Stallion Profile May 2003

Champion miler a high class grandson of Kenmare

WEST AUSTRALIAN breeders have beaten their eastern counterparts to the punch by securing Keltos, the World Champion Older Miler of 2002 for at least three southern seasons. This stallion profile by DAVID BAY looks at a young sire who should continue the success of the Grey Sovereign sireline in the west.

WHEN the experts at Timeform speak highly of a thoroughbred it’s wise to take note because these good judges are rarely off the mark.
So it must have delighted breeders in WA when their publication Racehorses of 2002 rated Keltos (FR) as the Best Older Miler of the Year and awarded him an annual Timeform of 132.
Keltos is a grandson of Kenmare (FR) and a horse of his quality is a superb choice for the Sunspeed state. The sireline has had remarkable success in the west and so it came as no surprise when the ghostly grey was acquired by a partnership of leading studs to shuttle to Alwyn Park Stud, Serpentine for the next three southern hemisphere breeding seasons.
A Gr.1 winner from just 10 starts, his effortless win in the Lockinge Stakes-Gr.1 (1600m) at Newbury in 2002 was called “the best performance by an older horse all year in Europe” by Timeform.
He was rated 126 on the International Classifications for older horses for 2002, above Australian champion Northerly (124) to become the World Champion Older Miler.
The son of Kendor also has further appeal for Australian breeders as his dam Loxandra is a daughter of one of the most successful shuttle sires in Last Tycoon, and his southern stars include the champion Mahogany and the Blue Diamond Stakes-Gr.1 winner Knowledge.
Keltos raced only 10 times in France and England and Dubai winning six races at three and four years, including the Lockinge Stakes-Gr.1 (1600m) and £176,000.
He placed second in the Prix Diatome at Saint-Cloud at his only start at two. From six starts at three, Keltos won his first outing at Saint-Cloud, the Prix Callistrate (8f, as favourite), by five lengths and followed up with a slashing 10 length win in the Prix du Vert Galante (8f) at Longchamp (favourite).
His next start was the French 2000 Guineas-Gr.1 at Longchamp where he again started favourite and finished a close up fifth in a controversial race won by Vahorimix following the disqualification of Noverre.
Two weeks later Keltos won the Listed Prix de Pontarme (8f, beating Spanish Don and No Slip) over a mile at Chantilly for which he was again the public elect.
His first start in England resulted in a desperately unlucky run in the St James’s Palace Stakes-Gr.1, beaten 2.25 lengths before returning to France to win the 1600m Prix Perth-Gr.3 (8f from Cornelius). Again favourite, he defeated nine black type winners including the Gr.1 winner May Ball. This form gained him an annual Timeform at three of 116.
Keltos had obviously made marked improvement from three to four but he was set a stiff task first-up in 2002 when asked to take on the world’s best horses in the Dubai World Cup at his first attempt over 10f (2000m) and his first start on dirt.
In any event he finished eighth for one of the few blemishes on his race record. He atoned next start however, returning to France to win the Prix du Muguet-Gr.2 (8f) at Saint Cloud in early May by a widening two lengths. He started favourite and defeated six black type winners including Gr.1 winner Faberger.
Patiently ridden (in contrast to the previous season when he usually raced more prominently), he came from well back early in the straight to win going away from the British-trained Cornelius.
Racehorses of 2002 noted that there had been a short-head between the pair when they ran the quinella in the Prix Perth over the same course and distance the previous November.
Again travelling to England, he thrashed a high class field in the prestigious Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes-Gr.1 (1600m) by 3.5 lengths beating nine black type winners including Gr.1 winners Noverre, Olden Times, Summoner.
Timeform remarked that the field for the Lockinge was probably as competitive as any edition since the race was awarded Gr.1 status in 1995.
The commentary in Racehorses of 2002 reads in part, “Keltos was held up at Newbury . . . With the field still well grouped three furlongs out and collectively starting to drift towards the stand rail, finding a way through never looked like being easy, particularly with Olden Times’ rider seemingly intent on keeping Keltos boxed in. But when a gap finally apppeared approaching the final furlong, Keltos showed a really good turn of foot to put distance between himself and his rivals, passing the post three and a half-lengths clear of Noverre.”
“We met one too good for us, the best horse won,” said Simon Crisford of Godolphin after the defeat of Noverre.
Now rated the World’s Leading Older Miler, comparison was made with the Irish Champion Three Year Old Rock of Gibraltar who achieved a rating of 128 and was rated the world’s best racehorse of 2002 winning seven consecutive Gr.1 events. (Racehorses of 2002 rated him Horse of the Year, Best Three Year Old and Best Miler with an annual Timeform of 133). Only outstanding mare and America’s Horse of the Year Azeri (also on 133) and Rock of Gibraltar were awarded higher Timeform ratings than Keltos (132).
In winning the Juddmonte Lockinge Stakes, Keltos defeated the outstanding Gr.1 performer Noverre by more than three lengths. This provides a form line between Keltos and Rock of Gibraltar, the latter managing to beat Noverre by only two lengths in an earlier clash.
