Pedigree Insights: Lope De Vega's 2-Year-Olds

Although Storm Cat's superstar son Giant's Causeway spent only one season in Ireland, when he launched his stallion career at Coolmore at a fee of IR100,000gns, his efforts that year have left a substantial and hopefully long-lasting legacy in Europe. His impact was seen in three of last week's 2-year-old group winners. The link to Giant's Causeway was provided by Shamardal, who ranked alongside Footstepsinthesand as one of two Classic winners from that outstanding Irish crop, which produced a total of five Group 1 winners. In proving himself the champion European 2-year-old of 2004, Shamardal was largely responsible for Giant's Causeway beating Montjeu to the title of champion first-crop sire in 2004. Remarkably, Shamardal was to emulate Giant's Causeway by becoming the champion first-crop sire of 2009, and five years later it was the turn of his of one of his own first-crop sons, Lope de Vega, to continue the family tradition by taking the same title.

This wasn't the first time that Lope de Vega had emulated his sire, as he too had won both the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix du Jockey-Club.

It was these two–Shamardal and Lope de Vega–who supplied those 2-year-old group winners last week. While Shamardal could by no means be described as a specialist sire of 2-year-olds, he has sired winners of the G1 Cheveley Park S. and G1 Racing Post Trophy and last Friday he added another important juvenile event to his tally when his son Emaraaty Ana landed the G2 Gimcrack S. over six furlongs.

Bearing in mind that Shamardal won the Prix du Jockey-Club over an extended mile and a quarter and that Emaraaty Ana's dam Spirit of Dubai gained her wins at around a mile and a half, it was surely highly encouraging that the Rabbah Bloodstock-bred colt possesses enough speed to lead all the way in a Group 2 over six furlongs. The fact that he does makes me question whether he will match his parents' middle-distance exploits, but a mile should eventually suit him well.

Two days earlier it had been Lope de Vega's turn in the spotlight, as he was responsible for Phoenix of Spain, a 220,000gns yearling who quickened well to take the G3 Acomb S. Described by trainer Charlie Hills as “a big, heavy horse” Phoenix of Spain is another who can be expected to continue progressing.

The same applies to Antonia de Vega, who kept her unbeaten record intact last Saturday when she surged through to take the G3 Prestige S. at Goodwood. In the process she became the third stakes winner from Lope de Vega's 2-year-old crop, as Natalie's Joy had set the ball rolling last month when she won the Rose Bowl S. over six furlongs (in which she had Emaraaty Ana back in third place).

Antonia de Vega's group win rounded off a spectacular couple of weeks for the Ballylinch stallion's juveniles. On Aug. 19, at Saratoga, his 200,000-guinea daughter Newspaperofrecord made her debut in a maiden special weight over 1 1/16 miles on turf. A member of the family which has also done well this year with Latrobe and Classical Times, Newspaperofrecord strolled home well clear to earn 'TDN Rising Star' status.

The same accolade was granted two days later at Deauville, when Lone Peak, another Lope de Vega newcomer, was similarly impressive in a mile maiden. The George Strawbridge home-bred is the latest to advertise Lope de Vega's potential with Galileo's broodmare daughters.

The colt is the ninth winner from 17 starters bred this way and he has the potential to become the cross's fifth black-type winner. The four which have already attained that status are the French listed winners Sassella, Mojo Risin and Parviz and the French Group 3 winner Soustraction, who has been G1 placed. Of these four, only Sassella has a black-type-winning dam (as does Lone Peak). There are quite a few unraced 2-year-olds bred this way, along with 14 yearlings, so this potentially valuable nick is very much one to keep an eye on over the next couple of years.

A crystal ball was hardly needed to predict that 2018 was going to be a big year for Lope de Vega's 2-year-olds. For a start, his 2016 crop numbers 148 foals, whereas his four earlier crops contained 101, 78, 84 and 73. And it was sired at a fee of €40,000, whereas his first three crops had been sired at €15,000 and his fourth at €12,500.

Lope de Vega's achievement of becoming leading first-crop sire in 2014 is the simple explanation for this surge in his popularity. This first crop added to its achievements at three years and the high quality of his early runners was highlighted by John Boyce's insightful analysis, in which he compares second-crop stallions by the average Timeform rating of their 10 highest-rated performers. With an average of 115.4, Lope de Vega made it into the top 10 of the last 25 years, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Montjeu, Galileo, Dubawi, Shamardal, Sea The Stars and Frankel.

We had a reminder of the talent of his first crop in the race after Antonia de Vega's group win, with the 6-year-old Flaming Spear carrying 9st 10lb to victory in a £100,000 handicap. That first crop, numbering 101, contained at least 23 black-type earners, headed by the group winners Belardo (G1 Dewhurst S. and G1 Lockinge S.), The Right Man, Very Special, Hero Look, Burnt Sugar, Ride Like The Wind and Royal Razalma, plus seven listed winners. That's virtually 14% black-type winners.

One criticism I've heard levelled at Lope de Vega's progeny is that some of them aren't pretty, but the stallion himself would never be described as handsome. His head is distinctly plain, but this is a familial trait, as Shamardal doesn't have a classically handsome head and neither did Street Cry, a brother to Shamardal's dam. Judging by the photograph of Newspaperofrecord published in the TDN, this exciting filly has inherited Lope de Vega's plainish head (but more importantly an ample measure of his talent).

Of course, everyone prefers to see a horse with a handsome head, but a racehorse runs on its legs, not its head, and there are plenty of examples of high-class performers whose heads lack the classic definition which can make a Thoroughbred so beautiful. I remember one of Danehill's high-class Australian sons being described as having a head like a bucket, but the best example could be Workforce, winner of the Derby and Arc. He was so plain as a yearling that he was nicknamed Sefton, because he resembled the Household Cavalry horse which famously survived the Hyde Park bombing in 1982. Sefton was the product of a mating between an Irish Draught mare and a Thoroughbred stallion.

With Lope de Vega–and Shamardal–we seem to have examples of the proverb that handsome is as handsome does, meaning that actions count for far more than outward appeal. There certainly seems to be no problem in the sales ring. Lope de Vega's current crop of 2-year-olds, conceived at €40,000, averaged more than 140,000gns, with a top price of 600,000gns, and the signs are excellent for his 2018 yearlings, which were conceived at €45,000. They were very much in demand at Arqana earlier this month, with individuals selling for €900,000, €600,000 and €475,000.

One of the most distinctive aspects of Lope de Vega's pedigree is his 3 x 3 inbreeding to the champion 2-year-old Machiavellian. Breeders have tried adding a third line with some success. Burnt Sugar, a Group 3 2-year-old winner who had since won some of Britain's richest handicaps, is out of a mare by Titus Livius and is therefore inbred 4 x 4 x 3 to Machiavellian. Antonia de Vega also has a third line, as her second dam Macheera is a daughter of Machiavellian (and the Prix de Diane winner Caerlina). She also has four lines of Mr. Prospector in the first five generations.

It is worth adding that Antonia de Vega, Newspaperofrecord and the fast Australian Group 1 winner Santa Ana Lane are all out of granddaughters of Danehill, who also ranks as the broodmare sire of the Group 1 winner Belardo and Group 2 winner Very Special.