Zenyatta wins Breeders Cup Classic

Zenyatta made her place in the History books retiring undefeated while becoming the first mare to win the Breeders Cup Classic. As much as I loved Zenyatta prior to her convincing win in the Breeders Cup Classic, I was thinking along with many others, "Who did she ever beat". Undefeated Yes, but was she really as good as her record. Now, thanks to Mr. And Mrs. Jerome Moss, her owners and John Shirreffs her trainer, we have the answer. Had she skipped the Classic and instead run in the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic, she would be remembered as the undefeated Zenyatta. Instead her connections gave her the chance for greatness and perhaps immortality, which she quickly siezed. How she goes down in the history books as, "The Great Zenyatta". All of this was to the benefit of racing.


This brings us to the dams of the winners of the Breeders Cup races. Keep in mind the winners of these races have some of the highest racing indexes in racing. What this blog is all about is what kind of racemares are the dams of these type of superior runners.



In the cases of the European winners I had to estimate their racing indexes. And example of how I would do this is in comparing Zenyatta's index to that of Conduit. Zenyatta started 14 times with 14 wins and earnings of $5,474,580. Her Standard Starts index is 154.47. Her average earnings per start is $391,000. I figure Conduit's index at about 150 slightly under Zenyatta's. Conduit started 15 times and earned $5,814,200 his average earnings per start is $387,000, So, Conduit's average earnings per start is slightly under Zenyatta's therefore so is his index. I figured Goldikova the same way. Keep in mind these index are not a handicapping tool. We are just interested that these horses are very high indexed runners and then look to see what type racemare produced these runners.



In this years Breeders Cup races none of the dams was an exceptional racemare. Probably the best racemare as far as the dams go is Sweet Life by Kris S whose racing index is 7.61 She won the listed Providencia Stakes and ran 2nd in the Beverly Hills Handicap G1 and 3rd in the San Clemente Handicap G2. In the case of each dam of a Breeders Cup winner I'll give her SS index and make a comment on what type of racemare she was. What I'm trying to show is that you will find most of the dams of Breeders Cupo winners will come from mares with racing indexes of ranging from 1-10. What you generally find in the breed (except for Turf runners) is that once a mares racing index rises above SS index of 25 she will be very unlikely to Produce Champions.



Most important piece of Information to be gathered from the Breeders Cup races is that two of the 10 winners were out of Kris S mares. Get yourself one!


Breeders Cup Classic G1
Zenyatta 154.47 Vertigineux 3.96
Vertigineux started 7 times with 2 wins.......Allowance winner


Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint G1
Informed Decision 46.06 Palangana 1.70
Palangana won 1 race. A maiden winner


Breeders Cup Ladies Classic G1
Life is Sweet 42.94 Sweet Life 7.61
Sweet Life won Providencia Stakes, 2nd Beverly Hills H. G1, 3rd San Clemente H G2


Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies G1
She Be Wild 69.37 Trappings o.2
Trappings started 8 times 0 Wins earned $4,130


Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf G1
Midday 45.50 Midsummer.........3.00
Midsummer started 3 times with 1 win. placed 2nd in Oaks Trial


Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf G1
Tapitsfly 25.25 Flying Marlin..........3.22
Flying Marlin 18 starts 4 wins $146,051


Breeders Cup Sprint G1
Furthest Land.........20.58..........Flagrant.........Unr,
Flagrant was unraced


Breeders Cup Juvenile G1
Vale of York..........45.00............Red Vale.........Unr
Red Vale was Unraced



Breeders Cup Mile G1
GoldIkova..........135.............Born Gold......1.30
Born gold made 6 starts with 1 win

Breeders Cup Turf G1 Conduit 150..................... Well Head Unr
Well Head was unraced

Meadowlands Cup G2

I decided to feature the Meadowlands Cup G2 this week as it was won by Etched a colt by Forestry and out of Unbridled Elaine who amongst her accomplishments can be counted a victory in the Breeders Cup Distaff. Unbridled Elaine has a racing index of 59.24 while her son Etched has an index of 20.23. Etched must have his soundness issues as he missed his three-year-old season however he has 5 wins in 7 starts. Etched is typical of what a high indexed runner such as Unbridled Elaine is likely to produce "when at her best". Etched has a racing index about 1/3 of Unbridled Elaine's. Usually a high indexed mare will breed horses 5% of her own index or worse. When at their best, a horse 25% of their own index. Some very rare high indexed mares will produce runners with indexes as high as their own or higher........and when they do, that individual is "usually" a worthless breeding animal when retired to the breeding shed. These as just general principles and once in awhile you will find an exception, usually involving a short racing career. I'm just going to put up the figures. Make of them what you will.

Latest Winners

Raven Run Stakes G2
Satans Quick Chick.............9.37.......Dancing Devilette............9.23

Fayette Stakes G2
Blame .24.......Liable.................................7.31

Meadowlands Cup G2
Etched......................20.23......Unbridled Elaine............59.24

Queen Elizabeth 2nd Challenge Cup G1
Hot Cha Cha....................16.56......Reduced Sentence..............01

Canadian International Stakes G1
Champs Elysees.............54.54......Hasili.................................5.00

E P Taylor Stakes G1
Lahaleeb.........................23.30......Flames.............................Unr.

Nearctic Stakes G2
Field Commission..........14.73.......Tearful Moment.............Unr.

Superior runners as Producers

In the last post I showed a list of the dams of the highest indexed runners and their indexes. This week I'll show the top 10 highest indexed mares that were able to produce high indexed runners



Dam.........................index.........................Runner................index



Mom's Command.......53.47..... ..Jonesboro..........................10.95

Madcape Escapade....44.94..... ..Mi Sueno............................20.72

Beyond Perfection.....31.40........Misremembered...............24.87

Tomisue's Delight......31.12.........Mr. Sidney........................17.26

Tranquility Lake........29.95.........Courageous Cat..................9.32

Honest Lady...............26.86.........First Defense.....................13.98

Well Chosen................26.22.........Telling.................................11.83

Innuendo.....................24.02.... ...Criticism..............................25.12

Classy Mirage.............21.95..........Dublin..................................19.50

Gay Charm.................21.60..........Einstein...............................49.93



Some interesting observations from these broodmares with very superior racing indexes. First, Champions usually have a racing index of 25 or higher and this is the point where the "law of Diminishing returns" sets in. From there on as the mares racing index increases it increases the likelihood that she will "breed down" from her own index. As you can see the top five mares all bred down from their own indexes. Only Gay Charm the dam of Einstein bred up. The problem is that Gay Charm raced in Brazil and her racing index is only an estimate



Another important factor is that once regression has taken place in the family a resurgence can take place, that is why Mr. Sidney by Storm Cat and First Defense by Unbridled's Song are excellent Stallion prospects. On the female side the same hold true for Mi Sueno.

