Racing World India - India s First Horse Racing India Magazine

MYSTICAL CASTS A SPELL
Published on: October-November 2005
	Merit in the Thoroughbred depends on a wide variety of factors, which include inheritance, rearing, environment, training and sometimes, pure luck. It follows that highly performed broodmares that have the good fortune to reside at well-managed stud farms and to visit top-class stallions, are far more likely to produce champions and top-class runners than their ordinary compatriots. One such top-notch racemare – she triumphed at exactly half her twenty starts, and was runner-up on a further eight appearances – who started her career at stud on a tepid note, was the multi-classic winner Mystic Memory. Mystic Moments (1997 by Placerville[USA]), who never saw the racecourse, was her first offspring; she was followed by a year-younger own-brother, Star Sensation, who wasn’t much better than useful, scoring four times from a dozen starts. A change of stallion to Diffident[FR] improved Mystic Memory’s record. Her 1999 filly by him was the talented Castle Park, whose four victories netted Rs.19,83,942, and included the Nanoli Stud Bangalore Juvenile Million, Gr.2, in which her victims included the ill-fated Superior Force and Obligado. However, she failed to make any serious impact on the Classics. Starcent (2000 by Placerville[USA]), was the best of the three by her sire and had to her credit a runner-up effort behind Fond Fantasy in The Hindu Bangalore Oaks, Gr.2, apart from four victories. Mystic Memory was now switched to Alnasr Alwasheek[GB], and 11 months later came up with a colt named Randsberg, who has been displaying talent without actually troubling the scorer excessively – he has just 2 wins from 12 starts and Rs. 8,05,109 to his account.
MYSTIC MEMORY
Presumably, the appearance of Randsberg as a foal passed muster, for the mating with Alnasr Alwasheek[GB] was repeated and in May 2002 resulted in another bay colt – this was Mystical, whose stunning performances under the tutelage of Subbaiah Ganapathy during the Bangalore Summer meeting earlier this year have been little short of sensational! It suffices to say that he has cast a spell over his contemporaries, one which they will have to strive hard to break when action resumes this winter.

Mystic Memory is own-sister to Divine Dreams (1992 by Malvado[CAN]), victorious in the Classic Golconda Derby, Gr.1, and half-sister to Air Strike (1998 by Placerville[USA]), surprise winner of the Southern Command Gold Trophy, Gr.3, in 2004, and to Ascot Lass (1995 by Placerville[USA]), who annexed the Fillies & Mares Stakes, Gr.3, at Pune, and was recently in the limelight as the dam of Green Bax (2002 by Greensmith[GB]), winner of the Mysore Million, Gr.3, last August. Dam of this fabulous quartet was the peerless Divine Light (1984 by Riyahi[IRE]), who was acquired as a yearling by Dr. M.A.M. Ramaswamy and then turned over in early 1987 to Dr. Vijay Mallya as past of a package that included Cordon Bleu and Stellar Role. The high point of Divine Light’s career came in the 1987 Bangalore Derby, where she zipped past the very high-class Brave Dancer in style. A lung infection compromised her chances in the Indian Classics at Mahalakshmi. Divine Light was the first foal in India from her dam, the attractive bay mare Charenzaccio [FR], who was recorded as having been sold for just 18,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December Sale of 1981. Acquired by Greenfield Farms the following year as a barren mare, the daughter of Lorenzaccio went on to produce Kingfisher Bangalore Derby, Gr.1, heroine Ministrella (1986 by Malvado[CAN]) – later dam of South India St. Leger, Gr.1, winner Ministerian – and Classic Indian Turf Invitation Cup, Gr.1, victor Ministerial, a 1993 foaled own-brother to Divine Light. One of Charenzaccio[FR]’s foals left behind in Europe, the Holland-born Schiaparelli, was purchased some years later by another wing of the Poonawalla breeding operation, the Poona Stud Farm Pvt. Ltd. This unraced broodmare went one better than her dam, producing four Graded Stakes winners from her first five offspring. The first of these was the Indian 2000 Guineas, Gr.1, hero Vesuvius (1986 by Malvado[CAN], while the third was none other than Adler (1989 by Riyahi[IRE]), unbeaten in India from eight starts, who will hold a special place in the annals of the Indian Turf as being the first Indian-bred to record a victory in the USA. Charenzaccio[FR]’s feats bring to mind a statement by the late John Hislop, breeder of Brigadier Gerard and editor of the British Racehorse, whose succinct reply to the question "How many broodmares does it need to start a stud?" was "One, if it’s good enough". Clearly, Charenzaccio[FR] was the one! *- Anil Mukh*

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