In the nearly two decades since the end of Danehill’s nine-time reign as the leading stallion, only one shuttle stallion has succeeded in lifting the Australian stallion crown. That horse was Street Cry, a product of an international experiment that became a worldwide influence.
Street Cry is a son of Prospector, Machiavellian, a champion 2-year-old who has never won over a distance of more than seven furlongs, and is the son of Helen Street, the European-bred horse who was the hero of the Irish Oaks (G1). Although neither parent had ever raced on anything other than turf, Street Cry was sent to race in the United States as part of a plan to establish his credentials as a stallion who could take top-class racehorses onto dirt.
It appeared that Machiavelli’s influence may have prevailed in Street Cry’s composition as Street Cry won the race by 6 1/2 furlongs. Del Mar The colt won the 2018 Dubai World Cup by seven lengths on his debut—running the fastest Beyer Speed Figure of the year by a colt—before losing to Flame Thrower in close battles for the Del Mar Futurity (G2) and Norfolk Stakes (G2), and finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Injured for much of his 3-year-old career, after winning the UAE Two Thousand Guineas and finishing second in the UAE Derby (G3), Street Cry showed a different dimension at age 4, when he proved himself to be an excellent middle-distance runner, winning the Dubai World Cup (G1) by 4 1/2 lengths and the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) by 6 1/2 lengths.
On the racetrack, Street Cry has proven itself to be a hugely important international horse. The rather schizophrenic background of contrasting speed and stamina in its pedigree, also evident in its racing record, has been reflected in the records of its progeny winning Grade 1 events from six furlongs to two miles and on every surface. In total, Street Cry, who stood at Darley in the United States but was also brought to Australia, has been represented by 135 stakes winners, 23 of them Grade/Group 1 winners. Among those elite winners are two mares who are legends in their respective countries: the Australian Winx winner of her last 33 starts, and Zenyatta Horse of the Year in the United States and the only mare to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1). Street Cry’s Grade 1 winners also include Street feel The first horse to win both the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and the Kentucky Derby (G1).
Street Cry’s sire, Machiavellian, was also very versatile in terms of the distances his offspring covered. Machiavellian can indeed boast an even wider range, from Patavellian, who won the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp (G1) over five furlongs, to Invermark, who was successful in the 2 1/2-mile Prix du Cadran (G1). With this in mind, it is interesting to note that Machiavellian’s dam, Coup de Folie, was inbred 3×3 to Almahmoud, a mare we suspect possesses an unusual genetic combination of long-distance ability.
Almahmoud was Northern Dancer’s grand-grandmother, and that makes the combination of Machiavellian (a mare not of Northern Dancer, but with a half-sister to Northern Dancer as her second dam), and Danehill (a grandson of Northern Dancer, inbred to Natalma’s dam, Almahmoud), a potentially interesting combination. Together they have appeared in the pedigrees of no less than 66 group or Grade 1 winners.
For Street Cry—the leading son of Machiavellian—the direct crossing to the Danehill mare has proven remarkably successful, with nine winners (all group or graded) from 52 starters, with a truly exceptional graded winner rate of 17% from starters. This is one of those nine winners, Pride of Dubai who has continued the international tradition and versatility with Grade 1 winners in Australia and Europe over the weekend.
On Saturday, the 7-year-old mare Bella Nipotina (Australia) took her earnings to nearly A$11 million (about US$6.1 million) by winning her sixth graded event and third Grade 1 event, the seven-furlong Tattersalls Tiara Stakes (G1). Twice a winner of Grade 1 six-furlong events by colts, Bella Nipotina is also a five-furlong winner. The following day in France, the 6-year-old Dubai Honor The twice successful Grade 1 company in Australia—where he is the champion old horse in 2022/23—earned his first European win at the highest level, in the 12-furlong Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1).
Pride of Dubai
Pride Of Dubai himself was much more precocious and agile. He started four times as a foal and won the last two, breaking his own record in the Blue Diamond Stakes (G1), then added the Sires’ Produce Stakes (G1), in the process becoming the only horse to win both races. He started only once, finishing unplaced in third place.
Retired to stand at Coolmore Australia, Pride Of Dubai has 15 winners from five Australian 3-year-olds and eight Northern Hemisphere-sed stakes winners, all from the first of two back-to-back foals. In addition to Bella Nipotina and Dubai Honour, they include three-time Grade 1 winner Pride of Jenni and Desert Lightning, who was successful in the Captain Cook Stakes (G1) in New Zealand.
The much-travelled Dubai Honour is a son of the unraced Montjeu mare Mondelice, a half-sister to Prix Daphnis (G3) winner Last Kingdom. Her second dam, Compelling, a daughter of Kingmambo, is a half-sister to Flying Childers Stakes (G2) and Molecomb Stakes (G3) winner Requinto, and three other mares have produced black-type winners. Compelling is a son of Damson, who was crowned champion 2-year-old mare in Ireland and Britain in 2004 following her successes in the Phoenix Stakes (G1) at the Curragh and the Queen Mary Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot. The family traces back to the Aga Khan branch of a Francois Dupre institution with a sixth dam, Prix Saint-Alary winner Tonnera, who was a sire of Texana, who won 12 of her 15 starts, including the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp. Relic’s daughter, Texana was a sister to Texanita, an equally talented mare who won 13 of her 19 starts, including back-to-back Prix de l’Abbaye wins.
almahmoud Bella Nipotina (Australia) Dane Hill Dubai Honor (IRE) Northern Dancer Porter on the pedigree Pride of Dubai Sadler's Well street cry
