Rite of Passage for Giant’s Causeway

By Elaine Belval

Call me strange. I’ll admit it. Nothing captivates me more than the great Cup races of Europe or Australia. And nothing epitomizes a great Cup race than the G1 Royal Ascot Gold Cup, run Thursday. After 19 furlongs, two horses battled head to head in the final furlong! Oh, to have races like that in the US!

Proving triumphant in the race was the well-bred Rite of Passage, owned by Dr. R. Lambe and bred by Newsells Park Stud. Trainer Dermot Weld was quoted as saying, “I’ve always believed in this horse and that he had the potential to win a Gold Cup since I bought him as a yearling.” The Melbourne Cup is a tentative spot to end his 2010 campaign.

Rite of Passage is the second foal of Dahlia’s Krissy, a daughter of leading sire and broodmare sire Kris S. Rite of Passage’s great-granddam is the great Nelson Bunker Hunt champion Dahlia—twice winner of the prestigious G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. and dam of four G1 winners.

Rite of Passage’s sire is Giant’s Causeway. And there doesn’t appear to be anything this sire can’t do. His first crop had 15 SWs in it, led by Champion and classic winner (and now a promising young sire) Shamardal. His second crop had G1 winners as diverse as Heatseeker (10 furlong on poly) and First Samurai (G1-winning 2yo at seven furlongs on dirt). In 2009, Giant’s Causeway sired Man of Iron, winner of the 14-furlong Breeders’ Cup Marathon, so he’s quite capable at 10 furlongs and up. Now he has sired the winner of an Ascot Gold Cup at 20 furlongs. Giant’s Causeway stands at Coolmore Stud’s US operation, Ashford Stud. Coolmore had even more reason to celebrate in the Gold Cup, as their Ireland-based sire Galileo had the runner-up Age of Aquarius (a 4YO colt that should be early favorite for the 2011 Gold Cup) and the third-place finisher in solid Cup runner Purple Moon (another contender for the 2010 Melbourne Cup in November). As a final note, Rite of Passage represents the same Storm Cat/Kris S. cross as US Champion Sweet Catomine and Breeders’ Cup winner Life is Sweet.

Click here to see a video of the race.

(Elaine Belval is senior pedigree analyst at WTC.)

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