2006 stallion impressions

[Mahubah]

Went to the Parade of Stallions right after Thanksgiving and was a little disappointed since several outfits that had been represented there last year (Bridlewood, Lou-Roe, and Double Diamond) were absent this year. Cloverleaf was there, though, and had both Mass Media and Pomeroy there. Mass Media didn't really impress me much one way or another; of course, he's just off the track and a bit angular still. I liked Pomeroy, though; a nice, well-balanced animal with a bit of presence to him. And Gibson County is a really handsome beastie with a lot of athleticism apparent; small wonder they were thinking of making a roping horse of him. Congrats is a massive, big-boned, good-looking animal who is typical of the Slew line and will probably develop the typical Seattle Slew/A.P. Indy topline in fairly short order.

Imperialism was there but he was pretty fussy and fidgety, so it was hard to get a good look as far as his leg conformation went. Overall he seemed well balanced and walked out well, but I thought his pasterns were a tad long. The other new sire that kind of stuck in my mind was The Kaiser, but not for favorable reasons, alas; he had about the worst case of offset and turn-out on the right knee I've ever personally seen. He made 47 starts and was a listed stakes winner on that leg, though, so pretty is as pretty does.

I got to see most of the Hartley/De Renzo stallions at their show but didn't get much of a look at Essence of Dubai, who was being a bad actor and didn't stay out long. The ones I remember being most impressed with were Omega Code (very nice shoulder and a good, reachy walk) and With Distinction, who is a tall, elegant, scopy sort far more reminiscent of Buckpasser (his second damsire) than of his sire Storm Cat. Praying for Cash was another racy-looking sort who seemed to walk out very well, but I did not like seeing Werblin in motion much; his stride seemed short and choppy to me compared to some of the other stallions. Full Mandate seemed a pretty typical Seattle Slew sort with good bone and more correctness in the forelegs than a lot of the Slews have.

I liked Pico Central quite a bit when I saw him at Padua -- he's a neat, balanced, smoothly put together sort and very reminiscent of his close relative Montbrook. Not a big horse but he could obviously run. Very good shoulder, a rather straight hind leg but not post-legged behind. Exchange Rate was a natural poser who knew how to present himself regally, very handsome in his dapple gray coat. I thought he was just a little "downhill" in his build -- with his strong quarters, looks like a horse likely to throw speed. Delaware Township looks just like his stallion photo would lead you to expect; he seemed a little base-narrow when seen from the front but is quite powerful and muscular. Snow Ridge looked typical of the Storm Cat line -- I though his ankles looked just a little large and his hocks slightly sickled, but he's got a powerful rear end and was certainly successful on the track.

I enjoyed revisiting Peace Rules (very nice all round, though not big or flashy) and D'Wildcat at Vinery South. Their new sires for 2007 are Trust N Luck and Fire Slam, both good-looking horses. I thought Fire Slam was a little offset and toed-out on the left fore, maybe a touch base-narrow too -- nothing extreme by any means -- but he had a lot of the Mr. Prospector look to him as well with strong, well-made quarters and a good body -- perhaps he will take after his ancestor in other regards.

I took a lot of photos (not necessarily conformation shots, though; there's plenty of people better at that than I am) and will be adding them to my web album on page 10 at http://www.finalturngallery.com when I get a chance. Thank goodness I've finally got that manuscript on Mr. Prospector off to the publisher! Now I might have some time to get a few other things done.

[fastappy]

Thanks for those impressions! It's great to get this type of stallion information particularly when you are in a different region of the country. I particularly love the Mr. P line, and wonder if you have gotten up to Darley to see E Dubai, and if so what your impressions were. Thanks in any case, great info!

[LSB]

I'm glad to hear your new book is done and I hope we won't have to wait too long until it appears. Your Northern Dancer book was really excellent. I'm looking forward to another good read.

[jagger]

I liked reading your assessment even though I know very little about the horses mentioned. Your writing style is most pleasant, not unlike having a conversation with you.

Do you have a date when the Mr. P work will be available? Any ideas on your next project?

Now that the Mr. P project is complete, can we look forward to an increased presence on this forum?

[Mahubah]

The Mr. Prospector book is due out in fall 2007. I'm also a contributor to an upcoming book on great Derby upsets (I did the chapter on Donerail) which will come out from Eclipse Press this spring. I don't know how much more I will be around on the forum since I always seem to have more projects than I know what to do with, but it's nice to know people enjoy having me around -- much better than finding that everyone thinks you're a crashing bore!

[Rokeby Forever]

You'll always have a fan in Reno, Mahubah! LOL!!!!

