Obviously (IRE) (Choisir (AUS)-Leala by Montjeu (IRE))
For those of us fascinated by thoroughbred pedigrees the Breeders’ Cup wins by Obviously (IRE) and Highland Reel (IRE) provide plenty of food for thought. Both have an Aussie connection and share plenty of the same horses as ancestors, but their aptitudes could not be more diverse.
Obviously, a gelded…
The expression “What is it good for” has passed into the vernacular, originating in a pop song and then gaining wider fame in an episode of “Seinfeld”. In the counter culture anti war song “War” which was originally recorded as an album by the Temptations and as a single by Edwin Starr, the lyrics feature…
Galileo (IRE) (Sadler’s Wells-Urban Sea By Miswaki)
The Champion Sire in England and Ireland for 2015 was again Galileo (Sadler’s Wells–Urban Sea by Miswaki), who was lifting the crown for the seventh time in eight years, the past six of those in succession. Although he obviously covers a lot more mares than many of the greats…
Capitalist (Written Tycoon-Kitalpha by Fusaichi Pegasus)
The success of unbeaten juvenile star Capitalist and his sire Written Tycoon have revived memories of one of the first, and best, shuttle sires Last Tycoon (IRE). He was our Champion Sire in 1993-94 when his brilliant son Mahogany was at the height of his powers.
Unfortunately Last Tycoon was also…
Wenona Girl (Wilkes (FR)-Golden Chariot by Golden Sovereign (IRE))
Memories of Wenona Girl, the wonderful Australian race filly of the early 1960s, were stirred by the appearance at the races in Sydney in January of Scarlet Rain. This daughter of Arrowfield Stud resident Manhattan Rain, an Encosta de Lago half-brother to Redoute’s Choice, looked a serious…
Galileo (Sadler’s Wells (USA)-Urban Sea (USA) by Miswaki)
In every endeavour including in the sporting arena it seems that the concept of equal opportunity will always be high in our consciousness. In the world of horse racing and breeding though, particularly on the racecourses of Europe, we have some way to go to give all our…
Zabeel (NZ) (Sir Tristram (IRE)-Lady Giselle (FR) by Nureyev)
Determined by a financial measure, the Champion Sire and Champion Broodmare Sire titles tend to favour horses who have plenty of progeny as their earnings accumulate faster than horses with smaller crop sizes. Critics of this measurement should, instead, think positively about this.
Many stallions serve big books,…
Artie Schiller (USA) - (El Prado-Hidden Light by Majestic Light)
Many years ago, long before he became US Leading Sire, and long before his sons Kitten’s Joy and Medaglia d’Oro (USA) became six figure stud fee sires, we suggested to a major Australian stallion station that El Prado might be a good horse to shuttle. The…
French Fern - (Lope de Vega (IRE)-La Famelia by Strategic)
There appears to be a “curse” on a horse farm along the Goulburn River 10 minutes drive away from the village of Sandy Hollow in west Hunter Valley. This has been suggested by two of its owners going to the wall financially when they may have…
The rewards can be great for breeders if they can spot in advance sires who may become successful broodmare sires. Obviously daughters of the leading sires of winners, particularly the best performed, are the ones most likely to succeed as maternal grandsires but they can be very expensive to buy.
Breeders with limited resources can sometimes…