Mishriff Takes Up The Mantle at Sumbe

In the stallion yard at Sumbe's Haras de Montfort, the reputation of the late Le Havre (Ire) casts a long, figurative shadow. He was of course not the only stallion on the roster, but he was the first, back in the days when the farm was launched under its original guise of Haras de la Cauviniere, and he became one of France's most important stallions, given plenty of respect from breeders father afield in Europe and Japan.

Le Havre is hard to replace, but in the season after his death, Sumbe could hardly have a more alluring new arrival than Prince AA Faisal's Mishriff (Ire). Like Le Havre, he won the Prix du Jockey Club, a race with a tall reputation when one considers the winners who progressed successfully to the stallion ranks: think Darshaan (GB), Bering (GB), Peintre Celebre, Hernando (Fr), Montjeu (Ire), Shamardal, Lope De Vega (Ire), and New Bay (GB), with Study Of Man (Ire), Sottsass (Fr) and St Mark's Basilica (Fr) to follow.

 

 

Mishriff's immediate male line is formed of three different Guineas winners in three countries: Make Believe (GB), Makfi (GB) and Dubawi (Ire), and this is surely the first time that the latter, the newly crowned champion sire in Britain and Ireland, features as the great grandsire of a stallion. Underneath, the lineage of Sumbe's treble Group 1 winner is no less impressive. With the great Rafha (GB) (Riverman) as his third dam, this is a family which includes two stalwarts of the Irish scene, the half-brothers Invincible Spirit (Ire) and Kodiac (GB). It is their half-sister, the G3 Princess Royal S. winner Acts Of Grace (Bahri) who is Mishriff's grand-dam, and his mother is the winning Raven's Pass mare Contradict (GB), who has already produced three black-type horses, including Listed winner Orbaan (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and G3 Craven S. runner-up Momkin (Ire) (Bated Breath {GB}).

Prince Faisal, who has carefully cultivated this family over generations, also raced Mishriff's sire Make Believe, a 180,000gns purchase as a foal from breeder Simon Hope of Aston Mullins Stud. His support of that Ballylinch Stud resident with a member of his signature family has resulted in Make Believe's best offspring to date, and the prince will surely put his breeding clout behind Mishriff, too, along with Sumbe's Nurlan Bizakov, who has a significant broodmare band of his own spread across his studs, which include Haras du Mezeray and Hesmonds Stud in England. 

“Mishriff was a one-of-a-kind horse,” says Sumbe's Mathieu Le Forestier. “He won a [French] Derby and there are only a handful of Derby winners each year, but even fewer go on to become superstars and be consistent and repeat their form in the long run, which he did.”

And that really gets right to the crux of the matter. Mishriff will be six by the time he covers his first mare. In his 21 starts he won seven times. Just three of those appearances were made in his juvenile season, in the manner in which his trainer John Gosden often introduces his Classic prospects, and he won his maiden in November at Nottingham by ten lengths. His Saudi ownership meant that he had a slightly less orthodox Classic preparation than would ordinarily be the case for a Newmarket-based three-year-old. In February of 2020 he was flown to Riyadh for the inaugural Saudi Cup meeting and finished second in the Saudi Derby. 

We all know what happened next. With the Covid pandemic wreaking havoc on the early days of the European Flat season, Mishriff made a delayed reappearance back at his home course in early June, winning the Listed Newmarket S., setting him up perfectly for his success in the Prix du Jockey Club, which was run in early July. A second French raid that summer saw him add the G2 Prix Guillaume d'Ornano to his record. More was to come.

“His breakthrough was when he was four,” says Le Forestier. “He went on a winning streak starting in February in the Saudi Cup on the dirt over nine furlongs. And he won three weeks later in Dubai, over 12 furlongs on the turf [in the Sheema Classic]. And after the stint in the Middle East, he came back to win the Juddmonte International in the summer by six lengths, which was a stunning performance, and it was very important to be able to win a Group 1 on British soil.”

