by Nigel Pullen ©

It is difficult to imagine a connection between the heady atmosphere of the sales ring at Keeneland or Newmarket and a small, now defunct, racecourse in the north of England. However, a minor race at Bogside on a summer's day back in 1947 was to start a trail that would eventually lead to the world of multi-million dollar yearlings.

The race was the Gailes Stakes, a six furlongs event worth just £234 to the winner. It was won by a filly called Rough Shod, and she would become the ancestress of such notable thoroughbreds as Apalachee, Bienamado, El Condor Pasa, Nureyev, Sadler's Wells, Thatch and Topsider. Foaled in 1944, Rough Shod was unraced as a two-year-old, and, after finishing a promising fourth over six furlongs on her debut at York in May 1947, recorded her only win in the above mentioned race by making all the running. Her subsequent five outings that season, all over five and six furlongs, yielded just two placings.

In the majority of her races she showed early speed, taking after her sire, the top sprinter Gold Bridge. However, in appearance she was described as a light-framed bay, the very opposite of her sire who was a bright chestnut built in the mould of a typical sprinter.

Gold Bridge himself was 3x3 to the 1907 Epsom Derby winner Orby, who although sired by another Derby hero in Grand Parade, left pure speed as his lasting influence on the breed. Orby's moderate son, The Boss, winner of the Gosforth Park Cup, in turn sired Golden Boss whose only worthwhile produce was Gold Bridge. Indeed, the stud fee for Golden Boss had dropped to just nine guineas and he was eventually sold to the U.S. Government as a remount stallion.

Rough Shod's dam Dalmary recorded her sole success in the 12 furlongs Yorkshire Oaks and was a half-sister to Carpet Slipper, the dam of Godiva (English 1000 Guineas and Oaks) and Windsor Slipper (Irish Triple Crown). However, it is her pedigree, and more importantly its relationship to three other stallions in particular, that made Dalmary a critical factor in the later success of Rough Shod.

The first stallion with the most obvious similarity to Dalmary was the 1930 Derby winner Blenheim II. For a start both were by Blandford, while Dalmary's dam Simon's Shoes was a three-quarter sister to Blenheim II's maternal grandsire Charles O'Malley.

Also of significance in Blenheim II was his granddam Wild Arum, who was by Robert Le Diable out of Marliacea. Robert Le Diable had a half sister to Bend Or as his granddam, and Marliacea introduced an important link with Gold Bridge, being by Martagon out of Flitters by Galopin. Martagon was by Bend Or out of the Macaroni mare Tiger Lily, the latter being a full sister to the dam of Ormonde (by Bend Or). Ormonde, of course was the sire of Orme (dam by Galopin) to whom Gold Bridge was inbred via Orby. This made Orme and Marliacea three quarter genetic relatives.

The other stallions with less obvious links to Dalmary and Blenheim II were U.S. Triple Crown hero Omaha and his Ascot Gold Cup winning full brother Flares (by Gallant Fox - Flambino by Wrack). Gallant Fox's granddam, Fairy Ray, and the aforementioned Simon's Shoes shared St. Simon, Bend Or, Kisber, Isonomy and St. Marguerite. Furthermore, Wrack was by Robert Le Diable (second dam sister to Bend Or) who we have already seen was maternal grandsire of Blenheim II. Finally, Omaha and Flares were 4x5 to Ajax who supplied Orme and a further line of Galopin to compliment Gold Bridge.

At stud, Dalmary bred four other winners apart from Rough Shod. Of these the best was Coriancy (by Mieuxce) a winner over 10 furlongs and third in the Park Hill Stakes; whilst Jennydang (by Colombo) became the ancestress of Lorenzaccio and Thatching. Rough Shod's date with destiny came at the 1951 Newmarket December Sales when Bull Hancock purchased her for his Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, in foal to My Babu.

It was to prove a good sale for Hancock for he also bought the mare Knight's Daughter. Like Rough Shod she too was from the Orby male line, and found fame as the dam of Round Table, who as we shall see became an integral part in the success of Rough Shod.

Table 1 - Offspring of Rough Shod

On arrival in Kentucky, Rough Shod successfully foaled the My Babu filly she was carrying. Named Gambetta, she was to win the Debutante and Susan Stakes as a juvenile, but she really made her mark at stud through her daughters Zonah, Gamely and Aphonia.

