Former L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate winner Gimmethegreenlight, currently South Africa’s Leading First Crop Sire for the season, is yet another exciting young sire from the Royal Charger male line., writes Sarah Whitelaw.
Mumtaz Mahal
From the likes of Nasrullah (Nearco), champion sprinter Habibti (Habitat), and Shergar (Great Nephew), to former South African Horse Of The Year Igugu (Galileo), Mumtaz Mahal is the ancestress of numerous high class runners and sires – too many to mention!
Among the most recent top class performers to trace back in female line to Mumtaz Mahal is 2015 Cartier Champion and Horse Of The Year Golden Horn (Cape Cross) – who won seven of nine outings, including the G1 Investec Derby and Gr1 Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe, and who is now standing at stud in Newmarket.
Golden Horn
This season’s smart British 3yo Algometer (Archipenko) is yet another from this female line – with his dam being triple Gr1 winner and Horse Of The Year Albanova.
Mumtaz Mahal is also the ancestress of the legendary New Zealand broodmare Eight Carat, whose champion son Octagonal (Zabeel) is the sire of Lonhro, whose son The Conglomerate won Saturday’s Gr1 Vodacom Durban July.
Remarkably, Octagonal (also sire of former SA Gr1 winner Suntagonal) was one of five Gr1 winners produced by Eight Carat (Pieces Of Eight), one of the greatest broodmares ever in the Southern Hemisphere.
Other notable performers descended from this prolific mare include multiple Gr1 winner Danewin (Danehill), highly successful sire Commands (Danehill) and Australian Derby winner Don Eduardo (Zabeel).
Commands
The now deceased Commands, whose four wins included the Gr3 Missile Stakes, is the sire of 2016 Gr1 winner Holler, and nine other top level winners.
The Conglomerate (whose dam is the Australian Gr1 star Republic Lass) is the eighth Gr1 winner for former Horse Of The Year Lonhro (whose 26 wins included no fewer than 11 at Gr1 level.
A former Champion Sire in Australia, Lonhro is already well represented as a sire of sires in Australia, with his young sire sons including former Golden Slipper winning champion Pierro.
The latter, who won five Gr1 races during his career, has made an instant impression to his stud career, with his first yearlings, offered in 2016, fetching up to AUS $1.5 million.
Mumtaz Mahal, who won seven of ten outings and was a champion 2yo and champion sprinter, is also the ancestor of this season’s top class 3yo Zarak, runner up in this year’s Gr1 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby).
Dubawi (Dubai Millennium – Zomaradah)
A son of Dubawi, Zarak is the first runner for the brilliant and undefeated Arc winner Zarkava (Zamindar), herself a direct descendant of another outstanding racemare in Petite Etoile (Petition). The latter’s fourth dam being none other than Mumtaz Mahal.
Arguably the most influential of Mumtaz Mahal’s descendants was the truly great sire and sire of sires, Nasrullah.
A somewhat temperamental sort, he won the now Gr1 Champion Stakes before retiring to stud. One of just a handful of sires to head the General Sires List in both Britain and the US (he headed the list five times in the USA), Nasrullah’s outstanding sire sons included Bold Ruler, Never Bend, Nashua, and Grey Sovereign.
The Nasrullah male line (still very active thanks to the A P Indy male line among others) is enjoying something of a return to the spotlight – he is the male line ancestor of two of the world’s hottest young stallions in Le Havre (Noverre) and Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) respectively.
While former Prix du Jockey Club winner Le Havre (already sire of a pair of dual French classic winners) is currently one of the best and most sought after sires in France, Uncle Mo’s first crop (which includes three individual Grade One winners) has been a revelation in North America.
Uncle Mo, himself a former Champion and Breeders’ Cup winner at two, is currently second (only to the mighty Tapit) on the 2016 General Sires List – despite having only a single crop of 3yos to his credit!
The Ashford Stud based stallion, whose first runners include champion and Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, is currently clear of such top sires as Candy Ride (Ride The Rails), Giant’s Causeway (Storm Cat), Medagalia D’Oro (El Prado), Scat Daddy (Johannesburg) and More Than Ready (Southern Halo) on that sires list.
Nasrullah’s three parts brother Royal Charger, whose dam Sun Princess was a granddaughter of Mumtaz Mahal, also formed a remarkable potent male line, with outstanding male line descendants including the likes of Hail To Reason, Roberto, Sir Ivor, Sir Tristram, Zabeel, Lonhro (and thus July winner The Conglomerate as well), Sunday Silence, More Than Ready, Deep Impact, Sebring, and Habitat to name but a few.
Philanthropist (Kris S – Hidden Reserve)
This male line has well and truly flourished in South Africa, with current successful representatives including Champion Sires Al Mufti and Captain Al, the successful sire and Equus Champion Greys Inn (sire of Legal Eagle – the probable Horse Of The Year for this season), and the very promising young sire Philanthropist.
The latter has made a huge impression with his first South African 2yos this season, and Philanthropist (sire of Saturday’s Canadian stakes winner Generous Touch) has also proven very popular in the sales ring, where his yearlings have fetched up to R1.1 million this year alone.
Gimmethegreenlight – attracting plenty of attention at stud
Former L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate winner Gimmethegreenlight, currently South Africa’s Leading First Crop Sire for the season, is yet another exciting young sire from the Royal Charger male line.
While there have been a number of outstanding broodmares of recent times, headed by the likes of Urban Sea, few will doubt that the Mumtaz Mahal’s clan still has a major part to play in the world’s best races.
