Final Curtain for Theatrical

Theatrical (March 13, 1982 - August 31, 2012)

Irish-bred Theatrical, who died on Friday, August 31 at the age of 30, was the firstborn Group 1 winner for Nureyev, from his sire’s first foal crop of foals (one foal resulted in 1981 from a test breeding in 1980). Theatrical was a late bloomer, so chronologically, Classic winners Sonic Lady (a foal of 1983) and Miesque (1984) preceded him to Group 1-winning level.

Racing initially as a homebred for Mr. and Mrs. Bert Firestone, the dark bay or brown Theatrical was trained in Ireland by Dermot Weld. He won his only start at two, and at three, he became a stakes winner with his victory in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial S.-G2 prior to finishing second in the Group 1 Joe McGrath Irish Sweeps Derby.

Theatrical made his North American debut in the 1985 Breeders’ Cup Turf, in which he ran eleventh. Returned to Europe, his best effort was a second in the Grosser Preis von Berlin-G1. He returned to the U.S. a month later, placing a non-threatening tenth in the Budweiser Arlington Million-G1.

He remained in the U.S., with trainer Bobby Frankel. Although he was unable to win a stakes race at four, he was second in the Breeders’ Cup Turf, the Oak Tree Invitational S. and third in the Hollywood Turf Cup Invitational -- all Grade 1 events -- in his only starts for Frankel that season. In the Breeders’ Cup, Theatrical was a neck behind 1986 turf champion Manila, and just ahead of Estrapade and Dancing Brave in third and fourth, respectively.

In January of 1987, he was switched to the barn of Bill Mott, under whose patient handling the temperamental, somewhat difficult horse came into his own as a five-year-old. In his debut for Mott, he was disqualified from second to 14th for bearing in during the running of the Bougainvillea Handicap-G2. Theatrical then put together a four-race win streak -- Hialeah Turf Cup H.-G1, Red Smith H.-G2, Bowling Green H.-G1, Sword Dancer H.-G1 (in which he was put up from second due to interference from first-under-the-wire Dance of Life) -- before the final loss of his career, a third (behind Manila and Sharrood) in the Budweiser Arlington Million-G1.

Theatrical rebounded with victories in three Grade 1 events: the Turf Classic S., Man o’ War S., and the Breeders’ Cup Turf. In the latter, he defeated Trempolino, fresh off a course-record win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Gary Stevens, working as an analyst for NBC’s Breeders’ Cup telecast, said (in the video below) that Theatrical, under Pat Day, “just jerked the heart out of Trempolino.” The final time of 2:24 2/5 equalled the course record at Hollywood Park.

Owned solely at this point by Allen Paulson -- who had bought 50% of Theatrical for $5 million in 1985 prior to purchasing the Firestones’ remaining 35% share (Irishman Michael Smurfit owned the other 15%) the night before the 1987 Breeders’ Cup over a dispute about whose silks he would carry in the race -- Theatrical was voted champion turf horse in the U.S. and retired to stud at Paulson’s Brookside Farm, having earned over $2.9 million with a total of 10 wins, three seconds, and two thirds from 21 starts.

A mile-and-a-half turf specialist, Theatrical was an anomaly for Nureyev, whose sons and daughters primarily excelled at a mile. Theatrical inherited his love of distance from his dam Tree of Knowledge’s sire Sassafras, who defeated the great Nijinsky by a head in the 1970 Arc. Tree of Knowledge was a stakes-placed winner by Sassafras, sire of 55 stakes winners, and in addition to Theatrical, she foaled Taiki Blizzard (a Grade 1 winner in Japan, but recognized as only a Listed stakes winner internationally) and the dam of 1994 turf champion Paradise Creek.

Theatrical's dam Tree of Knowledge in 1993, with a Mining colt who was never named.

Theatrical, who stood in Central Kentucky throughout his entire stud career, had the odds stacked against his emerging as a top sire in a country where precocity and speed on dirt are valued above all. Nonetheless, he became a notable stallion, due in no small part to Paulson’s belief in and support of his horse. After Paulson’s death, Theatrical moved to Hill ’n’ Dale Farm for the 2002 season, where he was pensioned in 2009 before his death on Friday.

