Pedigree Query

Hey folks, just wanted to get a thread on Wheelaway in and of himself. I don't remember how I ended up looking him up but what are thoughts on him physically and his pedigree. A big point is made of talking about Unbridled, the similarities they see with Unbridled's Song (of course the coat color is a big visual comparison obviously) and the fact that Wheelaway is from the family of End Sweep. How would y'all evaluate soundness expectations for offspring? Is there something physically that you especially like or dislike? Is he stamping foals (if so is that good or bad) or improving mares based on the limited progeny out there thus far? Thanks.

I like wheelaway and I saw about a dozen of his yearlings at sales this summer and most, 80% of them were very nice. Only two stood out in my mind as poor prospects. I inspected him several times two years ago but not since. Very nice. I heard it mentioned by more than one person that he stamped his young. I don't know.

His first crop will hit the track this year, which in my opinion is a weak group of first crop sires. Unfortunately I think the quality of the mares he was bred to is weaker than what some of his competitors received. So grading him against the others from this crop, which is invariably how stallions are rated in their first year I would expect him to be around #10-#15 on the freshman sire list. He will probably do about as well as the Freuds have done on the track. (Although I think the 2YO sales for Wheelaway won't be any where near what Freud accomplished.)

He is a tough call to breed to on the bubble as The Unbridled's can throw a big horse, like broken Vow did this year, catapulting them to the top. I would be very surprised if he turned out to be a home run like a Successful Appeal.

As a NY breeder you have to breed back mares purchased else where to NY stallions. With a forced hand, having to breed to a NY stallion he would be in my top 5 but having the opportunity to breed else where I would do so. In NY alone I would rate Millennium Wind as a better bubble bet. Physically Wheelaway is more handsome but I think the Winds will out run the wheels.

If you want the foal to be a spitting image of the dam, breed to Millennium Wind. He doesn't stamp his foals well at all.

FWIW, my Millennium Wind colt looks very much like Charismatic. He has a beautiful stride, just glides, which I'm told Millennium Wind has. If he is getting many that move like he did, he might be a pleasant surprise next year.

el camino wrote:He is a tough call to breed to on the bubble as The Unbridled's can throw a big horse, like broken Vow did this year, catapulting them to the top. I would be very surprised if he turned out to be a home run like a Successful Appeal.

I apologize for being off-topic, but I'm interested to see that you refer to Successful Appeal as a home run. From his first year results, certainly. But do you still think of him that way after his offspring's performance this year?

I just got a Wheelaway colt and in the pics hes a TALL SUCKER! Seems to be nice boned. IN a little rough shape right not but we will get him pulled together. Hes a late foal and his back still comes up to the chest of a 6"3"+ man!

When I refer to him as a home run I mean that if you bred to him on the bubble in 2002-2004 (using the term bubble year liberally referring to every crop after his first season, until his first foals were 3yo's.) You had a great return on your investment.

In 2005, of 26 yearlings sold at auction his avg was $72,719 and Med was $56,000. His listed stud fee at the time of those breeding's, I believe, was only $6,000. That in my opinion is a "homerun".

When you ask "do I still consider him a homerun", meaning is he that kind of value now, I would have to say no. I think he is a future $100,00 dollar stallion but not for a few years. He had only 36 foals in 2003, 45 in 2004 and 61 in 2005 so I would be more inclined to breed to him in 2007 than 2006 as his stud fee is not likely to rise the next 2 years. However, you never know. He has done well with small crops and being already "established" he probably only needs to have one big runner to stay commercial.