Pedigree Insights: Senga

Senga | Scoop Dyga

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So far in 2017, Europe's Group 1 Classics have shown that there is more than one path to Classic glory. The G1 Investec Derby winner Wings of Eagles was a €220,000 yearling purchase at Arqana, while the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains and G1 Prix du Jockey-Club hero Brametot was picked up for only €26,000 as a weanling at the same venue. However, several of the fillies' Classics have demonstrated the lasting power of female lines developed by leading owner-breeders.
Precieuse, the Tamayuz filly who landed the Poule d'Essai des Pouliches for Anne-Marie Hayes, represents the fourth generation of her family bred at Knocktoran Stud. And Enable, an impressive winner of the Investec Oaks, also represents the fourth generation of a female line developed at Juddmonte Farms.
Sunday's G1 Prix de Diane Longines raised a fascinating possibility of a clash between three fillies representing years and years of work by outstanding owner-breeders. The favourite, 'TDN Rising Star' Shutter Speed, was another fourth-generation Juddmonte-bred. Then there was the third favourite and fellow 'Rising Star' Terrakova, who represents a wonderful female line developed by three generations of the Wertheimer family. They collectively bred Terrakova and her first five dams, all in the space of just under 50 years.
Then there was Senga, representing the Niarchos family's Flaxman Stables. She wasn't among the favourites, with her starting price of more than 20-1 reflecting two less-than-stunning recent efforts. However, her victory in the G3 Prix de la Grotte in April had earned her the position of favourite on her previous Classic venture, in the Pouliches. The American-bred daughter of Blame had made her first six starts at around a mile, but she proved much better suited by the extended mile and a quarter of the Diane.
Senga and her first three dams–Beta Leo, Denebola and Coup de Genie–descend from the Halo filly Coup de Folie, who was bought for $825,000 from E.P. Taylor on behalf of Stavros Niarchos at Keeneland in 1983. Niarchos received terrific value for his investment in this granddaughter of the celebrated Natalma who was inbred 3 x 3 to Natalma's dam Almahmoud.
As a racehorse Coup de Folie was good enough to win the G3 Prix d'Aumale, in which she narrowly accounted for the exceptional Triptych. Although training problems meant that Coup de Folie had to miss the Classics, she returned to win two of her four starts in 1985.
It was as a broodmare, though, that Coup de Folie was to prove priceless. This is highlighted by the fact that Senga is no less than the ninth Group 1 winner descending from her. Most of them carried the Niarchos colours, with Coup de Folie directly contributing three of them. Machiavellian set the ball rolling by taking the G1 Prix Morny and G1 Prix de la Salamandre and he was followed by the G1 Prix Jacques le Marois winner Exit To Nowhere. Then came Machiavellian's sister Coup de Genie, who matched her brother by also landing the Morny and the Salamandre. Another of Coup de Folie's foals, the Nijinsky filly Salchow, added another Group 1 winner to the collection when her Woodman colt Way of Light took the 1998 G1 Grand Criterium.
Coup de Genie ranks as Senga's third dam and it is this daughter of Mr. Prospector who acts as the link between Coup de Folie and her four other Group 1-winning descendants. Coup de Genie's first foal, Moonlight's Box, never raced but this daughter of Nureyev now ranks as the dam of Bago, who numbered the Arc among his five Group 1 victories, and Maxios, winner of the G1 Prix d'Ispahan and G1 Prix du Moulin.
Coup de Genie's second daughter, the A.P. Indy filly Glia, enjoyed stakes success in France and the U.S. and she now ranks as the second dam of Juddmonte's four-time Grade I winner Emollient (who is in foal to Frankel, after foaling a War Front filly).
Senga's second dam, the Storm Cat mare Denebola, was the best of Coup de Genie's four stakes winners, as she showed in winning the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac in 2003. Unfortunately, a virus meant that Denebola took some time to find her best form as a 3-year-old but she recovered to finish a fine fourth in the Prix du Moulin and second in the G1 Prix de la Foret,
Denebola spent the first part of her broodmare career in Kentucky, where she conceived five foals, three of them by A.P. Indy, including Senga's dam Beta Leo. Switched to Ireland, she produced two daughters to the mighty Galileo. Although Galileo has a magnificent record with Storm Cat mares, Denebola's daughters failed to add to the nick's achievements, with Mohini and Typique jointly failing to win in seven starts.
It would be folly, though, to write off their chances of eventually adding to the family fortunes. Senga's dam Beta Leo proved below stakes class as a two-year-old in France, where she won one of her five starts, but that hasn't stopped her producing stakes winners as her first two living foals. Senga's predecessor is the War Front colt Bolting, who contested the GIII Poker S. at Belmont Park hours after Senga's Classic success (the family was also represented in the weekend's group races by 'Rising Star' Ratiocination, a useful son of Denebola). Beta Leo also has a colt foal by the Flaxman-bred Karakontie.
This family generally excels at up to a mile but it did produce a top middle-distance horse in Bago, a son of the Derby-winning Nashwan. Senga also has some stouter elements in her pedigree. Her sire Blame famously robbed Zenyatta of her unbeaten record in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic during a first-rate 4-year-old season in 2010. Senga's grandsires also stayed well by American standards, with Blame's sire Arch taking the GI Super Derby and A.P. Indy the GI Belmont S. and Breeders' Cup Classic.
A.P. Indy was used quite extensively on this family, notably siring Snake Mountain, a triple  Grade III winner at around nine furlongs, and the previously-mentioned Glia, a dual listed winner at up to the same distance. Glia's granddaughter Emollient gained two of her Grade I successes over a mile and a quarter.
It is good to see Blame enjoy European Classic success at a time when European breeders are generally very wary of American dirt horses. He is by no means the first member of his male line to enjoy success in Europe. Arch had an extensive team of European stakes winners, including half a dozen at group level, and Arch's sire Kris S. made his mark by siring the 2003 Derby winner Kris Kin, plus those very smart brothers Dr Fong and Lucky Story. Blame also has the attraction, from a European viewpoint, of coming from the same female line as Nureyev and Sadler's Wells.
He started his stallion career at $35,000 and has revived to $25,000 over the last two years, after his fee fell to $20,000 in his fifth year. Senga belongs to his third crop of 3-year-olds and she is his first Group 1 winner. Indeed, there have been only three other graded winners among the 235 foals in these crops, which adds up to quite a slow start–an accusation which could also have been made against his sire Arch. It will be interesting to see whether Senga's emergence represents a lasting turnaround in Blame's fortunes.

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