That season also included being runner-up to Adayar (Ire) in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. after a rather over-exuberant performance in the Eclipse, in which he was third of four on ground he perhaps didn't appreciate. However, he came close to winning that same contest this season when beaten only a neck by Vadeni (Fr) having been hampered in his run. He couldn't add to his tally of wins in his final season of training, but in six Group 1 starts this summer and autumn he was only out of the first four once, closing out his career with a fourth in the Breeders' Cup Turf.

Le Forestier continues, “Mishriff arrived soon after the Breeders' Cup and he's settled in well. He's a very nice, quiet horse, a little bit manly in the yard.

“Of course, we will send him a number of mares ourselves, and Prince Faisal will as well. So he'll have good support from his owners.”

Mishriff joins a young roster at Sumbe. Recorder (GB), a son of the Galileo bred and owned by the late Queen Elizabeth II stands alongside De Treville (GB), the Oasis Dream (GB) half-brother to Too Darn Hot (GB), whose first-crop runners in 2022 included the TDN Rising Star Gain It (Fr). The line-up is completed by G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde (Ire), who will have his first yearlings at the sale in 2023. 

Though Le Havre was lost to a tumour in March, his influence will be felt for some time to come. At the Tattersalls December Mares Sale his Group 3-winning daughter Ville De Grace (GB) sold for 2,000,000gns to Lordship Stud, while later that same week at Arqana, a Le Havre weanling half-sister to the dual Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Treve was sold to Juddmonte. With the Yoshida family also having bought Le Havre's first two Classic winners, Avenir Certain (Fr) and La Cressonniere (Fr), his legacy as a broodmare sire is gaining momentum internationally, while one of his sons, Motamarris (Fr), stood his first season at Haras du Mazet this year.

“Losing Le Havre at age 16 was a big loss. It was not expected so soon,” says Le Forestier. “It's not easy to find a replacement for such a horse, so they've been looking carefully, making bids here and there, trying to find the right one. And eventually they made a decision on Mishriff and we are very thankful that we could reach this agreement so that Mishriff could come to France.”

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A Golden Opportunity At Sumbe

Sumbe-under its previous guises as Haras de la Cauviniere and Haras de Montfort et Preaux and still today under the guidance of new owner Nurlan Bizakov-has made a concerted effort to upgrade the level of stallions standing of France. It has done so with success, too; as part of its fruitful relationship with Gerard Augustin-Normand, the Cauviniere principals retained the 2009 G1 Prix du Jockey Club winner Le Havre (Ire) to stand in France, and the son of Noverre rose through the ranks to become one of the most successful domestic sires ever, climbing to a career-high fee of €60,000 and leaving behind 50 stakes winners and five Group 1 winners and counting.

Shortly after changing its name to Montfort et Preaux, the stud added Recorder (Ire), The Queen's homebred G3 Acomb S. winner by Galileo (Ire) who was well supported by breeders and, with eight first-crop winners this year, sits behind only Zarak (Fr) on the French first-season sires' table.

Last year, Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}) became the first stallion recruited to the stud since it was purchased by Bizakov and renamed Sumbe in homage to his hometown in Kazakhstan. The G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde represents a unique opportunity for French breeders, he being one of very few representatives of the red-hot Acclamation sireline in the country, and its only Group 1 winner.

Bred by CN Farm, Golden Horde was picked up by trainer Clive Cox for £65,000 at the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale of 2018. He made his debut in mid-May for owner Al Mohamediya Racing and broke his maiden at second asking two weeks later when making all to win a Windsor maiden by 4 1/2 lengths. Two lengths from the winner Arizona (Ire) (No Nay Never) when fifth in the G2 Coventry S., Golden Horde won the G2 Richmond S.-just like Acclamation's ascendant sire son Mehmas (Ire)-over Threat (GB) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), who would go on to add the G2 Gimcrack S. and G2 Champagne S. in his next two starts. Golden Horde, meanwhile, stepped up to Group 1 company finishing third behind Earthlight (Ire) (Shamardal) in the G1 Prix Morny before running that rival to a neck when second in the G1 Middle Park S.

