Ask PN - September 2011

Thanks again PN.

 

Thanks for that pN. What Lanwades are saying is that Sir Percy's first crop of yearlings (now 2yos) made such an impression at last year's Sales that his 2011 book of mares will be up in quality on what he's covered so far. He seemed to cover about 70 in 2010 but a lot of them are owned by the Packenhams or Kirsten Rausing. It would be nice to have another Derby winner (after Galileo) who was a successful sire for the sake of the race but even better if he wasn't from the Northern Dancer line. (Likely that Sea the Stars will be successful but he's Northern Dancer of course).

 

Princess, is it possible to give us a quick rundown on leading sire lines around today, that are not heavily influenced by Northern Dancer? There must be a fair degree of discussion within the industry about how to broaden the pool.

 

PN, when do we start to get a good picture of who will be running in the Arc this year?


Does anyone know if Fame And Glory will be considered for a third crack at it?

 

As I'm not in work this week it would be hard for me to try and remember the ND-free bloodlines so I will look them up at some stage.

Again, as I'm not in work I'm not sure on the forfeit dates for the Arc but will try to find out. The likelihood is there will be a forfeit stage in the next week or so before we have to wait for the 5-day declarations.

 

Cyclonic,

pN can fill the gaps in but here is a rough go at sires outside of the Northern Dancer line

From the same Pharos - Nearco line to Nasrullah but not ND, the key flagbearer must be Dalakhani.

From the Nearco-Royal Charger line Dubawi is the new star, Dynaformer is important and Intikhab is making a bit of a name. Tagula the sire of Canford Cliffs is of this line.

From the Phalaris (sire of Pharos) but not the Pharos line - to Mr Prospector line is Street Cry, Zafonic, Zamindar, Elusive Quality, Medicean and Kings Best.

Non-Phalaris

Diktat is a member of a unique line going back to the least dominant of the original 3 sires.

Monsun comes from the old Bahram line and you can see why UK/Ire breeders are using him

There will be many others, but Northern Dancer (1st) then Phalaris (2nd and ND's great great grandsire) are dominant to a level probably not seen before. But as Tony Morris has said 'People tell me most great horses decend from Phalaris, only trouble is most bad ones do as well'.

 

Interesting comment. Hyperion was powerful but there was always the Phalaris line, there was always the Blandford lines, the St Simon line and the Tourbillon lines which until the last 20 years or so were all strong. They are all pygmies now except for the non-Northern Dancer Phalaris line.

To think that the Petition-Petingo-Troy line is so weak is incredible. Maybe if Troy had lived longer it would still be around.
The Tourbillon line was very important and maybe if Hethersett had had more than 3 seasons at stud it would have survived.
The most important Hyperion line sires appear to be German through Alpenkonig. As a lad you grew up thinking Aureole would be an influence forever.

 

Thanks Bustino. It's not gard to see why breeding can become a real nightmare. If memory serves I did a story on Hyperion, some time back. In his day he was concidered one of the greatest of all time, and much loved. In researching the piece, I came across quite a bit of information about how his line was left to all but die out. It seems that a lot of modern day thinkers believe that those of the past let slip by, a golden opportunity to build something special.

 

PN - What's the most desirable race that a horse can win for breeding purposes at the moment?

 

Yes Cyclonic, Hyperion appeared powerful in the 60s when I became interested. There were still Hyperion horses running!!!! Aureole seemed strong but it didn't carry on. TuderMelody also seemed strong and he sustained for a few more generations with Sing Sing and then Mummy's Pet. There are still a few sires around. I was wrong to say Alenkonig. It should be the equally difficult to spell Acetenengo who has been Hyperion's leading sire.

I also find it incredible that the Donatello- Crepello - Busted - Bustino line is so weak now.

As I say pN is so much better at this and she would bring us all up to date and fill in the gaps.

 

Hi Princess. Just looked at the entries for the 2012 Derby. A lot have their name prefixed with "00". Do you know what this means?

 

Hi Ron, it just means that the horse has not been named yet. The name that is shown is that of the dam, so the "00" indicates that it is a foal out of the mare named. Personally I think they should use the year of foaling to distinguish, so an unnamed entry for the 2012 Derby would be "09Mrs Bloggs".

 

Thanks Princess. That didn't even occur to me.

 

I was wondering what the rules were in order to get a racehorse training licence?

 

Ardent, these days there are several hoops that a perspective trainer has to jump through before being granted a training license. Before you can apply for a license you need to:

Complete the Level 3 Diploma in Racehorse Care
Attend the Trainers Course (three 1 week courses) at the British Racing School

You can then submit an application for a license, which has to be supported by:

A business plan
Confirmation of purchase/lease of a yard
Letter of support from potential owners
A provisional list of horses to be trained
References from previous employment
A financial statement confirming substantial working capital or overdraft

The BHA then carry out an inspection of the yard before inviting the applicant to attend an interview at the BHA offices in London where they must "demonstrate a thorough knowledge of racehorses and racing, along with the leadership and management skills required to run a successful business and an understanding of the Orders and Rules of Racing."

 

Thanks....not such simple process then appears very thorough. Good luck to them all its a tough business.