Stallion Feature: Commands

Often, a large portion of a horse’s success can be traced back to an ancestor within its dam line. Stallions typically receive the spotlight in the breeding industry, but the mares are very much deserving of respect and recognition, as noted in my article dated July 3, 2012, “Recent Remarkable Broodmares.”

The presence of such a mare – especially one denoted as a Reine de Course mare, or a superior female that has left an undeniable effect on the Thoroughbred – in a horse’s pedigree is certainly an advantage. Commands, Australia’s leading sire, is a grandson of one of the most legendary mares of all time, Eight Carat – a feature in his pedigree that has surely led him to his success in the breeding shed.

Eight Carat, a mare bred in Great Britain, has had an unbelievable effect on the bloodlines of the Thoroughbred racehorse. Born in 1975, the black mare produced an outstanding five group one winners: two-time Australian Horse of the Year Octagonal and the additional group one winners Diamond Lover, Kaapstad, (Our) Marquise, and Mouawad. As if her progeny record of racehorses was not magnificent enough, her offspring also proved to be top producers. She is the granddam of many group one victors, including Danewin, Don Eduardo, Shower of Roses, and Tristalove. The four aforementioned Thoroughbreds are just offspring of Eight Carat’s daughters. Her sons produced the likes of the group one winners Golden Sword, Niello, and Lonhro.

Commands is a son of an unraced daughter of Eight Carat, Cothele House. Bred in Great Britain and exported to Australia, Cothele House yielded not only Commands, but the multiple group one-winning champion Danewin and the stakes winners Jetso (In House) and Prospect Tower.

As a son of the great sire Danehill, Commands is a full brother to his champion brother, Danewin. Danehill, though successful as a racehorse, found his true calling as a sire. The son of Danzig was the leading sire in multiple countries, including France, Ireland, Great Britain, and Australia, the latter in which he was the leading sire for an astounding nine consecutive years. The initial prominent shuttling sire, Danehill produced an astronomical amount of grade/group one winners, including many champions, such as Duke of Marmalade, Dylan Thomas, Peeping Fawn, and Rock of Gibraltar. He has also proven to be an outstanding sire of sires, yielding the likes of the exceptional stallions Flying Spur and Redoute’s Choice, as well as the rather successful sires Desert King and North Light.

Danehill possesses a Rasmussen Factor, being inbred to the Reine de Course mare Natalma 3 X 3, as the daughter of Native Dancer is not only his third dam, but the dam of his grandsire, Northern Dancer. Commands thus descends from the Northern Dancer sire line, which is certainly among the most influential ones of the breed. In the 1970s, the Canadian-bred champion was the leading sire once in North America and four times in the United Kingdom, as well as the twentieth century’s most successful sire. Northern Dancer’s stud record was astounding, as the son of Canadian Hall of Famer Nearctic was an incredible producer of successful racehorses, sires, sires of sires, and broodmares. Among his best sons were the champions Nijinsky and Sadler’s Wells, both of which became leading sires, the latter of which was the leading sire in the United Kingdom for an astonishing thirteen consecutive years and for a total of fourteen years.

Command's pedigree
From pedigreequery.com

Commands’ royal breeding was surely a helping factor in his successful racing career. Victorious in four of his fifteen outings, Commands achieved earnings of $417,231 in Australian dollars. Losing just one start as a juvenile, Commands attained his greatest triumph as a two-year-old, capturing the Missile Stakes (GIII), a race that has been won by many a talented racehorse, including Dance Hero and Lonhro.

As a three-year-old, the dark bay made eleven starts, winning the Concept Sports Stakes at Flemington Racecourse, which served as the longest stakes-winning distance of his career at 1417 meters, or a mere shade over seven furlongs. In a remarkable effort, Commands finished second – beaten a nose in The Galaxy (GI) at Caulfield, which was one of two in-the-money finishes in group one company. Commands also finished third in the Caulfield Guineas (GI), beaten by the outstanding Redoute’s Choice.

Commands now stands stud at Darley Australia’s Kelvinside division. For the past three seasons, he has been the leading sire of winners in Australia and in 2011, the son of Danehill eclipsed Encosta De Lago’s record for number of winners in a single season, setting the record on July 22, 2011 with his 148^th winner of the season. The stallion has sired nine group one winners, excelling primarily with sprinters and milers like himself, though his daughter Purple was a group one winner at 2000 meters (approximately 10 furlongs) and 2400 meters (nearly 12 furlongs) and his son Erewhon was a group one winner at 2000 meters.

Commands has chiefly found success with mares that, like him, descend from the Nearco sire line, especially flourishing with mares who have the presence of Northern Dancer in their sire lines, thus producing a line-bred foal. Seven of Commands’ nine group one winners have descended from the Nearco sire line, three of them being from the Northern Dancer sire line. Commands has also crossed well with mares from the Star Kingdom (a grandson of Hyperion) sire line, producing the group one victors Paratroopers and Undue.

