Andrew Caulfield, December 6, 2011-Gemologist Although Street Cry will be standing at $150,000 for PEDIGREE INSIGHTS the fourth consecutive year, he spent his first four years B Y A N D R E W C A U L F I E L D at $30,000. Of his racing age offspring, only his current crops of 2- and 3-year-olds were conceived at higher KENTUCKY JOCKEY CLUB S.-GII, $178,200, CDX, prices ($100,000 and $$50,000, respectively). 11-26, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44 2/5, ft. As the veteran Dynaformer is heading for his seventh 1--#@GEMOLOGIST, 122, c, 2, by Tiznow year as a six-figure stallion, it is easy to forget that he 1st Dam: Crystal Shard, by Mr. Prospector spent his early years at a mere $5,000. 2nd Dam: Sulemeif, by Northern Dancer Tapit=s rapid rise through the ranks means that his 3rd Dam: Barely Even, by Creme Dela Creme 2012 fee will be $125,000, even though all his ($310,000 wlng '09 KEENOV). O-WinStar Farm LLC; racing-age offspring, from his first four crops, were B-G Watts Humphrey Jr & Louise Ireland Humphrey sired at fees no higher than $15,000. It has been a Revocable Trust - 2 (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher; J-Javier similar, but less extreme story with Medaglia d=Oro. He Castellano; $103,855. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, started out at $35,000 in 2005 and owes his current $145,855. *1/2 to Clear Destiny (Deputy Minister), reputation to four crops sired at fees no higher than SW, $193,667; and Perfect Cut (A.P. Indy), SP, $40,000. $164,265. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the Although Distorted Humor has long commanded a eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. six-figure fee, he was available for $12,500 or less Click for the brisnet.com chart, the brisnet.com PPs or the free during his first four years. brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Malibu Moon=s story almost qualifies for the Made. rags-to-riches description. Four seasons in Maryland at only $3,000 laid the foundation for a career in Kentucky The Thoroughbred Times= stallion directory lists which has seen his fee rise from $10,000 to $70,000. 20 stallions standing the 2012 season in Kentucky at fees ranging from $50,000 to $150,000. One revealing PEDIGREE INSIGHTS... aspect of this list is how many of them have worked Get pedigree expert Andrew Caulfield=s their way up the ladder, to highlight that there is often take on racing=s newsmakers! value to be had among the unproven stallions. You can find all of Caulfield=s columns in the TDN Archive. www.coolm ore.com Smart Strike was a $30,000 stallion in his early Tiznow was another whose sire hadn=t quite managed years, as was Unbridled=s Song in his first two seasons, a graded victory. Having Cee's Tizzy as his sire and and breeders needed no more than $10,000 to access Seattle Song as his broodmare sire no doubt raised Indian Charlie in his first five years. More Than Ready some doubts in the minds of the numerous mare owners was priced at between $25,000 and $15,000 in his who would otherwise have jumped at the chance to use early years. a dual winner of the GI Breeders= Cup Classic. Candy Ride has only just joined this elite group, By his fourth season Tiznow's book was down to having established his reputation with four crops sired 76 mares, for 52 foals, but he has since answered the at fees no higher than $12,500. War Front has taken doubters to such an extent that he has covered more this one step further, with two crops sired at $12,500 than 130 mares in each of his first three seasons at helping to boost his fee to $60,000. $75,000. He has been in fine form this year, with the And the in-form Tiznow spent his first four seasons at GI Carter H. winner Morning Line and the $30,000 and was available for $25,000 as recently as GI Metropolitan and GI Whitney H. winner Tizway 2007. He will be spending his fourth consecutive boosting his total of Grade I winners to eight. Their season at $75,000 in 2012, but his reputation has been predecessors include winners of the G1 Dubai World built entirely with progeny sired at fees between Cup (Well Armed), GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies $25,000 and $35,000. (Folklore), GI Santa Anita Derby and GI Travers S. Of course, the difficult part for a mare owner is to (Colonel John) and GI Belmont S. (Da' Tara). establish which of the unproven young stallions are He has five sons at stud in Kentucky, now that going to exceed expectations. Tizway and American Lion have respectively retired to Several different scenarios lead to future high-class Spendthrift and Darby Dan, to join Tiz Wonderful, Colonel John and Tizdejavu. stallions being affordable in their early years. For Tiznow has been in fine form in recent weeks. After example, he may have been injured before he was able Lovely Lil and Gemologist provided him with a Grade II to fulfill the potential of his illustrious bloodlines, as was double on the last weekend of November, another Grade Malibu Moon after only two starts. Or he could be a II success came his way via Ellafitz in the top-class performer whose pedigree was a little foreign, GII Bayakoa H. two days ago. such as Street Cry. Gemologist is arguably the most interesting of these, Distorted Humor was a good, solid performer with a as his victory in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. was fashionable enough pedigree, but he lacked that his third from three starts. He now appears well all-important Grade I victory on his C.V., as did War qualified to attempt to follow in the footsteps of Super Front. More Than Ready was no doubt categorized as Saver, winner of this Grade II event for WinStar Farm in just a sprinter, despite his bold showing in the Kentucky 2009. Derby. Tiznow is himself inbred to Northern Dancer, but his Then there are the horses who left no questions to be two lines are back in the fifth generation of his answered about their class on the racetrack, but whose progeny=s pedigrees, so it is hardly surprising that many pedigrees were less than fashionable. Candy Ride may of his black-type performers have a third or fourth line. have set a track record in defeating Medaglia d'Oro by Gemologist is inbred 5x5x3, as his second dam is more than three lengths in the GI Pacific Classic, but he Northern Dancer's smart daughter Sulemeif, a carried the stigma of having been bred in Argentina, as Grade III winner over a mile. well as being a son of a horse who failed to win at At least as relevant is the fact that Gemologist=s dam graded level in the U.S. That hasn't stopped him siring Crystal Shard is a daughter of Mr. Prospector. Tiznow six Grade I winners in his first two crops. Two of those has only 13 foals out of Mr. Prospector mares, but Grade I winners, Sidney's Candy and Twirling Candy, Gemologist follows Tizaqueena as the second Grade II make their debut at fees of $15,000 next February. winner among them. Crystal Shard is herself one of 73 foals sired by Mr. Prospector from daughters of GEMOLOGIST, c, 2009 Northern Dancer. No fewer than 15 of the 73 became In Reality black-type winners--21%--and among them were four Relaunch Foggy Note Grade I winners, headed by the Breeders= Cup winners Cee’s Tizzy Lyphard Eillo and Rhythm and the outstanding European filly Tizly Tizna Ravinella. Another of the 15 was Crystal Shard=s tough Tiznow Seattle Slew sister Withallprobability, winner of Grade II races over Seattle Song Incantation seven furlongs and 1 1/8 miles. Cee’s Song No wonder Crystal Shard cost $400,000 as a Nice Dancer Lonely Dancer yearling, but her price had fallen to only $23,000 by the Sleep Lonely time she was offered in foal to Colonel John at Native Dancer Raise a Native Keeneland=s 2010 November Sales. The foal she was Raise You Mr. Prospector carrying--a three-parts-brother to Gemologist--sold for Nashua Crystal Shard Gold Digger $170,000 after Gemologist had won his first two starts. Sequence unraced Gemologist=s third dam, the speedy Barely Even, had 11Fls, 1GSW, Sulemeif Nearctic 1SW, 1SP Northern Dancer the proud record of 17 wins from 30 starts. She was GSW, 10-3-3-2 Natalma good enough to finish second in the Kentucky Oaks, so 11Fls, 1GSW Barely Even Creme dela Creme Gemologist is certainly bred well enough to be a factor 1SW, 4SP 14Fls, 2GSW, 2SW Dodge Me in next year=s Kentucky Derby..