Well we have an exceptional crop of three year old colts.  Both sprinting and middle distance.  Will a colt step up and prove a major staying three year old?

Profondo has won a G1 over 2000m at only his third start.  A drop deed gorgeous colt with amazing ability as yet untapped he could be the later middle distance runner from this crop.  But we have the VRC Derby coming up and it doesn’t look like Anamoe or Artorius will go that way.  My thoughts say both could get the trip on class alone.

But what a dept we owe to Danehill.  Look at the above pedigrees

Anamoe – Street Boss (Mr Prospector line) from a Redoute’s Choice (Danehill line) mare

Profondo – Deep Impact (Sunday Silence sire son) from a Redoute’s Choice (Danehill line) mare

Paulele – Dawn Approach (Sadler’s Wells line) from a Flying Spur (Danehill line) mare

Captivant – Capitalist (Written Tycoon sire son) from a Commands (danehill line) mare

Artorius – Flying Artie (Sadler’s wells line) from a Redoute’s Choice (Danehill line) mare

In the Congo – Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice sire son from Danehill line) from a Var (Storm Cat line) mare

Home Affairs – I am Invincble (Green Desert line) from a Flying Spur (Danehill line) mare

I could of added colts like Tiger of Malay (Danehill line), Coastwatch (Danehill line), Bruckner (Danehill line), Remarque (Danehill line), Royalzel (Danehill line), Hilal (Danehill line), Mr Mozart (Danehill line), Ranch Hand (Danehill line), Military Expert (Danehill line) or yesterdays SA stakeswinner Cerberus (also out of a Danehill line mare)

There are of course a few not with that immediate Danehill cross.  Lightsaber has shown very good speed and he’s from the Encosta line out of a a Dream Ahead (Warning line) mare.  But let’s face it he inbred 4m x 4f to Danehill.

Asterns best son Brigantine is inbred to Sadler’s Wells as is his stablemate Alegron.  Both also carry an inbreeding to Danehill’s sire Danzig so the while Alegron’s sire Teofilo is out of a Danehill mare.

We are so used to the sireline being on top and with the start to the season Snitzel has made he will be hard to beat - Everest or no Everest - but there is no denying that the cream of the crop have the line in their pedigree.

Similar statistics are there with every colt above having one or two or more Golden Slipper winners in their pedigrees -

Anamoe – Canny Lad

Profondo – Canny Lad

Paulele – Flying Spur

Captivant – Capitalist, Luskin Star, Marscay, Vain

Artorius – Canny Lad

In the Congo – Canny Lad

Home Affairs – Canny Lad, Flying Spur

While yesterday they were praising the efforts of Stallions who have won the Caulfield Guineas so their representative in the above are –

Anamoe – Redoute’s Choice

Profondo – Redoute’s Choice

Paulele – nil

Captivant – Luskin Star, Vain

Artorius – Redoute’s Choice

In the Congo – Redoute’s Choice

Home Affairs – nil

And if a temperature hadn’t stopped him in his tracks the mighty Redoute’s would of won the Golden Slipper also.

I love to look into pedigrees and see just what is in there of interest.  Of course there are pedigrees I don’t know much about and if you’d asked me I don’t think I would of thought Extreme Choice would of done as much as he had at stud.  Yes a great little racehorse but very fleetingly on the scene.

Now I love his little sire with his ability to throw some very pretty horses with their flaxen manes and tails.  But he was far more than that siring many horses that had far greater racing careers than he did.  Although I always loved Redoute’s Choice and Not a Single Doubt was from his first crop and his first stakes winner.  With the record in the past few seasons of his sons and daughters no doubt Not a Single Doubt’s blood will be around for many years to come.

A grandson of Easy Date he is the ideal cross for mares carrying Snippets or Lunchtime (sire of Snippets and already sitting there through Canny Lad).  Champagne Cuddles probably comes to mind easiest with her 3f x 3m cross to Easy Date.  But the tiny Miracles of Life was 3f x 4m to Snippets.  While Lunchtime figures in another favourite Single Gaze. 

But I knew next to nothing about Extremely’s family so decided to take a look.

Hussonet has already proven himself in Australia.   The imported Going to Extremes won at G3 level on the turf and had five Australian foals who were named and a further two USA named foals and one Japanese bred named foal.  Nothing in her produce suggests we would see Extreme Choice appear from one of her daughters.  The best was a Host breed gelding who one 6 races and $88K.  Extremely didn’t help her record as she was unraced.

Didn’t know much about Nasty and Bold the sire of Going to Extremes.  But he at least was a G1 winner out over 1 ½ miles while his best appears to be G1 winner Miss Josh who also made her way to Australia and performed worst than Going to Extremes.  But interestingly her Australian bred daughter Highland Lights has produced a G2 winner Our Abbadean in New Zealand.  While another daughter has a bred a WA Listed winner.  So maybe it takes a generation for the USA dirt to get out of the system?

