ENGLISH TEXTS
The two dominant characteristics of Grey Sovereign and many of his descendants were a combination of great speed and a difficult temperament. Grey Sovereign himself won eight of twenty two starts including the Richmond Stakes at two and he finished second in the Nunthorpe but he often threw away his chances of winning by misbehaving at the start. Grey Sovereign’ s two most influential sons were Fortino, the sire of Caro, and the Aga Khan’ s Zeddaan, the winner of the Robert Papin, Poule d’ Essai des Poulains and the Ispahan in 1967 / 1968. Zeddaan descendants have been important grey stallions in France and further afield ever since including Kalamoun, another Poule d’ Essai winner for the Aga Khan in 1973, and then Kenmare, Kendor and the Haras de Colleville’ s Kendargent who is inbred 3x4 to Kalamoun. Linamix, the dam sire of Kendargent, was a son of Mendez, who was out of a Caro mare, but had no fewer than six crosses of Mutaz Mahal. Dark Angel and Havana Grey also grey through Grey Sovereign and his son Sovereign Path. Mahmoud was bred in the France by the Aga Khan and was offered as a yearling in Deauville but didn’ t reach his reserve and so was sent to England to be trained by Frank Butters As a mature horse he stood only 1 metre 55 and so Mahmoud must have been a small yearling. At two he won the Richmond
Stakes and was among the best two year olds of his generation. At three his small size led many to think he had not trained on, but Mahmoud was beaten only a short head in the 2,000 Guineas and then on very firm ground won the Derby in a new record time which stood for sixty years afterwards. Beaten at Royal Ascot and only third in the S t Leger Mahmoud started his stud career in Newmarket but in November 1940 was sold to stand at Whitney Farm in Kentucky managed to cross the Atlantic safely to do so. Of the recent gray Kentucky Derby winners Spectacular Bid, Silver Charm and Giacomo are all descendants of Mahmoud, as is the top sire Tapit, while Winning Colors and Monarchos owed their gray coat to Grey Sovereign through Caro. A grey horse has not won the Derby at Epsom for more than eighty years, but it is possible that Field Of Gold will start a new line of top class grey horses in Britain and Ireland. At the same time, it looks as if the Grey Sovereign line is close to running out of new representatives in France. Kendargent will be twenty three at the start of the covering season in 2026 and has no obvious successor. The Haras du Petit Tellier’ s The Grey Gatsby is a reliable source of high class grey horses, but his coat colour comes from Mahmoud via Al Hattab and Black Tie Affair.
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TRAINER
THE MASTERS GOSDEN
By Katherine Ford
Field of Gold, Ombudsman, Trawlerman... three of the standout performances of Royal Ascot week were delivered by John and Thady Gosden. Adding the victories of Crimson Advocate( Duke of Cambridge Stakes) and French Master( Copper Horse Handicap), the father-and-son duo reached a total of five wins, earning them the title of Leading Trainer at the meeting. It’ s their second title as joint trainers after winning their first in their debut season together in 2021, adding to the two titles John Gosden won on his own in 2020 and 2012.
An iconic and commanding figure in both British and international racing, John Gosden’ s career needs no introduction— though few know that he studied economics at the prestigious University of Cambridge and once worked as a land agent in Venezuela before ultimately following in the footsteps of his father, Towser Gosden, who passed away in 1967, and becoming a trainer. John learned the trade under racing legends Noel Murless and Vincent O’ Brien before setting up at Hollywood Park with just three horses in 1979.“ It’ s very hard not to have a
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