Andrew Caulfield, June 14, 2011-Ruler On Ice Kelso and John Henry, respectively veterans of 63 PEDIGREE INSIGHTS and 83 appearances, both made their last starts at the BY ANDREW CAULFIELD age of nine, while Forego was eight when he lined up for the last of his 57 appearances. In the process these Saturday, Belmont Park magnificent performers took on the status of old friends BELMONT S.-GI, $1,000,000, BEL, 6-11, 3yo, 1 1/2m, to legions of admirers, at the same time acting as 2:30 4/5, sy. wonderful ambassadors for the sport of horse racing. 1--#@sRULER ON ICE, 126, g, 3, by Roman Ruler They arguably played a similar role to the courageous 1st Dam: Champagne Glow (SW & GISP, $128,250), and durable geldings which make jump racing so by Saratoga Six popular with the British and Irish horse-racing 2nd Dam: Champagne Ginny, by L'Enjoleur communities. 3rd Dam: Seminole Girl, by Chieftain But is there a place for geldings in the Triple Crown ($100,000 yrl '09 KEESEP). O-George & Lori Hall; races? Fans of such as Funny Cide, Mine That Bird, B-Liberation Farm & Brandywine Farm (KY); T-Kelly J Prairie Bayou, CrPme Fraiche and Ruler On Ice will no Breen; J-Jose Valdivia, Jr; $600,000. Lifetime Record: do doubt argue that there is--that these Triple Crown 7-3-2-1, $766,500. *1/2 to Champagne d'Oro events should be won by the leaders of their (Medaglia d'Oro), MGISW, $572,465. Click for the generation, no matter whether they are colts or eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: C. geldings. Click for the brisnet.com chart, the brisnet.com PPs o r Caulfield cont. the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Made. TELL IT TO THE TDN... Want to send a “Letter to the Editor” of the No-one could deny that American racing owes a significant debt to geldings such as Kelso, Forego and Thoroughbred Daily News? Our address is 27 Monmouth John Henry. Unlike the top-class entire colts which tend St., Red Bank, NJ, 07701; or send a fax to: (732) 747- to be rushed off to stud, these three superstars stuck 8955; an e-mail to: [email protected]; or around long enough to achieve 10 Horse of the Year post in our new Forum section at titles between them. http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/members/forum/. Pedigree Insights cont. RULER ON ICE, c, 2008 Forgive me if I sound like a dinosaur, but I much Raise a Native Mr. Prospector prefer the European system, whereby geldings are Gold Digger Fusaichi Pegasus ineligible for the 3-year-old Group 1 classics. In fact, Danzig Angel Fever geldings weren=t allowed to contest any Group 1 races Rowdy Angel Roman Ruler in Britain until 1986. I am generally not a fan of human Deputy Minister Silver Deputy intervention, whether it be drugs to make a horse Silver Valley Silvery Swan sounder or surgery to correct breathing defects. Quack Sociable Duck Neither, in the long term, is good for the breed. Nor, in Unsociable my opinion, is it good to see colts denied their moment Raise a Native Alydar of glory by any horse whose temperament, presumably, Sweet Tooth Saratoga Six was unsatisfactory enough to demand that he be Champagne Glow Irish Castle Priceless Fame castrated. SW & GISP, Comely Nell $128,250 The question has to be asked: would these geldings Buckpasser 14 Fls, 10 Wnrs, Champagne Ginny L’Enjoleur have won at such a high level had they been left entire? 2 GISW GSW, $181,981 Fanfreluche British racing once had a long love affair with a gelding 6 Fls, 1Ch, 2GSW Seminole Girl Chieftain called Boldboy, who raced until he was nine. Although 2 SW 9 Fls, 1GSW Unified the gelded Boldboy was undoubtedly a thoroughly determined individual, with ability worthy of a Group 1 In September 2009 Rob Whiteley contributed an winner, some of his behaviour as an entire juvenile invaluable op/ed column to TDN entitled AOlder Can Be suggested that his temperament would probably have Better.@ Perhaps the Liberation Farm supremo was stopped him fulfilling his potential. thinking partly of his Saratoga Six mare Champagne As a grandson of Fusaichi Pegasus, Ruler On Ice Glow. Having failed to produce a graded performer could be forgiven for having a less-than-perfect among her first ten named foals, Champagne Glow temperament. When I last wrote about the Belmont produced a Medaglia d=Oro filly at the age of 19 in winner=s sire Roman Ruler in this column, I reminded 2007. That filly, Champagne d=Oro, became a Grade I readers that when Nuno Santos was asked to name the winner in last year=s TVG Acorn S. and now most difficult horse he had dealt with, he opted for Champagne Glow=s next foal, Ruler On Ice, has become none other than Fusaichi Pegasus. her second Grade I winner . AHe was a powerful horse,@ Santos explained. AHe The perseverance shown with Champagne Glow loved to rear up, he would refuse to go to the track. reflects the fact that she had been a talented Just a headacheY@ performer--runner-up to Meadow Star in the GI Frizette In those notes I also mentioned that Roman Ruler=s S. in 1990--and comes from a successful family. Ruler figures for his first four seasons read 197 mares in On Ice=s second dam, Champagne Ginny, won the 2006, followed by a second book of 112, a third book GIII Biling Springs S. over 1 1/16 miles on turf and of 62 and a fourth book of only 37 mares. went on to produce stakes winners to four different That book of 37 came months before Roman Ruler=s stallions. first juveniles caught the eye in 2009. Thanks largely to Two of her sons scored at Grade I level, with her Rule=s victory in the GIII Delta Alleged colt Jurado taking the Premio Vittorio di Capua Jackpot S. and Homeboykris= over a mile in Italy and her Fappiano colt Grand Canyon triumph in the GI Champagne S., ranking second to Rhythm among the American Roman Ruler ended 2009 as a juveniles of 1989. Grand Canyon was runner-up in the close second behind Offlee Wild Breeders= Cup Juvenile, with this fine effort sandwiched on the first-crop sires= list. between Grade I wins in the Norfolk S. and Hollywood Predictably, the breeders who had Futurity. He was installed as winter favourite for the steadily turned their backs on Kentucky Derby but injury kept him out of the Triple Roman Ruler returned in force in Crown events and he eventually succumbed to 2010, sending a total of 135 laminitis. mares to him at Hill >n= Dale, at a Ruler On Ice clearly stays well by American fee of $20,000. Of course, this standards, thanks to the presence in his pedigree of type of fluctuation is becoming all such as Fusaichi Pegasus, Alydar, Priceless Fame (a Roman Ruler too common with unproven sires, sister to the Kentucky Derby and Belmont winner Bold www.hillndalefarms.com making it all the harder to gauge Forbes) and L=Enjoleur (Queen=s Plate and Prince of how well a young stallion is doing. Wales S., the latter over 1 3/8 miles). I fear many of them are destined to undergo repeated peaks and troughs, with the peaks coming roughly every four years. .