Pedigree Check: Arcetri Pink

The Gr2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas, first leg of the 2014 SA Fillies Triple Crown, fell to Australian import Arcetri Pink

The Gr2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas, first leg of the 2014 SA Fillies Triple Crown, fell to Australian import Arctri Pink. On soft going, the 3yo filly ran on well to beat her 13 opponents in the R500k mile race, at odds of 25/1. The race time was on par with that of the Gr3 Acacia Handicap, run earlier on the day over the same distance, where Australian filly Orator’s Daughter outstayed her opponents.

The fillies went marginally faster than the runner-up (Forest Indigo) in the R1 million Gr2 Gauteng Guineas the same day. All this suggests true run races, and a reliable result – apart from the effect the soft going may have had on the filly’s opponents.

Arcetri Pink is a daughter of Rock Of Gibraltar, out of a mare by Gallileo, both stallions representatives of the Coolmore shuttle stallion brigade. The sire x broodmare sire cross has not (yet) been exploited abroad, as Galileo went to stud in 2002 and the Rock in 2003. There simply have been few opportunities to race offspring of the one out of mares by the other. Arcetri Pink is the very first stakes performer bred on the cross.

European Champion 3yo Rock Of Gibraltar is by Danehill out of stakes placed mare Offshore Boom, the latter by Be My Guest (Northern Dancer) out of Push A Button, a one-time winning half sister to influential sire Riverman. Rock Of Gibraltar has three lines of the mare Natalma (dam of Northern Dancer, 4x4x4).

A high percentage of Champion racehorses have dams who are closely kinbred along their bottom female lines (kinbreeding defined as duplicating ancestors with similar backgrounds) – Rock Of Gibraltar is no exception, his dam Offshore Boom kinbred 4×3 *Rare Perfume x *Nile Lily. Both are influential mares, Rare Perfume the dam of Belmont winner Jaipur, Nile Lily of Riverman.

At stud, Rock Of Gibraltar has so far sired eight Gr1 winners, including Mount Nelson (now sire at Newsells Park Stud), and in SA the Wilgerbosdrift mare Europa Point. His sons at stud in SA include freshman sire Seventh Rock and Rock Of Rochelle, the latter with his first crop of yearlings in 2014. Arcetri Pink’s dam Arcetri is an Australian-bred unraced daughter of Galileo.

The latter’s Southern hemisphere record remains baffling in view of his massive achievements in Europe, where Gr1 winners abound. Perhaps his Australian daughters (which also include SA Champion filly Igugu) will rectify the matter.

Arcetri is a half sister to multiple Gr2 winning sprinter Camena (by Snippets) and stakes winner Jai’s Jump (by Rory’s Jester), also a sprinter. The grandam Soda Watch won once, over a mile.

She’s by Star Watch, a son of Bletchingly and Australian Champion 2yo, winning the Gr1 Golden Slipper. Star Watch died after just two seasons at stud, but remarkably left a legacy as sire and broodmare sire of Gr1 winners.

Soda Watch is inbred 3×3 to Bletchingly (sire of her sire Star Watch and of her dam’s sire Zephyr Bay). Anecdotally, the third dam of Soda Watch, Athenia (by Hermes) is half sister to SA Champion and sire Gigantic, the female line a New Zealand one. Arcetri Pink was bought at the Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale on behalf of Ray Bisnath & Asogen Pillay (AR Racing) for a modest A$45k.

Her size may have had something to do with that – even now, as a 3yo, she stands a mere 15 hands. She went through the ring again as a 2yo at the 2012 Ready To Run sale, as an R800k vendor buy-back, no doubt to qualify her for the R3 million Ready To Run Cup of 2013 (she finished fifth).

The same partnership got Arcetri Pink’s year-younger half sister by Bel Esprit for A$80k in 2013, again in Melbourne. Named Arcetri Dawn, she measures 16 hands as a 2yo, like her sister in training with Geoff Woodruff.

What of Arcetri Pink’s chances to complete the Triple Crown? Her sire won up to a mile and appears to be an influence up to that distance, rather than for stamina.

Her dam didn’t race, but is by Galileo, who certainly gets them to win over ground. The grandam won once over a mile, her best runners sprinters by sprint-sires. In a nutshell, the jury is still out about how far Arcetri Pink will stay. The way she ran on in the soft ground over a mile gives hope, though. Time will tell.

Gr2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas

Turffontein, South Africa, March 1, R500k, 1600m, turf, soft, 1.38.73

1 – ARCETRI PINK (AUS), 58.0, b f 3, Rock Of Gibraltar (IRE) – Arcetri (AUS) by Galileo (IRE). Owner Messrs R Bisnath & Asogan Pillay; bred in Australia; trainer GV Woodruff; jockey R Fradd

2 – Not Sulking (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Trippi (USA) – Dragoncharm (USA) by Silver Hawk (USA)

3 – Athina (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Fort Wood (USA) – The Heiress (SAF) by Rich Man’s Gold (USA)

Margins: 1½, 2½, 1¾

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