In the nearly two decades since the end of the reign of nine-times leading sire Danehill, only one shuttle stallion has succeeded in lifting the Australian sire crown. That horse was Street Cry, a product of an experiment in internationalism, who went on to become a worldwide influence.
Street Cry was by Mr. Prospector's European-based son Machiavellian, a champion 2-year-old who never won beyond seven furlongs, out of the European-bred Helen Street, who was heroine of the Irish Oaks (G1). Although neither of his parents had run on anything but turf, Street Cry was sent to race in the United States as part of a plan to establish his sire's credentials as a stallion who could get high-class runners on the dirt.
It appeared that the Machiavellian influence might be predominant in Street Cry's makeup when Street Cry won a 6 1/2-furlong Del Mar maiden by seven lengths on his debut—running the fastest Beyer Speed Figure of the year by a juvenile—before losing out 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). Sidelined by injury 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 another dimension at 4, when he proved himself an outstanding middle-distance runner, taking the Dubai World Cup (G1) by 4 1/2 lengths and the Stephen Foster Handicap (G1) by 6 1/2 lengths.
At stud, Street Cry proved to be an extremely consequential international stallion. The rather schizophrenic background of the speed and stamina contrast in his pedigree, also apparent in his race record, emerged in the record of his progeny that captured grade 1 events from six furlongs to two miles, and on all surfaces. All told, Street Cry, who stood at Darley in the U.S. but also shuttled to Australia, was represented by 135 stakes winners, 23 of them grade/group 1 winners. Among those elite winners are two mares that are legends in their respective countries: the Australian Winx, winner of her last 33 starts, and Zenyatta, Horse of the Year in the U.S. and the only female to take the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Street Cry's grade 1 winners also include Street Sense , the first horse to take both the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and Kentucky Derby (G1).
Street Cry's sire, Machiavellian, was every bit as versatile with regard to the distances over which his offspring excelled. Machiavellian can actually 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's interesting to note that Machiavellian's dam, Coup de Folie, was inbred 3x3 to Almahmoud, a mare who we suspect owned an unusual combination of genetics as far as distance aptitude is concerned.
Almahmoud is the granddam of Northern Dancer, and that made the combination of Machiavellian (a horse free of Northern Dancer, but having a half sister to Northern Dancer as his second dam), and Danehill (a grandson of Northern Dancer, inbred to Natalma's dam, Almahmoud), a potentially interesting one. They appear together in the pedigrees of no less than 66 group or grade 1 winners.
For Street Cry—the leading son of Machiavellian—the direct cross with Danehill mares proved remarkably successful, with nine stakes winners (all group or graded) from 52 starters, for a truly exceptional 17% graded stakes winners from starters. It's one of those nine stakes winners, Pride Of Dubai, who over the weekend continued the tradition of internationalism and versatility with grade 1 winners in Australia and Europe.
On Saturday, the 7-year-old mare Bella Nipotina (AUS) took her earnings to almost AU$11 million (around US$6.1 million) capturing her sixth graded stakes, and third grade 1 event, the seven-furlong Tattersalls Tiara Stakes (G1). Twice victorious over colts in six-furlong grade 1 events, Bella Nipotina is also a stakes winner over five furlongs. The following day, in France, the 6-year-old Dubai Honour, twice successful in grade 1 company in Australia—where he was champion older horse for 2022/23—earned a first European triumph at the highest level, in the 12-furlong Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (G1).
Pride Of Dubai himself was far more at the precocious and speedy end of the scale. He started four times as a juvenile and won the last two, breaking his maiden in the Blue Diamond Stakes (G1), then adding the Sires' Produce Stakes (G1), in the process becoming the only horse to win both races. He started just once at 3, finishing unplaced.
Retired to stand at Coolmore Australia, Pride Of Dubai has 15 stakes winners from five Australian crops of 3-year-olds and up, and eight Northern Hemisphere-sired stakes winners, all from the first of two reverse shuttle crops. In addition to Bella Nipotina and Dubai Honour, they also include three-time grade 1 winner Pride of Jenni, and Desert Lightning, successful in the Captain Cook Stakes (G1) in New Zealand.
The much-travelled Dubai Honour is out of the unraced Montjeu mare Mondelice, a half sister to the Prix Daphnis (G3) winner Last Kingdom. His second dam, Compelling, a daughter of Kingmambo, is half sister to the Flying Childers Stakes (G2) and Molecomb Stakes (G3) scorer Requinto, and to three other mares that have produced black-type winners. Compelling is out of Damson, who earned honors as champion 2-year-old filly in Ireland and England in 2004 following her successes in the Phoenix Stakes (G1) at the Curragh and Queen Mary Stakes (G2) at Royal Ascot. The family goes back to an Aga Khan branch of a Francois Dupre foundation with the sixth dam, the Prix Saint-Alary victress Tonnera, being out of Texana, winner of 12 of 15 starts, including Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp. A daughter of Relic, Texana was a sister to the no less talented Texanita, who took 13 of 19 starts, including back-to-back runnings of the Prix de l'Abbaye.
Dubai Honour is one of 10 stakes winners by Pride Of Dubai, seven group or graded, from just 51 starters out of mares by sons or grandsons of Sadler's Wells, a remarkable 20% stakes winners to starters. Price Of Dubai's strike rate with mares specifically by sons of Sadler's Wells, as with Dubai Honour, is even more noteworthy, standing at seven stakes winners, five group or graded, and two grade 1, from only 28 starters. Dubai Honour's dam actually has Sadler's Wells 2x4 with a cross of his three-quarters brother Nureyev, also in the fourth generation. Of course, Sadler's Wells and Nureyev are both by Northern Dancer, so bring three more crosses of Almahmoud, the mare we said plays such a significant part in the pedigree of Dubai Honour.
