Stallion Information

Finding out what stallions are standing and where can be a frustrating chore whether you are looking in North America or most other countries where standardbred breeding is conducted. In North America it is only in the past two years that the registries in the U S and in Canada have made any attempt to provide such information. I can take some credit for their efforts since I have badgered them both about providing this very necessary service.

The USTA has recently added some functionality to their listings by including some additional data for their STARS list, which consists of stallions belonging to farms that have paid them for the priviledge. The "A" list totals a little over 100 of the 700+ stallions in service in North America. They also have a basic list of other stallions in the United States with minimal information and some notable errors and exceptions. No listing of any stallions from Maine or Michigan for instance, and according to the USTA No Pan Intended still stands in the US not at Tara Hills in Canada, and Pro Bono Best, who left last fall for the UK is, according to the USTA list, still in Indiana.

Standardbred Canada's efforts are similarily inconsistent and incomplete. Their stallion list gives little more than the stallion name, contact information and fee. Stallion owners can submit this information themselves but if they want any extras such as a hypothetical mating function it costs extra. There are no stallion stats, no stallion pedigree or any other data available other than what you can get through their "pay per view" Trackit service. The USTA at least gives the top ten performers of their "A" list stallions as well as pedigree information and the option of a photo of the sire.

It seems to me that stallion information, presented in a consistent and comprehensive manner is an essential service to the breeders that both organizations purport to serve.

Some states and provinces publish stallion guides and the best ones that I have seen are Maine and Ontario although both have the disadvantage of coming out well into the season due to nomination deadlines and print delays.

Internationally the best stallion directory available is likely the French "Annuaire des Etalons", with full colour pictures, some quite spectacular, and comprehensive information on both the stallion and the farm. Some countries have online directories such as Denmark, and Australia, like Canada, offers a complete list of all stallions, but in contrast gives you much more detail on a click thru basis.

Since its inception in 2003 the PedigreeGuru website has contained a stallion and farm database which I update annually for the dozen or so countries from which I can get information. The information available to me is, as you can imagine, inconsistent and full of errors and ommissions despite being provided for the most part by the breed organizations themselves.

If you have a stallion directory for your country, state or province I would appreciate getting a copy or the online link to the information.

Urge To Spurge by Cash Hall

In an interview with Bob MacIntosh on The Harness Edge , the former trainer of World Record holder Cash Hall made quite a statement. He claimed that a colt he is training by Cash Hall called Cash On Delivery, bred and owned by Bob and the CSX Stable, is the best trotter he ever trained. A look at the pedigree shows why.

The colt is inbred maternally 3x3 to Super Bowl and also inbred to Speedy Crown maternally 4x4. His dam, Direct Dial, is a daughter of Dial Nial by Super Bowl who is a double to Margaret Parrish and has a second dam called Dancing Demon who herself is a double to Margaret Parrish through one of her daughters Foster Child. Dial Nile is already the dam of Text Me, one of the top two year olds in Canada last season.

Bob has an even more interesting prospect for next year as he has a filly by Cash Hall called Urge To Splurge that is from Dial Nile making her a 3x2 X-factor cross to Super Bowl.

2010 Pedigree Camp

The registration deadline for this year’s Standardbred Pedigree Camp is fast approaching. May 1st is the due date for signing up for this year’s event, which will again take place in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, and is slated for the second weekend in June. The Pedigree Camp begins Friday June 11th with a welcome social and lobster dinner at the Inn On The Hill. The agenda for registrants also includes weekend sessions on Stallion and Broodmare selection, and Yearling evaluation. Norman Hall of Pedigree Matching and the Globetrotter pedigree program will host the sessions.

Registration and program information are contained in the January blog entry named Pedigree Camp Registration.

Already signed up for this year are several returnees from previous Pedigree Camps as well as new registrants from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maine, Illinois and Canada. Island breeders will also be in attendance as a number of seminar seats will again be sponsored at a reduced rate by the PEI Colt Stakes. Early registration is recommended due to the limited number of seats available.

