Fantastic Spirit showed plenty of determination to win the Derby du Midi at Bordeaux, showing some of the staying prowess of his third-dam to who he is also inbred.
Fantastic Spirit is by Charm Spirit (Invincible Spirit) and inbred 4×3 to Floripedes, his own third-dam. The duplication in Fantastic Spirit comes through his sire, by Invincible Spirit out of a Montjeu mare.
Montjeu, pictured at Coolmore in 2004, was by Sadler’s Wells out of Floripedes, who raced for Sir James Goldsmith.
Floripedes was a smart mare, making much of the running to defeat Rachmaninov in the Gr3 Prix de Lutece over 3000m at Longchamp in 1988 before finishing runner-up to Star Lift in the Prix Royal-Oak.
Trained by John Hammond, Montjeu took the Prix du Jockey-Club, Irish Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe as a three-year-old in 1999.
He added an easy score in the Gr1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at four, and retired to Coolmore Stud, who bought into the ownership after his two-year-old season, in 2001 with a record of 11 wins from 16 starts.
From his first crop, Montjeu sired Epsom Derby hero Motivator, and Irish Derby Hurricane Run. He has since sired two other winners of the Epsom Classic in Authorized and Pour Moi, and was represented in 2011 by Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Turf hero St Nicholas Abbey.
31 of Montjeu’s 126 stakes winners were at Gr1 level and his death in 2016 at a relatively young age was a major loss.
Fantastic Spirit is the first stakes winner from only a handful of foals inbred to Floripedes and the other winner Look Of Victory is also by Charm Spirit out of a mare by Motivator.