Among Theatrical’s 48 Graded or Group stakes winners are these 20 Grade/Group 1 winners with their respective G1 wins:

~Golden Treat (1989 filly out of Golden Dust, by Dusty Canyon): Santa Anita Oaks [this filly was a half-sister to Belmont S.-G1 winner Bet Twice]

~Dahlia’s Dreamer (1989 filly out of Dahlia, by Vaguely Noble): Flower Bowl H.

~Marchand de Sable (1990 colt out of Mercantile, by Kenmare): Criterium de Saint-Cloud (at two)

~Madeleine’s Dream (1990 filly out of L’Attrayante, by Tyrant): Poule d’Essai des Pouliches

~Broadway Flyer (1991 colt out of Serena, by Jan Ekels): Sword Dancer Invitational H.

~Vaudeville (1991 colt out of S’Nice, by Riverman): Secretariat S.

~Pharma (1991 filly out of Committed, by Hagley): Santa Ana H.

~Duda (1991 filly out of Noble Tines, by Drums of Time): Matriarch S.

~Geri (1992 colt out of Garimpeiro, by Mr. Prospector): Oaklawn H. (on dirt); Woodbine Mile S.

~Zagreb (1993 colt out of Sophonisbe, by Wallow): Irish Derby

~Portland Player (1993 colt out of Spirit of Kingston, by Bletchingly): Victoria Derby

~Auntie Mame (1994 filly out of Lady Vixen, by Sir Ivor): Flower Bowl H.

~Royal Anthem (1995 colt out of In Neon, by Ack Ack): Canadian International; Juddmonte International; Gulfstream Park H. -- a G1 winner in three countries

~Run Man Run (1995 gelding out of Marshua’s Echelon, by Marshua’s Dancer): Malibu S.

~Astra (1996 filly out of Savannah Slew, by Seattle Slew): Gamely H. (twice); Beverly Hills H. (twice)
~Media Puzzle (1997 gelding out of Market Slide, by Gulch): Melbourne Cup

~Startac (1998 colt out of Tenga, by Mr. Prospector): Secretariat S.

~Shakespeare (2001 colt out of Lady Shirl, by That’s a Nice): Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational S.; Woodbine Mile S.

~Mrs. Lindsay (2004 filly out of Vole Vole Monamour, by Woodman): Prix Vermeille; E.P. Taylor S.

~Winchester (2005 colt out of Rum Charger, by Spectrum): Secretariat S.; Manhattan S.; Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational; Sword Dancer Invitational S.

~*Hishi Amazon (1991 filly out of Katies, by Nonoalco): Not included among Theatrical’s tally of G1 winners, Hishi Amazon won numerous races, including the Queen Elizabeth II Commemorative Cup, that were classified as Grade 1s in Japan only but that are now recognized internationally as Grade 1 events. She was a champion at two, three, and four.

Theatrical’s sons have sired such good horses as Commercante (E.P. Taylor S.-G1; by Marchand de Sable); Cosmo Bulk (Singapore Airlines International Cup-G1; by Zagreb); Eclair de Lune (Beverly D. S.-G1; by Marchand de Sable); Marchand d’Or (five Group 1 wins in France; by Marchand de Sable); Presious Passion (United Nations H.-G1-twice, Clement L. Hirsch H.-G1; by Royal Anthem);  and Starine (Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf-G1; by Mendocino).

As a broodmare sire, Theatrical is represented by G1 winners Coil, Dublino, English Channel, Karelian, Lord Shanakill, Numerous Times (a champion in Canada), Rail Link, and Wigmore Hall. Like his grandsire, English Channel (by Smart Strike) won a Breeders’ Cup Turf and earned an Eclipse Award as champion turf male. Rail Link (by Dansili) won the 2006 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Theatrical was a favorite of mine because of his connection to Nureyev, and I visited him a number of times at Brookside and Hill ’n’ Dale. He was a tough horse, very much the “alpha male” around the barn, but certainly (in my limited interaction with him) was not mean. The photos (taken with a film camera) in this post are from one of my earlier trips to see him at Hill ’n’ Dale.

