dullahan is confirming the class of this year’s crop of 3yos

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class in the dam, comparative form, dullahan, even the score, mining my own, pacific classic, smart strike

The following post first appeared earlier this week at Paulick Report.

Amid tears and lamentation, fans and professionals have read reports of too many of the starring 3-year-old colts from this year’s Triple Crown having been injured, and I’ll Have Another, Bodemeister, and Union Rags have been retired.

While half of the top 10 members of the class seemingly have been sent to the sidelines, a few others asserted their growing importance to the game with victories this weekend. In addition to the exciting dead-heat by Alpha and Golden Ticket in the Grade 1 Travers, Dullahan took on the older generation in the G1 Pacific Classic over 10 furlongs at Del Mar and proved a noteworthy winner, setting a new course record in the process.

Dullahan’s performance was doubly important as a testament to the quality of this crop of 3-year-olds. Third in the Kentucky Derby, Dullahan has proven that the exertions of the Triple Crown did not lay waste to the entire generation, and the chestnut colt’s strong performance at Del Mar indicated that the level of ability among this year’s 3-year-olds is at least up to par.

One of the annual questions among breeders and owners and racing fans alike is how the next generation of racers compares to its predecessors. This is a question that is challenging to answer definitively but is best assessed with multiple lines of form from competition on the racetrack.

Even before the Pacific Classic, some informed observers had begun to lament the possibility that a crop that seemed to have several quite talented members might be reduced by injury to the point that it would have no adequate lines of comparison with the older horses.

Dullahan laid those fears to rest with a workmanlike but authoritative run through the stretch at Del Mar to capture his third G1 race against some of the best older horses in the country.

With 5-year-old Game On Dude second, 7-year-old Richard’s Kid third, and 7-year-old Rail Trip fourth, Dullahan had seasoned opposition who had shown their form at the game’s highest level. Game On Dude had won the G1 Hollywood Gold Cup last month, Richard’s Kid was second in that race and had won the G1 Pacific Classic and Goodwood Handicap two years ago, and Rail Trip was winner of the G2 San Diego Handicap over this course in his last start.

Divisional leaders Ron the Greek (Santa Anita Handicap and Stephen Foster) and Wise Dan (Clark Handicap) are racing in the East and will probably encounter Dullahan later in the season.

Bred in Kentucky by Phil and Judy Needham and Bena Halecky, Dullahan is the most successful racer yet by the Unbridled’s Song stallion Even the Score, who also has sired G1 winner Take the Points and the pro-tem 2-year-old champion filly in Puerto Rico, Score Classy.

Dullahan is also the younger half-brother to Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird (Birdstone), who was second in the Preakness and third in the Belmont Stakes. A big, good-looking colt with a classic-winning sibling, Dullahan sold for $250,000 at the 2010 Keeneland September yearling sale and is in the stable of Donegal Racing with trainer Dale Romans.

Dullahan has earnings of more than $1.7 million, with victories in the G1 Breeders’ Futurity, Blue Grass Stakes, and Pacific Classic.

The dam of Dullahan and Mine That Bird is the Smart Strike mare Mining My Own, who was unraced but has done stellar work in producing a pair of G1 winners.

Repeated success at the top level sends breeders hunting for the source, and Mining My Own has a useful but not illustrious female family. Therefore, it is likely that a significant contribution to her success as a producer lies with her sire Smart Strike, who has fashioned himself into one of the most important sons of his sire, Mr. Prospector.

In addition to being a multiple leading sire, Smart Strike is the sire of Horse of the Year Curlin, champion Lookin at Lucky, and other major performers, and as a premier stallion, Smart Strike is likely to become an increasingly important broodmare sire as his better daughters get to stud and are given chances with comparable stallions.

Mining My Own has a 2-year-old filly named Mezah by leading sire Tapit, was barren in 2011, and foaled a colt by Giant’s Causeway in 2012.

