Cape Blanco after his 2012 Arlington Million win - Photo courtesy Tom Ferry
Convinced myself, I seek
not to convince. –
Edgar Allen Poe in Berenice
I
stood in a cluster of reporters waiting for the elevator on a November evening
at Churchill Downs. The twin spires –
host of many a Kentucky Derby shocker – had produced yet another surprise in
the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Drosselmeyer crossed the wire triumphant over the favored Game on Dude,
provoking one reporter to mutter, “Drosselmeyer? Really?
Can Horse of the Year get any more unclear?” Many viewed the Horse of the Year debate as
an impressionist watercolor, but what I saw was an obvious winner: Cape Blanco.
Cape
Blanco catapulted himself far beyond the requirements for the 2011 year-end
award. He made history, defeated
world-class horses under grueling conditions, and performed well on turf and
tapeta. However, he failed to appear on
most top ten lists and garnered only nine votes for 2011 Eclipse Award Horse of
the Year despite winning the Turf Male hardware.
Flash forward to 2013. Cape Blanco now presents American breeders
the opportunity to tap into the Galileo dynasty. The red stallion played a fundamental role in
the Galileo progeny’s international success during the 2011 racing season. He dominated most of the country’s turf
contests for males, while Together ran second in the First Lady and won the
Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup on back-to-back weekends.
Cape Blanco’s pedigree
suggests a future of success as a leading sire of top horses on the track and
in the breeding shed. He will pass his
foals a significant influence of Teddy, a stallion famous for siring the
smashing producer, La Troienne. The
celebrated dam-sire Princequillo also has a considerable presence in Cape
Blanco’s heritage.
He is the product of an overall high-quality cross, sired by the
world’s best stallion at stud, and out of a mare from a successful female
family. Cape Blanco’s dam, Laurel
Delight, foaled five winners that included the Grade II winner and Grade
I-placed gelding, Mr. O’Brien. She is
also the half-sister to the Group II winner and Group I-placed Paris House and
her other half-sister produced a Listed stakes winner.
Cape Blanco’s bloodlines suggest his most prosperous crosses could
come with mares also descending from Northern Dancer sire lines. The young sire’s lean build and pedigree
imply particular success with Danzig, Giant’s Causeway, and Storm Cat mares. Galileo offspring produced by Storm Cat mares
have already had proven success on the racetrack: Misty for Me is a formidable
representative of this cross. Another
bright implication is Group I winner, Loch Garman who is by Galileo’s son
Teofilo and out of a Giant’s Causeway mare.
His agility and angularity could refine stockier mares’ foals to
create a balanced miler-type racehorse. Able
to glide over yielding ground as a racehorse, Cape Blanco at stud offers a
splendid opportunity for breeders to infuse more athleticism into the North
American turf horse. He is the textbook
turf horse: light and athletic enough to travel tirelessly over heavy grass,
yet sturdy enough to endure a rigorous racing schedule. One can already observe these qualities in
his first crop of foals. Just as their
sire, they appear quite sound and substantial, yet not too heavy to impede on
their efficiency.
Cape Blanco’s physical attributes make his stride’s mechanics
superior to his counterparts. He
preserves valuable energy with a far-reaching stride and level topline. He is
aerodynamically gifted, getting down well to minimize resistance.
Inspecting Cape Blanco at Ashford Stud in Spring 2013 - BNB Photo
Cape Blanco’s solid foundation stretches beyond his structure and pedigree. He complied with his rider’s commands to his
best ability – cooperatively running in positions most would be hesitant to
enter, and never stopping to pair with an opponent in the stretch run. His
Golden Retriever disposition is a rare and valuable quality that his progeny
could inherit. Jamie Spencer, who rode him late in his career, offered his
praise for Cape Blanco after the duo’s Arlington Million win: “There are very few horses that have the will
to win like he has. The more you ask
from him, the more you get from him.”
