Group 1 Winner Inspiral To Miss The 1000 Guineas

Cheveley Park Stud's Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}), one of the leading fancies for the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 1, will miss the race, according to the owners' managing director Chris Richardson. The John and Thady Gosden trainee is a perfect four-for-four, with black-type victories in the Listed Star S. in June, the Sept. 9 G2 May Hill S. and the Oct. 8 G1 Fillies' Mile to end her season.

“John Gosden had an in-depth discussion with the boss, Mrs. Thompson, and following that, it was decided that, sadly, she would miss the 1000 Guineas,” Richardson said on Sunday.

“John Gosden feels she wasn't really ready for the race and when you receive that advice from a trainer such as John, you follow it and now we'll look to the [G1] Coronation S. at Royal Ascot [on June 17] as part of her programme.

“It is disappointing for all concerned, but we must heed their advice. Royal Ascot is a favoured meeting of the Thompsons and we've had success there previously, it's the start of the year and we've still got lots of opportunities going forward.”

Also out of the 1000 Guineas is Saeed Al Tayer's Group 2 heroine Zain Claudette (Ire) (No Nay Never). A winner at second asking, the chestnut ran out a narrow victress of the G3 Princess Margaret S. at Royal Ascot last June. Sent to York for her next outing in August, she stalked and pounced to win the G2 Lowther S. by a measured length, prior to an unplaced run in the wake of likely Guineas favourite Tenebrism (Caravaggio) in the G1 Cheveley Park S. at Newmarket.

“We've brought her back to training and she is very well, she had some very good races last year,” said trainer Ismail Mohammed. “She is not going to the Guineas, we've pulled her out. We will have so many options for her, so we will see where to go with her.

“It could be Royal Ascot, there are many races for her. I want to find at least one good race for her over seven furlongs before we go for a mile.”

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Champion Racehorse, Sire Pivotal Dead

Pivotal (GB) (Polar Falcon-Fearless Revival {GB}, by Cozzene), Cheveley Park Stud's homebred champion sprinter who went on to have a huge impact as a sire and broodmare sire, died age 28 peacefully in his paddock at Cheveley Park Stud on Friday morning. Pivotal had been pensioned at Cheveley Park since covering a very select book of mares earlier this year.

Chris Richardson, managing director of Cheveley Park Stud, said, “The story associated with the 'Mighty' Pivotal is truly extraordinary, considering he was the result of the very first covering his sire, Polar Falcon, was given. Thankfully, as a yearling, it was decided to retain him to race, rather than offer him for sale, as we did with the other yearling colts by Polar Falcon that year. Whilst in the hands of trainer Sir Mark Prescott, Pivotal truly put Cheveley Park Stud on the map, giving owners David and Patricia Thompson their first Group 1 winner in the stud's famous red, white and blue colours.

“Having covered a relatively small book of mares in his first year, his resulting progeny excelled and inspired at all levels, which they have continued to do throughout his career, both domestically and internationally. On the world stage, Pivotal has excelled as a sire, a sire of sires and as a broodmare sire, to the highest level and all of us at Cheveley Park Stud have been so blessed to have been part of his life for 28 years.”

Bred by David and Patricia Thompson out of another homebred, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained dual winner Fearless Revival, Pivotal joined the Sir Mark Prescott ranks in 1995 when, as detailed by Richardson, he was kept back from the yearling sales.

“Pivotal was a very interesting horse because he was big and awkward and clumsy as a yearling,” recalled Prescott in an interview with the TDN's Emma Berry last November. “He was the first covering of his sire and he was the first foal of his mother. And neither ever did as good again.”

Prescott recalled the first time he saw Pivotal at Cheveley Park Stud.

“I can see the field now actually, and there standing in the corner was Pivotal: wet, and bedraggled, and heavy,” he said. “He fell off the box when he came here but the first time we worked him, he absolutely flew. And it was a complete shock; normally you've got an idea.”

