Valour has Credentials to be Next Season's Hero

The Informant reports:

One must give credit where credit is due to whoever makes the selections for the Te Akau's potential stallion syndicates and they have come up with another winner in HEROIC VALOUR, who remains unbeaten after three starts (that's David Ellis!)

It has not been all plain sailing, however, for the $400,000 yearling buy.  He was first seen in public in mid-December at the Te Aroha trials, that lovely track that provides such a marvellous venue for educating youngsters, crossing the line in first position and a month later ran third at the Cambridge trials behind a good one in Caorunn.

He first went to the races at Trentham at the end of January making the long trek from Matamata to contest a 1000-metre event. Jumping well, he raced very keenly for the first couple of furlongs and was very green as the tempo increased although he was not seriously troubled to record a debut success.

A more daunting task came next against a quality field for the 1200-metre Listed Matamata Slipper, and he again showed his inexperience racing keenly near the pace. Once in the straight, again ridden sympathetically by Matthew Cameron, he quickly shot clear and held off the challengers headed by Mongolian Falcon comfortably enough.

I was amazed at how blind punters could be in allowing the handsome bay colt to go off paying $18.30 for the Gr. 1 Sistema Diamond Stakes, a combination perhaps of Cameron opting for their other Australian-bred, the brilliant but wayward filly Sassy 'N' Smart.

The colt was was hurried up early by Jonathan Riddell to take a handy position just behind the leaders. He had been inclined to get his head up in his earlier races, so trainers Stephen Autridge and Jamie Richards had equipped him with that useful tool, the shadow roll noseband, and this seemed to do the trick.

For the first time we saw a professional racehorse instead of the rather gauche lad of his previous starts. Once in the straight he quickly burst clear and driven out largely with hands and heels had little difficulty in holding off the latecomers, although Wyndspelle finished strongly down the outer.

Heroic Valour is a very good looking, quality and good sized colt with an easy fluid action and he has that classic look about him. Plans are unclear as I write but a start in the Gr. 1 Manawatu Sires' Produce over 1400 metres would seem most likely over a trip that should suit his talents at this stage of his career.

He is a son of the twice champion Australian sire Fastnet Rock, who has also twice topped the list there for worldwide earnings. Although himself champion Australian three-year-old and sprinter, he has, like his sire Danehill, proved remarkably versatile as a sire and his current tally of 90 stakes winners includes champion sprinters and Derby and Oaks winners.

His 23 elite winners include champion filly and mare are Atlantic Jewel, Mosheen (VRC Oaks), champion Irish female sprinter Sea Siren, Fascinating Rock (Ascot Champion S.), First Seal, Amicus, the New Zealand Guineas winners Planet Rock, Rock 'n' Pop and Atlante, Super Cool (Australian Cup), Magicool (Queensland Derby) and Qualify, who won the 2015 Oaks at Epsom. It is early days but his sons are already starting to make names for themselves as sires.

If this colt's sire raises any doubts about his potential stamina, a glance at his damsire will do much to allay those fears, for Nassipour, a high class Group One-winning stayer himself, proved to be an exceptional sire of stayers. Champion Australian sire from his base at Ra Ora Stud and also winner of the Dewar Trophy for combined Australasian earnings, he had only eight crops from which came 26 stakes winners (7 G1s) including multi-champion Tie The Knot (13 G1s) and Let's Elope (Australian Horse of the Year - Melbourne and Caulfield Cups). Besides Heroic Valour, the 32 stakes winners from his daughters include Sydney Cup winner Gallic and Brisbane Cup victor Piachay.

The Nijinsky horse Western Symphony, who is out of Mill Reef's half-sister, is sire of the granddam.  He left 27 stakes winners including Caulfield Guineas victor Procul Harum, whilst his daughters ensured his lasting fame with 26 stakes winners including the seven times Horse of the Year (Australia and/or New Zealand) Sunline.

