Alto Sky

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Shawklit Won
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Alto Sky

Postby Shawklit Won » Thu Feb 13, 2014 1:47 pm

A colt named Alto Sky (Sky Mesa-Receipt by Dynaformer) made his debut in a MSW at Gulfstream Park yesterday. He finished 5th, a little less than 7 lengths behind the winner. Not so good, but maybe not so bad.

I think that in a first race, horses don't always really know what they are doing there. Anyway, Alto Sky started off very slowly, and was 14 lengths behind at one point. So, he made up over 7 lengths on the winner, even though the final time was a pretty fast 1:03:31 for 5 1/2 furlongs.

His pedigree seems like it might be pretty good, as he is inbred to Storm Cat 3x3, and Mr. Prospector 4x4. That seems like it might be a good thing, unless you are not a fan of any inbreeding.

So, what do people here think of Alto Sky's chances of becoming a good racehorse?
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Postby Cree » Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:07 pm

Define "good" racehorse. :wink:

I think he has a beautiful pedigree, and would love to see him on the grass.

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Postby Shawklit Won » Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:22 pm

I probably should have said a stakes winner. Of course, any horse that makes it to the race track is pretty good.

Maybe his handlers will try him on grass sometime. I like his pedigree too.
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Postby TJ » Thu Feb 13, 2014 4:31 pm

Nice horse and he's in the right hands to develop into a stakes winner. You mentioned he's inbred to Storm Cat. Storm Cat's trainer was Jonathan Sheppard....and so is Alto Sky's:>) No doubt that was a learning experience for him, expect a much improved performance in his next start. TJ

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Postby Shawklit Won » Thu Feb 13, 2014 6:11 pm

I hope that he just stays healthy. If he does, then the rest should just take care of itself.
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Postby Shawklit Won » Thu Feb 13, 2014 8:43 pm

TJ wrote:Nice horse and he's in the right hands to develop into a stakes winner. You mentioned he's inbred to Storm Cat. Storm Cat's trainer was Jonathan Sheppard....and so is Alto Sky's:>) No doubt that was a learning experience for him, expect a much improved performance in his next start. TJ




Good to know that Alto Sky has the same trainer that Storm Cat had. Hope that he has the same success.

Looking forward to Alto Sky's next race.
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Postby Jeff » Fri Feb 14, 2014 12:25 pm

3x3 inbreeding/linebreeding is generally considered to close. Horses that are
bred that close have a statistical strike against them, and that's why the inbreeding/linebreeding is preferred to be at least 3x4. Even better 4x4.

I personally wouldn't repeat an ancestor that close in a pedigree, but if I were going to inbreed/linebreed to Storm Cat 3x3, I'd want to do it just exactly like it's been done in Alto Sky's pedigree http://www.pedigreequery.com/alto+sky

He sold at auction for an ok price with that inbreeding, so I'd expect he must be a very promising, very nice looking colt. I hope he does win a stakes race :)

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Postby Sysonby » Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:12 pm

This is his page:

http://apps.keeneland.com/sales/Sep12/pdfs/1096.pdf

Yeah a buyer who cares about inbreeding might notice but that is still a pretty fancy page.

FWIW the buyers I know look at the individual first, develop a short list and use pedigree to exclude and not include. Its like vet reports in that respect. But the folks I know generally buy to race for themselves. If the individual is outstanding (especially in comparison with other horses in their price range) I suspect 3 x 3 won't matter much. It might be different if a person was buying for another purpose.

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Postby TJ » Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:38 pm

It's a Phipps' family bottom line...I believe this horse may have been bred by one of our forum members, Green Hills? Additional reason to root for this guy:>) TJ

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Postby Cree » Fri Feb 14, 2014 1:58 pm

I saw that too... Green Hills!

Alto Sky can be our forum mascot now.

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Postby TJ » Fri Feb 14, 2014 2:32 pm

Cree wrote:I saw that too... Green Hills!

Alto Sky can be our forum mascot now.

Hi Cree,
I'll drink to that:>) TJ

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Postby Shawklit Won » Fri Feb 14, 2014 10:52 pm

Jeff wrote:3x3 inbreeding/linebreeding is generally considered to close. Horses that are
bred that close have a statistical strike against them, and that's why the inbreeding/linebreeding is preferred to be at least 3x4. Even better 4x4.

I personally wouldn't repeat an ancestor that close in a pedigree, but if I were going to inbreed/linebreed to Storm Cat 3x3, I'd want to do it just exactly like it's been done in Alto Sky's pedigree http://www.pedigreequery.com/alto+sky

He sold at auction for an ok price with that inbreeding, so I'd expect he must be a very promising, very nice looking colt. I hope he does win a stakes race :)


Not a big fan of close up inbreeding myself. However, if there is inbreeding, then there are a lot worse horses to be inbred to than Storm Cat and Mr. Prospector.

One thing about the inbreeding to Mr. Prospector (I know that Jeff's post is concerned about the Storm Cat 3x3 inbreeding, and not the Mr. Prospector 4x4 inbreeding) Is that Mr. P was bred to almost all very high quality broodmares (like Miesque about a half dozen times) after he arrived at Claiborne. So, not only is a horse inbred to a great stallion, but also benefits from the high quality of the mares that Mr. P was bred to in his pedigree.
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Postby Shawklit Won » Sat Feb 22, 2014 9:51 pm

Right now I would be very happy with a MSW win at Gulfstream or one of the big tracks like Santa Anita or Oaklawn for Alto Sky, but I hope that he eventually wins a graded stakes race. That would set him up for a nice stud career at a good farm, but I am probably getting way ahead of myself here.

First things first, like a maiden win, then maybe an allowance race or two, and then if he looks good, maybe a stakes race somewhere. Looking forward to watching his career go forward. Please stay healthy Alto Sky.
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Postby TJ » Sun Feb 23, 2014 3:07 pm

Hi Shawklit,
He should have worked back by now....but hasn't. Let's hope he hits the work tab shortly? TJ

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Postby Shawklit Won » Sun Feb 23, 2014 6:24 pm

TJ wrote:Hi Shawklit,
He should have worked back by now....but hasn't. Let's hope he hits the work tab shortly? TJ



You are right. It has been over 10 days. I hope he's OK.
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