Chef-de-Race: Busted
b.h., 1963 (Crepello-Sans le Sou, by Vimy)
(February 14, 2000)
by Steve Miller, with an introduction by Steve Roman

Introduction:  The following continues a series of articles written by Steve Miller on the selection of European-based chefs-de-race.  Mr. Miller is a Thoroughbred owner and correspondent from London and an acknowledged pedigree authority.  The addition of Busted to the list of chefs-de-race was prompted initially by an inquiry from Mr. Guy Moorey.  This contact led to e-mail discussions with Mr. Miller and an in-depth examination of Busted's influence on the aptitudinal development of the modern Thoroughbred.  The conclusions are based on Mr. Miller's own research with additional data supplied by us capturing the impact of Busted on American racing.  The result of the analysis is that Busted has been named a Solid chef-de-race.

Solid Credentials

Busted, by Crepello out of a Vimy mare, was horse of the year in England (Timeform rated 134) and a winner of the Group 1 King George & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (12f), the Coronation Stakes (12f), the Eclipse Stakes (10f), and the Prix Foy, as a four-year-old in 1967 - a season in which he was unbeaten. All the more remarkable an achievement when you consider that trainer Noel Murless bought him from Ireland, where he had achieved nothing special at three (it was reportedly the plan that he should be gelded and sent over jumps). Murless wanted him as a lead horse for his two-year-old Royal Palace, who had Classic pretensions for the following season (Royal Palace subsequently won the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby in 1967). At that time Busted was noted as a front running horse with plenty of speed.

Busted died from a heart attack in 1988 after twenty years at stud during which his progeny consistently gained leading middle-distance races, won at three years and upwards. He also has a good record as a sire of broodmares. Busted is a sire of over 700 foals of racing age and boasts some 7% Stakes winners.

He scores highly in his own Dosage profile 6-0-6-2-36 = 50, with a Dosage index of 0.22 and a negative centre of distribution, -1.24. He has a concentration of Professional chefs-de-race in his immediate pedigree, including his own sire Crepello and his sire Donatello II. Massine and Solario also both appear on Crepello's side of the pedigree in Busted's fourth generation, while Wild Risk figures in Busted's third generation on his dam side. However, the influences of Brilliant chefs-de-race Fair Trial and Court Martial are also present on his dam side, through Busted's grandam Martial Loan.

The AWD (Great Britain & Ireland) for Busted's progeny is 11.7 furlongs. This is a particularly high average winning distance. In fact, Ela-Mana-Mou (the most recent of the Professional chefs-de-race), at 12.0f, is one of the few with a higher AWD.

The breakdown for Busted from a sample of 553 winning performances is as follows: 5f, 1; 6f, 4; 7f, 11; 8f, 59; 9f, 10; 10f, 124; 11f, 34; 12f ,155; 13f, 22; 14f & 14f+, 133. Almost a quarter of his winners come in the extreme 14f & 14f plus category compared to more than a third of Ela-Mana-Mou's winners (92 from 261). Busted's best (i.e. stakes) winners tend to win at middle distances short of 2 miles, however, rather than beyond. His Group winning progeny, who have become sires in their own right, include: Bustino, Mtoto, Shernazar and Muroto. In North America Busted's Graded winning progeny comprise Erins Isle, Sharannpour and Black Monday.

Arguably the best of Busted's offspring, both on the racetrack and as a stallion, was Bustino (ex Ship Yard) - Timeform rated 136 and champion older horse in 1975. A Classic winner, he won five races including, the Group 1 St Leger (14.6f) and the Group 1 Coronation Cup (12f), he also won the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes (12f). He was placed second in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris (15.5f) and came fourth in the Derby (12f). However, the race for which he is best remembered is his narrowly unsuccessful battle with Grundy (the Derby winner) for the 1975 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (12f), in which the two horses were locked together in the final furlong of an outstanding race with Grundy relentlessly pressing Bustino who kept finding more until beaten in the final strides of an epic dual - the pair drawing five lengths clear of the brilliant Dahlia, who had won the previous two renewals of the same race. The event is often referred to as the "race of the century". Both horses ran to their absolute extent, Bustino never raced again.

Bustino's Group 1 winners are: Terimon (Juddmonte International, also second to Nashwan in the Derby, etc), Paean (Ascot Gold Cup), Easter Sun (Coronation Cup) and Stufida (Premio Lydia Tesio). His Group 2 winners are: Height Of Fashion (Princess of Wales's Stakes and Hoover Fillies Mile) - the dam of Nashwan and Unfuwain - Bustomi (King Edward VII Stakes), Talented (Sun Chariot Stakes), Dish Dash (Ribblesdale Stakes) and Borushka (Park Hill Stakes). His other Group/Stakes winners include Rakaposhi King, Cunning, Bulaxie, Alma Ata, Bedtime, Supreme Leader, Kittyhawk, Broken Wave, Wagon Load, Startino, Vouchsafe and Mysilv.