Western Symphony stood at Cambridge's Chequers Stud, as did the next two sires on the damline, Prince Echo and Vice Regal. The next sire is the Royal Ascot Jersey Stakes winner Catchpole (King of the Tudors) followed by the high class Australian sire Dhoti (son of Dastur), who is inbred to William the Third and his sire St. Simon. Indeed Chequers played a major part in the development of this female line, as we shall see.

This is a branch of the No. 22 family and stems from the Absurd mare Fulsome, who was out of the mighty matron Eulogy. Just before World War ll this branch went to Australia until repatriated by Chequers through Gay Jenbur, the fifth dam of Heroic Valour. Her dam Jenbur was an unraced three-parts sister to two stakes winners and half-sister to the dams of two more including Perth Cup winner Allegation. She left four winners including dual Group Three winner Narrugi and Group placed Gay Jenbur.

The latter left three winners of no particular account, but her once raced daughter Jennifer proved an outstanding  broodmare as dam of champion two and three-year-old filly and New Zealand Filly of the Year, Phillipa Rush (New Zealand 1000 Guineas) and Jennifer Rush (second top NZ 2YO Filly - dam of 2 SWs including New Zealand 1000 Guineas victress Emerald). Both were by Prince Echo.

It was the unraced daughter Superluck, who carried the line on to our hero, but she didn't have much of it! She had just the single foal Cappoquin, who proved a winner and was stakes placed second in the Princess Mellay Stakes. She proved an excellent broodmare with eight winners including San Pauli Girl (Gr. 2 SAJC Sedgwick Classic) and the VRC Winter Championship winner Capadan.

San Pauli Girl became dam of five winners one of which was the 1600-metre winner and Melbourne placed Myrrh, who was foaled in 1994. She has gone on to produce her 13^th foal in 2014, a full brother to Heroic Valour, who was sold to Te Akau at Karaka for $510,000. Her seven winners have mostly proved very handy and include Gr. 1 Doncaster Handicap winner Triple Honour, whose seven wins range up to 2200 metres with many major placings as well in top races.

This is a well-constructed pedigree showing a blend of some of the major nicks extant today, but more importantly there is extensive sex-balanced linebreeding across the full spectrum of the chart. His sire Fastnet Rock is a combination of the Northern Dancer/Ribot nick in his sire, and the Northern Dancer nick with both Sir Ivor and Biscay through his dam. Both sides of his chart have Menow in the background. Fastnet Rock is balanced to Natalma, Nearco, Hyperion and Menow.

On the distaff side we see Nassipour, a Hyperion/Nasrullah 3 x 3 cross and balanced to Blenheim and his sire Blandford, plus a female line of Menow. The granddam of Heroic Valour, San Pauli Girl is a Northern Dancer/Raise A Native nick through the latter's handsome son Crowned Prince, and she is balanced to Native Dancer and Hyperion. Once again we see Menow, who incidentally shares a close relationship with Sir Ivor. Myrrh, the dam of the Diamond winner, is balanced line bred to Hyperion, Blenheim, Blandford and Mah Mahal.

Looking at the overall chart for Heroic Valour, we see two male lines 4 x 4 to the great Nijinsky, one of them through Fastnet Rock's damsire Royal Academy, whom Heroic Valour closely resembles. He is sex-balanced linebred very nicely to Natalma (5/5/6 x 6), Hyperion (11 lines including in the fifth remove), Nearco (10), Native Dancer (6/6/7 x 7/7), Menow (7/7/7 x 6/7), Eight Thirty (7 x 7), Blenheim (9) and his sire Blandford with multiple lines.

I will be disappointed if this attractive colt does not progress to even better things in due course, and I expect him to reach his zenith from 1600 metres through to 2000 metres.

He may stay a Derby distance over an easier track, but I will prefer his chances over slightly shorter trips. Now that he knows what racing is all about, it would not disappoint should his connections decide to put him aside until next season.