English Channel

(Matt: TFTribe has recently written some great FanPosts looking at the breeding side of the game. Here's a nice look at English Channel, a personal nemesis of mine a few years ago.)

With English Channel's first winner this week, I figured I'd take a closer look at him. A winner of  5.2 million dollars and a Breeder's Cup Turf Champion, he clearly has an elite record. The most interesting thing is that he ran every single race at a mile or more and even broke his maiden as a two year old at a mile and a sixteenth. Usually you see juveniles breaking their maiden at 5-7f as their initial stamina just isn't quite there yet.

More ATJ.

A son of Smart Strike out of a Theatrical mare, his first foal crop hits the track as two year olds this year. He is on the Mr. Prospector-Northern Dancer cross that has produced so many champions at a mile and a half in the last decade that it is no surprise he was able to excel at the classic distances.

via www.sporthorse-data.com

His win in the Breeder's Cup Turf is amazing. He sits in a perfect stalking position and then blows the doors off of the field for a huge victory.

Now at 25k for a Live Foal Guaranteed Contract, I'd say he's a bit much for a new stallion, but the performance, the bloodlines, and the potential are all there for him to be a great stallion. I think a perfect match would be a mare that has tended to produce runners (and/or ran herself) at 7-8f that have issues running longer. Infusing some of his 10-12f stamina would be a great match.

With only one winner out there as of today, it's hard to look at the data to really take a guess as to how exactly his progeny will perform on a consistent basis. His dam, Belva, seems to put out colts that are winners, and fillies that aren't, but without knowing more about her, that may be a sample size issue. But all of the initial indicators are there for him to be able to pass on a significant number of his winning genes.