There will also be time for play including a visit to the races at the Charlottetown Driving Park Entertainment Centre, a traditional Island Lobster dinner, optional visits to Island breeding farms, and all the delights offered by the Garden Of The Gulf, Prince Edward Island. To book your spot or for further information call Norman Hall at 902-367-3495 or email to norman_g_hall@hotmail.com

Speedy Somolli versus Florestan

The entries for the Prix D'Amerique have been declared. Eighteen horses will go to the post in search of winning the most prestigious race for trotters in Europe. Will the winner have Speedy Somolli in his/her pedigree or Florestan. Here are the entries

1. Quaker Jet
2. Oasis Gede
3. Paris Haufor
4. Rolling d'Heripe
5. Quarla
6. Oyonnax
7. Return Money
8. Orlando Sport
9. Perlando
10. Ghiaccio del Nord
11. Premiere Speed
12. Ready Cash
13. Russel November
14. Nouba du Saptel
15. Olga du Biwetz
16. One du Rib
15. Opal Viking
16. Meaulnes du Corta

Post positions in French racing are determined by the earnings so last year's winner, Meaulnes du Corta draws the outside post with his highest earnings status. Since this is not a mobile start and is at a distance greater than a mile then the post is not really a factor. The Prix typically sees horses three wide and sitting, satisfied to be in a position to move around rather than getting locked in.

Meaulnes du Corta has a dam by Florestan but this year he meets a formidable rival in the speedy Ready Cash, the only horse in the field to have Florestan on both sides of his pedigree, 4x4 maternally in fact. His sire, Indy de Vie has a second dam by Florestan and third dam by Seddouk while his dam has a grandsire by Florestan whose dam is also by Seddouk.

Leaving on the rail is Quaker Jet who figures to be a rank longshot but , like Ready Cash, has a 4x4 maternal cross, in this case to Speedy Somolli not Florestan. His sire has a second dam by Speedy Somolli while his third dam is by a son of Speedy Somolli. Adding to the intrigue is a sibling cross 2x2 of Coktail Jet to his sister Delmonica Jet.

One of the favorites will be Opal Viking whose sire is out of a mare by Speedy Somolli and his dam is by a full brother to Speedy Somolli. Remember Cr Kay Suzie ?

There are a couple of others to consider. Oyonnax has a third dam by Florestan and his sire has a dam by Speedy Somolli, and Nouba du Saptel's dam is by Florestan. That gives us seven horses in the field to consider based on Rainer Engelkes predictions of the importance of Speedy Somolli and Florestan.

Who do you think will win ? My own prediction is

1. Ready Cash
2. Meaulnes du Corta
3, Quaker Jet
4. Nouba du Saptel
5. Oyonnax

The race goes Sunday around noon Eastern time.

First Year Pacing Stallions

There are two interesting new stallions that will serve their first books this year both in North America and in Australia/New Zealand.

Mister Big

This is a unique horse in more ways than one. An outstanding race horse he certainly was and his chances of carrying his success into his stallion career are excellent since his maternal pedigree allows him to connect to the principal sire lines of today.

The first priority is to find mares that fit Mister Big’s maternal lines of Jate Lobell and Cam Fella in particular. Having a dam that is line bred through Most Happy Fella is another of his unique characteristics since there is no other stallion currently standing that is bred that way. There are several that have double Meadow Skipper dams i.e. first and second dams both go through Meadow Skipper, but they all have one of those dams go through a son of Meadow Skipper other than Most Happy Fella.

A review of the sires which are similar in pedigree, although not exactly the same, shows that Real Desire is the best model for success for a sire such as Mister Big. Like Mister Big, Real Desire is by an Abercrombie line sire, albeit through Life Sign, not Artsplace. Real Desire’s maternal lines are Troublemaker (Most Happy Fella) and Trenton (Meadow Skipper). His profile shows, like all of the other sires with double Meadow Skipper dams, a preference for mares that are also double Meadow Skipper. In fact of his top 16 performers there are 12 that are bred this way including his top 4. The remaining four are from non Meadow Skipper line dams that have a second dam through Most Happy Fella and three of those have a broodmare sire with a dam by Meadow Skipper or Albatross.

Many of the mares that have been successful with Real Desire are in fact very good matches to Mister Big including the dams of Tell All, Carnivore and Cabana Fever to name a few.

Being an Abercrombie line sire he is unlikely to have consistent success with mares of the same sire line but there will be exceptions. It is not, however, a high percentage play.