Dam's of Superior Runners

This week in addition to the winners of the last few weeks G1 and G2 races I'm going to give you the list of the dams of the highest indexed runners of the last year. When looking at these horses consider that these indexes are not always accurate or have not been updated in a timely manner. I'm using the Brisnet Standard Starts Index taken from their Bloodstock Review Web Site. However, the can lag behind in updating their Indexes. For instance, Rachel Alexandra was shown having a 69.01 Standard Starts Index after winning the Kentucky Oaks in May. Since she has won the Preakness Stakes, with a purse of $1,100,000, the Mother Goose with a $300,000, the Haskell, $1,250,000 and the Woodward Stakes, $750,000 without defeat. After the Woordward the site still showed her index as being 69.40, obviously not correct. For our purposes this does not matter as we are not using the index as a handicapping tool. The horse with the highest rcing index may or may not be the best horse. what we are looking for is horses of the highest racing class that have the highest earnings per start. We are looking to see what type of racemare is most likely to produce runners of extreme racing class. the horses I'm about to show you have very high indexes and it soesn't matter for our inquiry if the horse has a 75 index or a 150 as both are exceptional. Here are the highest indexed runners of the past 12 months.

Runner index .............. Dam's index

Curlin 156 .....................Unr
Big Brown 136 .....................8.20
Midshipman 89 .................... 13.99
Goldikova 95 .................... 1.65
Raven's Pass 90 .................... 7.88
Zenyatta 82 .................... 3.96
Cocoa Beach 82 .................... Unr
Midnight Lute 77 .................... Unr
Conduit 75 .................... Unr
Ventura 74..................... 2.75
Rachel Alexandra 69.................... 12.71

Latest winners

Oak Leaf Stakes G1
Blind Luck 19.31 Lucky One .63

Norfolk Stakes G1
Lookin At Lucky 32.93 Private Feeling .97

Alcibiades Stakes G1
Negligee 32.36 Naughty Intentions 5.47

Frizette Stakes G1
Devil May Care 25.00 Kelli's Ransom 2.60

Champagne Stakes G1
Homeboykris 22.77 One Last Salute 2.87

Jamaica Breeders Cup Handicap G1
Take the Points 17.23 Ginger Ginger 0

Breeders Futurity G1
Noble's Promise 25.87 The Devils Trick .33

First Lady Stakes G1
Diamondrella 18.98 Tap Your Feet 4.72

Shadwell Turf Mile G1
Court Vision 27.23 Weekend Storm Unr

Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes G2
Informed Decision 34.49 Palangana 1.70

Lady's Secret Stakes G1
Zenyatta 81.52 Vertigineux 3.96

Yellow Ribbon Stakes G1
Magical Fantasy 31.33 Kissing Gate .96

Goodwood Breeders Cup Stakes G1
Gitano Hernando 18.50 Gino's Spirits 11.00

Oak Tree Mile Stakes G2
Cowboy Cal 20.68 Texas Tammy 0

Jerome Handicap G2
Girolamo 10.03 Get Lucky 12.39

Spinster Stakes G1
Mushka 15.76 Sluice 3.31

Clement Hirsch Turf Championship Stakes G1
Presious Passion 20.22 Princesa's Passion Unr

Ancient Title Breeders Cup Stakes G1
Gayego 19.37 Devil's Lake 1.70

Ya Gotta Love Zenyatta

Over half a century ago when I first got interested in thoroughbred racing I saw the movie Bluegrass with Walter Brennan. In the movie there is a rivialry bretween two Kentucky families starting in the War Between the States. One family was for the North and one for the South. To make a long story short, in modern times (1938 when the movie was made) the Northern family, which had prospered, owes the Southern family, which was somewhat down and out, a big dept.
Walter Brennan's character gets to choose any two-year-old from the Northern Families stable to settle this debt. The best horse in the Northern Stable is Postman, but the old man picks a small colt because he has "the look of eagles". Of course the small colt ends up beating Postman in the Kentucky Derby. I was about 10 years old when I saw that movie and ever since I've been looking for the horse with "the look of eagles".

I first heard of Secretariat when he won the Sanford Stakes at Saratoga and one of the racing writers in describing the race said, "Secretariat came through the field like a Fox coming through a flock of chickens". When Secretariat came to Maryland later that year for the then important Laurel Futurity I had to go to the track to see this wonder horse. I had heard that Secretariat was a very beautiful horse but I didn't find him so. Powerful, yes, something like a locamotive but I thought his stable mate Angle Light was more "beautiful" What Secreatariat had was a physical presence. He made the other horse look puny, and he knew it. He walked around the paddock like a king surrounded by his courtiers. A king amongst a lesser group.

Fast forward 35 years and we have Zenyatta; a queen amongst her hand maidens. I don't know which I like more, watching Zenyatta prancing around the paddock or running down her opposition on the track. However, there is no question that Zenyatta thinks she is the queen of the mai and she shows it. I think she may have the look of eagles. She's a huge beautiful mare that almost dances her way to the post to the delight of all of the fans and the racing commentators as well.

I'm not sure that Zenyatta is the best horse in the country, and of course because our sport is no longer a sport, but more of a business, we'll never know. It's my personal belief that she could never run down Rachel Alexandra at a mile and an eighth or less. But, at a 1 1/4 miles with a strong pace she might have a chance. Who wouldn't like to see both of these wonderful mares in the Breeders Cup Classic. It would a race for the ages!

You can see the problem the sport (or should I call it an industry) has. Different types of surfaces that favor different horses. I think artificial surfaces are a serious problem if they lead to the problem we are witnessing this year. I don't blame Jess Jackson for not running Rachel Alexandra against the likes of Zenyatta over a surface that Zenyatta is known to like. He obviously thinks that the surface caused Curlin's defeat in last year's Breeders Cup Classic. The problem with thoroughbred racing is that it has no NFL, NBA, PGA type organization to coordinate what is going on. These different type of racing surfaces are extremely detrimental to the sport. It is the primary reason there will be no Zenyatta vs Rachel Alexandra showdown. That's what I call a real detriment to racing.

Actually, all sports have their problems but racing has more. I hate to say this but we are becoming a nation of cheats. For the life of me I can't figure out why Baseball, Football, Basketball, and yes Horse Racing tolerate cheating. Why not one strike and you're out? Why not a zero tolerance policy? Just about all horses race on Lasics, but how many are actually bleeders? How about Steroids brought into thoughbred racing from quarter horse trainers who end up in the hall of fame! Ever wonder why the modern thoroughbreds are so fragile?
I hate to say this but they are a joke compared to horses that raced 40 years ago. When was the last time you saw one of them carry 130 pounds?

