Breeders' Cup - Bloodlines Past and Present
Pedigree analyst Jay Leimbach looks at predominant sire lines in Breeders'
Cup winners.
By: Jay Leimbach
Breeders’ Cup bloodlines in 2001 generally reflected the pattern
of the past 17 editions, with the Raise A Native/Mr. Prospector line
still pursuing both the Northern Dancer and Nasrullah lines. Along
with the Turn-to line (Halo, Roberto, Cox’s Ridge, Cure The Blues),
the four leading Breeders’ Cup male lines are all Phalaris line,
followed by the In Reality, Ribot, Damascus and Princequillo lines
among outcross sires.
Outcross sires (non-Phalaris line) continue to shine among the older
handicap horses in 2001, however, with Tiznow (by Cee’s Tizzy,
In Reality line), Albert The Great (by Go For Gin, Ribot line), Macho
Uno (by Holy Bull, Himyar line), Include (by Broad Brush, Himyar line),
and Gander (by Cormorant, Ribot line) running 1-3-4-7-9 in the Breeders’
Cup Classic, in which six of the 13 runners were by outcross sires.
This is remarkable in that 26 of the top 30 sires last year (according
to Thoroughbred Times) were Phalaris line. (It may well be that their
less-than-fashionable bloodlines are why this group is still running
at age four, however.) And Captain Steve (Fly So Free, Damascus line)
is the sport’s leading money winner this year after winning the
five-million-dollar Dubai World Cup in March.
It should be noted even that among so-called “outcross sires”,
Broad Brush nevertheless has ten strains of Phalaris blood, while
Damascus was strongly linebred 5x6x4-Phalaris himself. In Reality
and his son Relaunch had no Phalaris blood at all, while Ribot and
grandson Pleasant Colony had very little. Significantly, In Reality
line studs Valid Expectations, Judge TC, and Bertrando ranked 1-3-5
among all Juvenile Sires in the Thoroughbred Times rankings of October
2001, while Honour and Glory (by Relaunch) topped that list in 2000.
This year’s Breeders’ Cup saw three Northern Dancer line
winners: Banks Hill (by Danehill) and Johannesburg (by Hennessy) are
European runners who captured the Filly and Mare Turf, and Juvenile
Colts respectively, while Val Royal, a grandson of Nijinsky II by
Royal Academy , won the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
The venerable Nasrullah line continues to show classic staying power
with Fantastic Light (by Rahy) winning the Turf Classic, and Tempera
(by A.P.Indy) winning the Juvenile Fillies. The Mr. Prospector line,
not surprisingly, won the Sprint with Squirtle Squirt (by Marquetry),
while Unbridled Elaine (by Unbridled’s Song) won the Distaff.
This brings the total number of Northern Dancer line Breeders’
Cup winners to 39, followed by the Nasrullah line with 27, the Raise
A Native line (largely through Mr. Prospector) with 20, and the Turn-to
line with 11.
Among outcross lines we find the In Reality and Ribot lines each with
six, and the Damascus and Princequillo lines with five.
Individual stallion leaders now show Danzig (5 winners), Nureyev
(4), Sadler’s Wells (3), Deputy Minister (3) and Nijinsky II
(3) all from the Northern Dancer line, along with Kris S. (4) and
Cox’s Ridge (3) from the Turn-to line.
For those looking to breed a classic winner of their own, the basic
fundamentals of livestock breeding apply: add the best blood missing
from your horse’s pedigree, while returning the the best blood
present through inbreeding or linebreeding, particularly where nicks
or known affinities exist. For example, Nasrullah line stallions love
the blood of mares with Raise A Native/Mr. Prospector blood, and vice-versa.
This year’s Juvenile filly winner is a perfect example. Tempera
is by A.P.Indy (from the Seattle Slew/Nasrullah line), while her dam
is by Mr. Prospector— a key missing ingredient with a strong
affinity for Seattle Slew blood. Other Slew line stars from Prospector
mares include Pulpit, Tomisue’s Delight, and Accelerator—all
by A.P. Indy. Furthermore, Tempera shows deep linebreeding of.6x6x5x5
to Nasrullah. Such deep linebreeding often enjoys the benefits of
inbreeding with less danger of unsoundness or lack of stamina, often
attributed to close inbreeding.
Republished with
permission from Canadian Thoroughbred
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