His dam is by Jate Lobell and that brings into play the many broodmares with No Nukes sire lines including those by Western Hanover and his sons. Mister Big’s second dam is by Cam Fella which makes mares by Camluck, Cams Card Shark etc., especially those that carry the No Nukes line, high priorities as well.

Cams Card Shark and No Nukes was a very good cross and a mare like Card Trick Hanover would be ideal as would a Camluck mare such as Chancey Lady or Remember When, both with No Nukes maternally, the latter through Jate Lobell.

The sire profile for the group of sires that Mister Big belongs to is as follows:

Double Meadow Skipper line dams with the exception of dams with a Meadow Skipper, a son, or an Albatross line 2nd dam or dams with no Meadow Skipper maternally.

In summary I would look primarily for mares that are line bred through Meadow Skipper and that carry combinations of Cam Fella, No Nukes and/or Albatross maternally. It would probably be helpful to find mares that have maternal dams by Abercrombie or one of his sons if possible.

Art Director

Like Mister Big, this sire has an unusual maternal combination, in his case it is of Falcon Seelster – Safe Arrival. This combination of an Adios and a Volomite line is shared with only five other active sires including Village Jolt and Western Maverick, the only ones to have foals racing. These others, however, are all Meadow Skipper line sires making Art Official the only Abercrombie line sire in existence with such a maternal package.

Looking at the profiles of Village Jolt and Western Maverick to date there is little to help us since neither sire has really hit with any consistency. As is typical in cases where there is an unusual maternal combination the mares that will work will often throw back to the grandsire rather than the sire. Such was very much the case for Camluck whose maternal lines of Striking Image (Adios line) and Truluck (Knight Dream) were only to be found in Abercrombie mares. That was actually one of his best crosses but the majority of his best returned to the Bret Hanover – Dale Frost combination in the maternal line of Camluck’s sire Cam Fella.

Art Major’s maternal lines are Nihilator (Albatross line) and Big Towner. Albatross and Big Towner have been key factors in the profile of Art Major although neither featured in Art Official’s pedigree. Like many of the great ones his pedigree, similar to that of Somebeachsomewhere, is a strong outcross due to the two Volomite lines he has maternally. This hybridization in a pedigree very often results in something special but is a rare occurrence. You can make use of the Volomite connection, however, by going to Mach Three mares which would give you a direct maternal connection to both Volomite and Adios since Mach Three is by a Volomite line sire out of an Adios line dam. For instance a mare like Mach You And me, who also carries Albatross maternally, would be a good choice while an even better one would be Stabilo.

You should also look for broodmare sires with Volomite line dams such as Rustler Hanover, Rocknroll Hanover, Cambest, Beach Towel, etc. The good mare Draconian Promise would be worthy of an invitation with her second dam by Falcon Seelster. The same applies to Red In The Face, Literacy and several others with similar pedigrees. Perhaps you can convince Shacked Up to retire

Art Official will be a difficult sire to fit to but if you can get enough of the right ones to him the first year then he will have a chance to prove what he really works with.

His prospects in New Zealand and Australia will likely be better because of the influence of the Volomite line sire In The Pocket and his sons at stud providing daughters with the right connections for Art Official. There are also several Albatross line stallions there bred to several different Volomite lines that have produced suitable daughters. Also worth looking for are daughters of Falcon Seelster.

His sire profile is listed as: Non Meadow Skipper line dams except for double Meadow Skipper line dams or Meadow Skipper line dams with a Volomite line 2nd or 3rd dam.

Two-Year-Olds and Yearling Sales

It is always a bit of an eye opener to check out the results of the major Standardbred yearling sales after the end of the two-year-old year and this year is no exception. Lets look at the pacers first that went through the major North American sales in 2008.

To put the stats into context there were about 9500 yearlings in 2008 by new sires or by sires that have produced a significant performer, i.e. a winner of $100,000 or more, in previous years. There were around 5900 pacers in this total and 1,528 of those were entered into the five major sales at Harrisburg (665), Lexington (445), Forest City (150), New Jersey (147) and the Canadian Open (121).

