Reading Jay Leimbach’s article on stamina or the lack of it and soundness in today’s thoroughbreds hit the nail on the head.
The US breeders have substituted “fashion” in their breeding rather than looking for a line that will bring speed and stamina together. All of the horses mentioned in Jay’s article were horses with great speed and stamina.
All one has to do is look at their pedigrees 2-3 lines back and you will see the great foundation sires of well balanced broodmares. It’s the broodmare that brings stamina not the sire. Great stamina horses sire great broodmares that pass on the stamina to their progeny. Yes, speed has its place, but on the top line of the progeny to the stamina sired mare.
If you look at all the great horses mentioned in Jay’s article, you’ll see that speed was on top of stamina in most, not all, cases. Where speed is on top of speed, you get a horse that normally can’t go more than a mile. The exeception is turf. Speed can hold on turf. Why, no one has figured it out yet, but it does.
Thanks for letting me have my say.
Jay is a generous historian of breeding and sport. If only we could breed to Nasrullah, Princequillo, Buckpasser, and Damascus, wouldn’t we all be better off?
Good luck,
Frank.
I am a total novice to breeding; I see owners on the British scene and I see the horses but have no system to make sense of it all. i enjoyed reading your articles, although you are on different soil.
fmitchell07said:
If you’re interested in further information about breeding, there are several sites on the net, including some linked from this blog, that are very helpful about some broad picture information. For instance, John Sparkman’s Curmudgeon has some really good historical info.
Happy Holiday, my friend! I’ve nearly frozen several times this month. Too cold by far!
But I’ll take your advice and stay warm with more activity on Twitter. Cheers!
Any chance you will do a piece on AP INDY, he may forever be the poster child for “Breeding the best to the best and hope (in his case GET) for the best”?
There are a couple of pieces already on the site (search “ap indy”) that touch significantly on the grand old horse and his accomplishments, but there is a near certainty that I’ll do another one in the coming days on the old boy.
He was a grand racehorse and sire, and it is virtually impossible to praise him too highly.
I am Jose Leal and I have a mare with a rectal vaginal fistula problem and am looking for some method to the reconstruction and note a comment in your web site that there is a plastic prosthesis for the construction I would like to send me some information thanks jsleal6@hotmail.com
Just “found” this site (Thanks Ray).
While breeding is a “sport” in it’s self, we must realize that genes are passed by both parents not just one. Todays thoroughbred is an exstraction from years passed and the “genes” are there no matter how poor the race results or confirmations. To say that stamina comes from the mare is true, but it also comes from the sire. Speed on speed can also produce the Belmont winner. We have no control (or not yet) over how the genes mesh; therefore we are back to the point; Breed the Best to the Best and Hope for the Best. We lighting catchers (as in catching lighting in a coke bottle) must give up either race record or pedigree; for we cannot afford both. Pedigree and Race Record have equal camps and both are right, but neither is always right.
So join up and Let’s Race.
bloodstock in the bluegrass 
Reading Jay Leimbach’s article on stamina or the lack of it and soundness in today’s thoroughbreds hit the nail on the head.
The US breeders have substituted “fashion” in their breeding rather than looking for a line that will bring speed and stamina together. All of the horses mentioned in Jay’s article were horses with great speed and stamina.
All one has to do is look at their pedigrees 2-3 lines back and you will see the great foundation sires of well balanced broodmares. It’s the broodmare that brings stamina not the sire. Great stamina horses sire great broodmares that pass on the stamina to their progeny. Yes, speed has its place, but on the top line of the progeny to the stamina sired mare.
If you look at all the great horses mentioned in Jay’s article, you’ll see that speed was on top of stamina in most, not all, cases. Where speed is on top of speed, you get a horse that normally can’t go more than a mile. The exeception is turf. Speed can hold on turf. Why, no one has figured it out yet, but it does.
Thanks for letting me have my say.
Tony Mallotto
Lover of the Thoroughbred
Jay is a generous historian of breeding and sport. If only we could breed to Nasrullah, Princequillo, Buckpasser, and Damascus, wouldn’t we all be better off?
Good luck,
Frank.
I am a total novice to breeding; I see owners on the British scene and I see the horses but have no system to make sense of it all. i enjoyed reading your articles, although you are on different soil.
If you’re interested in further information about breeding, there are several sites on the net, including some linked from this blog, that are very helpful about some broad picture information. For instance, John Sparkman’s Curmudgeon has some really good historical info.
Hey Frank, we’ve been missing you on Twitter hope you haven’t got Frozen over in Kentucky!! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
Happy Holiday, my friend! I’ve nearly frozen several times this month. Too cold by far!
But I’ll take your advice and stay warm with more activity on Twitter. Cheers!
Any chance you will do a piece on AP INDY, he may forever be the poster child for “Breeding the best to the best and hope (in his case GET) for the best”?
There are a couple of pieces already on the site (search “ap indy”) that touch significantly on the grand old horse and his accomplishments, but there is a near certainty that I’ll do another one in the coming days on the old boy.
He was a grand racehorse and sire, and it is virtually impossible to praise him too highly.
I am Jose Leal and I have a mare with a rectal vaginal fistula problem and am looking for some method to the reconstruction and note a comment in your web site that there is a plastic prosthesis for the construction I would like to send me some information thanks jsleal6@hotmail.com
There is no PLASTIC prosthesis for this problem.
The only solution is a Surgical Repair
Just “found” this site (Thanks Ray).
While breeding is a “sport” in it’s self, we must realize that genes are passed by both parents not just one. Todays thoroughbred is an exstraction from years passed and the “genes” are there no matter how poor the race results or confirmations. To say that stamina comes from the mare is true, but it also comes from the sire. Speed on speed can also produce the Belmont winner. We have no control (or not yet) over how the genes mesh; therefore we are back to the point; Breed the Best to the Best and Hope for the Best. We lighting catchers (as in catching lighting in a coke bottle) must give up either race record or pedigree; for we cannot afford both. Pedigree and Race Record have equal camps and both are right, but neither is always right.
So join up and Let’s Race.