CARO --- What made him such an extraordinaire?

[Jorge]

Question for all of you, but more specifically, for those of you who
followed Caro's racing career:

What in your opinion made CARO such an extraordinary powerful sire?
Perhaps even more than his own qualifications? Please feel free to cover any known or unknown area that grabs your attention.

[Barcaldine]

*CARO is a long-time favorite of mine, both as a sire and as a strong pedigree influence. He is the most achieved of the great Grey Sovereign sire line, although if ZEDDAAN had lived longer he may well have earned that accolade.

He first caught my eye when I saw his photo in the British Racehorse magazine in 1969. He was a flashy looking 2yo colt which had won and placed in several sprint stakes in France. At three he won Group 1 races at a mile, and later stretched out to 1 5/8 miles in top company. So he was an exemplary racehorse, precocious yet sound enough to race until his fourth year.

CARO's progeny were champion 2yo's, sprinters, stayers, fillies and colts. Like him, they were tough and versatile. His sons generally made excellent stallions (with the exception of TEJANO and DR. CARTER) and his daughters were cherished producers. More recently his descendant INDIAN CHARLIE has revived this branch of *NASRULLAH.

When I see CARO in a pedigree I see quality.

[NORTHSTAR1]

i am an amateur at pedigrees with limited scientific advantages ---however when given a question such as your i look to the information i have available ---the most readily accessible is the pedigree database --i am a big believer in mama power so the first thing i do is go to the progeny records and look up the grade one winners to see what the mares of the gr1 winners have brought to the party ------1x and princequillo are present more often than not either together or alone --i am also a believer in maternal family nicks(6e /4m for example) ----caro has 6e through his mother ----so i look for 4m in the pedigree of the mother of the grade one winners ---of the 15 grade one winners listed many have 4m on the mothers side ---sometimes you have to go a few generations back -thats fine ,genes dont vanish they are still in the pool ---that being said there are a lot of pin-cushion and milkshake heros which make all successes suspect

[erins isle]

I'm afraid I do not know much myself about Caro, but there is always my collection "the racehorses": He is a good sort of colt, lengthy and strong. He stays a mile and a half so strong, that the distance might not be the limit of his stamina and he seems to act on any going. Not the least of his qualities is his gameness and consistency. He was beaten as a 4YO by the great Mill Reef in the Eclipse. TF 133. He was the best son sired by sprinter Fortino II. His dam won the Newmarket Oaks and the Liverpool St. Leger and she was placed in the Yorkshire Oaks and the Park Hill Stakes. He is through his son Rusticaro the grandsire of a horse of the year in Holland, Jules Favre.
This colt was of high class in a time when racing in my country was of a rather high standard. At stud he didn't produce anything worthy however.
There is more info about this family in my books, just ask and maybe there is an answer.

[madelyn]

In the Caro line, here in KY you have Notional..

[Bettina]

Hello,
Caro is well remembered in Germany through his son Nebos (Caro - Nostrana by Botticelli) from the Nella Da Gubbio family.

Regards, Bettina

[Jorge]

Longevity seems to be another asset that the Caro lineage provides.
This promising sophomore looks like a good case in point.
COZZETTI (gray/ro colt 2009) http://www.pedigreequery.com/cozzetti

[oleos93]

I own one of his great grand daughters. She is a 2007 bay filly, MISSTACARO.

[wallinga]

Vision D'Etat is one in France through the recently deceased Chichicastanango. I saw VD'E in hong kong and he was a simply put together horse. By that, I mean there was nothing eyecatching about him but there was also very little to fault. He was a rising five year old at the time and had been around the ring in Europe. I don't think anything would have beaten him that day.

[Patuxet]

Saonois, winner of the 2012 Prix du Jockey Club (French Derby), was sired by a great grandson of Caro.

http://www.pedigreequery.com/saonois

[vineyridge]

take a look at Ange Gabriel in France. He's got some seriously good sire numbers.
http://www.pedigreequery.com/ange+gabriel

AND, Jorge, he's gray.

[Jeff]

interesting, in my opinion his Sainfoin's and Sierra's keep firing. Starting with his sire line Nasrullah's 5x5 full siblings Sainfoin/Sierra.

Every time he hooks a Man O' War, Phalaris, Princequillo, he picks another Sainfoin, every time he hooks a Nasrullah, Mahmoud, Sunstar, Solario he picks up a Sierra.

Sex balanced Sainfoin's play into it, and the Sierra through Sundridge though not as prolific as the Sainfoin crosses seems always at play when going back and looking.

Then the Pharos/Norgara/Nogara/Pharos line breeding is another powerful element at work in the genetics. The gray color he inherited from the Roi Herode likes the Sundridge.


The genetics of Sainfoin/Sierra I think were the apex of the breed, they were the perfect combination of the right genes, they keep lining up right, they keep putting out race horses.

Polynesian, the sire line of RAN/Mr. P just another example of the Sainfoin's/Sierra's lining up. Add some Roi Herode gray genes and get Native Dancer.

Too much Sierra gets a quarter horse, too much Sainfoin gets a also ran horse.

[Bettina]

Hello,
regarding the the Sainfoin/Sierra crosses in a ped.

Have a close look at the damline of the succesful Germanbred Sire Surumu. A special treat of this ped, it doesn't came via the Nasrullah/Mahmoud etc. tribe.

Btw, Peregrine the Granddam of the Germansire Birkhahn (by Alchimist) is bred 3 x 4 Sainfoin/Sierra.

Regards, Bettina

[vineyridge]

Springfield! serious source of speed in the TB.

[Jorge]

If passing on racing quality and prepotency through both halves of his progeny is really sufficiently tough, Caro was also very prepotent on passing on his gray coat color everywhere he went. Thats really something!In fact, he is basically the vertebral column that sustains the gray coat color. Other great talented grays, like Native Dancer, Determine, The Axe, Relaunch, Vilmorin cannot say the same, albeit their colors are not lost completely. But certainly, Caro is the reigning champion. Fortunately, the Breed didn't have to rely on Native Dancer for him to pass on the torch on the survival of the gray coat color. Caro singlehandedly did for all grays.

Would like to read your opinions on this angle.