Golden Horde returned to Royal Ascot for a belated 3-year-old debut in the G1 Commonwealth Cup, and shook off the cobwebs in decisive fashion when racing prominently and pulling 1 1/2 lengths clear in the closing stages for a first top-level win. Facing older horses for the final three starts of his career, Golden Horde made a good account of himself on each occasion, beaten 1 1/2 lengths when third in the G1 July Cup, fifth in the G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and third in the G1 Sprint Cup S. Golden Horde proved both consistent and versatile, having been Group 1-placed over both good and soft ground.

“He was very consistent, very tough, and I loved his way of racing-first out, running hard all the way and very, very tough and genuine,” said Sumbe's Mathieu Alex. “It's a great pleasure to have him here too, he is very well behaved and has a great mind, and we have a lot of faith in him.”

Golden Horde's pedigree has continued to go from strength to strength since his purchase as a yearling. His dam, the Pivotal (GB) mare Entreat (GB), was sold by her breeder Cheveley Park Stud for 14,000gns at Tattersalls July in 2016 carrying Golden Horde. A month after Golden Horde became a pattern-race winner, his elder sister Exhort (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) also scored at listed level. Line Of Departure (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), Entreat's 3-year-old of 2021, won the Listed Cathedral S. in June, and was ultimately gelded after tall assignments in the July Cup and G2 Hungerford S. Entreat has a 2-year-old filly by Zoffany (Ire) named Heart To Heart (GB) who was a 580,000gns Tattersalls October purchase last year by MV Magnier and won one of nine starts this year, and a filly foal by Zoustar (Aus) who was bought back for 240,000gns at the same sale. Golden Horde traces back to a highly productive American family: his third dam is Imagining (Northfields), best known as the dam of the champion and Group 1 producer Serena's Song (Rahy), whose legacy includes G1 Coronation S. winners Sophisticat and Rizeena (Ire), Jim Bolger's useful sire Vocalised, dual Grade I winner and Grade I sire Honor Code and G1 Prix d'Ispahan victor Zabeel Prince (Ire).

The recent death of Golden Horde's broodmare sire Pivotal may mean that his genes are more highly sought after than ever, especially considering Pivotal's position in the pedigree of French champion sire Siyouni as well as exciting young stallions like St Mark's Basilica (Fr), Sottsass (Fr), Cracksman (GB) and Advertise (GB).

“Golden Horde's sireline is very proven-Acclamation, Dark Angel, and his dam Entreat is by Pivotal and is the dam of six winners including three stakes winners, and it is the family of American champion Serena's Song and Sophisticat,” Alex said.

Breeders can be encouraged, too, by the fact that Sumbe threw the strength of its broodmare band behind Golden Horde, who Alex describes as “a very good-looking horse,” in his first season at stud.

“He's very masculine and has a lot of strength, and he's a great mover,” Alex said. “We supported him heavily on the farm sending 20 very good mares–stakes performers and dams of stakes performers. He's been very well received in France, and across Europe.”

After covering his first book in 2021 for a fee of €10,000, Golden Horde will be available for €8,000 next year.

“I think Golden Horde should be a very commercial sire because he was a very talented 2-year-old who brings a lot of precocity, but also trained on and won a Group 1 race at Royal Ascot as a 3-year-old,” Alex said. “He's a fast horse, a very good-looking horse with a great pedigree, so fingers crossed-he has a lot of things going for him.”

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Le Havre Remains At €40,000 As Sumbe Announce Fees

Nurlan's Bizakov's Sumbe operation has announced its stallion fees for 2022, with flagship sire Le Havre (Ire) remaining at €40,000 and Golden Horde (Ire), who covered his first book of mares this year, being reduced to €8,000 from €10,000.

