Pedigree advisor Alan Porter has been professionally involved with Thoroughbreds for almost 30 years and he has been planning matings for 19 years. Over the years, Porter has written columns for Bluebloods, The Daily Racing Form, The Thoroughbred Daily News, Pacemaker, and Owner, Breeder International, as well as contributing to numerous other publications in Europe, Japan, and North America. In this article Porter searches for value in the stallion ranks in Australian and New Zealand and with the breeding season under way, its worth a read, you may come up with some ideas on value for money in Australia and New Zealand.

Porter, starts his review in the Hunter Valley at Vinery Stud where champion Testa Rossa (Perugino – Bo Dapper by Sir Dapper) resides. Retired to stud with a race-record that incontrovertibly illustrated his brilliance as a two-year-old and sprinter. His pedigree, however, gave rise to some doubts as to whether he would be able to make a real impact at stud. His sire, Perugino, a Danzig three-parts-brother to Sadler’s Wells, was never more than a useful sire, and his immediate family was not overly prepossessing either. As it turns out, there has been little to cavil at in terms of the quality and quantity of stakes winner he has produced. He has 23 stakes winners from his first five crops, headed by South Australian Derby (Gr. I) victor Testafiable, last season’s juvenile standout Rostova, and other graded winners Vormista, Jiang, Publishing, Wordsmith, and Ortensia.

A little further down the road in the same valley, Golden Slipper winner Danzero (Danehill – Confidentally by Kaoru Star) was the first of his sire’s Golden Slipper (Gr. 1). He never quite became the superstar sire, that one might have hoped, but like another Danehill son from the same crop, Danewin, has become a very solid sire, and the record shows that he gets a lot of class for a horse standing at $22,000. Despite his sprinting background, Danzero has been able to get very good runners over a variety of distance, as illustrated by the fact that he’s sire of Champion Two-Year-Old and Golden Slipper (Gr. I) victor Dance Hero, and Champion Australian Three-Year-Old Stayer Fairway. His other group one winners include the versatile Niconero, successful five times at the highest level; Danglissa; Danni Martine; and Jymcarew, and he’s been represented by a total of 33 stakes winners. This is a great horse to get a young mare a shot at a major winner for a reasonable price, especially for the owner-breeder.

In the back-by-popular-demand category we have Tale of the Cat (Storm Cat – Yarn by Mr. Prospector). He stood one season in New Zealand in 1999-2000 and became Champion Freshman Sire off a crop that eventually included grade one winner Glamour Puss, and group stakes winners Falkirk, Scaredee Cat and Mr. Ubiquitous. This early success brought a return, and on the basis of the crops foaled in 2004, 2005, and 2006, he suits conditions down under very well. His “second time around” crop have produced such as New Zealand 2,000 Guineas (Gr. I) winner Tell a Tale; last year’s excellent two-year-old colt, Real Saga, who is now about to commence a stud career in Queensland; the very promising just-turned three-year-old Trusting; Purrealist and Bantry Bay.

By Storm Cat, Tale of the Cat has Secretariat in his pedigree, and he seems to be crossing well with mares from the sire line of Sir Tristram, a grandson of Secretariat’s half-brother, Sir Gaylord, this cross producing five of his stakes winners.

Beautiful Crown (Chief’s Crown – Beautiful Glass by Pass the Glass) arrived in the U.S. as one of the less-heralded representatives of the Danzig sire line. He never won a stakes event in his 14 race career, but did show himself to be a very speedy customer in his six wins. Despite starting relatively inexpensively, as a sire he’s emulated his pedigree – he’s half-brother to the grade one winning Jeanne Jones, out of graded stakes winning mare – rather than his race-record. He’s sired nine stakes winners, of which the best are Caulfield Guineas (Gr. I) victor In Top Swing, and graded winners Crown Princess, Flaming, and Our Joan of Arc.

