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Yesterday Coolmore purchased multiple group I-winning filly Sea Siren , a daughter of Coolmore's champion sire Fastnet Rock (AUS) ( TrueNicks , SRO ). Below is a conformation video of the 4-year-old. Sea Siren will make her final start for her previous connections May 11 in the BTC Cup (Aus-I) at Doomben, a six-furlong race that she won last year. If she runs...
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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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Now that post positions are set, what are your opinions on the Kentucky Derby this year? Below are some of my thoughts along with links to video of recent workouts and complimentary TrueNicks Enhanced Reports for each entrant in post position order. 1. Black Onyx (50-1) Black Onyx follows a similar form line to Animal Kingdom, who also prepped in a Gulfstream...
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Today brought the news of Black Caviar's retirement from racing. The big question now is which stallion will have the privilege of serving the great mare in her first season at stud? But first, to reflect on Black Caviar's remarkable record, her unbeaten 25-race career included 15 group I victories and spanned six consecutive calendar years. She was the world...
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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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This morning I spoke briefly with Brereton Jones of Airdrie Stud, who alerted me to a homebred filly of his with a very clever name. She is by Airdrie stallion Proud Citizen ( TrueNicks , SRO ) out of the winning Langfuhr ( TrueNicks , SRO ) mare Saramar—the exact same cross as Mr. Jones' Kentucky Oaks (gr. I) winner and champion 3-year-old filly Proud Spell...
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Today TrueNicks is pleased to announce the new Key Ancestors Report, a breakthrough report that considers your mare's entire pedigree—all male and female ancestors—and identifies the key ancestors to seek out or avoid in the pedigrees of stallions in prospective matings. TrueNicks' Byron Rogers and Ian Tapp discuss the new report in the video below. brightcove...
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On a week when much will be written about the great Frankel (Galileo– Kind , by Danehill) as he retires to Juddmonte Farms to serve his first season at stud in 2013, this writer had pause to reflect on the outstanding performance of his broodmare sire, Danehill, who has thus far proved himself a phenomenon as a sire and broodmare sire in two hemispheres—a true...
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With Danedream flashing her credentials for a shot at back-to-back victories in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (Fr-I) with a score in the Grosser Preis von Baden (Ger-I) at the weekend, we thought it was worth a look back at her pedigree from this article we wrote for the International Thoroughbred after her win in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes in...
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Last weekend was an exciting one for bloodstock consultant Gary Hadden ( haddenbloodstock.com ). Gary recommended the mating that produced Reckless Abandon, a son of Exchange Rate ( TrueNicks , SRO ) who won Sunday's Darley Prix Morny (Fr-I) and solidified himself as the top European 2-year-old. The colt previously took the Norfolk Stakes (Eng-II) at Royal Ascot...
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It's still very early in the season for serious juvenile competition, but there is no doubt that one of the most impressive 2-year-old fillies seen to date is Kauai Katie. Successful by 12 lengths on her debut ( video ), the Stonestreet Stable color-bearer returned to action at Saratoga in the Adirondack Stakes (gr. II), and captured the 6 1/2-furlong event by...
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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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A few weeks ago, when looking at the emerging French second year sire Turtle Bowl , we noted that he conformed to something of a recent trend in France, the appearance of a number of good sires with relatively unfashionable pedigrees, other examples that come to mind including Linamix (by Mendez), Muhtathir (by Elmaamul), and Chichicastenango (by Smadoun). The...
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According owner Rick Porter, recently-retired Havre de Grace is currently for sale , and she could be offered at a broodmare sale this fall. Given that Royal Delta, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2011 realized $8.5 million at last year's Keeneland November Sale, we should expect fireworks if Havre de Grace—Horse of the Year and champion older filly or mare...
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Pedigree historians have long been suspicious about the exact parentage of the 1880 Epsom Derby winner. The record books will tell you that the winner was Bend Or , a son of Doncaster out of the Thormanby mare Rouge Rose, bred and owned by the 1st Duke of Westminster. However, not long after the 1880 running of the Derby, the owners of the runner-up, Robert the...
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The most recent weekend saw two Kentucky Derby (gr. I) preps with $1 million purses, and both resulted in upsets. The Florida Derby (gr. I, video ) seeing longtime Derby favorite Union Rags and the well-regarded El Padrino finish third and fourth, respectively, behind gate-to-wire scorer Take Charge Indy. The Louisiana Derby (gr. II, video ) fell to another pacesetter...
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Continuing on the Secret Circle theme from today's Blood-Horse Pedigree Weekly Newsletter , there is certainly no question about the speed and courage possessed by this 2012 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) hopeful. Secret Circle's potential distance capacity – a weekend win in the 8½ furlong Rebel Stakes (gr. II) not withstanding – remains something of a mystery. If our...
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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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We're always happy to see TrueNicks customers succeed on the racetrack, and we were especially thrilled when Derby prospect El Padrino won the Risen Star Stakes (gr. II) over the weekend. Emory Hamilton, breeder of El Padrino, uses TrueNicks broodmare reports for her mares, and a report for El Padrino's dam, Enchanted Rock, identified Pulpit ( TrueNicks , SRO...
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Recent discussion of the pedigree of the Australian supermare Black Caviar focused some attention on Tom Fool, whose son Silly Season is doubled in Black Caviar’s pedigree. Since he was a foal of 1949, Tom Fool will now, to many, mean little more than a name that is found in the more distant removes of modern pedigrees. But, if you want to know how good Tom Fool...
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The brilliant victory of Black Caviar in the MRC C.F. Orr Stakes (gr. I, video below) - which took her record to 18 wins in 18 starts - gives us an excuse to post an article of her pedigree that ran in the Australian publication Inside Breeding last year, which explored the potential reasoning behind the mating that led to her. Why is Black Caviar brilliant?...
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Bearing in mind that stud fees have been ticking up again, and that proven horses are in demand, we were pretty surprised to hear recently about a stallion that you can still book to. While many other proven stallions are already full, this stallion can still be bred to for as little as $13,500 live foal (or $15,000 stands and nurses). He is sire of 39 stakes...
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I've had more than one customer describe TrueNicks as a "dating service" for Thoroughbreds. This might be a fair assessment, since increasingly more breeders are using TrueNicks as a research tool during their stallion selection process. With Valentine's Day just a few days away—and in hopes that breeders everywhere will find the right stallion match for their...
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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...
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While horseman in the Northern Hemisphere are working their way through the dark, damp days of winter, a significant portion of the Australasian breeding and racing community were enjoying the sunshine at the Gold Coast in Queensland. From a racing standpoint, the highlight was the A$2,000,000 BMW Magic Millions Two-Year-Old Classic, run over six furlongs. In...
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