CAPE TOWN TO RIYADH… MONTJEU LEGACY LIVES

The world lost a great racehorse and sire when Montjeu died in 2012 but his daughters are more than making a name for themselves at stud.

This was underlined on Saturday with Panthalassa (out of the Montjeu mare Miss Pemberley) capturing the $20 000 000 Gr1 Saudi Cup and Winter Cloud (out of the Montjeu daughter Montelissima) beating male rivals to land the Gr3 City Of Cape Town Cape Of Good Hope Nursery.

A six time Gr1 winner, Montjeu left behind more than 120 stakes winners, with this tally including the English Derby winners Motivator, Authorized, Pour Moi and Camelot.

Montjeu was also responsible for Arc/King George winner Hurricane Run, Melbourne Cup hero Green Moon, and a host of other top flight winners.

His successful sire sons include Camelot, Tavistock, Motivator and Authorized, with his legacy perhaps diminished by the premature death of his brilliant son St Nicholas Abbey.

The only knock against Montjeu’s fine record at stud was that his colts were by and large by some way superior to his fillies. Of his 31 Gr1 winners, just six were female, with Montjeu colts dominating their female counterparts on the track.

His star daughters included a pair of Irish Oaks winners in Bracelet and Chiquita, as well as Prix Royal-Oak winner Montare and Canadian International queen Sarah Lynx.

On Saturday, Panthalassa (out of the Montjeu mare Miss Pemberley) captured the $20 000 000 Gr1 Saudi Cup and Winter Cloud (out of the Montjeu daughter

Montelissima) beat male rivals to land the Gr3 City Of Cape Town Cape Of Good Hope Nursery.

Delighted connections welcome back Saudi Cup winner Panthalassa (Pic –Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia)

A son of Lord Kanaloa, sixyear-old Panthalassa, who also dead-heated for first place in the 2022 Gr1 Dubai Turf, is from the same female line as former South African sires Anytime and Spanish Harlem as well as Gr1 Woolavington 2000 winner Lady Of The House (Dynasty) and the latter’s star dam Overarching (Arch), among many others.

His dam Miss Pemberley is out of the High Estate mare Stitching –a half-sister to Gr2 winner Great Dane.

Montjeu mare Montelissima has proven a top-class broodmare for Drakenstein Stud, with Winter Cloud the second Cape Nursery winner produced by her. The latters’ daughter Clouds Unfold -a What A Winter own sister to Winter Cloud – won the 2018 Gr3 Cape Of Good Hope Nursery before going on to claim four other graded stakes wins, including backto-back runnings of the Gr1 Majorca Stakes.

Interestingly, neither Miss Pemberley nor Montelissima ever won a race.

Montjeu is no stranger to enjoying posthumous success as a broodmare sire –to date, his broodmare daughters have produced more than 120 stakes winners including the English classic winners

Anapurna (Investec Oaks) and Legatissimo (Qipco 1000 Guineas), triple Gr1 winning miler Charm Spirit, and Gr1 Darley July Cup victor Starman.

His Gr1 winning daughter Montare has proved particularly successful and has already produced the group winners Journey (Gr1 British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes), Indigo Girl (Gr2 bet365 May Hill Stakes) and Mimikyu (Gr2 Coral Park Hill Fillies’ Stakes).

Montjeu mares have worked with a host of different stallions, with the likes of Frankel, Savabeel, Choisir, Invincible Spirit, Dutch Art, Le Havre, and Dubawi having all sired at least one Gr1 winner out of daughters of Montjeu.