Street Cry's lasting impact

Cover image courtesy of Darley

The late Street Cry reminded breeders and racing fans of his incredible influence over the thoroughbred and particularly his near dominance of the G1 Cox Plate in recent years. Street Cry’s genes have been present in the pedigree of 12 runners, six of which have won and two that have finished in the placings.

Street Cry’s (Ire) story began on March 11, 1998, in Ireland. He was bred by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the founder of the world-renowned Godolphin/Darley racing and breeding operations, and from the Darley-based Machiavellian (USA), a dual Group 1 winner in France and son of the influential Mr Prospector (USA).

Street Cry was the 10th foal from the grand producer Helen Street (GB), a daughter of the dual Derby victor Troy (GB). Helen Street was a more than capable galloper, winning the G1 Irish Oaks and placing in the G1 Yorkshire Oaks.

She was a descendant of the Darley Arabian Mare, whose breeding remains unidentified, while Helen Street was also from the family of Chelandry (GB) (Goldfinch {GB}), a top-rated juvenile in England and later an influential broodmare for Lord Rosebery.

Genetic gold mine

Chelandry’s influence showed through Champion’s Flight (Royal Step) and Heroic, as well as the Melbourne Cup victors Just A Dash (Whisky Road {USA}) and The Trump (Manfred), among many other principal winners.

One could say Helen Street was genetic gold, and it is no surprise to see the family continually coming to the fore on racing’s biggest days.

Street Cry, raced by Sheikh Mohammed, put aside the bias of being an ‘older mare's progeny’ by winning the seventh edition of the G1 Dubai World Cup at Nad al Sheba and the G1 Stephen Foster H. at Churchill Downs.

Street Cry would retire with five victories from 1300 to 2000 metres. He would enter stud at Darley’s Jonabell Farm in North America 2003.

As Darley would put it, Street Cry ‘truly epitomised what everyone at Darley was striving to achieve, being sired by a Darley stallion out of a Darley mare, raced by Sheikh Mohammed at the highest level and then retired to stand at stud at Darley.’

Rare commodity

Street Cry would become one of those truly rare stallions that became influential and ‘fashionable’ in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.

Darley made the decision to shuttle Street Cry to their Australian arm in the 2003 season, where he attracted 73 mares in the Southern Hemisphere. At the same time, his debut Northern Hemisphere crop started to hit the tracks.

It is safe to say Street Cry’s debut Northern Hemisphere crop made an immediate impact.

Street Sense (USA) took out the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs and would return in May to take out the iconic ‘run to the roses’ - Kentucky Derby.

Street Sense was the only horse to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile/Kentucky Derby double until Nyquist (USA) in 2015. Street Sense would add the G1 Travers S. before retiring alongside his sire at Jonabell.

The Champion Mare, Zenyatta (USA), introduced a new generation of fans to racing with her incredible efforts, charismatic attitude and captivating presence. A victress of 19 races before narrowly being denied a second success in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic to no less than a horse named Blame (USA).

Another runner to emerge was the speedy Street Boss (USA), a seven-time winner from 1100 to 1400 metres. Street Boss won the G1 Triple Bend H. and the G1 Bing Crosby H. before joining his sire and paternal half-brother at Jonabell.

Sireline to Australia

Street Sense and Street Boss would shuttle to the Southern Hemisphere, like their sire. However, it is Street Boss who arguably has sired a legitimate heir to the Street Cry sireline in this part of the world - Anamoe.

Street Boss has sired 66 stakes winners, but it’s fair to say the Godolphin-bred and James Cummings-trained ‘Big A’ sits atop the list. The 14-time winner is one of the G1 Cox Plate winners Street Cry has influenced.

However, Anamoe also added his name to such events as the G1 Cox Plate, G1 Caulfield Guineas, the G1 George Ryder and the G1 Might And Power before retiring to Darley, Australia, for a fee of $121,000 (inc GST).

Street Cry sires star after star

Street Cry’s Southern Hemisphere crops would also set the tracks alight. Emerging from his second Australian conceived crop was the Group 2 and Group 3 winner Predatory Pricer, the Mark Kavanagh-trained pair of the G1 Caulfield Guineas and the G1 Yalumba hero Whobegotyou and the G1 Melbourne Cup hero Shocking.

Shocking would retire to Rich Hill Stud in New Zealand, where he has sired 21 stakes winners, among them the late I’m Thunderstruck (NZ). Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent-Jnr, the grandson of Street Cry was a multiple Group 1 winner before being narrowly denied victory in the Cox Plate by another grandson of Street Cry in the Anamoe mentioned before.

Hailing from Street Cry’s penultimate crop in the Southern Hemisphere Pride Of Dubai, a brilliant juvenile winning the G1 Sires’ Produce S. and the G1 Blue Diamond, he was retired to Coolmore Stud, where he has sired 19 stakes winners, including the G1 Manikato S. victress Bella Nipotina.

Chief among the progeny sired by the son of Machiavellian (USA) in Australia was the Champion Mare Winx.