There is an old saying, A great horse can beat good horses over a distance of ground carrying weight. The problem is they don't carry weight anymore. They don't even race past three years old. Look at a couple of recent horses of the year, Tiznow and Cigar. Tiznow won the Breeders Cup Classic twice but never carried more than 126 pounds. Cigar won 18 races in a row but only carried 130 pounds twice. Want to compare them to a real champion? Take Round Table with 66 starts 43 wins and carried 130 pounds or "more" 25 times and won 17 of those races. Or Forego 57 starts 34 wins carried 130 pounds or more 24 times and won 13. He beat Champion Honest Pleasure by a neck carrying 137 pounds over 1 1/4 miles giving Honest Pleasure 18 pounds. How About Kelso, 63 starts 39 wins carried 130 pounds or more 24 times won 12. Kelso carried 136 pounds twice and won both races. Even Dr. Fager was exceptional. He carried 130 pounds in 8 consecutive races and won 7. In the one he lost he was carrying 135 to Damascus' 130 and was contending with "the rabbit's". Then came Dr. Fager's final start carrying 139 pounds. He won by 6 lengths in 120 1/5 for 7 furlongs setting a track record that lasted for almost 40 years. That's greatness!

So where did things start to go wrong? In the 1970's. Believe it or not Secretariat never carried 130 pounds. Not once! Take the great John Henry compared to Kelso. Both were geldings and both had many starts, Kelso 63 and John Henry 83. The difference is that Kelso was asked to shoulder 130 pounds or more 24 times and John Henry only twice, neither of which he won.

What I'm trying to say is you can't have sports without Heros. I know there is considerably more money in breeding vis a vis racing. When a horse like Storm Cat has a $500,000 stud fee and can inpregnate 100 mares a year that's $50,000,000 a year in stud fees. In 10 years that is 500 million. No wonder.

That's why Jess Jackson is the man. First he allowed us to see Curlin as a four-year-old, and now next year Rachel Alexandra. Who could ask for more.

Jockey Club Gold Cup G1

The running of the Jockey Club Gold Cup G1 last week highlighted the achievement of the young stallion Birdstone who has sired two Classic winners in his first crop. Summer Bird won the Belmont Stakes G1 before adding the Travers Stakes G1 and the recent Jockey Club Gold CupG1. This is in addition to Kentucky Derby G1 winner Mine That Bird. the only question now will be id he can replicate this success when he is mated with higher quality mares. We should know next year.



Here are last weeks major stakes winners with their racing indexes and their dams racing indexes. I keep a record of all of the dams of G1 and G2 winners and their respective dams and broodmare sires anyone interested in receiving this list can e-mail me at floydoliver@sbcglobal.net and I will email you a copy.

One last thought. Remember in my blog on 9/13/09 entitled Summer Bird Takes Travers Stakes I said it would be very unlikely that Mi Sueno would win the Breeders cup Juvenile Fillies becuase her dam has such a high racing index. Mi Sueno was injured and retired. However, she is out of a daughter of Hennessy as is Careless Jewel winner of the Cotillion. Hennessy is proving his daughters can produce very high indexed runners in the championship class. Also note both of these runners, Careless jewel and Mi Sueno were produced when their dams were crossed with the Pulpit male line



Jockey Club Gold Cup G1
Summer Bird 79.03 Hong Kong Squall .57



Kentucky Cup Classic G2
Furthest Land 8.44 Flagrant Unr



Gallant Bloom Breeders Cup Handicap G2
Indian Blessing 52.06 Shameful 7.94



Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational G1
Interpatation 7.36 Idealistic 5.19



Beldame Stakes G1
Music Note 44.68 Note Musicale Unr



Vosburgh Stakes G1
Kodiak Kowboy 22.28 Kokadrie Unr



Flower Bowl Invitational G1
Pure Clan 36.34 Gather The Clan 9.05



Hawthorne Gold Cup G2
Awesome Gem 22.74 Piano Unr



Indiana Derby G2
Misremembered 24.87 Beyond Perfection 31.40



Cotillion Stakes G2
Careless Jewel 55.96 Sweet and Careless Unr



Ohio Derby G2
Gone Astray 21.91 Illicit Unr

Connemara

In the 10th race at Turfway Park on Sunday Oct. 4th 2009 we might have seen a future star emerge. The horse in question is Connemara by Giant's Causeway-Satin Sunrise by Mr. Leader.
You would have to have seen the race to realise how impressive it was. He had the TVG commentators singing his praise considering how many races they watch. The colt was left at the post, raced wide around the first turn and down the backstretch, continued five wide around the far turn and won by 5 lengths. Since his sire is currently the Leading sire in North America this colt could well develop into a classic contender.

He has some interesting pedigree traits. 1st he traces in tail female to one of the great matriarch's of the breed Queen Mary. If you've never heard of her she was owned my a trainer named William I'Anson back in 1850. After producing her first foal she was sold to a farmer in Scotland to produce work horses. I'Anson kept her foal and used her as a hack. One day while riding her across the gallops to the post office he decided to let her run. By the time he reached the post office he was desperate to find her dam, Queen Mary. He finally located her in Scotland and had to pay a premium to get her back because she was in-foal to a Clydesdale stallion. The foal, later to be named Haricot was a mulitiple stakes winner and an even better producer. Her daughter Caller Ou won the St. leger Stakes and her son Sir Bevys won the Epsom Derby. She is also the granddam of leading sire Hampton. I'Anson was lucky beyond belief to reacquire his cull because for him she produced 10 Stakes winners including Blink Bonny who won the Derby and the Oaks and produced Derby winner Blair Athol who won the Derby and St. leger and was leading sire in England 4 times. If that wasn't enough Queen Mary is also the dam of Leading sire in North America, Bonnie Scotland.

If you remember my last post I showed that Urban Sea's breeding ability may be the result of reinforcing a strong female family with a male line tracing to it. This happened over and over again with the descendants of Queen Mary. Black Toney, who was a surprisingly good stallion dispite being a mediocre racehorse was out of a mare bred along the lines of Urban Sea. His dam Belgravia was a great granddaughter of Queen Mary while Belgravia's sire was a grandson of Queen Mary's Son, Bonnie Scotland. Black Toney sired two Kentucky Derby winners in Black Gold and Brokers Tip as well as Bimelech who was unbeaten at two and a champion at three. Check out Belgravia's pedigree Http://www.pedigreequery.com/belgravia

Another thing I like about Connemara's pedigree is the fact that he is linebred 3x5 to Djeddah. Take a look at Djeddah's pedigree and compare it to Belgravia's and Urban Sea's Http://www.pedigreequery.com/Djeddah

