NEWS
Pedigree Profile: A star in two spheres
Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2001
Coolmore Stud's Danehill made dual-hemisphere stallions fashionable
The shuttle stallion revolutionized the international breeding industry in the 1990s. John Magnier's exploitation of the dual-hemisphere concept enabled his Coolmore Stud to compete with the Japanese for the most desirable international stallion prospects in the early 1990s. That concept became the principal cornerstone of Coolmore's current dominance of the international stallion market.
The horse who brilliantly illustrated the viability of the shuttle concept was Danehill. The son of Danzig adapted so well to the demands of covering two three-figure books of mares every year that he became the best sire in Australia and one of the most respected in Europe as well.
Bred in Kentucky by Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms, Danehill was the first foal of Razyana, a well-bred daughter of His Majesty purchased by agent James Delahooke on behalf of Abdullah for $350,000 at the 1982 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling sale.
Razyana's price was motivated by the fact that her dam, Spring Adieu, by Buckpasser, was a half sister to the champion racehorse and epochal sire Northern Dancer. Razyana provided little return on her purchase price on the racecourse, placing twice in only three starts in England. She has shown the worth of her pedigree at stud, however; Danehill is only one of five stakes winners, including four group or graded winners, from her 11 foals of racing age.
Danehill made his debut for English trainer Jeremy Tree in a six-
furlong maiden race at Newmarket on July 7, 1988, but was beaten by a nose by Chief's Image. He showed he had learned his lessons from that experience when he won a similar race comfortably at York a month later. Tree tried Danehill in top company in the Prix de la Salamandre (Fr-G1), but the Danzig colt pulled too hard early and tired late, finishing a well-beaten eighth behind Oczy Czarnie.
Top sprinter at three
Promising at two, Danehill matured into a far better horse at three. He captured the European Free Handicap over seven furlongs at Newmarket in his first start, beating Folly Foot and Mon Tresor by two lengths. He pulled hard again in pursuit of the brilliant Nashwan in the Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1), but he held on well to finish third, beaten only 11Ú2 lengths by Nashwan and his Juddmonte stablemate Exbourne.
Danehill ran much the same race against lesser opposition in the Airlie Coolmore Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-G1) two weeks later, fading out in the final furlong like a horse who did not truly stay a mile. Tree quickly returned Danehill to six furlongs in the Cork and Orrery Stakes (Eng-G3) at Royal Ascot, and Danehill dominated the very fast older horse Nabeel Dancer, winning by three lengths.
Danehill was not quite good enough to beat the champion sprinter Cadeaux Genereux in the July Cup (Eng-G1), finishing third, beaten almost three lengths, with the good filly Golden Opinion intervening. Cadeaux Genereux did not show up for the Sprint Stakes (Eng-G1) at Haydock in September, and the consistent Danehill took full advantage, storming to a two-length victory over the top French sprinter Cricket Ball.
Coolmore purchase
That crucial Group 1 victory coupled with his beautiful pedigree made Danehill an attractive proposition for Coolmore, which purchased him to stand his first season at the Irish farm in 1990. That autumn, he covered another full book of mares at Coolmore's then-partner Arrowfield Stud near Jerry's Plains, New South Wales, Australia.
Danehill was an immediate and brilliant success in the Southern Hemisphere, but it took a bit longer for him to achieve the same recognition north of the equator. His first Australian crop, foaled in 1991, included 1994-'95 champion Australian three-year-old Danewin (out of Cotehele House, by My Swanee), a top-class middle-distance horse who won four Group 1 races from seven to ten furlongs.
That first Australian crop also included Group 1 winners Danasinga (Princess Tracy [Ire], by Ahonoora), Danzero (Confidentially, by Kaoru Star), and Danarani (Vaguely Modest, by *Vaguely Noble). Danehill's first Southern Hemisphere crop, bolstered by similar stars from his second, made him leading Australian sire in the 1994-'95 season, a feat he repeated for the next two years.
Danehill also sired two Group 1-Grade 1-winning fillies in his first Northern Hemisphere crop in Danish (Ire) (Tea House [Ire], by Sassafras [Fr]) and Kissing Cousin (First Kiss [GB], by Kris). But it was not until Danehill Dancer (Mira Adonde, by Sharpen Up [GB]) came along in 1993 in his third Irish crop that he proved he could sire a top-class colt in Europe.
Dual classics winner
Danehill Dancer was rated the best two-year-old in Ireland in 1995, but the horse who really put Danehill on the map in Europe was Desert King (Sabaah, by Nureyev), a 1994 colt who swept the Irish Two Thousand Guineas and the Irish Derby (Ire-G1) in 1997. Both colts were rated Irish champions and joined their sire at stud at Coolmore.
Meanwhile, Danehill went from strength to strength in Australia. His second Australian crop included three more Group 1 winners, headed by Golden Slipper Stakes (Aus-G1) winner Flying Spur (Rolls, by Mr. Prospector) and Australian Derby (Aus-G1) winner Nothin Leica Dane (Leica Pretender, by *Sir Tristram). Subsequent Australian crops have continued to yield more Group 1 winners.
The contrast between the distance proclivities of Flying Spur and Nothin Leica Dane exemplifies the versatility that has been the hallmark of Danehill's career as a sire. Flying Spur, from a speed-oriented pedigree, is the very model of a precocious, speedy two-year-old, while the stout genes of *Sir Tristram and a solid Australian family allowed Nothin Leica Dane to last 1 1/2 miles.
Danehill has shown that same versatility in the Northern Hemisphere, where his juvenile, sprint, and miler stars include the full siblings Dansili (GB) and Banks Hill (Hasili, by Kahyasi) and Desert Lady (Ire) (Hooray Lady, by Ahonoora), while he has also sired stayers such as German champion Tiger Hill (The Filly, by Appiani II).
Prolific quality
Aside from possibly a few Irish and New Zealand jump sires, Danehill has sired more Thoroughbred foals than any stallion in history. His 11 Northern Hemisphere and ten Southern Hemisphere crops aged two or older include 1,579 foals. Of them, no fewer than 149 (9%) have already won stakes, including 97 group or graded winners and seven official international champions.
Danehill has led the Australian sire list five times in the last seven years, but though the dominance of Sadler's Wells has relegated him to no better than second on the English sire list, his Northern Hemisphere statistics are almost as impressive as his Australian numbers-even though he does not have his pick of the best mares as he does in Australia.
Danehill has sired 71 stakes winners (8%), with 44 group or graded winners from his 857 Northern Hemisphere foals of racing age. His 722 Australian foals of racing age include 79 stakes winners (11%), including 54 at group or graded level. Since the success of Desert King and Tiger Hill, the quality of his European mares has risen and so too has his percentage of European-bred stakes winners.
The cross of Danzig, by Northern Dancer, on a daughter of Northern Dancer's half sister Spring Adieu, of course, means that Danehill is inbred 3x3 to Northern Dancer's dam, Natalma.
That close inbreeding may have been a factor in Danehill inheriting Natalma's calf knees. But on kinder European surfaces the defect did not result in the chipped knee that ended Natalma's racing career so prematurely (and so fortuitously-Natalma's precipitous retirement in May 1960 resulted in a late cover by Nearctic that resulted in Northern Dancer).
Danehill is otherwise a very well-made model of the modern American miler type that has come to dominate international Thoroughbred breeding. He passes on that excellent physique to a remarkably high percentage of his offspring.
Danehill's best offspring are also gifted with the tremendous speed and excellent racing temperament that characterized his own career. Whether north or south of the equator, that is a hard combination to beat.
John P. Sparkman is bloodstock/sales editor of Thoroughbred Times.
