I was really into
Emma's post about her horse's baby daddy(s) so I'm turning it into an unofficial blog hop.
I didn't used to know jack shit about Thoroughbred bloodlines. I knew most race horse turned sport horse TBs had Mr. Prospector, Bold Ruler, or maybe Native Dancer. Because almost all Thoroughbreds have one (or all three) of those guys back somewhere.
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| This meant nothing to me. |
But when I started horse shopping I started to learn. I picked up which horses had bloodlines that held up and grew into nice adults even if they were awkward three or four year olds, who had nice conformations and were successful racehorses. And then there's Runkle, whose purchase solidified when I realized he was by my favorite stud.
Yes It's True
I've known two horses now sired by him and honestly, even the first horse totally sold me enough that it made Runkle's purchase even easier. Since then I've combed the internet for more of his babies, trying to figure out a way I could fit more horses into a one horse budget.
Two isn't a huge sample size but the two I've known have been trainable, workmanlike, sweet, and athletic horses. They're that magical unicorn with talent to keep anyone interested for life but easy going enough that an amateur won't die trying to retrain them.
Plus can we just talk about the fact that Runkle's a dead ringer for his father? Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
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| The tree |
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| The apple |
Runkle's 'half brother' (in quotes because it's only true in the human sense) belonged to my trainer. And while he wasn't the same color he had the same sweet face, amazing personality and work ethic.
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| The original, just grey and slightly longer in the back |
Unfortunately he passed away very unexpectedly, which is a real shame. I don't doubt that he'd be going intermediate by now if he hadn't. He could jump like you wouldn't believe and was such a nice, sweet guy who always gave 110%.
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| Exhibit A: Jumpies |
Also both of them get kind of ridiculous work anxiety. It's uncanny. You're a horse, what do you have to be anxious about?? Calm down and go eat some damn hay.
On the bottom line, Runkle's damsire is sire to a pretty famous racehorse. Maybe you've heard of her, her name's Zenyatta :P I feel like the dam side of the equation doesn't get looked at a whole lot. Probably because when a mare only has ten foals or so you can't gather a lot of data and make as many assumptions about their progeny.
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| If they were people she'd be his... great aunt? |
Now that I'm entrenched in the steeplechase world I'm learning more about popular 'chase bloodlines. I'm paying extra attention, because these horses are usually sturdier than the average flat horse, are brave as hell, and come out of the womb jumping. When I go to races and see a horse with brilliant jumping form and balanced gallop I file away their name to research later.
Similarly, when I see a horse I like that someone's competing or has just bought I look into who their bloodlines are because it'll increase the likelihood that I can find something similar. Sure at the end of the day, I need to like the horse in front of me. But you can't deny genetics. We're each a product of our parents and it's not something that can be ignored!
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| There's Runkle trying to be a hurdle horse! His jockey is wearing light blue |
I was going to be cute and ask a question like "oh tell me who your horses' parents are" but really... if you have a nice talented TB just comment with their race name so I can go stalk them and look for a twin to call my own.
I really don't know anything about bloodlines and breeding either, but you can stalk Roger's parents! His JC name is Widows Evil Eye (yes, I hate it too). His parents are Wigalia (sp?) and Merry Widow.
ReplyDeletegod its too bad racehorses have such dumb names after awhile, its so much easier to stalk when they keep their jockey club name :P
DeleteI really like his sire's conformation!
Jenn I have your horse's full brother :-) Fasque...another terrible TB name lol
DeleteRunkle looks so much more like his sire than charlie does lol! also that pic of him jumping the hurdles is everything. i love his steely look of determination!! and also, his look of, 'wtf are we done here yet?!?'
