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17hh Chestnut Mare Loki Flame - War Song, by A.P. Indy Hall of Fame, Broodmare of the Year, European Horse of the Year, European Champion Older Mare, Champion Three-Year-Old Filly Click here for SIM site Formerly owned by Ara Davies |
Banner was her name, and greatness became her game.
The daughter of a pair of all-time SIM stars in Loki Flame and War Song, she would win that first race, then annex the Nunthorpe Stakes two weeks later. In her final start as a two-year-old, Banner grappled with Undefeated and Four of Wands and finished third in the Moyglare Stud Stakes.
As a three-year-old, the monstrous filly made her sophomore debut a winning one in an allowance, then won the Vodafone Oaks and Irish Oaks in quick succession. She made her first and only trip to the United States that fall to finish fourth behind Solstice, All In Fun, and Four of Wands in the Steward's Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She would never lose again.
At four, Banner won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe by three, then took the Coral-Eclipse by six and a half. The Tattersalls Gold Cup was also added to her list of conquests before she shipped to Asia to compete in the Hong Kong Vase. In a stirring stretch duel, Banner outfought Capture A Moment to the wire by a head.
Banner's final race record read nine wins and a third in eleven outs with $3,924,000 in earnings. She was named Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, European Horse of the Year, and European Champion Older Mare over her three-year career.
The big chestnut mare may have been a sensation on the track, but she would become known more for her accomplishments in the breeding shed.
Banner's first foal was the first in a line of champions. Another big chestnut, her name was Pennant. By Priceless Forever, Pennant had the makings of a great racehorse from day one. Despite her dam's affinity for turf, Pennant debuted going short on the dirt, breaking her maiden by an astonished twelve and a half lengths. During a career that displayed nothing shy of remarkable versatility and tenacity, Pennant won another stakes on the dirt, the Mirror Stakes, and became a champion on the turf, winning the War Song and Yellow Ribbon Stakes and placing second by a nose to Test of Passion in the First Lady Stakes.
In her final start, Pennant was up against some of the best in the Steward's Cup Filly & Mare Turf. Well back in the early going, she circled the field at the top of the lane before roaring down the lane to leave such great names as Kismet, Up In Lights, Heartstopping, and Test of Passion in her wake.
Pennant would continue her dam's legacy in the breeding shed, producing six millionaires to date. Perhaps her most influential foal to date was the black Streamer, by Astarabad. A millionaire on the track, he became a force at stud. The sire of 288 foals, all to make their race debuts, he got 220 winners with 42 of them becoming stakes winners. His foals include Up And Coming, Hurry Up And Wait, Profile In Courage, and the undefeated Xanduro.
Pennant has had three other sons (Pendant, Pentagon, and Emblem) with years in the breeding shed, but none quite so impressive as Streamer. Pentagon, earner of nearly $3 million and two championships on the track, is the only one of the three to top $1 million in progeny earnings to date. Most recently, however, one of Pennant's final foals, Top Honor, has been making some noise as a sire. The little, blaze-faced bay was excellent on the track, taking down the likes of Imposing, Heroes, Fact Not Fiction, and Peaked during his career. His oldest are two, but some are already working fast, and if they're anything like their sire, they will only get better with age.
Besides her sons, Pennant has produced some excellent daughters, including the champion Riveting and the multiple grade one winner Winds. This particular branch of Banner's female family has produced the millionaire and nice young sire Gripping, as well as having a few younger representatives that look very promising.
Banner's second foal still holds the title as one of the greatest racehorses ever in the history of the SIM. The undefeated Atlas, by Conduit, raced eighteen times, five on the dirt and thirteen on the turf, winning some of the world's richest races. He was named a champion on two continents, and not just once. He earned a total of seven titles during his career and has since been inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Atlas was simply one of those horses that could do it all. At two, he sprinted, winning four starts by a combined 36 lengths, including the Golden Slipper and Blue Diamond. At three, he gave the best in Oz all they could handle, winning the Canterbury Guineas Australia Cup, AJC Australian Derby, and Caulfield Cup all by open daylight before taking a showdown with the great Storm of Applause in the Cox Plate.
At four, Atlas set out to conquer the world. After winning the Doncaster Handicap in his first try at a flat mile by five and a half lengths, Atlas defeated Jet Ski in the Desert World Cup. Back to Australia, he won the Sydney and Melbourne Cups before taking flight again for the United States and the Steward's Cup Turf. Following a stirring stretch duel, Atlas out battled Faith Justified by a head to win the richest turf race in the States.
