newstallions

The Matchmaker comments is be a combination of Fact and Opinion that have been 30+ years in the making.
(C) The Matchmaker, January 20, 2010 All Rights Reserved

Petionville is a dark bay or brown colt by Seeking The Gold out of Vana Turns by Wavering Monarch foaled in 1992. He stands 15.3 h.h. at maturity. His immediate family is doing really well at stud. Petionville is inbred to Buckpasser 3,4 through two daughters while carrying Nasrullah 5,5 through two sons and Raise A Native 3,5 through two sons. Petionville won his only start at two (MSW at 6 furlongs at Santa Anita). He got best at three when he won 5 (all stakes) races from 9 starts, including the Ohio and Louisiana Derbies. He was not the same horse at four, winning only once in an allowance race. He retired to stud with 7 wins from 15 starts and earnings of $811,905. I have seen many of his foals and most have real good quality to them. Through December 2009, he was siring 82% runners (extremely high for a young stallion), 60% winners, 16% 2yo winners (good) and 5% SW's [5 SW's in his first crop; 2 SW's in his second crop and is now up to 4 SW's in his 3rd crop. He has 6 SW's from his 2002 crop. His stud fee at Margaux Farm, near Midway Kentucky where he stands is now $7,500, down from $15,000 live foal at his highest fee. His best foals to date have been out of mares by Storm Cat, Houston, Capote, Flying Paster, Nijinsky II, Fred Astaire, Bold Hour, Sovereign Dancer, A Native Danzig, Slewacide, Seattle Song and Cyane. According to my Predictive Sire program he scores 16.60 Genetic points and 16.89 Racing Ability points for a GRA score of 33.46. He has earned 22.50 Stud Performance points, which gives him a very high GRASP score of 55.97. His GSV score is 70.72 and right in line with most successful stallions.

Catienus is a dark bay or brown colt by Storm Cat out of the stakeplaced mare Diamond City by Mr. Prospector foaled in 1984. Catienus carries Native Dancer 5,4 through the usual cross of Natalma and Raise A Native. He also carries Nasrullah 5,5 through two sons. He is from the tail-female family of Cathy Honey [Aloma's Ruler, etc.]. On the track, Catienus won two of his four starts at age 2 in England. He won another race at three, this time at Thirsk [Eng]. Imported to North America he won a mile and a sixteenth race at Monmouth in the very good time of 1:42.86. He won his only stake at age 5 when he won the Charles Staats Memorial Stakes. He was stakeplaced at age 6 when he was seond in the Saratoga Breeders' Cup H-G2, defeating some very nice horses like Gander and Kimberlite Pipe. He retired to stud with 5 wins from 22 starts over five seasons of racing. He was second on 5 occasions and third on two others, earning $370,386. According to my Predictive Sire program he scored 17.62 Genetic points and 6.94 Racing Ability points for a GRA score of 24.12. This is an above average score, but well below that of most successful stallions unless their book is well managed. Since he has done well at stud, I am assuming that he passes on a lot of good stuff to his foals and/or has been well-handled with decent books of mares. From 45 foals in his first crop racing in 2004, he had 11 winners and I noted several of them watching simulcasts. His AEI/CI ratio was at that time a negative 0.75/1.84 which is about average for a young sire," but it must be noted that he was bred to a good book of mares [1.84] and as their foals mature they should get better." (written in 2005). Now that three years have passed, he has shown that he can not only get good foals but quite a few of them can also win at two. Originally his best foal of his first crop was the very nice Kathern's Cat out of a mare by Rubiano and 2nd dam of Dixieland Band who raced at my local track. However, he now has two Grade 1 winners on dirt and turf and the G1 placed Talent Search [BC Sprint]. His best foals are out of daughters of Lear Fan, Chimes Band, Dixieland Band, Devil His Due, Black Tie Affair, Private Account, Skywalker, Stuka, Hawkster, Rubiano (2), Metfield, Beau Genius, Ghazi, Storm Bird, etc. His AEI/CI ratio is a positive 1.45/1.29 with an AWD of his foals of 7.05 furlongs, 77% runners, 57% winners, 21% 2yo winners [precocious], and 6 % SW's. Thru December 2009, he has earned 27.18 Stud Performance points, which gives him a GRASP score of 51.81, up from 43.30 in 2008. His GSV score is an excellent of 77.61, of which 75.14 comes from Storm Cat and 80.08 comes from the female half of the pedigree. Catienus originally stood at Highcliff Farm, near Delanson, New York for a stud fee of $3,500 live foal [approved mares]. When it became apparent he was producing in line with his high GSV score, he was been moved to Kentucky where he stoos at Ramsey Farm for a stud fee of $10,000 payable October 1st of year bred, but is now back at McMahon Of Saratoga, near Saratoga Springs, NY for 2010 according to the latest trade magazines.