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broodmare of the week: mining my own

Tags

breeding class, class in the dam, dullahan, joe estes, Kentucky Derby, mine that bird, mining my own, pacific classic

Decades ago, the great bloodstock researcher Joe Estes proved that racing class in the dam was the first and most obvious indicator that a mare could be a good producer. Then she actually had to do it.

As time, temperament, and vicissitudes of fortune have proven, even the best racemares don’t always prove notable successes at stud. And likewise, some mares who have no race records nonetheless possess the right stuff to produce the premium racers of the next generation.

That has proven the case with the now-illustrious Smart Strike mare Mining My Own, who was not raced but has produced not one but two G1 winners from her first three foals. Furthermore, the first was Kentucky Derby winner Mine That Bird (Birdstone), and the second is Dullahan (Even the Score), winner of the G1 Breeders’ Futurity, Blue Grass Stakes, and Pacific Classic.

Mining My Own has a useful but not illustrious female family, and it is likely that a significant element in her success as a producer lies with her sire, who has fashioned himself into one of the most important sons of his sire, Mr. Prospector. Smart Strike is, in addition to being a multiple leading sire and sire of Horse of the Year Curlin, a stallion who is likely to become an increasingly important broodmare sire as more of his better daughters get to stud and are given chances with better stallions.

One of the most salient qualities in the Smart Strike tribe is their durability and versatility, with some racing well beyond the norm and many having the ability to switch surface or to excel over different surfaces.

The offspring of Mining My Own are notable as strong finishers. Mine That Bird won his Derby due to his capacity to maintain a steady, even lethal, gallop over trying conditions, and Dullahan shows his best form when he can get a superior grip on the surface, which is one of the advantages of synthetic tracks, where all three of Dullahan’s G1 victories have come.

Mining My Own, now 11, has been bred to some of the most prominent stallions in the breed the past few years and will continue to have opportunities commensurate with her famous offspring.

The produce record is below:

1st Dam: Mining My Own, ch, 2001. Bred by Lamantia, Blackburn & Needham/Betz Thoroughbreds (KY). Unraced in NA, Eng and Fr.
	2006: MINE THAT BIRD, b g, by Birdstone. Raced 3 yrs in NA, 18 sts, 5 wins, $2,228,637. Won Kentucky Derby (G1), Grey Breeders’ Cup S. (G3), Swynford S., Silver Deputy S.; 2nd Preakness S. (G1), Borderland Derby; 3rd Belmont S. (G1), West Virginia Derby (G2). 2007: Brother Bird, dk b/ g, by Yonaguska. Raced 4 yrs in NA, 22 sts, 8 wins, $174,075. 2008: Barren. 2009: DULLAHAN. At 2: Won Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (G1); 3rd With Anticipation S. (G2). At 3: Won TVG Pacific Classic S. (G1), Toyota Blue Grass S. (G1); 2nd Palm Beach S. (G3); 3rd Kentucky Derby (G1). 2010: Mezah, ch f, by Tapit.  Unraced in NA, Eng and Fr. 2011: No record. 2012: Unnamed foal,  c, by Giant’s Causeway.  Unraced in NA, Eng and Fr.
	Broodmare sire: SMART STRIKE, b, 1992. Sire of 165 dams of 448 foals, 301 rnrs (67%), 215 wnrs (48%), 65 2yo wnrs (15%), 30 sw (7%).
	2nd Dam: Aspenelle, ch, 1990. Bred by Whitco Farm (ON). Raced 1 yr in NA, 4 sts, 2 wins, $68,425 (ssi = 13.25). 2nd Canadian Oaks (R). Dam of GOLDEN SUNRAY (f, Crafty Prospector, $87,720. Won Poinciana Breeders’ Cup Handicap.).

aruna has historic connections to sheepshead bay

Tags

aruna, belmont park, class in the dam, flaxman holdings, kittiwake, producing test of broodmares, racing test of broodmares, sheepshead bay racetrack

The following post first appeared earlier this week at Paulick Report.

The Grade 2 Sheepshead Bay Handicap and the winner of its 2012 renewal, the Mr. Greeley mare Aruna, figure in a great deal of racing lore and bloodstock history.

