Byword coup for Pickerings
YWORD will become the first winner of the prestigious Royal Ascot race, the Group 1 Prince Of Wales Stakes over ten furlongs, to stand in South Africa when he takes up stud duties at Rob and Michele Pickering’s Middlefield Stud in Mooi River next season.
The profile of KwaZulu-Natal breeding is currently improving rapidly and this will be a further boost to their prospects.
The Prince Of Wales Stakes has been won by a selection of the finest thoroughbreds in turf history including one of the best males of all time, Brigardier Gerard (Timeform 144), and one of the best females of all time, Bosra Sham (Timeform 132).
Other famous horses to have won the race, which was established in 1862, include Hyperion, Mtoto (twice), Dubai Millenium and Duke Of Marmalade, while last year’s winner So You Think earned a Timeform rating of 132 and the much travelled filly Ouija Board was also a winner.
Byword, trained in France by Andre Fabre, started 5-2 favourite for the 2010 running of the Prince Of Wales, which is open to horses of four-years and older.
He was coming off two fine performances, a Group 2 win over a mile at
BSaint-Cloud and a fine 0,5 length second to the brilliant mare Goldikova in a Group 1 over nine furlongs at Longchamp, in which he beat the third horse by ten lengths. In the Prince of Wales, ridden by his regular jockey Maxime Guyon, Byword tracked the leaders before quickening on the outer to hit the front just over one furlong out.
He was ridden out and always looked in control, despite the tough Twice Over, who has to date won four Group 1s for Henry Cecil, closing to within 0,5 lengths. Fast ground Importantly from a South African perspective, Byword won the Prince Of Wales on fast ground, with the official going on the day being Good To Firm. Byword finished a 1,25 length third to the three-time Group 1 winner Rip Van Winkle in his next start in the Juddmonte at York.
In his five-year-old year he won a Group 3 over a mile at Chantilly and a Group 2 over ten furlongs at Longchamp.
His other stakes successes were a Listed win over ten furlongs as a three-year-old and a Listed win over nine furlongs as a four-year-old. In all he started sixteen times for seven wins, two seconds and a third, and his debut win over a mile was the only non- Stakes race that he competed in.
Byword, a flashy chestnut, had a superb turn of foot. He also had plenty of courage and in a close finish he invariably came out on top.
Ashley McNab is the chief shareholder and the remainder of the total of 40 shares on offer have been going quickly, although there are still some available.
Pickering said that “quite a few” KZN studs and racehorse owners had confirmed their support.
He added, “There is obviously a lot of water still to go under the bridge, but we are very excited and I think he could become the best horse to stand in KZN since the likes of Northern Guest and Foveros.”
He spoke of the fortunate turn of events that had helped McNab and himself land this coup.
“Ashley has been dealing with Grant Pritchard-Gordon (a bloodstock agent) for a couple of years in bringing mares out here. Pritchard-Gordon worked for Juddmonte (owned by Byword’s owner Prince Khalid Abdullah) for 17 years and left on good terms. That coupled with Juddmonte having Frankel as well as Twice Over due to start stud duties meant we were able to land Byword.”
Pickering, McNab as well as thoroughbred conformation and pedigree expert Ada van der Bent went to Newmarket last week to see Byword and were all very impressed. They described him as a horse with “a wonderful temperament, good limbs and very athletic.”
He has a timeform rating of 126, which makes him superior to most imported sires in this country.
Pickering said, “There are very few downsides. He is top quality and will suit South African mares.”
Byword will have to spend six or seven weeks in quarantine arriving at Middlefield.
“We will give him time to let down,” said Pickering. “Our intention is to keep him in KZN until the end of his stud career.”
Byword is by European Horse Of The Year Peintre Celebre, who still holds the honour of running the fastest Prix De L’Arc De Triomphe in history, beating the brilliant six-times Group 1 winner Pilsudski by five lengths in 1997. Peintre Celebre Peintre Celebre stands at Coolmore and Byword is one of his best sons.
Peintre Celebre already has a Grade 1-winning son standing in KZN, the St. John Gray-owned and trained Jam Alley, who won the SA Classic over 1 800m at Turffontein and now stands at Jonathon and Cathy Martin’s Hadlow Stud.
Peintre Celebre has also produced Group 1 winners in Britain, France, Ireland, America, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong and Australia and his 15 Group 1 winners in total include the World Champion mare Pride, who finished a narrow second in the 2006 Arc.
Peintre Celebre is one of the finest sons produced by the influential Northern Dancer sire, Nureyev, who has left a worldwide legacy through numerous sons and daughters.
The leading UK sire Pivotal is also a grandson of Nureyev.
Byword’s dam Binche, by champion two-year-old and leading sire Woodman, also produced the multiple Group 1 winner Proviso.
Byword is another example of the Northern Dancer and Mr Prospector sire line nick and will have no problem being matched to South African mares.
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