Pivotal broke his maiden at second asking in October of his 2-year-old campaign by 2 1/2 lengths going six furlongs at Newcastle. As referenced by Prescott, Pivotal would only once more go that far, when off the board behind Anabaa in the 1996 G1 July Cup, but that lone blip at three was bookended by victories in the G2 King's Stand S. and G1 Nunthorpe, enough to earn him champion sprinter honours.

“Sir Mark put him on the map,” said Richardson. “He broke the all-age track record at Folkestone and he gave the Thompsons their first Group 1 win in their Cheveley Park colours, which was obviously very special to have a homebred colt do that.”

Pivotal returned to his birthplace to take up stud duties in 1997, standing for £6,000. He would dip to £5,000 in years three through five but would never again stand for less than five figures following his first season with 3-year-olds. That first crop would come to number nine stakes winners and three Group 1 winners headed by Cheveley Park's Kyllachy (GB), who emulated his sire with a Nunthorpe win before joining him at stud, while Golden Apples (GB) won a trio of Grade Is in America. Another multiple Grade I-winning mare in America followed in the next crop in Megahertz (GB), and by the time that Cheveley Park-bred won the 2005 GI Yellow Ribbon S. for Bobby Frankel, Pivotal's fee had climbed to £65,000. That is because the likes of triple Group 1-winning sprinter Somnus (GB), G1 Sun Chariot and G1 Lockinge S. winner Peeress (GB) and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas scorer Saoire (GB) had continued to boost his stock.

Among those to follow shortly thereafter were the G1 Sun Chariot S., G1 Nassau S. and G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Halfway To Heaven (Ire); G1 Pretty Polly S. and G1 Prix Jean Romanet victress Izzi Top (GB); G1 Dubai World Cup winner African Story (GB); dual Oaks scorer Sariska (GB); G1 Prix Jacques le Marois and G1 Coronation S. winner Immortal Verse (GB); G1 Champion S. and G1 Lockinge S. scorer Farhh (GB); G1 Deutsches Derby winner Buzzword (GB); G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere scorer Siyouni (Fr), his heir apparent at stud; and G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains winner Falco (GB).

If there is one trend among the aforementioned Group 1 stars, it is that there aren't many: the Pivotals soon proved their ability to win the best races in any country, on any surface and at nearly any trip, and to maintain their ability over many seasons. This is perhaps best exemplified by his 2014 crop, his last large crop, which included two of his best-ever runners in Addeybb (Ire)-the winner of the three Group 1s in Australia and Ascot's G1 Champion S. over the past two seasons at ages six and seven–and Avilius (GB), who won three Group 1s Down Under ranging from a mile to a mile and a half in 2019 at the age of five. Pivotal's 2014 crop also included Glen Shiel (GB), winner of the G1 British Champions Sprint S. last year at age six, and runner-up in the same race this year.

Pivotal, who stood for as much as £85,000, has sired 157 stakes winners, 89 of those group winners and 32 Group 1 winners. He has sired stakes winners at a rate of 11% of his starters, and those have come in 12 different countries. Beginning with his 2015 crop, Pivotal began covering greatly reduced numbers, but prior to that he averaged 8.5 stakes winners per crop. Pivotal was eight times the leading British-based sire by individual winners in a calendar year, and was twice the leading British-based sire by earnings.

It didn't take long, either, for Pivotal to establish himself as an extraordinary force as a broodmare sire, with no greater example than the aforementioned Halfway To Heaven, whose three stakes winners include the prolific Group 1-winning daughters of Galileo (Ire), Rhododendron (Ire) and Magical (Ire). Another blue hen daughter of Pivotal among the Coolmore broodmare ranks is Beauty Is Truth (Ire), who is responsible for the Group 1 winners Hydrangea (Ire), Hermosa (Ire) and The United States, all by Galileo.