Created in 1959 and first run at Jamaica Racecourse in New York, the Sheepshead Bay Handicap commemorates one of the most important early American racetracks. Built by the members of the Coney Island Jockey Club on land adjacent to Coney Island, Sheepshead Bay began racing in 1880, and over the next decade, management there inaugurated such historic and enduring events as the Suburban Handicap in 1884 and the Futurity Stakes in 1888.

In 1886, the track became the first to have a modern turf course, set inside the dirt oval, and it is fitting that Belmont racetrack, which inherited most of Sheepshead Bay’s great races, also hosts the Sheepshead Bay Handicap raced over 11 furlongs of turf.

This year’s winner was the Niarchos family’s Aruna, a dark brown daughter of Mr. Greeley and the Unbridled mare Surya. Like Aruna, Surya and her dam, the Nureyev mare Wild Planet, were bred and raced in the name of the Niarchos family’s Flaxman Holdings.

In addition, all three are stakes winners, and in an unusual succession of excellence, Aruna’s first six dams are all stakes winners.

Preceding Wild Planet is the Sir Ivor mare Ivory Wings, who won the Prix des Tuileries in France, as well as placing third in the G1 Premio Lydia Tesio in Italy. Returned to the States, Ivory Wings was less impressive, winning the highly unimportant Ruffian Handicap (not the one at Belmont) as a 5-year-old in 1983. Still, it was more black type, and the mare had a marvelous pedigree. Furthermore, Ivory Wings had been a good sales yearling herself, and as the second live foal out of the wonderful racemare and producer Kittiwake (by Sea-Bird), she became her dam’s second black-type performer and first stakes winner.

When Kittiwake’s second and third stakes winners came upon the turf, named Larida (Northern Dancer) and Miss Oceana (Alydar), the prospects and evaluation of Ivory Wings soared. Larida won “only” a G2 stakes and a pair of G3s, once against colts, but she was also G1-placed and was by the great little horse himself. Miss Oceana was a better racehorse, was one of the two top performers in Alydar’s first crop, along with Althea, and won a half-dozen G1 stakes.

At the Newstead Farm dispersal of 1985, Miss Oceana brought $7 million and Larida brought $4 million from Carl Icahn in the name of his Foxfield Farm. Grand as they were, they never saw the day when they were worth more.

This was a truly extraordinary family, however, and Kittiwake, a winner of the 18 races and $338,086, produced three stakes winners and another stakes-placed runner from her first five foals. Under the guidance and management of the Hardins of Newstead Farm, the lovely daughter of Sea-Bird never put a hoof wrong, but following her fifth foal, she produced only one stakes winner from eight more foals.

Kittiwake was a major winner at 3, 4, and 5. She won eight stakes, and among her additional placings was a second in 1972 Sheepshead Bay Handicap.

She was the first foal and first stakes winner out of the major stakes winner Ole Liz, who also produced the multiple G3 winner Oilfield (Hail to Reason) and the minor French stakes winner Beaconaire (Vaguely Noble). Ole Liz had been a cracking stakes winner by Double Jay, winning six of her 12 starts as a 2-year-old, including three stakes.

Ole Liz is the fifth dam and stakes winner behind Aruna, and her dam, the Roman mare Islay Mist, is the sixth. Islay Mist was a useful stakes winner who earned her credits with a success in the 1952 La Centinela Stakes. She was one of two stakes winners out of her dam, the Eight Thirty mare Lovely Evening, who was unraced.

Although a disappointment for failing to make the course, Lovely Evening was otherwise a good representative of her dam, the major winner Misty Isle, a daughter of leading sire Sickle who became a major taproot broodmare after a stellar racing career.

Bred and raced by Joseph Widener, Misty Isle won a half-dozen stakes, with the most important probably being the 1940 Matron Stakes at Belmont Park, but historically, the most interesting race she won was the Hyde Park Stakes at Arlington Park, as she defeated colts, including future Triple Crown winner Whirlaway, in the five and a half furlong race.