Exchange Rate is a gray colt by Danzig out of the Grade 3 stakewinning mare Sterling Pound by Seeking The Gold foaled in 1997. He stands 16.0 h.h. at maturity. He carries Northern Dancer 2,5 through two sons and Native Dancer 4,5 through the usual Natalma and Raise A Native connection. At 2, he broke his maiden at Hollywood Park in the fast time of 57.09 and then placed second in two graded stakes. At 3, he won three races from 6 starts, including the Risen Star Stakes while on the Derby trail, but the best he could would have to wait until he won the Grade 2 Tom Fool Handicap as a 4yo in the fast time of 1:21.24. He retired to stud with 3 seasons of racing under his belt and 15 starts while winning 6 races, 2 seconds and 2 thirds for earnings of $479,803. His first foals landed in 2003 and from that first crop of 44 foals, he sired 4 SW's. Currently in 2009, he has a very positive AEI/CI ratio of 1.95/1.37, which means he is upgrading his mares by a huge amount. In November 2008, he is siring 75% runners, 56% winners [very high and promising], 25% 2yo winners [wonderful], and 8% SW's. The best foals of his are out of dams by Buckaroo, Crafty Prospector, Summer Squall, Count The Time, Caveat, Dynaformer, Time For A Change, Night Shift, Northern Flagship, Mr. Prospector, Thirty Six Red, etc.. He was moved from Padua Stables [stud fee of $10,000 live foal, near Summerfield, Florida] to Kentucky and is now standing at Three Chimneys Farm for a fee of $25,000 live foal. According to my Predictive Sire program he scores 19.02 Genetic points and 15.36 Racing Ability points, which gives him a GRA score of 34.39. This is a high score, but not quite high enough to ensure success without a good broodmare screening program. It is apparent he is more versatile than these numbers and has been mated to nice mares that fit him as his CI is only 1.39. To date in 2009, he has earned 30.20 Stud Performance points, which gives him a GRASP score of 64.62 [very high for a young stallion]. His GSV score is 79.12, which is extremely high and right in the range of the most successful stallions. He has maintained his status as a leading sire of his crop and was ranked 97 of all sires with 7 SW's in 2008.

