Easing Along

kimberley mine · Postby **kimberley mine** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:36 am

So what do Que Piensa Cat, Compasivo Cat, and Sentimiento Cat have in common, aside from being offspring of Easing Along?

Relaxing, Easing Along's 2nd dam, descends from two different daughter strains of La Troienne (Businesslike and Big Hurry). The dams of all three of Easing Along's group winners all bring in at least one and usually two additional lines to La Troienne.

Que Piensa Cat and Compasivo Cat both descend from a stallion named Combe (Minera-Concord, by Make Tracks). Make Tracks brings in the third line of La Troienne via Besieged, a son of Balladier and thus a three-parts brother to Big Hurry and a close relation to Businesslike. He is relatively common in Argentine pedigrees but what grabbed my attention is that these two horses descend from the same strain of Make Tracks. Combe's paternal granddam Esquire Girl is by My Babu out of a Nearco half-sister to Lady Angela, dam of Nearctic. The Sister Sarah family is uncommon in North America other than through Lady Angela, although several branches exist in South America and the blood is widespread in Japan via Northern Taste. Other strains of Make Tracks lack this connection to Nearctic, which may be an influence on the cross.

Moving along, Compasivo Cat and Sentimiento Cat both carry Buckpasser via Chairman Walker (broodmare sire of Tempranero). Buckpasser brings in the third strain of La Troienne, and for good measure Chairman Walker brings in an extra cross to Somethingroyal. But wait, there's more! Sentimiento Cat doesn't carry Make Tracks but he does carry yet another daughter of La Troienne, Belle of Troy, via Immortailty. Belle of Troy is a full sister to Businesslike.

With those crosses in mind, I think the key is to bring in as much La Troienne as possible AND to stick to lines of La Troienne that are on the Black Toney cross when possible (aka not Striking).

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 10:58 am

Hi Kimberley (still with 2 e's),

Good points, but in Claiborne's never ending quest to keep as many sire lines on the farm as possible, they went and dug up this Phipps castoff in South America. Why?

Que Piensa Cat is a terrific filly, but look how she's bred - where in America is Easing Along going to find a broodmare like Compenetrada, or even Los Tosquera (dam of Compasivo Cat)?

What works in South America all too often fails here, and vice versa. I just don't get it.

kimberley mine · Postby **kimberley mine** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:00 pm

Maybe yes, maybe no, but consider that Lion Hearted in MD is doing similar things with similar bloodlines. There's enough La Troienne with Bold Ruler wandering around to work with him.

Officer, Woodman (ESPECIALLY Woodman), Polish Navy, Private Account, Pleasant Tap (Black Helen and Bimelech), Cohoes, Go For Gin, Runaway Groom (via Better Self), Premiership, Caerleon, Wavering Monarch, Heros Honor, Roar...price him right and see what happens.

Lion Hearted's best earner is out of a Private Terms mare (double La T via Private Account) with an extra Bold Ruler line. Look familiar?

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 12:26 pm

kimberley mine wrote:Woodman (ESPECIALLY Woodman)

Isn't that a just throwback to the Northern Dancer/Buckpasser nick more than anything else? If so, any American sire with Northern Dancer would work with Woodman.

Funny...An Easing Along out of a Woodman mare is actually as Phipps as it gets.

My favorite nick (Hail To Reason/Buckpasser) came through when an American breeder was smart enough to send a Woodman mare to Southern Halo (More than Ready). But if it's the American nicks that work best with American broodies and sires that do well in South America, why not simply stick with a stallion that has had his success here? South Americans are chancy.

brogers · Postby **brogers** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 1:02 pm

kimberley mine wrote:Maybe yes, maybe no, but consider that Lion Hearted in MD is doing similar things with similar bloodlines. There's enough La Troienne with Bold Ruler wandering around to work with him.

Officer, Woodman (ESPECIALLY Woodman), Polish Navy, Private Account, Pleasant Tap (Black Helen and Bimelech), Cohoes, Go For Gin, Runaway Groom (via Better Self), Premiership, Caerleon, Wavering Monarch, Heros Honor, Roar...price him right and see what happens.

Lion Hearted's best earner is out of a Private Terms mare (double La T via Private Account) with an extra Bold Ruler line. Look familiar?