The next dam Old Bow Wower had 12 wins and some minor black type places and is by the Princequillo line sire Old Bob Bowers.  Old Bob Bowers claim to fame was siring the John Henry a tough and guts gelding with 39 wins to his name including 11 G1’s.  He is inbred to Bull Dog and Blue Larkspur (so nice to see a goodly some of Carbine, Trenton and Darebin in his pedigree).

We are starting to get back and still no sign of where Extreme Choice came from.  The next dam is Sweet Endeavour – unplaced.  A daughter of the Argentinian bred Endeavour from the Colombo sireline.  His dam is by Selene’s son Hunter’s Moon.  I guess you could say a good outcross for Australia with that touch of Selene’s blood.

We are back to Extreme Choices 5^th dam Sweet Talk with 6 wins and minor stakes placing.  A daughter of Alibhai a son of Hyperion.  Are we are getting back to more familiar bloodlines.

Are back to the 6^th dam Good Thing and I think we hit paydirt.  She was the dam of a Hall of Famer in Bed O’ Roses with 18 wins including plenty of G1’s and Champion Two year old Filly, Champion Handicap Mare etc.  Good Think herself won 7 races and stakes placed.  She was  by Discovery from the Fair Play sireline.  Discovery decends from the Darebin (AUS) mare Kildeer and was the 1935 Horse of the Year, Hall of Famer and called the Iron Horse.  His daughters produced Native Dancer and Bold Ruler so plenty of Discovery blood still around.

And now it just keeps coming.  The next dam Little Sleeper was a full sister to twice Horse of the Year in the USA Challedon.  They were by Challenger (Swynford line sire) Yes that is blood we have in plenty.  While their dam was by Sir Gallahad a son of great mare Plucky Liege a granddaughter of Carbine.

I won’t go any further.  But do you know my favourite find in Extreme Choices pedigree is a little needy called Knight Errant.  A son of the great Trenton (who I didn’t know about) Knight Errants claim to fame was jumping a fence and siring Roamer from a blind English mare.  Roamer raced as a gelding due to the fear he would turn out like his sire but went on to win 39 races being both Champion 3yo and Horse of the Year.  And also is a Hall of Famer.

The funny this is Lady Errant his daughter and 10^th dam of Extreme Choice definitely threw to the stamina of Trenton.  She won a stakes event over 2 ¼ miles.  Good old Trenton knew how to sire a stayer.

So like many of our Australian speed demons of today.  Extreme Choice goes back to some pretty decent middle to long distance performers.  Some of whom have plenty of Australian and New Zealand blood in them.

Two Year Old Pool – The Shallow End?

The running of the $1million ATC Golden Gift last weekend and the announcement of an increase in prizemoney for the Group I ATC Golden Slipper to $5million in 2022 got us thinking about two year-old racing and how small a percentage of the horse population is actually capable of contesting these races.

The table below shows the number of commercially bred yearlings that were offered at dedicated yearling sales each year (no online), and how many of them had raced up to the weekend after the Cup, Dec 31 and Feb 28.
 

Year	Yearlings	To Wk2 Nov	To Dec 31	To Feb 28	To Jul 30
2021	6600	153 (2.3%)
2020	6725	163 (2.4)	339 (5.0%)	685 (10.2%)	1781 (26.5%)
2019	6881	114 (1.7)	319 (4.6)	635 (9.2)	1794 (26.1)
2018	6769	118 (1.7)	323 (4.8)	629 (9.3)	1793 (26.5)
2017	6532	158 (2.4)	365 (5.6)	654 (10.0)	1693 (25.9)
2016	6636	172 (2.6)	396 (6.0)	684 (10.3)	1681 (25.3)
2015	6704	178 (2.7)	400 (6.0)	710 (10.6)	1734 (25.9)
2014	6801	132 (1.9)	360 (5.3)	653 (9.6)	1657 (24.4)
2013	6699	159 (2.4)	359 (5.4)	631 (9.4)	1592 (23.8)
2012	6927	158 (2.3)	383 (5.5)	704 (10.2)	1749 (25.2)

The figures in the table above show that by the time the Magic Millions 2YO Classic is run and the field for the Golden Slipper is assembled we have seen only 10% of the yearlings offered for sale on the racetrack.

And by the end of the season we’ve seen about a quarter of them with the vast majority still awaiting maturity to show their potential.

By the end of their three year-old season the tide has turned and the vast majority of horses have shown their hand with up to 85% of them having raced.
 

