What a Pleasure

Last updated
What A Pleasure
Sire Bold Ruler
Grandsire Nasrullah
Dam Grey Flight
Damsire Mahmoud
Sex Stallion
Foaled1965
Country United States
Colour Chestnut
Breeder Wheatley Stable
Owner Wheatley Stable
Trainer Edward A. Neloy
Record18: 6-5-2
Earnings$164,935
Major wins
National Stallion Stakes (1967)
Hopeful Stakes (1967)
Awards
Leading sire in North America (1975, 1976)
Honours
What a Pleasure Stakes

What a Pleasure (1965-1983) was a Thoroughbred stallion bred at Claiborne Farm in Kentucky for the Wheatley Stables of Glady Phipps. Sired by the leading stallion Bold Ruler, and out of a Mahmoud mare Grey Flight, he excelled on the track and in his stud career. Like his sire, he would go on to become a leading North American stallion; producing Eclipse Award winners and Kentucky Derby winners. [1]

Contents

Race career

What A Pleasure, trained by Edward Neloy, would peak as a juvenile winning the National Stallion Stakes in the summer of his two-year-old season. In August of that same year he would run second in the Monmouth Park Sapling Stakes in preparation for the Hopeful Stakes later in that same month. He would win this showing and it is considered his best performance. What A Pleasure would go on to race as a three-year-old and ran a decent third in the Gotham Stakes, but he never regained his two-year-old form. Richard Ulbrich of 'Peerage of Racehorses' claims the colt had wrenched his hip after his victory in the Hopeful and this may have dampened his form as a three-year-old. He was retired to stud in 1969 at Florida's Waldemar Farms. [2]

Stud career

As a sire, What A Pleasure would be the leading sire consecutively in 1975 and 1976 [3] by producing horses like Derby winner Foolish Pleasure, Eclipse Two-Year-Old Colt Honest Pleasure, Gr.1 winner For the Moment, Gr.1 winner Fairway Phantom, and the extensive stakes winner Gene's Lady. Out of four hundred and ninety-eight foals over ten percent were stakes winners. What A Pleasure stood in Florida until his death in March 1983 from a heart attack.

Pedigree

Pedigree of What a Pleasure, chestnut stallion, April 24, 1965 [4]
Sire
Bold Ruler
Nasrullah Nearco Pharos
Nogara
Mumtaz Begum Blenheim
Mumtaz Mahal
Miss Disco Discovery Display
Ariadne
Outdone Pompey
Sweep Out
Dam
Grey Flight
Mahmoud Blenheim Blandford
Malva
Mah Mahal Gainsborough
Mumtaz Mahal
PlanetoidArielEternal
Adana
La ChicaSweep
La Grisette (family: 5-f§) [5]

§ What a Pleasure Native Dancer is shown as descending from (family 5-f), which traces back to the Bazajet Mare. However, the female descendants of his third-dam La Chica have a type of mitochondrial DNA that is inconsistent with other descendants of this family. As mitochondrial DNA is passed exclusively in the female line, this indicates a pedigree error occurred at some point between the Bazajet Mare's foaling in 1754 and La Chica's in 1930. [6]

What a Pleasure was inbred 4S x 3D to Blenheim, meaning this stallion appears in the fourth generation of the sire's side of his pedigree and in the third generation of the dam's side. What a Pleasure is also inbred 4S x 4D to Mumtaz Mahal.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foolish Pleasure</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Foolish Pleasure was an American bay Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1975 Kentucky Derby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potoooooooo</span> British thoroughbred racehorse

Potoooooooo or variations of Pot-8-Os was an 18th-century thoroughbred racehorse who won over 30 races and placed higher than some of the most prominent racehorses of his time. He went on to be an important sire, whose leading runners included Epsom Derby winners Waxy, Champion, and Tyrant. He is best known for the unusual spelling of his name, pronounced Potatoes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lexington (horse)</span> American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire (1850–1875)

Lexington was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame, however, came as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the leading sire in North America 16 times, and broodmare sire of many notable racehorses.

La Troienne (1926–1954) was one of the most famous and influential Thoroughbred broodmares in twentieth century America. She produced 10 winners including two Hall of Fame inductees while at stud, while her daughters in turn produced many notable offspring. In 2000, pedigree expert Janeen Oliver designated her as the taproot of family 1-x, a designation that was implemented by the Pedigree Online Thoroughbred Database in 2003. Recent matrilineal descendants include 2003 Horse of the Year Mineshaft, Japanese Triple Crown winner Contrail (2020), Kentucky Derby winners Smarty Jones (2004) and Super Saver (2010), Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality (2021), and Sussex Stakes winner Alcohol Free (2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Round Table (horse)</span> American-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Round Table was an American Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He is considered the greatest turf horse in American racing history.

