Chef-de-Race: Niniski
b.h., 1976 (Nijinsky II-Virginia Hills, by Tom Rolfe)
(January 15, 2001)
by Steve Miller, with an introduction by Steve Roman

Introduction: The following is another in a series of articles by Mr. Steve Miller on the selection of European-based chefs-de-race. Mr. Miller is a Thoroughbred owner and correspondent from the UK and an acknowledged pedigree authority.  The addition of Niniski to the list as the 198th chef-de-race follows extensive discussion on "The Homestretch" web forum (http://pub17.ezboard.com/bthehomestretch) involving several participants.  The discussion prompted Mr. Miller to undertake a comprehensive examination of Niniski's aptitudinal influence on the modern Thoroughbred. The result of the analysis is that Niniski has been named a Classic/Professional chef-de-race.

A Prepotent Reinforcer 

NINISKI (who died in 1998) was foaled in 1976, by Nijinsky II (Classic/Solid chef-de-race) out of the Tom Rolfe (Classic/Professional chef-de-race) mare Virginia Hills. Niniski was a dual Classic winner of the Irish St. Leger at the Curragh (by ten lengths) over 14 furlongs and the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp at 15.5 furlongs. In all he won six races, including three other Group races (the Geoffrey Freer Stakes 13f, the John Porter Stakes 12f, and the Ormonde Stakes 13f) at three and four. 

He became champion first season sire in 1984 and has since sired ten individual Group 1 winners and the winners of 15 Group 1 races, namely: Hernando, Kala Dancer, Petoski, Minster Son, Assessor, Lomitas, Caitano, Louis Cyphre, Vialli and San Sebastian. Niniski also sired other notable Group/Grade winners including: Alflora, Sapience, Sergeyevich and Kadial. Niniski stood his entire stud career at Kirsten Rausing’s Lanwades Stud in Newmarket, England. 

Hernando, Lomitas and Kala Dancer have themselves gone on to be the sires of Group/Grade 1 winners. Pedigree authority Tony Morris declared, “the best bets to extend the Nijinsky line are Niniski’s sons Lomitas and Hernando”. 

Niniski’s AWD (Great Britain & Ireland) is 12.6f, higher, for example, than Professional chef-de-race Ela-Mana-Mou on 12.0f. Niniski was also a notable National Hunt stallion. 

The distribution for his winning sample of 225 Flat winners is as follows: 5f = 0, 6f = 2, 7f = 6, 8f = 9, 9f = 8, 10f = 25, 11f = 16, 12f = 56, 13f = 15, 14f & 14f+ = 88. 

The distribution of his winning sample shows a strong bias toward stamina, with 159 (more than 70%) winning at 12 furlongs or more, and 39% (like Ela-Mana-Mou, more than a third of the sample) winning at 14 furlongs or more. However, whereas Ela-Mana-Mou’s Stakes winners came into their own beyond 14 furlongs, Niniski appears just as capable of siring stakes winners that are equally effective at middle distances or shorter. We will run through the career performances for Niniski’s most important stakes performers below. 

Like his sire, Hernando (ex Whakilyric) was a Classic and dual Group 1 winner (the Prix du Jockey-Club at 12f and the Prix Lupin at 10.5f) and winner of seven races in all (including the Group 2 Prix Niel at 12f and the Group 3 Prix Gontaut-Biron at 10f twice, in 1994 and 1995). He was placed second in three more Group/Grade 1's – the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, the Irish Derby and the Turf Classic Invitational (Belmont Park) – all at 12 furlongs. He was rated 127 by Timeform in Racehorses of 1994. Hernando in turn notably sired Holding Court, like Hernando the winner of the Group 1 Prix du Jockey-Club and Playact, winner of the Prix Madame Jean Couturie. When retired Hernando was the highest money-earning colt trained in Great Britain, Ireland or France, having won more than $3 million. 

