HAVE YOU EVER CAUGHT LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE?
Raise your hand if you ever wanted (even secretly) to be the proud owner of an A-ranked broodmare. Nobody's looking so be honest now. If not for the wonderful talent she displayed on the Sim racetracks, but for the incredible potential she may have in the breeding shed. As per the Sim Instructions, "Horses...will take on some of the characteristics of the parent. A well-bred (mare) that has performed well on the track is most likely to produce an offspring that will run well..." It's an elite club, that's for sure.
Majority of us have broodmare bands that consist exclusively of G- and H-ranked mares. Some people aren't too sure if these mares should be allowed to be bred to for various reasons (I'm not one of those). It would be ludicrous, in my opinion, to lose the "meat-and-potatoes" of the Sim broodmare population -- that would eliminate 75,000 mares from the 88,700 pool... 84.5%. An H-ranked mare never won a single race. A G-ranked mare never finished on the board in stakes company. To add on to the Sim Instructions stated above, "A well-bred (mare) that has not performed well is less likely to produce a successful runner." Understandble. However, our Mighty Sim Creator goes on to state, "The historic grade of the mare is not directly factored into the ability of the offspring. The grade is a reflection of the mare's on track performance and is useful as a searching tool, but may not reflect the mare's actual ability..." Good to know, but why is that? Well, our Sim Creator doesn't leave us hanging for long -- he finishes off the topic by explaining, "If a mare is retired before being given the opportunity to run in a graded stakes, for example, she may have been a better racehorse than this grade indicates. It is the mare's actual ability that is a factor in the ability of the offspring (not her apparent performance on the track)."
In my previous article, What's In A Broodmare?, I mentioned two millionaire fillies, Wild Cat Tales and Kiki's Moon Dancer, who were produced out of H-ranked broodmares. Let's continue with this long "meta-analysis" of the Sim broodmare band and explore what the G-ranked broodmares have in store for us.
G-RANKED
"It ain’t nothing but a G thang." (Thanks, Tupac.) J Okay, these mares have won at least one race, but have never been in the money in a stakes race among other qualification make or breakers. There are 35,225 mares in this category… just a shade less than the H classification. Many of these mares were ones that, at one point in time, filled us with hopes and dreams only to be a let-down.
Currently, in the retired mare pasture, there are 88,701 broodmares divided amongst the Sim-community. Just five months ago the pool was at 83,909. That's quite a growth rate! The collection of mares is divided into 8 hierarchal classifications that are dependent on how the racemare performed on the track. Here’s how the cookie crumbles…
APRIL '08 SEPTEMBER '08
A-ranked mares à 92 (0.11%) 101 (0.11%)
B-ranked mares à 406 (0.48%) 454 (0.51%)
C-ranked mares à 1119 (1.34%) 1256 (1.42%)
D-ranked mares à 1394 (1.66%) 1565 (1.76%)
E-ranked mares à 2968 (3.54%) 3327 (3.75%)
F-ranked mares à 6331 (7.55%) 6999 (7.89%)
G-ranked mares à 32955 (39.3%) 35225 (39.7%)
H-ranked mares à 38644 (46.1%) 39774 (44.8%)
TOTAL = 83,909 mares = 88,701 mares
I assessed 670 G-ranked broodmares. Of those, 72 were unbred. That brings us to 598 mares that have had any where from 1 to 7 foals. Of those, 128 (21.4%) mares have produced at least 1 foal that has been at least stakes placed. Sixty-two (10.4%) mares have produced a stakes winner. Most impressively, 23 (3.8%) mares have produced a graded winner.
To recap (for comparison) from the first article of this series, written five months ago, I had looked at 439 H-ranked mares and, at the time, 122 were unbred. That provided us with 317 mares that had had any where from 1 to 5 foals. Fifty-four (17%) of those mares had produced at least 1 foal that had been at least stakes placed. In addition, 27 (8.5%) mares had produced a stakes winner, and 3 (0.9%) had produced a graded winner.
Unfortunately, the pools of mares that I researched are not exact (I assessed about 250 more G-ranked mares than H-ranked mares), however, my main goal was to get a general idea of what is going on in each Rank Classification. Comparatively, though, the numbers are fairly similar with the exception of mares that have produced a graded winner.
