Andrew Caulfield, April 8, 2003 –Vindication P EDIGREE INSIGHTS brothers, earning a rating of 130 with a string of victories which culminated in his triumph in the BY ANDREW CAULFIELD Breeders’ Cup Classic. Touch Gold, on the other hand, disappeared from the Classifications altogether after ILLINOIS DERBY-GII, $500,000, HAW, 4-5, 3yo, being persistently handicapped by a sore foot which 1 1/8m, 1:51 2/5, ft. restricted him to four starts. Deputy Commander also 1--#@TEN MOST WANTED, 114, c, 3, by Deputy Commander had physical problems, including ulcers, and he failed to 1st Dam: Wanted Again, by Criminal Type win in three starts before he suffered a torn suspensory, 2nd Dam: Landera, by In Reality possibly in the process of finishing second under top 3rd Dam: Good Landing, by First Landing weight in the GII Californian S. on May 31. That effort, ($70,000 yrl '01 FTSAUG; $145,000 2yo 2002 though, was good enough to earn him a figure of 116. FTFFEB). O-James Chisholm, Michael Jarvis & Hori- Predictably, the prices set for the services of this zon Stable; B-Jim H Plemmons (KY); T-Wallace distinguished trio were strongly influenced by their most Dollase; J-P Day; $300,000. Lifetime Record: recent efforts. Awesome Again naturally led the way at 5-2-1-1, $373,460. a fee of $50,000, followed by Touch Gold on $30,000 Click for the brisnet.com chart or the free brisnet.com and Deputy Commander on $20,000. I think it is fair to catalogue-style pedigree. claim that Touch Gold and Deputy Commander would have started their careers at higher fees had they retired One of the worst things that can happen to a a year earlier. As it was, the classic-winning Touch Gold high-class stallion prospect is to draw a blank in his final started at the same fee as Favorite Trick, Gentlemen year in training. With breeders’ memories often being and Grand Slam, while Deputy Commander was on a notoriously short, a colt’s failure to win--or a failure to par with Joyeux Danseur and Souvenir Copy. I’m pleased to say that each of these three race very much--can quickly tarnish his glowing accomplished sons of Deputy Minister has now sired at achievements of previous years. His predicament is then least one Graded winner in his first crop. Awesome made all the more difficult by his having to compete for Again, of course, is responsible for the excellent (but mares against the horses which shone on the track sidelined) Toccet. Doing even better is Touch Gold, who while he was on the sidelines. has made a highly encouraging start with the Graded This type of situation was perfectly illustrated winners Composure, Midas Eyes and Region of Merit, towards the end of 1998, when three of Deputy together with the Graded-placed Powerful Touch and Minister’s Grade I-winning sons retired to stud in Flirt With Fortune, among his 86 first-crop named foals. Kentucky. According to the International Classifications Deputy Commander confirmed his potential last for 1997, Touch Gold was rated the best of them, his Saturday, when his daughter Holiday Lady finished a figure of 126 reflecting his Grade I wins in the Belmont creditable third behind Elloluv and Lady Tak in the GI S. and the Haskell Invitational. Deputy Commander was Ashland S. and his son Ten Most Wanted put himself on the next best, having earned a figure of 122 through his the Kentucky Derby trail with his decisive victory in the Grade I victories in the Travers S. and Super Derby, and GII Illinois Derby. Appropriately, Ten Most Wanted is his second-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic. trained by Wally Dollase, who paid a sale-topping Then came Awesome Again, winner of the Queen’s $205,000 for Deputy Commander at Barretts’ 1996 Plate and the GII Jim Dandy S., who brought up the rear May Sale of two-year-olds. Deputy Commander’s 87-strong first crop also with a figure of 117. contains the talented Brancusi, a close third to Buddy The picture was very different by the end of 1998. Gil in the GII San Felipe S. He has already had 11 Awesome Again had leap-frogged over his paternal half three-year-old winners this year and there are probably plenty more to come. There was always every chance that Deputy Commander’s offspring would improve with time and distance. Deputy Commander himself didn’t race at two--not surprisingly in view of the fact that he stands 16.2 hands--and his Grade I wins were gained over 1 1/4 miles. Also his dam, that very talented mare Anka Germania, was something of a late developer, even though she won twice as a two-year-old in France. This tough daughter of Malinowski gained her first stakes win at four, her first Graded win at five and her first Grade I win--the Sword Dancer H. over a mile and a half--at six. Ten Most Wanted also has a measure of stamina in the bottom half of his pedigree. His dam, Wanted Again, is a member of one of only two American crops by Criminal Type. This son of Alydar was transformed after his return from France to his native USA, where he made phenomenal progress as a five-year-old. Although fast enough to win the Metropolitan H., he also defeated Sunday Silence in the Hollywood Gold Cup over 1 1/4 miles on his way to Horse of the Year honors. Wanted Again is a half sister to another Hollywood Gold Cup winner in Cutlass Reality, who defeated Alysheba in the 1988 event. Another talented member of this family is More Than Ready, who shares the same third dam, Good Landing, as Ten Most Wanted. More Than Ready, you may recall, shared the lead entering the stretch in the 2000 Kentucky Derby before fading back into fourth. Expect Ten Most Wanted to see the distance out better than his relative..