Lomitas (ex La Colorada) was German three-year-old champion, the winner of four Group 1's in Germany and a top-class performer at 11 and 12 furlongs. He is the sire of stakes winners Sumitas, Belenus, Silvano, Blue Moon, Cosmographe and Passimo and is a Group 1 sire in Germany. 

Petoski (ex Sushila) is Britain’s highest earning National Hunt sire. He was a dual Group winner at 12 furlongs: the Group 1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (beating Triple Classic winner Oh So Sharp, Arc winner Rainbow Quest and Irish Derby winner Law Society), and the Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes (beating Group 1 winner Lanfranco). 

Minster Son (ex Honey Bridge), who heads the table for stamina of Niniski’s most important Stakes winners, was a classic winner and champion stayer at three, winning the Group 1 St Leger (14f) and the Group 3 Gordon Stakes (12f). 

Assessor (ex Dingle Bay II) was a true Group 1 stayer and Classic winner, winning the Prix Royal-Oak (15.5f) and the Prix du Cadran (20f), as well as the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup (14f) and Group 3 Doncaster Cup (18f). 

San Sebastian (ex Top Of The League) is Niniski’s latest Group 1 winner – successful like his sire in the Prix du Cadran (20f), in which he achieved a lifetime best performance, after finishing second in the same race the previous year. The gelding also won the 1999 Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot (22.2f) and was placed fourth of 11 behind Kayf Tara in the Group 1 Ascot Gold Cup (20f) at Royal Ascot the following year. 

Kala Dancer (ex Kalazero) was champion two-year-old of 1984 when he was unbeaten, including the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes. He is a leading sire in Australia where he was responsible for Group 1 winners Subzero (winner of the Melbourne Cup) and Angst. 

Caitano (ex Eversince) was a smart performer (dual Group 1 winner) who suffered a foot injury after winning the Grosser Preis der Baden-Airpark and Idee Hansa-Preis (both at 11f) in the first half of 1999. Also, three lengths second to Fantastic Light in the 2000 Dubai Sheema Classic (12f) and the previous year six lengths third to Fruits Of Love in the Dubai Turf Classic (12f). 

Alflora (ex Adrana) was a triple Group 2 winning miler and placed in eight other Group races. He was most effective at 8-10 furlongs. 

Sapience (ex Claretta II) was most effective at 10-14 furlongs, winning the Ebor Handicap at York and placed second behind Michelozzo in the St Leger at three. He subsequently won the 12-furlong Princess of Wales’s Stakes and the Jockey Club Stakes (both at Newmarket) as an older horse and was also placed in the Yorkshire Cup (14f), the Hardwicke Stakes (12f), the Eclipse (10f), the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes (12f) and the Geoffrey Freer Stakes (13f), among others. 

Sergeyevich (ex Rexania) Made all in the Sagaro Stakes (16f) at four and was placed in Cup races such as the Ascot Gold Cup (20f) and Doncaster Cup (18f), also runner-up in the Queen Alexandra Stakes and Listed Curragh Cup. Suited by a real test of stamina and effectively campaigned at distances of 16-22 furlongs (i.e. up to two-and-a-half miles). 

Vialli (ex Vaison La Romaine) won the JRA Classic (Japan). His first crop of foals is in New Zealand (1999/2000). While Kadial (ex Khadaeen), was the winner of the Grade 2 Dixie Handicap at 12 furlongs in the US. 

In many ways Louis Cyphre (ex Princess Timide) stands out as the exception to other Niniski Grade/Group winners. He is out of a Blushing Groom (Brilliant/Classic chef-de-race) mare and has the Brilliant influences of the Nasrullah cross and also of Royal Charger in his fourth generation dam side, as well as the Brilliant/Intermediate influence of Never Bend (Nasrullah’s son) in his third generation dam side. This strong dam side influence for speed appears responsible for the fact that Louis Cyphre was capable of winning the Grade 1 Mervyn Leroy Handicap (8.5f) and the Grade 3 Rainier Mile. 

