Parallel Series

We’ve frequently mentioned, in this and other columns, varieties of what we call “Parallel Patterns.” There are variations, but a general description would be where a sire and a mare or broodmare sire are bred on a similar cross (we also have inversion of this, which we’ve christened “Reverse Parallel Patterns”). (More…)

Luck — Or Opportunity?

We had yet another example of the imporatance of considering opportunity when creating nick ratings with the August 1 victory of Luck Money in the Majestic Light Stakes at Saratoga. Irish-bred Luck Money was scoring his first stakes victory, although he’d been third to superstar Henrythenavigator in the Coventry Stakes (gr. II) and captured the Goffs Million (endowed with a $2.3 million purse!) last year at 2.

Lucky Money is by an excellent Irish sire, the now-deceased Indian Ridge, out of Dundel, a daughter of Machiavellian, and therein lies the problem for a nicking program that does not have the ability to consider true opportunity. (More…)

Prospecting Success

It is not often that we have a posting on this site with a history lesson included but it seems in order after the 2-year-old filly African Skies (TrueNicks A) impressively won the Princess Margaret Stakes (gr. III) at Ascot on the weekend. African Skies is a daughter of (More…)

Texas Twosome

In a strange instance of synchonicity a pair of stakes at Lone Star Park, Texas, on the same day were taken by horses whose pedigrees – and close inbreeding – are virtual reverses.

The first of these was (More…)

Interesting Point

The French Colonial Stakes, run over nine furlongs on turf at Belmont Park July 10, resulted in a first stakes win for Willsboro Point, a son of Point Given (TrueNicks, SRO) out of the Red Ransom mare Petrouchka. Rated A by TrueNicks, Willsboro Point is bred on the same Thunder Gulch/Roberto cross as grade I winners Balance and (More…)

Special Pedigrees Strike

The Man o’ War Stakes (gr. I) witnessed not only the defeated of Curlin on his turf debut, but also a return to form of the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Turf (gr. I) hero Red Rocks, who was taking his first stakes win since the spring of 2007.

Red Rocks, a son of one of Europe’s dominant sire Galileo, is out of a mare by Machiavellian, who — like Galileo’s broodmare sire, Miswaki — is a son of Mr. Prospector. In general, crossing Galileo back over mares by sons of Mr. Prospector has been disappointing – there is only one (More…)

International World

Take one part grandson of Danzig with one part daughter of Equalize and shake… what do you get? The A++ TrueNicks-rated and current sprinting superstar Lucky Island (Arg), that is what!

Starting on the 4th of July in the time-honored Tom Fool Handicap (gr. II), Lucky Island burst out of the gates (More…)