The Double Double

No, it is not your favourite coffee at Tim Hortons but it should be on your list of favourite yearling purchases.

Last year saw Mcwicked, a son of Mcardle, take home the spoils as the top three year old colt in North America. He was a Double Double as have been most of the very good horses that I have picked out for owner Ed James over the past seven years. In fact the best five, collectively winning almost $7 million, have all fit that special pedigree pattern that I call the Double Double.

Pedigree Matching focuses on the maternal lines of the sire and having those same lines returned from the dam. That is known as a double return in what the old saying tells us to "return to the sire the best blood of his dam".

A Double Double goes one step further by having the mare also return two lines the same as in the dam of the Grandsire.

In Mcwicked's case the first double return is of Meadow Skipper, through sons Most Happy Fella and Albatross. The second double is through Volomite and Adios, the maternal lines of Mcardle' s sire, Falcon Seelster thus completing the Double Double.

Which brings me to a horse that is unbeaten in his career called Roland N Rock, a son of Rocknroll Hanover from a mare by Cambest. He has yet to meet up with the top three year olds in North America but is aimed at the Meadowlands Pace where he will have to race against Artspeak and North America Cup winner Wakizashi Hanover.

His pedigree doubles back Abercrombie and Volomite from his dam for the first double, then Abercrombie and Meadow Skipper as is found in the maternal lines of Western Ideal for the second double.

I just might have a small wager on this colt in the Meadowlands Pace.