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While the equine Hansen (TrueNicks) – the champion 2-year-old of 2011 – is pointing to the Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III) and hopefully his first step on the road to the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), his owner and breeder, Dr. Kendall Hansen, is looking well beyond the Run for the Roses.

With a long-term view to his star's eventual stud career, Dr. Hansen has subscribed Hansen to TrueNicks and begun studying the bloodlines that might suit the champion via the TrueNicks Stallion Affinity Report. Enrolling Hansen at this stage of his career is a very proactive move, as it allows breeders throughout the world to consider their mares with the charismatic gray well before his retirement and standing farm is declared. We suspect that more than one stallion manager will be looking into TrueNicks to see how well Hansen might cross with certain members of the broodmare population. Additionally, with TrueNicks Farm Reports, which is a real-time reporting feature for stallion owners who have their stallions subscribed to the service, Dr. Hansen will be able to look at the types of mares that the general breeding community is considering for Hansen, giving him the option to be further proactive in recruiting mares that particularly suit the stallion well ahead of his retirement.

However Hansen fares in 2012 and beyond (Dr. Hansen plans to run the Eclipse Award winner for as long as he is sound and enjoying racing), he’s certainly done more than enough to become a sought-after stallion prospect. He has yet to be headed at any call in his three starts, taking his maiden over 5½ furlongs by 12¼ lengths, the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes by 13¼ lengths, and the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I) by a hard-fought head over Union Rags. His Eclipse Award establishes Hansen as the leading son of his sire, the red-hot Tapit (TrueNicks,SRO). With his fourth crop just 2-year-olds of 2011, Tapit has been the fastest rising sire of the last few years, getting 32 stakes winners, 17 graded, including not only Hansen, but champion 2-year-old filly Stardom Bound and grade I winners Careless Jewel, Tell a Kelly, Zazu, and Laragh. He has two other smart young prospects already at stud in Trappe Shot (TrueNicks,SRO) and Concord Point (TrueNicks,SRO).

It’s no secret that Hansen doesn’t have the strongest direct female line, but that shouldn’t be taken to imply that the distaff side of the pedigree is without interest. Hansen’s dam, Stormy Sunday, showed considerable ability, winning three of her four starts and setting fractions of :21.38 and :44.93. In tail-female line, Hansen goes back the famous tap-root mare Black Ray via a full sister to Black Ray's son Jacopo, who was imported to the U.S. where he sired 1937 champion 2-year-old filly Jacola. Black Ray’s grandson Khaled was another brought from England, and he became an outstanding sire in the U.S., with his offspring including Horse of the Year and Kentucky Derby winner Swaps. The Black Ray family also produced two other brilliant performers and extremely important stallions in Mill Reef and Blushing Groom.

We also find considerable strength when we consider Hansen’s pedigree as a whole. His great-grandsire, A.P. Indy, is a champion sire out of Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise. His grandsire, Pulpit (TrueNicks,SRO), goes back to a sister to Round Table and is from the immediate family of Tale of the Cat (TrueNicks,SRO) and Johannesburg. Tapit himself has a sister to Relaunch as his third dam and is out of a mare by Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled. Sir Cat, Hansen’s broodmare sire, is a son of Storm Cat, and his dam, Desert Run – a Pedigree Consultants mating – is by Private Account out of the international champion April Run. With this in mind, the content of Hansen's immediate pedigree is impressive and there are any number of interesting linebreeding and inbreeding patterns that can be tried here. With Hansen now enrolled on TrueNicks, breeders throughout the world can test their potential matings with this horse at no charge.

Filed under: Announcements, Pedigrees and Breeding, Sires, Triple Crown