IF you trawl through old sales catalogues – and I mean old – you will often see that a horse is described as having won half a race. This was because it had dead-heated.

Well, that system changed a long time ago, and just as well.

Now when you look at the achievements of a horse such as Panthalassa, as described in the bloodstock reports on Weatherbys’ pedigree site, it reads as follows: won 7 races (9f.-10f.) in Japan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and U.A.E. from 2 to 6 years, 2023 and £11,754,806 including Saudi Cup, King Abdulaziz, Gr.1, Dubai Turf, Meydan, Gr.1, Nakayama Kinen, Nakayama, Gr.2, Fukushima Kinen, Fukushima, Gr.3 and October Stakes, Tokyo, L., placed 6 times including second in Tenno Sho (Autumn Emperor’s Cup), Tokyo, Gr.1, Sapporo Kinen, Sapporo, Gr.2, Radio Nikkei Sho, Fukushima, Gr.3 and October Stakes, Tokyo, L.

Last weekend Panthalassa was part of a Japanese raiding party in Riyadh which again showed the strength of their racing and breeding programmes. He won the Group 1 Saudi Cup from last year’s Dubai Gold Cup winner Country Grammer, and this richly endowed feature success means that he has boosted his winnings past the €13.5 million mark, and is now in striking distance of the €15.3 million earned by the great racemare Almond Eye. The pair are by some distance the best, in terms of money won, sired by Lord Kanaloa (King Kamehameha).

That other Group 1 win at Meydan for Panthalassa came courtesy of the six-year-old’s dead-heat last year with the Irish-bred Lord North (Dubawi) in the Dubai Turf. At the time it was the entire’s first win or placing at Group 1 level. Last Saturday’s victory was his first since, and he is one of seven Group 1 winners sired by Shadai’s Lord Kanaloa, and they come from just his first five crops. He stands this year for the equivalent of about €80,000.

World-class

Lord Kanaloa earned a Timeform rating of 133 during his four-year racing career, one that spanned 19 races and resulted in 13 wins and six places, all but one of the latter seeing him in the runner-up spot.

He was a world-class sprinter, and a top-class miler, and he was twice successful in both the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin and the Sprinters Stakes in Japan, in 2012 and 2013.

Until now Lord Kanaloa has been best-known at stud for siring the nine-time Group 1 winner Almond Eye, and one of her victories was also in the Dubai Turf. Other wins included the Tenno Sho (Autumn Emperor’s Cup) and Japan Cup on two occasions, as well as the Japanese 1000 Guineas and Oaks.

Another son of Lord Kanaloa to have succeeded internationally is Danon Smash, and he added the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint to a win at the same level in his native Japan.

Last year Danon Scorpion won the Group 1 NHK Mile Cup in Tokyo, and thus became his sire’s seventh winner at the highest grade. In December he attempted to add the Hong Kong Mile, but was out of the placings behind California Spangle, Golden Sixty and Laws Of Indices.

Best of five

Panthalassa is the best of five winners so far from Miss Pemberley, and they come from her first six offspring. That daughter of Montjeu (Sadler’s Wells), and from his first crop, was bred by Harriet Jellett and her late husband Ben at their Colbinstown Lodge Stud.

Sold as a yearling for 50,000gns to BBA Ireland, she was sent to race in Japan, and she was placed twice there from seven starts. One interesting aspect of her moderate racing career was that she did place on both grass and dirt.

Whatever she may have lacked in terms of racing ability, she has made up for as a broodmare. In addition to Panthalassa, she is the dam of a number of winners, including a couple of Group 2-placed winners, by Deep Impact (Sunday Silence). The first of these was Etendard (Deep Impact), runner-up in the Group 2 Hai Aoba Sho, and he was followed a few years later by his own-sister Dimension (Deep Impact). She won five times, at the ages of three and four, and she was placed in a Group 2 and multiple times at Group 3 level.

The grandam of Panthalassa is Stitching (High Estate), an unplaced racemare who was acquired as a broodmare through Tote Cherry-Downes for 40,000gns. She had seven foals, four runners and two minor winners, one of which was a full-brother to Miss Pemberley. The Jellett’s love of Montjeu has had an important upside for Harriet Jellett and her daughter Philippa Mains, the latter being present at the Saudi Cup to witness Panthalassa’s victory.

Harriet still owns Aubusson (Montjeu), a full-sister to his dam, and she is responsible for a winner and has a winner-in-waiting with Alan King. Most excitingly, Harriet has a two-year-old daughter of the mare by one of the hottest sires around, New Bay (Dubawi), and my guess is that she could appear sometime on a racecourse, trained by Harriet’s great friend and near neighbour Jessica Harrington.

No surprise

The appearance of a horse of Panthalassa’s quality is no surprise, given the depth of this female line, Stitching was a half-sister to the Irish Group 2, French Group 3 and multiple British listed winner Great Dane (Danehill). In the next remove of the family there are five Group 1 winners, three of them out of the same mare.

Panthalassa’s fourth dam is Alligatrix (Alleged), a two-year-old winner who was placed in the Fillies’ Mile at Ascot 40 years ago this year. Then the race, now a Group 1, was a Group 3 contest. At stud Alligatrix had seven winners, and the best of these was the ultra-smart Croco Rouge (Rainbow Quest). His four wins included the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan, Group 1 Prix Lupin, and Group 2 Prix Greffulhe, he was second in the Group 1 Prix du Jockey Club-French Derby, and third in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris, Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and Prix Ganay.

As meritorious as these achievements were, Croco Rouge was overshadowed by his half-sister Alidiva (Chief Singer). She won three of her five starts, including the Listed Oak Tree Stakes at Goodwood, and she bred four group/graded stakes winners, three at Group 1 level.

They were four-time Group 1 winner Taipan (Last Tycoon), Sussex Stakes winner Ali-Royal (Royal Academy), and the latter’s own-sister Sleepytime (Royal Academy) who won the 1000 Guineas.

Higher level

Taipan was a Group 2 winner in France, but when he travelled to Germany and Italy he was up to winning at a higher level, capturing the Premio Roma twice and Europa Preis on two occasions. He later enjoyed success as a National Hunt stallion in Ireland.

Ali-Royal also ended up at stud after his seven-win racing career. Both were bred by Charlie Wacker, with Ali-Royal carrying his colours.

Those silks were also carried to her classic win at Newmarket by Sleepytime, trained by Sir Henry Cecil. She beat her 14 rivals by a clear-cut four lengths on the day. Wacker, who raced also as Greenbay Stables, enjoyed a couple of Grade 2 wins in the USA with Sleepytime’s half-sister Oonagh MacCool (Giant’s Causeway).

Mating Royal Academy (Nijinsky) with Alidiva was a potent combination, and it also produced the unraced Sometime. She turned out to be a very successful broodmare, and her son Somewhat (Dynaformer), third in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, won the Group 1 Doncaster Mile Handicap at Randwick in Australia.