Langfuhr, a bay colt 1992 by Danzig out of Sweet Briar II by Briartic; standing at Lane's End Farm, near Versailles, KY. for a stud fee of $25,000, up from $20,000 in 2006. He stands 16.1 h.h. at maturity. This stallion has a slightly above average pedigree in terms of those factors which are found in highly successful stallions of the past. As a son of Danzig he has a solid, but not outstanding commercial appeal. He showed top class speed when he got to be a four year old and older. He also won seven of eight 7 furlong races, then beat some very nice horses in winning the Met Mile-G1 in 1:33. He was voted Canada's Champion Sprinter in 1996. To me, his race record that is predictive of his success suggests speed. Langfuhr traces to Rinovata, a filly foaled in 1887, a member of Family #2. There are 20 other sires in my databank who trace to Rinovata, including Beau Gar, Gilded Time, Key To The Mint, Mr. Leader, Stuka, Touch Gold, Summer Tan, etc. Langfuhr is not the product of a known nicking pattern, but it can be seen that both his top and bottom part of his pedigree fits together nicely. Langfuhr is inbred to Nearctic 3x3 through two sons (Northern Dancer and Briartic), otherwise there are no other common ancestors with the exception of an extra cross of Nearco thru Nasrullah within six generations. In 1998 I wrote, "This is very rare and hard to read, but I would guess that the colts he produces would be better than the fillies in terms of racing ability." It turns out that his colts and fillies are both equally represented amongst his SW's. His best foals are out of mares by Woodman (twice), Naskra, Hoist The Flag, Vice Regent, Stop The Music Pass The Tab, Irish Tower, Mining, He's Bad, Formal Dinner, King Pellinore. His record in producing SW's has improved each year from 4 SW's in his 1999 crop to 11 in 2000 and 11 SW's from his 2001 crop, etc.. He is currently[November 2009] producing 79% runners, of which 56% are winners, 17% 2yo winners and 7% SW's. His AEI/CI ratio is nicely positive as 1.61/1.48. This also indicates that he has not been sent a lot of really good mares judging by the CI number of only 1.48. The AWD is 7 furlongs, which is easily a mile and a sixteenth in North America so a good Langfuhr can get Classic distances. He shuttled to Australia and it will be interesting to see how his foals run in Australia. Langfuhr's Genetic Strength Value (GSV) is extremely high at 75.82, of which 82.43 comes from the male half of the pedigree and 69.21 from the female half of the pedigree.. According to my Predictive Sire program, Langfuhr scores 16.56 Genetic points and 16.77 Racing Ability points for a GRA score of 33.33, which is quite high but not high enough to be highly successful with a good broodmare screening process. It appears to me that he has more versatility that his GRA score of 33.34 seems to indicate because he is certainly a classy sire. He has earned so far 30.85 up from 21.43 in 2006 in Stud Performance points, which now gives him a very nice GRASP score of 64.19. It appears also that Langfuhr does not mind having his mares with some Mr. Prospector blood in them. As a broodmare sire, Langfuhr is off to a great start. This is different than his own sire, Danzig, who started off very slowly and then turned into an excellent sire. Currently, Langfuhr now has a BAEI/BCI ratio of 2.06/1.48 with 63% runners, 41% runners, 2% 2yo winners and 4% SW's, the best of which is the excellent Proud Spell [Proud Citizen].

Mutakddim is a chestnut colt by Seeking The Gold out of Oscillate by Seattle Slew foaled in 1991. He stands 15.3 h.h. at maturity so he is not a tall stallion. His sire, Seeking The Gold, is a good sire and broodmare sire and this sure bodes well for this stallion. Mutakddim is from the tail-female family of the top racemares, Dance Number and Numbered Account. His pedigree shows that he is inbred to Buckpasser 3,4 through two daughters and also carries Native Dancer 4,5 through the usual cross of Raise A Native and Natalma. There are also two crosses of Glamour through the female line and a son and a daughter. At 2, Mutakddim won once from three tries. At 3, though he did not earn blacktype he sure ran fast by European standards on the grass. At 4, he won the Firsteel Group John of Gaunt Stakes, but it was in the Charleton Hunt-G3 and the Sandown Mile-G2 where he showed that he could