Congratulations to my longtime customer Ed James and his 3 year old colt McWicked winner of the $500,000 Hempt final. Ed paid $210000 for him at the Harrisburg sale on my recommendation. He now has a world record holder and the fastest three year old in North America. This year I think I will finally go to the Little Brown Jug to see him crowned as the fastest three year old of all time on a half mile track. Then to Lexington to beat the all time record for any size track.
Every year the Harrisburg mixed sale has a number of two year olds for sale. Most are ignored because the buyers assume they are being dumped for good reason. That is not necessarily so. Ed James has had great success with someone elses rejects and Mcwicked is just the latest example. In past years he has plucked, at my recommendation, horses like Hyperion Hanover a winner of over $1.2 million and Indiana Hall with over $830K among others.
The secret is to find a pedigree matched horse that shows something special, like a fast quarter. It is not difficult to narrow down the possibilities and in fact Mcwicked was one of only three in the sale last year that met the criteria and by far the best on paper.
His pedigree is great from a pedigree matching standpoint. He is outcrossed on sire line Adios to Meadow Skipper and he is inbred maternally to Albatross and Most Happy Fella. He is also outcrossed through to the maternal lines of grandsire Falcon Seelster through Volomite and Adios.
As a two year old he showed a last quarter in 27 in winning a PA Sire Stake event. That kind of speed is unusual in young horses and made him a standout on that alone.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
PM Online Update
It has been a long process but we are finally getting there. Just a few wrinkles to iron out and we can make an official launch of PM Online shortly. Some of you have already tried out the site and perhaps experienced problems but hopefully all that is behind us now. This has been Phase One, replicating the Globetrotter program online to be accessed by any browser and device currently available. Sounds easy but in fact has been a complicated process that has taken almost a year longer than the anticipated six months we planned on.
The next phase of our development will be to add new functions such as the stallion profiles, performance ratings, sale reports etc., and anything else you might suggest to make the site as usefull to you as possible. This will be an ongoing process and your feedback is important to us to achieve our goal of developing an international pedigree database with all of the tools you need to help you make correct decisions on what to breed and what to buy.
Some of you are still using the old desk based Globetrotter program and have been asking about updates to the database. While it is my hope that you will eventually switch over to PM Online for its ease of use and greater range of options and more timely and accurate data, I am prepared to provide an annual database update for the time being. Instructions on accessing the current database can be found here.
Instructions on Updating Globetrotter Database
If you are interested in the future development of PM Online as an investment opportunity or as a vehicle for advertising and promotion of your own products and services I would be interested in hearing from you. Quite frankly I'm not sure how much longer I have, at my age, to devote to this "project" so I am interested in forming a limited partnership to ensure the future of PM Online is in good hands. You can call me for details at 901-628-5581 or email to norman@pedigreematching.com
The next phase of our development will be to add new functions such as the stallion profiles, performance ratings, sale reports etc., and anything else you might suggest to make the site as usefull to you as possible. This will be an ongoing process and your feedback is important to us to achieve our goal of developing an international pedigree database with all of the tools you need to help you make correct decisions on what to breed and what to buy.
Some of you are still using the old desk based Globetrotter program and have been asking about updates to the database. While it is my hope that you will eventually switch over to PM Online for its ease of use and greater range of options and more timely and accurate data, I am prepared to provide an annual database update for the time being. Instructions on accessing the current database can be found here.
Instructions on Updating Globetrotter Database
If you are interested in the future development of PM Online as an investment opportunity or as a vehicle for advertising and promotion of your own products and services I would be interested in hearing from you. Quite frankly I'm not sure how much longer I have, at my age, to devote to this "project" so I am interested in forming a limited partnership to ensure the future of PM Online is in good hands. You can call me for details at 901-628-5581 or email to norman@pedigreematching.com
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Something For Nothing
The wonderful thing about breeding horses is that every now and then there appears something from nothing. There is a gelding in Delaware that is undefeated in 11 starts at 2 and 3. His name is I Like My Boss. He is by a modest son of Donerail called Don Boss Vita and from a mare that has absolutely nothing to offer in her maternal family.
The dam, Wild One, made all of $17,345 and there are few individuals in the next generations to beat that accomplishment yet she has produced one of the best in Delaware history.
Don Boss Vita is Florida Pro - Super Bowl maternally and Wild One is by Cr Commando. a Delaware sire that is by a son of Super Bowl from a daughter of Florida Pro. Now some would say that is a coincidence but not if you are a follower of pedigree matching. That direct compatibility between the dam of the sire and the sire of the dam is exactly what pedigree matching is all about.