Trained by the Champion Trainer Chris Waller, Winx, like her paternal half-sister in North America (Zenyatta {USA}), Winx captivated racing audiences and brought a new generation to the track to cheer her name. Although not as drastic as Zenyatta’s racing pattern, Winx could find herself in some less-than-desirable positions in a race but 37 times, she found a way to win.

Gallery: Winx won four consecutive editions of the G1 Cox Plate

Among her successes was an unprecedented four victories in the Cox Plate and three victories in the G1 Queen Elizabeth S. In short, Winx compiled a record and trophy haul the envy of horse and human.

Sadly, in September of the 2014 breeding season, the great horse succumbed to a neurological issue, which caused difficulty for Street Cry to put weight on one leg.

It set in a sombre mood at Darley to lose a stallion of such brilliance, only 16 at the time of passing.

Street Cry has sired 134 individual stakes winners worldwide, with 50 of those winners coming in Australasia.

Influence not lost

Although it has been nine years since Street Cry’s passing, his influence has not been lost. If anything, one could say it is growing.

As illustrated earlier, he has sons such as Street Boss, Pride Of Dubai, Shocking and Per Incanto (USA) providing the goods. At the same time, his grandson Anamoe will be well supported, and Hallowed Crown, a son of Street Sense, a victor of the G1 Golden Rose, has sired six stakes winners, including Godolphin’s outstanding raced-and-bred Colette. Kia Ora have G1 Golden Slipper hero Farnan and Twin Hills Daumier.

However, the daughters of Street Cry are making an impact. On Saturday, Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) added his name to the honour roll of the Cox Plate.

Romantic Warrior has been a standout performer in Hong Kong with two victories in the G1 Hong Kong Queen Elizabeth II Cup and the G1 Hong Kong Cup.

The Danny Shum-trained 6-year-old is the third foal from an Irish-bred daughter of Street Cry, Folk Music (Ire). She won once at two and was a daughter of the G1 EP Taylor S. victress Folk Opera (Ire) (Singspiel {Ire}).

Romantic Warrior wasn’t the only Group 1 to carry the genes of Street Cry on Saturday. At Randwick in Sydney, the Godolphin-bred and-owned Tom Kitten (Harry Angel {Ire}) was a visually effortless winner of the G1 Spring Champion S.

Tom Kitten is the fourth foal from the Street Cry mare Transfers. Born in 2010, she won four races before retirement, where she has proven a most valuable producer. Before Tom Kitten, Transfers produced the Listed winner Promotions (Exceed And Excel); she is also the dam of the handy Va Via (Astern).

The victories of Romantic Warrior and Tom Kitten saw Street Cry slingshot to third on the Leading Australian Broodmare Sires’ for the 2023/24 season. He currently has had 180 runners, with 55 winners saluting in 25 races, including six individual stakes winners of eight stakes races.

Street Cry’s representation is significantly less than the second-placed Flying Spur (254 runners) and the leading Encosta De Lago (401 runners).

Diamonds fill paddocks

Darley has several key daughters of Street Cry in their broodmare band including the stakes winner Alucinari, the G2 Wakeful victress Ambience, the outstanding Savatiano, and the brilliant Circular - the dam of the Group 2 winner and Group 1-placed Cylinder (Exceed And Excel) and Parisal (Astern), a victress twice in Group 3 races.

The Australian Stud Book credits Street Cry with 182 broodmare daughters in the country. Outside of the Darley-based mares, they include Pittsburgh Flyer, a Group 3 winner and dam of the G1 Coolmore Stud S. and G1 William Reid S. winner September Run (Exceed And Excel) and the Group 3 winner Steel City (Merchant Navy).

The 2006-born Tallow is the dam of two individual stakes winners of five stakes races. The best is the Golden Slipper winner Farnan, who stands at Kia Ora Stud and has served 381 mares in his first two seasons.

Street Cry’s G1 Thousand Guineas-winning daughter Stay With Me is the dam dual-Listed winner Waltz On By (I Am Invincible) and has unraced progeny by I Am Invincible and Dundeel (NZ) in the pipeline.

Worldwide Street Cry has been credited with being the dam sire of 147 individual stakes winners of 330 stakes races.

Twenty-three have saluted in Group 1 races - Cascadian (GB) (New Approach {Ire}), a hugely popular horse for Godolphin in Australia and victor of three elite-level races; the Breeders’ Cup winners Rebel’s Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) (Turf) and Vino Rosso (USA) (Classic), who has also made a good start in North America as a sire from his Spendthrift Farm base.

Street Cry's other broodmare sire exploits include the international traveller Con Te Partiro (USA) (Scat Daddy {USA}), victress of the G1 Queen of the Turf and the G1 Coolmore Classic, Blue Diamond hero Daumier.

And the recent Group 1 winners Wet Paint (USA) (Blame {USA}) who saluted in the G1 Coaching Club American Oaks for Godolphin and G1 Frizette S. victress Just F Y I (USA) (Justify {USA}).

Table 1: Street Cry as a broodmare sire - Group 1s

Table 2: Street Cry as a broodmare sire - Group 2s

Table 3: Street Cry as a broodmare sire - Group 3s

Table 4: Street Cry as a broodmare sire - Listed victories