A few of the sires of the unbred mares include the following:
- Dayjur (Horse of the Year, Champion 3yo-England, Champion Sprinter-England)
- St. Jovite (European Horse of the Year, Irish Champion 2yo Colt, Irish & French Champion 3yo Colt)
- Perfect Soul (Champion Turf Male)
- Rhythm (Champion 2yo Colt, Breeder's Cup Juvenile-G1 winner, Travers-G1 winner)
- Smoke Glacken (Champion Sprinter)
- Zabeel (Champion Australian Sire, Champion New Zealand Sire, Australian Guineas-G1 winner)
- Medaglia d’oro (Travers-G1 winner, Belmont Stk placed, Breeder's Cup Classic placed [twice], Dubai World Cup placed)
- Barathea (Breeder's Cup Mile-G1 winner, Irish 2000 Guineas-G1 winner)
- Swain (Coronation Cup-G1 winner, King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stk-G1 [twice] winner, Irish Champion Stk-G1 winner)
- Fusaichi Pegasus (Kentucky Derby-G1 winner)
- Pine Bluff (Preakness-G1 winner)
- Summing (Belmont Stakes-G1 winner)
- Came Home (Hopeful S.-G1 winner, Pacific Classic-G1 winner, Santa Anita Derby-G1 winner)
- Harlan’s Holiday (Florida Derby-G1 winner, Blue Grass S.-G1 winner, Donn Hcp-G1 winner, Dubai World Cup-G1 placed)
- High Yield (Hopeful S.-G1 winner, Blue Grass S.-G1 winner, Fountain of Youth S.-G1 winner)
- Indian Charlie (Santa Anita Derby-G1 winner, Kentucky Derby-G1 3rd [injured])
GRADE 1 PRODUCING
As I previously mentioned, twenty-three mares in this category have produced a graded winner. What do Arequipa (8yo by Miswaki), Undefeated Season (6yo by A.P. Indy), Winter's End (7yo by Galileo), Monstruo Real (6yo by Danzig), Miss Gracie (8yo by Shaadi), Sharon La (10yo by Torrential), Noble Princess (8yo by Kris S.), and Dusty Groom (12yo by Nureyev) all have in common? They are proud mamas of a Grade 1 winner. Of this bunch, Monstruo Real made the least trips to the track with 19 runs and placed the least amount of money in the bank with a total of $57,264. Noble Princess made a trip to the track 40 times, the most of any of the fillies listed in this group. She also earned the most money with a total of $148,123 stashed away.
Arequipa appears to be the most talented producer amongst these. The 8yo mare is sired by Miswaki and out of a Seeking The Gold mare. She has produced 5 offspring, thus far -- all but one have at least placed in a stakes race. The mare was sent to Medaglia D'oro her second year out to pasture. The pairing produced 5yo filly Espresso D'Italia, winner of the G1-Bumblebee Classic and $1.2 million. Arequipa's 4yo daughter, Aymarea, by Red Ransom, is a multiple-stakes winner who has placed on the board in G1 and G3 company. The newest addition to this mare's family is her 2yo colt, El Misti, by the most prestiguous sire in the sim, Storm Cat. El Misti has found his niche on the turf, winning 2 stakes and placing in a third stakes on the green stuff.
Undefeated Season is an impeccably bred 6yo mare by A.P. Indy and out of a Mr. Prospector mare. Thus far she has produced 2 foals. The eldest, 3yo Crezzino by Cacique, has set the bar for his future siblings. Crezzino has won the G1-Nationwide Stakes and $474,000 thus far. Undefeated Season's second foal is a budding 2yo who is already stakes placed. The mare is off to a great start in the breeding shed!
Seven-year-old Winter's End (Galileo/Nijinsky II) is another off to a great start as a broodmare. She has produced 2 foals: a 3yo and a 2yo. Her 3yo daughter, Pelennor Fields, is sired by Aragorn. Pelennor Fields won the prestigious G1-Adelaide Oaks this past spring. She has also bank-rolled $476,000. It looks like a bright future for both the filly and mare.
