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Mare Inbred to Family of Unbridled Makes the "Turnaround" List

Filtering through Thoroughbred racing and breeding data day in and day out is -- there's no other way to say it, so I'm going to be frank here -- really, truly, spectacularly fun.  And working on the most recent TrueNicks special report (Identifying Thoroughbred Mares Carrying Foals With Promise) was especially enjoyable, as it allowed me to pore over the Keeneland January catalogs without worrying about spending too much time drooling over the mares being offered.

Free report download - Thoroughbred broodmares carrying well-bred foalsOne of offerings at the winter sale is a mare that has long been on my own personal "watch" list --  hip #775, a mare named Delicias Blues. I like her female family -- her second dam is the family 1-r mare Charedi.  Charedi is a close genetic relative of the multiple champion mare Ta Wee:  Charedi is by a son of Ta Wee's sire (Intentionally), and out of a daughter of her dam (Aspidistra).  You probably already know Charedi best as the dam of Pentelicus and the second dam of Unbridled... well, it so happens that in addition to having Charedi as her granddam, Delicias Blues (pedigree) claims a Rasmussen Factor inbreeding to this mare, because Delicias Blues is a daughter of the Unbridled stallion Grindstone. 

To be honest, inbreeding to Unbridled bloodlines is a bit of a question mark for me -- even though I am generally a proponent of strong inbreeding patterns -- just because of soundness concerns.  The cross that resulted in Delicias Blues, however, introduced the sound influences of Buckpasser, In Reality, Dr. Fager -- without replication of Native Dancer / Raise a Native bloodlines, and doesn't involve a direct inbreeding to Unbridled himself.

Delicias Blues already has a decent produce record -- her first foal, a newly-turned-3-year-old filly, is a two-time juvenile winner of over $75,000, and, while unplaced in black type contests, she did run in a couple of grade I races. 

Even better, according to TrueNicks, the foal that Delicias Blues is carrying now (by Forest Grove (SRO)) is a solid A-rated nick.

You'll find Delicias Blues -- and the nick ratings of all of her foals -- on the "Turnarounds" list within the free Identifying Thoroughbred Mares Carrying Foals With Promise report.

5 Comments:

Given the terrible economy, what will this mare sell for?

OTTBecky 07 Jan 2009 10:40 PM

Becky, the sale page does'nt show the G1 races so what most people will see is a mare which only won one time, in France, and who has a descent ALW winner as her first foal. The stud she's carrying moved to Canada for this year which really hurts her value. Best bet, probably worth $25,000, more likely $15 grand.

DynaformerLives 08 Jan 2009 10:40 PM

Scot you failed to mention that the cross with Forrest Grove gives two more crosses to the female family because Forest Grove is already inbred to Doctor Fager.

DynaformerLives 08 Jan 2009 10:41 PM

sir,  my question is,are you comfortable with only a A nick rating for the foal. As a new Maryland breeder I strive to achieve A++ matings.Thanks for any information.GREAT column.

  • Scot's reply:  Great question, Doug.  As part of the TrueNicks team, I feel that it's important to stress that pedigree nicks are just one of many factors that breeders should consider when planning their matings.  I would generally exclude any cross that has consistently proved to produce below-average results -- but if you read comments from TrueNicks co-founders Alan Porter and Byron Rogers, you'll see that they recommend considering everything from a B+ and up, and even to look closely at other factors that would improve on lower ratings.

 

doug oswald 09 Jan 2009 7:18 AM

Quick update:  Delicias Blues' 2007 More Than Ready filly was hip #774 at the KEEJAN sale.  She sold for $10,000.  (It's worth noting that only 14 months ago this filly RNA'd for $27,000 at KEENOV.)

Delicias Blues herself (hip #775) brought what I think was a reasonably healthy $24,000 in foal to Forest Grove (2008 stud fee was $7,500).

sgillies 14 Jan 2009 3:40 PM

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