AMERICAN CHANCE COLT

[Shammy Davis]

Andy Beyer aside, did anyone notice that fine looking AC colt win the Makers Mark GIII previous to the derby? Out of an Alydar mare, he looked very good. Wasn't Giacomo's broodmare sire STOP THE MUSIC with BUCKPASSER in the tail-female line?

[Denise]

Shammy, Skeenan asked about this guy in another thread. I was going to point out that he and Giacamo had the STM/Buckpasser thing in common.
I think STM should be very proud of his family as he prances around Gainesway at the tender age of 35.

[kimberley mine]

Giacomo is a reverse cross of Cure the Blues, and on a similar cross to Unbridled.

Stop the Music probably isn't singing the blues right now, that's for sure.

[ballade]

Stop the Music is still around??? That's terrific! I knew Cure the Blues was gone, and just figured STM surely had to be as well. That's such happy news. Thanks, Kimberly and Denise!

[Denise]

Stop the Music hangs out with the other old men at Gainesway. If memory serves, Lyphard's still there, too, and he's a year older.
Must be something good in the water at that farm, since Cozzene's 26 and still going strong in the shed.

[Mahubah]

That farm does a tremendous job of caring for its pensioners -- really a model program.

[llbean]

Giacomo is a reverse cross of Cure the Blues, and on a similar cross to Unbridled.

Stop the Music probably isn't singing the blues right now, that's for sure.

Hi Kimberley,

That's an excellent pick-up on Giacomo and Cure The Blues. (Though I must note that it was Giacomo's grandsire Great Above who shared a lot with Unbridled).

It's somewhat hard to understand why Holy Bull does so poorly with In Reality (a reverse to his sire Great Above's Rough N Tumble/Intentionally cross); but at least Great Above's maternal grandson Housebuster has sired a couple GSWs (Secret Liason, Buster's Daydream) and damsired another (Seducer's Song) from combos with In Reality.

Blusing Groom seems to be a real key to Great Above (see GA's best maternal grandson Housebuster and best paternal grandson Macho Uno). Mt Livermore especially so (see Housebuster and the G2W Higher World, the best so far from a Holy Bull mare).

Significantly, Great Above traces to a mare by Tea Caddy and Mt Livermore traces to his full sister Toggery in the direct female line.

-llbean

[Mahubah]

Who knows, though, the reverse might end up working (Holy Bull daughters to In Reality-line sires). Sometimes a cross works one way and not another or needs to be stepped back a generation before it clicks.

[kimberley mine]

That's an excellent pick-up on Giacomo and Cure The Blues. (Though I must note that it was Giacomo's grandsire Great Above who shared a lot with Unbridled).

-llbean

I have to wonder why Stop the Music hasn't been tried more with Holy Bull. Aside from Cure the Blues, The Axe II (sire of Holy Bull's damsire) crossed with Bebopper (dam of Stop the Music) resulted in Gr-1 winner Hatchet Man. It brings in a strain that obviously worked well with The Axe II without linebreeding to him directly.

The reason I brought up Unbridled WRT Giacomo is the presence of Tom Fool-In Reality-Aspidistra with both of them. Great Above himself does not have that particular three-way-cross, but Unbridled, Cure the Blues, and Giacomo all do.

[kimberley mine]

STM/Buckpasser thing in common.

The more I think about it, the more I think the key strain in that cross is Tom Fool over the mare Bebop (and not necessarily Stop the Music). Aside from Cure the Blues, Unbridled, and Giacomo, another prominent horse with Tom Fool over Bebop is Buckaroo.

And Buckaroo over In Reality (or his son Valid Appeal) led to 5 horses with over $200k earnings in 8 tries that I found--not bad.