Pedigree Query

Does anyone know what the horses' actual markings were?

Surely there are enough photos out there?

I was looking at Sport Horse Breed database which seems to have gone ahead with the Bend Or-Tadcaster correction and they show three photos of Bend Or now changed to Tadcaster. Two of them, one of which is a Russian drawing labeled Bend Or, show a chestnut with 1 white sock. One shows a chestnut with a very similar white sock on the same foot but I'm also seeing two white coronet bands on the horse's right front and right rear.

Either the photo with more white is still of the Derby winning Bend Or, or the horse developed white coronet bands late in life, or I'm seeing bands in the photo that really weren't there.
http://www.sporthorse-data.com/d?showpi ... 1324758082

On their entry for Bend Or (pedigree Tadcaster) they show one of the photos that is now on Tadcaster (pedigree Bend Or). It has the same markings as the Russian drawing, more or less. The Russian drawing shows a spike top to the sock.

Color me confused.

I rather think they jumped the gun on the name change and all the pedigree changes that go with it. I'm afraid that I still don't think the Bowers work is conclusive until it's replicated from the get go.

The Bloodlines entry for Bend Or has been updated to include discussion of the mtDNA evidence. Markings are also discussed there.
http://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Bios/BendOr.htm
Legally, shared mtDNA haplotype alone does not constitute proof of maternity. In this case it hasn't been conclusively proven that the mtDNA haplotype of the remains attributed to Bend Or and the majority mtDNA haplotype of family 2 are precisely the same. But they could be and that amounts to circumstantial support for the groom's allegation. Whether it's enough to 'push' the pedigree is a subjective call. The people at the Sporthorse db are obviously of the opinion that it is enough. Imho, that's a reasonable decision, but I'd have been in favor of leaving the name as Bend Or regardless of which dam is shown in the pedigree.

I'm with you PZ; I'd leave the horse's name as Bend Or, because that's the name he actually raced under, and change his dam to reflect the mtDNA evidence, with a big note stating why the change is being made. That way the race records, etc. will be accurate.

Just my opinion, of course.