Aruna traces back past Misty Isle through other good mares to her 13^th dam Sallie McClelland (by Hindoo), who won the 1891 Alabama Stakes at Saratoga. The previous year, Sallie McClelland had won a trio of stakes, including the Surf Stakes at Sheepshead Bay racecourse.

Racing, the most marvelous of sports, reveals gems of tradition and renewal in ways that even we writers cannot make up.

memories of silver: dam of g1 winner winter memories

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approaches to breeding, class in the dam, darby dan farm, homebreeding operations, memories of silver, racing class as a test for producing class, silver hawk, winter memories

The best racemares make the best producers, and one of the best racemares of her time was Memories of Silver, a daughter of the high-quality sire Silver Hawk and the Little Current mare All My Memories. The latter is a daughter of graded stakes winner Java Moon (by Graustark and out of the major producer Golden Trail).

This family has been cultivated the past 50 years primarily at Darby Dan Farm, and the Galbreath / Phillips Racing Partnership bred and raced both Memories of Silver and her daughter.

Memories of Silver has produced three stakes winners now. Her first two were by Storm Cat and were useful horses but no more. In Winter Memories, however, the dam has produced a filly of very high class who appears likely to become a multiple G1 winner like her dam.

The produce record is below:

1st Dam: MEMORIES OF SILVER, b, 1993. Bred by Galbreath/Phillips RacingPartnership (KY). Raced 3 yrs in NA, 19 sts, 9 wins, $1,448,715 (ssi = 43.60). Won Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup (g1), Beverly D. S. (g1), Diana Handicap (g2), Nijana S. (g3), Just A Game Breeders’ Cup Handicap (g3), Ballston Spa Breeders’ Cup Handicap (g3), Lake George S. (1st Div), Robert G. Dick Memorial Handicap; 2nd New York Handicap (g2), Vinery First Lady S.; 3rd Matriarch S. (g1), Yellow Ribbon S. (g1), Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap (g1).
	2000: BRITISH BLUE, ch c, by Storm Cat. Raced 6 yrs in NA, 27 sts, 6 wins, $200,021 (ssi = 2.22). Won Tri-State Handicap. $2,400,000, Keeneland July 2001. 2001: WAR TRACE, b c, by Storm Cat. Raced 2 yrs in NA, 7 sts, 3 wins, $86,538 (ssi = 4.32). Won Choice S. 2002: Bridal Memories, ch f, by Unbridled.  Unraced in NA, Eng and Fr. 2003: Barren. 2004: Memories For Us, dk b/ f, by Street Cry (IRE).  Unraced in NA, Eng and Fr. 2005: Star Silver, b f, by Aldebaran.  Unraced in NA, Eng and Fr. 2006: Recollect, ch f, by El Prado (IRE). Raced 1 yr in NA, 8 sts, 0 wins, $17,132. 2007: La Cloche, b f, by Ghostzapper. Raced 3 yrs in NA, 13 sts, 3 wins, $134,883. 2nd Pucker Up S. (g3). 2008: WINTER MEMORIES. At 2: Won Miss Grillo S. (g3); 2nd Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (g2). At 3: Won Garden City S. (g1), Lake George S. (g2), Sands Point S. (g2), Appalachian S. (g3). 2009: No record. 2010: Unnamed foal, b c, by Bluegrass Cat. 2011: Unnamed foal, b c, by Tiznow.
	Broodmare sire: SILVER HAWK, b, 1979-2008. Sire of 309 dams of 1367 foals, 1035 rnrs (76%), 603 wnrs (44%), 172 2yo wnrs (13%), 73 sw (5%).
	2nd Dam: All My Memories, b, 1979-1998. Bred by John W. Galbreath (Ky). Raced 1 yr in NA, 7 sts, 1 wins, $23,860 (ssi = 3.64). Dam of MEMORIES (f, Hail The Pirates, $92,540. Won Miss Grillo S. (g2). Dam of RUSSIAN REVIVAL,Tobruk (Ire).), MEMORIES OF GOLD (f, Time for a Change, $114,589. Won Serena’s Song S.; 3rd Shirley Jones Handicap (g3)), Childhood Memories (f, The Minstrel, $41,212. $13,608. 3rd Ruby S.), Spark Hawk (c, Silver Hawk. $964,793. 2nd American Jockey Club Cup.).

