Andrew Caulfield, July 13, 2010-Gio Ponti PEDIGREE INSIGHTS BY ANDREW CAULFIELD Saturday, Belmont Park MAN O' WAR S.-GI, $600,000, BEL, 7-10, 3yo/up, 1 3/8mT, 2:16 1/5, fm. 1--GIO PONTI, 120, h, 5, by Tale of the Cat 1st Dam: Chipeta Springs (SP), by Alydar 2nd Dam: Salt Spring (Arg), by Salt Marsh 3rd Dam: Jungle Mythologic (Arg), by Mount Athos (GB) ($95,000 RNA yrl '06 KEESEP; $45,000 RNA 2yo >07 FTFFEB). O-Castleton Lyons; B-Kilboy Estate Inc (KY); T-Christophe Clement; J-Ramon A Dominguez; $360,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. Older Horse & Ch. Turf Horse, 19-10-6-0, $4,123,800. *1/2 to Fisher Pond (A.P. Indy), SW & MGSP, $251,490; and Bon Jovi Girl (Malibu Moon), MSW & GISP, $512,443. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the brisnet.com chart, the brisnet.com PPs o r the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Made. As it is now nearly 20 years since the magnificent Alydar met his horrific death at Calumet, we cannot expect to see him cropping up as the broodmare sire of many more Grade I winners of the calibre of Gio Ponti. This champion turf horse recently repeated his 2009 victory in the Man O= War S. and this welcome return to the winner=s circle has pushed the Tale of the Cat horse=s earnings past the $4-million mark. With his youngest daughters already 19 years old, the number of active producers among Alydar=s 320 broodmare daughters must be dwindling fast, so we are nearing the end of a very productive era. Alydar is the broodmare sire of 156 stakes winners, from a total of 2,371 named foals out of his daughters, with nearly 70 of them scoring at group/graded level. The celebrity-packed list of Grade I winners out of Alydar mares features the likes of Lure (two editions of the Breeders= Cup Mile), Cat Thief (Breeders= Cup Classic), Ajina (Breeders= Cup Distaff), Anees (Breeders= Cup Juvenile), Peintre Celebre (Prix du Jockey-Club and Arc), Lakeway, A.P. Valentine, November Snow and Amilynx. Success on this scale in the role of broodmare sire certainly wasn=t unexpected. Alydar, after all, had always been renowned as an outstanding sire of fillies, almost from the word go. His first crop (which incidentally numbered only 35 named foals) was headed by Miss Oceana and Althea. While Miss Oceana was given the honor of topping the fillies= section of the Experimental Free Handicap, it was Althea who took the Eclipse Award. Two of the fillies in his second crop, Alydar=s Best and Endear, also became Grade I winners and it was a similar story with Alydar=s third crop, which produced I=m Sweets and Clabber Girl. Caulfield cont. www.coolmore.com By the end of his career, the number of Grade I- I don=t have an accurate total of foals sired by winning daughters by Alydar had risen to 11--a total Alydar=s sons but it is safe to say that they have sired which tended to confirm Alydar=s reputation for being a at least twice the number of foals--2,371--credited to Afilly sire.@ However, such a description was more than his daughters. Despite having at least twice the a little unfair, ignoring the fact that Alydar was also numbers, their number of graded winners falls well responsible for two sons--Alysheba and Criminal Type-- short of the total achieved by Alydar=s broodmare who achieved Horse of the Year honors, for another daughters. son--Easy Goer--who took the title of champion It is hard to think of a logical reason for this two-year-old male and for yet another son--Turkoman-- difference between Alydar=s sons and daughters, who was voted champion older horse. especially when there is no such divergence between These champions also had a strong male supporting the sons and daughters of the similarly bred Mr. cast, which included Strike the Gold, who followed Prospector. Alysheba as Alydar=s second Kentucky Derby winner, Could it be that Alydar=s sons generally stayed a little Saratoga Six, Dare And Go and the top European colt too well to suit the American industry? Most of Alydar=s Cacoethes. best sons inherited a large measure of the stamina