August 19th, 2008

This week Andrew Reichard looks at the pedigree of Pendragon.

Pendragon was born with a lot to live up to, His sire Elnadim is a Gr1 winning sprinter by Danzig from Elle Seule, a Gr2 winner and Gr1 producer, being a daughter of wonder mare Fall Aspen, which makes Elnadim a three parts brother to successful sire Bianconi. 

Pendragon’s dam Alacrity was champion 3YO filly of NZ. This daughter of Sir Tristram’s great sire son Grosvenor won the NZ Oaks Gr1, Sir Tristram Fillies Classic Gr2 and other good races, living up to her pedigree, descending as a bonus from a daughter of a half-sister to champion sire Marscay. The attractively marked colt she produced to Elnadim was knocked down to Duncan Ramage (DGR Thoroughbred Services) at the 2004 NZ Bloodstock Premier Sale for the solid price of $180,000 on behalf of his principal client Dato Tan Chin Nam whose horses race in the familiar black and white checks with yellow sleeves and cap, prepared by master trainer Bart Cummings.

So far, our hero’s life is going smoothly, good pedigree, good yearling, going to leading trainer. Good name needed. Pendragon means “head dragon” or “leader” so what could be more suitable for the strapping youngster. Given time to mature, he made his debut as a late 2YO in the listed Illawarra Classic and distinguished himself with a fine second over the 1200m. Showing high class speed as a late 2YO and early 3YO Pendragon then ran slashing seconds to Gr1 winners Racing to Win and Paratroopers over 1200m and 1300m respectively before the narrowest of thirds to this same distinguished pair in the listed Golden Rose over 1400m. 

Warming to the task Pendragon then won the Gloaming S Gr3 (1800m) ran second to Hotel Grand in the Spring Champion S Gr1 (2000m), starting as well backed favourite, won the Norman Robinson S Gr3 (2000m) at Moonee Valley defeating subsequent AJC Derby winner Headturner, before a close fourth to Benicio, Duelled and Headturner in the Gr1 Victoria Derby. Such was his reputation that he started favourite, and in the event the 2500m may have been just a shade past his best distance range, barrier 15 having been no help either.

Sadly the horse suffered a soft tissue injury in this race, which necessitated a long break from the track. Despite being given over a year off by the ever patient Bart Cummings, Pendragon suffered a reoccurrence of the injury in his first start back but was still able to finish a close fifth in the Gr2 Expressway S over 1200m in 1.09.96 finishing ahead of a noted speedster such as Impaler (11 wins, $835,000). He had never failed to collect prizemoney in his all-too-brief career. That was his last appearance on the racetrack and the biggest setback yet in Pendragon’s seemingly charmed journey through this world.

Although many of the stars he mixed with at Gr1 level were geldings, Pendragon had his manhood to fall back on, a career at stud beckoned. His owner, who has enjoyed such success on the Australian turf with notables like Think Big (successive Melbourne Cups) and the gifted Saintly (Cox Plate/Melbourne Cup double in the same year) was firmly of the opinion that Pendragon was one of the most talented thoroughbreds he had raced, so was determined to give him his chance in the breeding barn. Having purchased a beautiful piece of country at Burradoo, just outside Bowral, from Dr Jack Woolridge and renamed it Think Big Stud in honour of his champion, the time was right to retire Pendragon to his new calling.

The born leader had all the right credentials, but with so many high class stallions now available in Australia, he was going to have to do it the hard way. As so often happens in the story of a great leader, fate intervened on his behalf in the form of Equine Influenza (EI). When the dreaded disease struck a the beginning of the 2007 breeding season, Dato Tan Chin Nam had several of his prized broodmares agisting at Burradoo, many of them slated for a move to Victoria to visit God’s Own, a Gr1 winning son of Redoute’s Choice also owned by Dato, and a horse standing for $33,000. So, no mare movement , and lo and behold several lovely mares are now set to join the first book of Pendragon who stood for $9,900.