Pedigree Matching can trump pedigree and every mare and every sire can produce a very good performer if they are matched up correctly. I Like My Boss is proof of the pudding.
The dam, Wild One, made all of $17,345 and there are few individuals in the next generations to beat that accomplishment yet she has produced one of the best in Delaware history.
Don Boss Vita is Florida Pro - Super Bowl maternally and Wild One is by Cr Commando. a Delaware sire that is by a son of Super Bowl from a daughter of Florida Pro. Now some would say that is a coincidence but not if you are a follower of pedigree matching. That direct compatibility between the dam of the sire and the sire of the dam is exactly what pedigree matching is all about.
Pedigree Matching can trump pedigree and every mare and every sire can produce a very good performer if they are matched up correctly. I Like My Boss is proof of the pudding.
Australia and New Zealand Update
The ANZ data has been updated on PM Online to reflect current performance and new named additions including yearlings.
The two year olds are led by a pair of Art Majors. The top pacing colt is Follow The Stars $251K and top filly is Queen Of Pop $160K. Both were bred in Victoria. Top two year old trotter is Monbet by French sire Love You who extends his global dominance as a sire to yet another country.
The three year olds are led by Bling It On by American Ideal (558K Aud) and Venus Serena by Mach Three (664K Nzd). Im Stately by Majestic Son leads the trotters with 183K.
As in Europe the Anzacs don't race much at 2 and 3 and the purses are not anywhere near those in North America for young horses. They do, however, continue to supply quality aged horses to the US market and could well see a resurgence of that trade in the next few years. North American yearling production continues to slide and the larger farms are getting fewer in number. NA yearlings this year dropped below 8000 for the first time in over 40 years and the drastic reduction in mares bred in Ontario the past two years will make this problem more acute. Where will all the racehorses come from to keep the existing tracks going ?
The two year olds are led by a pair of Art Majors. The top pacing colt is Follow The Stars $251K and top filly is Queen Of Pop $160K. Both were bred in Victoria. Top two year old trotter is Monbet by French sire Love You who extends his global dominance as a sire to yet another country.
The three year olds are led by Bling It On by American Ideal (558K Aud) and Venus Serena by Mach Three (664K Nzd). Im Stately by Majestic Son leads the trotters with 183K.
As in Europe the Anzacs don't race much at 2 and 3 and the purses are not anywhere near those in North America for young horses. They do, however, continue to supply quality aged horses to the US market and could well see a resurgence of that trade in the next few years. North American yearling production continues to slide and the larger farms are getting fewer in number. NA yearlings this year dropped below 8000 for the first time in over 40 years and the drastic reduction in mares bred in Ontario the past two years will make this problem more acute. Where will all the racehorses come from to keep the existing tracks going ?
Monday, May 26, 2014
How to breed a World Champion - Marg Told You So
What do the trotter Market Share and the pacer Somwherovrarainbow have in common - besides setting world records in the past few days over a five-eights track in Pennsylvania ?
One of the first people to inspire my interest in pedigrees was a lady named Marg Neale. She was the first lady of pedigrees in Canada for many years. She worked for the Canadian Trotting Association, the predecessor of Standardbred Canada. If Marg Neale was still around she would tell you in no uncertain terms - I told you so.
Here is an excerpt from an interview of Marg by Dean Hoffman and published in Hoofbeats over twenty years ago. I have referenced it before on an earlier post but it bears repeating.
One of the first people to inspire my interest in pedigrees was a lady named Marg Neale. She was the first lady of pedigrees in Canada for many years. She worked for the Canadian Trotting Association, the predecessor of Standardbred Canada. If Marg Neale was still around she would tell you in no uncertain terms - I told you so.
Here is an excerpt from an interview of Marg by Dean Hoffman and published in Hoofbeats over twenty years ago. I have referenced it before on an earlier post but it bears repeating.
“There is a model of breeding that is like a pattern, and the pattern persists over generations, although, of course, the names change. I like to see a mare that is inbred, and a sire that is not.”
Two World Champions - two great examples of the wisdom of Marg Neale.
Market Share is by the Swedish sire Revenue, an outcross sire by Reve D`Udon, a French stallion ,but from a dam that has totally North American bloodlines. The only common element between the sire and the dam is Peter Scott, the paternal line of the dam of Reve D`Udon, and also the paternal line of Sugarcane Hanover, sire of Revenue`s dam. Clearly a sire that is not inbred.