ReplyDeleteon a separate note, now i feel kinda foolish about not realizing sooner why the dam side is often less acknowledged, but duh. you're right - the mares obviously have way fewer offspring than the stallions, therefore less data.
anyway idk. i think there's something to say for being familiar with a certain line or sire or element of the pedigree. and i like your idea of finding out more about the horses you see going in either races or with other riders that you like. ideally i won't be falling back on the same excuse of 'well i don't really know much about it' every time i go horse shopping - it would be nice to actually figure out what sires and such produce the types of horses that i prefer
yup you're exactly right in your last line - just figure out what your preference is. its like realizing you like IPA's more than stouts and experimenting more with different IPAs
Deletesee, everything relates to beer :P
Henry is Hesalmostsweet. He's Arkansas bred, and therefore his first couple of generations are a lot harder to find in depth info about than horses from more mainstream programs. He was not exactly a blueblood... his sire's stud fee was $1000. ;) It took me a long time to track down pictures of his sire Skeet, but basically if you go look at pictures of Dove Hunt and Danzig on pedigreequery - Skeet is exactly like them but chestnut. And they are all almost dead ringers for Henry. The Danzig phenotype came through very strongly with him.
ReplyDeleteShould add - Skeet's stud fee was 1k when Henry was born. Then it was $500. Now he's fallen completely off the map. Eesh.
DeleteI'm a fan of Danzig in lines, for sure.
DeleteAnd see that's the kind of stuff I like, because I don't know much about arkansas bloodlines or see them pop up often but Henry is an adorable jumper with a love for XC.
Ehhh... Arkansas is not exactly a hotbed for great racehorses lol. Which is probably why Skeet never really produced a good racehorse. Henry sucks at running LOL. As his breeder said when I called her, and I quote, "The only thing that horse ever ran to was the feed bucket!".
DeleteI actually paid for a DNA test hoping to be able to get some information about Stinker. But nope he is truly a backyard unregistered horse.
ReplyDeleteI know a fair amount about classic quarter horse breeding but next to nothing about TBs. I hope more people do posts like this because it's fun!
i didnt know they did DNA tests for horses!! Did it come to any conclusions or just total mutt?
DeleteI love racing stock QH but I know nothing about them (or any other kind for that matter) although I wish I did. And I hope so as well, just because there's soooo much to know and i know such a tiny fraction.
I didn't do a breed test because I'm confident that he is saddlebred. I did a test with the American Saddlebred Association to see if he had been registered. But they suck and only look for exact matches. They won't check for parental matches. I was quite bummed.
DeleteWilliam's JC name is Hes The Fashion (cleverly named after his dam, Shes The Fashion....) All I've been able to find out about his sire, Billy Allen, is he's Irish bred and was imported to Manitoba. And they likely never recouped the import costs with only 6 offspring at a stud fee of $500.
ReplyDeleteWhen I bought Tango, he was NOT hugely ammy friendly, but he's developed into a cross country machine with a hell of a jump in him. He's Pass The Glow by Here Comes Big C - neither were very impressive racers. I'd be curious what happened to his sire when he came off the track....
ReplyDeleteAnyways! Good thoughts here.
oh research!!!! i tried looking up my TB's pedigree and well sucked at it. Her name is Cool Marlene by Finn McCool out of Mean Marlene. The only thing i really found in my googling is Finn is now living in SD herding cows :D So guessing his career as a racing stallion fell a little flat! hahahaha!!!!
ReplyDeleteum but thats REALLY cool that he works cows!! way cooler than racing
DeleteThere are links to pedigrees of these Rolex horses here: http://eventingnation.com/pedigree-analysis-of-rolex-thoroughbreds/
ReplyDeleteooo i was wondering where that was!! I knew they had done a study on it somewhere.
DeleteMy OTTB is kind of jerk and spends more time limping than learning how to be a hunter horse.... But he's pretty! His name was and still is Ancient Rome. His sire was Roman Ruler who is by Fusaichi Pegasus. His dam is Wish It Were. She's by Is It True.
ReplyDeleteRomey was fairly successful on the track. I think he knows it too and is definitely insulted at my attempts to "train" him.
I love stalking pedigrees. :D
ReplyDeleteLots of nice horses in Runkle's. He has one of my favorite horses on his topside - Shenanigans, dam of Ruffian. I know it doesn't really mean much when it's so many steps back, but I was thrilled to find out my guy goes back to Man O'War.