Peintre Celebre
It was the end of an era this week as former champion, Peintre Celebre, was officially retired from stud duties at Coolmore Stud. The chestnut champion will be 21 years old in 2015. It also appears likely that former Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch is another former champion will be pensioned.
The two champions (Peintre Celebre was European Horse Of The Year in 1997, while Thunder Gulch was Champion 3YO Colt in North America in 1995) both made their mark on world breeding and both are enjoying huge success through their broodmare daughters.
What is interesting is, while Peintre Celebre (who is very closely related to South African broodmares Painter’s Dream and Pleine Nuit) was by a son of Northern Dancer (Nureyev) out of a Raise A Native line mare, Thunder Gulch was a grandson of Raise A Native’s greatest son (Mr Prospector) out of a daughter of a Northern Dancer line horse (Storm Bird).
Ironically, their retirement from the breeding shed comes at a time when their maternal grandsons have placed both in the limelight.
Peintre Celebre is the broodmare sire of both Protectionist (Monsun) and Red Cadeaux (Cadeaux Genereux) , first and second in the recent AUS $6.2 million Melbourne Cup, while Thunder Gulch’s maternal grandson, Bayern (Offlee Wild) was a somewhat controversial winner of the recent Grade 1 Breeders Cup Classic.
Protectionist, whose win in the Cup gave deceased sire Monsun a second consecutive Melbourne Cup winner, has an interesting pedigree. His dam Patineuse (by Peintre Celebre) is a great great granddaughter of Plencia – the third dam of Peintre Celebre himself.
Currently Peintre Celebre, whose daughters have produced Talent (Investec Oaks), Nechita (Ascot Vale Stakes) and Cambina (American Oaks), is currently leading the broodmare sires log in Australia, while Thunder Gulch (damsire of 75 stakes winners and counting), currently ranks seventh on the US Broodmare Sires list.
While Thunder Gulch was an official Champion Sire (he headed the general sires log in 2001), Peintre Celebre was (statistically speaking) equally successful at stud. To date, the brilliant Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner of 1997 has been represented by a total of 62 black type winners (5%), with his progeny faring well around the globe.
Of these, 12 were group/Grade 1 winners, a tally which includes the brilliant fillies Pride and Vallee Enchantee – although nine of Peintre Celebre’s top horses were male. Three of his top level winners scored in Hong Kong. The son of Nureyev was also responsible for Italian Oaks (a former Gr1 race) heroine Night Of Magic, as well as the French classic runner ups Super Celebre (Derby) and Millionaia (Oaks). While he never sired a runner as gifted as he was, Peintre Celebre nonetheless enjoyed a consistently successful stud career. His daughter, Pride, went close to emulating her sire, when she ran second in the Arc de Triomphe of 2006.
Major races won by the offspring of Peintre Celebre included the Champion Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, Gran Criterium, Prix Saint-Alary, Hong Kong International Vase, Gran Premio Di Milano, German Derby, George Main Stakes, Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud, and Shoemaker Breeders Cup Mile and his top performers in 2014 include the high class Irish filly Edelmira (winner of the Gr3 Give Thanks Stakes).
Thunder Gulch
Up to the time of writing, Thunder Gulch (who became the first Thoroughbred Stallion to cover over 200 mares in a single Northern Hemisphere season) has had 62 stakes winners (5%) in the Northern Hemisphere. In contrast, his stint in the Southern Hemisphere saw Thunder Gulch sire 36 foals (or just 3% of his foals won black type contests).
Thunder Gulch sired an outstanding horse in Point Given, who achieved something his sire never did when named North America’s Horse Of The Year of 2001. In the same year, Thunder Gulch’s daughter, Spain, pulled off a 55-1 upset when landing the Grade 1 Breeders Cup Distaff. She is one of 14 Grade One winners on the flat for her sire, whose offspring have amassed over $80 million in stakes thus far. Remarkably, in 2001, Thunder Gulch colts nearly won the US Triple Crown – with Invisible Ink finishing second in the Kentucky Derby and Point Given landing both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
Spain, who retired as the all time leading mare in North America, having earned over $3.5 million in stakes, was later sold at the 2003 Keeneland November Sale for $5.3 million.
Jam Alley
Interestingly both chestnut champions were also represented by high class performers in South Africa, with Peintre Celebre the more successful of the two on local tracks. His local runners included the Gr1 SA Classic hero, Jam Alley, and Listed Sophomore Sprint winner, Skeaping, while his daughter, Aquatint, is the dam of last season’s Gr1 Golden Horseshoe victor Afrikaburn (Trippi). One of Peintre Celebre’s very best sons, former Gr1 Prince of Wales Stakes winner, Byword (who accounted for European legend Cirrus Des Aigles during his illustrious career), now stands at stud in South Africa, where he has proved very popular in his first two seasons.
Thunder Gulch, who has been widely represented in South Africa, has been represented by useful performers Choisir, For Rosalind and Far Off Thunder. He is also the damsire of smart filly Fair Rosalind – winner of the Gr3 Magnolia Handicap.
It is hard not to see these two wonderful thoroughbreds continuing to have an impact on major races for years to come.