Even in these financially depressed times, you don’t get a lot of sire power for A$5,500, but Blevic (Scenic – Blooms by Biscay) is something of an exception to that rule. By Scenic, a Sadler’s Wells son who made little impact in the Northern Hemisphere, but was a standout in Australia, Blevic, was one of his sire’s best offspring, taking a VRC Sires Produce Stakes (Gr. I) and Victoria Derby (Gr. I). South Australian-based Blevic has shown he can get a very classy runner, with 19 stakes winners, headed by Blevvo, who took the Kingston Town Stakes (Gr. I), and the graded stakes winners Under the Bridge, Shablec, Nancy Eleanor, Exalted Ego and Miss Pavlova. He’s also broodmare sire of Champion Two-Year-Old Phelan Ready. Overall, a package that’s hard to beat for the money.

A veteran son of Zeditave, Strategic (Zeditave – Sudden Impulse by Luskin Star) was a high-class two-year-old and sprinter who gained a grade one win in the William Reid Stakes (Gr. I). Strategic has 19 stakes winners to his name including Champion Two-Year-Old Meurice, and grade one winner Mistegic and Strategic News.

Meurice is out of a mare by Danehill (and Strategic has four other stakes winners out of Danzig line mares), so all those owners of young Danehill/Danzig line mares looking for a value for money sire who can get a real racehorse, might just find Strategic worth a serious look.

Oddly enough, Strategic’s grade one winning half-brother, Clang (Bellotto – Sudden Impulse by Luskin Star) also popped up on our radar. The Silver Slipper Stakes (Gr. II) scorer has mostly covered modest mares, and has only sired seven stakes winners, but look at the class! Clangalang has taken four graded races, including the AJC Derby (Gr. I) and Epsom Handicap (gr. I); Black Piranha, took the Stradroke (Gr. I); and Calaway Gal won the Golden Slipper (Gr. I). Incidentally that trio are out of mares by Staff Sergeant, Distinctly North and Captain’s Gold, none of whom are frequent features on the Leading Broodmare Sire list. Oh, and on top of that, Clang is also responsible for for other graded winners Friendly Embrace and Don’t Tell Clang. His 2009 fee represents outstanding value.

Staying in Queensland, there was a stage where the Forli male line threatened to become a real international influence. That moment has passed, but the line has a very useful Australian representative in Sequalo (Rustic Amber – Dash Around by Bending Away), who is grandson of sprint champion Thatching (by Forli’s son, Thatch). Sequalo himself was a sprinter, and captured four graded events, including the Linlithgow Stakes (Gr. II). Sequalo also generally gets speed as demonstrated by horses such as the Sire’s Produce Stakes (Gr. I) victor Star Shiraz, and graded scorers Sequential Charm, Burdekin Blues, and Show Biz Kid.

Over “the ditch” at Cambridge Stud, Stravinsky (Nureyev – Fire the Groom by Blushing Groom) established himself as an outstanding sprinter, winning the July Cup (Gr. I) and Nunthorpe Stakes (Gr. I). He started his Northern Hemisphere career in the U.S., probably not the ideal venue for a turf sprinter, but has sired European group one winners Benbaun, Soldier’s Tale and Balmont. It’s his Southern Hemisphere crops have really impressed though, being headed by Champion Australian Three-Year-Old Filly Serenade Rose (out of a mare by Sadler’s Wells, so having that horse and his three-parts-brother, Nureyev, 2 x 2); Champion New Zealand Two-Year-Old Filly Keeninsky; other grade one winners Captivate and Baritone, and a total of 15 other graded winners. He has the pedigree to be a broodmare sire, and his first stakes winner is European group one winner Rip Van Winkle (by Galileo, and another with Sadler’s Wells/Nureyev inbreeding).

New Zealand-based Keeper (Danehill – Nuwirah by Pleasant Colony) is a stud-companion of Stravinsky. This up-and-comer looks great value at his advertsed fee of NZ$12,000. With his first four crops, he’s already come up with grade one winners Keepa Cruisin, Insouciant, and Linky Dink, and the graded laureates Sender, Keep the Passion, and Millbank. Like most Danehill line stallions he’s done well with Sir Tristram, but overall, he’s found success with a wide range of broodmare sire lines, others including Mr. Prospector (through Woodman and Straight Strike), The Minstrel (Palace Music), Blushing Groom (Nassipour), Star Kingdom (Broad Reach), Sing Sing (African Sky), and Northern Dancer (Palace Music). This is a horse who could just be going places.

Permalink| Sep 4, 2009

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