September, 2003                                 
What does it take to be great?                                                                                 

Great broodmares require both opportunity and quality
to become Foundation Mares

by Rommy Faversham 

AT WHAT point in her career does a great broodmare transform into a great
matriarch, a true Foundation Mare? Furthermore, what are the some of the key
factors that lead to such transcendence?

A great broodmare, no matter how many stakes winners she produces,
depends on her daughters and granddaughters to perpetuate her family. And it is
really the records of those female descendants that tell the tale.
For example, Fall Aspen produced a modern-record nine stakes winners, but
it is her six daughters-three of them stakes winners themselves-who are well
on their way to making their dam one of the most important matriarchs of the
21st century.

Perhaps the best way to measure a family's current strength is by
determining its overall rate of success. This ratio, or percentage, can be calculated
by dividing the number of superior individuals-stakes winners and
group/graded winners-in the family by the total number of individuals the family has
produced.

By evaluating these records, both quantitatively and qualitatively, one
can better evaluate each family's ability to produce superior individuals.
Table 1 compares the records of United States Broodmares of the Year from
1975 to 1984. For each of these outstanding females, the first four columns
shows the number of foals, number and percentage of stakes winners (SWs),
number and percentage of graded or group winners (GSWs) and number and percentage
of Grade/Group 1 winners (G1SWs) the mare herself produced. Columns five
through eight show the same totals and percentages resulting from the foals of all
of her daughters, their daughters, and so on, for all branches of the family
trees through 2002.

In other words, columns five through eight for each mare in Table 1
evaluate how each of these ten broodmares have performed, so far, as a matriarch,
the foundation root of her given family. As enumerated, these ten demonstrate a
wide range of success in this capacity.

To provide a frame of reference for the figures in Table 1, Table 2
presents comparable figures for the average for the breed, foals by top 1% of
sires, and two examples of breed shaping stallions

                                U.S. Broodmares of the Year 1975-1984

Table 2

The ability of these ten outstanding broodmares to develop viable
long-term families has proven to be surprisingly variable.
1984 Broodmare of the Year, Hasty Queen II (1963, One Count--Queen
Hopeful, by Roman) has failed to establish a viable family of her own. Despite
having five producing daughters, none of their branches have come close to issuing
an individual as good as her own son, multiple Grade 1 winner Fit to Fight.
Most remarkably, Hasty Queen produced more stakes winners herself than have her
female line descendants.

Courtly Dee (1968, Never Bend-Tulle, by War Admiral), 1983 Broodmare of
the Year, on the other hand would be an example of an outstanding producer
whose daughters and granddaughters have gone on to forge one of the world's most
celebrated contemporary families. As Table 1 demonstrates, her rate of success
as a matriarch, so far, rivals those of current breed shaping stallions. In an
amazing show of family depth, Courtly Dee has a total of ten daughters whose
own branches have already produced graded/group winners. The family has also
produced important sires such as Green Desert (59 SWs) and Twining (21 SWs).
The 1982 Broodmare of the Year, Best in Show (1965, Traffic Judge--Stolen
Hour, by Mr. Busher) is another acclaimed broodmare who went on to become a
breed-shaping matriarch. Her family represents one of the best sources of
middle distance grass champions in the world today. As success so often leads to
new opportunities, the Best in Show family has been the most prolific (494
foals) of the ten clans under review. Despite the relatively large numbers, the
line has maintained an outstanding rate of success. Important sires tracing to
Best In Show include El Gran Senor (54 SWs), Try My Best (32 SWs), Compliance
(13 SWs) and Malinowski (13 SWs).

Natashka (1963, Dedicate-Natasha, by Nasrullah), 1981 Broodmare of the
Year, is another blue hen from this era who has launched a very successful
American family. Table 1 shows her overall rate of success as a matriarch is lower
than those of Courtly Dee and Best In Show, but still well within the realm of
an accomplished family. Mukaddamah (21 SWs) and sensational freshman sire
Elusive Quality (8 SWs) are the clan's two most prominent contemporary stallions.
Daughters of the dam of champions Fort Marcy and Key To The Mint, 1980
Broodmare of the Year, Key Bridge (1959, *Princequillo--Blue Banner, by War
Admiral) received ample opportunities at stud. Nevertheless her tail-female line
has not come close to consistently providing the kinds of superior performers
normally issued by an elite family.

