Of all the subjects covered on this website: racing, betting, politics, veterinary, history, I have no doubt that the most complex is ‘breeding’.
2021 open race sires in order of average winning distance of their progeny
The reasons are many but two of the most evident are:
- There is virtually no rule that doesn’t have (many) exceptions
- The evidence will inevitably be incredibly subjective
For example, to answer the comparatively straightforward question: do sprinters or staying bitches make the best broods?
It would be easy to produce examples to favour either type. But then just as easy to find examples that defy the theory. Is a rule with so many exceptions even a rule? But then. . . .
Which was the best litter, the six who made minor open class or the litter with two Cat One finalists?
Would X have been better than Y with a different sire/rearer?
How was the litter affected by illness or injuries?
How do you compare a litter of four with a litter of nine?
Despite this, the same questions that I tried to tackle in In The Blood nearly 30 years ago, are still being asked.
So with the rider that the following views are entirely my own and formed and refined over a long period of time, here is an attempt to answer a few of those questions.
Does breeding really matter?
This is not such a stupid question. I was reminded of it when asking Mark Wallis about a particular new intake. The multi times champion trainer confessed that he had no idea of the dog’s breeding, his only interest was whether or not he could run.
An analogy might be, I don’t care what went into the cake providing it tastes good.
In the first instance, we are dealing with timing. When that pup was born, the only way to judge its potential would have been on its breeding (and prospect of being well reared).
Once he hit the track, that background became null and void (possibly!).
So if track ability is the ultimate barometer, why bother with breeding?
You could have asked the same question of Rab McNair is February 2017.
Skate On’s first litter by Tullymurry Act were 16 months old and King Elvis, Queen Anna, Queen Adele were just starting out.
Would you swap some of those Eden The Kid pups for some out of an unproven Romford A4 grader?
Or a further 15 months on, after that second litter – Kings Sheeran, Lennon, Dylan and sister Queen Beyonce – had hit the track. How easy would it be to buy a 12 week old Queen Jessiej, King Bruno, King Drake, King Sam etc. Not very!
You could try asking Liam Dowling if he has any cheap Ballymac Razl pups that he wants to move on. Give Big Kev a call. Any chance of a couple of pups out of Forest Natalee?
So once they reach the track, breeding becomes null and void? (To quote an earlier statement)
Well that is not entirely true either.
Breeding usually has a significant effect in running style. If you are looking for a dog to run 400 metres at Romford, you might want to look more to the Laughil Blakes and Ballymac Bests, than the Vulturis.
But if you are checking out younger dogs with staying potential, Vulturi and Ballymac Eske progeny might be worth some extra scrutiny.
Similarly, if Pat Dalton is selling on a litter out of Volcano, don’t buy them with the Golden Sprint in mind.
On a more practical level, a knowledge of breeding is often beneficial when buying dogs out of unraced stakes.
It is all very well seeing a pup win by 12 lengths in a field where five of the opposition are destined for low grades.
But will the winner be able to compete for early pace in with dogs of his own ability? Along with a video, his breeding might offer a clue.
Finally – while track ability is the ‘be all and end all’ for males, a bitch’s breeding is relevant later in life.
Even Category One wins will not ensure a stud value for males, but good open class form combined with the right bloodlines might just ensure that a well bred bitch has value at the end of her racing career.
So when don’t bloodlines matter?
In my view, many people become too obsessed with bloodlines at too deep a level.
‘I’m going to breed with this bitch because she has a 3 x 4 cross of (some dog), with (some bitch) twice in the dam line.’
Madness!
You don’t need a huge knowledge of bloodlines to understand that you can produce a worthy pedigree for the dog finishing last in a D4 at Harlow or off 15m in a sprint handicap at Sunderland.
Yes it is quite possible that that grand dam’s litter sister won a Champion Bitch Stake at Thurles. But as a dam she was a failure. The moderate sister didn’t throw anything. There is nothing in the family to suggest any permanent level of class.
And I can guarantee that there will be dozens of bitches – and their litter sisters – who will also have the same 3 x 4 cross – and between them they have thrown the square root of bugger all.
So where do I start if I want to breed?
In my view, I wouldn’t consider breeding with any bitch that wasn’t at least decent open class. We are talking one that could win a Cat Two comp and compete in Cat One company.
History shows us that the great dams don’t all need to be Oaks winners (let’s face it some of the fastest bitches never win an Oaks), but they are much more likely to succeed if they possess a significant level of ability.
Yes – there have been some exceptional broods who were no better than high grade (or even low grade). But the reality is, there are enough top class bitches ‘going to waste’ who are more worthy of a breeding trial.
Sadly, traditionally, it has often been the flapping men and permit trainers who have produced the bulk of British bred litters. Lots of dams who ran top heat at Spennymore or A2 at Peterborough.
Many of the top Irish broods raced in England but had owners with no interest or facilities to breed with them and were packed off to Ireland for a ‘pup deal’.
And the stud dog?
In my view, the vast majority of stud dogs are ‘much of a muchness’. On a scale of 1-10, the majority are between 6-8.
In fact, since In The Blood, which was written in 1992, the pack has become tighter than it once was, when you could argue for quite a few ‘4s’ and ‘5s’.
The reason for the shift was the increase in imported bloodlines. Frightful Flash, Top Honcho, Smooth Rumble and the rest hadn’t arrived from Australia, to be followed by the American invasion of Hondo Black, Kinloch Brae.
In my mind, the imports have bought a level of honesty to British/Irish bloodlines that was sometimes missing.
Remember – this isn’t necessarily about the ability to run fast – it is to run fast combined with a strong chase instinct leading to determination and consistency.
The ‘4s’ and ‘5s’ were dogs who could throw pace, but their progeny often didn’t chase or needed to have things go all their own way. I judge ‘chicken hearted’ more harshly than hot tempered. (There have been some very successful broods who have had their cards marked for fighting).
Since there is a general acceptance that the brood is more important than the sire – choosing the absolute perfect sire is not vital.
Besides, although there is evidence that some ‘crosses’ appear to work well with particular lines, I think the concept is over rated.
The top dogs are the top dogs because they cross with the greatest number of bitches.
In terms of the ‘scoring’, ‘10s’ are only awarded to stud dog in hindsight if they’ve had a long term impact on generations of breeding. There are roughly one a decade. Top Honcho was a ‘10’, Sand Man was a ‘10’, Monalee Champion was a ‘10’.
Among the ‘9s’ would be Slaneyside Hare, Whisper Wishes, Westmead Hawk and I’m Slippy.
At any one time, there are few proven ‘9s’ at stud. Currently, the only one who I would assess as a definite ‘9’ is Droopys Sydney.
There are probably at least a dozen ‘8s’ with ‘9’ aspirations – in my view.
On that basis – not everyone can secure a mating with a ‘9’ – though that shouldn’t be a significant factor in choosing the sire.
Finally – you cannot judge a stud dog simply on his position on a stud dog table. Some dogs on the table will have many many more litters on the ground, than others.
It is worth doing some homework!
Next time we will cover a series of other topics including repeat matings, outcrosses, and that question about sprinty or staying broods!