The dam of Market Share, however, is very much the opposite. Classical Flirt by Yankee Glide and her dam is by Donerail, both sons of Valley Victory and thus a 2x3 linebred. She is also maternally inbred to Speedy Crown as is her dam, Show Me Leg, and her Bonefish second dam also adds another degree of inbreeding since he is also the damsire of Valley Victory. Clearly a mare that is extensively inbred.
If you look back over the pedigree of Classical Flirt you will see what Marg means by a "pattern that persists over generations" as the maternal inbreeding persists for several generations although, as Marg noted, the names involved change.
Market Share, himself, is outcrossed on sire line and inbred maternally to Speedy Scot and Bonefish and as such is a typical good pedigree match..
Somwhrovrarainbow is a four year old mare by Somebeachsomewhere, arguably the top sire currently in North America, despite being from a much maligned sire line that was on the verge of extinction before he came along. Her sire line is through a family of pacing sires originating with the epochal trotting sire Volomite who is also responsible for the resurgent Noble Victory line in trotters.
SBSW is by Mach Three, an Ontario, Canada, based sire that was ignored by major North American stud farms, and out of a mare by Beach Towel, another sire held in low esteem by North American breeders. Beach Towel is also inbred maternally to the Volomite pacing line of sires. While Mach Three`s sire line represents an outcross and this is further enforced by the additional presence of Volomite in Beach Towel and also by two sire lines through Direct which have essentially died out in modern breeding. Clearly again a sire that is not inbred to the conventional pacing sire lines through Meadow Skipper and Adios.
The dam of Somwhrovertherainbow is Rainbow Blue, a world champion mare that is inbred maternally 3x2 to On The Road Again in the same fashion as the historic X-factor mares Helen Hanover and Margaret Parrish. She also carries a maternal cross to Adios being x-factor crossed to his son Bret Hanover and both she and her dam are x-factor inbred to Tar Heel, whose dam is by Volomite. Clearly a mare that is extensively inbred and like Market Share the inbreeding pattern extends back several generations maternally..
Also like Market Share she is outcrossed on sire line and inbred maternally, in her case to Most Happy Fella and his sire Meadow Skipper - another good pedigree match.
It is amazing to see how the standardbred breed reinvents itself with the success of unknown or less than popular sires like Mach Three, Revenue and Garland Lobell, none of whom had the advantage of the "best" broodmares to breed. The same could be said for the thorobred breed with the success of California Chrome by little known sire Lucky Pulpit setting the TB establishment on their ears. He too fits the pattern that Marg Neale believed in. Looks like there is still room for the little guy to make an impact on the future of both breeds.
And we can thank Marg Neale in part for that.
Saturday, May 10, 2014
California Chrome
The winner of the Kentucky Derby is California Chrome who extends the recent trend of winners that are inbred maternally to either Mr Prospector or Northern Dancer. His pedigree has been described by others as plebian, ordinary, non classic, etc, as pundits struggle to understand where his racing excellence is coming from. Many thought he did not have the pedigree to go the distance but a closer look proves otherwise.
He is outcrossed on sire line - Nearco to Native Dancer and has a maternal inbreeding from his dam to his grandsire of Mr Prospector 4x3. His sire, Lucky Pulpit whose stud fee is $2500 is another source of puzzlement to the thorobred pedigree experts. In addition to standing in California he was a modest racehorse although his dam is inbred maternally to Princequillo 4x4 and to Royal Charger (Nearco) 6x4 in a pattern of success familiar to standardbred breeders.
It is the dam of California Chrome, though, that likely provides the key to his excellence. Love The Chase was a low level claimer, bought for $8000, but her bargain price disguised a million dollar pedigree. She is outcrossed on sire line Mr Prospector to Northern Dancer and inbred to Northern Dancer maternally. That alone is sufficient to attract attention since mares inbred to Northern Dancer have been producing significant numbers of top horses in recent years. The real point of interest in the dam, however, is the mare Numbered Account who is 3x3 in X-factor position and thus Love The Chase is sibling inbred to a son, Polish Numbers (Northern Dancer) and a daughter, Dance Numbers (Danzig, son of Northern Dancer) of Numbered Account.
