Pedigree Pointers | Westover and the rise of Frankel

Westover’s beautiful demolition of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby this past weekend was not only spectacular in the visual sense of the word. His cruise to a seven-length winning margin may have marked the best in fifteen years, but he also marked a 30th homebred Classic winner and second Irish Derby success for Juddmonte, as well as a notable milestone for his sire Frankel.

Displays of sheer superiority in the pink and green silks is something that we have become accustomed to over the years, but each time a new flag-bearer announces themselves, the satisfaction grows and our imaginations flow.

We like things that make sense. And the circa 40 years of cultivation on both sides of Westover’s family most certainly make sense, but that doesn’t always mean it is easy, nor guaranteed to produce success, nor does it dull the magnitude of the accomplishment when it does emerge.

Let’s delve.

Westover’s family and his sire Frankel’s family were acquired by Juddmonte at roughly the same time.

The former began with a mare called Gangster of Love. James Delahooke, who was largely responsible for the setting up of Juddmonte in the early eighties, had bought her third foal Raft as a yearling at the Fasig Tipton sales for Prince Khalid in 1982 and when he went on to win a Group 2 at Deauville and place third in the Champion Stakes at Newmarket, Gangster of Love was soon procured.

Her first foal for Juddmonte went on to breed the multiple Group Two winner Missed Flight, but the next, Sky Love (by Nijinsky) developed the page we are viewing today.

Although twice a winner on the track herself, Sky Love flourished much more in her second career. She produced the Group 2 Prix de Malleret winner Bonash (by Rainbow Quest) who went on to breed two Group winners by Sadler’s Wells and Dansili; and then after visiting Middle Park Stakes winner Lycius in his first year at stud, delivered a filly by the name of Media Nox who won the Group 3 Prix du Bois over five furlongs at Chantilly for Andre Fabre and then the Group 2 Buena Vista Handicap over a mile at Santa Anita for Robert Frankel (whom of course the infamous sire of Westover was named after).

Media Nox hit the board immediately as a broodmare. Her first foal (by Danzig), like so many in those days at Juddmonte, began his days in Europe winning the Group 2 Prix Eugene Adam for Sir Henry Cecil before joining Robert Frankel’s yard in the States and managing a fourth place in a Grade 1 there.

Media Nox visited Storm Cat on her second covering and that mating would yield the first classic winner in this family for Juddmonte - Nebrasca Tornado - who won the both the Prix de Diane and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp under the guidance of Andre Fabre.

Her next produce of note and the most important to this particular tale was her fourth. Media Nox was sent to Prix Jacques le Marois winner Lear Fan in America and produced Mirabilis, dam of the latest Irish Derby winner Westover.

In 16 starts between France and the USA, Mirabilis won a listed race over 7 furlongs for Andre Fabre before finishing third in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret and then winning the Group 3 Distaff Turf Mile Stakes at Churchill Downs for Robert Frankel.

Now a Classic-producer just like her own dam, Mirabilis sadly died last year but provided Juddmonte with 11 foals, seven of whom are winners. The lightly raced Westover who was also an unlucky third in the Epsom version of the Classic, is a full brother to the tough and not-so-lightly-raced Monarchs Glen who has graced the racetrack on 40 individual occasions, winning on eight of those including the Group 3 Darley Stakes at Newmarket.

Mirabilis, as expected, had access to some of the best mates on the planet, but her two stakes winners are by Frankel, which leads us onto our next point – the rise, and rise, and rise of this conceivable heir to Galileo’s throne.

Similar to Westover’s fourth dam, Frankel’s third dam Rockfest was bought privately in 1983 as part of a bloodstock package from the John Hay Whitney Dispersal. And, while we are all well aware of his now enviable pedigree and unblemished race record which included ten Group 1 victories, despite his select books of mares, it was and is never a guarantee that similar heights could be achieved in the covering shed; even when your own sire, grandsire and damsire created records previously thought insurmountable.

While it seems a first-world problem at it’s finest, the downside to the fact that Frankel was a product of the renowned Galileo/Danehill cross, or in other words, by the world’s greatest sire and out of a mare by a sire that previously held that title, was that daughters or granddaughters of those stallions, (so essentially some of the best race-mares out there) could not be mated to Frankel without producing closer than 3x3 inbreeding.

While this could have been just one reasonable excuse had Frankel not reached expectations at stud, it does nothing but enhance his achievements now. Westover marked the 23rd individual Group/Grade 1 winner for his sire on Saturday, and his ninth Classic winner from just eight crops of racing age.

Those 23 top level winners have 17 different broodmare sires. Yes, seventeen.

So what does this mean, how does this compare to his sire and could Frankel ever reach levels that only Galileo has (just as we wondered if he could ever fill Sadlers Wells’ record-creating shoes)?

Well, although it must be said that Galileo began his stud career at 50,000 Irish Punts in 2002 compared to Frankel’s £125,000 in 2013, at the exact same stage in Galileo’s stud career, he had one less Group/Grade 1 winner than Frankel now has.

However, the most significant point to note here is that Galileo’s tally of 22 top level winners are from a total of 1001 starters, while Frankel’s tally of 23 comes from 598 total starters.

The stakes and group winning tallies for each sire paint a similarly striking picture for Frankel and while 23 top-flight winners seems a long way off Galileo’s active record of 95, it is still one more than his father had at this stage, from a 400 less runners.

If there is an heir to the throne, we are watching him ascend the steps right in front of our eyes.

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