Hope that gives you alot to think about

Urban Sea

In my first post entitled The Rachel Alexandra Dilemma I mentioned that Urban Sea was one of those rare mares that inspite of being a champion racemare was still as good as a produced as one could imagine. In that post I postulated that one of the reasons for her success as a broodmare was that she ran on grass. Mares that run on turf are much more likely to be good producers then their counterparts that compete on dirt. What is the resaon for this abnormality? It could be the difference in training Methods. Federico Tesio believed that hard racing depleted a horse of a certain vitality that it did not have to pass on to the next generation. He felt that a generation of rest was necessary to restore this vitality. The 2nd horse I bred was a colt by Go Marching. He was sent to France where he was trained by Miguel Clement who had trained two winners of the Prix Du Jockey Club (French Derby). He told me that we Americans breed 20 Sea-Birds every year, but only one survives our training methods. It could be that horses that run on dirt are subjected to training methods much more likely to drain a horse of the vitality of which Tesio spoke. It can't be proven ,but it's a rational explanation. I know that Champion racemares who compete on dirt are very unlikely to produce horses of championship caliber whereas their counterparts who race on turf are much more likely to produce horses of classic ability.



Urban Sea is one of those exceptional broodmares. There could be another explanation for her extraordinary ability. I would suggest that you look back at the post on Chauette posted 7/28/09. Take a look a Chauette's 2nd dam Quiet fun. If you don't have a program to do this go online site http://www.pedigreequery.com/quiet fun. You will find that both her sire and dam both trace to the same mare, Cequillo by Princequillo. Her grandsire Fappiano also traces to Cequillo. Then pull up a mare named Lizzie G who happens to be the 2nd dam of the great Domino. You will see the same pattern represented by three crosses of Fandango. One come from the direct female line and two more from War Dance and LeCompte.

Essentially, you could describe this as a stallion being used to reinforce his own maternal line. This happens much more in thoroughbred breeding then you might realize and the results are often profound. Some horses you might know with this pattern are Numbered Account, Relaxing, dam of Easy Goer, Mint Copy, Dam of Deputy Minister, Mother Siegel, dam of Minoru, Giantess, 2nd and 3rd dam of 7 classic winners, Blue Larkspur, Black Toney, etc. There are hundreds more, one of which is Urban Sea's dam Allegretta.

There is an important distiction that has to be made here. A very important one. When I speak of the male line being used to reinforce the female line.........I don't mean just the sire. It could be the sire, grandsire or great grandsire in the direct male line that is used to reinforce the female line.

With that in mind pull up the pedigree of Urban Sea's dam http://www.pedigreequery.com/Allegretta. You will see that her grandsire Agio traces to a mare called Aster while Allegretta also traces to Aster.

If you look at Agio's dam Aralia you will find the exact same pattern. Alchimist her sire traces to Alveole and so does Aralia.

I believe that Urban Sea's incredible breeding ability come from the fact that her dam is very reinforced when it comes to her tail female line. She is linebred to Aster and inbred to Alchimist and both these horses trace to the same mare. Check it out. Then you'll understand why I think Chauette, in the right hands could be an exceptional broodmare

Ventura takes Woodbine Mile G1

Ventura soldified her position as best female turf miler in North America with a victory in the $1,000,000 Woodbine mile over colts. She has a 73.96 while her dam Estala by Be My Guest has an estimated racing index of 3.50. Estala placed 2nd in the ungraded Prix Isola Bella and 3rd in the ungraded Prix Finlande and Prix Rose De Mai. She is typical of the sort of race mare that produces very high indexed horses. See Arlington Million Post





Latest G1 and G2 winners





Woodbine Mile G1

Ventura 73.96 Estala 3.50



Northern Dancer Breeders Cup G1

Just As Well 15.25 No Matter What 15.25



Canadian Stakes G2

Princess Haya 8.68 Sally Slew 1.25

Futurity Stakes G2
D'Funnybone 19.31 Elbow 2.25

Matron Stakes G2
Awesome Maria 18.35 Discreetly Awesome Unr

Super Derby G2
Regal Ransom 37.50 Kelli's Ransom 2.60

Ruffian Handicap G1
Swift Temper 18.81 Glascow's Gold 1.56

Palomar Handicap G2
Gotta Have Her 11.37 Winnowing Unr

Rachel Alexandra Defeats Older Males

What can you say about this great filly. She has beaten the three-year-old colts in the Preakness Stakes and Haskell Invitational and has just become the first filly ever to win the Woodward Stakes at the same time beating older males. There is no doubt who is the Horse of the Year for 2009.

Often high indexed mares will produce their best runners late in their breeding careers (after their bodies have had time to recuperate from their hard racing careers) This years Hopeful Stakes winner Dublin is out of Classy Mirage who has a 21.93 index. I've been watching her for years due to the fact that she traces to a Matriarch.

Latest G1 & G2 winners

Woodward Stakes G1
Rachel Alexandra 69.01 Lotta Kim 12.71

Pacific Classic G1
Richard's Kid 15.71 Tough Broad 5.30

Pat O'Brien Stakes G1
Zensational 27.05 Joke 3.88

Del Mar Derby G2
Rendezvous 7.90 Halo Babe unr

Spinaway Stakes G1
Hot Dixie Chick 20.32 Above Perfection 14.54

Del Mar Futurity G1
Lookin At Lucky 27.42 Private Feeling .97

Pennsylvania Derby G2
Gone Astray 21.14 Illicit unr

Hopeful Stakes G1
Dublin 19.50 Classy Mirage 21.93

Summer Bird takes Travers Stakes G1

Summer Bird gave his sire another G1 win to add to the fact that he has sired 2 classic winners in his first crop. This group of Sophmore Stallions is exceptional including Birdstone, Medaglia D'Oro, Tapit, Sprightstown, and Candy Ride. It appears that the most important up and coming stallion in North America is Pulpit. This stallion has the unique ability, only possessed by leading stallions such as Bold Ruler, Bull Lea, Hail to Reason, etc, to breed fast mares up. Only a few elite stallions possess this characteristic. During the past two weeks Pulpit has sired two superior runners, Del Mar Debutante G1 winner Mi Sueno whose dam Madcap Escapade has a 44.94 index, and Forego Stakes G1 winner Pyro whose dam has an index of 12.50. If you look at Pulpit's son Sky Mesa his dam has an index of 10.60. Even if you breed a high indexed mare to Pulpit and she breeds down from her own index, you might still get a very valuable stallion. I'd like to make a prediction here; Mi Sueno will not win the Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies. If she does her index will be above that of her dam Madcap Escapade and that is unlikely to happen. We will see!