Year	Yearlings	To Jul 30 (2YO)	To Next July 30 (3YO)
2021	6600
2020	6725	1781 (26.5%)
2019	6881	1794 (26.1)	5893 (85.6%)
2018	6769	1793 (26.5)	5751 (85.0)
2017	6532	1693 (25.9)	5527 (84.6)
2016	6636	1681 (25.3)	5396 (81.3)
2015	6704	1734 (25.9)	5474 (81.7)
2014	6801	1657 (24.4)	5353 (78.7)
2013	6699	1592 (23.8)	5206 (77.7)
2012	6927	1749 (25.2)	5546 (80.0)

This explains why certain stallions that consistently produce early maturing stock find favour in the marketplace as breeders and yearling buyers try to shorten their odds of jagging that rare creature – the natural two year-old runner.

Capitalist won the Breeders Plate, Magic Millions 2YO Classic and Golden Slipper - great example of a natural 2YO talent and now a leading sire.

They are out there… we’ve all seen them and they invariably stand out from the crowd as soon as they are broken in.

They are the horses that adapt well to change, thrive on work and have the size, strength and toughness to withstand early training.

They are physically and mentally mature beyond their actual age and while their peers invariably catch up to them and frequently run straight past them at three, they have the unique opportunity to run for huge prizemoney against a very small pool of adversaries.

Horses contesting races such as The Everest, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup might be able to return year after year for a crack at the same prize, but they also have to face the very best opposition, often sourced from all over the world, making these races much harder to win.

There is a justified place for two year-old racing and two year-old sires in our vibrant and successful Australian breeding and racing industry, but let’s not ever lose sight of the fact that it is a small, but integral part of a far bigger picture.
 
The introduction of a race like the soon to be $8million ATC Golden Eagle (1500m) for four year-olds is a ground breaking race where we can actually expect to see the very best horses from a generation, barring those that have already been packed off to stud following Group I success at either two or three.

Below is a table of the top Southern Hemisphere bred money earners in Australia this season and the month in which they made their debut.

 

Horse	Sire	MoneyWon	Debut	Foaling	Debut Age
Nature Strip	Nicconi	8129100	2017-10-10	2014	Oct 3yo
Verry Elleegant	Zed	5699000	2018-07-07	2015	Jul 2yo
Incentivise	Shamus Award	5454200	2020-08-19	2016	Aug 4yo
I'm Thunderstruck	Shocking	4792750	2021-01-13	2017	Jan 3yo
Masked Crusader	Toronado (IRE)	2732000	2019-11-28	2016	Nov 3yo
Eduardo	Host (Chi)	2270000	2018-06-18	2013	Jun 4yo
Anamoe	Street Boss (USA)	2264850	2020-10-10	2018	Oct 2yo
Superstorm	Sebring	1737100	2019-08-31	2016	Aug 3yo
Think It Over	So You Think	1690250	2018-12-08	2015	Dec 3yo
Count De Rupee	Real Impact (Jpn)	1610750	2020-08-06	2017	Aug 3yo
Home Affairs	I Am Invincible	1444100	2021-01-30	2018	Jan 2yo
Icebath	Sacred Falls	1407250	2019-02-16	2016	Feb 2yo
Hitotsu	Maurice (Jpn)	1268750	2021-02-06	2018	Feb 2yo
Nonconformist	Rebel Raider	1229250	2019-11-28	2016	Nov 3yo
Lost And Running	Per Incanto (USA)	1217250	2020-05-15	2016	May 3yo

Below is a table of the top Southern Hemisphere bred money earners in Australia last season and the month in which they made their debut.
 

Horse	Sire	MoneyWon	Debut	Foaling	Debut Age
Classique Legend	Not A Single Doubt	7132000	2019-02-20	2015	Feb 3yo
Verry Elleegant	Zed	5462050	2018-07-07	2015	Jul 2yo
Colette	Hallowed Crown	4457575	2019-12-08	2016	Dec 3yo
Bivouac	Exceed And Excel	3452600	2018-10-20	2016	Oct 2yo
Nature Strip	Nicconi	2882650	2017-10-10	2014	Oct 3yo
Icebath	Sacred Falls	2242600	2019-02-16	2016	Feb 2yo
Eduardo	Host (Chi)	2242350	2018-06-18	2013	Jun 4yo
Stay Inside	Extreme Choice	2237350	2021-01-23	2018	Jan 2yo
Arcadia Queen	Pierro	2206250	2018-09-19	2015	Sep 3yo
Gytrash	Lope De Vega (IRE)	2005225	2018-02-17	2015	Feb 2yo
Ole Kirk	Written Tycoon	1989050	2020-02-15	2017	Feb 2yo
Tofane	Ocean Park	1800750	2019-03-19	2015	Mar 3yo
Explosive Jack	Jakkalberry (IRE)	1789730	2020-11-25	2017	Nov 3yo
Anamoe	Street Boss (USA)	1737075	2020-10-10	2018	Oct 2yo