A Nova Era for Mutakddim by Daniel Goldszmid

A Nova Era for Mutakddim

by Daniel Goldszmid ©

Nova Era is a little filly that won a big race when she got her second victory, leaving her name as a winner in the history of the Gran Premio Selección de Potrancas -G1 (in Argentina). Nova Era won effortlessly when she ran the 2,000 meters, without previous knowledge of that distance. This filly belongs to the first Argentinian crop of Mutakddim, which includes 3 Grade/Group 1 winners from 48 offspring. They just are three-year-olds and some of them showed a taste for the distance. His G1 winner Lac Azur recently finished third in the Gran Premio Jockey Club -G1.

Nova Era and Mutakddim's three other Grade 1 graduates have Southern Halo as a broodmare sire, and were surely a big contribution to help him to be in the upper side of the Broodmare Sire List. Though Southern Halo tends more to speed instead of stamina, in Nova Era's dam there are key factors to augur a tendency toward the longer races. Nova Era's dam, Noordam, didn't have a significant race record and, until Nova Era jumped from the winner category to the Grade 1 circle, had produced nothing more than a couple of winners. However, if we look to Noordam's female line, it is not so difficult to anticipate success in the breeding shed. Her dam is Nile Queen, stakes-placed winner of three races, and sired by Niarkos.

In his time, Niarkos was the top Argentine export, with earnings in the U.S.A. of more than $400,000. From three to five, he raced in his native country and won six races, four of them stakes, and was second in three other top stakes. Sent to North America, Niarkos was strong enough to keep running to age nine, and won six other stakes, including the San Juan Capistrano Handicap twice before being sent back to Argentina for stud duty. Niarkos was sired by Again II, another stakes winner in Argentina and winner in U.S.A., that when returned to Argentina to became a notable sire for longer distances.

Nile Queen produced three remarkable horses, two of them gave their best running from the mile to a mile and a half. Mated with Salt Marsh (by Tom Rolfe), she got Nogal, the winner of six races and a minor handicap. Sent to Farnesio (Good Manners), she gave birth to Nile Green, second in the Gran Premio Jockey Club (G1) and third in the Gran Premio 2000 Guineas (G1). When mated to Southern Halo, Nile Queen delivered November, second in the Gran Premio Polla de Potrillos (G1) and the Gran Premio Jockey Club (G1).

A big part of the quality in this family must be due to Nova Era's fifth dam, Romanella. This Tesio-bred was Champion Two-Year-Old in Italy, the only year she raced. Romanella was the dam of Ribot, probably the best of all the Tesio-breds, undefeated winner of 16 races, several times Champion on the racecourse and later in the breeding shed.

Nova Era is inbred 4x4 to Northern Dancer, influence that brings together the half-siblings Cosmah and Natalma, both out of Almahmoud and dams of Halo and Northern Dancer respectively. Regarding that point, Southern Halo is out of a daughter of Northern Dancer and his broodmares have frequently produced stakes winners when mated back to sires that have Northern Dancer.

While Mutakddim has a cross of Northern Dancer in his second dam (Dance Number), as Mutakddim is by Seeking the Gold (by Mr. Prospector by Raise a Native), another Southern Halo affinity to Mutakddim may be the repetition of Native Dancer (sire of Raise a Native and Natalma). Native Dancer figures 5,6x6,7 balanced between males and females. Other important names to coincide in Southern Halo and Mutakddim bloodlines, are Hail To Reason (6x4), Bold Ruler (6x6) and Nearco (6,7x6,7) who picks up with his half sibling Niccollo Dell'arca, sire of Nova Era fourth dam.