run with the best. He retired to stud with 5 wins in 17 starts and earnings of $126,174. He retired to stud and now stands at Hill 'N' Dale Farms for $10,000 live foal, up from $6,500 in 2002. He has been a good success at stud with at least 84 SW's (9 in first crop) from his seasons in North America and South America. His North American foals show real quality to them and I think he will make it as a reliable stallion and continue to stand at stud in Kentucky, instead of being exiled to lesser regional markets. He was bred to 142 mares in 2002. The major drawback with Mutakddim was that he was hit with very few foals hitting the ground in 2002 as the fertility was only 40% (but then there were a lot of Kentucky stallions hit badly with foal loss. Through December 2008, with eleven crops he is siring 74% runners, 58% winners, 15% 2yo winners and 7% SW's. The AWD of his foals is a speed-oriented 6.55 furlongs. He is the sire of 84 stakes winners world-wide through January 2010. He had a very good year in 2008. His fillies have been better than his colts. His best foals have been out of mares by Lucky North, Bold Reason, Silver Deputy, Yukon, King's Bishop, Southern Halo (at least 6 SW's, super nick), Ringaro, Gate Dancer, Kasteel, Shy Tom, Logical, Senor Pete, Affirmed, etc. Mutakddim scored very well with my Predictive Sire Program as he scored 21.16 Genetic points and 13.64 Racing Ability for a GRA score of 34.80 points and I am glad that he is living up to his potential. Thru December 2009, his AEI/CI ratio is a very positive 1.69/1.49. He has now earned 27.46 Stud Performance points, which gives him a nice GRASP score of 60.72. His GSV score is 79.35, which is excellent and right in the range of the most successful of stallions.

Good Journey is a chestnut colt by Nureyev out of Chimes Of Freedom by Private Account foaled in 1996. He stands 16 h.h. at maturity. He carries Hyperion 5,5, through Nureyev. His dam has been a superb producer of 9 foals, of which 4 are SW's, including the Champion Sprinter Aldebaran by Mr. Prospector. This bodes well for Good Journey as a sire, since he has the stamina influences Forli, Aristophanes, Private Account, Northfields, and Sir Ivor and he still has a very positive AEI/CI ratio of 2.13/1.17. Given his natural stamina pedigree it took quite awhile for Good Journey to develop into a high class runner. He was unraced at two, non-winner at 3, allowance winner at 4, a Grade 2 winner at 5, and a G1 winner at 6. Yet, he is the sire of top class winners in Australia at 3 so his own pedigree is not limiting his ability to sire foals that can compete early in their career with anyone. This is probably because he when Good Journey got good, he got good at a mile, the stable diet of good North American horses and was 3rd in the Breeders' Cup mile. We do not know if Good Journey will fit well in North America as his good foals are from his crops in Australia. However, Unusual Heat also by Nureyev has been an exellent sire as soon as synthetic surfaces were a condition of major track racing in California. Good Journey stands at Magali Farms, near Santa Ynez, California for a reported stud fee of $7,500 but might be negotiable in today's racing climate. Good Journey has a great GSV score as his sire contributes 84.36 points and his dam contributes 78.43, which givess him a GSV of 81.39. Wow.According to my Predictive Sire program, Good Journey scores 18.2 Genetic points and 15.4 Racing Ability points, which gives him a GRA score of 33.61. This is a high score, but not high enough to ensure success without a good broodmare screening program

Bandini is a dark bay or brown colt by Fusaichi Pegasus out of a stakeplaced half sister to the good sire Stormy Atlantic foaled on May 3, 2002. His breeder was Marvin Little Jr., James Iselin & Ron McKee (KY). He is from the solid tail-female family of Flippers and Moccassin [Horse of the Year, Champion 2yo Filly], dam of Apalachee, etc. This is family #5 through the Goody Two-Shoes branch, which has been a supplier of many good stallions in the last 50 years. Bandini stands 16.0 h.h. at maturity. Bandini is inbred to Northern Dancer 4,3 through two of his best sons, Danzig and Dixieland Band. He also carries Native Dancer 4,5 through the usual source of Raise A Native and Natalma. He is an impressive looking individual and the word was out on him