Stallion Profile March 2003

Belong to Me (USA)

Belong to Me adds a new chapter to the La Troienne saga

Belong to Me’s single southern crop to race already includes a classic winner and a remarkable 21 winners from 29 runners. His Australian stud career seems certain to match the success his runners have achieved in the USA, and in this profile DAVID BAY takes a close look at this Widden-based sire who hails from the famous La Troienne family.

THE LA TROIENNE family has a proud history, producing many champion racehorses, wonderful broodmares and sires over the years.

  One of its most outstanding current members is the Widden Stud shuttle sire Belong to Me (USA), a son of Danzig and Belonging (by Exclusive Native) and a horse who boasts La Troienne as his fifth dam.

  Belong to Me retired to stud in America in 1994 and Australia in 1998 and came to immediate attention when the superb filly Jersey Girl, a triple Gr.1 winner, appeared in his first northern crop and the Gr.1-winning two year-old colt Lucky Roberto appeared in the second.

  His first crop included 16 juvenile winners and five stakes winners and the second crop had 12 juvenile winners and a further five stakes winners.

  His third northern crop included another Gr.1 winner, Circle of Life, and by this time Belong to Me had sired other high class stakes winners including multiple Graded winner Belle Cherie, Ewer All Wet, Belongs to Money, Terravigne and Chasin’ Wimmen.

  The Lane’s End Farm, Kentucky-based sire’s northern stakes winners have continued and included Gr.1 winner Miss Houdini (Del Mar Debutante Stakes).

  His Australian-bred progeny have also made an auspicious start with nine winners of 11 races including the AJC Keith Mackay Handicap-LR winner Before Too Long and stakes-placed Belong to Madam in his first crop last season.

  Although he won over 6f at two from just three starts, Belong to Me shone as a three year-old when he won six races and was placed five times in 13 starts including victories in the Boojum Handicap-Gr.3 (6f) and Best Turn Stakes (6f) at Aqueduct, the Clarinet Stakes-LR at Saratoga and Ilex Stakes-LR at Philadelphia.

  So it’s been no surprise to see his Australian three year-olds to the fore this season led by the VRC Oaks-Gr.1 winner Bulla Borghese and MVRC Champagne Stakes-Gr.2 winner Before Too Long.

  In fact this season to February 11, Belong to Me had 29 runners in Australia for a remarkable 21 winners of close to $1m as well as additional winners in NZ and Hong Kong (Amazing Victory, Grandway Shuttle) and he looks well on the way to becoming another of the great Widden-based sires.

  Belong to Me does not have two year-old runners this southern season as he got travel sickness on his return home to the USA after his first stint here and was rested the following season. He has returned every year since and will be at Widden in 2003, a season that also sees the return of Arc winner Helissio and the debut of Australian-bred Snowland at the historic stud.

  Widden Stud’s Antony Thompson described Belong to Me as “very heavy, a strong sprinting type”.

  “But he’s a deceiving horse because of his weight. In fact he’s 16.1 hands and has a good length of rein and stands over a lot of ground, so he’s got more scope and balance than people imagine,” he said.

  “There’s also a myth that he is a filly sire but he’s had 18 colts race in this part of the world and 17 have won, including a particularly good performer in Hong Kong. His winners-to-runners ratio across both sexes is just exceptional.

  “The other good thing about him is that he seems to be able to throw good horses to mares with a variety of pedigrees, and we are very confident he’s going to make a significant impact on the Australian breeding scene.”

  The Danzig sireline has enjoyed spectacular success worldwide and especially so in Australia where his great son Danehill (USA) has left five Golden Slipper winners and numerous successful sire sons.

   Danzig’s grandson Derert Sun (GB) too holds an important place in Australasian thoroughbred history as the sire of champion mare Sunline, while Anabaa, another Danzig son based at Widden, has now left Gr.1 winners in both hemispheres including the recent HK International Cup winner Precision and C.F. Orr Stakes winner Yell.

  Danzig (Northern Dancer-Pas de Nom by Admiral’s Voyage) was born in 1977 and stands at historic Claiborne Farm. He started just three times, winning a Maiden Special Weights event at Belmont Park (5.5f in 1:03.6) at two and two Allowance races, (7f in 1:22.0 at Belmont and 6f in 1:09.4 at Aqueduct) at three for prizemoney of $US32,400.

