Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Stallion Profile: J J's Lucky Train - All Aboard!

Stallion Profile: J J's Lucky Train
Prepared by Jared Gollnitz
Prepared for Anna Simms, DVM

Every once in a while you come across a stallion with a female line that doesn't exactly ring a bell and are subsequently overlooked because American breeders don't recognize the names in the female family of the stallion. These families often come from Great Britain or South America. The good news is that breeders in these distant places, especially in the last 80 years, were educated, analytical minds and were fiendish linebreeders who bred their stock not only to produce runners, but also to produce future producers. Our subject stallion, Graded stakes winner and multiple stakes winner, J J's Lucky Train, (Silver Train - Delta Sensation, by Thunder Gulch) comes from such a family that was developed by foreign breeders that were fully aware of the pre-potent ancestors they had at their disposal when planning matings. The good news is that these same pre-potent ancestors exist in American pedigrees as well, and in plentiful supply.

It is no secret that great results can be had from returning a stallion's dam's best blood. Let's first go over who these ancestors are. Most important is Family 16, the descendants of Agnes. Any from this family will work, but chief among these descendants are the full sibling Ormonde and Ornament, and their close kin Kendal and Martagon. Adding to the family 16 buildups is of importance when considering crossing to the dam of J J's Lucky Train. These family members can be found in any of the sons of Plucky Leige (Bull Dog, Sir Gallahad III, Admiral Drake) and should be considered prime targets. A sire that was plentiful in these buildups was Roberto. Quantity is important, but variety is better. Third dam First of Dawn may have GB, IRE, FR, and ARG notations all over her pedigree, but she has plenty of Ornament, Martagon, and a line of hard-to-find Kendal in her pedigree. Champion 2 year-old Forty Niner's dam File is laced with four lines of Ornament. The newly-minted daughters of Boys At Tosconova and Cal Nation will be great for this purpose, once they reach breeding age. Adding more Kendal to First of Dawn should be explosive. A great source of Kendal is Caro. Caro has five (5) lines of Kendal. Descendants of Unbridled's Song could well be excellent mates for J J's Lucky Train and will provide a source of Caro. Some better options for sources of Caro would be Maria's Mon (through Super Saver and Monarchos) and mares with In Excess or Indian Charlie. Mizzen Mast should also work well here. Mares by Notional and With Approval not only add Caro, but also add more La Troienne as well as Prince John and Tourbillon, known accomplices to La Troienne. These are sounder lines that will also add stamina to the equation.

A distaff line to acquire for J J's Lucky Train is that of Yanina II, an Argentine stakes superstar imported into the U.S. Her daughters and their daughters have bred on, mostly through Peace Tech and Northern Heiress. Their bloodlines can be found throughout the Mid-Atlantic and some in Kentucky. They bring with them four (4) lines of Kendal just through Yanina II alone and any more they've picked up in subsequent generations.

Another key source of speed that is gaining more notoriety in recent years is Olympia. One line of Olympia is potent enough for speed, but he appears as a 4th or 5th damsire of many a successful female lines. Olympia appears in the pedigree of J J's Lucky Train through Old Trieste, via Crozier. Inbreeding to Olympia has been explosive in recent years, even from 5, 6, and 7 generations out. Known for his speed, Olympia tends to add speed without compromising stamina... you don't have to take my word for it... just ask Triple Crown winner American Pharoah whose dam Littleprincessemma has Olympia highly concentrated in her 2nd dam, Zetta Jet, and she got even more Olympia when she met Pioneerof the Nile. 2014 Horse of the Year and dual classic winner California Chrome also crossed Danzig on Lucky Mel, each carrying Olympia. As an added bonus, Lucky Pulpit also brings Caro to the party! Olympia can be found in the aforementioned Pioneerof The Nile, Unbridled's Song, Rockport Harbor, Smart Strike, any Dynaformer (son of Roberto). Olympia is most potent in tail-female descent. Monarchos brings in Olympia through a full sister to Dynaformer, and Caro. Can you say "home-run"?

