FOALED in Australia, the three-year-old Street Cry (Machiavellian) filly Oh Susanna landed a major blow for her age and sex when she ran out a length and a half winner of the Group 1 Sun Met at Kenilworth, South Africa, at the weekend.
She comes from a family that has produced major winners on a number of continents and she is yet another reminder of the huge loss her sire was when he had to be euthanized in 2014. Street Cry was bred in Ireland and raced with distinction in the USA and in the UAE. He won more than $5 million and his major successes came in 2002 when he won the Group 1 Dubai World Cup and the Grade 1 Stephen Foster Handicap.
At the time of his death, John Ferguson paid tribute to the former Jonabell Stud resident. “Street Cry epitomized everything that Darley and Godolphin aim to achieve—he was bred by Sheikh Mohammed in Ireland, excelled at the very highest level on the racecourse in Dubai and the U.S., and then became the lynchpin of our stallion operations in both America and Australia. His contribution to the breed has been significant and we have been so fortunate to have him. He will be sorely missed by everyone.”
When he died he was sire of such notables as the brilliant Zenyatta, winner of 19 of her 20 starts including the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, and the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense who is now himself at Jonabell and is sire of nine Grade 1 winners. Since his demise along came Winx, twice Horse of the Year and one of the best racehorses ever in Australian racing.
Oh Susanna was already a winner at the highest level before her weekend victory. She had won the Cartier Paddock Sakes and was runner-up in the Group 1 Cape Fillies Guineas. She was bred and is owned by Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud and is out of a smart racemare in the USA in Sharp Susan, a daughter of Touch Gold (Deputy Minister).
Sharp Susan is due to foal this month to Galileo (Sadler’s Well), while she has a two-year-old colt by Exceed And Excel (Danehill) and a yearling filly by Fastnet Rock (Danehill). Grant Pritchard-Gordon’s Badgers Bloodstock paid Aus$1.05 million for Sharp Susan at the 2012 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale in foal to Street Cry. This was her second big price sale, as four years earlier she traded for $2 million at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. She is the dam of three winners from as many runners.
Winner of the Grade 2 Lake Placid Stakes at Saratoga and the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride Stakes at Gulfstream Park, Sharp Susan was placed in the Grade 1 Garden City Stakes at Belmont Park. She is one of a trio of stakes winners from the unplaced Winter’s Gone (Dynaformer) but what distinguishes the others is that both are Grade 1 winners.
Spring At Last (Silver Deputy) won the Grade 1 Donn Handicap in the USA and added the Group 2 Godolphin Mile in the UAE. He made a great start at stud with a Grade 1 winner in his first crop, but three years ago was sold to continue his stud career in Saudi Arabia.
His half-sister Sharp Lisa (Dixieland Band) won the Grade 1 Las Virgenes Stakes and she has since gone on to breed Foundry (Galileo), winner of the Group 1 The Metropolitan Handicap in Australia, and Housesofparliament (Galileo) who was placed in the Group 1 St Leger at Doncaster.
Winter’s Gone is a half-sister to the outstanding Bien Bien (Manila), a four-time Grade 1 winner and record-breaker over 10 furlongs. He sired the Grade 1 winner Bienamado and moved to England where he died at the age of 13, the best of his offspring here being a Welsh Grand National winner!
Breeders, stallion masters and readers are invited to contact Leo Powell at leopowell@theirishfield.ie with news and updates for the column, and to visit our website www.theirishfield.ie for daily breeding news