at two including the $400,000 Mercedes Classique at Te Rapa as well as the Group Three Wakefield Challenge Stakes at Trentham before finishing third in the Group One Manawatu Sires' Produce Stakes.

As a three-year-old she continued to pick up black type by winning the Group Two Wellington Guineas at Trentham and the Group Three Highview Stakes at Hastings and also finished a gallant second in the Group One Telegraph Handicap at Trentham and third behind Sunline in the Group One Waikato Draught Sprint. In her final racing season as a four-year-old she was again placed at Group One level in both the Telegraph Handicap (third) and Waikato Draught Sprint (fourth) and in total earned total prize-money of $468,625 before retiring.

Montjeu produced sixteen individual two year-old winners in Europe last season, three of which were stakes winners; he clearly can sire fast two year olds especially if there is precocity on the female side of the family. This is certainly the case with Spring Rain and I would expect this filly to be running fairly early and picking up a number of nice prizes along the way. The filly is particularly well bodied and stands out as a well matured and nicely balanced type already. Her hindquarters are particularly robust and she should emulate her mother in showing plenty of speed and proving effective at short distances before hopefully developing into a sprinter/miler later on.

Montjeu X Blanchard (Filly, Lot 299) – Blanchard is out of one of New Zealand's most illustrious broodmares, Field Nymph (Northfields) who is among an elite group of broodmares in New Zealand to have produced two dual Group I winners. By Kaapstad, Blanchard is a half sister to the Easter Handicap (8f) -Television New Zealand Stakes (10f) winner Field Dancer and the Sydney Cup (16f) -Brisbane Cup (16f) winner Just A Dancer. The dam of 17 foals, Field Nymph's progeny fetched more than $1.65 million in the sales ring (from 12 sold) and earned almost $2.6 million on the racetrack.

Field Nymph produced nine consecutive colts before foaling her first filly. Thereafter she produced a succession of five fillies and the third of which was Blanchard who included among her seven victories from 6f to 12f, the Gr.3 Trentham Stakes prior to finishing a game third in the 2002 Gr.1 Wellington Cup. In all Blanchard won seven races in her 32-start career and amassed prize-money of $213,857.

Arriving relatively late (22nd October), Blanchard’s first foal is developing nicely and in a sense is everything she was bred to be. Medium sized and behind the Montjeu-Spring Rain filly at this stage in terms of size and tone; she’ll need time to fill out. A brief glance at her pedigree certainly suggests that this will be the case. Blanchard is by Kaapstad, a stallion who earned his stripes over middle distances at three and is not known for producing particularly precocious two-year-old types. She is out of a mare whose career best performance came at 12f in the Trentham Stakes aged five. The strong middle distance influence of Montjeu consolidates the view that this well put together and correct filly won’t be rushed and will get better with age.

Montjeu X Lap Dancer (Colt, 511) – Lap Dancer was unraced and this is her first foal. In light of this, one might expect potential buyers to exercise a certain degree of caution come sales time. However Lap Dancer was out of the celebrated mare, Lap who herself never saw a racetrack and whose own first foal, Scarlet Way (c by Star Way) was Group placed.

As a broodmare, Lap produced a series of high class performers, with the most notable being Broad Reach (c by Zephyr Bay) who was joint top of the 1986-87 Australasian 3yo Classification (5f – 1m) and won five group races including the BATC Doomben Ten Thousand (Gr 1, 6f) and the Moonee Valley Stakes (Gr 2, 6f) and now stands at stud in South Africa. She also produced Unsolved (c by Star Way) who won 13 races including the VATC Quick-Eze Stakes (Gr 2, 12f).

On viewing Montjeu X Lap Dancer in the flesh, buyers may be inclined to abandon any lingering caution completely as this colt is a real eye-catcher who has certainly been turning heads at our yearling parades. A grand sized and correct colt; Montjeu X Lap Dancer possesses good balance and an impressive walk; not surprising considering he is equipped with both muscular hind quarters and strong shoulders. He really should be seen; this animal looks a born racehorse.