  He was purchased for just $310,000 (his legs are far from perfect) as a yearling by Henryk de Kwiatkowski and trained by Woody Stephens and developed bone chips in his knees after winning his juvenile debut by eight and a half-lengths.

  After a long beak and two further wins at three it seemed that the little colt (15.3hh) was on the verge of an exciting career when x-rays revealed a slab fracture developing in a knee, and he was retired.

  His owner’s attempts at syndication met with little success, but he has never regretted keeping the majority of the horse as when the first crop of just 29 named foals hit the track, there were 11 juvenile winners from 14 runners and they won 24 races, nine of them stakes events and including three Gr.1 winners.

  Included in that first crop was the Champion Two Year Old Colt Chief’s Crown (whose son Grand Lodge is enjoying a great run worldwide and is part-owned by Woodlands).

  The Danzig juggernaut has continued since then, he was Leading Sire in England-Ireland in 1989 and in the USA in 1991, 1992 and 1993 and has sired the winners of more than $90m including Lure, Dayjur, Agnes World, Langfuhr, Pine Bluff, Golden Snake, Danzig Connection, Green Desert, Hamas, Polish Patriot, Dance Smartly, Polish Navy and Versailles Treaty among more than 165 stakes winners. Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus (Mr. Prospector) and leading young sire Distorted Humor (Forty Niner) are just two of the stakes winners produced by Danzig’s daughters.

  Danzig’s dam Pas de Nom was a good racemare and her nine wins included several Listed events in the USA. She was the best runner by Wood Memorial Stakes winner Admiral’s Voyage, a son of Crafty Admiral. Second dam Petitioner was by the high class miler Petition (Fair Trial-Art Paper by Artist’s Proof), winner of seven races including the Eclipse Stakes. Her dam Steady Aim (Felstead-Quick Arrow by Casterai) was the Champion Three Year Old Filly in England where her wins included the English Oaks and her runners included the stakes winner and Australian-based sire Immortal (GB).

  Belong to Me’s dam Belonging, counted the Listed Typecast Stakes among her five wins, and she is the dam of seven winners. Daughters by Mr. Prospector, Nijinsky and Seattle Slew have all produced stakes winners.

  Belong to Me’s damsire Exclusive Native (Raise a Native-Exclusive by Shut Out) won the Arlington Classic and was twice Champion Sire in the USA where his 66 stakes winners included the champions Affirmed (US Horse of the Year, Triple Crown winner and sire) and Genuine Risk (winner of the Kentucky Derby and runner-up in the Preakness and Belmont Stakes and the first filly to compete in all three Triple Crown races).

  His daughters have produced more than 100 stakes winners including Arewehavingfunyet, Heart Lake, Entrepreneur, Tejano, Elnadim and Senor Pete.

  Belong to Me’s second dam Straight Deal (Hail to Reason-No Fiddling by King Cole) is one of the many outstanding performers from the La Troienne line. She was Champion Older mare in the USA and her 21 wins included the Hollywood Oaks, Delaware Handicap and Top Flight Handicap.

  She is the dam of several stakes winners including Reminiscing (Never Bend), dam of the Breeders’ Cup Sprint-Gr.1 winner Commemorate (by Exclusive Native and therefore closely related to Belonging).

  Another daughter, the Gr.1 winner Desiree (Raise a Native) left the Gr.1 winner Adored, while her winning sister So Endearing produced the Del Mar Futurity-Gr.1 winner Qualify to a mating with Danzig.

  No Fiddling is a daughter of Big Hurry (Black Toney-La Troienne by Teddy), winner of the Selima Stakes and a sister to the stakes winners Black Helen and Bimelech (sire) and a half-sister to Baby League, Big Event, Businesslike, Besieged, Bee Ann Mac, Belle Histoire and Belle of Troy, all of whom feature in major pedgrees today.

  Some of Big Hurry’s notable descendants include Caerleon, Admiring, Hero’s Honor, Personality, Allez France (whose son Air de France has done such a good job at stud here) and Easy Goer.