In the last couple of years we have been experimenting with crossing Indian Charlie over Storm Cat line mares. It’s not a cross that has been much tested yet, although Indian Charlie does have a listed stakes winner out of a mare by Hermitage (by Storm Cat’s sire, Storm Bird). However, we had a strong conviction that the cross had potential, particularly over mares that were by Storm Cat/Raise Native crosses, or that were themselves bred on the cross.  click here to read more….

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It is hard to imagine that it would be a nick that would inspire two-year-old precocity, and we note a little delicious irony to it also, but we are yet again commenting on the success of the young Darley stallion Exceed and Excel when mated to mares by Coolmore breed-shaper Sadler’s Wells following the success of Exceedingly French in the St Albans Stakes (L) at Moonee Valley in Australia on the weekend.

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Both Alan and I have recently posted that we felt that the young Taylor Made stallion Officer represented great value in 2009 as a “rebound stallion” after he had served his best books of mares, as far as quality was concerned, the last two seasons a stud.

No sonner had Alan made his post than his son Officer Rocket proved too good in the Holiday Cheer Stakes (L) at Turfway Park. Officer Rocket, a grade three winner at two who is now winning stakes races as a rising five-year-old, is out of a mare by the leading sire Gone West and Officer has shown particular liking for Gone West line mares. Indeed Officer Rocket aside he has the graded placed European two-year-old Art Princess out of a mare by Gone West’s son Mr Greeley, the talented Les Grands Trois out of a Gone West mare and Hawahiana, a grade two placed filly in Mexico out of a Mr Greeley mare. Interestingly, as a In Reality line stallion this Officer/Gone West nick found in Officer Rocket is the reverse of the Gone West/In Reality nick that has been seen to great effect in Classic winners Smarty Jones and Commendable.

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A couple of weeks ago, Byron had a look at some value for money U.S. stallions, and in another post last week, I promised that I would try and do the same. 

Although the majority of more expensive horses – whose fees have generally been cut the most drastically in outright dollars – look value compared to the last year or two (and will probably do so again when it comes time to sell the yearlings), I’ve limited this study to horses standing at $40,000 and below, this seeming to be a mark where an awful lot of breeders will be focusing this year. Most of the horses mentioned below have their most expensive crops yet to run, and will stand in 2009 at fees considerably lower than when those crops were conceived. The horses are taken in descending order of stud fee, and while these are sires that look particularly good plays this year, omission from the list shouldn’t be taken as implying that others don’t also represent good value.  click here to read more….

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We just love to see a pedigree upgraded by clever inbreeding and linebreeding, and the day after Christmas gave us a great example in the shape of the rapidly improving Australian horse, Just Look.

Trainer Lyn Tolson, and owners D. Sottile, R. Sottile, S. Kasam and P. Zucca, received a late Christmas present when Just Look came from last to first to take the Lord Stakes at Caulfield. As recently as early November – when he was second in a Class 2 Handicap at Mornington – Just Look didn’t look any better than useful. However, he’s improved hand-over-hand of late, and has now taken his last three. click here to read more….

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A little while ago this blog gave a call to Dehere as a broodmare sire. It’s now becoming apparent that he’s also a little bit of an under-the-radar sire of sires. He’s currently in the limelight in that role through his son, Soto (Dehere – Subtle Fragrance by Crafty Prospector). Advertised as standing at Walmac Farm, Lexington, Kentucky, at a fee of $5,000, Soto already has four first crop stakes winners. What is most impressive is that this four stakes winners hail from a crop of just 34 foals, much less than his contemporaries Birdstone, Medaglia d’Oro and Lion Heart who as of todays date also have four stakes winners in their first crop.

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