Somethingroyal was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known as the dam of the 1973 U.S. Triple Crown champion and Hall of Fame inductee Secretariat. She also produced three other stakes winners and was named the 1973 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hurry On</span> British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse

Hurry On was an undefeated British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire that revived the Matchem sire line. English trainer Fred Darling called Hurry On the best horse he ever trained.

Tapit is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, becoming the leading freshman sire in North America of 2008 with Breeders' Cup winner Stardom Bound becoming his first Grade I winner. He was the leading sire in North America in 2014, setting an earnings record that he broke in 2015 and again in 2016. For the 2015 season, his stud fee was raised to $300,000, the highest in North America. In 2021, Essential Quality became his fourth Belmont Stakes winner, tying him for the all-time record of winners sired in this race with the great Lexington.

Heliopolis (1936–1959) was a British thoroughbred racehorse and Champion sire.

Ditto (1800–1821) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. During a racing career that lasted from May 1803 to April 1807 he was lightly campaigned, running six times in five seasons and winning four races. In the summer of 1803 he proved himself one of the best British colts of his generation, by winning Derby on his only appearance on the season. He went on to win two important races at Newmarket and a King's Plate at Guildford. Ditto was retired to stud in 1808 and had some success as a sire of winners.

Noble was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from May 1786 to May 1788 he ran at least three times and won two races. He won the seventh running of The Derby as a 30/1 outsider in what was probably his first race. His only other success came at Newmarket later that year. He was retired to stud where he stood as a stallion for several years but made little impact as a sire of winners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Giantess</span> British Thoroughbred racehorse

Young Giantess (1790–1811) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. She failed to win any of the five races she contested, but became a successful broodmare for Sir Charles Bunbury. She foaled the successful sire Sorcerer and Derby and Oaks winner Eleanor.

William was a British Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1814. In a racing career which lasted from May 1813 until May 1815 he contested eight races and won four times. After winning his last two starts as a two-year-old, he fell on his first appearance of 1814 and was beaten in his next race before winning the St Leger at odds of 7/1. He was beaten in his only race as a four-year-old and was sold and gelded before returning for two unsuccessful efforts in 1817.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pindarrie</span> British Thoroughbred racehorse

Pindarrie was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He raced five times and won the Riddlesworth Stakes and 2000 Guineas Stakes. He was owned by George FitzRoy, 4th Duke of Grafton, and trained by Robert Robson. He only raced in 1820 and was then sent to India.

Trophonius was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire and best known for winning the classic 2000 Guineas in 1811. Trophonius won his first three races at Newmarket Racecourse in the spring of 1811, including the Guineas and the Newmarket Stakes on the following afternoon, but ran disappointingly when favourite for The Derby. He never recovered his best form and was beaten in his remaining seven races. Shortly after his retirement he was sold and exported to stand as a breeding stallion in Russia.

Dialed In is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He won the 2011 Florida Derby and Holy Bull Stakes, before finishing 8th in the Kentucky Derby. He is also the sire of multiple graded stakes winner Gunnevera.

Northern Afleet was an American thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He is best known as the sire of dual Triple Crown Classic winner Afleet Alex and Breeders' Cup winners World Approval and Amazombie

Lady Angela (1944–1966) was a British-bred Thoroughbred who became the foundation mare of E. P. Taylor's Windfields Farm in Canada. She was the dam of Nearctic, the Canadian Horse of the Year in 1958 and seven-time leading sire in Canada. Among Nearctic's offspring was the great Northern Dancer, a champion in both Canada and the United States, and subsequently a leading sire in both North America and Europe.

Australian was a British-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was exported to the United States where he had modest success as a racehorse but became a very successful and influential breeding stallion.

Ion was a Thoroughbred racehorse and sire in Great Britain and France.

References

  1. "What A Pleasure Pedigree". pedigreequery.com. pedigreequery.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  2. "What A Pleasure: Info". americanclassicpedigrees.com. americanclassicpedigrees.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  3. "BloodHorse.com Bold Ruler". BloodHorse.com. BloodHorse.com. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
  4. "Pedigree of What a Pleasure". Equineline. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  5. "Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Bajazet Mare - Family 5-f". www.bloodlines.net. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
  6. "Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Bajazet Mare - Family 5-f". www.bloodlines.net. Retrieved 27 July 2019.