This dates me a bit, but I remember seeing Peace Rules at Saratoga when he was still a 2 year old maiden in the Gary Contessa (a dear friend) barn. I thought he was a very attractive chestnut. At the time, he had sprinted only twice and I remember Gary saying, "I've got to get this colt going long!" He couldn't find a mile dirt race at the time, so he put Peace Rules on the turf, and he exploded! Three days later, Mark Reid (an agent for Ed Gann, Bobby Frankel's ex-owner), made a $300,000 offer, and the rest is history.

I'm glad you enjoyed the horse show....and I'm waiting for that Mr P book to come out...you'd better keep me posted!

[Mahubah]

Well, my pix are up at Final Turn Gallery. Enjoy!

[geowarrior]

Thanks Mahubah for the analysis. I don't know much about conformation so it's good to get an impression from you. I did like the looks of Imperialism from his video on the online Stallion Register, so I was especially interested in your opinion of him.

When is the great Derby upsets publication due to come out?

[Mahubah]

I think they're looking to get that one out in April 2006.

[Mahubah]

Went over to Bridlewood for their stallion show yesterday. Generally speaking, they have a pretty nice looking bunch of boys. Of course, the one a lot of people were interested in seeing was their newbie, Holy Ground, who is a Saint Ballado half brother to Barbaro. In my eye, he's a little rangier than a lot of the stallions you see about nowadays -- more of the staying look than the sprinter. Hard to get a lot of specific details as he seemed pretty nervous with the crowd and was quite fractious.

Skip Trial looked absolutely great for a 25-year-old horse. Very nice, well-balanced animal who moves out well and still looks the part of a top runner. Some shabby patches in his coat and a little age around the eyes were the main cues to his age.

Indian Ocean has grown a little, I think, since I last saw him at the 2005 Parade of Stallions. Still looks a little offset on the left knee (don't suppose that would change with age), but overall very attractive and racy-looking, if a touch light on bone. Nice Northern Dancer type but with a little more leg for the body length than his ancestor.

Put It Back is the classic sprinter type -- a QH judge would probably love him with all his muscling and huge rear end. Seemed slightly base-narrow to me but overall nice looking. Seemed to have a very calm and sensible attitude during the showing -- unlike Mr. Livingston, who was inclined to be fractious (same way he behaved at the 2005 Parade of Stallions, so this seems to be consistent with him).

Honor Glide seems to be one of those horses that has more energy than he knows what to do with; he was pacing his stall constantly before and after the showing and was doubtless a much happier horse when he was finally allowed to go back to his paddock.

Forbidden Apple isn't as pretty as some of the others but fits his sire line; like a lot of the Pleasant Colonys, he's a bit rawboned with a plain head and neck. Given the constricted space, he seemed to move out well from the shoulder.

Lightnin N Thunder was very pretty (I'm a sucker for dapple grays) but I don't recall anything particularly outstanding about his make one way or another. Unbridled's Image was out only briefly, but I definitely preferred his half brother Halo's Image, who seems to know he's the top boy in the stallion barn; he wasn't nasty but had a lot of the classic stallion attitude about him, the one that says, "I'm the boss here and don't you forget it!" Halo's Image is by no means itty bitty, but he's a neater type with more polish than Unbridled's Image.

Don't have any particular impressions of Act of Duty, Black Mambo, and Great Pyramid (Ire). Should have some pix up on my web album soon.

[serenarider]

Mahubah
Great post. I missed that show. But since I have a Indian Ocean on the way was nice to read what you thought about him. Also thanks for sharring the great pics you took.

[Mahubah]

Have pictures up (finally!) from visiting Cloverleaf, Double Diamond, and Sequel Stallions in January -- same place as before. Enjoy.

[bcassidy]

Mahubah, I am getting very good numbers in my own evaluation system about Put It Back and if you had more information to share about him, I would greatly appreciate the extra commentary. Usually I prefer to see In Reality on the bottom side of the stallion's pedigree and having never seen In Reality, who does PIB resemble in his pedigree?
How do you think PIB would match up with a typical Unbridled mare? Would you prefer to see In Reality on the bottom of the stallion, as in Trippi or Concerto (Trippi is another stallion I get great numbers on) or would PIB be equally acceptable to match with the same mare. I would love to put a great back end on the foal and more speed. The mare tends to throw slightly sickled hocks and weaker back ends.
PIB is very attractively priced at 5k and you Florida breeders are very fortunate to always have a nice selection of attractively priced stallions for all of us Breed to race types. Florida stallions certainly have great sire power for their stud fees. I firmly believe it is becoming the best state in the country to find great value sires.....