Smartaire (1962, *Quibu--Art Teacher, by Olympia), 1979 Broodmare of the
Year, has become a good matriarch but not a great one. Her figures, from only
a moderate sized family population, rank her below Courtly Dee, Best in Show,
and Natashka, but still well above the averages for the breed. Important
stallions arising from this clan include Smarten (49 SWs) and Quadratic (25 SWs).
Like Hasty Queen II, 1978 Broodmare of the Year, Primonetta
(Swaps--Banquet Bell, by Polynesian), is a heralded broodmare who has become quite
mediocre in the role of family matriarch.

Sweet Tooth (On-and-On--Plum Cake, by Ponder), 1977 Broodmare of the Year
and dam of the great sire and broodmare sire Alydar, has likewise failed to
impress as a matriarch, with rates of success not much greater than the
averages for the breed.

1976 Broodmare of the Year, *Gazala II (Dark Star--*Belle Angevine, by
L'Amiral), herself a French champion, produced three Grade 1 winners, including
two more French champions. Despite this superb record at stud, the *Gazala II
family actually teeters on extinction due to a rather extreme shortage of
female representation throughout its few branches. In fact, of the 46 tail-female
descendants of *Gazala II, only 13 have been fillies. Additionally all eight
of the family's stakes winners have been colts or geldings. The result of this
male dominance has been a severe inhibition of family growth, despite good
rates of success from very limited opportunities.

The 1975 Broodmare of the Year, Shenanigans (Native Dancer--Bold Irish,
by Fighting Fox) produced only two daughters. One was Ruffian, very possibly
the best American racing filly of the 20th century. Her mortal breakdown in the
Foolish Pleasure match race of 1975 left her dam with only one surviving
daughter, Laughter, by Bold Ruler, to carry on the line. As Table 1 indicates,
this single viable branch of Shenanigans has produced outstanding rates of
success. As a result, the family appears to have overcome its initial phase of
retarded growth and now has the look of an extended, breed-shaping clan for the
future. Important stallions who descend in tail-female line from Shenanigans
include Icecapade (73 SWs), On To Glory (32 SWs), Buckfinder (25 SWs), Blue Ensign
(22 SWs), Private Terms (19 SWs), and promising freshman sire Coronado's
Quest.

Opportunity vs. intrinsic quality

What does this statistical review suggest about the way Thoroughbred
families grow and flourish?

The first requirement for a viable and successful family is adequate
opportunity. In the case of the Shenanigans and *Gazala II clans, the number of
foals generated over time has been hampered by an insufficient number of female
producers. Clearly, all broodmares, regardless of their potential, require
sufficient opportunities to manifest their long-term influence.

On the other hand, while ample opportunity may lead, for a time, to the
proliferation a given female line it certainly does not appear to be the sole
reason why certain families become successful. For example, the mediocre
figures in Table 1 put up by the Key Bridge line, despite an excellent number of
opportunities, is a good illustration of this.

Ultimately, of course, it is racing success that determines the selection
process. This implies that families, regardless of previous esteem, who fail
to continue to produce enough superior runners will eventually recede in the
overall population.

What, then, makes a family flourish? When does a great producer transcend
to become a great "producer of producers" and beyond?

At the cellular level, this could involve issues involving the
X-chromosome, or even more likely, mitochondria DNA which is known to be family specific
but can be prone to change through random mutation. All of this would affect
the long-term intrinsic qualities of a female line.

Then, there are the all-important interactions between sire and dam.
Great matriarchs typically found key branches characterized by high levels of
compatibility throughout their succession of male unions. These affinities can
often be described in terms of inbreeding patterns as well as distinct body
types.

Elite families also appear to be more apt to form auspicious
relationships with particular sire lines. In the case of the Best in Show clan, for
example, nine of the 17 Grade/Group1 winners have been sired by Northern Dancer-line
stallions. As pointed out by John P. Sparkman in his Foundation Mares series,
a remarkable number of the best representatives Natashka's family were sired
by members of the *Ribot male line.

Whatever the causes, great matriarchs represent the origins for all of
the significant clusters of matrilineal success scattered throughout the history
of the breed. Establishing their relatively high rates of success in this
capacity can help to distinguish them from the overwhelming majority of
tail-female ancestors.

A catalog page does not reveal the level of opportunity available for
different families. For example, two individuals who descend from Shenanigans and
Smartaire respectively, could have catalog pages which look remarkably
similar in the amount and quality of black type they contain. What Table 1 reveals
is that the Shenanigans tribe did it with less than half the numerical
opportunity. That might be valuable information to consider when appraising the
family's likelihood of producing another top-notch horse.

Rommy Faversham is a pedigree specialist and author
living in Los Angeles. More of his work is available at
http://www.equicross.com.