On the racetrack, he was an example of unbending determination. He
made history as the only horse to make transatlantic flights between three Grade
I wins in 2011. Cape Blanco proved indomitable
in a sparring rivalry with the treasured two-time Arlington Million champion
Gio Ponti.
Cape Blanco showed potential from his racetrack debut - an
unbeaten Group II winner as a juvenile. He confirmed his promise in his
three-year-old debut, the Group II Dante Stakes, where he crossed the final
post 3 ¼ lengths clear of Workforce. After a tenth in the 22-horse Prix du
Jockey Club, Cape Blanco took the 1 ½ mile Emerald Isle classic, the Irish
Derby, with a ½ length edge over Midas Touch.
Following this effort, he was the runner-up to the 11 length winner
Harbinger in the Group I King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes. Cape Blanco led the third-place finisher by 3
¼ lengths. He returned to winning form
when taking the Group I Irish Champion Stakes with a 5 ½ length score over Rip
Van Winkle, and ended his year with a thirteenth in the Prix de l’Arc de
Triomphe.
At the start of his 2011 campaign, the four year old Cape Blanco
crossed the wire fourth in an exhilarating Dubai World Cup finish – a meager
one length short of collecting the $6,000,000 winner’s share of the world’s
richest race with a $10 million purse.
Cape Blanco’s path converged for a second time with Dubai World Cup 5th
placer, Gio Ponti, in Belmont Park’s Man O’ War Stakes. His challenge ended with a 2 ¼ length score
over the second-placed Gio Ponti.
The kindly red jetted back to Ballydoyle after his Man O’ War
Stakes victory in the United States. His expedition of the racing world
continued to Chicago for the Arlington Million - a classic test of stamina,
class, and durability.
Cape Blanco before the Arlington Million - Photo courtesy Tom Ferry
In the ten horse
Windy City staple, Cape Blanco settled into a reserved fourth on the outside as
Mission Approved set a leisurely pace over a yielding turf course. Rider Jamie Spencer applied mild pressure on
Cape Blanco to move up the field entering the far turn. His motivated mount replied with an instant
surge, so quick he challenged Mission Approved’s lead at the top of the stretch
run. Cape Blanco took the lead near the
top of the lane; only a single furlong between him and another glory
abroad.
The anticipated surge from defending champion Gio Ponti did not
come until the final yards of the Million, as he was trapped until the closing
strides. His postponed bid came too late
to close Cape Blanco’s 2 ½ length lead.
The victory etched Cape Blanco’s name among the likes of John Henry. His resiliency, synonymous with the race’s
history, sets the standard for all contestants competing for the Arlington
Million title.
The Galileo son returned to Ballydoyle. However, only just over a month would pass
before he came stateside for New York’s 1 ½ mile Joe Hirsch Turf Classic
Invitational. Cape Blanco showed
outstanding tenacity on an agonizingly yielding course. He held off Dean’s
Kitten down the stretch, despite sustaining a career-ending slab fracture of
his knee. “Cape Blanco is an extremely
talented and courageous horse with a tremendous attitude to his racing, so we will
be very sad to see him leave Ballydoyle.” Aidan O’Brien said. “The fact that he
never once changed leads in the home straight in spite of his injury just goes
to prove what a brave horse he is.”
Watching Cape
Blanco’s racing career, studying his pedigree, and inspecting him firsthand,
one cannot deny him as a likely force as a sire. Coolmore’s vigorous advertising campaign for
Cape Blanco undoubtedly gives him an even stronger chance as a stallion – he
covered the most mares in the 2012 breeding season. During that year, he bred 220 mares. Just as early success is essential to an
aspiring two-year-old in the starting gate, it is important for a sire to make
a memorable debut in the breeding shed. In this regard, his fate often rests in
the hands of his management. The prestigious Coolmore Stud operation is
confident in Cape Blanco, and provides him with the ample support needed to
cultivate a young stallion’s career.
BNB Photo