At this stage it is worth reminding you that Alydar=s which so nearly enabled Alydar to beat his nemesis pedigree bore some distinct similarities to that of Mr. Affirmed in the 1978 Belmont S. Alysheba, Criminal Prospector. Both these sons of Raise a Native were out Type, Strike the Gold, Easy Goer, Dare And Go and of talented granddaughters of Nasrullah and both had Cacoethes all gained at least one of their Grade I some Bull Dog blood. Mr. Prospector, of course, has victories over a mile and a quarter or more. The rival proved a phenomenal sire of sires, while simultaneously Mr. Prospector clan generally possessed more of their establishing himself as an extraordinary broodmare sire. sire=s speed. Alydar, on the other hand, has left a legacy based, to Disappointing though Alydar=s sons have been as a considerable extent, on his broodmare daughters. If sires, several of them have flourished in the role of you take a look at page 1221 of the Blood-Horse broodmare sire. Whereas they were directly responsible Stallion Register for 2010, you will see that it takes five for only 10 Grade I winners, they have sired the dams full columns of the Polynesian male line chart to of at least 24 Grade I winners in the Northern summarise Mr. Prospector=s huge impact on the current Hemisphere. stallion population. Alydar, in contrast, is shown with a The biggest contributions to this total have come mere four active male descendants, only one of which-- from Easy Goer (predictably, in view of the strength of Airdrie=s Santa Anita Derby winner Brother Derek--is his daughters= pedigrees) and Saratoga Six, with six based in Kentucky. each. Easy Goer=s sextet include Storm Flag Flying, When I reviewed Brother Derek=s pedigree in this Corinthian, Astronomer Royal and Magical Fantasy. column following his victory in the 2005 Hollywood Alysheba is just one behind, with George Washington Futurity, I commented that Athe unpalatable truth is that and Grandera among his five, and Turkoman is the Alydar--for all his achievements and excellent broodmare sire of Point Given, Hard Spun and Colonel bloodlines--was a fairly disastrous sire of sires.@ John. The main achievement by Strike the Gold=s I pointed out that in the early 1990s Alydar had more daughters has been Borrego, while Ten Most Wanted is than 50 stallion sons scattered around the U.S. and the best winner out of a Criminal Type mare. there seemed every reason to think that he would establish a long-lasting dynasty. Sadly it wasn=t to be. GIO PONTI, h, 2005 Turkoman proved much less effective as a stallion than Northern Dancer Storm Bird as a racehorse, even though he sired Grade I winners in South Ocean Storm Cat Man From Wicklow and Turk Passer. Criminal Type, Secretariat Terlingua who got caught up in Calumet=s problems, was soon Crimson Saint Tale of the Cat sold to Japan, leaving Grade II and Grade III winners Raise A Native Mr. Prospector behind; and Saratoga Six sired only one Grade I winner Gold Digger Yarn (Toga Toga Toga) during a long career. Alysheba--also Honest Pleasure Narrate the sire of only one Group 1 winner (Moonlight Dance)-- State was temporarily exiled in Saudi Arabia, while Strike the Native Dancer Gold headed for Turkey after failing to sire a single Raise a Native Raise You graded winner. Alydar On-and-On The most successful sons of Alydar in terms of Grade Chipeta Springs Sweet Tooth Plum Cake I winners, with three apiece, have been Easy Goer and SP 12 Fls, 1Ch, 1GSW, Tom Rolfe Brother Derek=s sire, the Grade II winner Benchmark. Of Salt Spring (Arg) Salt Marsh 2 SW Saline course, it is possible that Easy Goer could have been G1SW-Arg, GSW & MGISP-US Jungle Mythologic Mount Athos (GB) the one to restore Alydar=s reputation as a sire of sires, 8 Fls, 7 winners (Arg) but he died in 1994, at the age of eight, leaving only 12 Fls, 1SW Jungle Queen (Arg) 133 named foals. Among them were the Grade I winners My Flag, Furlough and Will=s Way, but it could be argued that he should have done even better with the exceptional support he received..