Paris Longchamp: Prix de L'Arc De Triomphe G1
Arguably the most prestigious and hardest Group One race in the world to win.
Where does the winner get his ability from, and how can we breed one like him?
Winner: Ace Impact
Today, we will challenge the common belief that many stallions dominate the mating process and upgrade the mare when producing offspring.
Instead, we reveal the true power of bloodlines the mare carries in shaping the outcome of the mating.
In this issue, we look at the results of the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe, the winner Ace Impact, unbeaten in all of his six starts.
Ace Impact is by the stallion Cracksman, and despite being a Group One winner himself, Cracksman has only produced one Group One winner from his 125 runners. Suggesting that he is certainly not the dominant force in the mating process.
And his dam Absolutely Me, although placed twice at Listed level, still failed to win a race, giving no indication of what was to come.
However, we discover something interesting when we delve into Ace Impacts pedigree.
His mother's genes carry the blood of the female family of the great Galileo, the renowned stallion whose bloodline is considered the best in the northern hemisphere.
As Cracksman is a grandson of Galileo, this suggests that Ace Impacts ability has not been passed on from either his sire or his dam but from the doubling up of the close-up blood of the female family of Galileo in each parent.
Backing up this belief, the third horse in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, Onesto, shares a similar pattern, he likewise being inbred to Galileo's female family.
It is worth noting here, from a line breeding point of view, a long-held belief that any duplication in a family tree should be 'sex balanced' or duplicated through a son in one parent and a daughter in the other was not a factor here.
So when duplicating ancestors 'sex balancing' is not required to breed a superior horse.
Both of the above pedigrees suggest that the female family is just as important as any individual in the tree.
The results of the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe have proven to be a game-changer for mare owners.
It has shown that the mare is having a significant influence on the outcome of any mating process. Rather than mare owners simply paying a service fee and hoping for the best, they can strategically choose the right mare to target specific bloodlines, in this case, the female family of Galileo, giving them a higher chance of breeding successful offspring.
Breeding from mares that carry the best blood, no matter which hemisphere we are in, is an important decision when planning thoroughbred matings.
Stallion Pedigree Patterns.
Alabama Express
It's always interesting when a first-season stallion's progeny hit the tracks, and in Newsletter 02, we highlighted a pattern in the pedigrees of Prowess and Sunshine in Paris, that being mares from the male line of Sir Tristram mixing with the blood of Encosta De lago.
First-season sire Alabama Express, like both Proisir and Invader is also out of an Encosta De Lago mare, and both of his two winners are out of mares from the male line of Sir Tristram.
It will be interesting to see if they can reach similar heights. Shangri La Express certainly showing above average ability.
Snitzel produces more Stakes horses out of mares from the male line of Storm Bird
The Group Two Caulfield Sprint on October 21 was won in a driving finish by $1,2 million purchase colt Doull, with 3rd place going to another son of Snitzel in Generation.
Both of these continue the pattern of Snitzel producing Stakes horses out of mares from the male line of Storm Bird, the sire of his second dam.
This pattern is still well worth considering if mating your mare with a son of Snitzel.
Mare Pedigree Patterns
Looking into the past.
As a young teenager (in much need of a decent haircut ), I remember witnessing the great Leliani trained by the master Bart Cummings at the Victoria Spring carnival.
She had recently won the Caulfield Cup and was the favourite to win the Melbourne Cup. However, it was not to be as she was beaten by stable mate Think Big.
Her pedigree has always fascinated me, and like the Arc winner Ace Impact, valuing the female family is important to take into consideration.
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Its only fitting as we have the running of the Wakeful Stakes at Flemington on Saturday that we have a look at the pedigree of the mighty mare.
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Recent Results
In the spring of 2020, here at Milan Park, we focused our attention on finding suitable mares for new stallion Super Seth. Looking for mares with similar bloodlines obviously high on the list.
Saturday at Riccarton Park saw the result of one of these mating's Diablo Blanco, co-bred with Little River Thoroughbreds, take out the two year old race in fine style.
Coming from behind the leaders, she was timed to run the last 600 in 31.06, ( seems pretty slick to me). We look forward to her next run.
Well-matched matings do help both the mare and the stallion, There is a lot can be done with the technology we use today.
If you need help in either department I can be contacted through this website.
I hope your mares are cycling well and getting in foal. It's an exciting time of the year with foals on the ground and plenty of Group One racing.
In the next newsletter we look at mares from the male line of Round Table and his sire Princequillo.
And we take a look at the stallion Justify and some of the big G1 races.
If you know someone who may enjoy this Newsletter, please help us and forward it on to them.
Hope you have a great weekend.
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