Canada's Strait of Dover

On Sunday, the 10-furlong Queen’s Plate (first leg of the Canadian Triple Crown) at Woodbine Racetrack was won by Strait of Dover, owned and bred by Canyon Farms of British Columbia and trained by Danny Vella.

The colt’s female family is no stranger to classic and other important wins.

Strait of Dover’s fourth dam Roseliere was a champion in France. The daughter of Misti (a son of Medium inbred 3x3 to Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby winner Tourbillon) and Peace Rose, by Fastnet Rock, won the 2100-meter classic Prix de Diane-French Oaks as well as the Prix Vermeille and the Prix Penelope at three in 1968, coming back to win in the Prix de Pomone at four.

At stud, Roseliere foaled four stakes winners, two of them champions: Rose Bowl and Ile de Bourbon, both trained by Fulke Johnson Houghton.

Ile de Bourbon was a son of Nijinsky II, and he won the Coronation Cup-G1, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S.-G1, the King Edward VII-G2, and the Geoffrey Freer S.-G3 on his way to championship honors at three and four in 1978 and 1979 in the United Kingdom. He is perhaps best known as the sire of Kahyasi, who won both the Epsom and Irish Derbies in 1988. (Kahyasi, in turn, is recognizable as the sire of Prix de Diane winners Vereva and Zainta, and as broodmare sire of Hasili, dam of five G1 winners plus G2 winner and leading sire Dansili.)

Rose Bowl (by Habitat; a full sister to French Group 3 winner Rose Bed) was a champion at four in Great Britain, where her six wins included the Group 1 Champion Stakes and the Group 2 (now Group 1) Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, against males. She also won the Ladbroke Nell Gwyn Stakes-G3 and placed second in the Champion S.-G1, Sussex S.-G1, Waterford Crystal Mile-G3, and third in the William Hill Cheveley Park Stakes-G1 and Prince of Wales S.-G2. She ran fifth in one start -- the Washington D.C., International-G1 -- in the U.S., at Laurel Park in Maryland. In 16 starts racing from two to four, she had six wins, four seconds, and two thirds.

Rose Bowl produced eight winners, three of them at black type level: Rokeby (by Lomond), Golden Bowl (by Vaguely Noble), and Rose Reef-G3 (by Mellon’s great Mill Reef). Another, Pure Bravado (by Dancing Brave), won non-black type stakes races in Austria, where he was highweighted at the 7 - 9 1/2 furlong distance.

Rose Bowl’s 1985 British-born daughter Antigua Rose (by Mill Reef, and therefore a full sister to Rose Reef and to stakes-placed Rose Campion) won at two and at three in England before being exported to the U.S., where she won an allowance at Hialeah Park as a four-year-old for owner E.A. Cox Jr. and trainer Shug McGaughey. The closest she came to earning black type was with a fourth in the Mint Julep Handicap at Churchill Downs.

Antigua Rose, granddam of Queen's Plate winner Strait of Dover, as a broodmare in 1997.

On the strength of her female family, Antigua Rose was bred to leading sires Danzig and Nureyev, among other stallions, without much success on the track. Her six foals yielded five winners from five to race, and the best of these was Gift of Style (by Lure), who earned $27,205.

Black-type aspirations of this branch of the family tracing through Antigua Rose had, it seemed, hit a dead end -- until Antigua Rose’s daughter Bahrain Star (a 1991 model) was introduced to the Smart Strike sire line. The mare’s 2003 daughter Starlite Strike (by Smart Strike) won the Northlands Oaks at Northlands Park and the BC Cup Distaff Handicap at Hastings Racecourse for owner/breeder Canyon Farms. The next of Bahrain Star’s foals bred on this cross is Strait of Dover, who won the Marine Stakes in May at Woodbine. On Sunday, Strait of Dover became the latest in a line of Classic winners going back to Roseliere when he won the Queen’s Plate. He has four wins and a third from seven starts to date, with converted earnings of nearly $750,000.