Latest Major winners



Bernard Baruch Handicap G2
Justenuffhumor 18.35 Justenuffheart 6.50

Del Mar Breeders Cup Mile G2
Ferneley 9.35 Ambertide .20

Ballerina Stakes G1
Music Note 35.51 Note Musicale unr

King's Bishop Stakes G1
Capt. Candyman Can 18.67 Stormy Way 3.67

Travers Stakes G1
Summer Bird 70.25 Hong Kong Squall .57

Del Mar Handicap G2
Spring House 8.76 Spring Star 10.00

Molly Pitcher Stakes G2
Luna Vega 6.05 Donnavega 3.68

Personal Ensign Stakes G1
Icon Project 39.77 La Gueriere 14.31

Del Mar Debutante G1
Mi Sueno 20.72 Madcap Escapade 44.94

Forego Stakes G1
Pyro 34.21 Wild Vision 12.50

Alabama Stakes

Tapit further solidified his status as a rising star in the ranks of the powerful group of 2nd crop stallions which include Medaglia D' Oro, Birdstone, Speightstown, Candy Ride, etc. with the victory of Careless Jewel in the G1 Alabama Stakes.

An interesting horse to watch is the Sword Dancer Invitational winner Telling who is by A P Indy-Well Chosen by Deputy Minister. Well Chosen has a racing index of 26.22 which puts her up near the championship index. Currently, Telling has a racing index of 11.83 less then 50% of his dams, but lets see if his index goes up. It is my contention that with but a few exceptions mares like Well Chosen breed down from their own indexes and therefore almost never breed champions. Let's see what happens to Telling during the remainder of the racing year. Another such mare is Tranquility Lake by Rahy who is the dam of Courageous Cat whose index is 1/3 of her own. Should be mentioned though that Tranquility Lake is also the dam of After Market whose index is 25.02

Alabama Stakes G1
Careless Jewel 38.22 Sweet and Careless Unr

Del Mar Oaks G1
Internallyflawless 14.30 Tapatina .24

Sword Dancer Invitational G1
Telling 11.83 Well Chosen 26.22

John C. Mabee Stakes G1
Magical Fantasy 28.15 Kissing Gate .20

Honorable Miss Handicap G2
Game Face 18.61 Galleon of Gold Unr

National Musecum Hall of Fame Stakes G2
Courageous Cat 9.32 Tranquility Lake 29.95

LaJolla Handicap G2
Meteore 5.63 Meteor Miracle 4.64

Adirondack Stakes G2
Worstcasescenario 20.00 Stacie's Halo 3.56

Lake Placid Stakes G2
Shared Interest 7.78 Silk n' Sapphire 4.34

Saratoga Special G2
D'Funnybone 12.15 Elbow 2.25

Arlington Million

Gio Ponte has established himself as the top grass runner in North America. He is out of Chipeta Springs by Alydar whose racing index is 3.78. It is important to note that Chipeta Springs placed 3rd in the Azalea Handicap. Since I've said that the dams of high indexed runners are usually minor stakes winners, stakes placed mares, and allowance and high priced claimers, then it is important to understand how these indexes correlate to this type of race. The speedy Zensational winner of the recent G1 Bing Crosby Handicap is out of Joke by Phone Trick whose 3.88 racing index is very similar to that of Chipeta Springs. Joke won the minor Vallejo Stakes and Fairfield Stakes. Another is The Hess Express the dam of Whitney Handicap winner Bullsbay. she has a 4.30 racing index and ran 2nd in the Bassinet Stakes, and 3rd in the Audubon Oaks.

Compare these dams to Vertigineux the dam of Zenyatta. She started 7 times with 2 wins and earnings of $60480. Her racing index of 3.96 is very similar although she is an allowance winner and never placed in a stakes. Another such mare is Stacie's Halo the dam of Adirondack Stakes G2 winner Worstcasescenario. Stacie;s Halo started 14 times with 5 wins while earning $94,950. Her racing index is 3.56

Here are last weeks winners

Amsterdam Stakes G2
Quality Road 44.23 Kobla .05

Beverly D Stakes G1
Dynaforce 58.12 Aletta Maria 2.77

Arlington Million G1
Gio Ponte 55.75 Chipeta Springs 3.78

Secretariat Stakes G1
Take the Points 14.95 Ginger Ginger 0

Bing Crosby Handicap G1
Zensational 21.94 Joke 3.88

Whitney Handicap G1
Bullsbay 19.34 The Hess Express 4.30

Test Stakes G1
Flashing 19.41 Morning Pride 9.50

Clement Hirsch Stakes G1
Zenyatta 81.91 Vertigineux 3.96

Best Pal Stakes G2
Lookin at Lucky 18.00 Private Feeling .97

Alfred G. Vanderbuilt Handicap G2
Fabulous Strike 22.35 Fabulous Find 3.33

Haskell Invitational G1

Rachel Alexandra proved herself to be one of the great ones as she destroyed some very good colts in the Haskell Invitational. It will be interesting to see where her connections will decide to run her next. Since their objective is Horse of the Year will she next appear in the Travers? Seems like a awful lot to ask of her, but a win in the Travers over the colts would probably be all she needs.



One thing to keep in mind when reading this blog is that the racing indexes of these major stakes winners are not updated after each race. For instance, Rachel Alexandra's index was shown as 62.79 after she won the Kentucky Oaks. Since then she has won the Preakness Stakes, Mother Goose Stakes and Haskell Invitational, tow of which have $1,000,000 purses and yet her index is stall shown as 62.79. Obviously by year end it will be much higher when upgraded. Remember, for our purposes we don't care if Rachel Alexandra's index is 63 or 126, it is her dam Lotta Kim's index of 12.71 that we are interested in. Once Rachel Alexandra showed herself to be a high indexed horse we then are interested in what sort of racemare produced her. Lotta Kim raced two years with 2 wins in 4 starts with earnings of $146,485. she won the Tiffany Lass Stakes and ran 2nd in the Golden Rod Stakes G2. Lotta Kim's racing index of 12.71 is near the top of the range of racing indexes most likely to produce high indexed runners.

Haskell Invitational G1
Rachel Alexandra 63.79 Lotta Kim 12.71

Diana Stakes G1
Forever Together 55.71 Constant Companion unr

West Virginia Derby G2
Soul Warrior 25.66 Urmia unr

Go For Wand Handicap G1
Seventh Street 30.82 Holiday Runner 5.54

Coaching Club American Oaks G1
Funny Moon 14.81 Fun Crowd unr

Sanford Stakes G2
Backtalk 17.16 Apasionata Sonata 7.66

San Clemente Handicap G2
Starlarks 6.68 Violet .68

Jim Dandy Stakes G2
Kensei 22.84 Private Feeling .97

San Diego Handicap G2
Informed 9.91 Cajun Two Step 1.99

Fourstardave Handicap G2
Justenuffhumor 13.32 Justenuffheart .65

Chauette

There is a mare named Chauette who last raced a Philadelphia Park on 7/27/09 in the 6th race. She was in a $10,000 claiming race but is worth much more as a breeding prospect. Her sire is Pleasant Tap a top sire who sired amongst others Tap Dance City earner of $9,958,479 including the Japan Cup etc.