early that he would be a top-class colt. He was unplaced at age 2 in his only start. He broke his maiden by covering 7 furlongs in the good time of 1:22.47 at Gulfstream. He set a new track record, but that time was over a new course in that race. As a 3yo he won the Toyota Blue Grass-G1 defeating the likes of Sun King, High Limit etc., in a rather mediocre time of 1:50.16. As a 4yo, he blossomed by winning a mile in 1:34.19 at Gulfstream and then won the Grade 3 Skip Away in the good time of 1:49.11, also at Gulfstream Park. He retired to stud with 5 wins from only 9 starts and three seasons of racing while earning $676,380. He entered stud in 2007 at Walmac Farm, near Lexington, KY, for a stud fee of $17,500 and now stands at $8,500 because of the downturn in the industry. According to my GRASP program, he scores 19.64 Genetic poinits and 18.09 Racing Ability points, which gives him a total of 37.73 points. This is a very high score and predicts a solid chance for him at stud, if his race record is any indication of the 'good stuff' he has received from his pedigree. His 2009 GSV score is 76.48, which is very high and his GSV2 score is 81.24, which indicates that the mating was a great one for Fusaichi Pegasus. The male half of the pedigree is 73.89 and his extremely high female half of the pedigree is 79.08

Lion Heart is a chestnut colt by Tale Of The Cat and the 3rd foal of the stakeplaced Satin Sunrise by Mr. Leader foaled on January 18, 2001. He carries Hail To Reason ,35 entirely through his dam. Lion Heart is from the tail-female family of Insouciant [Pentaquod, La Reason, Logic, etc.]. Lion Heart made his first start a winning one when he covered 6 furlongs in 1:09.24 at Santa Anita on October 24th. He won his next start in the jack Daniel's Hollywood Prevue Stake in the blazing fast time of 1:20.63 at Hollywood Park. Five days before Christmas he made his last start at two in the Hollywood Futurity-G1, beating St. Averil at 8.5 furlongs in 1:42.80. He was second in the Kentucky Derby at 3, but in my opinion he did not train on well though he did win the Haskell-G1 in the fair time of 1:48.95 [note his explosiveness that he showed at two was gone] and the Long Branch-G3 in the mediocre [for him] time of 1:43.51. According to my Predictive Sire program, he scores 17.13 Genetic points and 20.87 Racing Ability points, which gives him a GRA score of 38.00. This is an extremely high score but not high enough to ensure success without a good broodmare screening program. He retired to stud with only ten starts, winning five races, 3 seconds [all stakes] while earning $1,390,800 and achieving a SSI of 47.66. He retired to stud at Ashford Stud, near Versailles, Kentucky for $30,000 live foal, payable September 1st of year bred and this has now dropped to $20,000 in 2009. His GSV score is 73.37, which is quite high. The male half GSV is 70.95 and the female half of the pedigree is 75.59 and I very much like it when both halves of the pedigree is over 70. Through August 2009, he has now sired 4 Graded winners and his AEI/CI ratio has risen to 1.41/1.48 with an AWD of 6.40 which is quite good for a young sire. His best foal [Soul Warrior] in 2009 won the West Virginia Derby-G2. Sold to Turkey on January 20, 2010

Dehere is a bay colt foaled in 1991 by Deputy Minister out of Sister Dot by Secretariat. His only multiple crosses come from Nearco 5,5 through his two best sons, Neartic and Nasrullah. He was lightly raced due to injuries sustained while racing. This is the same unsoundness affected his brother Defrere so I would make sure that only sound mares or mares that throw very sound foals be bred to him until it is known whether he is passing on the unsoundness which affected him and his brother. One thing for sure is that I expected him to send brilliance to his foals as a sire and as a broodmare sire. The question will be whether the mare's pedigree will be able to stand such brilliance. Dehere started 9 times, winning six races including the Champagne and Hopeful Stakes-both G1's at two and the Fountain of Youth Stakes-G2 at three. He was voted Champion 2YO colt. He earned $723,712. Sent off to stud, he is at Ashford Stud for a fee of $15,000 in 2009. In 2008, Dehere was bred to 97 mares. At stud, Dehere has been a great success even though he does throw alot of his soundness issues. As a sire, Dehere's AEI/CI