Pivotal is likewise the broodmare sire of Love (Ire) and Cracksman (GB), both standouts of their generations, as well as American turf champion Main Sequence, standout sprinter and young sire Advertise (GB), triple G1 Prix de la Foret victress One Master (GB), G1 Commonwealth Cup winner and young sire Golden Horde (GB) and French Classic winners Olmedo (Fr) and Precieuse (Ire) among many others. Pivotal's daughters have produced 26 Group 1 winners, the most recent of those, appropriately, being Immortal Verse's 2021 G1 Cheveley Park S. winner Tenebrism (Caravaggio). Pivotal was champion European broodmare sire in 2017 and 2019, and his daughters have supplied 127 stakes winners, 74 of those group winners.

Seven of Pivotal's sons have sired Group 1 winners, with the most prolific of those being the Aga Khan's French-based Siyouni, whose six Group 1 winners include the generational leaders St Mark's Basilica (Fr), Sottsass (Fr), Laurens (Fr) and Ervedya (Fr). With the first two now in their formative years in the Coolmore stallion barn, Pivotal's sireline looks short odds to live on.

“He has had a fantastic life, but it is a sad day,” Richardson said. “It is hard for everybody here. The stallion handler, John Rice, has looked after him for all these years, day and night, and has slept next door to him. So it is very hard for everybody here. It is like seeing somebody for 20 years every day–they become really close friends.”

The Pivotal story is not yet finished being written, either.

“Of his last crop of foals, we have two fillies and a colt, and from the last crop of 30 mares he covered in 2020, he got 15 in foal,” Richardson said. “There are around 10 foals born this year, that we will look forward to seeing perform. We are fortunate that around 75% of our broodmare band has a Pivotal influence.”

 

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Sacred Enters Winter Quarters

Connections of Sacred (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) have decided against a tilt at the Breeders' Cup for the 3-year-old filly, and she has headed into winter quarters at Cheveley Park Stud ahead of a planned 4-year-old campaign.

Sacred, second in a trio of key juvenile events in 2020 for trainer William Haggas in the G2 Queen Mary S., G2 Lowther S. and G2 Flying Childers S., won the G3 Nell Gwyn S. and the G2 Hungerford S. this season over seven furlongs. On her only other run, she was seventh in the G1 1000 Guineas.

Cheveley Park Stud Managing Director Chris Richardson said, “We've decided not to go. We would have got our ground, but she's a very special filly, and Mrs Thompson took the view she's staying in training next year, and we didn't want to travel her. If all is well, and she's still in competitive heart, we will consider it as a 4-year-old. She's back here [at Cheveley Park Stud] for her holidays. Let's hope she develops physically and we can stretch her to a mile, which would be good. We'll see how we get on. The programme is a little easier for those fillies.”

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Fillies To The Fore On Opening Day Of Tattersalls October Book 1

Fillies by No Nay Never and Dubawi headlined the opening day of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale when selling for 825,000 guineas and 800,000 guineas respectively. The opening session saw turnover of 25,201,000 guineas, at an average of 210,008 guineas and a median of 152,500 guineas.

German pinhooker Philipp Stauffenberg enjoyed his best ever return in a sale ring when the No Nay Never sister to the Group 2 Coventry Stakes winner and G1 Dewhurst Stakes second Arizona was knocked down for 825,000 guineas to Cheveley Park Stud's Chris Richardson. The daughter of the English Channel mare Lady Ederle is also a sister to the Grade 2 winner Nay Lady Nay and was secured by Richardson after he saw off Juddmonte Farms' Simon Mockridge. She was a €260,000 foal purchase.

Richardson was stood alongside Patricia Thompson, the owner of Cheveley Park, and her son Richard.
“She was the one we really wanted,” said Mrs Thompson. “She is a beautiful filly and she was first on the short list. We were looking for a filly for the broodmare band, we will get her broken in and make some plans.”
The Stephen Sullivan-bred bay filly was purchased by Philipp Stauffenberg as a foal for €260,000 and hails from the family of Champions Dabirsim and Sea of Class. Explaining his reasoning behind his purchase last autumn he commented;

“I bought her because she is an outcross and would be attractive for the big farms, and that was exactly what the case was. She was a top horse for every breeder, it didn't matter who. But she still needed to be a good physical, otherwise I wouldn't have bought her.