What makes Chauette so valuable as a breeding prospect is her dam Quiet Fun. I would suggest going to the Thoroughbred Pedigree Query site and pull up the pedigree of Domino's 2nd dam Lizzie G. Http://www.pedigreequery.com/Lizzie G. You will find that Chauette has the same unusual inbreeding found in Lizzie G. Quiet Fun traces down her tail female line to the Princequillo's daughter Cequillo. A few more generations down the female line from Cequillo brings you to the matron Marguerite de Valois who is a full sister to Bull Dog and Sir Gallahad 3rd. When Quiet Fun's dam Fun Fun Fun was bred to Quiet American two more direct crosses of Cequillo were introduced. Quiet American traces to Cequillo through his tail female line as does his sire Fappiano.

If this were not enough Quiet fun is Inbred 3x3 to matriarch Grey Flight through the full brother and sister What a Pleasure and Bold Princess. The sire of Chauette brings in another cross of Grey Flight through her champion daughter Misty Morn who is a half sister to What a Pleasure and Bold Princess. Adding to this great concentration of this great female family is Native Dancer. He is found twice in Quiet Fun's pedigree. Native Dancer has as his third dam the matriarch La Chica who is the 2nd dam of Grey Flight.

The comparison to Lizzie G is that Lizzie G is sired War Dance a son of Reel whose dam is Fandango. Lizzie G's dam is the Lecompte mare. Her sire Lecompte is also a son of Reel providing a 2nd cross of Fandango. Then when you consider that Lizzie G's 5th dam is Fandango you have a triple cross of her direct female line. This is the same pattern as found in Quiet fun.

When you consider that Lizzie G is the dam of the mighty Domino you have reason to consider the possibilities found in Chauette. Domino only sired 20 foals, 19 of which lived, and from those 20 foals he dominated American breeding for 40 years.

Just claim Chauette and breed to a first class outcross stallion and you could get a runner of the highest class

Swaps Stakes G2

Five G2 races to be covered this week with one of particular interest, that being the

G2 Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park. This race won by the Candy Ride colt, Misremembered whose dam has a 31.4 racing index. The dam Beyond Perfection by Quack was the winner of the G2 Del Mar Debutante, Bay Meadows Oaks G3, and the Barretts Oaks and placed in the Oak Leaf Stakes. Her son Misremembered has a racing index of 15.85 about 50% of his dams index. One might speculate that this colt might go on and increase his index but I would say that is possible but unlikely. The field in the Swaps Stakes was a weak one, leading one to believe that this colt who earned $180,000 in the race is actually not as good as his 15.85 index would indicate. Go back to the Queen's Plate winner, Eye of the Leopard who has and index of 38.78 which was the result of his win in a $1,000,000 race restricted to Canadian Breds. He has earnings of $693,000 of which $528,600 came from the Queens Plate. In his next start the restricted Prince of Wales Stakes he was third to an Aptitude colt and a Milwaukee Brew filly. So although being by A P Indy out of a Smart Strike mare he would probably not measure up well against top flight American classic contenders. Keep in mind the index isn't everything; it's just a good guide line that over a period of time will show that the very high indexed runners come from mares in the .50 to 6.00 racing index, and that when mares have an index of 25 or higher they almost always breed down from their own indexex with a few exceptions. So let's watch Misremembered and see what happens to his index by the end of the year.



The following are this weeks major races: Featuring the winner with its index and the dam and her index



Virginia Derby
Battle of Hastings.............44.48 Subya............................3.20

Delaware Oaks
Careless Jewel..................17.93 Sweet and Careless.....Unr.

A Gleam Handicap
Evita Argentina................13.09 Jealous Wildcat............ .93

Swaps Stakes
Misremembered..............15.85 Beyond Perfection.......31.40

Delaware Handicap
Swift Temper...................16.06 Glascow's Gold...............1.56

Hollywood Gold Cup

Probably the most interesting development this week is the victory of Rail Trip in the Hollywood Gold Cup G1. Rail Trip is out of the Carson City mare Sweet Trip. During the last year daughters of Carson City have produced four high indexed runners with an average racing index of 18.79. The four Carson city mares that produced these superior runners had an average racing index of 2.66 or about 6 times lower than their foals. This is typical of what you might find in tthe dams of superior runners.

Of course all of these numbers by themselves don't give you the information to understand how much racing class is preferable in a potential broodmare. Consider this; Silver Dew the dam of Carry Back Stakes winner Not for Silver has a racing index of 3.22. She earned this index from 22 Starts, 3 wins and earnings of $158,962

Compare this to Zenyatta's dam Vertigineux who earned a 3.96 racing index with 7 Starts 2 wins and earnings of $60,480, or Gio Ponte's dam Chipeta Springs with a 3.78 index earned over 21 starts 2 wins and $93,518. She is stakes placed with a 3rd place finish in the Azalea Stakes.

Finally, we have Tap Your Feet, the dam of Diamondrella. Tap Your Feet earned a racing index of 4.72 and was a stakes winner of the minor Illinois Princess Handicap

What is important is that you have Allowance winners, Stakes placed winners and minor stakes winners in a racing index range from 3.22-4.72. This is the range in which you will find a very large percentage of the dams of High index runners.

Now for this weeks results. I'll list the race, the winner with it's index, then the dam and her index.

American Derby G2
Reb........................14.96..........Sweet Baby.........................1.95

Man O' War G1
Gio Ponte.............41.62...........Chipeta Springs.................3.78

Princess Rooney G1
Game Face..........17.36............Galleon of Gold..................unr

Carry Back G2
Not For Silver.....10.06...........Silverdew...........................3.22

Smile Sprint H. G2
Eaton's Gift.........13.45............Kit's Girl.............................1.04

Hollywood Gold Cup G1
Rail Trip..............32.96............Sweet Trip........................2.69

Royal Heroine Mile G2
Tuscan Evening..18.51...........The Faraway Tree...........4.50

Speedy Sophomore's defeat Elders

Nine G1 and G2 Races covered this week and only one winner is out of a mare with a high racing index. However, that horse, Mr. Sidney may be the goods as a sire prospect. The most interesting development is the emergence of two very talented three-year-olds who defeated their Elders in the Triple Bend Handicap G1 and the Tom Fool Handicap G2. It's a little early in the year for three-year-olds to be defeating their elders even given the weight differentials. We'll discuss them later. I'm still having trouble getting the columns to come out properly so from now on I will list the race then under it give the winner and the winners index followed by the winners ham and her index.