Zonah was Gambetta's third foal, a winning daughter of Nasrullah, with an explosive pedigree. Not only did she have a 1x3 cross of the three-quarter genetic relatives Nasrullah and Perfume II, but it also brought together 3x3 Blenheim II and Dalmary, who as we have already seen had a great deal in common pedigree-wise. When she retired to stud, Zonah set up a successful pairing with the stallion Round Table, foaling a trio of important foals by him.

The first of these was the top class Canadian mare Drumtop, a 17 race winner, including the Canadian International Championship. Her future was secured by becoming the dam of Topsider (by Northern Dancer), an average sprinter, but excellent sires of fillies. Drumtop's year-younger full sister, Zonely, was nowhere near as talented on the track but still managed four victories. At stud she bred a Hollywood Derby (G1) winner in Victory Zone (by Val De L'Orne) and the minor sire Zoning (by Hoist the Flag).

The final of the trio of Round Table siblings produced by Zonah was Observer Gold Cup winner Take Your Place. This victory made him a strong fancy for English Classic honours in 1976, but he failed to train on.

This combination of Round Table/Nasrullah/Rough Shod brought together a number of horses bred on the Galopin/Hermit/Isonomy cross. Additionally, Round Table provided duplications of White Eagle and The Boss (both in Rough Shod) plus another occurrence of Orme via Tracery. Whenever Tracery appears in a pedigree it seems to be significant; and here it was because of Roquebrune (by St. Simon - St. Marguerite), the dam of Rock Sand. She was a three-quarter sister to Simon Square found in Rough Shod.

Two other daughters of Gambetta merit a mention. In 1964 she foaled a Bold Ruler filly, and thus a close relative to Zonah, called Gamely. She became Champion Three-Year-Old Filly and Champion Handicap Mare twice, in a career resulting in 16 wins. After she retired, she bred just two foals, but one of them was the Dewhurst Stakes (G1) hero Cellini, yet another from this family by Round Table.

Gambetta's final daughter to recall was Aphonia. Sired by Dunce she was a minor winner, but was the dam of three colts who stood as stallions in America, namely Cutlass (by Damascus), Secretary Of War (by Secretariat) and Sitzmark (by J. O. Tobin).

Returning now to Rough Shod, her next two foals to consider were the colts Ridan and Lt. Stevens. Both were sons of Nantallah (by Nasrullah - Shimmer by Flares) and this mating brought together for the first time the three close genetic relatives Blenheim II, Flares and Dalmary. On the racecourse Ridan was superior, winning the Florida Derby and Blue Grass Stakes, and he can be found via his daughters in the stallions Lake Coniston and Niniski. Lt. Stevens's influence again looks to be through his daughters in stallions such as Alysheba and Lear Fan.

Not surprisingly Nantallah continued to visit Rough Shod in 1962 and 1963, these unions resulting in her final two important offspring, the fillies Moccasin and Thong. Moccasin quickly made her mark on the racecourse becoming the undefeated Champion Two-Year-Old Filly of her year by taking the Matron, Selima and Spinaway Stakes. She raced for a further two seasons ending with 11 victories from a 21 race career.

Her record at stud was probably even better as she foaled a total of nine foals, seven of which were stakes winners. Three of these were colts by old favourite Round Table, namely Apalachee, Brahms and Indian. Apalachee won all his three outings as a juvenile and after easily capturing the Observer Gold Cup became red-hot favourite for the following season's classics. At the beginning of the 1974 English flat race season it seemed that the close relatives Apalachee and Cellini were poised to carry all before them. Although both won their prep races neither fulfilled their potential with Apalachee finishing only third in the English 2000 Guineas.

The final offspring of Rough Shod to mention, and perhaps ultimately her most influential, was her 1964 Nantallah filly, Thong. She raced for three seasons in America, winning five races, and finished second in the Alcibiades and third in the Selima Stakes. At stud she made an exceptional start, but although the quality of her offspring tailed off later, she still bred ten winners.