Next up is another young mare, Monstru Real. This daughter of Danzig out of an A.P. Indy mare was retired as a 4yo. She's now produced 3 offspring -- one is a graded winner while another is stakes placed. Monstruo Real's 3yo daughter, Gashouse Gang, by Smart Strike is the big-hitter in the family. Gashouse Gang is well on her way to becoming a millionaire after winning $620,000. Her key victory came in the G1-Birmingham Stakes.
Miss Gracie has a less fashionable pedigree being sired by Shaadi and out of a Compliance mare. The 8yo has produced 3 foals thus far. Her 3yo daughter, Notin To Cry About, sired by Nothing To Lose hit it big when she scored the G1-Fauster's Juvenile Cup as a 2yo. Her career earnings are $574,000.
Sharon La is another with an "unfashionable" pedigree. This 10yo is sired by Torrential and out of a Relaunch mare. She is the proud mama of 4 offspring. Only one has gone on to glory -- Especially. Especially is sired by Sadler's Wells. The colt is a multiple graded stakes winner with his biggest win coming in the G1-Kelso Cup. Especially has accrued $2.2 million.
Similar to Sharon La, Noble Princess is the dam of 4 foals with just one that has become a graded stakes winner. The mare is an 8yo sired by Kris S. and out of Vaguely Noble. During her second season in the breeding shed she was sent to Rainbow Quest. The match-up produced 4yo filly Urban Quest. The multiple graded winning filly has collected over $1 million. She hit the big time when she took the G1-Breeder's Bowl Juvenile Turf Filly as a 2yo and followed it up with another victory in the G3-Phenom Stakes.
Last of the G1 producing mares is Dusty Groom. The 12yo mare sired by Nureyev, out of a Blushing Groom mare, looks to be the founding mare of a legacy in the making. Dusty Groom has produced 6 foals to date -- one is a graded winner while a second is stakes placed. When she was sent to Danehill nobody expected to find a goldmine. The result was a colt named Daneye. Daneye went on to become a top handicapper, winning 18 of his 56 starts including the G1-Mospe Cup, G1-Penn Dash, two G2's, and four G3's. He accumulated over $3 million in his lifetime earnings. Now retired, the 9yo is the proud papi (...ahh... or is mama??) of a 6yo colt named Dubeye. Sired by Dubai Destination, the colt has followed in Daneye's footsteps by winning his G1 race and over $1 million. It will be interesting to see how this legacy continues to develop.
GRADE 2 PRODUCING:
- Ela's Storm (7yo, Black Minnaloushe/Ela-Mana-Mou) -- she has produced 2 foals, one of which is a 4yo colt by Gone West named Black West. Black West is a G2 winner & has earned $368,000.
- Dixie Dance Off (7yo, Danehill/Dixieland Band) -- she, too, has produced 2 foals. Her 4yo son by Singletary, Sumurai Mike, is a G2 winner of over $420,000.
- Squall’s Alleged (9yo, Summer Squall/Alleged) -- has produced 4 foals. Her 6yo colt, now retired, is by Seeking The Gold, named Seeking Stardome. Seeking Stardome earned $561,000 & a G2 victory.
- Forty Begone (7yo, Forty Niner/Belong To Me) -- produced 2 foals. Has a 3yo filly named Danetoyou by Dane Shadow. Danetoyou is off to a good start, earning nearly $300,000 and winning the G2-Pebbles Flintstone Stakes.
- Decibel’s Honor (10yo, Northern Spur/Caerleon) -- has produced 2 foals. Her 4yo filly named Zanpakutoh by Kingmambo is the winner of the G2-Larry Laffer Stakes.
- Bold Deputy (13yo, Deputy Minister/Bold Lad) -- she has produced 4 offspring. Dixieland Deputy is her 5yo daughter by Dixieland Band is her most successful foal. The mare has earned nearly $900,000 and collected a G2 victory as well as two G3's.
- Storm Queen (8yo, Kingmambo/Storm Bird) -- has produced 4 offspring. Battlefield Earth is her 5yo filly by Diesis. She won three G2's and nearly $800,000. Battlefield Earth is now retired. Storm Queen's newest addition to the family is 2yo Storm Spun by Hard Spun. Storm Spun is already stakes placed & looks promising.
