Centuries ago, it was said that the native breeders of Arabian horses would sell stallions but never good mares, prizing them almost as daughters. Old-school Kentucky breeders were of a similar mind, to the point that to gain access to the daughters of some remarkable matrons, one practically had to marry into the family of the breeder who owned these jewels of the paddocks. There was good reason behind this. A fine stallion may be half the herd and the quickest means of upgrading a breeding program, but if excellence is to be developed and sustained from generation to generation, foundation mares and their produce are absolutely vital, and their availability is limited by the fact that a mare can produce but one foal per year.
Nonetheless, money talks, and money has brought a good many high-class mares to American shores. Among those purchases was French-bred Monade, a European champion who found a new home at Robert Kleberg Jr.'s King Ranch. While Monade was not able to transfer her excellent European form to the United States, she provided a valuable outcross to the American breeding pool and succeeded in founding a family of international influence. The most recent star for Monade's family is the 5-year-old Brazilian mare Hevea, who on October 24 scored her first Group 1 success in the Grande Prêmio O.S.A.F. at São Paulo's Cidade Jardim race course, but the successes of Monade's descendants has hardly been limited to Brazil; they include Grade/Group 1 winners in Belgium, England, Sweden, and the United States.
A daughter of 1955 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas) winner and French champion miler Klairon from a staying French family, Monade was at her peak as a 3-year-old in 1962 and won that year's Oaks Stakes in England and the Prix Vermeille in France, as well as running second in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. She continued to race well in Europe over the next two years but was unsuccessful in the United States, where she was unplaced in the 1962 Man o' War Stakes and a winner of only one of six starts after being brought back to North America at age 5.
As a broodmare, Monade did not live up to the high hopes that Kleberg held for her, producing just one stakes winner---Grade 1-placed Pressing Date (by Never Bend)---from 11 named foals. All of her foals started and won, however, and her true significance to her breed emerged when her daughters entered their own broodmare careers. Of Monade's nine daughters, seven produced stakes winners, and three---Que Mona, Remedia, and Miss Mazepah---produced the winners of Grade or Group 1 races. Remedia, a daughter of Dr,. Fager, had the most influence in the United States, as her Grade 1-winning daughter Too Chic (by Blushing Groom) produced 1991 American champion older female Queena and 1987 Ashland Stakes (USA-G1) winner Chic Shirine (both by Mr. Prospector) and numbers Grade 1 winners Brahms, Harmonize, Serra Lake, Somali Lemonade, and Verrazano among her descendants.
Hevea's branch of the family descends from Remedia's Grouo 2-placed half sister Mariella (by Roberto), who failed to produce a stakes winner from 15 named foals. As with Monade herself, if has been Mariella's broodmare daughters who have cast a more positive light on their dam's production record. The best of them has been her Rahy daughter Maritana, who produced English Group 2 winner Close to You (by Shinko Forest) and, through her Grand Lodge filly Chris Lady, is the second dam of both Hevea (by Agnes Gold) and of Uruguayan Group 3 winner Malandrino (by Redattore). Mariella is also the dam of stakes-placed Black Truffle (by Mt. Livermore), second dam of Grade 3 winner Blueeyesintherein.
Like many another high-class race mare, Monade was a case of talent skipping a generation when it came to her produce record. Fortunately, her well-bred daughters were persevered with, and the result is a family that is still in top-level production nearly 50 years later. In a breeding market currently dominated by the mad rush to manufacture a rapid return on investment, it is well to remember that long-range success requires patience, and Monade's family is a case in point.
Nonetheless, money talks, and money has brought a good many high-class mares to American shores. Among those purchases was French-bred Monade, a European champion who found a new home at Robert Kleberg Jr.'s King Ranch. While Monade was not able to transfer her excellent European form to the United States, she provided a valuable outcross to the American breeding pool and succeeded in founding a family of international influence. The most recent star for Monade's family is the 5-year-old Brazilian mare Hevea, who on October 24 scored her first Group 1 success in the Grande Prêmio O.S.A.F. at São Paulo's Cidade Jardim race course, but the successes of Monade's descendants has hardly been limited to Brazil; they include Grade/Group 1 winners in Belgium, England, Sweden, and the United States.
A daughter of 1955 Poule d'Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas) winner and French champion miler Klairon from a staying French family, Monade was at her peak as a 3-year-old in 1962 and won that year's Oaks Stakes in England and the Prix Vermeille in France, as well as running second in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. She continued to race well in Europe over the next two years but was unsuccessful in the United States, where she was unplaced in the 1962 Man o' War Stakes and a winner of only one of six starts after being brought back to North America at age 5.
As a broodmare, Monade did not live up to the high hopes that Kleberg held for her, producing just one stakes winner---Grade 1-placed Pressing Date (by Never Bend)---from 11 named foals. All of her foals started and won, however, and her true significance to her breed emerged when her daughters entered their own broodmare careers. Of Monade's nine daughters, seven produced stakes winners, and three---Que Mona, Remedia, and Miss Mazepah---produced the winners of Grade or Group 1 races. Remedia, a daughter of Dr,. Fager, had the most influence in the United States, as her Grade 1-winning daughter Too Chic (by Blushing Groom) produced 1991 American champion older female Queena and 1987 Ashland Stakes (USA-G1) winner Chic Shirine (both by Mr. Prospector) and numbers Grade 1 winners Brahms, Harmonize, Serra Lake, Somali Lemonade, and Verrazano among her descendants.
Hevea's branch of the family descends from Remedia's Grouo 2-placed half sister Mariella (by Roberto), who failed to produce a stakes winner from 15 named foals. As with Monade herself, if has been Mariella's broodmare daughters who have cast a more positive light on their dam's production record. The best of them has been her Rahy daughter Maritana, who produced English Group 2 winner Close to You (by Shinko Forest) and, through her Grand Lodge filly Chris Lady, is the second dam of both Hevea (by Agnes Gold) and of Uruguayan Group 3 winner Malandrino (by Redattore). Mariella is also the dam of stakes-placed Black Truffle (by Mt. Livermore), second dam of Grade 3 winner Blueeyesintherein.
Like many another high-class race mare, Monade was a case of talent skipping a generation when it came to her produce record. Fortunately, her well-bred daughters were persevered with, and the result is a family that is still in top-level production nearly 50 years later. In a breeding market currently dominated by the mad rush to manufacture a rapid return on investment, it is well to remember that long-range success requires patience, and Monade's family is a case in point.
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