Andrew Caulfield, October 17, 2006–Teofilo (Ire)
PEDIGREE INSIGHTS
BY
ANDREW C AULFIELD
DARLEY DEWHURST S.-G1, ,250,000, Newmarket,
10-14, 2yo, c/f, 7fT, 1:26.12, gd/sf.
1--TEOFILO (IRE), 127, c, 2, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Speirbhean (Ire) (SW-Ire), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Saviour, by Majestic Light
3rd Dam: Victoria Queen, by Victoria Park
O-Mrs J Bolger; B/T-J Bolger; J-K Manning; ,141,950.
Lifetime Record: G1SW-Ire, 5-5-0-0, ,349,515.
Click for the Racing Post chart or the free brisnet.com
catalogue-style pedigree.
If American racing thinks it has been hard done by,
with only three Triple Crown winners since Citation in
1948 and none since Affirmed in 1978, spare a thought
for the British fans. They have been able to cheer only
one Triple Crown hero, Nijinsky in 1970, since Bahram
in 1935.
Jim Bolger was therefore either very confident, or
very reckless, in even daring to mention the words
ATriple Crown@ after the admirable Teofilo=s victory over
Holy Roman Emperor in the G1 National S. in
September.
AIf he wants to be the next Triple Crown horse,@
Bolger ventured, Athen I=m not going to stand in his
way!@
That quote had been prompted by the fact that
Teofilo=s National S. success came only eight days after
his sire, Galileo, had supplied the Trifecta in the St
Leger, the last leg of the Triple Crown and arguably the
most difficult for a modern Thoroughbred, with its
distance of more than 1: miles.
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Hundreds of stallions are represented!
The enormity of the task ahead of Teofilo mustn=t be
under-estimated, as only two colts have managed to
win even two legs of the Triple Crown since Nijinsky
(Reference Point added the St Leger to his Derby
success in 1987, while Nashwan took the 2000
Guineas and Derby two years later). The Triple Crown
remains an exciting possibility, though, and Teofilo=s
record suggests that he could develop into that
one-in-a-million colt blessed with the necessary
brilliance, versatility and toughness. Like Nijinsky, his
juvenile record stands at five wins from five starts and
both colts gained their fifth success in the G1 Dewhurst
S. However, the signs are that Jim Bolger, who also
bred Teofilo, isn=t looking too far ahead, as he is now
considering sending his star colt to France for the
Criterium International on October 29.
Nijinsky was a member of the second crop by
Northern Dancer, a winner of the first two legs of the
Triple Crown, whereas Teofilo comes from the second
crop by Northern Dancer=s grandson Galileo, a winner
of the Derby and Irish Derby. Both come from families
developed at Windfields Farm in Canada and Teofilo
also possesses the size and scope which made Nijinsky
stand out from the crowd, especially at two.
There is always a worry that high-class juveniles
which enjoy a physical advantage over most of their
rivals at two will not be as dominant at three, when
their less-mature rivals have had a chance to catch up.
But that didn=t happen with Nijinsky and there is every
reason to think that Teofilo will also stay a step ahead
of the opposition.
Galileo may be out of a daughter of the fast and
precocious Miswaki, but that daughter, the Arc winner
Urban Sea, didn=t start to establish herself at Group 1
level until the autumn of her three-year-old days. Urban
Sea now has the tremendous record of having produced
six stakes winners (five of them group winners) from
her first seven foals, but none of the six was a stakes
winner at two. Galileo, for his part, made only one
appearance at two, close to the end of the Irish season,
when he destroyed the opposition in a mile maiden race
at Leopardstown.
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The signs are that Galileo=s progeny are generally
going to require a little patience, too. From a first crop
numbering 127 foals, he had no more than 10 juvenile
winners in Britain and Ireland, from a total of 41
runners, in 2005 and none of them was placed at group
level (although Innocent Air won a Listed race). It is
proving to be a somewhat similar story this year with
Galileo=s second crop. He has had only 20 juvenile
runners so far in Britain and Ireland, of which only five
have won, and Teofilo is the only black-type winner
among them so far (although the unbeaten Yazamaan
has also shown distinct promise). I should quickly point
out that Galileo=s second crop, with 80 foals, isn=t
nearly as big as its predecessor, one consequence being
that his fee was reduced from i60,000 in 2003 to
i40,000 in 2004. The breeders who used him at the
reduced 2004 fee have had every reason to be glad
they did. Galileo=s third-crop yearlings have sold very
solidly on the back of his having come up with two
classic winners, Nightime and Sixties Icon, in his first
crop, and a Group 1-winning juvenile in his second.
