Hip #1350 ( catalog page, pedigree), an 8-year-old mare named SPRING, sells Fri., Nov. 12, 2010 at the Keeneland November mixed sale |
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Thoroughbred female family: 7-a
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Race record: Unraced
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Produce record: dam of four foals, two of racing age, two winners, one stakes-placed.
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Sale history: $45,000 as a 2002 Keeneland November weanling; $110,000 as a 2003 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling; $4,500 as a 2005 Keeneland January broodmare prospect.
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When reviewing bloodstock for myself or my clients, one thing I try to discern from the sales catalog page--and some additional research--is whether the previous owner attempted to replicate crosses that have worked previously.
In the case of the Stravinsky mare Spring, it's clear that history was honored a couple of times.
First, Spring herself is the result of a purposeful reproduction of a cross that a decade earlier yielded Gentlemen (ARG), a multiple grade I winner, Argentine champion 3-year-old, and earner of $3.6 million. Specifically, Spring and Gentlemen are by sons of Nureyev and are out of the full sisters Spinnin Cannon and Elegant Glance, respectively. Unfortunately, other than Gentlemen, the family has not produced much of note in a couple of generations. One other U.S. stakes winner appears under the third dam (coincidentally, this "great great uncle" is also by a Northern Dancer-line stallion); Spinnin Cannon produced a graded-placed filly (by King of Kings, who's by Northern Dancer's great Sadler's Wells); and a few stakes-placed runners in North and South America round out the page.
The second instance of applied research is more immediate and probably more meaningful. Spring sells in foal to Include, making her carried foal a full sibling to Pulsion, her 2007 colt. Pulsion ran five times as a juvenile and scored once with two additional place efforts for a six-figure paycheck on the year. One of those seconds was his current claim to fame: he was runner-up in the Norfolk Stakes (gr. I) during the Oak Tree at Santa Anita meet. He has not yet tallied a win in 2010, his sophomore season, but trainer Patrick Biancone apparently feels he's on the cusp of a breakout race: Pulsion's four starts this year include efforts in the Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II) and the Florida and Arkansas Derbies (both gr. I).
Pinhookers would be wise to consider hip #1350 at a reasonable price. If Pulsion returns to the track--he's been off since finishing poorly June 20 in a Monmouth allowance--and finally puts it all together, this mare's catalog page will erupt. Just as important for profitability, the carried foal, if sold as a yearling, would likely return the investment and a significant profit.
Go back a bit further in the pedigree and you'll find Petitioner (fifth dam of Spring), who produced Pas de Nom, the multiple U.S. and Canadian stakes-winning "iron" mare who is best known as the dam of the great Danzig. (By Northern Dancer. It would be interesting to figure out if Northern Dancer works well with this family because of some genetic affinity, or because of opportunity.)