“Le Havre, the sire of 45 stakes winners, had another stellar year in 2021 and we feel very fortunate to stand such a high-class stallion,” said Sumbe's Mathieu Alex, who indicated that Bizakov has supported Golden Horde, a Group 1-winning son of Lethal Force (Ire), with 20 of his best mares.

He added, “Next year looks particularly exciting with the first foals of Golden Horde arriving. We have a lot of faith in this high-class athlete, who was a Group 1 winner at Royal Ascot and a Group winner at two. Golden Horde is a beautiful horse and breeders love him when they see him. We have supported him with very good mares and will continue to do so. We really appreciate all the support and thank the breeders for their commitment.”

The Normandy-based Sumbe roster also includes Her Majesty the Queen's Recorder (GB), a group-winning son of Galileo (Ire), and the well-bred Treville (GB), an Oasis Dream (GB) half-brother to champion juvenile Too Darn Hot (GB) out of the stellar racemare Dar Re Mi (GB). Recorder will stand at €4,000, while De Treville, who has joined Sumbe since Bizakov's purchase of Haras du Mezeray in March, is priced at €2,500.

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A Royal Line Thriving

Near the entrance to The Royal Studs at Sandringham is a magnificent bronze commemorating the Prince of Wales's homebred Persimmon (GB) (St Simon {GB}), whose racing record highlights the fact that things were done a little differently back in the 1890s. Very differently, in fact.

The Coventry S. winner of 1895 went on to win the Derby and the St Leger and, kept in training, he returned to Royal Ascot to win the Gold Cup, which had been his principal 4-year-old target.

Exactly a century later, the horse who was prophetically named to triumph at the meeting, Royal Applause (GB) (Waajib {Ire}), landed the Coventry S.–then a Group 3–on his second start and continued unbeaten through his juvenile season, adding victories in the G2 Gimcrack S. and G1 Middle Park S. 

The Derby would certainly not have been on the mind of Royal Applause's trainer Barry Hills, who was correct in his publicly-aired doubts following the Middle Park that his colt would even see out the mile of the 2000 Guineas. A son of the 1988 Queen Anne S. winner Waajib, himself representing Try My Best's branch of Northern Dancer's male dynasty, Royal Applause has a thoroughly speedy bottom line which prevailed not just in his own genetic make-up but also in his precociously fast elder sister Lyric Fantasy (Ire) (Tate Gallery). Known as the 'Pocket Rocket', she became the first 2-year-old filly to win the G1 Nunthorpe S. in its then 70-year history in 1992.

With her own triumph at the Royal Meeting coming in a record-breaking romp in the Queen Mary S., Lyric Fantasy prompted the transfer of her dam Flying Melody (GB) (Auction Ring) to the broodmare band of Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum's Gainsborough Stud while carrying Royal Applause. If he'd been born these days, Royal Applause would have been an obvious candidate for the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Ascot but, having finished tenth in the 2000 Guineas, he was then sixth to Pivotal (GB) in the G2 King's Stand S. and managed just one win that season in a conditions race at Doncaster.

Happily, the imperious nature of his debut season was recaptured at four, with Royal Applause adding the Cammidge Trophy and G3 Duke of York S. to his winning record before landing the G3 Cork and Orrery S. back at Royal Ascot. The following year the race was upgraded to Group 2 status before becoming a Group 1 with a name change in 2002 to make the Golden Jubilee. Currently known as the Diamond Jubilee S., the race will presumably undergo a further rebranding to mark The Queen's Platinum Jubilee next year.

Sent off as favourite for the G1 July Cup, Royal Applause couldn't match the finishing burst of 50/1 outsider Compton Place (GB), but he bounced out of his second place at Newmarket to land his second Group 1 success in the Haydock Sprint Cup, prevailing by a length and a quarter over Danetime (Ire).

