| Grandera | |
|---|---|
 Racing colours of Godolphin | |
| Sire | Grand Lodge |
| Grandsire | Chief's Crown |
| Dam | Bordighera |
| Damsire | Alysheba |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1998 |
| Country | Ireland |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | J Stan Cosgrove |
| Owner | Mrs V Shelton Godolphin |
| Trainer | James Fanshawe Saeed bin Suroor |
| Record | 20: 5-5-2 |
| Earnings | £1,888,833 |
| Major wins | |
| Arc Trial (2001) Singapore Airlines International Cup (2002) Prince of Wales's Stakes (2002) Irish Champion Stakes (2002) Al Maktoum Challenge, Round 3 (2003) | |
| Awards | |
| European Champion Older Horse 2002 | |
| Last updated on June 22, 2007 | |
Grandera (foaled 21 April 1998) is a retiredThoroughbred racehorse and activesire who was bred in Ireland and trained in the United Kingdom andDubai during a racing career which lasted from 2000 to 2003. He is best known for his 2002 campaign, in which he won the World Series Racing Championship[1] and theCartier Racing Award for European Champion Older Horse.
Grandera, described by theNew Zealand Herald as "a stunning individual",[2] is a bright chestnut horse with a whiteblaze and white socks on his three of his feet.
He was bred inCounty Kildare, Ireland by Stan Cosgrove, the manager of theMoyglare Stud.[3] Grandera was sired byGrand Lodge and was the second foal of theAlysheba mare Bordighera making him a half-brother toGeorge Washington.[4] Grand Lodge, a winner of theDewhurst Stakes andSt James's Palace Stakes, sired the winners of almost seven hundred races before his death in 2003, including theDerby andArc winnerSinndar.[5]
Sold as a yearling to Roger Shelton for Ir£30,000,[3] he was sent into training withJames Fanshawe, but transferred toSaeed bin Suroor at the end of his three-year-old season, having been purchased byGodolphin.
Apart from his racing ability, Grandera was known for his difficult temperament, being described by Godolphin's racing manager Simon Crisford as "a thoroughly unpleasant beast" and "a bit nasty",[6] whilstFrankie Dettori is reported to have referred to him as "a lunatic".[7] and "a nightmare".[1]
Grandera began his career with a fifth place in a maiden race at Doncaster in July 2000, before claiming his first win in a similar event at Warwick. He was then moved up toGroup company, finishing second in theSomerville Tattersall Stakes, with future Group One winnersImperial Dancer andStorming Home amongst the beaten horses.[8] On his final start of the year he finished seventh behind Dilshaan in the Group OneRacing Post Trophy.[9]
Commenting on the colt's first season, James Fanshawe later said, "He was rather weak as a two-year-old and anything he did then... was going to be a bonus".[10]
Grandera proved himself to be a colt of the highest class in 2001 with a series of placed efforts. He began with a second place in theDee Stakes at Chester, before running third, beaten less than alength, in thePrix du Jockey-Club. In theEclipse Stakes at Sandown he took the lead in the closing stages but was caught four strides from the line and beaten half a length byMedicean.[11] Grandera reversed the form with Medicean in theInternational Stakes but had no chance against the seven length winnerSakhee.[12]
He recorded his first win in over a year in September, beating Mubtaker in theArc Trial, despite failing to run straight in the closing stages and carrying his head awkwardly. After the race Fanshawe announced that the Grandera would be aimed at thePrix de l'Arc de Triomphe,[13] but the colt was bought shortly afterwards byGodolphin and did not run again that year.[14]
Grandera sent to winter in Dubai, before embarking on a four-year-old campaign which took him to six different countries. He began with a second place in theDubai City of Gold atNad Al Sheba, before moving to Hong Kong where he finished fifth in theQueen Elizabeth II Cup atSha Tin Racecourse behindEishin Preston.[15] His next appearance was atKranji Racecourse in Singapore, where he scored a decisive victory in theSingapore Airlines International Cup, taking the lead inside the finalfurlong and pulling away to beat the German colt Paolini by two lengths with the Hong Kong championIndigenous in third.[16][17]
On returning to the British Isles, Grandera produced what was arguably his finest performance in thePrince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot. Despite behaving aggressively towards the other horses in the parade ring and racing with his head at a high, odd angle ("as if consulting an airport timetable"), he produced a strong run in the straight to pull five lengths clear of a field which includedBanks Hill andNayef[6]
As a result of this win, he was sent off 13-8 favourite for theKing George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes a month later, but could finish only fifth behindGolan. He came back to his best in theIrish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown, producing a strong finishing burst to catch the futureWorld ChampionHawk Wing in the last strides and take a short-head victory. His rider, Frankie Dettori called Grandera "a very peculiar character but... enormously talented" after the race.[18]
Seven weeks later, Grandera arrived to contest theCox Plate at Melbourne'sMoonee Valley Racecourse, where special arrangements, including a double-sized stall, were made to accommodate his difficult temperament.[19] Five lengths behind at the start of the short straight, Grandera finished strongly to finish third behindNortherly, ahead ofSunline,Fields of Omagh andLonhro.[20]
On his final start of the year he finished seventh as odds-on favourite for theHong Kong Cup,[21] but his performances had been enough to win the World Series Racing Championship.[1]
Grandera stayed in training as a five-year-old, but was less successful. After winning a prep race at Nad Al Sheba,[22] he was fancied for theDubai World Cup,[23] but was rejected byFrankie Dettori in favour ofSulamani. Familiar doubts about Grandera's temperament resurfaced- one correspondent referred to him as being "nutty as a fruitcake"-[24] as he finished a well-beaten fourth toMoon Ballad.[25]
A return to Europe brought no improvement as he finished down the field in the Prince of Wales's Stakes and Eclipse Stakes. In the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, his starting price of 33-1 and the fact that Dettori again chose to rideSulamani both reflected his decline. He was fitted with cheek-pieces,[26] which are normally used to improve a horse's concentration, but seemed "reluctant" to race and finished eleventh of the twelve runners.[27]
He was then retired to stud.
Grandera was named as theChampion Older Horse in the 2002Cartier Racing Awards.
In the 2001 International Classification he was rated 119 making him the thirteenth-best three-year-old colt in Europe, ten pounds below the championGalileo.[28]
In the 2002 International Classification he was rated as 126, placing him third behindRock of Gibraltar andMarienbard. These ratings covered horses raced in Europe, North America and Japan.[29]
Grandera was rated 129 byTimeform.[4]
Grandera was sent to stud at the Yushun Stallion Station inHokkaido, Japan in 2003,[30] and was also "shuttled" to stand at theHunter Valley Stud forDarley Australia.[31] In 2010, he was returned to Ireland to stand at the Woodlands Stud,County Galway.[32]
| Sire Grand Lodge (USA) 1991 | Chief's Crown 1982 | Danzig | Northern Dancer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pas de Nom | |||
| Six Crowns | Secretariat | ||
| Chris Evert | |||
| La Papagena 1983 | Habitat | Sir Gaylord | |
| Little Hut | |||
| Magic Flute | Tudor Melody | ||
| Filigrana | |||
| Dam Bordighera (USA) 1992 | Alysheba 1984 | Alydar | Raise a Native |
| Sweet Tooth | |||
| Bel Sheba | Lt. Stevens | ||
| Belthazar | |||
| Blue Tip 1982 | Tip Moss | Luthier | |
| Top Twig | |||
| As Blue | Blue Tom | ||
| As Well (Family: 5-g) |