“The racecourse is the primary goal, today is just one step. Hopefully she will prove that she is worth what Cheveley Park have spent. It is wonderful that Mrs Thompson goes on and spends something like that. This is not a filly in training Mrs Thompson will have to wait for her, it is a future investment and it is very encouraging for the industry.”

He added: “All the sales companies wanted to have her, but she has done so well I think she deserved to be in the top sale, this is the top sale.”

Juddmonte Farms' Simon Mockridge didn't have to wait long after the missing out on the top lot of the day, striking to secure the Dubawi filly out of the Group 2 winning Monsun mare Logina for 800,000 guineas. Newsells Park Stud consigned the filly on behalf of breeder Al Shahania Stud.

“We were strong on the No Nay Never filly, but not strong enough,” said Simon Mockridge. “This is a very, very nice filly, by Dubawi who for us is a great outcross for the longer term for stallions such as Kingman and Frankel. But she is also a great free moving filly, who showed very well.”

Of plans for Juddmonte, Mockridge continued: “The positive news is that Prince Khalid's family want to continue to develop Juddmonte and we need to buy some outcross fillies, and that is the reason why we are here. The No Nay Never and this Dubawi filly fitted the bill perfectly.

“It has been a tough year, a very difficult year losing Prince Khalid, but the family is committed and is showing that it is committed to the future. The Prince left us with a great legacy and it is there for us to drive forward. It is fortunate in that we have a very strong stallion base, we are very fortunate to have Frankel and Kingman. That is number one, it keeps us going, and we just need to refresh a little bit.

“Fillies like these are very rare and very difficult to buy, you have to be competitive, and I think we have been that.”

Julian Dollar of Newsells said: “We have five lovely horses for the draft from Al Shahania Stud. They have been with us for ten weeks, we have just put a bit of polish on them. They came looking fantastic, produced by a good team. They deserve all the credit, they are very good horsemen.”

Bertrand Le Metayer, bloodstock advisor for Al Shahania who was at Tattersalls with stud manager Arnault Leraitre, said: “The team on the farm in France has done a great job, it is an honour to get such a result with a filly. She has been brilliant from the word go – she goes to sleep, gets up, goes to sleep. She has a great mind and she showed it today. That is what caught the buyers' eyes.

“We thought she was our best yearling and deserved the best sale.”

The top priced colt on the opening day of Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale was the Lope de Vega colt out of the Group 1 Premio Lydia Tesio winner God Given, who was knocked down to Godolphin's Anthony Stroud for 725,000 guineas.

The colt, who was consigned by the Player family's Whatton Manor Stud on behalf of Andrew Stone's St Albans Bloodstock, is out of a half-sister to the multiple Group 1 winner Postponed and is a great grandson of the Champion race filly Bianca Nera.

“He moved extremely well, he is very light on his feet and he behaved very well here,” said Stroud. “He is out of a very good mare from the family of Postponed, whom we know well, and Lope De Vega we like very much. We think he is a very nice horse.”

Ed Player of Whatton Manor said: “We are delighted to have horses nice enough to come to Book 1, we have always aspired to have horses for Book 1.

“Andrew Stone of St Albans has entrusted us with God Given, we had Bianca Nera at the farm a long time ago and it has come full circle. We are absolutely delighted with the price, he is such a good walking horse, he walks for fun and he has not put a foot wrong here.”

“God Given is at the farm and she has a Dubawi colt foal and she is back in-foal to Siyouni. She is a beautiful mare, we are lucky to have her. The team has done an amazing job prepping the horse so well and shown him so well here,” added Player.

Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale continues at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

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