Victor Ludorum

Pedigree notes

Victor Ludorum is inbred to his own female line, to his third dam Helen Street, who is also the third dam of his sire Shamardal. The three giants of the thoroughbred breed in the southern hemisphere: Star Kingdom, Sir Tristram and Danehill were all inbred to their own female line. Most notably, Danehill has a similar pattern to Victor Ludorum, being inbred to his third dam Natalma. 

Victor Ludorum’s third dam Helen Street has announced herself as a genuine Blue Hen mare, being the dam of leading sire Street Cry, the second dam of leading sire Shamardal and the third dam of unbeaten two-year-old Champion Victor Ludorum.

For clues as to which mares might suit Victor Ludorum, we should look to the G1 stats and best nicks of his sire Shamardal or his other sons. Young stallions often nick in a similar fashion to their sires, not always, but mostly.

G1 Statistics
Shamardal has sired 29 G1 winners worldwide, including five in Australia. All five in Australia and 14/27 have a return of Sir Gaylord or his half-brother in the mare. The Sir Gaylord sire line is prolific in Australia via Sir Tristram / Zabeel / Octagonal /  Lonhro / Pierro, etc.
Shamardal’s son Lope De Vega has sired two of his four Australian G1 winners from just 14 runners out of mares by Danehill’s son Fastnet Rock. 

Shamardal has very high strike rates of G1 winner production out of Sadler’s Wells line and Danzig line mares, particularly the Green Desert branch. 5/29 are out of Sadler’s Wells line mares, 6/29 are out of Danzig line mares and 3/29 are out of Green Desert line mares.

Best Nicks
Shamardal’s most successful nicking stats are with mares from the major broodmare sire lines of Mr Prospector, Sadler’s Wells and Danehill. Lope de Vega has similarly good results with mares from those broodmare sire lines. Shamardal is a grandson of Storm Cat and the Storm Cat/Mr Prospector crosses and reverse crosses have been some of the most successful in contemporary pedigrees. A particularly powerful nick is emerging between I Am Invincible and Shamardal with the first three and only three runners bred on this cross all being Stakes Winners including two G1 winners, nine-time G1 winning champion sprinter Imperatriz and G1 winner Move To Strike. These are exceptional statistics which are reinforced by other very successful nicks involving sons of I Am Invincible and sons of Shamardal, providing very strong clues that the reverse Shamardal (and sons)/I Am Invincible crosses look to have huge potential.

Inbreeding / Linebreeding options
Victor Ludorum’s pedigree presents the appealing options of further inbreeding to Helen Street, when it comes to inbreeding to superior female ancestors, too much of a good thing is never enough. Other key names in his pedigree include Giant’s Causeway and Machiavellian.

Strategy One
Mares from the Green Desert line, particularly those by I Am Invincible and his sons such as Brazen Beau and Hellbent, look ideal prospects for Victor Ludorum as the various Shamardal/I Am Invincible crosses have industry leading success rates.

Strategy Two
Mares by sons and grandsons of Danehill are great options and have already produced such notable G1 winners as Private Eye, Santa Ana Lane, Gytrash, Converge, Belardo and Faint Perfume.

Strategy Three
Inbreeding to Helen Street can be achieved with mares by Street Cry, Street Boss, Street Sense, Hallowed Crown or Territories, or with mares whose dam or second dam is by either of those stallions.

Strategy Four
As Machiavellian, Northern Dancer and Danehill all descend from the mare Natalma, inbreeding to her is an obvious tactic and is easily achieved as the Danehill and Northern Dancer lines are the most common in the Australian broodmare population.

Strategy Five
Shamardal’s sire Giant’s Causeway has a pedigree featuring key ancestors Secretariat, Crimson Saint, Blushing Groom, Glorious Song and Roberto. Mares carrying those ancestors, their siblings, or their offspring should prove suitable options for Victor Ludorum. 

Important note: There are several ways to find ancestors carrying the genetic material mentioned in this report, including the comprehensive five-generation index in STALLIONS 2024 and all previous editions.