Just as Northern Dancer has dominated the English classic racing since the time of Nijinsky, Raise a Native has been the dominant sire-line of Kentucky Derby winners over the past decade. These two great sire-lines are combined in Rhythms’ pedigree, typically reinforced by the presence of Classic chef-de-race Buckpasser a further step away. In view of this, Ethereal’s stature as a classic winner last season should not come as a surprise, particularly given the racing class of her dam and grand-dam. The sires of Ethereal’s first three dams, Sir Tristram, Vice Regal and Wilkes, add further genetic strength to what was undoubtedly the female family of the year in 2000/01.

The picture being formed of Ethereal’s pedigree as a blend of speed and classic stamina is confirmed by her Dosage Profile.

ETHEREAL

DP: 12-9-21-2-0 (44)

DI: 2.52

CD: 0.70

Note the almost perfect balance between the speed elements, the Brilliant and Intermediate points (12 + 9), and the stamina elements (21 + 2), and how long the mare is on classic points. Ethereal to a tee, in my opinion, and no surprise that she should stay 2400m a) against her own age and sex in Queensland and, b) under the light weight she carried in the Caulfield Cup.

There was a healthy discussion on the Racing Forum recently concerning Ethereal’s ability to stay 3200m next Tuesday. While a few horses over the past 40 years have won the Cup with DIs in the mid two range, one can generally point to more stamina in their pedigrees than can be found in our subject’s. Melbourne Cup winners with minimal Solid points and zero Professional points are rare. A telling point may be that Romanee Conti was a tad more brilliant than most Sir Tristrams, winning up to 1800m and being placed at 2000m in Group One company. Vice Regal and Wilkes had some sway, to be sure.