Numbered Account is by two time Horse Of The Year Buckpasser who was undefeated at three but not eligible for the Triple Crown races, although he soundly beat the top three year olds. Her dam is Intriguing by a Kentucky Derby winner in Swaps, and Intriguing is well named since she could well be the key to the pedigree of California Chrome.
In her book The X-Factor, Marianna Hahn detailed the search for the "large heart gene" supposedly responsible for the performance of Secretariat whose dam was by the same Princequillo that is doubled up maternally in Lucky Pulpit. She traced the genetic trail back to a mare called Pocahontas 1837, whose three sons, Stockwell, King Tom, and Rataplan, are noted maternal influences through their daughters. As I showed in my book "Queen Among Queens" the trail actually does not stop there but goes back through Diomed, the first winner of the English Derby and whose two best daughters, Young Giantess and Young Noisette, are doubled in X-factor position in Marpessa, the dam of Pocahontas.
Swaps, the sire of Intriguing, has an x-factor double to Stockwell maternally in his dam but more importantly his second dam is by Triple Crown winner War Admiral, who also is from a mare that has an x-factor double to Pocahontas through two of her sons, Stockwell and King Tom. But it gets better than that since the second dam of Intriguing is also by War Admiral making her a 4x3 x-factor inbred to a triple crown winner and double inbred to Pocahontas and to the two best daughters of Diomed accordingly. Now that is maternal power.
By the way, California Chrome's second dam is also inbred maternally to Princequillo, sire of the dam of Secretariat. Not bred to go the distance eh?
Intriguing isn't it ?
He is outcrossed on sire line - Nearco to Native Dancer and has a maternal inbreeding from his dam to his grandsire of Mr Prospector 4x3. His sire, Lucky Pulpit whose stud fee is $2500 is another source of puzzlement to the thorobred pedigree experts. In addition to standing in California he was a modest racehorse although his dam is inbred maternally to Princequillo 4x4 and to Royal Charger (Nearco) 6x4 in a pattern of success familiar to standardbred breeders.
It is the dam of California Chrome, though, that likely provides the key to his excellence. Love The Chase was a low level claimer, bought for $8000, but her bargain price disguised a million dollar pedigree. She is outcrossed on sire line Mr Prospector to Northern Dancer and inbred to Northern Dancer maternally. That alone is sufficient to attract attention since mares inbred to Northern Dancer have been producing significant numbers of top horses in recent years. The real point of interest in the dam, however, is the mare Numbered Account who is 3x3 in X-factor position and thus Love The Chase is sibling inbred to a son, Polish Numbers (Northern Dancer) and a daughter, Dance Numbers (Danzig, son of Northern Dancer) of Numbered Account.
Numbered Account is by two time Horse Of The Year Buckpasser who was undefeated at three but not eligible for the Triple Crown races, although he soundly beat the top three year olds. Her dam is Intriguing by a Kentucky Derby winner in Swaps, and Intriguing is well named since she could well be the key to the pedigree of California Chrome.
In her book The X-Factor, Marianna Hahn detailed the search for the "large heart gene" supposedly responsible for the performance of Secretariat whose dam was by the same Princequillo that is doubled up maternally in Lucky Pulpit. She traced the genetic trail back to a mare called Pocahontas 1837, whose three sons, Stockwell, King Tom, and Rataplan, are noted maternal influences through their daughters. As I showed in my book "Queen Among Queens" the trail actually does not stop there but goes back through Diomed, the first winner of the English Derby and whose two best daughters, Young Giantess and Young Noisette, are doubled in X-factor position in Marpessa, the dam of Pocahontas.
Swaps, the sire of Intriguing, has an x-factor double to Stockwell maternally in his dam but more importantly his second dam is by Triple Crown winner War Admiral, who also is from a mare that has an x-factor double to Pocahontas through two of her sons, Stockwell and King Tom. But it gets better than that since the second dam of Intriguing is also by War Admiral making her a 4x3 x-factor inbred to a triple crown winner and double inbred to Pocahontas and to the two best daughters of Diomed accordingly. Now that is maternal power.
By the way, California Chrome's second dam is also inbred maternally to Princequillo, sire of the dam of Secretariat. Not bred to go the distance eh?
Intriguing isn't it ?
Monday, March 31, 2014
Kentucky Derby Contenders - Update
The winners of the three Derbys on the weekend have jumped to the top of the leaderboard. Two of them are new to the top 20 contenders and they have extreme maternal inbreeding to Northern Dancer. Constitution, the upset winner of the Florida Derby has three different sons of Northern Dancer in his pedigree while Toast Of New York, winner of the United Emirates Derby has five.