ratio is a very positive 1.94/1.61 with 76% runners, 51% winners, 15% 2yo winners, and 6% SW's. Their AWD is 6.73 furlongs, which is sprint to middle distance in nature. His daughter's have produced a BAEI/BCI ratio of 1.76/1.60, which is very positive and putting Dehere in a select group as being a superior sire and a superior broodmare sire. The AWD of the foals from Dehere daughters is 6.92, which is a bit more stamina-oriented than he was as a sire. They also produce 63% runners, 43% winners, 13% 2yo winners and 5% SW's. Dehere's best foals as a sire are out of mares by Theatrical, Balmerino, Rubiano, Marscay [twice], Crafty Prospector [twice], Zabeel, Lord Durham, Mr. Prospector, Relaunch, Unreal Zeal, Native Charger, Gone West, Forty Niner, Bold Ruckus, etc. Dehere's best foals as a broodmare sire have been by the following sires: Distorted Humor [Forty Niner], Event of the Year, High Yield, Ide [Forty Niner], Monarchos, Old Topper, Pulpit, Real Quiet [Midnight Lute], Thunder Gulch, Valid Expectations, Yonaguska, etc. According to my Predictive Sire program in 2009, Dehere scores 16.78 Genetic points and 16.42 Racing Abilities points for a GRA score of 33.23, which is quite high. Dehere has earned 36 Stud Performance points, which gives Dehere a GRASP score of 69.26 and very high for a 1991 model stallion. Dehere has definite possibilities whether on top of a pedigree or through a daughter. Sold to Turkey on January 20, 2010...is it a coincidence that I highlighted them and then whoosh, they were sold to a smart bloodstock buyer.

City Zip is a chestnut colt by Carson City out of Baby Zip by Relaunch foaled in 1998. Baby Zip was a stakewinning daughter of Thirty Zip ($585,970 and winner of 8 stake races). Carson City is a positive influence for speed and is doing very well as a sire. City Zip started 11 times as a 2yo so soundness was sure not an issue. He won 5 races, of which four were stakes (Hopeful-G1, etc.). At three he started 12 times winning four, all stakes including The Amsterdam S-G2 and the Jersey Shore-G3. He retired to stud with 9 wins in 23 starts and earnings of $818,225 from the wins and 9 placings (8 stakes). He was retired to stand stud at Contemporary Stallions, near Coxsackie, NY for a stud fee of $7,500, but in November 2004 was moved to Lane's End, near Versailles, KY to stand for double the stud fee ($15,000). And this fee was holding for 2009 so you know he is doing well at stud, but has since dropped down to $12,500. Since some sons of Carson City have not been outstanding at stud, he must have been throwing some real lookers in addition to his pedigree otherwise this would be a foolish move on Lane's End part. The only duplicate breeding within a 5 generation pedigree was a double cross of Nasrullah through Carson City. I wrote the following in 2003, "I would be very surprised if his foals do not show a lot of quality speed. He entered stud in 2002. He was bred to 121 mares in 2002 so I would be very surprised if he is not well represented in the initial and final standings for his Freshman crop when it reaches racing age in 2005. His pedigree indicates speed and bodes well for being a successful speed influence at stud. City Zip was bred to 101 mares in 2003." He has lived up to that promise by being the leading Freshman sire by winners. City Zip gives scores 17.96 Genetic points and 15.72 Racing Ability points, which gives him a GRA score of 33.68. This score is high, but not high enough to ensure success without a well managed book of mares. Through April 2009, he has earned 27.99 Stud Performance points, which gives him a GRASP score of 61.68 and excellent for a young sire. His GSV score is 75.77, which is quite high and in the range of that usually found in the top successful sires. He is a half brother to Ghostzapper who has lots of potential to make a very good sire. Currently (April, 2009), he is siring 75% runners, 54% winners [very good for a young sire], 24% 2yo winners [precocious], and 6% SW's. His best foals have been out of mares by Prospectors Gamble, With Approval, Red Attack, Phone Trick, Meadowlake [twice at least], Midway Circle, etc. The AWD of his foals is 6.43 furlongs. His AEI/CI ratio is a very positive 1.82/1.41. He is a great bargain at his stud fee. I love betting City Zip's because they almost always show quality speed and determination and like winning.