Where most horses might have been retired, Atlas came back again at five. He still had a little left to prove, it seemed, and that was his prowess on the dirt. He remained in the United States, winning the Sunshine Park, Suburban, and Whitney Handicaps on his way to the Steward's Cup Classic. Facing down one of the strongest fields in memory, Atlas would retire after defeating the likes of Loki Dynasty, Saga, Chinese Bandit, and Bebravedon'tcry in one of the premier dirt events in the world. Atlas earned $12,763,200 and remains the richest horse in the SIM.
At stud, Atlas sired the winners of over $20 million, including Hercules, Taian, and World Traveler. It seems, however, that his greatest impact is still to come as a broodmare sire. He is currently the maternal grandsire of 65 stakes winners, with plenty more fast youngsters on the way.
The Australian Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Map was Banner's next foal. At two, she duplicated what her full brother had done the year before, winning the Blue Diamond and Golden Slipper and remaining undefeated. At three, she won the AJC Australian Derby and Auraria Stakes, both by open lengths, before running into the only horse that would ever defeat her: Sai Yah. She was second to that superb filly in the Australian and Queensland Oaks. In only one start at four, Map won the Sydney Cup impressively by two and a half lengths over some of the best males Oz had to offer.
Despite producing the grade one winner Geography, Map remained somewhat of a disappointment as a broodmare for years, never getting anything to approach her prowess on the track. However, in year twenty-three, Map produced the big, dark bay Frayed filly named Knot. In nineteen starts over the course of four seasons, Knot won eleven, was second in seven, and finished third once. She repeatedly raced against the boys and, in fact, only lost once against her own sex, against Rock Opera in the final start of her career.
The millionaire Siren, Banner's fourth foal, had a pedigree that was a multi-surface oddity in true Ara Davies style. By the dirt superstar Chesapeake Bay, Siren became a very, very nice filly going long on the turf. She had an inauspicious first two years or so, winning the Blue Diamond Prelude and finishing second in the Mother Goose Stakes and Midsummer Oaks. She didn't win her third race and first graded stakes until the end of her four-year-old year when she took the Diamond Stakes by six and a half lengths over Connoisseur. She won two more before her retirement, both grade ones: the Gold Bowl and the Reserve Stayers Stakes. She also placed in the Silver Vase, South African Fillies Stayers Stakes, Cannon Gold Cup, and Hong Kong Vase. In the shed, Siren got six six-figure earners, including grade one winner End of the World.
The grey Chart, by Jet Ski, was another multi-surface star, but he was ultimately most at home on the turf. Beginning his career, Chart broke his maiden by six before winning the Kentucky Cup Juvenile and embarking on the Triple Crown Trail. He was second in the Lane's End and Blue Grass before finishing a disappointing twelfth in Mighty Big's Derby. In a very ambitious move, he was sent to England immediately afterwards to contest the Epsom Derby. He rewarded his owner's risk with a victory over Kotya Peekin and followed that up with big wins in the Irish Derby and St. Leger Stakes before falling short of A Crown Awaits in the Japan Cup.
Chart raced through his five-year-old year, winning the Coronation Cup, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, and Mercedes Classic, as well as finishing second in the Desert Sheema Classic, Brisbane Cup, and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Unfortunately, despite a superstar pedigree, Chart was decidedly a flop at stud, his highest earner being Gonna Bea Big Star, who brought home $231,100.
Chart may have been a flop at stud, but Banner's next son wasn't. The mighty Everest, by Three of Crowns, was hardly paralleled on the track and was a leading sire in the shed. In twenty-seven starts, Everest won sixteen and finished second or third in ten more. He was a champion in Europe at two and three, as well as being named European Horse of the Year, and also North American Champion Turf Horse.
Among Everest's victories can be counted two editions of the Japanese Fall Marathon, the Desert Turf Classic, Chicago Million, Joe Hirsch Stakes, Hong Kong Champions Route, Epsom Derby, St. Leger Stakes, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes, Racing Post Trophy Stakes, and Two Thousand Guineas Stakes, all grade one. The European Triple Crown is not recognized in the SIM, but he won the equivalent of all three legs (2,000 Guineas, Epsom Derby, and St. Leger).
At stud, Everest has, to date, sired 245 runners with 143 winners. His foals average over $80,000 in earnings, and 24 of them have become stakes winners, including the recent phenomena Imposing and Acme, as well as Scream In The Wind, Peaked, and The Demon. His best could still be yet to come, with large crops of two-year-olds and yearlings still to hit the track.
