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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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Last week was a very tough one for the mighty Coolmore/Ashford stallion operation. On March 29 came the news that Montjeu had died in Ireland at the age of 16 after a short illness caused by septicemia, an infection in the bloodstream. Just two days later at Ashford, 17-year-old Grand Slam, who had been enjoying an excellent start to 2012, died as a result of...
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More Than Ready Photo: Vinery Hindsight is always 20/20, but when the Vinery Stud stallion More Than Ready ( TrueNicks , SRO ) shuttled to Australia, he looked to be a ‘lock’ to suit mares by then-leading sire Danehill. Invariably within breeding populations, the next great sire establishes himself with the daughters of a previously great sire. Just as Danehill...
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Ron the Greek looked like a horse who could develop into a genuine classic prospect when closing late to take the 2010 renewal of the LeComte Stakes (gr. III) by 1½ lengths. At that point, the Florida-bred was a winner of three of his four starts, but rather surprisingly, it would take another 22 months and ten races before he revisted the winner's circle. That...
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Union Rags, who remained winter favorite for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) despite a narrow loss to Hansen ( TrueNicks ) in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (gr. I), made his keenly-awaited seasonal debut in the Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. II, video ) at Gulfstream Park. The wait proved worthwhile, as Union Rags could hardly have been more impressive, settling behind...
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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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2012 will be the first breeding season without A.P. Indy as an active stallion since he retired to Lane's End in 1993. Now 23 years old, the two-time leading sire was pensioned last April due to declining fertility. Sire of 1,119 foals and 142 stakes winners, A.P. Indy commanded a $300,000 stud fee for a large portion of his stud career. A.P. Indy as a foal in...
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American Lion, a popular son of Tiznow entering stud in 2012 There was no doubt about Tiznow ( TrueNicks , SRO )’s quality as a racehorse. Horse of the Year and champion of his crop at 3, he earned honors a champion older male the following season. He won a quartet of grade I events, and certainly his career highlights were his back-to-back victories in the Breeders...
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Saint Ballado, 1989-2002 There was a moment when the Hail to Reason line through Halo threatened to establish itself as the “third force” in U.S. breeding (behind the inevitable Mr. Prospector and Northern Dancer). Of course we still have the ultra-consistent Southern Halo son More Than Ready ( TrueNicks , SRO ) (whose own son Ready's Image ( TrueNicks , SRO...
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Alan Porter's recent post on the Galileo/Danehill nick inspired some lively discussion in the comments section. One of our most outspoken and analytical community members, known by the handle sceptre , posed a very good set of questions that we thought we'd address here in a new blog. 1. Consider two stallions, one has but 90+ named foals of which 16% are SWs...
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The blazing fast colt Majesticperfection ( TrueNicks , SRO ) is now available on TrueNicks. He retires to Airdrie Stud for the 2011 breeding season. A son of Florida Derby (gr. I) winner Harlan's Holiday, Majesticperfection is out of the Wavering Monarch mare Act So Noble. Initially named Cruisinforabruisen, the colt sold to Padua Stables for $370,000 after working...
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The thrilling finish of the Breeder's Cup Classic (gr. I) saw Blame spoil the undefeated record of Zenyatta, and the supermare's storyline instantly became reminiscent of another champion—Seattle Slew. Like Zenyatta, Seattle Slew started his career undefeated. He won his first nine races, which included six grade I's and the Triple Crown. Also like Zenyatta,...
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In an era when Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer, and A.P. Indy ( TrueNicks , SRO ) are the dominant forces in U.S. racing, it comes as a pleasant surprise that currently the leading two-year-old colts on either coast are male-line descendents of Man o’ War through In Reality . On Monday, the much-vaunted Boys At Tosconova (TrueNicks A++ ), impressed while winning...
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Above: TrueNicks ratings of the Sadler's Wells sire line with Seeking the Gold line mares. I’m sure Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr never expected his famous epigram plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose , which loosely translated amounts to “the more things change, the more they stay the same” to be applied to the development of Thoroughbred sire lines. In our...
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Here's an interesting first crop Florida stallion... Standing for a mere $7,500 fee in 1975, Mr. Prospector sired 28 foals in his initial crop that included 1978 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly It's In the Air . By 1981, Mr. Prospector's continued success had brought him to Claiborne Farm in Kentucky. Here he developed into one of the breed's great sires, siring 181...
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