Lets Have Some Fun

Let’s all have a little fun, shall we?

What would you do if you had an unlimited amount of disposable income? Some people would buy a house or a fancy car. Others would travel the world to see what it had to offer. I would enter the breeding game of thoroughbred racing.

The “big three” foundation sire lines have become so prominent in today’s bloodstock, that finding a horse pedigree free of them is near impossible. The “big three” I am referencing are Raise A Native, Bold Ruler, and Northern Dancer.

Albert Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Keeping this in mind, I’ve always tried to look at things from a different angle. So when I look at today’s breeding industry, all I see is repetition. I see insanity.

Everyone wants to breed the next Triple Crown winner, yet nearly the same genetic recipe is being used for every horse being run. When looking back to the radical thinkers that have established legacies of bettering the breed, there are some common elements. They didn’t have Truenicks or computer analysis. What they did have was incredible intuition, patience, and large checkbooks. And since they couldn’t fly their mares all over the world, they had make large investments to bring outcross sires to them. They offered something different to an industry that was stuck in cyclical insanity.

So the approach to my fantasy breeding operation would be quite simple. I want to minimize the prevalence of the aforementioned three foundation sires, and offer something new and different. I would try something that breeding experts would tell me would never work, and that I’m wasting my time and money. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that in my life.

I would begin my journey by combing the broodmare markets to find mares sired by outcrosses to the “big three” but still proving their worth on the track and in the breeding sheds. I would start with a total of 5 mares sired by the following horses:

Holy Bull: 2 mares

Leroidesanimaux: 1 mare

Invasor: 1 mare

Include: 1 mare

I do not have strict on-the-track performance requirements for the mares, but all must have retired sound. The breeding operation I’m starting is based on bloodlines, not graded stakes victories.

Foal #1: Fame and Glory x Holy Bull Mare #1

By Montjeu, Fame and Glory was a champion stayer and carries only one line of Northern Dancer in his pedigree. The resulting foal would have a plodder on the top half and speed and precocity on the bottom half. I would hope for a filly from this mating.

Foal #2: Yeats x Holy Bull Mare #2

Like Fame and Glory, Yeats was another champion stayer from Europe with only a single dose of Northern Dancer and no inbreeding through the first 5 generations of his pedigree. Once again I’m hoping to get a stamina infused filly with some speed genes hidden away.

Foal #3: Deep Impact x Invasor Mare

I would shell out some cash for Deep Impact. He’s another single dose of Northern Dancer and the reputation of already proving to be a top sire in Japan. Here I would hope for a colt.

Foal #4: Dalakhani x Leroidesanimaux Mare

Dalakhani has only a single dose of Raise A Native in his pedigree and has produced a champion that won at the Breeders Cup. Bred for turf through and through, I would prefer a filly here.

Foal #5: Shackleford x Include Mare

Bloodlines to the wind, I just really like Shack. He’s fast, a great looking horse, iron legged, competitive, and tough. I think he is the real deal, and I would love to own one of his progeny. I want a colt here.

If you really look into the stallions I have chosen you will notice Hail to Reason is present in many of their pedigrees. Some things are just unavoidable in the breeding shed today, and although he is very common in bloodlines, he still offers more dilution than the "big three." 

Round 2 is where I would breed some of my own horses back to each other.

                                    Deep Impact

            Foal #3 (colt)

                                    Invasor mare

Foal #6

                                    Fame and Glory

            Foal #1 (filly)            

                                    Holy Bull mare #1

=============================================

                                    Shackleford

            Foal #5 (colt)            

                                    Include mare

Foal #7

                                    Yeats

            Foal #2 (filly)            

                                    Holy Bull mare #2

=============================================

                                    Deep Impact

            Foal #3 (colt)            

                                    Invasor mare

Foal #8

                                    Dalakhani

            Foal #4 (filly)            

                                    Leroidesanimaux mare

Foals 6, 7, 8 would by my first real attempt to produce the racehorse of my dreams. Versitile, tough, long winded, and potentially breed changing if they prove they have what it takes on the track. I know it could take several generations before my mission begins to bear fruit, so success or failure should be determined in no less than 10 years. 

Remember, this is for fun, its hypothetical, and its what I would do with infinite financial resources at my disposal.

What would you do with an unlimited budget and a little creativity?