Bongo, by Bago, was next in the line of champions for Banner. The little dark bay filly became Asian Champion Older Mare during an eighteen-race career that saw her win ten times and finish second or third in six more. Among her victories were the Hong Kong Turf Distaff, Queen's Cup, Deutschland-Preis, and Oaks d'Italia. Retired after a less than spectacular five-year-old season, Bongo never produced anything of note in seven foals. However, her daughters Nena and Oingo have a couple of fast youngsters to their credit, so there is hope yet for this branch of Banner's family.
Waterloo, by Le Dauphin Noir, was the Energizer Bunny of racehorses. The stunning dark bay race through his seven-year-old year, winning nineteen of his thirty starts and finishing on the board in eight more. He earned $2,062,500 on the track, and was, in fact, never out of the money. He had two nice win streaks during his career, one of five races and one of six, and he only seemed to get tougher and more tenacious with age.
Waterloo excelled going long, winning the two and a half mile Prix Atlantis and Arabian Nights Cup, as well as the two mile Prix Dreams In Flames, Prix de Notre Dame, Prix Tejano Tribute, and Prix Consolation Prize and two-and-a-quarter mile O'Malley Cup. Waterloo also won the grade one London Cup, Worldwide Stakes, and Cyprus Derby.
At stud, the mighty Waterloo only has 47 foals, only 32 of which have hit the track. Fifteen of these are winners, but none have taken any stakes events to date.
Two daughters were next for Banner, the first Calafia, by Black Condor. In nineteen starts, she won nine and finished on the board in seven more, earning $775,500. Her sole grade one victory was an impressive win in the Prix Grand Opera, but she also won three more grade three events. She has yet to produce a six-figure earner, but she has a nice three-year-old in I Me Me Mine and a fast juvenile by Feat.
Banner's last daughter is Watchglass, a little bay daughter of Stop And Stare. She never won a graded stakes, despite taking the Premio Ristorante and Scarlett Stakes, but she placed behind such nice fillies as Reaper Of Souls, United Souls, Silver Hearts, and Dark Flyte in graded events. From five foals to race, she has already produced a millionaire in the multiple graded stakes winning distance specialist Mammoth, a winner of sixteen of twenty-seven starts to date. She also has the multiple stakes winner Prestidigitator to her credit, and a swift yearling filly by Splintered.
Banner's final foal is one befitting of her legacy: the mighty Trafalgar. The son of Vernacular raced through four and a half seasons on the track, running speed figures of 85 and above no less than seven times. All in all, he won thirteen of twenty-two and was on the board in five more, earning $2,565,000. Trafalgar never ducked competition, and always seemed to find the toughest spot available to run.
Perhaps the most memorable moment of Trafalgar's illustrious career was the year twenty-five Arc de Triomphe, in which he grappled early with the front-running Moya through suicidal fractions and simply kept going. He won by five lengths in 2:25 flat, running a speed figure of 100. In that race, he became the only horse ever to defeat the great July.
At three, Trafalgar won the London Derby, English St. Leger, German Colt & Gelding Championship, and the Prix Effortless Focus before being named European Champion Three-Year-Old Male. At four, he was virtually unstoppable, winning (besides the Arc) the Premio Della Corsa Di Distanza, London Cup, and Prix Dreams In Flames and finishing second to Moya in the King George Stakes. That year, he was not only named European Champion Older Male but also Horse of the Year.
Trafalgar kept trucking at five, winning the Brisbane and Caulfield Trophies, as well as the Australian Cup, before finishing second to Never Back Down in the Sydney Trophy and third behind Feat and Acme in the Cox Trophy. At six, however, despite an impressive first out win over Blood Horse, it was apparent that Trafalgar had finally lost a step when he finished third, running one of the slowest route races of his career, in the Japanese Spring Marathon. The decision was made to retire him.
Trafalgar's foals are hitting the ground running. His oldest are three, and he already has twenty winners with six stakes winners, including the undefeated German Derby winner Andre, the very fast filly Stealth Wings, and the nice Missed You.
Not three weeks ago, the great-hearted Banner passed away due to old age at twenty-four years, not long after finally being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Her loss saddened the SIM world, and it is well known that there will never be another like her. However, this is another legacy that will live on, and its influence is still potent among the best turf routers of this and many generations to come.