peter pan winner has pin oak pedigree

Tags

alternate, alternation, breeding to race, class in the dam, distorted humor, gray coloration in thoroughbreds, josephine abercrombie, owner-breeder operations, peter pan stakes, pin oak stud

The winner of last weekend’s Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont was Alternation (b c 2008 by Distorted Humor x Alternate, by Seattle Slew). The promising colt is the fourth generation of this family to race for Josephine Abercrombie’s Pin Oak Stud.

That in itself is uncommon these days. The great breeder operations who produced generations of racers have mostly been lost to the sport. But Pin Oak is one of those that has stayed the course … and reaped the harvest.

Alternation is the third foal and second highly talented athlete out of Alternate, one of the later stakes winners by the great Seattle Slew. Alternate is also one of handful of grays by Seattle Slew, all out of gray mares of course. In Alternate’s case, the color comes from her dam Strike a Balance (by Green Dancer) and second dam Strike a Pose, a daughter of the gray stallion Iron Ruler.

This is one of the best producing families at Pin Oak, and Alternate is one of four daughters of Strike a Balance who has produced a graded stakes winner.

Alternate’s produce record follows:

1st Dam: ALTERNATE, gr/ro, 1999. Bred by Pin Oak Stud, LLC (KY). Raced 3 yrs in NA, 23 sts, 6 wins, $550,695 (ssi = 9.85). Won Go For Wand S., Robert G. Dick Mem Breeders’ Cup H., Robert G. Dick Memorial B C Hcp.; 2nd Monmouth Breeders’ Cup Oaks (gr. 2), Bewitch S. (gr. 3), Delaware Oaks (gr. 3), New Castle Handicap, Susan’s Girl Breeders’ Cup S.; 3rd Glens Falls Handicap (gr. 3), Hillsborough S. (gr. 3).

2006:	Elision, b f, by Elusive Quality. Raced 3 yrs in NA, 14 sts, 4 wins, $203,651 (ssi = 4.42).
2007:	Take Turns, gr/ro c, by Seeking The Gold. Raced 3 yrs in NA, 5 sts, 1 win, $30,060 (ssi = 1.68).
2008:	ALTERNATION.
	At 3: Won Peter Pan S. (gr. 2).
2009:	Quick Change, b c, by Awesome Again. Unraced in NA, Eng, and Fr.
2010:	Unnamed foal, dk b/ f, by Giant’s Causeway.
2011:	Unnamed foal, f, by Broken Vow. In foal to Candy Ride.

Broodmare sire: SEATTLE SLEW, dkbbr, 1974-2002. Sire of 485 dams of 2802 foals, 2144 rnrs (77%), 1464 wnrs (52%), 419 2yo wnrs (15%), 208 sw (7%).

2nd Dam: Strike A Balance, gr/ro, 1983. Bred by Pin Oak Farm (KY). Raced 1 yr in NA, 3 sts, 2 wins, $30,720 (ssi = 10.11). Dam of PEAKS AND VALLEYS (c, Mt. Livermore. $1,589,270, Champion 3yo colt in Canada, Horse of the Year In Canada. Won Meadowlands Cup (gr. 1), Molson Export Million (gr. 1), Illinois Derby (gr. 2), Derby Trial (gr. 3), Cradle Stakes; 2nd Lafayette S. (gr. 3), Saratoga Cup (gr. 3), Col. R. S. McLaughlin S.; 3rd Whitney Handicap (gr. 1), Kentucky Jockey Club S. (gr. 3)).

