Bloodlines by HS Watnik > continuing “The Turf Horse” Secretariat, the most capable horse I know of, left no strong male line to scrap over the great stakes races of modern times- he was left in the dust by such powerful influences as Northern Dancer and his kinsman, Halo, as well as fiery Mr. Prospector, and of late Seattle Slew, the latter a horse quite able of giving the Meadow Stable super horse a run for the money- as far as direct male lines are concerned Seattle Slew, was vastly superior to Secretariat- but conversely Secretariat more than left his mark upon the breed and is in pedigree of California Chrome- The Exceptional sires Storm Cat and Gone West, as well as AP Indy, all arrived from matrons sired by the mighty Triple Crown winner of 1973- and it is of particular note to those who like to wager, that Secretariat plays a part in the pages of the exciting young sire Munnings, himself a son of Gone West! But that is issue for further explorations at another time- but suffice it for the moment to announce that Gone West, is evolving into one of the most important characters to import in any mating breeders may be contemplating- We have spoken at length of Lucky Pulpit, a rudimentary sprinting stakes winner- a stallion’ whose fee when California Chrome was foaled could not have been more than 3K- but he was out of a dam by champion turf horse Cozzene, and his family were 4-M tracing back to immortal Maggie BB- and his grandma Lucky Spell was of the firmest stuff- Love The Chase, dam of California Chrome, won but one race in a career which went unnoticed – she being a A4 matron sired by top stud Not For Love, a sturdy blue blood out of the 1-x La Troienne troop of high lady Numbered Account- in fact, Love the Chase (2006) a chestnut, was inbred to Numbered Account, via the 75% siblings G1 Dance Number and Polish Numbers- when at optimum the 1-x line of broodmares produces beautiful individuals, sparkling with the intoxicants of desire, the will to win, and great beauty, which seems to glow out of them like a Raise A Native grazing in the sunshine- The 2nd dam of California Chrome, is Chase it Down, also a chestnut (1997) she too managed one victory in her career – her broodmare sire array is top of the charts >Sir Ivor, a “Darby” winner in 1968>Vaguely Noble, winner of the Prix De Arc d’ triomphe in 1968 where he beat Sir Ivor!>Ribot, held by many scholars as the greatest horse to race in Europe in the 20th century>Princequillo, a commander of the order of Big Heart stallions and one of the most important sires of modern times (see; Sir Gaylord, Secretariat, Seattle Slew & Mill Reef etc) the all important 5th dam of Chase it Down, Judy-Rae, was a stakes winner with quite an interesting dosage profile >0-2--8-4-14 evoking the notion that horses capable of traveling long distances would evolve from her- but a study of her direct female family reveals many precocious youths and quick sprinters interspersed here and there with “classic types such as Kentucky Derby placed Strodes Creek, and 1984 Kentucky Derby favorite Althea, a daughter of Alydar, trained by “coach” Lukas, which won at least half a dozen G1 races including the Arkansas Derby! Beau Pere lives forever as the dam sire of turf immortal Swaps, he was by the great staying influence Son-In Law, out of the classic English stakes winner Cinna- the latter inbred to Quiver, thru her daughters La Fleche, and Maid Marian, the latter was dam of Polymelus- while La Fleche, a mare whose season in 1892 is one of the most inspiring in the histories, as she won the Oaks rand ran 2nd in the “Darby” and won the St. Leger (then one of the most important races in the world) and as well she won the 1000 guineas!! The 3rd dam of California Chrome, is Chase the Dream by Sir Ivor himself a son of Secretariat’s elder half brother Sir Gaylord- she was a capable runner placing in 13 of 16 outings she was foaled in 1984- a stakes winner on the NYRA wheels of fortune and also trained by “Coach” Lukas- Chase the Dream, appears to have limited foals when sent to stud and aside from Chase It Down, produced 250K winner Amourette, to the cover of El Gran Senor—she also had minor issues from sires steeped in Secretariat, Chief’s Crown and Pancho Villa. daughter Amourette, was able to win stakes on the Maryland x Delaware circuit- she was highly thought of and saw nothing but the best stallions and foaled 3 or 4 winners of over 100K (or close to it)- 3 of her foals placed in stakes- Alette & Lemonade Kid & Mourette. Perhaps the most exciting aspect of California Chromes 3rd dam Chase The Dream, is in her inbreeding to Nearco 5x4 via Royal Charger & Noble Lassie and to Princequillo “big heart” 4x4 via Somethingroyal, dam of Sir Gaylord half brother of mightiest Secretariat, and Princess Matdaka, 3rd dam of Chase The Dream, herself 3rd dam to California Chrome!- the dosage profile for Chase the Dream, is of the high order of equines >5-17-22-2-6 indicative of when dealing with breeding matters, “patience is a virtue” and “the old blood runs deep” schools of philosophy- It is noteworthy that Admiral Drake, the son of Plucky Liege, sired the dam of Turn-To- and that Mahmoud, “big heart” sired the Mr. Trouble, in turn sire to the dam of Sir Ivor & that Romanella, dam of Ribot, was herself inbred to aforementioned Polymelus, thru his vibrant son Phalaris and Corcyra, the latter a classic placed stud in England- Corcyra, was out of the Persimmon matron Pearmain, a chestnut (1905) –Persimmon, was considered the most beautiful horse ever seen in England- he was owned and bred by the King of England! (King Edward the VII)- Persimmon was as temperamental as he was handsome and drove his connections to the “pure” with his antics- en route to the Epsom course for his engagement in the “Darby” stakes of 1896- he refused to board and could not be moved by a squad of burly teamsters to his box aboard the train- finally as the last train to Epsom fitted for horses was to arrive, a gang of volunteers came to the aid of the teamsters and lifted Persimmon onto the train! Needless to say Persimmon, beat St. Frusquin, his most worthy opponent in the Derby and the land of England went delirious for the Prince of Wales (later Edward the VII) horse had maintained over the course and the jubilation was long and deep- the series of races centering on St. Frusquin and Persimmon, are among the most storied in the English texts of racing lore- h
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 17:07:08 +0000
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