Zenyatta matchups: Round 2 – Curlin

For starters, Curlin’s pedigree offers a very nice backbone for Zenyatta’s world class genetic wardrobe.

One example of this is provided by Curlin’s 4th broodmare sire, ‘Battle Joined’, and his 4-r tail female line. Millmaid is the 5th dam of ‘Battle Joined’, and is by Fair Play, out of a Rock Sand mare. This should ring wild Man O’War bells, since Man O’ War himself was by Fair Play, and out of a Rock Sand mare. Millmaid and Man O’ War are therefore 3/4 siblings…

Zenyatta also sports a 4-r line through her 5th dam Lady Legend…

Lady Legend (a great name to have in Zenyatta’s pedigree…) stacks up a whopping 2X Hermit X factor, along with Bend Or, Stockwell, and Rataplan; the latter two being out of the famous X factor mare, Pocahontas (GB) 1837 on her sire’s side; and brings in the haul of the century through her dam Sweepless, which includes a Hamburg X, MacGregor X (3^rd damsire of Man O’War), Rayon Dor (Pocahontas (GB)), Grey Eagle 1835, and Mary Clark; daughter of Lexington, out of a Glencoe daughter.

Initial assessment…intriguing…it’s almost like there are the makings for another Man O’ War all over again…Curlin’s pedigree is fascinating on its own, simply because he has the makings ‘of the makings’ of Secretariat…without any Secretariat…but combined with Zenyatta, there is something else afoot…different genes are accented, with the possibility of creating a whole new era of Thoroughbreds…

Ellen Parker, in the July 10, 2010 edition of the Thoroughbred Times Opinions section, compared Zenyatta to the great Phar Lap. She also said that Zenyatta possesses a “sublime shoulder and the deepest of heart girths…and she has the bone to support it all.”

Curlin has a trademark flick of the shoulder, a movement that can only be produced by a long shoulder blade, powerful humerus, long forearm and a short cannon bone — throwing his feet out in front of him with enormous torque and length of stride. He also has ‘bone’…something he has been throwing into his foals. And this is a great, great thing. Lighter bones do not make faster racehorses, they make more injury prone ones…

We should be seeing little Thoroughbred Titans gracing the fields of Kentucky in the spring of 2012. Fans of Rachel Alexandra and the fans of Zenyatta, who have sported a relationship similar to the Montagues and the Capulets, would have a chance to write a new ending (or new beginning), and take up their verbal swords when the first foals reach their racing potential…all would be tempered just a bit, if Curlin were father to both individuals produced by these Colossal mares. Ahhhh, the twists and turns.

Part II:
Curlin’s sire, Smart Strike is a wonderful combination of speed and stamina. Of interest, when thinking about a cross with Zenyatta, is Smart Strike’s 2nd dam, No Class.

No Class’s sire is Nodouble, and here we find excellent X blood through a Whisk Broom daughter, and a Sweep daughter; but it is on No Class’s dam side where the immediate synergies are located. By now, you are familiar with the fact that Zenyatta possesses a nice duplication of War Admiral blood, and it is here, through the dam of No Class (a mare by the name of Classy Quillo), that we see a War Admiral daughter line.

It comes through Classy Quillo’s sire Outing Class. His 3rd dam, Iron Maiden was by War Admiral. Classy Quillo’s broodmare sire was none other than Sir Gallahad (also the broodmare sire of Johnstown, who was subsequently BMsire of Nashua).

No Class also sports a Princequillo daughter, Quillopoly (the dam of Classy Quillo)in her 2nd dam position in her tail female line.

This great blood feeds into Smart Strike, Curlin’s sire, and welcomes the blood of Hoist the Flag (War Admiral), and Princequillo through Zenyatta’s dam, Vertigineux.

But, here’s what Zenyatta has, that you don’t see very often… Nearco and Nasrullah daughters…feeding into her sire Street Cry; it comes from his broodmare sire, Troy. Not only is this a double whammy, it is a triple whammy…a grand slam…a perfect X-factor storm of Nearco, Royal Charger and Nasrullah X blood.

Through the Nearco daughter, comes Maiden (Lexington x Glencoe) X blood. Through both Nasrullah and Royal Charger, both sons of Nearco, comes ‘The Flying Filly (Mumtaz Mahal: Lexington x Glencoe X through Americus and Lady Josephine) blood.

It is the most tremendous opportunity we have seen since the turn of the 20th century.

This, in essence, is what we have been waiting for. The female blood here is phenomenal. It provides a much needed gender balance for any Nearco sireline (including Bold Ruler, etc. etc.), which may throw back to those individuals in several important ways. Please refer to: a Nick in Time.

Zenyatta has the potential to rock the Thoroughbred world with triumphantly successful offspring, regardless of her partner. Maybe they should let her choose. Recognizing that she may have deeper knowledge and wisdom in this regard, would be a throwback to the thinking of the great Frederico Tesio* himself.

In the book, ‘TESIO’ In His Own Words (Russell Meerdink) he explained the effect of ‘Cupid’s arrow’, when a mare named Signora dissed the famous Isinglass for a lesser known stallion named Charleureux. The product of the spontaneous love affair was a filly named Signorinetta, who went on to win the Derby and the Oaks…

*Frederico Tesio was the breeder of the undefeated stars Nearco, and Ribot…

Once again, Zenyatta’s pedigree can be found here: Zenyatta

Curlin’s pedigree is here: Curlin

For more on Zenyatta’s bloodlines, go to Part III