Another powerful accomplice to La Troienne and Domino (both prevalent throughout the pedigree of J J's Lucky Train) is Tourbillon, and more specifically, male lines of Glencoe, mostly through Vandal. Vandal can be found in his strongest form and buildup through Djeddah, but any descendant of Tourbillon will do. Johns Joy is also a potent source of Vandal. This makes daughters or granddaughters of During (by Cherokee Run) a prime target as he is packing both Djeddah and Johns Joy. Cherokee Run will also bring with him Blue Eyed Momo, who, when crossed on her full sister-in-blood Busanda, dam of the peerless Buckpasser, has had explosive results. Other sources of Blue Eyed Momo are Catienus, Honour and Glory, and Johannesburg.

Another angle is to keep piling on more La Troienne, Domino, and Discovery a key to maximizing linebreeding to Domino, since Discovery has more of Domino's family (23-b) than Domino himself. Now that he's back in the U.S., Empire Maker fits the bill perfectly, adding La Troienne, Buckpasser, and Tourbillon.

Another distaff blue hen is Maggie B. B., she the tail-female ancestress of Unbridled's Song, Silver Train, and many others. This is real sire source family. A sound, sturdy source with many lines of Maggie B. B. blood is Holy Bull, who has also historically done well with La Troienne. Holy Bull's sons Macho Uno, Flashy Bull, and Giacomo should be considered prime to meet this need.

Blue hen Boudoir II is also present through Flower Bowl's son His Majesty. Adding his full-brother Graustark to the mix should do well here also. Any distaff sources of Boudoir II will add potency and speed. This is also the female line of champion sprinter Groupie Doll and assumed 2015 Champion Juvenile filly Songbird.

Another potent cross that keeps coming up is crosses of blue hen Hidden Talent, most notably through her daughter Too Bald, dam of Capote, Baldski, Exceller, and many other stakes-producing sons and daughters. West Virginia stallion Charitable Man has already had his best stakes winner to date by doubling Too Bald in the pedigree of Charitable Annuity, winner of the $500,000 West Virginia Breeder's Classic. Charitable Man now has daughters of breeding age in the Mid-Atlantic region to cross into this line. Charitable Man is a female-line descendant of Too Bald. Daughters of Include (Broad Brush) should be prime, as Include is already doubled to Hidden Talent. New daughters of Include's son Redeemed are also worth heavy, heavy consideration once they come of age. Redeemed would give two more lines of distaff powerhouse Flower Bowl as well as Hidden Talent.

J J's Lucky Train also has inbreeding to full brothers in blood Nijinski II and Far North. Far North's full brother The Minstrel should always be considered in-play. Malibu Moon mares probably aren't ideal for adding more Nijinski II but could be considered. More ideal would be daughters of Malibu Moon mares. This configuration will give better generational alignment of Nijinski II and probably be less likely to double A.P. Indy in tail-male in both parents. Any source of Green Dancer will mesh well with Silver Train... sources like Malibu Moon, Temple City, and Officer... all have French super-mare Maximova, by Green Dancer, in common.

Any sources of Seattle Slew will also be welcome, especially through sources that are not A.P. Indy, like OfficerStormy Atlantic, and Lemon Drop Kid as Slew brings in two La Troienne and more Domino. Officer is tail-female to Busanda and brings with him more La Troienne and many, many, lines to the sisters of Domino, mostly through his many lines of Discovery.

There are several routes to go, but this is also a stallion that a breeder can get creative with. How cool would it be to have a double of Storm Bird without touching the shortcomings of Storm Cat? As an added bonus, add two lines of Prince John (another accomplice of La Troienne and Olympia who brings more Correction, another sister of Domino), more Tourbillon and War Admiral, through a son of Street Cry with new WV sire Our Entourage, whose 1st dam is by the aforementioned Dynaformer (read "Olympia") and 2nd dam by Storm Bird.

Let your mind run wild.

J J's Lucky Train will stand in 2016 for $1,000 LFSN at Little Hawk Farm in Crozier, VA and can be found on the web at http://www.jjsluckytrain.com

Linebreeding is the cause. A nick is the result. Would you rather react to a nick that everyone else can see after the fact, or would you rather create one at a fraction of the cost before a stallion's price jumps and other breeders jump on the bandwagon?

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