Longstanding owner-breeder Anthony Peter took some astute advice from veteran Stallion Manager John Freeman in the gym that led to him sending a National Assembly mare to the now deceased Kris S stallion, Philanthropist.
While it’s unclear who was actually doing the walking, and who was doing the talking on the treadmill that bright Cape morning, Freeman was thrilled to shout the consistent Phil’s Dancer home from his couch on a sunny Saturday Cape winter afternoon as the Justin Snaith-trained filly went all the way to win the Cape Racing Gr3 Champagne Stakes at Kenilworth.
Richard Fourie has Phil’s Dancer flying to win the feature (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
“I am so pleased for Anthony Peter. He has been a staunch supporter of South African racing and deserves the success,” John Freeman told the Sporting Post, conceding that his advice on the Philanthropist x National Assembly cross was dispensed some time ago.
“It goes all the way back to that great broodmare Grey Flight,” said Freeman as he briefly touched on genotypes and phenotypes, and the simple science that makes grown men laugh and cry to this day.
Phenotype deals with shape, size and scope of the horse.
“In this instance Philanthropist would add much needed size to the normally diminutive National Assembly line. It doesn’t always work that way because nature doesn’t always allow mares to breed beyond their own length of leg. There are many smallish mares that do this with great success,” adds John.
He explains that Genotype deals with the construct of the pedigree.
“The repeat of superior broodmares in pedigrees is well known for success in thoroughbred racing at the highest level. In the case of Phil’s Dancer, Grey Flight is the 4th dam of Drakenstein Stud’s late sire Philanthropist and the 3rd dam of late sire National Assembly. The combination of which sees that great mare repeated in generation 5 of sire and generation 4 of the dam – we call this for ease of reference 5×4 repeat of Grey Flight.”
Sired by Mahmoud, Grey Flight was bred in Kentucky by J. T. Taylor in 1945. She was sold to the Wheatley Stable owned by the Grand Dame of US owners of the time in Mrs. Gladys Mills Phipps and fetched a final bid of $35,000 at the 1946 Saratoga yearling sales.
A multiple stakes winner, Grey Flight won a total of twelve races, placing fifteen times, from thirty-five races.
Retired to the Phipps family broodmare band at Claiborne Farm, Grey Flight would become one of the true legends of Thoroughbred breeding. She produced fifteen foals, fourteen of which were winners, nine winning stakes races.
The legendary broodmare Grey Flight
Grey Flight is the ancestress of many champions and top ranked sires – amongst her tribe are both Philanthropist and National Assembly! Freeman explained that he has done well over the years recommending line-breeding to superior mares which he hoped would add value to this mating plan.
On Saturday, Richard Fourie rode a cracker to make up for the champion Snaith stable’s disappointment in the Final Fling Stakes a half hour earlier as the pacy 4yo Phil’s Dancer powered home in a time of 76,45 secs to hold a 0,75 length advantage over Listed Computaform Online Olympic Duel Stakes winner, Capitana.
Champion sire elect Gimmethegreenlight’s fast 3yo daughter Iris held her good form for third.
Phil’s Dancer is out of the one-time winning National Assembly mare, Velvet Hue.
She has now won 5 races with 11 places from her 17 starts for stakes of R345 075.