Bustino was also champion broodmare sire on two occasions, with Group 1 winners Nashwan, Maroof, Behera and Vintage Crop to his credit. Unfuwain, Sharp Prod and Overbury are among his other notable winners as a broodmare sire. The AWD of Bustino's progeny is 11.2 furlongs.

Mtoto (ex Amazer) was the winner of eight races from three to five (Timeform rated 134), including three Group 1s, the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes (12f) and the Coral Eclipse Stakes (10f), twice in 1987 and 1988. At five he was beaten only once in five starts, in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (a race in which he was placed twice, finishing second on his second attempt, on the final start of his career, by a rapidly diminishing neck to Tony Bin). He was European Champion at 9½ furlongs plus in 1987 and European Champion at 11 furlongs in 1988.

His two Group 1 winners are Shaamit (the Derby), out of a Habitat mare, and Celeric (Ascot Gold Cup, also winner of Group 2 Yorkshire Cup and three Group 3s: the Jockey Club Cup, Lonsdale Stakes and Forster's Silver Cup), whose dam is by Hotfoot. Arbatax won the Group 2 Prix Hocquart, Presenting won the Group 2 Geoffrey Freer Stakes and was placed third in the Derby, and Book At Bedtime won the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes. Mtoto's other Group/ Stakes winners include: Mdudu, Mousse Glacee, Maylane, Beau Temps, Bedside Story, Cap Juluca, Attitre, Crown Of Light, Faru, Laila Alawi, Totostar, Lobbyist and Murheb.

Mtoto's dam was a granddaughter of the 1000 Guineas winner Zabre, who won over six furlongs as a two-year old in France and has bred several winners, including two very useful middle-distance fillies. Mtoto's sister Button Up and the Connaught filly Astonished, both ran well against very smart fillies in minor pattern races in France. Another full relation to Mtoto, Amazing Bust, was a winner at up to 15 furlongs, while Amazer's Belle Arrive (by Bustino) stayed further than 12 furlongs. The AWD of Mtoto's progeny is 11.2 furlongs.

Despite his great success as a racehorse and more than respectable performance as a stallion, Mtoto has a rather outdated and unfashionable pedigree. The nearest inbreeding is the 3x4 cross of Donatello II and within six generations there is linebreeding to Blandford, Gainsborough, Swynford and Rabelais. This, as pedigree expert Alan Porter has pointed out, is "certainly a high-quality background, but hardly one to set the commercial heart racing in the era of Northern Dancer and Mr. Prospector".  

Shernazar (ex Sharmeen), a top-class middle-distance stayer (Timeform rated 131). Won the Group 2 Geoffrey Freer Stakes and September Stakes at four. Retired to stud in 1986. His notable progeny include Maridpour and Zaralaska. The AWD for Shernazar's progeny is 11.3 furlongs.

Muroto (ex Maresca) won three races at four and five, including the Group 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron and two Listed races in France. Muroto is a three parts brother to Romildo, winner of the Group 1 Prix Ganay and a successful sire in his own right. Muroto is the sire of winners on the flat and over hurdles in France.

Busted's Graded turf winners in North America include triple Grade 1 winner Erins Isle (ex Chemise), at 12-14 furlongs, Grade 1 winner (11f) Sharannpour (ex Shamim), and 12 furlong Graded winner Black Monday (ex Lightning Legacy).

Busted is also the broodmare sire of multiple-Graded Stakes winner (8½-10f) Kostroma (like Overbury, whose broodmare sire is Bustino, by Caerleon), Grade 1 winner at 9 furlongs, Foscarini (by Rusticaro), Graded winner at up to 12 furlongs Ivor's Image (by Sir Ivor), Grade 3 winner at 8½ furlongs, Jolly Saint (by Welsh Saint), Grade 3 winner at 11 furlongs Capo Di Monte (by Final Straw), and 9 furlong winner Rhonda's Ring (by Auction Ring).

Below are the Dosage figures for seven of Busted's Group/Grade winning progeny, without Busted's influence factored in, arranged from the CD furthest from zero to the closest to zero. Note the CDs are already all negative.

The figures with Busted factored in as a Solid influence are shown below. There is no substantial difference in the figures and the order remains the same (unlike the dramatic changes when the same exercise was done for Ela-Mana-Mou's progeny, for example). This is because the profile figures were already quite high and in keeping with the new designation. However, the level of the DIs have been pushed down, while the negative CDs have tended to move back closer to zero in the top four examples, while moving further away from zero in the bottom three.  

Busted evidently gets a strong concentration of relatively late-developing, middle-distance staying types from a range of mares (not noted as a sire of two-year-olds). On the balance of the evidence above I would recommend him as a Solid chef-de-race.

STEVE MILLER, February 2000