One hundred years after Persimmon retired to stud, Royal Applause made his way to Sandringham, replacing the retiring Derby winner Shirley Heights (GB) on the royal roster. He lives there still in retirement, at the age of 28 but looking a decade younger, with his last two registered foals having been born in 2017. In 19 crops, he only hit the 100-mark five times, with his 110 foals of 2006 being his largest output. But nevertheless, Royal Applause is becoming an increasingly significant influence in a modern-day breeding world which values precocity over more Classic attributes, notwithstanding the fact that speed is a vital component of a top-class racehorse irrespective of the distance at which he competes.

The GI American Oaks and GI Queen Elizabeth Challenge Cup winner Ticker Tape (GB) remains Royal Applause's sole winner at the top level. Battle Of Hastings and Whatsthescript also excelled in America, and they are two of his nine Group/Grade 2 winners, along with Acclamation (GB), his stand-out son from his first crop, who is doing most to keep the line not just alive but thriving. 

Almost a quarter of the field for Tuesday's Coventry S. are male-line descendants of Royal Applause, the quartet being by his grandsons Dark Angel (Ire) and Mehmas (Ire), both by Acclamation. Another of the latter's sons, the late Harbour Watch (Ire), was responsible for an unusual double on Oaks day when Pyledriver (GB) won the G1 Coronation Cup at Epsom and Baron Samedi (GB) claimed the GII Belmont Gold Cup in New York.

Acclamation and Dark Angel will of course both be well represented this week, and more notably so will last season's record-breaking freshman sire Mehmas, who has maintained his lead in the second-crop sires' table and has eight group entries at Royal Ascot. Dark Angel has a growing number of sons at stud, with freshman Birchwood (Ire) currently topping the list for 2-year-old winners in France. It's not hard to imagine that sons of Mehmas will soon follow.

Another of Acclamation's sons, the dual G1 King's Stand S. winner Equiano (Fr), has recently moved to the Irish National Stud but has played his own part in extending the success of this line at the Royal Meeting in particular through the G1 Diamond Jubilee S. winner The Tin Man (GB). Equiano is also the sire of GI Breeders' Cup Turf sprint winner Belvoir Bay (GB).

Birchwood is not the sole representative of Dark Angel's branch in France as Gutaifan (Ire) is now at that country's most reliable source of fast horses, Alain Chopard's Haras des Faunes. The July Cup winner Lethal Force (Ire) is another to have relocated and is now at Haras de Grandcamp, while his smart juvenile son and G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde (Ire) is at Haras de Montfort et Preaux under Nurlan Bizakov's Sumbe banner. 

A reliable broodmare sire, Royal Applause also features in that category for the young stallions Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal), Adaay (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) and Cappella Sansevero (GB) (Showcasing {GB}), and for the G3 Winter Derby winner Forest Of Dean (GB) (Iffraaj {GB}), who is set to run in Tuesday's Wolferton S.

As Royal Applause himself closes in on his third decade, he lives in splendour at Sandringham, alternating between the stallion box he has inhabited since 1998 and his sizeable paddock within the shelter of the walled garden.

His eyes are as bright as they have ever been, and if his slightly flat, unshod feet don't relish a momentarily rough surface, as soon as he's on the grass he walks with a swagger indicative of the supreme athlete that he once was. Best of all though is his temperament. There's not an ounce of sourness in the old stallion.

“He's never been the type of horse who has to have the same person look after him,” says David Somers, manager of The Royal Studs. “Everyone here loves him because he's so easy, he's an absolute gentleman.”

The esteemed old gentleman is no longer troubled by the hubbub of a race meeting or the covering shed in his quiet corner of Norfolk. His excitement these days is in working out which of his visitors has a packet of Polos in their pocket. But there will be plenty of royal applause ringing out at Ascot this week, and no doubt some of it will once again be for his descendants. Long may they run, and long may he reign.

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