Mithras
Well-Known Member
Coolmore need to look at how they have manipulated the TB breeding industry in the UK by standing a fleet of ND male line stallions & little else. True St Nicholas Abbey only has one line of Northern Dancer, but will still not be an outcross to mares. Coolmore have sought out ND stock over the years & swamped the gene pool with them. they have allowed larger & larger books of mares. Trouble is beginning to develop. they have had a number of high profile horses die in Group 1 & Group 2 events & now this horse has a catastrophic break. I remember Ian Balding saying the breed was weakening, & that was some years ago.
St Nicholas Abbey is actually an example of one the toughest racehorses around, having raced at the top level for 5 seasons. Furthermore, he is a true mile and a half horse, not a quick maturing two year old. He is most famous for having won the Coronation Cup three years running, a Group 1 mile and a half race over the Epsom Derby course, but he also won in Group 1 company as a two year and raced in the 2000 Guineas as a three year old. He is an example of one of the best of the tough, consistent Group 1 performers Ballydoyle has been churning out recently, along the lines of Rock of Gibralter and Sadlers Wells himself. However, like many sports horses, he has suffered unsoundness, who is to say this is due to breeding any more than the exceptional demands made upon his physique?
His breeding actually contains little inbreeding to ND and, through Top Ville and Kris, contains a couple of outcrosses of what has become good old fashioned rather stout British miler breeding. Unfortunately the TB racehorse is now very inbred to certain male lines, and this cannot rectified because new stock is classified as "halfbred". However this is the same for many breeds, such as Irish Draughts, Cleveland Bays and much warmblood stock where it has not been diversified by breed societies.
I assume Coolmore have sought out this breeding because they know how to work with it and it succeeds - some of the horse produced from it have been outstanding and we have all enjoyed their performances.
I'd rather see Sadlers Wells/Montjeu/Coolmore type bloodlines than the US obsession with Danzig (broke down as a two year old), Nureyev (broke down early as a three year old) and Storm Bird (didn't train on as a three year old).