If you read the post below this one, you’ll find background on Stefan Friborg, the owner of Gloria de Campeao. One of Mr. Friborg’s early advisors, Renato Gameiro, mentioned in that post, is responsible for picking Gloria from the produce of Haras Santarem, the Brazilian stud farm of Sylvio Bertoli. Santarem also stands the Argentine-bred Impression, a son of champion sprinter Rubiano.
Renato, who I know quite well, has always had an eye for a good horse, and some of many that he’s picked out of fields or sales as yearlings include Einstein, Much Better, and Cara Rafaela— a Grade 1 winner, dam of Bernardini, and Broodmare of the Year in 2006. I was actually at the 1994 Keeneland September sale when Renato spotted Cara Rafaela and showed her to me and Wayne Lukas, who trained her for the Brazilian outfit Stud TNT. The price was a bargain $70,000, and Renato signed the ticket under his business entity, Albatroz Bloodstock.
Aside from having a sharp eye, Renato also is a student of pedigrees and turf history, and he is particularly a follower of what’s called the “Rasmussen Factor,” a term coined by the late Jack Werk to describe the penchant for inbreeding to females that the longtime Daily Racing Form pedigree writer Leon Rasmussen advocated. Leon was a great friend of mine and one of the most knowledgeable observers of pedigree I’ve ever come across. As a longtime student of blood lines, Leon had noted throughout his career that some of the most successful breeders around the world practiced the art of inbreeding to influential females or female representatives of influential families. One of his favorite stallions was Quiet American, the sire of Cara Rafaela. Click on Quiet American’s name to view his pedigree, and you’ll note that the Tartan Farms-bred son of Fappiano is inbred 3×2 to Tartan’s iconic racehorse Dr. Fager and 4×3 to the important mare Cequillo. The latter inbreeding is an example of the “RF.”
Like Leon, Renato has written extensively about pedigree theory—when I was bloodstock editor of DRF, Renato had contributed the occasional piece there as well—and it’s possible that Mr. Bertoli read about Renato’s belief in the “RF” in local publications and was influenced by it, or perhaps he’d also been a believer in the practice through his own observations. At any rate, Gloria de Campeao’s pedigree contains the “RF,” plus other elements to it that I know would have appealed to Renato, aside from the horse’s physique.
Impression, the sire, was a Grade 1 winner on dirt in Argentina over 1000 meters (about 5 furlongs). Bred by Haras Vacacion, Impression was a sprinter like his US-bred sire and won the GP Maipu in 0:54.77, in 2000. Note that Impression’s sire, Rubiano, was a son of Fappiano—just as Cara Rafaela’s sire, Quiet American, was, and this must have appealed to Renato.
However, Impression’s female family would have appealed to Renato more. This family traces to foundation mares from the storied (but no longer functioning) Haras Ojo de Agua, at one time one of the greatest stud farms in the world. Ojo de Agua stood such important sires as Gay Hermit, Kendal, Pietermaritzburg, Cyllene, Your Majesty, Congreve, Aristophanes (sire of Ojo de Agua-bred Forli, sire of Forego), and Good Manners—each of whom led the leading sire list in Argentina. There were many other influential sires at Ojo de Agua, as well, several in the bottom side of Impression’s pedigree. In the early ’90s, I was fortunate to visit Ojo de Agua—at the time in operation for more than 100 years—with Renato, and I was amazed by the fertile land, beautiful colonial architecture, and rich equine history of the place, plus the quality of horse that had been consistently produced on the vast property. Impression’s 5th dam, La Dogana, was a sister to Trevisa—dam of Forli, the Argentine quadruple crown winner.
La Dogana’s daughter La Farnesina (4th dam) was bred to Aristophanes (sire of Forli) to produce Pallazzina, Impression’s 3rd dam; therefore, Pallazzina and Forli (both by Aristophanes from same family) are closely related on pedigree.
Pallazzina was bred to Good Manners to produce Gioconda (Impression’s 2nd dam), a multiple Group 1 winner and champion sprinter. Brought to the US, Gioconda produced the Graded stakes winner Good Command and the unraced Liloy mare Improbable Lady. Sent to Argentina, Improbable Lady produced Impression.
