Pedigree Query

Is Dixieland Band becoming a great broodmare sire?

Monarchos by Marias Mon-Regal Band by Dixieland Band won Kentucky Derby and Florida Derby

First Samurai by Giant's Causeway-Freddie Frisson by Dixieland Band won Champagne Stakes and Hopeful Stakes

Bandini by Fusaichi Pegasus-Divine Dixie by Dixieland Band won Blue Grass S.

Dream Supreme by Seeking The Gold-Spinning Round by Dixieland Band won Test S.-Gr. I, Ballerina H.-Gr. I

Adonis by Kris S.-Dixie Card by Dixieland Band won Wood Memorial S.

Exotic Wood by Rahy-J D Flowers by Dixieland Band won Go For Wand H.- Gr. I

Limehouse by Grand Slam-Dixieland Blues by Dixieland Band winner of $1, 110,432

Futural by Future Storm-Twigazuri by Dixieland Band winner of $678,970

Pollard's Vision by Carson City-Etats Unis by Dixieland Band winner of $1,430,311

American Boss by Kingmambo-Redeemer by Dixieland Band winner of $3,660,979

Dixieland Band looks like he line breeds well with Northern Dancer.

Keith

Also Southern Image.

Sorry I forgot to mention Southern Image. There is a mare for sale on Canter Pennsylvania that is the same cross as Southern Image being by a son of Halo and out of a Dixieland Band mare. Her name is Strodee by Strodes Creek-Miss Blush by Dixieland Band. Her 2nd dam Blushing Madame is by Blushing Groom and is the dam of Grade III winner Man's Hero and Multiple Grade II stakes placed Rubiyat. Having Dixieland Band in a mares bloodline sure can't hurt.

Keith

This is a statement with a low informational content which is often heard in similar versions but as often as not has only few substantial backgrounds. Why? Let me give You an example: in 6 races since 2000 78 individuals took part in the “Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe”. 71 of these 78 (91 percent) had Northern Dancer somewhere in their 5-generation-pedigree. 54 of these 71 came from the direct sire-line of ND.

You see, today there is so much Northern Dancer in top-class international TBs that is even hard to find horses without ND-blood. So the better question is: do Dixieland Band-mares really better with sires who have something of ND within them compared with those few sires who haven’t? Often in TB-breeding what seems a question of quality is only a question of quantity (this is the error which Lowe made when he declared his family-figure-system a breeding-system in recommending to breed “running-family”-mares to “sire-family”-sires).

We have the same “problem” in Germany: it looks like our leading sire Monsun (free of ND) does remarkable well with mares who are sired by grand- or great-grand-sons of Northern Dancer (13 of his 18 best offsprings fit into this system, 4th in the Arc Shirocco is the most actual example).
But breeders are highly seduced to combine Monsun (who is a product of Germany’s two best sire-lines, those of Königsstuhl and Surumu; it is not possible to add to the “breeding value” of this combination with any other “pure-German” line) with the leading international sire-line and this combination is deliberately chosen many times - not to speak of existing alternatives. So what seems like a nick is probably only a represention of general behaviour and lack of convincing and available alternatives.

Parlo, very, very well stated. The same is true here in North America as well.

We take it an extra step here... if the stallion isn't from a "fashionable" line of Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer, or Seattle Slew (A.P. Indy), then he and his foals are going to be "up against it" commercially.

hi Parlo

From my perspective, Northern Dancer himself has very limited success as a broodmare sire of highly successful sires.

Certainly it could not be lack of opportunity.

Thoughts?

Best to you.

Respectfully

Hi FOS,

a good idea and question – and actually I’ve no good explanation.

The X-chromosome-theory gives only limited advice: if Natalma had the “big heart”-genes, only ND’s daughters and not his sons had the chance to inherit them. So this gives no evidence for the success of ND’s male line and his comparable inconspicuousness as a brood-mare-sire and a sire of brood-mare-sire. If success of broodmare-sires is explained by their X-chromosomes (received from their dams) given via their daughters to their grandchildren, these genes can’t come from ND’s pedigree.

Is Your thesis on this theme (to which I agree) only a matter of biased perception? Are we so blinded and convinced on ND as an overwhelming sire of sires that we underestimate his merits as a broodmare-sire? I don’t really know but it might be possible.

From TB-breeding in Germany there is only little information to derive: there was only one ND-filly (Fabula, 1986) at stud, who was just a maiden-winner in only 4 outings, but she gave birth to 2 group-race-winners and further 3 black-type-horses and that looks like a great breeding-success. In our latest list of broodmare-sires (from October 5th) there are Royal Academy (with 19 mares), Salse (11), Lagunas (57), Lomitas (11), Night Shift (15) and Be My Guest (27) within the Top-18 and Esclavo, Polish Precedent, Shareef Dancer and Niniski among the Top-30, which in my opinion doesn’t look so bad.

Best wishes