While Galileo=s progeny mainly need some time, they
are proving well worth the wait, as 16 members of his
first crop currently have Racing Post Ratings of 105 or
more. One of them is Teofilo=s sister Senora Galilei,
who earned a figure of 106 with her second under a big
weight in a good 10-furlong handicap at the Curragh in
July. She had previously won a handicap by eight
lengths on her reappearance at three, showing much
better form than she=d displayed at two.
Although Teofilo=s broodmare sire, Danehill, secured
the title of champion sire of two-year-olds on numerous
occasions during his globe-trotting career, he didn=t
show his best form until he was three and neither did
Danehill=s numerous siblings.
Teofilo=s family has also generally done better at
three than two. His dam Speirbhean was reportedly
already 16.2-hands tall when she won the Derrinstown
Stud 1000 Guineas Trial to earn a shot at the Irish
1000 Guineas (which was to prove her final
appearance). Jim Bolger, who has trained some
excellent fillies, was fulsome in his praise of Speirbhean
after her Listed victory:
AThis filly is up there with Give Thanks, Flame of Tara
and the others,@ he claimed. AShe isn=t three yet [she
was born as late as May 25] and still has a bit of
maturing to do. She deserves a chance at the 1000
Guineas. The long-term plan is to bring her back here
for the Irish Champion S. in September. I think she'll
stay up to a mile and a half.@
Speirbhean=s brother Cornwall was also lightly raced,
but showed useful form at two. Their half-brother
Graduated, by Royal Academy, was a Listed winner
over 1 1/8 miles in Ireland.
Speirbhean didn=t win at two and neither did her dam,
the Majestic Light mare Saviour, nor her second dam,
the Windfields-bred Victorian Queen. Saviour won at up
to 1 3/8 miles for Jim Bolger in 1990, without showing
nearly as much talent as three of her siblings.
Her brother War was in fine form in the spring of
1987, notably taking the GI Blue Grass S. over 1 1/8
miles on the demotion of Alysheba. Two of Saviour=s
half-brothers, Judge Angelucci and Peace, also became
Grade I winners over 1 1/8 miles, with Judge Angelucci
being good enough to finish third in the GI Breeders=
Cup Classic.
Saviour was bred to stay quite well, as her sire
Majestic Light was a Grade I winner at up to 12 miles
and her dam, the tough Victorian Queen, raced with
distinction at up to 1 3/8 miles. Victorian Queen was
inbred 3x3 to Windfields, the Bunty Lawless colt who
carried E.P. Taylor=s colors to victory in the 1946
Breeders= S. As Windfields raced 22 times at three and
75 times in all, it is hardly surprising that Victorian
Queen was tough enough to compete more than 50
times.
Perhaps it=s this ingrained durability--coupled with the
renowned toughness of the Sadler=s Wells clan--which
is allowing Teofilo to thrive on a schedule which would
have been too demanding for many a Classic hopeful.
TEOFILO (IRE), c, 2004
Northern Dancer
Sadler’s Wells
Fairy Bridge
Galileo (Ire)
Miswaki
Urban Sea
Allegretta (GB)
Danzig
Danehill
Speirbhean (Ire)
SW-Ire, 4-1-1-0,
$39,215
4Fls, 1G1SW
Razyana
Saviour
9-3-0-0, $11,269
10Fls, 2SW
1SP
Majestic Light
Victorian Queen
11Fls, 3GSW
Nearctic
Natalma
Bold Reason
Special
Mr. Prospector
Hopespringseternal
Lombard (Ger)
Anatevka (Ger)
Northern Dancer
Pas de Nom
His Majesty
Spring Adieu
Majestic Prince
Irradiate
Victoria Park
Willowfield