Injury and sickness problems ended the four year-old’s racing career and prevented a meeting with Rock of Gibraltar just when Keltos seemed to be at the peak of his form.
His sire is the high class racehorse and champion two-year sire Kendor winner of the Grand Criterium-Gr.1, amassing five wins from nine starts at two.
Kendor (Kenmare (FR)-Belle Mecene by Gay Mecene) was rated Champion Two Year Old in France in 1988 and has sired the winners of more than 660 races including the Prix Morny-Gr.1 winner Charge d’Affaires, Bugia and Bonapartiste. He stood briefly in Australia where his runners include Shannon Quality-Gr.3 winner Armed for Action and the handy sire Al Jaasi, while he is the damsire here of the smart Encosta de Lago performer Milkshake.
Kendor is clearly one of the best sons of champion French sire Kenmare (sire of outstanding Western Australian-based sires in the ill-fated Metal Storm and the highly successful Tribu) and is consistently among the leading sires in France.
Kenmare (Kalamoun-Belle of Ireland by Milesian) was bred in France in 1975 and numbered the Prix Jacques le Marois-Gr.1 (1600m) at Deauville among six successes at two and three. He was twice Champion Sire in France and that country’s Champion Juvenile Sire three times.
Arrowfield’s John Messara scored a great coup by acquiring the grey for stud duties in Australia and he covered his first mares here in 1988.
He was an instant success with early runners including Kenfair (Silver Slipper Stakes-Gr.2), Keltrice (Lightning Stakes-Gr.1) and Kenvain (Oakleigh Plate-Gr.1) and left the winners of $36.5m including 59 stakes winners worldwide, among them Gr.1 winning Australian-bred fillies Joie de Grise and Kenbelle. He still has runners here with Brave Prince and Kenconcarne scoring in stakes events last season.
His daughters have produced the winners of $28m including more than 30 stakes winners. Kenfair, Keltice and Kenvain are just three of his successful sons at stud. These also include the French-based Highest Honor, whose Gr.1 stars include Dedication, Medaaly, Sagacity, Admise, Marotta and Reve d’Oscar among more than 300 winners of £13.6m.
Now deceased Metal Storm (ex Porphyrine by Habitat) retired to stud in WA in 1995 and proved a revelation with stakes winners like Kalataria, Metal Master, Old Fashion, Krystal Storm, Dark ’N‘ Dangerous, Paris Moon, Oxidation among more than 80 winners of $4m.
Breeders will no doubt be hoping that Keltos will bring similar success to the sireline whose WA-based members also include Tribu (earners of $2m including Dexian, Kensyl Bay and Tribula) and Kenvain (winners of $5m including Bump and Run, Ken Cheval, Lord Mason, Rain Gauge, Sedation).
This is of course the Nasrullah sireline though his enigmatic son Grey Sovereign then via Zeddaan and Kalamoun to Kenmare.
Kenmare is linebred to Nasrullah’s family having Nasrullah 4mx4m and his sister Rivaz (Nearco-Mumtaz Begum by Blenheim) also in the fourth generation. There is an additional family member, Badruddin (Blandford-Mumtaz Mahal by The Tetrarch) in Kenmare’s fifth remove as Milesian’s sire My Babu is from Perfume (by Badruddin).
The dam of Keltos is the Last Tycoon mare Loxandra (inbred 3mx3m to Northern Dancer), a winner at one mile in Great Britain and the dam of the stakes winners Iridanos and Loxias and from the Northfields mare Northshiel, a half-sister to the Royal Ascot Queen Anne Stakes winner and successful sire Waajib.
Northfields (Northern Dancer-Little Hut by Occupy) is a half-brother to Habitat (damsire of Metal Storm). Waajib, sire of the winners of more than $2.5m in Australia including Apache King and Lawyer, was also a stud success in Europe where his young son Royal Applause has made a sound start to his stud career. Waajib is a son of Try My Best, also sire of Last Tycoon.
Last Tycoon (ex Mill Princess by Mill Reef) won the Sprint Championship-Gr.1 (5f) at York and the King’s Stand Stakes-Gr.1 (5f) at Royal Ascot and then travelled to America where he confounded the experts by running away with the Breeders’ Cup Mile-Gr.1 (8f) at Santa Anita.
He won eight races from 13 starts and was named Champion Sprinter of Europe before retiring to stud in Ireland in 1987 and Australia in 1989. He has been one of the most successful shuttle sires (also covering in Japan) and was Champion First crop Sire in Europe and is a Champion Sire of Australia where his best runners include Mahogany (19 wins, $3.6m), Tycoon Lil and Lady Jakeo.
His sire sons include English Gr.1 winner and Derby runner-up Marju (a shuttle sire), the NZ-based O’Reilly, Magic of Money, Knowledge, Fubu and Iglesia (the latter two yet to have runners).
From the Grey Sovereign sire line which has been extremely influential over many years, particularly in Western Australia through not only the Kenmare sons Metal Storm and Tribu but previously through the deeds of champion sire Beau Sovereign and highly successful Cheraw, Keltos is sure to attract strong interest from broodmare owners at a fee of $11,000 (including GST), just half of what he will stand the current northern hemisphere season at Airlie Stud in Ireland.
A partnership of prominent WA breeders De Grey Park Stud (Dick Vincent), Dawson Stud (Graham and Chris Daws), Namerik Thoroughbreds (Alan Bansemer and Mary Scott), Crathes Park Stud (Phil Burnett) and Key Farm (Geoff Evans) are responsible for the acquisition of Keltos and see his placement at Alwyn Park Stud as a convenient location close to the heart of the WA breeding industry under the expertise of studmaster John Andrew.