Zenytta to Bernardini

[docjocoy]

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/ ... dium=email

[springboro]

so 'splain this one to me.... why not go to the sire AP Indy instead? Ok ok, i'll read the article!

[springboro]

k, read the article and here is what I conclude:

AP Indy is $150,000 AEI 3.06/3.52 AWD 8.27
Bernardini is $75,000 AEI 2.30/4.11 AWD 7.36

I would have thought they would really want to send her to the known established sire.

I do think that Bernardini is the more attractive one from the pics though.

[docjocoy]

so 'splain this one to me.... why not go to the sire AP Indy instead? Ok ok, i'll read the article!

I'm thinking fertility, perhaps they don't want to delay the pregnancy if AP Indy doesn't fire.

[Tbird]

Maybe they want something on the bottom side of Bernardini's pedigree? Just an uneducated guess.

[Tbird]

I meant to say that maybe they want something on Bernardini's bottom side in addition to the top AP Indie side.

[Gallop58]

I would have thought that the stud farm would be paying them, no?
Can't imagine them shelling out a nickel for a stud fee in year 1 or 2 and I had assumed there's a bidding war going the other way to attract her.
No basis in facts, but just what I had presumed must be going on in the background. Wrong headed thinking?

"Bernardini is out of grade I winner Cara Rafaela, by Quiet American , and stands at Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley near Lexington."

[clh]

Just my opinion but I don't really think no amount of bidding wars would sway the Moss's minds on any decision that they would make when it comes to Zenyatta. I think they made the decision based on what they thought was the best mating possible for their mare, period. (and I seriously doubt they cared whether they paid $75,000 or $150,000 for the stud fee )

[horse]

Eliminate the Stud Fees (they're proprietary), this discussion surrounds stallion's blood mixed with that of Zenyatta.

If this A.P. Indy line is preferential, should the up and coming stallion Congrats be considered?
Will he be a covering stallion for her in the future?

[erins isle]

I am sure that there will be an explanation in short time, since Zenyatta is hot news and the whole horseworld is watching.

[Betsy]

There are lots of reasons to love this selection. No one loves Indy more than I do, but he's aging and is coming off a mediocre year, as aging stallions are won't to do. Bernardini was a tremendous runner. He's a beautiful speciman and he's passing on speed and quality to his offspring. Clearly the family matches well. Zenyatta's breeder has a half to Zenyatta by Bernardini who is considered pretty special and Balance sired Mr. Besilu, the gorgeous AP Indy sales topper from last year. The Mosses put in lot of thought for this selection - their reasoning has already been explained ( I don't have a link, but you can probably find it on the Blood Horse or similar sites).

Bernardini is an extremely promisng sire who is very well thought of - so ini all respects this is a good choice, I think

[zinn21]

It would be interesting to know just what were all the factors employed in the decision. I wonder if biomechanics played any role..

[Gallop58]

http://www.paulickreport.com/news/ray-s ... irst-date/

Not that it's very illuminating.
Reading between the lines I would venture to say that thankfully pedigree crossword puzzles and doubling up of irrelevent ancestors likely was not the basis of a decision.

[Sysonby]

I thought their explanation made a lot of sense. Realistically there are only a very small handful of stallions they could have gone to which are in her league so to speak. Giant's Causeway is the only other one that checks all the boxes. A P Indy is old, purportedly not stopping his mares and the last thing you want with a maiden mare is a late foal or a missed season. I tend to agree that she was at Lanes End not due to him necessarily but because Darley doesn't board and security is tighter at LE than most farms. After all, this is where the Queen (of England) stayed when she came to the Derby a few years ago. I'm sure as open and generous as the Mosses have been that they are aware of Fanfreluche and Shergar. It also may be that LE welcomed the attention while other farms didn't want the extra stress.

[Shammy Davis]

On TrueNicks this B&Z mating is A++ with a variant=12.28. There are a couple G1SW on the same rated cross. Doesn't appear to be many foals on this cross.

With A P INDY it is a A++ with a variant =9.00

With A P INDY there is inbreeding through BR, HTR, Princequillo. With Bernardini it looks like only 4X5 inbreeding to Mr. P. Everything else, dosage, center of distribution, et al looks basically the same.