Niniski’s own Dosage numbers are DP 6-4-22-8-6 = 46, DI = 0.84, CD = -0.09. The following table shows Niniski’s 14 most important Group/Grade winners (discussed above) arranged from greatest stamina potential (by Centre of Distribution) to least stamina potential.

Nine of these have negative centres of distribution and ten have a Dosage Index of less than 1.00. Louis Cyphyre is the only one to score higher in his initial Brilliant category (a double-digit 14 points) than in any other. All score high enough points to make their readings meaningful. 

All of those with negative CDs appear to have been able to successfully compete at Group level at a mile and a half and beyond, with several effective at around two miles or more. 

Niniski’s influence on the breed appears beyond doubt. My initial feeling was that he would make a Professional chef-de-race when considering his AWD of 12.6 furlongs, but on closer consideration of his best (i.e. stakes winners) I would say this supposition for the stallion as an unqualified stamina influence is less straightforward, as it is undeniable that bred with certain mares, offspring such as Louis Cyphyre and Alflora have enough speed to excel at 8 furlongs. And others, that certainly stayed much further, such as Hernando and Sapience, also had enough speed to win and be placed in Group 1 races at around 10 furlongs. Yet it is also undeniable that his more typical offspring inherit a pronounced aptitude for stamina (Niniski’s entire sample reverts strongly to this), with those such as Assessor, San Sebastian, Minster Son and Sergeyevich either winning, or competing effectively in Group races of at least 14 furlongs to two miles plus. 

In view of this I would recommend him as a Professional split influence. Solid/Professional and Classic/Professional (like his damsire Tom Rolfe) are the two categories to consider. On the balance of the performances of Niniski’s progeny at Stakes level I would opt for the latter of these two categories. The following table shows the same 14 Group/Grade winners as above with a Classic/Professional designation factored in.

All of them are now on negative CDs (four moving from positive to negative), with the exception of Louis Cyphyre. There has also been some jostling for position in the ranking (by centre of distribution), but Minster Son remains at the top, with very little change to his figures, and Louis Cyphyre remains at the foot, but with more of a shift in his profile. This new proposed designation suits most of those (particularly in the higher part of the table) better than before, although it could also be said that Louis Cyphyre and Alflora have too much stamina factored in. However, this split Classic/Professional designation seems to best reflect the group as a whole and seems more satisfactory than alternative designations. 

The other alternative is to leave Niniski out altogether with the justification that both his sire (Nijinsky) and damsire (Tom Rolfe) already adequately imply Niniski’s influence in the context of the Dosage system. However, to do so would be to ignore a powerful stallion who, rather than serving simply as a conduit for his own immediate influences, boldly restates similar prepotent traits to both his sire Nijinsky (1967) and his damsire Tom Rolfe (1962). As these two chef-de-race sires begin to phase out beyond the fourth generation (and consequently from the scope of the Dosage system), Niniski will carry the torch as a prepotent reinforcer of their characteristics to subsequent generations. Evidence of this is being seen, in the progeny of the likes of Hernando and Lomitas.

We have received the following note from Kirsten Rausing, a breeder and stallion owner/manager at Lanwades Stud, Moulton, Newmarket, England, home of Niniski's son, Hernando:

I have read your article on Niniski with interest and I gratefully note your classification of him as a chef-de-race. However, please can you update your copy on his son Hernando (also at Lanwades) to include 2002 French (and International?) Champion 3-y-o Sulamani, as well as other Group winners and SW's Mr. Combustible (Gr.2), Asian Heights( Gr.3), Tau Ceti (Gr.3), Miss Corniche, Foundation Spirit, Kentucky Rose,. Van Veen, Miss Riviera Golf, Royal Engagement, Hertha, Foreign Affairs, and 2002 two-year-old stakes winner Hanami - many thanks.