Mare of the Month by Martin Stevens
PARSNIP (IRE)
With her quirky name, you might think Chasemore Farm broodmare Parsnip was a homebred who had been christened by Andrew Black and the team.
But in actual fact she was bought as a breeding prospect at the end of her three-year-old season, having won a Chepstow maiden in impressive fashion for her previous owner Lady Bamford and trainer Michael Bell.
Parsnip was signed for by Tom Goff of Blandford Bloodstock on our behalf not only for her useful maiden victory, but also because she made considerable appeal on pedigree.
She is a Zebedee half-sister to seven other winners, including Celebration Mile winner and Dewhurst runner-up Kodi Bear, who is now a promising young stallion. The mare is also closely related to multiple Group 1 heroine Esoterique, and has interesting 3x3 inbreeding to Green Desert.
Parsnip was originally bought with Lope De Vega in mind as a potential suitor, and indeed she visited the son of Shamardal at Ballylinch Stud immediately after delivering the Nathaniel foal she was carrying at the time of her sale.
The mare consequently has a Nathaniel three-year-old filly, appropriately called Turnip, and a Lope De Vega two-year-old filly named Gatecrasher Girl. She has also since given us a Churchill yearling filly and a Camelot colt foal.
Parsnip is just a little on the small side and Chasemore Farm’s Pat Sells says that while he thought her first few progeny were also rather diminutive at an early stage, he has changed his mind about the mare over time.
“She’s a rocket-fuel mother and her foals improve beyond sight,” he says. “The Lope De Vega filly was mine and Jack’s pick of our 2019 filly crop by the yearling stage despite being just 41kg at birth, and she’s now going well at Rathmoy Stables by all accounts.
“The Churchill filly is incredibly powerful and well balanced. This year the mare has finally had a colt (and a bay, rather a chestnut, thank God!), and he’s a really exciting specimen by Camelot.
“Analysis of Camelot’s best progeny shows a particularly favourable bias towards speedy mares of the Green desert line, and she ticks that box.”
Parsnip is being covered by 2,000 Guineas winner Kameko in his first season at Tweenhills Stud this year.
She may have a funny name, but we think time will tell that she was a seriously important addition to our broodmare band.