With earnings of more than a half-million and a standard starts index of nearly 10, Alternate is one of the best mares not to win a graded stakes. She’s on her way to proving it as a producer.

fortyniner fever: quality to the top

Tags

angel fever, class in the dam, economics and breeding, equine appreciation of assets, fortyniner fever, good luck at the sales, quality bloodstock

In looking over the results of stakes from the weekend, one of the interesting things is the success of some very famous bloodlines like that belonging to stakes winner Saint Isabelle (by Saint Liam) below:

1st Dam: Fortyniner Fever, b, 1995. Bred by Robert C. McNair, Janice McNair & Arthur B. Hancock III (KY). Unraced in NA, Eng, and Fr. ($55,000, 2006, keenov, brdmr)

2000:	Tejas, b c, by Skip Away. Raced 1 yr in NA, 5 sts, 1 win, $9,819 (ssi = 0.82).
2001:	Unnamed foal, dkbbr c, by Valid Expectations.
2002:	Slipped.
2003:	South Of Broad, b c, by Broad Brush. Raced 1 yr in NA, 2 sts, 1 win, $27,500.
2004:	BOLD ANGEL, ch f, by Cat Thief. Raced 3 yrs in NA, 14 sts, 2 wins, $70,992 (ssi = 1.74). Won Sam Houston Oaks; 2nd Sam Houston Distaff S.; 3rd Assiniboia Oaks.
2005:	TEXAS FEVER, b c, by Victory Gallop. Raced 2 yrs in NA, 12 sts, 2 wins, $97,878 (ssi = 2.23). Won Kentucky Cup Juvenile S. (gr. 3); 3rd Grindstone S.
2006:	Gold Dust, b f, by Forest Wildcat. Unraced in NA, Eng, and Fr. ($140,000, 2009, keenov, brdmr)
2007:	SAINT ISABELLE. ($135,000, 2007, keenov, wnlg; $150,000, 2008, keesep, yrlg)
	At 3: 2nd Palomares S.
	At 4: Won Time To Leave S.
2008:	Palooza, ch f, by Hennessy. Raced 2 yrs in NA, 3 sts, 1 win, $42,830 (ssi = 3.76). ($185,000, 2008, keenov, wnlg)
2009:	Hell For Certain, dkbbr c, by Mr. Greeley. Unraced in NA, Eng, and Fr. ($210,000, 2010, keesep, yrlg)
2010:	Unnamed foal, b c, by Bernardini.
2011:	Slipped.

2nd Dam: Angel Fever, b, 1990. Bred by Loblolly Stable (KY). Raced 1 yr in NA, 2 sts, 1 win, $25,665. 2nd Colleen S. ($525,000, 1994, keenov, brdmr) Dam of FUSAICHI PEGASUS (c, Mr. Prospector. $1,994,400, Won Kentucky Derby (gr. 1), Jerome Handicap (gr. 2), San Felipe S. (gr. 2), Wood Memorial S. (gr. 2); 2nd Preakness S. (gr. 1)).

The burning question is “How much would you pay for a daughter of Forty Niner out of Angel Fever, dam of a classic winner and full sister to another?”

All the other daughters of Angel Fever who went through sales brought seven-figure fortunes. But Fortyniner Fever, unraced and 11 at the time of her sale in 2006, brought only $55,000 from the savvy fellows at Hunter Valley Farm, even though the mare was in foal to Horse of the Year Saint Liam.

And this was at the peak of the contemporary bloodstock market before the US and world economies imploded in 2007.

By the time the mare had produced a nice-looking filly by Saint Liam and it was ready for sale at the Keeneland November auction in that same 2007, Fortyniner Fever’s 2yo and 3yo had become stakes winners. And Saint Isabelle sold for $135,000 as a weanling.

Now she is the third stakes winner for her dam.

In addition to a promising 3yo and 2yo going for her, Fortyniner Fever has a yearling colt by Bernardini who will probably draw some attention at the sales this year, wouldn’t you think?

class in the dam

Tags

class in the dam, david dink, statistics and breeding

David Dink has a three-part series on class in the dam as a tool in evaluating breeding prospects and mating the critters.

It can be accessed at http://ddink55.wordpress.com/

The statistics are fairly stiff work, but the less mathematically inclined may read the introductions and conclusions to find the majority of useful information Dink has unearthed and reminded us about with this series.