Legendary Canadian Broodmare No Class (Nodouble) continues to feature prominently in pedigrees of big race winners around the world.
This was made abundantly clear in the controversial recent Kentucky Derby with Country House, promoted to first after original winner Maximum Security (New Year’s Day) was disqualified, carries two lines of No Class in his pedigree.
Country House – shock Kentucky Derby winner
Sarah Whitelaw writes that not only is Country House a son of champion Lookin At Lucky (himself a son of No Class’ grandson Smart Strike), but Country House’s Gr1 placed granddam Shooting Party was sired by champion Sky Classic (Nijinsky II).
The latter was one of four champions produced by No Class, whose other champion offspring are Classy ‘N Smart, Regal Classic and Grey Classic.
Lookin At Lucky, one of two Smart Strike sons to have won the classic Gr1 Preakness Stakes (Curlin being the other), also enjoyed a big year in 2018, where his Northern Hemisphere runners included US champion and Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Accelerate as well as Gr1 Spinster Stakes victress Wow Cat.
The Ashford Stud resident, whose tally of stakes winners currently stands at 44, has also a pair of Champion Sire titles in Chile to his credit, with Lookin At Lucky having topped the Chilean Sires List in 2016-2017 and 2017-2018.
While Lookin At Lucky has enjoyed his share of success at stud, he has yet to reach the commercial level of success enjoyed by his paternal half-brother Curlin, whose son Global Campaign won the Gr3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday.
Steve Asmussen with his champion Curlin
Dual Horse Of The Year Curlin, whose 2019 registered stud fee was $175,000, has a total of 60 black type winners to his name, including US classic winners Exaggerator (Preakness Stakes) and Palace Malice (Belmont Stakes) as well as champion filly Stellar Wind, Cigar Mile hero and sire Connect, and Keen Ice –who downed Triple Crown winning champion American Pharoah when victorious in the 2015 Gr1 Travers Stakes.
Another son of Curlin, champion and multiple G1 winner Good Magic, ran second to subsequent Triple Crown winner Justify in the 2018 Kentucky Derby while Exaggerator ran second in the 2016 Gr1 Kentucky Derby (Curlin himself was third to Street Sense in the 2007 Kentucky Derby). Curlin’s ever growing number of sons at stud include all of Good Magic, Keen Ice, Connect, Exaggerator, and Palace Malice.
Up The Channel
Yet another son of Smart Strike to have made a name for himself at stud is turf champion and six time Gr1 winner English Channel. The latter was another to make waves a Belmont this weekend, with English Channel gelding Channel Maker landing the Gr1 Man O’War Stakes to claim the second Gr1 win of his career.
Out of a mare by South African champion Horse Chestnut (whose sire Fort Wood was responsible for Saturday’s Listed WSB East Cape Derby winner St Vladimir), former Canadian champion Channel Maker had previously won the Gr1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic last year, and his latest win took his earnings to over $1.9 million.
A full-brother to multiple Gr1 winner and Canadian champion Johnny Bear, Channel Maker is one of more than 40 stakes winners sired by English Channel, whose tally of black type winners include eight Gr1 winners.
Smart Strike
Smart Strike, the sire of Lookin At Lucky, Curlin and English Channel, was an outstanding stallion who left behind more than 130 stakes winners and whose progeny banked over $191 000 000 in stakes money. He was produced by No Class’ champion daughter Classy ‘N Smart, who also produced Canadian champion and Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner Dance Smartly (Danzig) and Gr1 winner Full Of Wonder. Remarkably, No Class, Classy ‘N Smart and Dance Smartly were all honoured with the title of Sovereign Award for Outstanding Broodmare in Canada.
Having Sailed
In South Africa, No Class’s short-lived great grandson Sail From Seattle (Gone West) also featured as sire of a recent big race winner, with Sail From Seattle son Pacific Trader having captured the 2019 Gr1 Computaform Sprint – another son of Sail From Seattle, Quinlan, ran fourth in the race.
The stakes winning Sail From Seattle left behind five full crops (one year he was unable to complete a full season due to injury), with his 40 plus stakes horses including the Gr1 winners Sail South, Elusive Gold, Pacific Trader and Gulf Storm – he is also responsible for 2019 Gr2 Hawaii Stakes winner Zouaves.
Sail From Seattle
Sail From Seattle’s close relative Strike Smartly (Mr Prospector) also enjoyed success in a brief stud career in South Africa. The full-brother to multiple champion US sire Smart Strike was responsible for Gr1 winners Slumdogmillionaire, Bouquet-Garni, and Smart Banker, and is also broodmare sire of Gr1 Gold Medallion hero Guiness (Seventh Rock) and Gr3 Track And Ball Derby winner Cape Speed (Ideal World).
Dynasty’s son Jackson
Strike Smartly’s granddam No Class also features as the third dam of outstanding South African broodmare Moonlit Prairie (Cozzene), who produced a trio of graded stakes winners namely triple Gr1 winning sire Jackson, the latter’s Gr3 Byerley Turk winning own brother Heartland and Gr3 Lebelo Sprint victor Jade Bay (Jallad).
The stakes placed No Class, Canada’s Broodmare Of The Year in 1985, was eventually inducted into the Canadian Racing Hall Of Fame, with her seven winners, from eight foals, including not only four champions but also Gr1 Turf Classic winner Always A Classic. She also rates as the fifth dam of this season’s classy US 3yo Galilean (Uncle Mo).
