February 2008 - Posts
Fastest work at the under tack show for Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton Calder 2-Year-Old in Training sale was a colt by Sky Mesa ( TrueNicks , SRO ) out of Secondary School, by Honor Grades. The colt - who broke the 10-second mark - is rated an A+ by TrueNicks on the basis of the Pulpit/Danzig cross, but has several other interesting pedigree features. The foremost of these is a double of the excellent runner...
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One stallion who has been enjoying a great February is More Than Ready ( TrueNicks , SRO ). In the U.S., last week brought stakes wins for Ruff and Ready (who routed the opposition in the Shotintheheart Stakes at Gulfstream on Valentine's Day) and Ready for Fortune (winner of the Dearly Precious Stakes at Aqueduct three days later). Ruff and Ready, out of a mare by Notebook, is an A++ TrueNicks scorer...
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A major edge that TrueNicks has is that with the comprehensive database of The Jockey Club Information Services at its service, it is able to take account of all starters and stakes winners. This will make the service of particular value to regional breeders, as the TrueNicks figures reflect the results of state-bred stakes winners. With this in mind, we are pleased to welcome the Maryland Stallion...
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The very promising start made by the first crop of Harlan's Holiday gained further momentum on Monday, when the undefeated Denis of Cork took the Southwest Stakes (gr. III). Denis of Cork is the sixth stakes winner for Harlan's Holiday, and he follows Hollywood Park's Cashcall Futurity (gr. I) victor Into Mischief, and Sorrento Stakes (gr. III) winner Tasha's Miracle, as Harlan's Holiday's third graded...
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As part of the TrueNicks commitment to ongoing improvement of our product line, we are pleased to unveil a new look for the basic Hypothetical Mating and Named Foal reports (click on the report names to see samples). The new presentation is designed to be easier to read and interpret, and includes all the same features that users have found on the reports previously. So, what has changed? First, you...
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Here's a mating which we think represents a first. When Ingrid the Gambler (Johannesburg - Pretty Livia, by Forest Wildcat) took the Wishing Well II Handicap Feb. 10, she became what is almost certainly the first stakes winner (in fact, the first stakes horse) by a Storm Cat-line stallion out of a Storm Cat-line mare. As students of pedigree know, the cross of a sire over a mare from the same immediate...
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In a race that saw highly-rated ex-U.S. runners Etched and Numaany finish fourth and fifth, the Honour and Glory colt Honour Devil maintained an undefeated record with a half-length win in the Gulf News UAE Two Thousand Guineas (UAE-III). Foaled in Argentina, Honour Devil won his sole start in his native country in 2006, and in his only other career outing, he captured the trial for this race at Nad...
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California's "secret-weapon" Unusual Heat was represented by another good winner in the shape of the Las Virgenes Stakes (gr. I) heroine, Golden Doc A. A sister to the Hollywood Turf Express Handicap (gr. III) winner Unusual Suspect, Golden Doc A is out of the New Zealand-bred Penpont, a daughter of Crested Wave (by Fred Hooper's star Crozier). The second dam is by Australian-bred Imposing, and while...
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Cocoa Beach (CHI) proved herself very well suited by the Nad al Sheba sand track as she coasted to a five length victory in the Meydan U.A.E. One Thousand Guineas (UAE-I) Feb. 8. Cocoa Beach, who runs in the colors of HRH Princess Haya of Jordan, was foaled in Chile, but has a pedigree with strong U.S. connections. Her sire is Stonewall Farm resident Doneraile Court ( TrueNicks , SRO ), who got Cocoa...
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Even the most forgiving critic would have to agree that the iron horse Giant’s Causeway has proven a disappointment in his stud career in Australia. Serving some outstanding matrons at his base at Coolmore Australia, his four seasons at stud there resulted in 256 foals of racing age for just 6 stakes winners to date, a far cry from his outstanding performance in the Northern Hemisphere where he is...
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While most second-season colts with classic hopes are just taking their first steps on the Triple Crown Trail, one possible candidate is already a Derby winner. That horse is the remarkable Tomcito. A $7,500 Keeneland September yearling purchase, Tomcito was shipped to Peru where, despite being up to six months younger than his Southern Hemisphere rivals, he was an immediate hit. Tomcito took his first...
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We were recently investigating the pedigree of the up-and-coming juvenile Vincent Mangano (NZ), who is by No Excuse Needed (GB) (by Machiavellian) out of a mare by Housebuster. Based on the Machiavellian/Blushing Groom (FR) cross, this resulted in a TrueNicks rating of D . Out of curiosity, we looked at the mating on another nicking system and found that Vincent Mangano came up with a rating of A ...
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A few days ago we answered a a query about the Dynaformer/Mr. Prospector cross. The crux of the question was why a mating of a son of Dynaformer with a Mr. Prospector-line mare would rate differently (in this case higher) than Dynaformer himself with the same mares. Our answer was that overall, Dynaformer ( TrueNicks , SRO ) and his stallion sons had a better strike rate with Mr. Prospector line mares...
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On a weekend which saw 85% of the stakes winners scoring B or above TrueNicks scores, there were several interesting pedigrees last week that are worth a quick mention. The Santa Monica Handicap (gr. I) was won by Intangaroo (by Orientate out of a mare by the Fappiano stallion Tasso), who followed 2007 Alabama Stakes (gr. I) heroine Lady Joanne (out of a mare by Unbridled) as the second grade I winner...
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Darley announced this week that two-time champion Ashado, whose $9-million price at Keeneland's November sale in 2005 was then a record for a broodmare or broodmare prospect sold at public auction, will be bred this year to Street Cry (IRE) ( TrueNicks , SRO ) (a stallion who is subscribed to TrueNicks complimentary hypothetical mating reports). This will be one of the more interesting matings of the...
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Continuing on yesterday's search for the best potential matches for recently-retired Australian sprint star Gold Edition (AUS)... Broadening our scope to look to other parts of the world raises a number of intriguing prospects. Starting in the U.S., we have Street Cry (IRE) ( TrueNicks , SRO ), the Machiavellian son who has made such a sensational start to his stud career. Combining Machiavellian with...
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The retirement of the brilliant sprint filly Gold Edition (AUS) engendered some speculation in Australia as to what might be her ideal mate, especially as she is by a son of Danehill, which naturally rules out some of Australia's most illustrious sires. With the help of the mating tool TrueNicks, we were able to indulge in some speculation about how the brilliant speedster might best be mated if choosing...
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We had an interesting inquiry from a reader who used TrueNicks to look at a Carson City mare with both Dynaformer ( TrueNicks , SRO ) and his newly-retired grade I winning son, Purim ( TrueNicks , SRO ) ( Three Chimneys , which stands Dynaformer, and Richland Hills , which stands Purim, provide complimentary hypothetical matings for these stallions.) The reader's query was why the cross of her Carson...
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U.S. and European invaders pointing toward the Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) look as if they will have a tough home-trained opponent to overcome in the shape of Asiatic Boy. Bred in Argentina, the son of Not For Sale won a maiden in his native country and finished second to the Hussonet colt, Husson, in the Gran Criterium (Arg-I). Following that effort, Asiatic Boy was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa...
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