By Ellen Parker

It isn’t every day we lose a Reine-de-Course, much less a Reine like Miesque.  With her we had both a professional and a personal connection; the kind of horse who stays in your heart.

Miesque was personal to us for two reasons: Ron wrote about her first win in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and several years after her retirement, we were privileged to speak with the man who trained her, Francois Boutin.  Armed with my best college and high school French (well, I was a straight A student!), I was not about to allow the opportunity to evaporate.  It’s not like Boutin made many trips to Bay Meadows, which is where we met him in the Directors’ Room of the Turf Club.

When we moved to Kentucky, I was pleasantly surprised to meet Kingmambo.  As someone who has never been a very big Mr. Prospector fan, it was lovely to see his dam’s looks and personality so clearly dominant.

Recently pensioned, Kingmambo left a considerable legacy both here and abroad. Himself the sire of 85 stakes winner to date, he is in the enviable position of having several good sons at stud. Here Lemon Drop Kid has sired at least 52 stakes winners including a possible heir in Richard’s Kid. The late El Condor Pasa is breeding on in Japan. Then there are such worthies as Breeders’ Cup Second and 2000 Guineas winner Henrythenavigator and King’s Best (sire of Epsom Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Workforce) who either have already made a mark or are certain to do so.

Kingmambo’s daughters have become prized producers with 51 stakes winners on the books to date including G1 winners and/or placers Red Giant, Nasheej, Duke of Marmalade (IRE), Ocean Silk, Ready’s Echo, Midday (GB), Regal Parade, Miss World and Sagara.

The lovely Mingun, who sadly was sold off to Denmark before having much of a chance at stud, also more closely resembled his dam than his sire, A. P. Indy. Unfortunately his first four crops only averaged about 47 mares. Considered something of a "breeders’ horse" as opposed to a sales stunner due to A. P. Indy’s late maturing qualities and Miesque’s grass bent, he nevertheless was bred pretty much on the reverse pattern to Lemon Drop Kid but without the Mr. Prospector cross.

One would have thought this should be a major advantage. But breeders’ apparently prefer to inbreed to Mr. Prospector instead and chance the risk. Thus poor Mingun got only two stakes winners and two stakes placed runners to date and nothing major. What a waste!

Miesque’s Son really got shuffled about and is currently in France. His problem lay more in perception than anything else as it was widely noted that he was not so good a racehorse as Kingmambo.

Yet there was certainly nothing wrong with his quality when he was bred to a good mare. He got a champion in France (Whipper), a Breeders’ Cup Mile winner and champion grass horse in Miesque’s Approval (now at stud in South Africa where he just might meet some Kitalpha mares!) and despite moving from France to Kentucky to California and back to France again he has held his own since it’s patently unfair to compare him to Kingmambo who had every advantage.

Furthermore, one of his daughters, Love Back out of Espadrille by Meadowlake, is the dam of Uruguayan champion =La Espadilla (URU) by Confidential Talk (by Damascus). This is a true internationalist who never, ever was appreciated. Again, what a shame! Perhaps it is best he is back in France where he might actually be appreciated. America certainly did not do right by him.

The aforementioned, Kitalpha, a full to Kingmambo and Miesque’s Son, was recently repatriated from South Africa, where he was a leading sire in nearby Zimbabwe, getting mostly Northern Dancer inbreds and siring 6% stakes winners and 8% stakes placed. He’ll have two-year-olds here this year and one would hope that at least a handful of them are left entire. Nearly all his good ones in the Southern Hemisphere were geldings.

At this juncture, it is too soon to tell how well Miesque will do in tail-female. Her classic winner, East of the Moon by Private Account, is a stakes producer but a bit disappointing overall and her best daughter to date produced only two foals, neither a stake horse by Sadler’s Wells, and died at age 10.

Moon Is Up is a three-quarter sibling by Woodman to Kingmambo et. al. and she is a stakes winner and one of her Japanese-bred daughters, Sun Is Up by Sunday Silence, is a stakes winner, intriguingly having gotten a stakes winner at Zia Park who is by Lemon Drop Kid, and is thus inbred to Miesque 3 x 3.

Her placed daughter – by who else but Mr. Prospector - named Monevassia is the dam of 11 foals, one of which is champion =Rumplestiltskin (IRE), best of her age and sex at two in 2005 in Ireland, who has herself already produced a winner. There are four other producing daughters including stakes placed Inventing Paradise by – you guessed it….Mr. Prospector, but two of her foals were sent to Russia!

There will be many more chapters written to Miesque’s story before the book is closed on this remarkable mare. And we’ll be watching, especially for those horses who might have a chance to create inbreeding to her – e. g. Kitalpha over Mingun or Lemon Drop Kid mares.

We feel very privileged to have watched this mare race in person and to meet Francois Boutin, who we are certain was there to greet her when she entered the Pearly Gates. We’ll always believe that animals have as much right to be ‘up there’ as any of us. So until we meet again, Miesque, adieu notre ami….you will be sorely missed by the many people who loved and admired you.

KINGMAMBO, 1990 c. by Mr. Prospector.  French Two Thousand Guineas (G1), etc. Classic sire in U. S.

EAST OF THE MOON, 1991 f. by Private Account. French Oaks (G1), French One Thousand Guineas (G1), etc.

    MOON DRIVER, 1997 f. by Mr. Prospector. Prix d’Arenberg (G3).

    Mojave Moon, 1996 c. by Mr. Prospector. 2^nd Fayette Breeders’ Cup, (G3).

    Helike, 2001 c. by Rahy. 2^nd Grand Prix de Marseille.

    Canda, 2000 f. by Storm Cat. 2^nd Prix Yacowlef.

        =EVASIVE (GB), 2006 c. by Elusive Quality. Mountgrange Stud Horris Hill S., (G3).

    North of Neptune, 1998 f. by Mr. Prospector. Unraced.

        Moon Prospect (IRE), 2003 c. by Sadler’s Wells. 3^rd Prix Francois Mathet.

MIESQUE’S SON, 1992 c. by Mr. Prospector. Prix de Ris-Orangis (G3), 2^nd Prix Maurice de Gheest (G1),

                    Prix de la Foret (G1). Sire.

MOON IS UP, 1993 f. by Woodman. Prix de Lieurey, 3^rd Prix de Seine-det-Oise (G3).

    Sun Is Up (JPN), 1998 f. by Sunday Silence. Unplaced.

        SUNDAY SUNRISE, 2006 c. by Lemon Drop Kid. Veteran S.

        BOTTEGA, 2007 c. by Mineshaft. Criterium du Languedoc.

Monevassia, 1994 f. by Mr. Prospector. Placed.

    =RUMPLESTILTSKIN (IRE), 2003 f. by Danehill. Champion at 2 in Ireland, Moyglare Stud S. (G1), etc.

    Woman Secret (IRE), 2002 f. by Sadler’s Wells. Unraced.

        =Wild Wind (GER), 2008 f. by =Danehill Dancer (IRE). 2^nd C. L. Weld ParkS., (G3).

Inventing Paradise, 1998 f. by Mr. Prospector. Winner. 2^nd Prix de Saint-Cyr. Producer.

Kitalpha, 1999 c. by Mr. Prospector. Unraced. Leading Sire in Zimbabwe. Repatriated to US for 2008 stud duty.

MINGUN, 2000 c. by A. P. Indy. Meld S., (G3). Sire. Exported to Denmark.

Angel’s Nest, 2001-2010 f. by Storm Cat. Unraced.

Second Happiness, 2002 f. by Storm Cat. Placed.

Ama, 2004 f. by Storm Cat. Placed.

FAMILY 20