It is surely no coincidence that, apart from Gambetta, all of the most influential offspring of Rough Shod were sired by Nantallah, bringing together that explosive combination of the close genetic relatives Blenheim II, Flares and Dalmary 4x3x2.

Table 2- Offspring of Thong

Thong's first three foals were all sired by the top Argentine horse Forli, the latter being 3x3 to a daughter (Riot) and a son (Fair Trial) of the mare Lady Juror. Since Riot and Fair Trial were sired by stallions bred on a Phalaris/Chaucer cross they were in fact 7/8ths relatives. Forli also had a supporting line of Foxlaw, a horse bred on the same Son-In-Law /Gallinule/Arbitrator cross as Lady Juror.

The first of these foals, the filly Special, was unplaced on her only excursion to the racecourse, but at stud soon lived up to her name. Her Bold Reason filly Fairy Bridge became a top two-year-old and earned permanent fame by producing the quartet of sires Fairy King, Tate Gallery, Classic Music and the all conquering Sadler's Wells, all to the cover of Northern Dancer. Two further stallions produced by Fairy Bridge were Danzig's son Perugino and Hermitage (by Storm Bird).

Special went on to breed Kilavea (by Hawaii), the dam of Kiliniski (G3) and granddam of Bienamado (G1); the disqualified English 2000 Guineas winner and top class sire Nureyev; and Number (by Nijinsky II) a Grade 2 winner and dam of stallion Jade Robbery.

Thong's second foal born in 1970 was her only colt by Forli. Named Thatch he developed into a top class sprinter/miler winning the St James's Palace Stakes, July Cup and Sussex Stakes. He later sired Final Straw, Thatching (descending from a half sister to Rough Shod) and the dams of Pennine Walk, Shahrastani and Trojan Fen.

Thong was covered by Forli in the following year resulting in the filly Lisadell. She raced just three times but was an easy winner of the Coronation Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot over one mile. Lisadell's most important offspring were the sprinter Yeats (by Nijinsky II) and the intriguingly inbred G1 winner Fatherland. This son of Sadler's Wells was a leading juvenile Ireland, and boasted a pedigree that brought together the full sisters Special and Lisadell 3x1. As we shall se later an even more intense background was present in another Lisadell's descendants, the exceptional Japanese horse El Condor Pasa.

King Pellinore was Thong's next foal. He was a Round Table colt and thus an extremely close relative to Apalachee. He was a much more durable individual filling the runner-up spot in both the Irish Derby and English St. Leger. When transferred to North America, he lost the bridesmaid tag by winning the Champions Invitational and Oak Tree Invitational, both G1 events.

1974 saw the birth of the last above average colt produced by Thong. Sired by Northern Dancer, Marinsky must have caused his connections to undergo the complete gamut of emotions during his brief career. After winning his only start as a two year old, Marinsky was beaten at odds of 1-7 on his three year old debut. He next contested the Diomed Stakes at Epsom, and after trying to savage Relkino at least three times while rounding Tattenham Corner, refused to go through with his effort when having the race at his mercy. Equipped with blinkers and a muzzle, Marinsky threw away his next race in similar fashion. His final racecourse appearance came in the six furlongs July Cup, where he toyed with the field that included the year's top sprinter, Godswalk, but swerved violently left in the final furlong, making disqualification inevitable. Before the year was out, Marinsky was dead from a twisted gut.

Two final offspring of Thong worthy of mention are Geiger Counter and Espadrille. A minor sprint winner, Geiger Counter did well enough at stud from limited opportunities to earn himself a move from Canada to Kentucky, and then shuttled to Australia. The filly Espadrille won the Busanda Stakes at three, and recently returned to prominence as the granddam of G2 winner Docksider.

It will be noticed that many of the offspring of Thong were by Northern Dancer or his sons. This success was undoubtedly built on Northern Dancer's affinity for the Bend Or/ Macaroni cross which appears in Thong's close ancestors Blenheim II, Dalmary, and Flares. It is also worth noting that Nijinsky II had Flares's full brother Omaha, in the fourth generation of his pedigree.

Although many of the horses descended from Rough Shod were extremely closely related there are still plenty of opportunities for inbreeding or line breeding to this family. In the second part of this article we will explore how this has been successfully achieved.

December 2, 2001. Copyright by Nigel Pullen 2001.