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While there is no doubt that nicks tend to run in sire lines, we've also often found it profitable to consider the dam of a stallion when attempting to predict potential crosses. For example, when Smart Strike ( TrueNicks ) retired to stud, we noted that he was a half brother to champion Dance Smartly, a daughter of Danzig. Since Smart Strike was a Mr. Prospector...
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We have to wonder if there has been a more prolific family in the last couple of years than that of the Verbatim mare, Right Word, the dam of three stakes winners: the graded scorer Ascutney and Words of War (both by Lord At War) and Word o’ Ransom (by Red Ransom). Ascutney is dam of two graded winners, headed by Raven’s Pass, winner of the 2008 Breeders’ Cup...
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It’s only the third week in January, but the classic generation are already beginning to crank up. As far as the Derby is concerned the most significant race was the San Rafael Stakes (gr. III). This was won by unbeaten Conveyance, a son of Indian Charlie ( TrueNicks , SRO ). The dam, Emptythetill, is by Holy Bull ( TrueNicks , SRO ) , out of a Mr. Prospector...
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Russell asks : Why are the ratings found in the Stallion Affinity Report not the same as the ratings obtained by running an individual mating? As an example, Storm Cat over Yonaguska gets a TrueNicks rating of A+ according to the sample affinity report shown for Storm Cat. I ran my Yonaguska mare, Bella Cherokee, with Frost Giant using the TrueNicks link on the...
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Giant's Causeway ( TrueNicks , SRO ) celebrated his first Leading Sire crown in appropriate fashion, notching up his twenty-third stakes winner of the year when Tiger’s Rock captured the Gallant Fox Handicap at Aqueduct on December 31. This was the first stakes win for the three-year-old, who is out of the Afleet mare, Call Me Fleet (TrueNicks rated A ). What...
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With Tapit ( TrueNicks , SRO ) , Sky Mesa ( TrueNicks , SRO ) and the over-achieving Stroll ( TrueNicks , SRO ) (now back at Claiborne from a sojourn in Italy), Pulpit ( TrueNicks , SRO ) has made quite a start as a sire of sires. Another Pulpit son, freshman sire Purge ( TrueNicks , SRO ) , has a smart performer in Macias. He scored a first stakes victory when...
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There was a 'lucky' ending to the last major two-year-old contests of the year with Looking At Lucky taking the Cashcall Futurity (gr. I) and Blind Luck the Hollywood Starlet Stakes (gr. I). Lookin At Lucky is a son of Smart Strike ( TrueNicks , SRO ) , who won’t repeat his Leading Sire titles of 2007 and 2009, but who has had enjoyed another excellent season...
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Sea the Stars has rightfully dominated the headlines from Europe but the other story of the weekend was the remarkable performance of horses bred and owned by the Aga Khan. We'll start with the 2½ mile Prix du Cadran (gr. I), which went to Alandi (TrueNicks A ), who is by Galileo out of the stakes winning Darshaan mare, Aliya, and is one of no less than five...
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The second round has just begun in the current auction cycle of Thoroughbred breeding stock sales. If the ongoing OBS Mixed Sale is any indication, it's a buyer's market, and anyone looking to purchase a broodmare has a great chance to find a bargain -- if he knows what he's looking for. Byron Rogers, Alan Porter, and the rest of the TrueNicks pedigree rating...
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