The top eight and 14 of the top 20 are inbred maternally as noted below. Six of the top 8 are by Nearco line sires - five through Northern Dancer, while the other two are by Mr Prospector line sires.
1. Vicars In Trouble by Into Mischief. Icecapade (Nearctic) 5x4
2. Toast Of New York by Thewayyouare. Northern Dancer (5x4)x(4x5x5), Red God (Nasrullah) 5x6
3. Constitution by Tapit. Mr Prospector (4x5)x4, Northern Dancer 5x(5x5)
4. Intense Holiday by Harlans Holiday. Raise A Native 5x6
5. Wildcat Red by D`Wildcat Nasrullah 6x6, Raise A Native 4x5
6. We Miss Artie by Artie Schiller. Raise A Native (sire of Mr Prospector) 5x(4x5)
7. Samraat by Noble Causeway. Raise A Native 5x6, dam inbred to Raise A Native 5x5
8. Hoppertunity by Any Given Saturday. Danzig (Northern Dancer) 3x4, dam 4x3 Northern Dancer
9. Chitu by Henny Hughes
10. Midnight Hawk by Midnight Lute
11. Ring Weekend by Tapit. Fappiano (Mr Prospector) 4x3, sire 3x4 to Mr Prospector
12. California Chrome by Lucky Pulpit. Mr Prospector 4x3, dam inbred to Northern Dancer 4x5
13. Tapiture by Tapit. Raise A Native 6x6, sire 3x4 to Mr Prospector
14. General A Rod by Roman Ruler. Danzig (Northern Dancer) 4x4
15. Albano by Istan
16. Cairo Prince by Pioneerof The Nile
17. Uncle Sigh by Indian Charlie. Northern Dancer (Nearctic) 5x4
18, Vinceremos by Pioneerof The Nile. Bold Ruler (Nasrullah) 5x5
19. Harrys Holiday by Harlans Holiday
20. Commanding Curve by Master Command
April 5th we will see more dramatic changes in the top 20 as the Santa Anita Derby and the Wood Memorial are contested. The Arkansas Derby and the Bluegrass finish off the Road to The Kentucky Derby on April 12th with the big race itself scheduled for April 19th.
The top eight and 14 of the top 20 are inbred maternally as noted below. Six of the top 8 are by Nearco line sires - five through Northern Dancer, while the other two are by Mr Prospector line sires.
1. Vicars In Trouble by Into Mischief. Icecapade (Nearctic) 5x4
2. Toast Of New York by Thewayyouare. Northern Dancer (5x4)x(4x5x5), Red God (Nasrullah) 5x6
3. Constitution by Tapit. Mr Prospector (4x5)x4, Northern Dancer 5x(5x5)
4. Intense Holiday by Harlans Holiday. Raise A Native 5x6
5. Wildcat Red by D`Wildcat Nasrullah 6x6, Raise A Native 4x5
6. We Miss Artie by Artie Schiller. Raise A Native (sire of Mr Prospector) 5x(4x5)
7. Samraat by Noble Causeway. Raise A Native 5x6, dam inbred to Raise A Native 5x5
8. Hoppertunity by Any Given Saturday. Danzig (Northern Dancer) 3x4, dam 4x3 Northern Dancer
9. Chitu by Henny Hughes
10. Midnight Hawk by Midnight Lute
11. Ring Weekend by Tapit. Fappiano (Mr Prospector) 4x3, sire 3x4 to Mr Prospector
12. California Chrome by Lucky Pulpit. Mr Prospector 4x3, dam inbred to Northern Dancer 4x5
13. Tapiture by Tapit. Raise A Native 6x6, sire 3x4 to Mr Prospector
14. General A Rod by Roman Ruler. Danzig (Northern Dancer) 4x4
15. Albano by Istan
16. Cairo Prince by Pioneerof The Nile
17. Uncle Sigh by Indian Charlie. Northern Dancer (Nearctic) 5x4
18, Vinceremos by Pioneerof The Nile. Bold Ruler (Nasrullah) 5x5
19. Harrys Holiday by Harlans Holiday
20. Commanding Curve by Master Command
April 5th we will see more dramatic changes in the top 20 as the Santa Anita Derby and the Wood Memorial are contested. The Arkansas Derby and the Bluegrass finish off the Road to The Kentucky Derby on April 12th with the big race itself scheduled for April 19th.
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