Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

Marc — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:44:32 GMT

Another Note---

The mare Deputy Minister was from--"Mint Copy" was a former 6K claimer at one time and hardly a top racemare--more a solid 12K claimer-- although brifly she held a turf track record set when the turf was super hard. A friend of mine trained her at one time.

Goes to my point that Vice Regent really didn't see the top mares until he proved himself. Bunty's Flight, Mint Copy's sire was by a great Canadian racehorse Bunty Lawless who was OK at stud---but Bunty's Flight line and get certainly didn't prove famous other than her son. More the MI, AR or Iowa kind of stud than KY.blueblood.

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

brogers — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:45:56 GMT

Marc

Not unlike Devil's Bag/Saint Ballado. These are rare cases as it is usually the superior runner that has all the genes in the right places to pass them on.

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

Marc — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:08:15 GMT

A little correction to above:

Vice Regent raced about 3 or 4 times (not unraced as mentioned) and was full to Viceregal who went undefeated at 2 and champion in Canada and only lost came to Walking Stick and Ack Ack at 3 when he broke down. I was the clocker at Woodbine when Vice Regent ran a few times winning a maiden race in 1:10 and change then losing off the board @ 2-5. He had soundness problems as well as his brother.

Strange as it seems Viceregal the special racehorse was sort of a dud at stud--finally being shipped off to France (I still think he was one of the best horses I ever saw race) and the so-so Vice Regent racehorse was a great stud---it was only in the number of years after proving himself that he ever saw really good mares---he just kept improving poor mares to start his career. With top mares he would have been a superstar stud.

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

Ian Tapp — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:12:08 GMT

No Class & Pedigree Shelly,

It is interesting that Go For Wand rates D. This doesn't mean Go For Wand had a poor pedigree, but rather that the cross has a very low strike rate for stakes winners. There have been 60 starters on the cross of Vice Regent and sons/Cyane and sons and grandsons. Of these 60 starters, Go For Wand is the only stakes winner.

Ian

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

Arlene — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 18:24:19 GMT

I was there on a cool, sort of cloudy day. I remember, tears welled in my eyes when I saw the talent headed for the gate in the post parade. My sister didn't get it. I haven't been back to another live Breeders' Cup, so I like to believe I was there for one of the best in talent. It was awesome, again.

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

DSteggs — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 06:24:49 GMT

Great race, thx Ian....nasty finish for AAgain. Silvercharm and Swain conveniently move out of his way!

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

Pedigree Shelly — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 23:52:59 GMT

Ian , I'm curious as to why the mating that produced the great filly Go For Wand is rated a D by True Nicks ? Obviously the mating between Deputy Minister and Obeah worked well :)

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

Pedigree Ann — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:38:09 GMT

A lesson to all the people who insist that a stallion must have a particular type of pedigree, full of fashionable sires. DM's sire might have been by Northern Dancer, but his dam was by Menetrier and the next dam was by Windfields. Of course, this is solid E. P. Taylor breeding but it is idiosyncratic breeding; no other major breeder used the same bloodlines he did. (This is true of other great idiosyncratic breeders like Tartan farm, Fred C. Hooper, and George Pope.)

And the damside is even more unfamiliar; a Canadian SP daughter of Bunty's Flight (whose sireline goes back to Fair Play's son Ladkin) out of a dam by Jabneh (a turf star in the early days of turf racing).

And the moral(s) of the story is(are) a) exceptional performance is still one of the best indicators that the stallion deserves a proper chance at stud, i.e. being sent good mares not unraced daughters of unplaced daughters of good mares; and b) never reject out of hand the oddball breeding that a master breeder used to produce a top-class runner.

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

barry aksarben — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 12:33:10 GMT

wow i FORGOT WHAT A TRULY OUTSTANDING FIELD THIS WAS. i SAW THIS LIVE BUT FORGOT ABOUT THE REST OF THE FIELD.amazing!!!!

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

MikeM — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 11:42:04 GMT

What a field!

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

No Class — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 02:09:48 GMT

Interesting that Go For Wand has a TrueNicks rating of D, yet she was one of the greatest fillies in my humble opinion.

Thank you for sharing this reminder of what an amazing sire and broodmare sire, Deputy Minister was. One of my all time favourite sires.

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

John T — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 01:06:36 GMT

I was at Woodbine the day Deputy Minister ran his first race on May 10th 1981.A good looking son of the unraced Northern Dancer sire Vice Regent and on his dam side his Great Grandsire Bunty Lawless has a race named after him this very week-end at Woodbine.Just eight days after breaking his maiden he was back in the traditional first 2 year old stakes at Woodbine,the Victoria were he blazed the 5 furlongs in 57 amd one fifth.In those days Belmont Park

had a healthy 2 year old stakes program in the spring so he

was sent down for the Youthful Stakes which he duly won and after that we knew we were talking about a good colt.He then

ran off three successive stakes wins at Woodbine before being sent back down again to Belmont in the Champagne were

he suffered his only defeat that year to a useful colt called Timely

Writer and finishing second that day was the Calumet filly

Before Dawn who would go on to great success herself.Deputy

Minister,s last two races that year were superb,a victory in the Laurel Futurity followed by the same in the long gone

Young America Stakes at the Meadowlands.Although the Young

America is gone,it had some useful winners including Spectacular Bid who won it in 1978.

In 1996 when the Breeders Cup was held at Woodbine one of the supporting races was the one hundred grand Swynford Stakes for 2 year olds and a young son of Deputy Minister,

Touch Gold out of the Buckpasser mare,Passing Mood finished

second.Who would have thought that day as a 3 year old he would go on to win the Belmont Stakes.

re: Deputy Minister: Champion Racehorse and Sire

Frank J. — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 17:25:36 GMT

I still think that was the best BCC field of all time. I was a huge Cornonado's Quest fan and sooooo wanted him to win and he almost pulled it off. Love watching that race over and over.