What If

[pocomoto]

After watching some fantastic racing over the festive season I can't help thinking how the TB National Hunt breeding industry is potentially missing out.

I can't help thinking what if the likes of Kauto Star, Halcon Genelardais, Voy Por Ustedes, Denman etc had had semen frozen?

It just seems a waste of performance blood, when you have to go back to a mating with sire and dam as the only way to potentially recreate the performance of such an individual and that the male line and a good horse's potential to improve the breed is almost always lost.

 

[Faithkat]

The main problem is that they would most likely have been gelded long before they became good racehorses. It's a sad fact with NH horses, just think of the incomparable Arkle and Desert Orchid. Mind you, they were also shining examples of what can be produced from what appears to be unremarkable breeding. Performance doesn't always equal breeding potential. The ex-racing world is full of stunningly bred animals that were useless on the track and repeat matings don't often produce another world beater (sadly)

 

[S_N]

I agree - perhaps cloning will come to the rescue - LOL! Can you see the GSB going for that?

I think one of the best examples of the lottery of breeding an NH horse (let alone a flat horse) is Red Rum! His mother, Mared, was branded a nutter and his sire, Quorum, was un-remarkable...... A freak, in the best of ways!

 

[alleycat]

Didn't Red Rum win on the flat as a 2 year old before he went NH?

 

[irishdraught]

I thought Wetherbys frowned upon the use of AI but good point

 

[S_N]

[ QUOTE ]
Didn't Red Rum win on the flat as a 2 year old before he went NH?

[/ QUOTE ]

He did - selling plates. If I recall correctly, he won his first race, on the flat at Aintree.....

 

[pocomoto]

I know we have discussed the reluctance of the TB industry to embrace AI before but I think NH racing is a prime example in favour of it. It is a real breeding lottery and there is no real consistency in male lines.

All you really have to breed from jumping performance point of view is female lines, since almost all stallions available are either unfashionable long distance flat winners that they just don’t know what else to do with at stud, or failed Derby winners that are just not cutting it at the top. There are the occasional entire hurdler stallions but are they the best bet to produce a jumper?

What are they going to do for chasers now that the Fashion in flat races is for milers and mile and ¼ ? Yet in Chasing and even some hurdling the passion is for distances 3m+?

Even when you get a stallion that produces excellent NH horses on reasonable sized books of mares it is so rare that even a non performing “son of” makes it to stud and more importantly is supported enough to keep him there. There was a chestnut Irish chasing stallion at the top ranks a few years back but I can’t remember his name, (arrgh) I think he was a son of Comanche Run? But I don’t know how he got on at stud?

Then you get the “freaks” like Rummy who found a very unlikely talent largely round a specific course and at very extreme distances? There are quite a few examples of this at shorter distances like Music Boy a sprint stallion that produced the smart 2m chaser Young Snugfit out of a Royal Palace mare and Belfort a 7f horse that produced Champion Chaser Call Equiname out of a Silly Season mare.

British NH breeding appears to be seriously falling behind with current trends on shopping in Ireland and more recently France (Many of whom are not full TB’s).

It just seems so hit and mis when you compare to the likes of Ben Faerie who went down the Eventing route and has founded a dynasty of a male line. You can’t help but think that TB’s are seriously missing out. I accept that it is far easier to race geldings and it’s simply not practical to keep an entire until they race at 4 or 5, but for the sake of a bit of freezing on selected individuals with good pedigree and conformation? After all it doesn’t cost much and you can chuck it away if they turn out to be lemons!!!