There were just 78 pacing two-year-olds that made over $100,000 in the past year and 51 of those were available for sale, the other 27 being privately held. The ones that sold were split as you might expect, primarily by Harrisburg (25) and Lexington (16). The percentage of $100,000 winners versus the yearlings sold was 3.7% in both cases. There were 8 on the roster in Forest City that made the top performer list for an average of 5.3% on the pacers entered in that sale. There was one each in the New Jersey and Canadian Open sales

What was really interesting were the prices paid for the top performers. The most expensive one was sold in Forest City, a real surprise, at $110,000. He was Code Word by Western Terror and he won $201,090, all of it in Ontario. The cheapest one was also sold in Forest City, that being the filly Bay Girl by Royal Mattjesty, and a filly I had identified on my best in sale list as having a special pedigree. Six of the eight $100K plus winners from the Forest City sale, in fact, sold for $12,000 or less making that sale the bargain hunter’s best venue.

The top ten two-year-old pacers from last year’s sales were Sportswriter, Fancy Filly, Put On A Show, Rock N Roll Heaven, All Speed Hanover, Fbs Terror, Malicious, Western Moonlight and Western Silk and Tiz To Dream. Eight of these were among my sale recommendations as were the 11th and 12th best, Wellthereyougo and Casino Nights.

Another interesting observation is that the good ones did not come predominantly from the early sessions of the sales as most would expect. Despite the practise of the sales companies in putting what they perceive as the best individuals at the front of the sale, there were clearly a lot of people who paid out big money for one of these early selling yearlings that were to say the least disappointed.

Harrisburg had three sessions and their 25 top performers were distributed as follows: Session One 1-380 (11). Session Two 385-759 (7) Session Three 765-1137 (7)

Lexington held five sessions. Session One 1-100 (4), Session Two 101-245 (4), Session Three 246-407 (2), Session Four 408-572 (3) and Session Five 573-824 (3).

Prix d'Amerique

The Prix d'Amerique will race in a couple of weeks time. The starters are not known yet but here is an interesting article from the Prix site about last year's race. I have translated from French but hopefully it reads correctly. I have inserted a few comments in italics.

It’s afternoon at Vincennes, for the greatest race program of the year and Rainer Engelke is the breeder of two horses racing today, Othello Bourbon, and in particular, Qualita Bourbon, in the Prix d”Amerique Marionnaud. Although Rainer Engelke sold his interest in the racemare to Jean-Pierre Dubois last year, the mother of Qualita remains his at his farm in Saint Martin. She is one of only four broodmares there and they are in foal to the likes of Love You, Cezio Josselyn or Goetmals Wood. We met up with Rainer Engelke at Petit Riche, the restaurant located at Drouot Auctioneers, two hours before a major auction of equestrian art. But we were there not to speak about equestrian art, but rather, with twenty fours hours to go till the Prix d’Amerique, to talk about the history of his farm, his business philosophy and methods, and perhaps his secrets.

JDT – How did you get into the breeding business?

Nicolas Roussel said to me one day, “All breeding farms are built upon just one mare.” He made sense. With one mare you can build a great breeding operation. It is rare to have two great mares to start, unless you are Jean-Pierre Dubois, who did have two. As for me, I had Etta Extra by Florestan who has had four major stakes winners. That’s not too bad, is it ?

What was the first mare that you bought ?

My first filly was called Star de Corneville. She was by Jorky. At the time, I knew nothing other than names like Nordin, Verroken and Gougeaon, all top trainers. I watched the first foals of Jorky go through the yearling sales. Ulf Nordin bought lots of Jorkys, and since I knew nothing and thought a lot of Ulf Nordin, I said to my business partner “Lets buy a Jorky”. As a result we bought Star de Corneville for $30,000. We gave her to Ulf to train and he won with her at Vincennes. Afterwards, however, he told us that her racing future was limited. He offered the following advice “I know a man in France. Give her to him and he may be able to do something with her.” That man was Jean-Pierre Dubois. He trained her for two months and then told me “ You will have to make a broodmare out of her, she cannot go enough” I was cheap, you can write it, stingy. I said to my partner I would agree to breed her but not if the cost was expensive. He called me several days later to tell me that there was a stallion that had won the Prix d’Amerique, High Echelon, whose stud fee was $1,600. I said OK, that was not too expensive. The breeding of Star de Corneville to High Echelon produced Best Bourbon (5,1:58.2) in 1989, and he won six stakes events, three in harness and three under saddle. That’s a unique record. But I did not have a farm at the time. I had no intentions at that time of being a breeder.

