Nearco

Nearco

Nearco
Sire Pharos (GB)
Grandsire Phalaris
Dam Nogara
Damsire Havresac II
Sex Stallion
Foaled 1935
Country Italy
Colour Brown
Breeder Federico Tesio
Owner Federico Tesio
Trainer Federico Tesio
Record 14: 14–0–0
Earnings $86,328
Major wins
Gran Criterium (1937)
Premio Tevere (1937)
Premio Chiusura (1937)
Derby Italiano (1938)
Premio Parioli (1938)
Gran Premio di Milano (1938)
Gran Premio d'Italia (1938)
Grand Prix de Paris (1938)
Awards
Leading sire in GB & Ireland (1947, 1949)
Leading broodmare sire in Britain & Ireland (1955, 1956)

Nearco (January 24, 1935 – June 27, 1957) was an Italian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse described by Thoroughbred Heritage as "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century" and "one of the most important sires of the century."[1] He was not only unbeaten, winning 14 races at distances from 5 furlongs (1,000m) to 1 mile 7 furlongs (3,000m), but also was the patriarch of the most dominant sire line in Thoroughbred history.

Breeding

Bred by Federico Tesio, who also bred Ribot, Nearco was sired by Pharos out of Nogara by Havresac II. Nogara was a good racemare and bred eight good winners from her eight foals, including Niccolo Dell'Arca and Nakamuro.[2] He was inbred twice in the fourth generation and twice again in the fifth generation of his pedigree to St. Simon.[3]

Racing record

Two-year-old season

Three-year-old season

Stud career

Nearco retired undefeated after 14 races. With the political turmoil and the possibility of war caused by Benito Mussolini aligning Italy with Germany, Federico Tesio sold Nearco in 1938 to Martin H. Benson of Beech House Stud in Newmarket, England, for £60,000 (a world record for a sire in those days; equal to about £3.5 million today).[4] The potential importance of Nearco's progency was forecast in the provision of a bomb shelter to ensure his survival should London be subject to an air raid. Nearco's legacy primarily comes from three of his sons: Nasrullah, Nearctic, and Royal Charger. His other sons included Dante, winner of the 1945 Epsom Derby; Sayajirao, winner of the 1947 St. Leger Stakes and Nimbus, winner of the Epsom Derby and 2,000 Guineas in 1949. In all, more than 100 of Nearco's sons have stood at stud around the world.[5]

Nearco was also the damsire of the French multiple Group One winner Charlottesville, and damsire of the Epsom Derby winners Arctic Prince (1948) and Tulyar (1952).

He was an outstandingly prepotent sire, eclipsed only by his grandson Northern Dancer. In England, Nearco sired the winners of 657½ races worth £501,665. He was first on the Sires List three times, second once, third twice, fourth four times and fifth once.[5]

Some of Nearco's descendants were ranked among the Top 100 U.S. Racehorses of the 20th Century by The Blood-Horse: #2 Secretariat, #9 Seattle Slew, #19 Bold Ruler, #24 Nashua, #35 Ruffian, #43 Northern Dancer, #57 Riva Ridge, and #86 Fort Marcy. Other notable descendants were Ballymoss, Shergar, Arkle, Never Say Die, Mr. Prospector, Nasrullah, Nijinsky II (winner of the UK Triple Crown), Royal Palace, Better Loosen Up, Sir Ivor, Invasor, and American Pharoah. Sireline descendants of Nearco include eight of the 9 horses to earn over $10,000,000 in stakes wins. These horses are Deep Impact, Makybe Diva, Narita Brian, Sunline, Symboli Kris S, T M Opera O, Viva Pataca, and Vodka.[3]

Nearco died from cancer on 27 June 1957, and was buried at Beech House Stud.

According to France Galop, from 1985 through to 2010, every Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner can trace a bloodline back to Nearco, his son Nasrullah, and his grandson Northern Dancer.[3]

Tabulated pedigree

Pedigree of Nearco (ITY) Br.h. 1935
Sire
Pharos (GB)
B. 1920		 Phalaris
Br. 1913		 Polymelus Cyllene
Maid Marian
Bromus Sainfoin
Cheery by St. Simon
Scapa Flow
Ch. 1914		 Chaucer St. Simon
Cantebury Pilgrim
Anchora Love Wisely
Eryholme
Dam
Nogara
B. 1928		 Havresac II (FR)
Br. 1915		 Rabelais St. Simon
Satirical
Hors Concours (FR) Ajax
Simona (GB) by St. Simon
Catnip (IRE)
B. 1910		 Spearmint (GB) Carbine (NZ)
Maid Of The Mint
Sibola (USA) The Sailor Prince (GB)
Saluda (family: 4-r)[3]

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Pryor, Peter, “The Classic Connection”, Cortney Publications, Luton, 1979
  3. 1 2 3 4 Morris, Simon; Tesio Power 2000 - Stallions of the World, Syntax Software
  4. ↑ Greene, Melanie (2013). Nasrullah: Forgotten Patriarch of the American Thoroughbred. The History Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-1-62619-014-6.
  5. 1 2 Ahnert, Rainer L. (editor in chief), “Thoroughbred Breeding of the World”, Pozdun Publishing, Germany, 1970

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, May 04, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.