There were thirty seven mares in Pendragon’s first book, not a large number by today’s standards, but there is some real quality among them. To start with no less than three dams of Group One winners visited him, not the sort of thing that normally happens to a stallion in this fee range.

The trio of Gr1 producers were: Fantastique, dam of Epsom winner Final Fantasy; Stars Above, dam of Doncaster winner Patezza and Success Tale, dam of Caulfield Guineas winner Wonderful World who was also trained by Bart Cummings.

Pendragon’s book also includes two half-sisters to multiple Gr1 winner Danendri, daughters of Inaflury and Danarani, four daughters of champion sire Zabeel two daughters of sire sensation Redoute’s Choice, as well as daughters of Danehill, Encosta de Lago, Anabaa and Rainbow Quest. There are also close relations to Super Impose, Magnus, Flitter, Allez Suez, Sky Heights, Paint, The Heavyweight, Dayana, Sir Dapper, November Rain, Royal Regatta and to put the icing on the cake a half-sister to recent Dubai Sheema Classic Gr1 winner Sun Classique.

Many of these mares are booked to return in 2008, with Sir Patrick Hogan including a Zabeel mare, who is a half-sister to the dam of star juvenile Hips Don’t Lie among the early bookings.

Dato Tan Chin Nam, who raced the horse in partnership with his wife, is so committed to the handsome entire that he is prepared to make a special offer to breeders, and with a little luck you read it here first. 

Anyone who breeds a city winner or a stakes winner by Pendragon this season while the subject horse is a 2YO, 3YO or 4YO, will have the service fee they paid to Pendragon fully refunded or can claim a free return to the stallion. Including 4YOs in the offer is sure to make it attractive to owner/breeders who generally like to give their stock a little more time to mature than commercial sellers.

So if you breed to Pendragon this season and the resulting offspring wins a metro race or a stakes race as a 2YO, 3YO or 4YO, you’ll get a full refund of the fee paid (or free return). 

Duncan Ramage, who purchased Pendragon as a yearling and now manages his career at stud is particularly enthusiastic about his charge.

“Pendragon was always a bit special and rather unlucky not to win a Group One. He looks the part and stands at a much lower fee than if he’d had a little good fortune and actually won his Group One. Dato, Bart and a select group of his friends and clients are positive about his future, so have sent him some very tidy mares for a horse in his fee range.

In fact I’d be surprised if any other stallion standing under ten thousand dollars can boast three dams of Gr1 winners and four daughters of Zabeel in his book. As an additional incentive we’ve made the refund offer, and I’m hoping it will attract a few mares, nice mares. I always try to get good value for my clients and customers, and this offer, to such a good horse as Pendragon, is one I’m pleased to be able to make to breeders”.

It is worth noting that the mighty Star Kingdom never served 50 mares in any single season, so although times have changed, if a stallion is going to make the grade, then a decent book of around forty mares is nothing to be sneezed at. Especially when a fair number of those will end up in the stables of a master trainer such as J B Cummings. The born leader may yet rise up out of the ranks to fulfil his destiny. 

September 23rd, 2007

Due to the advent of the EI outbreak, first season sire Pendragon, has been relocated from Victoria back to owner Dato' Tan Chin Nam's Think Big Stud in the Southern Highlands where he was in June. 

He will service the resident mares on the farm that are unable to visit the horse in Victoria as a result of EI. 

Think Big Stud wish to thank both Racing NSW and the DPI whose assistance and approval was needed for the move. 

