Question: If you had a champion filly ..........

[winds]

If I had both the Champion filly and her dam, what would I do? That's a very good question. I guess then the filly's dam would be the foundation mare, she's the one that produced the filly.

I really don't know what I'd do, I'll have to think about this and get back to this later.

Thank you for this outstanding hypothetical.

winds

[Rokeby Forever]

We took the funds and bred her to the best there is and haven't regretted it for a moment. Next year we will be racing her Unbridled's Song colt and she has given us an outstanding Giant's Causeway colt that is absolutely stunning...so I don't know whether we will keep him or see what he brings and if we don't sell him then keep him or just outright sell him, as there is already interest. Then we took whatever was made along the way and we bred her to Storm Cat...hopefully it will be another beauty and we will be forced into the same delightful dilemna. Bottom line is...we still owe her...

Hi Green Hills. Best of luck!

I'm just wondering - if she produced an "outstanding Giant's Causeway colt," why not go back to him? I don't understand the mentality of "upgrade" - why not stick with what works? Storm Cat had an AWFUL crop sell at Keeneland this year and his future (as his age progresses) doesn't promise to be any rosier.

[nythoroughbredvz]

I have been contemplating selling property to get a higher quality mare. it has been driving me nuts thinking about it, but I will always have the property, a mare I would not! hard choice...what my real dream is and I know financially or comercially its not the best decision.. is to find a mare with a very, very, very old classic pedigree that has produced well at one time. Then breed her to the same type of pedigree, old and classic! find the oldest best bred stallion I could mate her with. and have a catalog page you would only find 15-20 years ago! and spend the money and time to see what you can get as a race horse.. any suggestions? I know this isnt a champion mare scenario!

[Green Hills]

We took the funds and bred her to the best there is and haven't regretted it for a moment. Next year we will be racing her Unbridled's Song colt and she has given us an outstanding Giant's Causeway colt that is absolutely stunning...so I don't know whether we will keep him or see what he brings and if we don't sell him then keep him or just outright sell him, as there is already interest. Then we took whatever was made along the way and we bred her to Storm Cat...hopefully it will be another beauty and we will be forced into the same delightful dilemna. Bottom line is...we still owe her...

Hi Green Hills. Best of luck!

I'm just wondering - if she produced an "outstanding Giant's Causeway colt," why not go back to him? I don't understand the mentality of "upgrade" - why not stick with what works? Storm Cat had an AWFUL crop sell at Keeneland this year and his future (as his age progresses) doesn't promise to be any rosier.

Our plan (dopey as it may sound) is to give her a chance with several of the very best (in our opinion) and then decide who to go back to for the future. We're not worried about selling...we (at this point) plan to race our babies...I don't care what Storm Cat brought at the sale...I care whether this baby will be a good race horse for us and on paper has everything going for it. If he/she hits the ground sound and well built...we're dancing in the aisles...let's face it...our thought was...if it worked with Giant's Causeway...let's go right to the source and see how that works. Maybe we sound foolish or naive, but there truly is a long term plan in place.

This year she goes to Awesome Again...we will then see what worked best. It has less to do with "upgrade" than it does with our "grand experiment" to find the cross that best suits us.

[Rokeby Forever]

Hi Green Hills,

I'm not sure if you plan is "dopey" or if it's genius - I guess time will tell. The best of all plans can produce nothing and the most off-the-wall plans can produce a champion. Who knows?

A question about the Storm Cat mating - Storm Cat may/may not be on active stallion duty by the time your SC foal makes it to the races (SC is no spring chicken). Let's suppose that the SC foal is the best, and the rest don't quite live up expectations - which sire would you then consider for a breedback if SC is no longer available?

I'm glad to read that Voodoo Dancer is doing well. She was one tough son-of-a-gun for Chris Clement, and I still remember her losing by half a nose to Tates Creek at Saratoga. It was nice to see Voodoo Dancer get her revenge on the same connections that defeated her in the Diana the next year - she deserved it!

Please keep us posted on developments with her - she was a heck of a turf racemare!

[Green Hills]

A question about the Storm Cat mating - Storm Cat may/may not be on active stallion duty by the time your SC foal makes it to the races (SC is no spring chicken). Let's suppose that the SC foal is the best, and the rest don't quite live up expectations - which sire would you then consider for a breedback if SC is no longer available?

I guess logically we would go to the stallion that would give us a similiar cross. A son maybe...LOL!! And who knows...maybe they'll all turn out to be equally wonderful...imagine the fabulous conundrum that would be...(as you can tell, I'm a "the glass is half full" kind of person.)

She is a wonderful mare, both then and now. And she still thinks she's all that...if she doesn't want you to bother her...she doesn't want you to bother her and she lets you know in no uncertain terms.

As I said, we breed to race...if we put them in a sale, they go with extremely high reserves.

Christophe is now training her son. He is by Unbridled's Song and his name is Voodoo Swinge.

[Rokeby Forever]

Good luck with all of them, Green Hills! Glowing Tribute produced stakes winners for Mr. Mellon no matter whom the sire was - maybe Voodoo Dancer will be that type of producer, as well!

I'm glad that Voodoo Dancer still knows that she's the queen - that's cool!

Best,
Rok