Breeding to Commands provides a foal with the luxury of tracing back to one of the most prodigious international dam lines of all-time. A proven, exceptional sire, Commands will surely only continue to find success, serving as a stallion breeders should strive to breed their mares to. 

Black Caviar: The Wonder from Down Under

Winning streaks build a horse’s fan base like no other accomplishment, especially the ones that span a large amount of races. In recent years, United States racing fans have enjoyed the remarkable winning streaks of Peppers Pride, Rapid Redux, and Zenyatta. Currently, there is a pair of great Thoroughbreds abroad that has maintained perfect records: Frankel and Black Caviar.  Arguably the greatest sprinter of all-time, Black Caviar has now run her record to twenty-two-for-twenty-two.

Bred in Australia, the dark-colored filly began her career there, winning her first three starts by a combined fifteen lengths. She made her group stakes debut in the Danehill Stakes (GII), cutting it the closest she ever had before (at the time) when she triumphed by ¾ of a length.

In 2010, Black Caviar captured four group stakes, including a sole group one, by a collective winning margin of thirteen lengths. By the end of 2010, Black Caviar had run her record to a perfect eight-for-eight. She was ranked as not just the top turf sprinter in the world, but the top sprinter overall in the world by World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings, a classification system formed by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

Black Caviar galloped to eight additional victories in just as many starts in 2011, conquering six group ones. As her winning streak magnified, she garnered more and more fans, acquiring fans from across the world despite the fact that she remained in Australia as she proceeded to win all sixteen of her career starts. In 2011, the great mare won each of her starts by an average margin of nearly 3 ¼ lengths. She was honored as Australia’s Horse of the Year and was yet again ranked as the top sprinter in the world.

To commence 2012, Black Caviar captured the Australia Stakes (GII) with utter ease, settling just off the pace before drawing away with effortlessness to win by 4 ¼ lengths. Fifteen days later, the remarkable mare went to post in the C.F. Orr Stakes (GI), winning that race by 3 ¼ lengths prior to scoring her second consecutive victory in the Lightning Stakes (GI) a week later, in which she ran her perfect record to nineteen victories in a row, tying Peppers Pride and Zenyatta.

It had been anticipated that Black Caviar would compete on the opulent Dubai World Cup night in the United Arab Emirates in either the Dubai Golden Shaheen (GI) or the Al Quoz Sprint (GI), but the eight-time group one winner remained in Australia with the goal of later shipping to the esteemed Royal Ascot meeting in England. Black Caviar did not race again for over two months, returning with effortless wins in the Robert Sangster Stakes (GI) and the Goodwood Handicap (GI), extending her winning streak to an incredibly twenty-one victories.

Black Caviar remained on course for a start in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes (GI) on the final day of the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting, a race that would define her career and solidify her greatness should she triumph.

After breaking sharply, Black Caviar settled off the pace beneath rider Luke Nolen, galloping over the soft surface with a stride that appeared to come with more difficulty than normal. As the undefeated mare made the lead near the finish, it was clear that she was not at her best – surely she was exhausted from the trip from Australia to England, as well as from the soft going. Without the ease she typically displayed, Black Caviar maintained the lead in the final yards as the field grew closer to her, including the second choice in betting, Moonlight Cloud.

Then came the most controversial part of the race. Merely yards out from the wire, Nolen halted any urging, appearing to gear down Black Caviar. This allowed the others to grow even closer, thus leading Nolen to quickly begin urging the great mare again just a few jumps from the wire. Fortunately, Black Caviar kept her nose in front under the wire with a tremendous display of heart, courage, and determination, keeping her perfect record intact.

There were speculations after the race that Black Caviar had not pulled up well, but she was given the all clear after being scoped. However, she was later discovered to have two muscle tears and there is certainly at least a small chance that she will be retired, not just from the injury, but from the general wear and tear of her twenty-two-race career.

If Black Caviar is retired, it will be sad to see her go, but the racing world can always reflect on the great memories she gave us. More than anything, Black Caviar rallied the nation of Australia, but on the final day of the 2012 Royal Ascot meeting, Black Caviar proved that she had the love of the world embracing her. Not every horse receives a pat from spectacular jockey Frankie Detorrie – who didn’t even ride the mare – let alone Queen Elizabeth II. Black Caviar did. She also relieved cheers from crowds across the world that were unlike any ever seen before. On June 23, 2012, more so than ever before in her career, Black Caviar proved that she is a horse who is not only brilliant, but one that is surrounded by love.

A horse’s greatness is not measured by its winning margins. It’s not even measured by its winning streaks, though Black Caviar has certainly been aided in that category. It’s measured in the amount of adversity a horse overcomes, how the horse rallies fans, how the horse repeatedly displays brilliance while doing what most others are incapable of. Black Caviar can fit into all of those conditions. She is truly great and a horse that should be cherished and forever remembered.




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