What was the first broodmare that you bought specifically for breeding?

Her name was Sabriza, a half sister to Passionnant. She was a catastrophe. She produced nothing but donkeys. She was by Tabriz. I didn’t have a chance. Another half sister to Passionnant, Josubie, produced Vikings Way (sire of Jag de Bellouet)! After that I bought a half sister to Uno Atout, by Hadol du Vivier. No good either. Then I bought Ankylotie, a Chambon P mare. That was a good one. She had won both in the sulky and under saddle and made over $160,000. I bought her for $64,000, the sales topper. She gave me five winners then her sixth foal, Roc Bourbon by Love You, he was a major stakes winner at four. She also foaled a filly by Workaholic called My Lady Bourbon, who raced and has produced Showtime Bourbon. Now we have a filly by Love You.

How did you choose your mares?

I did not choose them. I took what was for sale. In France you cannot buy what you want to have. People don’t sell broodmares. In the United States, if you have the money, you can buy anything. In Normandy it is difficult to buy broodmares. You just have to be ready when the opportunity arises.

Tell us the story of Etta Extra.

You want stories ? I went to the farm where she was raised. She was bred by someone from Sweden. The farm was located at Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives and was run by a Swede, Davidsson. I went to see the mare with my wife and while we were walking through the field we found a five cent coin dated 1910. Right there on the ground. I said to my wife “This good luck - We can’t stop now” Actually since I had received the catalogue and saw she was for sale I was not about to wait. I wanted her. I had spent $500,000 to buy my farm and build a house and I didn’t have any horses to put on it. I told myself if I spent $500,000 on the property I would have to spend at least $150,000 on horses to get established.

Thierry Vilault, the day of that same sale at Deauville, bought Enfilade, the dam of Offshore Dream. He said that the reason you did not buy Enfilade was that you had already bought Etta Extra.

That’s true. But things happened a little differently from that. If I had not bought Etta Extra I might have settled for Enfilade. But I did not like Tarass Boulba, sire of Enfilade. To me Florestan against Tarass Boulba was like a Rolls Royce against a bicycle. I did not want a bicycle. For Etta Extra I had a price in mind of $50,000. At $50,500 I began to shake. At $55,000 I kept going and I had her at $70,000. Jean-Pierre Dubois and Pierre-Desire Allaire were the under bidders. She did not go higher because she was not in the best of shape, ugly in fact.

Ugly ? What do you mean. She stood badly, she had a big head ?

What can I say ? She was not pretty. She was not well prepared for sale. They had done nothing to her to get her ready. I knew why because I had been to the farm to see her. It was just the way she was. Anyway the press came to see me to get a picture. I refused. “You paid a lot for that mare” they said. I was so pissed off I told them I would have gone to $170,000 to buy her. That shut them up. And then along came Enfilade who sold for $75,000. She was the sale topper.

Do you regret not having bought both mares ?

If I had bought Enfilade France would never have had Offshore Dream. I would never have bred Enfilade to Reve d’Udon. No, I do not regret it. My mare was twice as good, in my opinion. With the pedigree she had ! Jean-Pierre Dubois always told me : “Florestan as a broodmare sire, just like gold.” As a racehorse he was not that great but I watched the mare Roquepine in New York and never forgot that. At the time you would never have thought that Florestan would become such a great sire. Today he is the best. You have to inbreed to Florestan 3x3. Showtime Bourbon is bred that way. Believe me, in the years to come, you will see many successful horses inbred to Florestan.

Is that what you look for then ?

At every opportunity I try to create that in my breedings. I can’t find it anywhere, it does not exist. Now that I have had several years of breeding experience I can tell you what to do. It is very simple. You have to double up on the best American blood with the best French blood. That is to say double up on Florestan, double up on Speedy Crown, as well as Fandango and Chambon P. Double up in the mare and also with the stallion. If you do that you have a chance to have, from time to time, a good horse. Trotters are hybrids and Mendel, before anyone else, recognized the effect of skip-generation as one of the basic laws of genetics.

That is the accepted path for excellence : the best to the best. But you have preferences, particular things you look for.