Gloria de Campeao’s dam is Audacity, a daughter of Clackson, a Brazilian-bred icon who was a favorite of Renato’s and one of the great modern stallions of Brazil. Audacity’s dam is a daughter of the Argentine Group 1 winner and US stakes winner Farnesio, by Good Manners from La Farnesina (Impression’s 4th dam). Therefore, Gloria de Campeao’s pedigree features 4×4 inbreeding to Good Manners plus the “RF” 5×4 inbreeding to La Farnesina—meaning the three-quarter siblings Farnesio and Gioconda are 3×3 and a wide swath of the internal part of this pedigree duplicates the sires and dams of Ojo de Agua that trace to Forli and beyond.
Renato, who I know quite well, has always had an eye for a good horse, and some of many that he’s picked out of fields or sales as yearlings include Einstein, Much Better, and Cara Rafaela— a Grade 1 winner, dam of Bernardini, and Broodmare of the Year in 2006. I was actually at the 1994 Keeneland September sale when Renato spotted Cara Rafaela and showed her to me and Wayne Lukas, who trained her for the Brazilian outfit Stud TNT. The price was a bargain $70,000, and Renato signed the ticket under his business entity, Albatroz Bloodstock.
Impression: Sire of Gloria de Campeao stands in Brazil but was a Group 1 winner in Argentina over 1000 meters.
Like Leon, Renato has written extensively about pedigree theory—when I was bloodstock editor of DRF, Renato had contributed the occasional piece there as well—and it’s possible that Mr. Bertoli read about Renato’s belief in the “RF” in local publications and was influenced by it, or perhaps he’d also been a believer in the practice through his own observations. At any rate, Gloria de Campeao’s pedigree contains the “RF,” plus other elements to it that I know would have appealed to Renato, aside from the horse’s physique.
Impression, the sire, was a Grade 1 winner on dirt in Argentina over 1000 meters (about 5 furlongs). Bred by Haras Vacacion, Impression was a sprinter like his US-bred sire and won the GP Maipu in 0:54.77, in 2000. Note that Impression’s sire, Rubiano, was a son of Fappiano—just as Cara Rafaela’s sire, Quiet American, was, and this must have appealed to Renato.
However, Impression’s female family would have appealed to Renato more. This family traces to foundation mares from the storied (but no longer functioning) Haras Ojo de Agua, at one time one of the greatest stud farms in the world. Ojo de Agua stood such important sires as Gay Hermit, Kendal, Pietermaritzburg, Cyllene, Your Majesty, Congreve, Aristophanes (sire of Ojo de Agua-bred Forli, sire of Forego), and Good Manners—each of whom led the leading sire list in Argentina. There were many other influential sires at Ojo de Agua, as well, several in the bottom side of Impression’s pedigree. In the early ’90s, I was fortunate to visit Ojo de Agua—at the time in operation for more than 100 years—with Renato, and I was amazed by the fertile land, beautiful colonial architecture, and rich equine history of the place, plus the quality of horse that had been consistently produced on the vast property. Impression’s 5th dam, La Dogana, was a sister to Trevisa—dam of Forli, the Argentine quadruple crown winner.
La Dogana’s daughter La Farnesina (4th dam) was bred to Aristophanes (sire of Forli) to produce Pallazzina, Impression’s 3rd dam; therefore, Pallazzina and Forli (both by Aristophanes from same family) are closely related on pedigree.
Pallazzina was bred to Good Manners to produce Gioconda (Impression’s 2nd dam), a multiple Group 1 winner and champion sprinter. Brought to the US, Gioconda produced the Graded stakes winner Good Command and the unraced Liloy mare Improbable Lady. Sent to Argentina, Improbable Lady produced Impression.
Gloria de Campeao’s dam is Audacity, a daughter of Clackson, a Brazilian-bred icon who was a favorite of Renato’s and one of the great modern stallions of Brazil. Audacity’s dam is a daughter of the Argentine Group 1 winner and US stakes winner Farnesio, by Good Manners from La Farnesina (Impression’s 4th dam). Therefore, Gloria de Campeao’s pedigree features 4×4 inbreeding to Good Manners plus the “RF” 5×4 inbreeding to La Farnesina—meaning the three-quarter siblings Farnesio and Gioconda are 3×3 and a wide swath of the internal part of this pedigree duplicates the sires and dams of Ojo de Agua that trace to Forli and beyond.
