Pedigree expert Cassie Tully reflects on Shamardal's three top-class juvenile colts from 2019 in light of the sire's untimely passing.
As we are witnessing first-hand at the moment, circumstances can change incredibly fast in this world. One moment I was completing this piece on Shamardal and his three brilliant unbeaten sons, and the next the news broke that he has passed.
Probably in the midst of covering his finest book of mares after the season he had on the racetrack last year, life intervened and an even greater significance falls upon these three colts in focus.
There have only ever been four European sires to produce three individual Group 1 winning two-year-olds in a single season.
Danehill completed the feat once in Europe, Sadler’s Wells did it twice and also holds the record with five individuals in a single season. And Galileo of course, has achieved three Group 1 winning juveniles in a season on four separate occasions.
Shamardal was the latest sire to add his name to this illustrious list when last year, he not only produced three Group 1 winning juvenile colts, but three unbeaten Group 1 winning juvenile colts.
Pinatubo, Earthlight and Victor Ludorum all recemented Shamardal’s name in the upper echelons of the best sires in Europe after already having the French 1000 Guineas winner Castle lady, and Blue Point taking double honours at Royal Ascot earlier in the year.
It is not by chance that these three colts currently hold the unbeaten records that they do, as both their father and grandfather were unbeaten Group 1 winning two-year-olds as well.
Giant’s Causeway, ‘the Iron Horse’ stood one season at Coolmore in Ireland before strong American demand lured him across the Atlantic to Coolmore’s base in Kentucky for the rest of his stud career. But in that one crop produced in Ireland, he left behind no less than five Group 1 winners which included the sires Shamardal and Footstepsinthesand.
Shamardal was an unbeaten Group 1 winning juvenile for Mark Johnston before transferring to Saeed bin Suroor for a further three wins at the top level as a three-year-old.
From the time of his first runners in 2009 to 2016, Shamardal had notched 15 Group 1 winners including Classic winner Lope De Vega, Mukhadram and Casamento. It was in 2016 though, however, that Darley decided to restrict Shamardal’s book of mares due to an injury at stud and subsequently he covered just over 100 mares in that year, followed by around just 60 mares in the following three years, and presumably very few this year.
Due to these restrictions, Shamardal only had 28 two-year-old runners in 2019, and from this small sample emerged 12 winners including Pinatubo, Earthlight and Victor Ludorum.
Starting with the highest profile of the three, the European Champion two-year-old, highest rated juvenile in 25 years (yes, higher than Frankel), and dual Group 1 winner, Pinatubo.
Charlie Appleby’s charge has run six times, mostly over seven furlongs, and his wins include a nine-length defeat of the Ballydoyle duo Armory and Arizona in the National Stakes at the Curragh as well as a two-length victory in the Dewhurst Stakes from Arizona and Wichita at Newmarket.
Shamardal also won the Dewhurst, but Pinatubo bettered his father by being one second faster.
An official rating of 128 was awarded to Pinatubo at the end of the year (Frankel was 126), placing him 10 pounds in front of his closest pursuers – Earthlight and Kameko. His Timeform ratings of 134 after the National Stakes was also the highest given in 25 years.
Pinatubo is the third foal out of his stakes-winning dam Lava Flow. His grandam is also a Stakes winner, but the real magic is slightly further back in Pinatubo’s pedigree as his third dam is a full sister to none other than Rafha – the dam of Invincible Spirit and Kodiac. Gustav Klimt and Pride of Dubai also feature as relatives under his fourth dam.
Both Earthlight and Victor Ludorum are trained in France by Andre Fabre.
Also a dual Group 1 winner already, Earthlight graced the track and outdid his opposition on five occasions. His five starts have all been over six furlongs (bar his maiden which was five and a half) and his first four were all in France including his Prix Morny success over several smart performers including Raffle Prize and Arizona. He then culminated his year with a successful trip to Newmarket for the Middle Park Stakes.
Earthlight is the first foal for his Group 1 Fillies Mile placed dam Winters Moon, who is a half-sister to a pair of Group 1 winners Mandaean and Wavering. Not the only top performers in his family, under the fourth dam features the 1982 Epsom Derby winner Golden Fleece, who unfortunately never got to prove himself at stud before dying during cancer surgery.
Both Pinatubo and Earthlight were well on their way to their dual Group 1 victories by the time Victor Ludorum appeared on the track for the first time in September.
With two weeks in between each of his three starts, he joined them as Shamardal’s third Group 1 winning juvenile by October when taking the Prix Jean Luc Lagardere from Alson and Armory. Both of those continued on to be first and second in the two-horse Group 1 Criterium International three weeks later, so in theory Victor could have taken a second honours as well if he was tried. All of Victor Ludorum’s starts were over the further distance of a mile.
Victor Ludorum’s pedigree is littered with Group 1 performers including his half-sister Mary Tudor who placed in the Irish Oaks behind Sea of Class and Forever Together two years ago. What is interesting about Victor Ludorum though however, is that his own sire Shamardal not only appears as his father, but also features again further down his pedigree page as Vicor Ludorum is inbred 3x3 to his third dam Helen Street.
So to simplify, Shamardal’s grandam Helen Street, who won the Irish Oaks in 1985, is also the grandam of Victor Ludorum’s mother, Antiquities.
Helen Street produced the brilliant sire Street Cry, as well as the stakes winner Historian (who produced Antiquities, VL’s grandam) and also the Stakes-placed Helsinki, who is the dam of Shamardal.
Inbreeding is somewhat of a taboo topic, the word itself seeming wrong. While it is not something that is approached often or ever encouraged, due to the greater risk of doubling up on unwanted genes, there is occasionally a high-profile success story such as Victor Ludorum or Enable that raises the topic of inbreeding’s possibilities once more.
While these three colts arguably have enough credentials under their belts already to retire to stud, especially now that their esteemed father has passed, they will undoubtedly add some more successes to their tallies before joining their paternal half-brother Blue Point in their second careers to carry on Shamardal’s increasing influence.
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