Postby Rokeby Forever » Tue Feb 06, 2007 3:23 pm
Patuxet - thank you for the Mellon Tribute! I wish more people appreciated what a brilliant breeder he was.
Gone West/Elusive Quality on the topside doesn't suggest 1 1/4 miles - Elusive Quality was a 7 furlong specialist and I have a note below on Gone West. Ivory Wand was a top class filly, but, again, not a 1 1/4 mile type. Touch of Greatness, as I understand, was not a correct filly and never ran because of it.
On Smarty Jones' bottom side, the In Reality/Smile line can't be concluded to be a 1 1/4 mile siring strain. The dam side originates from old, old Wheatley/Phipps blood, but none of the mares in that family wanted any part of 1 1/4 mile.
You're right that there are distance influences in the pedigree (Hero's Honor, Herbager, Tom Fool....), but his first two generations don't suggest it to me. Oh well...we can agree to disagree, right?
I love Commendable's Belmont Stakes as a talking point for Gone West siring Classic distance horses. From an objective standpoint, Commendable's Belmont Stakes had to be the WORST run edition in the race's history...Commendable crawled around the racetrack, gasped his way home, and the horses behind him treadmilled like it was watching slow-motion.