There is a certain amount of irony that a small part owner of a 2-year old preparing to run in a $500,000 stakes race, is still complaining about too much emphasis on precocity in selecting young horses.
There is plenty that can be learned about breeding by reading the sire profiles on the Lane’s End website. Each sire has a nice multi-paragraph discussion of what type of mares should be bred to a particular stallion. The write-ups just ooze competence. They very clearly present what has already worked for a particular sire. This is all good information and anyone would be foolish to ignore it. It seems the answer is always to breed to a Storm Cat mare.
I want to look at the issue another way.
Rather than study who should be bred to Candy Ride, I want to understand how Candy Ride himself was created.
Some stallions are created as soon as their breeders plan the mating, but many other famous stallions are much more accidental. Let’s focus on these accidental stallions:
Candy Ride
Candy Ride was a very fast horse. He never ran at 2. Although he only ran 6 times, his 123 Beyer in the Pacific Classic, as a 4-year old, was a race to remember.
Candy Ride was bred in Argentina. He is the product of a failed US sire Ride the Rails (a son of stamina sire Cryptoclearence) bred to an unraced daughter of stamina oriented Blushing Groom. The dam’s pedigree is loaded with stamina influences.
If Candy Ride had come to the Keeneland yearling sale, he would have been in “book 6”.
Curlin
Curlin won the Breeder’s Cup Classic as a 3-year old. He did not run as a 2-yr old.
Curlin is the son of Canadian classic champion Smart Strike, and an unraced Deputy Minister mare. The second dam did not win until she has 4, but won three stakes over a mile once she got started.
Not surprisingly Curlin was hip #2261 as a yearling at Keeneland. Kenny McPeek picked him up for $57,000.
Medaglia d’Oro
Medagla d’Oro won the Traver’s at 3, and the Donn at 5. He did win as a 2-yr old.
Medaglia d’Oro is the son of Euro sprinter El Prado, but the grandson of long distance champion Sadler’s Wells. His mom had Damascus, Sword Dancer, and Prince John in her pedigree.
Medaglia d’Oro was bred by some nice folds in Montana, who had him broken in Arizona, and sent to low profile David Vance. Ed Gann bought him when he broke his maiden, and sent him to Bobby Frankel.
Quality Road
Quality Road won the Florida Derby and set a track record winning the Donn Handicap the next year. Quality Road first won in December of his 2-yr old season.
Quality Road was the son of Elusive Quality who was a sprinter/miler, but his dam was sired by Australian long distance horse Strawberry Road. This was not a conventional pedigree.
Quality Road was RNAed at he Keeneland sale when nobody wanted him for $100,000.
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Tapit was born to be a stallion. He was a $625,000 yearling purchase, and his future was seldom in doubt.
Other stallions are the product of creative breeders that are willing to try something new.
The answer is not always, “breed him to a Storm Cat mare”.
Buying A Race Horse 