An Amazing Mud Derby

What an amazing race those magnificent 3 year old Thoroughbreds gave us this year! I had told friends it was a tough pick because there were so many good horses, and I was certain that it would be a great race. And boy howdy was it ever! I favored Orb and Revolutionary. Pedigrees and performance - and if you know me you know I love pedigrees and am a snob when it comes to some bloodlines. Sorry - but a horse is what he is bred to be, then the trainer has to whittle and fine tune the talents that God gave the horse in the first place. 

Palace Malice (a Curlin son of the Eclipse sire line) was phenomenal as he took an early lead. Despite the mud he raced the first 1/4 in 22.57 seconds traveling at speeds over 38 mph!! The half was raced in 45.37 - Crazy! Others were making their bid for the lead and Palace Malice gave way to Normandy Invasion while Revolutionary and Orb were just coasting along in the back of the pack. For awhile I was wondering if Orb was going to show up but about that time here he came! Giving it all he was worth just like his forefathers. However Golden Soul was not on my radar - and I shouldn't have missed it. A bet on that horse would have been nice - there is always a longshot, I just couldn't figure out which one to pick! I missed it! AARGH!

When I looked at performance, Golden Soul was no where near as impressive as Orb or Revolutionary. So I never looked at the colts pedigree until AFTER the race. Had I looked sooner I would have tossed him in the mix. All three of the top finishers share the Eclipse sire line which continues through to the Darley Arabian. This is a sire line that has dominated racing for centuries.

I really thought Orb had the best pedigree with the tail female line going to a daughter of the Byerley Turk. His pedigree is full of the best TB's over the years, Seattle Slew, Mr Prospector, Fappiano, Cox's Ridge, Damascas,  and my all time favorite Secretariat. That's just a few ! 

Golden Soul brings in the influence of not just Secretariat but also Northern Dancer, Bold Reason, Mr Prospector, Nashua, Nasrullah, another favorite in Hyperion,  with a tail female line to a mare by the Darley Arabian out of a Byerley Turk daughter. Whew! 

Revolutionary carried the blood of Mr Prospector, Seattle Slew, Hoist the Flag, Secretariat, War Admiral, Ribot, and his tail female line goes to the same line as Golden Soul, Darley Arabian daughter from a Byerley Turk daughter. 

When you see these great pedigrees and how they run it makes you believe in the X-Factor, that fantastically huge heart that Secretariat, Man O War and Eclipse possessed, and the research behind the X-Factor theory holds water with these horses. Perhaps it is just this great gene pool that has so much speed, stamina and talent to offer that researchers want to give it a name. Whatever it is, call it what you want, it could be why it has been so many years since we have seen a Triple Crown winner. With these great horses possessing such breeding and talent, will we see a TC winner in 2013? We won't know until June and the final race. It'll be exciting - either way!