GRADE 3 PRODUCING:
- Jennah’s Horsey (8yo, Storm Cat/Buckpasser) -- has produced 4 foals. The best of which is a 4yo colt named Kitty Heaven, sired by Southern Halo.
- Lady Jo Ann (14yo, Saint Ballado/Secretariat) -- has produced 5 offspring. One is a G3 winner, another is a stakes winner, and a third is stakes placed. Her 9yo son named Golden Toque by Seeking The Gold won the G3-Pea Patch Juvenile & G3-Television Stakes. He is now retired and the sire of a 5yo Dehere filly named Dehere's Gold. Dehere's Gold won the G3-Honey Dew Stakes.
- Yieldtotemptation (10yo, Sadler’s Wells/Gone West) -- producer of 5 foals. One is a graded winner while another is stakes placed. Her 4yo daughter by Grandera named Grand Temptation won the G3-Oaks de English.
- Sian Curad (9yo, Silver Hawk/Green Desert) -- producer of 3 offspring. Her best performer to date is the 6yo colt by Glitterman named Glitterhawk. Glitterhawk won the G3-Sprinklers Are Broke Again Stakes.
- Radar Love (7yo, Fusaichi Pegasus/Storm Cat) -- has produced 2 foals. Her first-born is a 4yo filly named Epic Duel by A.P. Indy. The filly won the G3-The Norfellow Stakes.
- Paint Me Blue (6yo, Mineshaft/Machiavellian) -- is off to a great start with her lone foal turning into a G3 winner. That 3yo colt, named Paint Me Silver, is sired by Badge Of Silver.
- Streets Of Heaven (7yo, Lil’s Lad/Lear Fan) -- has produced 2 foals. She hit the jackpot with her 4yo son by Mr. Greeley named R Loyal Man. R Loyal Man won the G3-The French Fried Special Stakes. She has a 3yo filly by Smarty Jones.
- Schott Glass (10yo, Unbridled/Storm Cat) -- has produced a G3 winner and stakes placed runner from 6 foals. Her 6yo filly by Zabeel is named Opcon Input. Opcon Input won the G3-Phenom Stakes & $541,000.
I’d also like to briefly mention:
- Ruby Doctor (13yo by Clever Trick) who has produced 3 stakes winners and 1 stakes placed runner out of 7 offspring.
- Their Wraiths (14yo by Forty Niner) who has produced 3 stakes winners from 5 offspring.
- Both Catbird Thunder (8yo by Point Given), Zia The Second (8yo by Seeking The Gold), and Turfstarke (10yo by Irish River) have produced 2 stakes winners from 4 offspring. One of Zia's stakes winning offspring is also graded placed.
- Chief Conqueror (8yo by Broad Brush) has produced 2 stakes winners and 1 stakes placed runner from 3 offspring.
- Tiger's Green Jacket (8yo by Miesque's Son) has produced 1 stakes winner and 1 stakes placed runner from 2 offspring.
- 9 mares have produced 1 stakes winner from 2 foals thus far: Renzokuken (Awesome Again), Irish Carbomb (Giant’s Causeway), Exbourne’s Skylight (War Chant), Altered Beast (Storm Cat), Ironfoot Treefolk (Spinning World), Freedom (King Of Kings), Diamond Dane (Danehill), Bravellian (Machiavellian), Siza (Peintre Celebre).
- 11 mares have produced a stakes winner from their lone foal to date: Seekingciti (Citidancer), Septembre Reign (Theatrical), Storm Mouse (Gone west, daughter of Storm Dog), Time To Bomb Saddam (Event Of The Year), Sooz Brew Slew Az (Milwaukee Brew), Vice President (Singspiel), Ralphie Boy (Palace Music), Hellborn (Green Desert), K’s Storm Ledwith (Storm Cat), Irish Maiden (Kingmambo), Vertical Limits (Woodman).
- Lastly, Kaye Too (6yo by Smart Strike) is the dam of one foal to date. That foal is both a stakes winner and graded placed.
I could keep going, but like I said earlier, there are 128 mares in this category that have produced at least 1 stakes placed foal. There could be a good handful of additional mares in this category that have produced a graded winner or multiple stakes winners or any other combination, but for my time convenience I had to draw a line at some point. J Stay tuned for Part-3.
** Keely **
kbsweet@hotmail.com