I'd put a More Than Ready mare at the top of the list to visit Easing Along.

yukidragon · Postby **yukidragon** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:22 pm

I like Buck Strider better for the money.
Im not sure how he stacks up with Easing Along's numbers.
But you save ten times the money on stud fees.
You get some of the same family.
I bet Easing Along matched some of their mares .
And standing him to the public is away to get a little money back on his board an feed while he services their mares.
I going with Rok on this stallion.
Something they dug up.

kimberley mine · Postby **kimberley mine** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:29 am

Rokeby Forever wrote: Funny...An Easing Along out of a Woodman mare is actually as Phipps as it gets.

And you know, that might be the point. I think Claiborne has a bit of a stake in Northview in Maryland, and they have shown themselves to be somewhat loath to move a good MD stallion to KY. Not For Love and Two Punch probably could have come to KY, but they make much more money being big fish in the smaller MD pond. Why move them? Lion Hearted is the same way. He's making them a steady income in the midatlantic...why move him?

So they get Easing Along, who has similar breeding and physically he looks more "Easy Goer" than "Storm Cat" when compared to his brother. He is breeding true to old Phipps lines that are endemic at Claiborne. They have acquired some of the Glowing Tribute mares, they have Numbered Account all over the place, Buckpasser everywhere, Polish Navy, Polish Numbers, Poker, etc. They also have plenty of Bold Ruler breeding and some Spectacular Bid, who is probably the last extant Bold Bidder (HUGE in South America!) around.

fastappy · Postby **fastappy** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:36 am

What about Memo mares (hypo Memo x Tempanero) and do you think the linebreeding to Something Royal is significant going back to Chairman Walker's granddam on a Storm Cat?

I don't think it is a great risk from a fee standpoint, but it seems to lack some real upside considering a lot of the S/A imports w/American Pedigrees may function very well in the south but flounder here. I know he's a proven commodity down there. A Luhuk move? I know Avanzado is G1 winner here, but....

kimberley mine · Postby **kimberley mine** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:23 am

I think Memo would be an excellent cross.

Somethingroyal is a good linebreeding target but I would keep the sources to her better offspring in Sir Gaylord, his full sister and good producer Swansea, Secretariat, and his full siblings Syrian Sea and The Bride.

I think $10,000 is a bit high--$5000 would have been better, especially considering Lion Hearted is standing for $5000.

fastappy · Postby **fastappy** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:29 am

Oh, I had thought he was going to be at 5K and now I see on Claiborne's site that he is 10K! Yes I would agree, 5K is where he belongs at this juncture. Good evaluations on the pedigree, etc.

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:56 am

Hi Kimberley,

I'm confused. You wrote:

kimberley mine wrote:I think the key is to bring in as much La Troienne as possible AND to stick to lines of La Troienne that are on the Black Toney cross when possible (aka not Striking).

The Baby League branch of La Troienne through Striking has been alive and kicking lately with horses like Mineshaft and Smarty Jones. Am I understanding you correctly? You stated earlier that Woodman would work well with Easing Along, but I understand this quote to mean that you would avoid the Striking tail, which Woodman brings. HELP!!!!

yukidragon · Postby **yukidragon** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:54 am

I read somewhere.

That line breeding threw Buckpasser an Striking where the most productive .
When line breeding to La Troienne.
Is that not the case?

merse · Postby **merse** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:14 am

With all this talk about getting more La Troienne to Easing Along, you are getting me looking up the road to Lion Hearted (Easing Along's full brother) at Northview Stallion Staion here in Maryland. I have two mares with La Troienne. Falcon's Eye has six crosses and Lady With a Fan has Buckpasser in her third generation. Although Lion Hearted hasn't set the world on fire, he stands for $5k (more than half priced from Easing Along).

yukidragon · Postby **yukidragon** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:54 am

Easing Along just doesn't excite me for 10 k.
Maybe if he was unraced maybe.
Lion Hearted I like better.
I have a better feeling about looking at a stallion with poor race record,If a major KY. farm is standing a stallion from good families with so- so race record.
Might be hope for Dr Litin yet.lol

It never hurts to look ahead I guess.

Rokeby Forever · Postby **Rokeby Forever** » Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:35 pm

Many of Northern Dancer's best sons at stud didn't do much on the track. Storm Cat's not from that mold.

In this entire thread about Easing Along, there's hasn't been a word written about what his Storm Cat brings to the table. The only reason why Claiborne went out and got was Easing Along was because the management felt the need to stand a son of Storm Cat, just like every other big commercial farm. In all honesty, I don't think the dam family means anything to Claiborne - Hancock could have bought this horse from Phipps at any time....he didn't need to wait until Easing Along went to South America.