American Oaks G1
Gozzip Girl...................32.15...........Temperence Girl...........unraced

United Nations Handicap G1
Presious Passion.........19.07...........Princesa's Passion.........unraced

Prioress Stakes G1
Cat Moves....................25.45..........Dance Move...................unraced

Triple Bend Handicap G1
Zensational..................15.15............Joke................................ 3.88

Suburban Handicap G2
Dry Martini..................17.89...........Jon's Kimberly.............. .04

Dwyer Stakes G2
Kensei...........................11.34............Private Feeling................. .97

Firecracker Handicap G2
Mr. Sidney....................17.26...........Tomisue's Delight............31.12

American Handicap G2
Monterey Jazz..............12.98...........Reefside............................. .02

Tom Fool Handicap G2
Munnings......................17.44............Le Comete..................Unraced

As mentioned earlier only one of these high indexed runners was produced by a high index racemare that being Mr. Sidney whose dam is the very good racemare Tomisue's Delight. She won the G1 Personal Ensign and Ruffian Handicaps and ran 2nd in the Coaching Club American Oaks, Kentucky Oaks and Beldame Stakes all G1 events. As you can see Mr. Sidney has an index about 50% of his dams. Since regression has already taked place in the family and since Mr. Sidney is inbred to Secretariat 3x4 and is from the La Troienne Family he might prove to be a very interesting stallion prospect.

The two sophomore sensations Munnings and Zensational after making short work of their elders are reportedly headed for the G1 Kings Bishop at Saratoga. That should prove to be a race that we all want to see. There is little question that Zensational is the faster horse but he is green and erratic which may prove to be his undoing against the more professional Munnings.

Mother Goose Stakes G1

This week saw the two best mares in North America continuing their dominance. Rachel Alexandra demolished two outclassed runners in the Mother Goose G1 while on the west coast Zenyatta gave away weight and toyed with another outclassed field. It's interesting to note that both of these great mares are out of slow mares. Rachel Alexandra's dam, Lotta Kim by Roar has a 1.88 racing index compared to Rachel's 48.80. Actually Rachel Alexandra's index is much higher, it just hasn't been updated. It was 48.80 when she won the Kentucky Oaks and doesn't take into consideration her Preakness and Mother Goose victories. Zenyatta with an index of 82.30 is out of Vertigineux by Kris S. whose index is 3.96. Both Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta are true champions and their dams are typical of what you can expect to see from mares that produce champions. They were sound enough to race and win, but they were no great shakes as racemares. On the other hand this week we also see the dam of the winner of the Cornhusker Handicap G2 is champion Mom's Command winner of the Triple Tiara with a racing index of 53.47. Her son Jonesboro who won the Cornhusker has a racing index 10.95 even though he has won $1,383,500. Mom's Command bred down 80% from her own racing index and although Jonesboro has won over $1,000,000 he is not even close to being a horse of championship caliber having won that amount during 6 racing seasons. Another salient point. Jonesboro was one of Mom's Commands last foals, produced when she was almost 20. Great racemares will often produce their best foals later in life after their bodies have recuperated from the stress of a hard racing career. We aren't going to gain great insight in a few weeks but over a longer period of time a pattern will begin to emerge.

Race...............................winner................index...........................dam.......................index
Vanity H. Zenyatta 82.30 Vertigineux 3.96
Mother Goose S. Rachel Alexandra 48.80 Lotta Kim 1.88
King Edward C. Rahy's Attorney 20.79 Rahy's Hope .65
First Flight H Porte Boneur 12.18 Sous Entendu 2.00
Beverly Hills H Black Mamba 20.81 Sneetch 10.00
Cornhusker H Jonesboro 10.95 Mom's Command 53.47
Colonial Turf C. Battle of Hastings 26.45 Subya 6.00

Another interesting point to consider is that Black Mamba's dam and Battle of Hasting's dam were grass runners which are much more likely to produce high indexed runners then their contemporaries which raced on dirt.

Stephen Foster G1

Please excuse the first post on this blog as I had trouble showing the list of champions and their dams. The computer compressed the list taking away the space between the columns. We'll see if we can fix that problem in this week's addition.

We are going to profile all of the grade 1 and grade 2 stakes winners each week showing the winners racing index as well as the racing index of their dams. I might make a few comments on the female family if I see something that may be of interest. Here is the list of last weeks major graded stakes winners.

Race..............................................Winner...................index.......................dam.......................index

Stephen Foster H.........Macho Again.........29.03.................Go Donna go..............2.23
Californian Stakes.........Informed.................7.43..................Cajun Two Step........1.99
Ogden Phipps H............Seattle Smooth.....25.78.................Our Seattle Star.........unr
Jefferson Cup H............Florentino...............6.24..................Must Be Loved..............0
Fleur De Lis...................Miss Isella..............13.56.................La Cucina....................unr
Queens Plate.................Eye ofthe Leopard.35.88................Eye of the Sphynx..44.33

All of these major winners are out of relatively slow mares with the exception of Eye of the Leopard. Since this is a rarity It would be wise to look at his dam to try to figue out why this would occur. First, Eye of the Sphynx started only 7 times which is very positive for a potential broodmare. Short racing careers can be very positive for both sires and dams. Second, both Eye of the Leopard's sire, A P Indy, and the sire of his dam, Smart Strike are leading sires. The sire of the his granddam is Vice Regeant, also a very influential sire. I would suspect that given the weak field that Eye of the Leopard faced in the Queen's Plate that his racing index will come down and may end up below that of his dam. We'll have to wait and see. Keep in mind that the Queen's Plate is a race restricted to Canadian Breds and has a $1,000,000 purse

The Rachel Alexandra Dilemma

If any one person has had a positive influence on racing since we began the new century it is Jess Jackson. I would go so far as to say that he is the number one racing fan in the United States. I say this because Mr. Jackson wants to see which horse is the true champion and he puts his money where his mouth is. Not many horseman would have run Rachel Alexandra in the Preakness Stakes and it is only through the efforts of Jess Jackson that we were able to witness this historic event. This comes on the heels of his courageous move of keeping Curlin in training as a four-year-old to prove he is a great champion. Curlin went on to become the leading money winning thoroughbred and greatly added to his stature, and helped the sport immeasureably. All sports need their hero's and Jess Jackson creates them by giving his horses a chance to prove their greatness.

With that being said, let me throw in a bit of controversy. Prior to the running of the Preakness Mr. Jackson said he would like to breed Rachel Alexandra to Curlin in the hope of getting a super horse, a horse better then either parent. Unfortunately, that would be the equivalent of trying to breed a tomato as big as a house. Horses like Curlin and Rachel Alexandra are the genetic limits of the breed. The fact is there aren't any better horses than they are. When bred to each other they will almost certainly breed down from their own racing indexes.

