Breeders' Cup: All in the Family

When I wrote a pedigree review of 2010 Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Turf (gr. IT) winner Dangerous Midge (profile, pedigree) for this week's issue of The Blood-Horse, I focused my 500 words on the La Troienne female family. I looked specifically at the overall influence of the 1962 Hail to Reason mare Straight Deal, a spectacular race mare (99 starts, 21 wins, 21 places, 9 shows--including 36 in-the-money stakes efforts--and $733,020 earnings in the '60s!) who produced three stakes winners, one at grade I level. Straight Deal is great-granddam of Dangeous Midge.

I also discussed Dangerous Midge's dam, Adored Slew, who was bred on a similar pattern to a grade I winner out of another Straight Deal daughter.

I sort of glossed over the "middle mare" in the pedigree, though: Affirmatively (pedigree). Affirmatively is a daughter of Straight Deal and the dam of Adored Slew.

And Affirmatively had a big Breeders' Cup weekend.

In addition to Dangerous Midge's Turf win, Affirmatively plays a pedigree role in the Grey Goose Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (gr. I) winner Awesome Feather (profile, pedigree). Awesome Feather--who was sold Sunday for $2.3 million (as hip 10) at Fasig-Tipton's premier bloodstock sale--is a daughter of Awesome of Course.  If you knew much about Awesome of Course before Sunday, you're in the minority. Awesome of Course, a son of Awesome Again, was a modest stakes winner at 2 and 3 in Florida who attracted little attention his first seven years at stud in Florida and Oklahoma. Brent and Crystal Fernung will stand Awesome of Course at their Journeyman Stud in 2011. With Awesome Feather to his credit and 10% stakes winners-to-starters currently, Awesome of Course should be attractive to Sunshine State breeders.

So, what's the connection?  Awesome of Course is out of Mais Oui, another daughter of Affirmatively. Now that is a big weekend!