Canadian-bred Strait of Dover’s Kentucky-based sire English Channel, champion turf male in the U.S. in 2007, is by Smart Strike (out of Belva, by Theatrical), so Canyon Farms was not only reproducing a cross that had worked with their mare, but one that is a proven formula for top-class success, with Canadian Horse of the Year Soaring Free, two-time champion Lookin At Lucky, and Grade 1 winner Shadow Cast among many graded stakes winners bred on these lines.

Strait of Dover appears to be the last foal out of Bahrain Star, but his three-parts sister Starlite Strike is the dam of a yearling filly by Lewis Michael, so perhaps this family will see a continued resurgence.

The Mien of a Queen

The fairytale story of Lisa’s Booby Trap hit a small bump when the previously undefeated filly finished last in the second division of the Riskaverse Stakes at Saratoga yesterday for owner-trainer Tim Snyder. (Glenn Craven has a nice entry about a personal meeting with Tim and Lisa here at his blog “Fugue for Tinhorns.”) But what’s a fairytale without an evil queen or ugly stepsister?

Cue Queen of the Creek.

Queen of the Creek at Churchill Downs in June.

While the sentimentalists were pulling for Lisa’s Booby Trap, Queen of the Creek – I'll refrain from branding her “evil” – skipped over the lawn under Julien Leparoux and won the Riskaverse easily. The daughter of Irish-bred turf champion Theatrical and Miasma (by Lear Fan) enhanced her already significant value with this, her first stakes win.

Theatrical, sire of Queen of the Creek.

Queen of the Creek was a valuable broodmare prospect before she set foot on a racetrack. Her three-parts sister – which is as close as we’ll get to a stepsister in this tale – Mien (by Nureyev, the sire of Theatrical) was an undistinguished racehorse, winning one of two starts, but quickly made a name for herself at stud. Her second foal Big Brown won the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, Haskell Invitational, and Florida Derby en route to the three-year-old division championship the year Queen of the Creek was sold to Nathan Tinkler’s Patinack Farm for $140,000 at the Keeneland September yearling sale.

Mien, the dam of Big Brown, as a foal with her and Queen of the Creek's dam Miasma in 1999. Contrary to appearances, Miasma has not been decapitated.

For your amusement, here’s the only photo I got of Queen of the Creek’s nephew Big Brown and Kent Desormeaux (rider of Lisa’s Booby Trap) as they won the Derby. My timing was legendary for all the wrong reasons:

Oops. Headless Big Brown winning the Kentucky Derby.

Queen of the Creek is linebred 5x5 (and Mien 4x5) to the blue hen mare *Rough Shod II, through the full siblings Thong and Lt. Stevens. A profile on Rough Shod and a salute to the many graded and group stakes winners who have multiple strains of her blood is a topic for another post. For the moment, suffice it to say that any time you see Lear Fan or Alysheba (whose dams are full sisters by Rough Shod’s son Lt. Stevens) crossed with Nureyev or his close relatives Sadler’s Wells and Fairy King (full brothers), that horse is linebred to Rough Shod. Some examples through Alysheba or Lear Fan are classic winner Bright Moon, Hong Kong Vase-G1 winner Vallee Enchantee, French highweight Loup Solitaire, and, of course, Queen of the Creek.

Similarly, the potent Kingmambo/Sadler’s Wells cross that has produced Japanese Horse of the Year El Condor Pasa and European classic winners Henrythenavigator, Divine Proportions, Virginia Waters, and Workforce is based on the same principle of a duplication of the Rough Shod family, because Kingmambo’s dam, multiple champion Miesque, is by Nureyev.

I suspect we’ll see a continuation of this pattern when Blame goes to stud: his third dam Special is the dam of Nureyev and second dam of Sadler’s Wells.

[The name of this blog – you guessed it! – is based on this family. As Nureyev’s No. 1 fan, I wanted to honor his female family when I named my business a few years ago. His first three dams were Special; Thong; and Rough Shod. The name Special was apt for the horse but too presumptuous for me, and while the humor of going with Thong was tempting, I was wary about the kind of clients it would attract – although it would certainly have been, er, interesting to hand out “Thong” business cards or to make breeding recommendations on “Thong LLC” letterhead. So, Rough Shod it was!]

Nureyev, great-grandson of Rough Shod and grandsire of Queen of the Creek and Big Brown.