Benchmark is a bay colt by Alydar out of Winter's Love by Danzig foaled in 1991. He stands 16.0 h.h. at maturity. He is from the female line of successful sire Caveat. I like the fact that almost every foal of the dam showed real ability on the track. Benchmark carries Nearco 5,5 through two sons and Bull Lea ,55 through Alydar only. Benchmark was unraced at two and only started once at 3. Six starts later at age six, Benchmark got very good, the year he won 3 Grade 2 events from a mile to a mile and 1/8. He retired after starting twice at age 7. He won a total of 7 races, earning $636,707. Previously, he was ranked in 18th place of the Freshman Sire list with earnings of $435,089.00 from from 47 2yo's, 23 runners, of which 12 have won up to March 6, 2003. He now has 12 SW's and 7 stakeplaced runners, of which 5 are Graded SW's. He can clearly hit a homerun. Given that he is a son of Alydar, I was very surprised that he has had this much success at stud. He has 50 foals from his third crop, which were 2yo's of 2004. He stands at River Edge Farm, near Buellton, California; phone 805-688-8205 for a fee of $4,000 but this might be negotiable in today's racing climate. He was bred to 90 mares in 2003 so we know his foals can be quite correct. His current [Oct 2009] AEI/CI ratio is 1.34/1.21 which is down from 1.66/1.19 at his best. He is siring 66% runners, 48% winners, 14% 2yo winners, and 5% SW's. According to my Predictive Sire program he scores 16.19 Genetic points and 12.73 Racing Ability points for a GRA score of 28.92. This is a nice score, but not high enough to ensure success without a well-screened book of mares. To date, he has earned 24.98 Stud Performance points, which gives him a GRASP score of 53.86 His 2005 GSV score was a very high 76.66, which is well within the range of most successful sires. His 2006 GSV score was 76.84 and now his GSV score has gone up to 78.33, of which 76.61 comes from the male half and 80.05 for the dam's side of the pedigree.

Lit de Justice is a gray colt by El Gran Senor out of the SW mare Kanmary by Kenmare foaledon January 12, 1990. He stands 16.0 h.h. at maturity. He is outbred through five full generations. He was one of my favorites on the racetrack. Despite his very successful racing career there weren't a lot of people that thought he would make a good stallion as he came from far off the pace in his races and breeder's don't especially like closers and really don't like deep closer like him. He was stakeplaced at two and three in France. After finally winning at 4 in France, he was sent to North America where he won to turf events in Southern California. At 5, he proved that despite his turf pedigree he was really good on dirt as he won two Grade 3 events. He won the Pat O'Brien at 7 furlongs in 1:20, equally the track record. He finished off the year by getting a 3rd place in the Breeders' Cup Sprint-G1, taking my $10-$10 with him. Fortunately, he gave that back and more when he won the Sprint the next year at age 6. He retired to stud with 10 wins from 36 starts over five years of racing. He earned $1,397,649. He is now standing at stud at Magli Farms, near Santa Ynez, California for a stud fee of $5,000, live foal, due Oct 1st of year bred. I think that is a very fair price both for his pedigree and race record and even better since he has proven that he can upgrade mares. I have watched many of his foals run and am happy with their performance, especially for a stallion standing in California. His AEI/CI ratio is a very solid 1.38/1.22 through October 2009. I love the fact that these numbers have been holding steady for a number of years now, which indicates his ratio is not due to one or two good horses but a slew of horses that more than pay their way on the track. He is siring 80% runners, 62% winners [very good], 19% 2yo winners and 5% SW's. His best foals are out of the following sires: Dynaformer, Nasty And Bold, Tri Jet, Bates Motel, Aggravatin', Hero's Honor, Nepal, Cure The Blues, Torrential, Vice Regent, Private Thoughts, Prized, Cox's Ridge. It is quite obvious that he goes well with mares from many different sire lines and distance orientation. According to my Predictive Sire program, he earns 17.72 Genetic points and 9.83 Racing points for a GRA score of 27.56, which is above average but not near high enough to ensure his success without the right type of mares. To date, he has earned 28.55, up from 24.70 Stud Performance points, which gives him a very nice GRASP score of 56.11. His 2005 GSV was 77.68 that dropped slightly to 77.13 in 2006. His GSV in 2009 now stands 80.54, of which 88.03 comes from his sire and 78.05 from his dam.

