With the International Classifications due out early next year

FASTHORSES

THE WINNING PEDIGREE

is grand lodge doing the job ?

Winning Post 4th December 2000

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With the International Classifications due out early next year, it will be very interesting to see how the current crop of European luminaries measure up.

It has been the year of some very good horses: the Dubai World Cup winner Dubai Millennium, the Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, the French Derby/Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winning Montjeu and Grand Lodge's marvelous son Sinndar. What will Timeform rate Sinndar?

Sinndar is not just a good horse, he is probably the best seen in Europe for quite a while few years which is saying quite a bit considering the company he was up against. Like all top class horses his race record is impressive, winning seven of his eight starts and achieving a unique record in the process. No other horse has ever won the English/Irish Derby as well as the coveted Prix de l' Arc de Triomphe in the same year, let alone having left a horse of Montjeu's class in their wake.

All this is positive news for Sinndar's sire Grand Lodge who has achieved a great deal in such a short time at stud. An English Derby winner is the ultimate accolade for any stallion and to have one in his second crop is quite a feat.

Grand Lodge's successes aren't confined to Europe, he is also doing well here having sired Shogun Lodge who has won a succession of good races including the George Main and the Epsom Handicap, Freemason who has won the Queensland Derby and now Lovelorn who won the VRC Oaks this Spring.

Not only has he proved capable of getting good colts and fillies but he is transmitting versatility which is not surprising when you consider the stamina coming through his mother's side. Although it is early days one of the patterns that appears to be surfacing in his winners is the multiplication of the famous Princequillo/Nasrullah nick.

Grand Lodge showed plenty of early dash when he won Dewhurst Stakes, and he is bred on the successful half sibling Sir Gaylord/Secretariat cross which has produced other very good horses such as the Preakness stakes winner Summer Squall, his son the dual American Classic winner Charismatic and the unbeaten juvenile Be My Chief.

Secretariat, one of the greatest racehorses ever produced in America, is one of the best examples of the Nasrullah/Princequillo nick while his half brother Sir Gaylord is bred on a variation of the cross through Royal Charger, Nasrullah's three parts brother.

One of the exciting aspects to this cross is that it is now surfacing as a repeating pattern in some particularly good performers. There are various conduits for this combination or for variations of this combinations and some strains to look for are Mill Reef (maternal sireline in Sinndar's case), Riverman, Sir Tristram, First Consul, Without Fear, Godswalk, Bold Bidder, Bold Lad just to name a few.

Freemason who won the Queensland Derby has Sir Tristram as a broodmare sire, while Shogun Lodge has Boucher as a second broodmare sire which is a rather more complex variation through Ribot/Princequillo similarity.

If you are looking to buy yearlings by Grand Lodge at the up coming sales then finding ones which have repeating patterns involving Nasrullah/Princequillo could be a place to start. Lot 177 in the Magic Millions is a colt from Lady Triscanny who is by Sir Tristram and is from the same family as Canny Lad, while Lot 375 is from a Marscay mare - the same cross as the Oaks winning Lovelorn. As with everything though, check those legs.