Oh, I do like your thinking, Dave C!
I have a grand-daughter of Wild Again who just happens to be carrying a foal that has no less than 16 stirps of Gainsborough -- 8 thru Hyperion, 6 thru Mahmoud and 2 thru Solario.
Of note is that Wild Again's dam was a ripe old 22 when she foaled him.
I've always had a hunch that Wild Again's 4th dam, Oaks winner Udaipur, was a significant factor in his pedigree, but never quite figured out how to take advantage of that. Do love the picture of her here on PQ.
Theory re: Wild Again and sons
Moderators: Roguelet, WaveMaster, madelyn
DDT wrote:Dave C
If you look at Northern Dancer, he also had great success when Hyperion or Mahmoud returned via the dam, especially when both were present. As Icecapade, the sire of Wild Again, was bred along similar lines as Northern Dancer it does not surprise me that Wild Again had success when his mares returned Gainsborough in any manner but mainly through Hyperion and Mahmoud.
DDT
I was looking for sources of Hyperion because of a Dark Ronald line sire whose pedigree is constructed by repeatedly bringing the DR line back onto the same female family to produce the best racehorses and breeding stock in that family. Since DR is only occasionally present in NA through Son in Law, I looked for the Bayardo branch of Bay Ronald (descending to Hyperion) on the principle that you can never have too much BR. Northern Dancer was noted to do well with mares full of the blood of Teddy who of course has BR as his BMS. Was the ND/Teddy cross so good becasue the BR was resonating? I don't know, but I wouldn't rule it out.
I also have noticed that Gainsborough almost never appears in a pedigree except through Hyperion, Mah Mahal or Solario. I think in the hundred or so pedigrees I've looked at I've only found G as the sire of 1 other mare. I've found Bayardo as the sire of more mares than that, but I don't count them.