My research shows that only 3% of the champion horses in North America were produced by mares who were themselves champions. Of the 287 champions in this time period only 10 were produced by mares who were champions on the racecourse.

Figure 1

Champion Dam Racing Index Champion Offspring Racing Index

Two Lea 1045 Tim Tam 1458

Affectionately 676 Personality 753

Princess Turia 592 Forward Pass 936

Nellie Flag 484 Mar-Kell 241

Jacola 483 Phalanx 449

Flower Bowl 402 Bowl of flowers 1514

Big Hurry 379 Bridal Flower 357

Myrtlewood 378 Durazna 416

Misty Morn 331 Bold Lad 1133

Now What 310 Next Move 724

Mares with indexes 400 or higher bred only 3% of the champions during the 42 year time period. It is around the index of 400 that the "law of diminishing returns" sets in. From that point on, as the racing index of the mare increases, her ability to produce horses of championship caliber decreases (except on grass). Remember, I said horses of championship caliber, not stakes winners. Mares with racing indexes of 400 or higher often breed stakes winners, but these stakes winners almost always have racing indexes markedly below that of their dams. When you approach this question of "class in the dam" without a racing index you may be misled by the fact that stakes winning mares produce a larger number of stakes winners than their own percentage of the breed. This can lead you to believe that the more racing class the better

Another trend that can be monitored by indexing is what happens when very high indexed mares breed up. Nine of the ten mares in Figure 1 bred runners with indexes equal to or greater than their own. One, Nellie Flag produced Mar-Kell whose racing index was 1/2 of her own. Remember, Nellie Flag was the last filly to win the Preakness Stakes before Rachel Alexandra. The nine runners with racing indexes equal to or greater than their own were all disappointing stallions or producers except one, Next Move.

Tim Tam bred only one good horse, Tosmah. Forward Pass and Personality were dismal failures. Phalanx sired two good horses, Career Boy and Fisherman. Bold lad's best runner was Sirlad who ran a strong 2nd to Affirmed in the Hollywood Gold Cup but otherwise didn't sire much dispite great opportunity. Bridal Flower's best runner Beylerbey earned a 28 racing index. Durazna's best was Querida with an 82 index. Only Next Move bred really good horse when to the cover of Native Dancer she got Good Move index 627. The great Bowl of Flowers with an extremely high index of 1514 had a best runner named Spruce Bouquet with an index of 129 which is only 11% of her own index.

On the other hand Mar-Kell who had a racing index 50% of her dam's produced Mark-Ye-Well with a racing index of 742.......Three times her own.

Another interesting point is that Bowl of Flowers, although she bred down from her own very high racing index of 1514, produced two sons, who although poor racehorses, were very good stallions. The are Whisky Road and Big Burn. The former, a son of Nijinsky II stood in Australia where he sired Strawberry Road the winner of their most prestigious race, the Melbourne Cup.

It appears that when high indexed mares breed up from their own indexes the resulting champions will be poor risks at stud. conversely, when champion mares breed down some of their foals make excellent breeding prospects.

No less an authority then Federico Tesio believed that hard racing drained a certain vitality that required a generation of rest to be restored. Tesio who harbored some very esoteric ideas, nevertheless bred two undefeated and unextrended colts in Nearco and Ribot with profound and lasting influence on the breed.

If you have any doubts about what type of racemares produce the highest quality racehorses here is a list of all of the Triple Crown winners except Sir Barton (unable to find his dams index) along with the other great racehorses of recent times.

Champion racing index dam racing index

1. Man O" War 1100 Mahubah 15
2. Omaha 700 Flambino 99
3. War Admiral 1190 Brushup 15
4. Gallant Fox 1650 Marguerite 0
5. Assault 875 Igual unr
6. Whirlaway 886 Dustwhirl unr
7. Count Fleet 1096 Quickly 58
8. Citation 1655 Hydroplane II unr
9. Secretariat 1909 Somethingroyal 0
10. Seattle Slew 1877 My Charmer 45
11. Affirmed 2416 Won't Tell You 56
12. Native Dancer 1608 Geisha 24
13. Nashua 1956 Segula 59
14. Spectacular Bid 1844 Spectacular 66
15. John Henry 1581 Once Double 8
16. Dr. Fager 1785 Aspidistra 24
17. Forego 1135 Lady Golconda 99
18. Round Table 1292 Knights Daughter 79
19. Swaps 1566 Iron Reward 3
20. Buckpasser 1869 Busanda 247
21. Tom fool 953 Gaga 51
22. Kelso 1822 Maid of flight 81
23. Seabiscuit 499 Swing On unr

None of the dams of these superlative racehorses was a champion. A rule of thumb would be that champion racehorses, with a few exceptions, have racing indexes of 400 or higher. Only one of these dams of champions had a racing index over 100 that being Busanda the dam of Buckpasser. Busanda achieved her high index by winning the 1951 renewal of the Suburban Handicap while carring only 102 pounds.

The Dilemma facing Jess Jackson is how to breed Rachel Alexandra to achieve the best results. In all likelihood it will be her daughters and granddaughters that will be the great producers not Rachel Alexandra herself. The answer may be found in the production record of Myrtlewood. She was a champion with a 378 racing index (low index probably because she raced during the depression when stakes horses ran in allowance races with low purses). Myrtlewood produced Durazna whose racing index was 416 just about the same as her dam. Regression did not set in because Durazna was by Bull Lea the leading sire in North America one of the few stallions I've seen that could overcome regression. In figure 1 four of the horses mentioned were by Bull Lea. They are Two Lea, Durazna, Next Move and Mark-Ye Well. Yet inspite of his ability to breed fast mares up, all of Bull Lea's sons failed at stud including Citation and Coaltown. So, although Durazna had a racing index equal to her dams, and although she was by the exceptional broodmare sire Bull Lea, her best runner had an index of 98.

Here is one last caveat concerning "Class in the Dam" . Mares that are champions on Turf are much more likely to produce champions then their counterparts that race on dirt. Why? It could be that grass is a much more natural surface and doesn't drain the horse of vitality to run over it. The trainer of the 2nd horse I bred was Miguel Clement who had trained two winners of the Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby). He told me that we Americans breed 20 Sea-Birds every year, but only one survives our training methods. That may be the reason.

An example of a top grass mare that is an exceptional producer is Urban Sea. She is herself the winner of the Prix de l'arc de Triomphe yet she is the dam of this year's Epsom Derby winner Sea the Stars, another Epsom Derby winner in Galileo, the Italian Derby winner Black Sam Bellamy, and the brilliant grade one winner in North America, My Typhoon.

Every week on this blog I will analyze the grade one and grade two winners from the previous week with special attention to the correlation between the winners racing index and their dams. Your comments will make for a lively discussion