Oaks Star Rachel Alexandra To Be Bred to Curlin
New Co-Owner Jess Jackson Buys Filly as Future Broodmare
May 7, 2009
Although the filly will remain in training, her new connections said she will be bred to Curlin, a two-time Horse of the Year, after she retires. Jackson is the majority owner of Curlin, who stands at Lanes End Farm, located near Versailles, Kentucky, not far from Lexington.
Both Curlin and Rachel Alexandra have impeccable credentials as far as their race records go. So how do these two outstanding performers match up on paper in terms of pedigree?
Curlin’s Pedigree: Stamina, Speed, and Classic Winners
Curlin is by the two-time leading sire Smart Strike (broodmare sire of Derby winner Mine That Bird), bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm. He is by the great sire Mr. Prospector out of Classy ‘n’ Smart, one of Canada’s top broodmares. She in turn is by Smarten out of another great broodmare, No Class. Enough said!
Curlin’s dam, Sherriff’s Deputy, is an unraced mare by leading sire and Canadian Horse of the Year, Deputy Minister, a son of the great Vice Regent. Deputy Minister was an Eclipse and Sovereign Award winner at two and sired two-year-old champions Dehere, Open Mind and Go For Wand. He is known as a sire of Classic winners.
Sherriff’s Deputy is out of Barbarika, a multiple stakes-winning daughter of Bates Motel. The negative factor here is the indifferent produce record of this entire female line. Until Curlin, this family produced very little, despite being bred to good stallions. But breeding Sherriff’s Deputy to Smart Strike created the “Golden Cross” of Mr. Prospector—Northern Dancer (sire of Vice Regent). Even farther back in the pedigree, there seems to be magic in that combination.
So on Curlin’s side, there is plenty of stamina combined with some two-year-old precociousness, plus the ability to win over Classic distances.
Rachel Alexandra: Speed, Durability and Stamina
Rachel Alexandra is in the second crop by Medaglia d’Oro, a durable runner who won Grade One stakes at ages three, four and five, including the Belmont Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Classic. He has sired five stakes winners plus four stakes-placed horses to date. His sire, the great El Prado (IRE), is by the Northern Dancer son Sadler’s Wells and out of a daughter of Sir Ivor. This side of the pedigree is bred for stamina, durability and for Classic distances, although El Prado was noted for his speed as a juvenile.
Medaglia d’Oro’s dam, Cappuccino Bay, was a stakes winner at two and is by graded stakes winner Bailjumper, a son of champion Damascus and the sire of Skip Trial, a stakes winner at three through five. Skip Trial sired Horse of the Year Skip Away. So here, too, there is a mix of two-year-old speed plus the ability to win at Classic distances.
Rachel’s dam is Lotta Kim, a stakes-winning daughter of Roar, leading sire in California. He is by Kentucky Derby runner-up and sire Forty Niner (by Mr. Prospector) out of a Northern Dancer daughter. Lotta Kim's dam is by New York leading sire Cure the Blues.
Curlin and Rachael Alexandra Are the Perfect Match
The breeding of these two will double up on stamina and durability, two important factors badly needed in today’s Thoroughbreds. There are three crosses to the prepotent Northern Dancer, which predicts an ability for these two great horses to pass on their good traits. There is some speed, too, but overall this planned breeding has a strong possibility of producing a horse that could become a future Triple Crown contender and/or pass on all the best qualities of its famous sire and dam.
That’s all any breeder can ask for.
