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The summer of 2017 saw the publication of a scientific paper titled "Y Chromosome Uncovers the Recent Oriental Origin of Modern Stallions" with the outcomes found in this paper covered by Eric Mitchell in the Blood Horse that year. The paper at the time, while generally a broad discussion about the origins of the equine breed, did raise some questions about our...
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A year or so ago another company that I am associated with, Performance Genetics, did a private study on mitochondrial DNA, the strand of DNA that is maternally inherited in all species and can be used to classify female lineages. We were specifically looking into the #1 family of Tregonwell's Natural Barb which is now that of the likes of Black Caviar, Super...
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Quite often in catalog pages you will see a nick where a full brother has been used in preference to another. We decided to take a look at the raw data and see what it says in practice. Is it in fact just a matter of names on the page, or is class really that important? There are a lot of circumstances where replacing full brothers in various positions is almost...
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At TrueNicks we are continually trying to improve the data in our reports in order to help you make a more informed and intelligent decision in your breeding and selection efforts. In that regard, in response to feedback we received from our customers, earlier this year we launched the TrueNicks Key Ancestors Report , a report that considers the entire pedigree...
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We've reached back into the time vault and unearthed a TrueNicks webinar that we filmed back in 2009. While it is over three years old, much of what we talked about back then is still relevant today. Enjoy! Click here to download the "Top 10 Myths About Nicks in Thoroughbred Breeding" whitepaper .
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The interpretation of Thoroughbred pedigrees is no simple matter. The multi-factorial elements that might be considered include nicks, inbreeding, linebreeding, the positions of ancestors relative to one another, the relationship of the pedigree to the female line, and the class of the individuals involved. Given the volume of the data, and the difficulty of...
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The wins of Orb in the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Princess of Sylmar in the Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) further solidified the pensioned Lane's End stallion A.P. Indy as the premier sire line source of classic speed in the North American Thoroughbred. Indeed, with Normandy Invasion (by Tapit ( TrueNicks , SRO )), Dreaming of Julia, and Revolutionary (out of an A.P...
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Sunland Park's big day turned into a benefit for Bob Baffert and Mike Pegram, who took the Sunland Park Derby (gr. III, VIDEO ) with Govenor Charlie (also bred by Pegram) and the Sunland Park Oaks ( VIDEO ) with Midnight Lucky (owned by Pegram in partnership). The duo—who both scored in track record time—are both from the first crop of the Baffert-trained/Pegram...
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15.33%. That's the coefficient of relatedness between Frankel and Chrysanthemum, the first mare scanned in foal to the champion racehorse during his first season at stud. As a point of comparison, first cousins are 12.5% related and half siblings are 25% related. Chrysanthemum, owned by the Coolmore team of Tabor, Magnier, and Smith, won a pair of group III races...
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Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt Almudena - Order This Photo From time to time we come across a mare who is "not from around here," as the expression goes. This is often an imported mare whose pedigree, while quite possibly high-class in her own environment, has little in common with the population in her new home. Planning a mating for this kind of mare can be quite...
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It would be reasonable to suggest that while time may prove Coolmore stallion Galileo superior to his breed-shaping sire Sadler's Wells, with the exception of siring a group I winner over 4000m (which Sadler's Wells did in the form of the brilliant Yeats), right now Galileo is every bit as good a classic sire as his father. Like many elite stallions, Galileo...
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There are few topics in the world of pedigree theory—and for that matter in the Thoroughbred community as a whole—that are more emotive than the subject of inbreeding. On one hand, inbreeding, and what is perceived as a consequential decline in genetic variety, is blamed for all manner of ills including a supposed decline in soundness. On the other, it has been...
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In addition to internationally known speakers on Thoroughbred pedigrees and genetics , next week's 2011 Thoroughbred Pedigree, Genetics & Performance Conference will feature experts on equine physiology and biomechanics, and how these elements relate to performance. The conference will be held at the Marriott Griffin Gate hotel in Lexington, Ky., September 7...
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The two-day 2011 Thoroughbred Pedigree, Genetics & Performance Conference , to be held at the Marriott Griffin Gate hotel in Lexington, Ky., September 7-8, kicks off one week from today, and several well-known pedigree analysts will be on hand to share their perspective. Scene at last year's panel discussion The agenda includes Sid Fernando, president of eMatings...
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With the 2011 Thoroughbred Pedigree, Genetics & Performance Conference just over a week away, the excitement is building for what looks to be a highly educational two-day summit. It will be held at the Marriott Griffin Gate hotel in Lexington, Ky., September 7-8. Scene at last year's panel discussion Last year's event (then a single-day format) was heavy on genetics...
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Jim Squires wrote an interesting article that appeared in The New York Times over the weekend. Commenting on the newly-in-foal Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta, " Breeders Chasing the Superhorse " references nicking theory several times in the piece. While the simplicity of Squires's nicking explanation is a bit misleading as he doesn't touch on the statistical...
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I have just finished reading Thoroughbred Breeding: Pedigree Theories and the Science of Genetics by Dr. Matthew Binns and Mr. Tony Morris, and it is a thoroughly interesting and worthwhile read. I can recommend it for anyone involved in breeding racehorses (see it at Amazon.com ). The book covers a large range of topics within Thoroughbred breeding as it relates...
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A colleague recently pointed out an interesting story from the July 2010 issue of Thoroughbred Owner & Breeder Incorporating Pacemaker . In a profile of breeders Eric and "Budgie" Moller, Jeremy Early explains that the Moller's foundation broodmare, Horama – a 2,100 guineas yearling purchase who won four races at five furlongs – became ancestress of such middle...
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Readers: I'm curious to get your analysis of the Sadler's Wells/Mill Reef nick. Why do you think this nick works? Avalyn Hunter ends her Mahubah's Corner column this week with a look at the combination of Sadler's Wells/Mill Reef: "…Irish Derby runner-up Midas Touch stayed on very well through the stretch and according to jockey Colm O’Donoghue may be a live...
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Dawn asks : I am somewhat new to this and really need some help. have a mare named Buy You A Bear (Bayou Hebert x Sheckyrilla - Shecky Greene) that I am contemplating breeding to Borrego or Leroidesanimaux. These are my questions: 1) Based on TrueNicks, she nicks better with 'Leroi' than Borrego, but her Dosage is better with Borrego and she has more stakes winners...
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We mentioned a while back in a TBH MarketWatch article that inbreeding to a major horse tends to transition from controversial, to accepted, to commonplace ("From Controversial to Commonplace" in TBH MarketWatch Feb. 2009, pg. 23). In recent times, the most prominent horse to undergo that journey was Northern Dancer. It's been more than a quarter of a century...
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Before being made available to the public, TrueNicks was tested on a group of more than 100,000 horses. That study firmly established a correlation between a high nick rating and success at stakes level: in fact, while only 13% of the population earned a variant rating high enough to qualify for a rating of A or better, 37% of stakes winners achieved that rating...
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Reader question: Hi, Scot. I have read the history behind and understand what the DP, CD, and DI figures stand for but my question is: Why does it seem that good or higher DP numbers are sometimes in conflict with the nicks? In nicking my mare with stallions I'll get higher or better DP numbers with a "C" nick then with an "A". I guess the follow-up question...
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Reader's question: My mare Pebbles Delight has an A++ wih Corinthian. She has been accepted to his book for 2009. However, since she doesn't have a lot of black type up front, I probably won't make any profit on the resulting foal. What are your thoughts on this mating? I love the mating, but my pocketbook needs to rule rather than my heart. Sally. Byron's reply...
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