Pendragon's book will include some well credentialed mares including: Success Tale - Dam of Wonderful World; Authoress - French stakes placed Singspiel mare; Cavita - Cadeaux Genereux from Aga family inc Group I Derby winner Kahasi Cleobelle - Half-sister to Super Impose; Freja - Danehill full sister to Diamond Hill out of Royal Tiara; Garryurra - Daylami half-sister to Tropical Star out of Champion 3yo Tropical; Geeta - Generous 1/2 sister to Making Waves; Golden Zen – out SW Embraceable You; Janella - full sister to Champion 2yo Lend A Hand; Leash - Redoutes Choice half-sister to SAF Horse of The Year 2007 Sun Classique; La Regale - Zabeel three-quarter-sister-in-blood to Sky Heights; Laylia - multiple winning Redoutes Choice filly; Mayberry - daughter of Inaflury; Mencik - Fu Peg half-sister to Akhenaton; Resonance - daughter of Danarich; Roulette Wheel - by Spinning World 1/2 sister to Thunderosa, 2nd dam QTC Oaks Gr1; Selva - 2nd dam dam of Desert Prince Gr1; Stars Above - dam of Doncaster winner Patezza Gr1; Stormy Sac - Anabaa 1/2 sister to Danendri Gr1 (dam of Zingam & Banc de Fortune); Utah Red - by Red Ransom from the close family of Seattle Slew, US Horse of Year Zahani - by Zabeel from Danarani Gr1; Zazabelle - Melbourne Cup Gr1 & VRC Oaks Gr1 placed; Zona - by Zabeel from Danendri Gr1.

September 16th, 2007

STALLIONS continues our series of profiles on horses beginning stud duties this spring.

Among them is Pendragon, a son of Danzig's champion English sprinter Elnadim, winner of the Group I July Cup.

Pendragon was foaled in New Zealand in 2002 and subsequently purchased as a yearling by Duncan Ramage's DGR Thoroughbred Services for $180,000 at the 2004 New Zealand Bloodstock Premier sale. He was trained by Bart Cummings for his long-standing and distinguished friend and client Dato Tan Chin Nam and Datine Tan Wor Lin.

Pendragon raced nine times but showed enough to suggest he could have challenged for the title of Australia's best three year-old if his fortunes had been more favourable.
He ran six times at three in 2005-06 including appearances in five stakes events, two of them at the elite level. His efforts included two wins, the first of them a two-length success in the Group 3 Gloaming Stakes over 1800m at Rosehill Gardens. A review of the Gloaming said Pendragon had lived up to his boom, and appearances, by sitting deep throughout, then trouncing inferior rivals.
"Not many gallopers make group 3 semi-classics their first win," continued the report.

A month later in Victoria, Pendragon defeated subsequent Australian Derby winner Headturner in the Group 3 Norman Robinson at Caulfield. In between those two races, the son of Elnadim was an impressive second at Randwick in the Group I Spring Champion Stakes (2000m).

In another fine performance during the spring, his second last career start, he added to his stature as a big race prospect with a fourth behind Benicio, Duelled and Headturner in the Group I VRC Derby (2500m).
Pendragon showed good speed in finishing second in his only two outings as a juvenile, one of them was in the Listed Illawarra Classic at Kembla Grange, beaten three-quarters-of-a-length by Racing to Win.
His first two starts in his classic year were a close second to Paratroopers and then two weeks later he was one-and-a-half lengths behind Racing to Win in the Golden Rose at Rosehill.  Pendragon is a grandson of one of the greatest modern speed influences, Danzig. Now a dominant force in Australia through sons of his greatest sire Danehill, Danzig is also the sire of Anabaa, Green Desert and Chief's Crown.  Pendragon's dam Alacrity (by Grosvenor) was New Zealand's champion 3YO filly with wins in the Group I New Zealand Oaks, the Group 2 Sir Tristram Fillies Classic and the Group 3 Royal Stakes. She has gone on to have three foals and all have won including Shrogginet (5 wins and more than $130,000) and Butterfield (2 wins and more than $200,000 in Hong Kong).

Alacrity is from the moderately performed Daybreak Express (by Duke Ellington) a half-sister to the Group 3 winner Top Avenger (by Kaoru Star) and the listed winner, Deal (by Yeats) who in turn is the dam of the Hong Kong Group I victor, Winning Partners (by Take Your Partner), Moonah Brook (by Kingdom Bay) winner of the Group Tasmanian Derby and the Listed winner, Prenuptial (by Take Your Partner).

Pendragon stands his debut season at Hollylodge Thoroughbreds in Victoria and his fee is listed as $8,800.00 (inc gst).