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At first glance one wouldn’t expect Sunday Silence to combine particularly well with Tony Bin. Sunday Silence was a great runner on dirt in the U.S., and there are no particularly obvious pedigree similarities between his pedigree and that of Tony Bin, a late-maturing, Italian-trained son of Kampala (from the Zeddaan branch of the Grey Sovereign line), who upset the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (gr. I) at five.
 
However, the Sunday Silence/Tony Bin cross has made a tremendous impact in Japan recently, with three graded stakes winners in February alone. All three are by different sons of Sunday Silence out of Tony Bin mares. Ultima Thule (TrueNicks B), who took the six furlong Silk Road Stakes (gr. III) is a is a daughter Fuji Kiseki; Neo Vendome (TrueNicks A++), who won the nine furlong Kisaragi Sho, is a son of Neo Universe; and Forgettable, a colt who took the 17 furlong Diamond Stakes (gr. III). In addition to this trio, three other sons of Sunday Silence have stakes winners out of Tony Bin mares, and Sunday Silence himself had at least six stakes winners out of Tony Bin mares, including the excellent Heart’s Cry.
 
Not to be left out, Tony Bin’s Japan Derby winning son, Jungle Pocket, also sired a February stakes winner out of a Sunday Silence mare. This is Apricot Fizz (TrueNicks A), who won the Daily Hai Queen Cup (gr. III) over a mile on February 20. Apricot Fizz is the fourth stakes winner by Jungle Pocket out of a Sunday Silence mare, and he also has a graded winner out of a mare by Fuji Kiseki.
 
Sunday Silence and Tony Bin don’t have any common ancestors at four generations. The closest duplication in Sunday Silence’s pedigree is Mahmoud who appears 4 x 5. In his mail-line he goes back to Royal Charger, whose granddam, Mumtaz Begum, is a three-parts-sister to Mahmoud. Tony Bin’s grandsire, Kalamoun, has Nasrullah and his sister, Rivaz (both out of Mumtaz Begum, and both three-quarters-siblings to Royal Charger). He also has another daughter of Nasrullah in his dam (his broodmare sire, Hornbeam is out of a Nasrullah mare).
 
Halo also has a lot of Phalaris/Chaucer and Rock Sand, and they are linked through the famous Hermit/Stockwell cross (Chaucer is out of the great mare, Canterbury Pilgrim, by the Hermit/Stockwell cross, Tristan, and Rock Sand is a three-quarters relative to the dam of Phalaris, and his granddam, St. Marguerite, is a Hermit/Stockwell cross). There is a lot more of Hermit/Stockwell in the dam of Sunday Silence, and his granddam, Mountain Flower, is inbred 3 x 4 to Hyperion (dam by Chaucer, bringing in Hermit/Stockwell). Her grandsire, Gulf Stream, has Canterbury Pilgrim (by Tristan – Hermit/Stockwell) 4 x 4 x 5.
 
Tony Bin has four crosses of Hyperion, and has dam has that horse 2 x 4 x 5, one source being Acropolis, who is out of a Hyperion mare, and who has Canterbury Pilgrim 5 x 5 x 4. There is quite a lot going on behind this, that is rather complicated to go into, but it may be when you get quality horses with similar concentrations in depth, the “international outcross” can work for a generation or so. Certainly, as far as Sunday Silence goes, he was by a very strongly linebred sire, out of a mare with a pedigree that was going to be quite an outcross for most popular strains, and the strength in depth did wonders for him!