When Kameko won Saturday’s Qipco 2000 Guineas, he became the ninth male line descendant of Sadler’s Wells to win that British classic since 1997.
Sadler’s Wells sired a trio of 2000 Guineas winner in Entrepreneur (1997), King Of Kings (1998), and Refuse To Bend (2003), and his male line descendants have continued his success.
Sadler’s Wells
Sarah Whitelaw writes that hIs six time Gr1 winning son Montjeu sired 2012 winner Camelot, while Sadler’s Wells’ greatest son Galileo has proven particular dominant in the first British classic of the season.
The sire of 2000 Guineas winners Frankel (arguably the finest 2000 Guineas winner of all), Gleneagles and Churchill, Galileo is also either paternal or maternal grandsire of fellow 2000 Guineas winners Dawn Approach, Night Of Thunder, Galileo Gold, Saxon Warrior and Magna Grecia, and his name is found in the pedigrees of each of the seven 2000 Guineas winners immediately prior to Kameko.
Galileo would also supply his fourth 1000 Guineas winner when his daughter Love romped home in Sunday’s Gr1 Qipco 1000 Guineas.
Kameko is also a first British classic winner for his consistently top-class sire Kitten’s Joy, whose Gr1 National Stakes winning sire El Prado was sired by Sadler’s Wells.
Kitten’s Joy
One of the better turf champions to grace North America’s tracks since the start of the 21st century, Kitten’s Joy – who shares his sire with another consistently successful top sire in Medaglia D’Oro – won or placed in 13 of his 14 starts, with his nine career wins including a pair of top level triumphs in the 2004 Gr1 Secretariat Stakes and 2004 Gr1 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic respectively.
The seven time graded stakes winner, whose broodmare sire Lear Fan ran third in the 1984 2000 Guineas, retired to stud at the relatively modest fee (given his own achievements) of $25 000. Kitten’s Joy, who current stands at Hill ‘N Dale Farm for a fee of $75 000, has long shown his original stud fee to be a bargain one. The champion was Leading Sire on Turf in North America from 2013-2018 consecutively, and also heading North America’s General Sires List in 2013.
Despite not starting out his career by covering the elite mares, Kitten’s Joy has proven a consistently high-class sire, with his progeny, inevitably, faring most well on turf. The sire of 97 stakes winners to date, Kitten’s Joy’s current statistics show him to be siring six percent stakes winners to foals, and his Average Earnings Index is currently 1.73. Kitten’s Joy also is a proven upgrader on his mares, with the stallion’s Comparative Index being 1.57.
One has to wonder quite what Kitten’s Joy may have achieved had he had access to better quality mares earlier on his stud career. Despite this, Kitten’s Joy has proved consistently successful, in the Northern Hemisphere anyway, with his first seven crops, averaging 11 stakes winners, producing 77 black type winners.
He has yet to be responsible for a stakes winner in the Southern Hemisphere, where his 47 starters include 34 winners and three black type horses. Kitten’s Joy is, however, broodmare sire of this season’s high-class Australian colt Dalasan (by Dalakhani) -a millionaire and four time group winner.
Roaring Lion – top class!
Kitten’s Joy has been responsible for 14 Gr1 winners, with his star performers headed by ill-fated Cartier Horse Of The Year Roaring Lion (a four time Gr1 winner), and the Breeders’ Cup winners Stephanie’s Kitten, Bobby’s Kitten (now standing at Lanwades Stud) and Oscar Performance.The stallion has made a good impact in Europe, with his representatives including not only Kameko and Roaring Lion but Eclipse winner Hawkbill and multiple group winner Taareef.
He has enjoyed notable success when mated to daughters of Grand Slam, with the latter broodmare sire of Kitten’s Joy’s Gr1 winners Admiral Kitten – now standing at the Southford Stud -and Kitten’s Dumplings, as well as fellow graded stakes winners Granny’s Kitten, Home Run Kitten, and Kitten Kaboodle.
Kitten’s Joy made more headlines on Sunday when his Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint winning son Bobby’s Kitten supplied his first winner in the form of Sands Of Time.
Kameko, whose broodmare sire Rock Of Gibraltar (Danehill) appeared a somewhat fortuitous winner of the 2002 2000 Guineas, is out of Sweeter Still – a Gr3 Senorita Stakes winning half-sister to the ill-fated former Drakenstein Stud resident Kingsbarns.
The latter, a son of the all-conquering Galileo, and thus from the same male line as Kameko, made a tremendous start with his first local small crop headed by champion Gabor and Gr2 Concorde Cup victor King Of Gems.
Kingsbarns
Kingsbarns picked up his biggest victory when victorious in the 2012 Gr1 Racing Post Trophy – a race Kameko won last year when it was run under the name of the Vertem Futurity Trophy.
Kingsbarns was also very closely related to the Galileo sired triple Gr1 winner Rip Van Winkle, sire of recent Gr1 winners Jennifer Eccles (New Zealand Oaks) and Te Akau Shark (Chipping Norton Stakes)).
Sweeter Still is out of the mare Beltisaal, whose King George winning sire Belmez is a son of El Gran Senor, who ironically enough beat Kitten’s Joy’s own broodmare sire Lear Fan into third when he won the 1984 2000 Guineas.
Not only does he descend in male line from the most powerful current sire line in the world, Kameko also hails from an outstanding female line.
The 2020 2000 Guineas winner’s fifth dam is Irish champion Mespotamia (also the fourth dam of five time Gr1 winning champion Halling), and his sixth dam, Agars Plough won the 1955 Irish Oaks.
Noordhoek Flyer wins the Cape Guineas
This family has had its share of success in South Africa, with dual Guineas winner Noordhoek Flyer (Pivotal) directly descended in female line from Mesopotamia, with Danehill horse Restructure, the broodmare sire of Horse Of The Year Legislate (Dynasty), was produced by a daughter of House Tie -the fourth dam of Kameko himeslf.
Other international luminaries descended from Mespotamia include the group/grade one winners African Story, Alkaased, Balla Cove, Cherokee Rose, Danish (sired by Rock Of Gibraltar’s own sire), Galaxy Libra, Kirklees, Mastery, Rip Van Winkle and San Sebastian, as well as multiple champion sire Volksraad.