Unusual Heat is a dark bay or brown colt by Nureyev out of Rossard by Glacial foaled on January 1, 1990. Whenever I see an early January foal, I am very suspicious of whether this is a true 1990 birth. However, that said, it should not matter in my opinion for his stud record stands on its own. Unusual Heat was the 4th foal of his dam who has produced at least 12 other foals, but he is the best so far. Unusual Heat is from the tail-female family of Leger Day [family 22]. He carries Hyperion 55,5 through two daughters and a son, Pharos 5,5 through two sons, and Mahmoud 5,5 through two daughters. In Ireland, Unusual Heat won his only race at two, a maiden race of 6 furlongs at Leopardstown in the rather sluggish time of 1:15.08 on good turf. At 3 he won the Amethyst Stakes at the same track with a 1:44.60 mile. Unusual Heat matured nicely as a 4yo winning the Platinum Stakes in the fast time of 1:36.10 at Fairyhouse. He also won the 9 furlong Glencairn Stakes. He did not race at 5 and reappears on the racetrack as a 6yo at Hollywood Park in California. As many mature thoroughbreds do, Unusual Heat showed that he could run faster at age 6 than as a 4yo. He covered 8.5 furlongs for a $125,000 claiming tag on the firm turf in a sparkling 1:40.56. He retired to stud with 6 wins from 16 starts over 4 racing seasons and 2 seconds and 2 thirds. According to my Predictive Sire program in 2009, Unusual Heat scores 18.3 Genetic points and 17.6 Racing Ability points for a GRA score of 35.94, which is well above average but not high enough to ensure success without their book is very well screened. Through October 2009, his AE/CI ratio is a superb 2.13/1.06. He is siring 64% runners [very low], 44% winners, 6% 2yo winners and 5% SW's. He can get good foals from the right matings and I like the fact that his best two foals are out of the same mare and two other of his best foals are out of another mare. Clearly, once he has shown to go well with a mare, the chances are better than breed average he will go well again. Breeder's should be cautioned, though that usually if a stallion does not go with their mare the first time, they are just as likely to produce a dud on another try also. When Unusual Heat hits, he really hits, but he is not a sire to use if your mare is not throwing a high percentage of runners or has the potential to do so. This is double-edge knife that cuts both ways. To date his best foals are out of mares by Crested Wave, Valid Appeal, Dynaformer, Runaway Groom, Be A Native [2], Half A Year, Raise A Champion, Tank's Prospect, Flying Victor, Tiffany Ice [2], Majestic Shore and Flying Paster. It seems that he has a preference for mares carrying Raise A Native close up in their pedigrees. As a sire, Unusual Heat has earned 24.50 Stud Performance points, which gives him a GRASP score of 60.43 [very good]. His GSV score is 70.65, which is very high but in the lower range of the most successful of stallions. He stands at Old English Rancho, 461, North Piedra Road, Sanger, CA, 93657 for a stud fee of private [was $12,500], up from $6,000 in 2005.