ALLEGRETTA, INBREEDING AND MULTIPLE QUESTIONSÂ
This mare is one of the most influential in modern thoroughbred history. Logically, we are finding more and more horses with two or even three crosses of Allegretta in their pedigrees. An interesting inbreeding but one that we must learn to tame!
By Nancy Sexton
As the blinkered Allegretta (Lombard) crossed the line as a long last in the 1981 Park Hill Stakes having virtually refused to race, it’s unlikely that many walked away from Doncaster that day thinking they had viewed a blue hen of the future. Allegretta’s story is one of contrasts, from the stoutly-bred German filly whose talent was compromised by temperament to the Classic-producing mare who swiftly became one of the major influences of the modern era. In between, the daughter of Lombard endured a stuttering start at stud that resulted in an early sale that valued her just $55,000. What a bargain that turned out to be.
Allegretta, of course, owes much of her prominence to her Arc-winning daughter Urban Sea (Miswaki), dam of Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) and Sea the Stars (Cape Cross) among her eight stakes winners. But another son, King’s Best (Kingmambo), was a brilliant winner of the 2,000 Guineas before becoming a successful stallion while her Group 3-winning daughter Allez Les Trois (Riverman) foaled a Prix du Jockey Club winner in Anabaa Blue (Anabaa) and became the granddam of a brilliant miler in Tamayuz (Nayef).Â
Currently there are close to 80 stakes winners descending from Allegretta, among them high-profile performers of 2024 such as Los Angeles (Camelot), Facteur Cheval (Ribchester) and Twain (Wootton Baasett). Alongside that, at least 20 of her descendants are past or current stallions. Thus there is today a wealth of opportunity to inbreed to the great mare – and for some, such a method has proven to be extremely productive.
Allegretta was bred by Gestüt Schlenderhan out of its famous Asterblute (Pharis) family. At the time of her birth in 1978, the line had been in the stud’s hands for seven generations, starting with the 1915-foaled Arabis, a daughter of the 1902-foaled Eclipse Stakes winner Ard Patrick (St Florian). Along the way, the stud had enjoyed immense success with the family, notably through Arabis’ great-granddaughter Asterblute, the Deutsches Derby, Preis der Diana and Schwarzgold-Rennen winner of 1949. Allegretta’s dam Anatevka (Espresso) was an Espresso (Acropolis) great-granddaughter of Asterblute and having been Listed-placed for her breeder, went on to foal 11 winners at stud. Even without Allegretta, her influence would have been far-reaching since the haul also included Group 2 winners Anatas (Priamos) and Anno (Lombard) in addition to the Group 2-placed Alya (Lombard), herself granddam of Schlenderhan’s Deutsches Derby winner and important sire Adlerflug (In the Wings).
The mating that produced Allegretta, the fourth foal out of Anatevka, is an interesting one. Her sire, Lombard (Agio), was a formidable stayer who was a two-time German Horse of the Year. A member of the Tantième (Deux Pour Cent) sire line, the son of Agio (Tantieme) later had his share of success at stud although were it not for Allegretta, he would be most likely be a long forgotten name. By crossing Anatevka with the stallion, Schlenderhan doubled up on champion sire Alchimist (4×4), Asterblute’s high-class dam Aster (4×5), English Triple Crown hero Bahram (5×4) and the English Derby winner and champion sire Hyperion (5×5).
Who knows if one of those elements turned out to be a trigger. But the end result turned out to be one of the breed’s most important matriarchs.
Schlenderhand sent Allegretta to Sir Michael Stoute and there was an immediate indication of talent when she won her first two starts at Leicester and Wolverhampton and ran second in the Zetland Stakes at Newmarket. It looked at though Schlenderhan had a potentially nice staying filly on their hands, a notion that was vindicated when she ran second to Leap Lively on her seasonal return in the Gr3 Lingfield Oaks Trial. Unfortunately matters deteriorated thereafter. The first sign of temper arrived at the Oaks, where she ran last to Blue Wind (Nijinski) having become wound up beforehand, and was present again in the Park Hill Stakes where equipped with headgear and looking ‘sweaty and unimpressive’ in the words of Timeform, she turned in a dismal performance. It was an underwhelming end to a promising career and did little to enhance her value; at the end of the season, she was sold for 24,000gns (approximately £90,000 in today’s figures) to Big E Farm at the Tattersalls December Sale.
Allegretta was sent to the US by her new connections but failed to get in foal. That prompted a return to the racetrack but in the sprint circuit at Suffolk Downs, hardly a suitable outlet for such a stoutly-bred filly. It was a fruitless return and Allegretta was retired for a second time but again failed to get in foal. So it’s unders
...