As for myself I always liked stallions that won under saddle. I find that is a plus. I always liked Kaisy Dream for that reason.

But Florestan never raced under saddle.

No, he didn’t, but he was a Stars Pride, the Tallyrand of America. There were none better. What I find interesting with Etta Extra is that her fifth dam is Anna Maloney (actually eighth dam), an American mare bought in Belgium and imported to France. She produced Amazone B, a winner of the Prix d’Amerique. Anna Maloney’s second dam (actually third dam) is Nancy Hanks, one of the greatest race mares in North America in the 1890’s with world records pulling big wheeled sulkies and wagons. She was by Peter The Great (actually by Happy Medium). That is a bit like Fandango and Roquepine. But then we are talking about the ninth generation. (Ed. Note - I’m not sure what the connection is here – certainly not to Nancy Hanks. Interestingly Anna Maloney’s dam is inbred 3x2 maternally to Nancy Hanks. Fandango and Roquepine are in fact inbred maternally to the French equivalent to Miss Russell, a mare called Belle Poule. Roquepine’s dam is similarily inbred to Belle Poule).

Do you always go back that far ?

Myself, I believe it is necessary to look at the sixth – seventh generation. Jean-Pierre Dubois says you have to stop at the third. But for me I don’t think that is enough. If the pedigree is well filled throughout, you increase your chances. If there is a hole you take the risk of falling through it.

What was it that attracted you to Etta Extra ?

The pedigree. I ignore the individual, the way it looks, the way it moves, all of that is totally unimportant to me. I will buy a good pedigree even if the horse has only three legs.

What pedigree are you looking for?

In plain English, I look for waterproof pedigrees. No holes. If there is one on the maternal side I am not interested.

Does the mare have to be a race winner?

No. If she is just a sister to a major stakes winner that is fine with me.

Black type in all generations ?

That increases your chances. But it is important to look at what the black type means. If the black type is for racing at Vincennes for instance it could be for finishing fifth in any stakes race with seven starters and two of them disqualified. That has no value. You have to be there to see it.

Etta Extra, is that the perfect cross?

It was the best available on the market for several reasons. She was by Florestan. At the time you got a breeding to that stallion through the National Stud by luck of the draw. There were ten thousand requests for sixty four breedings (slight exaggeration no doubt). Levesque got $15,000 for each breeding he sold himself and he had ten of his own. The mother of Etta Extra was by Speedy Crown. The stud fee for Speedy Crown was $30,000 in the United States. I could have that for $70,000 with Etta Extra or for the same breeding I would have to go to the United States, buy the breeding to Speedy Crown, have a filly and then breed her to Florestan. And then the second dam of Etta is Dimitria, one of the greatest European Champions. Etta Extra’s owner was Swedish and that is why she never raced in France. Her pedigree appeared weak as seen here in France but I knew there was a sister, Ma Crown, that had raced well and was by a grandson of Florestan. With Jazz Bourbon and Sam Bourbon I have created the best performing lines in Europe (another slight exaggeration, one is now a gelding, the other has yet to race.) It is important to create a line. If you cannot buy them you have to create them, but it takes twenty years.

What mare would you like to have today ?

In my opinion you cannot have a good pedigree without Speedy Somolli. I’m interested in mares that have Speedy Somolli in both the sire and the dam. But it seems there are none for sale. So that is just a dream. Jean-Pierre Dubois told me one day “We are dream merchants” He is right because we sell horses based on dreams with the hope of reality – a horse that makes money. It makes me think of Stendhal “After all, the only truly passionate things in life are dreams.”

It looks like the dreams of Rainer Engelke with respect to the future of Florestan’s impact on the maternal lines in France are coming to pass. The top three finishers in the 2009 Prix d’Amerique are all out of mares by Florestan, son of Roquepine, a mare inbred maternally to Belle Poule, from a dam also inbred maternally to Belle Poule. Qualita Borbon, daughter of Etta Extra finished third. She is inbred maternally to Speedy Crown and Volomite. Her dam goes back to Nancy Hanks. Her sire, Love You, is from the maternal family of another famous American mare, Jenny Lind. ---------

It will be interesting to see if Florestan will again dominate the pedigrees of the best horses in the 2010 race