Friday, November 20, 2015

Stallion Profile: Ice Box - Throwing Red Hot Runners

2010 Gr. 1 Florida Derby winner and Gr. 1 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands runner-up Ice Box is off to an exciting start at stud with several two year old winners already making their mark. He has been well-supported in his first several years at stud and should be able to make a big statement. So, let's dive in to his pedigree, shall we?

Ice Box starts off with a very prevalent A.P. Indy / Mr. Prospector cross in his sire, Pulpit, crossed on a mare from the Storm Cat line. A.P. Indy, Mr. Prospector, and Storm Cat have all historically shown affinities for each other, but there is much, much more to his pedigree than this.

Ice Box descends from the classic distance male line of Seattle Slew (doubled to La Troienne) via A.P. Indy (add another La Troienne) followed by Pulpit on the top side of the pedigree and hails from a female family that gave us the 4th fastest Kentucky Derby winner in history, Spend A Buck. Spend A Buck is a son of Buckaroo also (doubled to La Troienne) out of Belle De Jour, who descends from Adargatis, the three-quarters sister to La Troienne. La Troienne is by Teddy, out of Helene De Troie, while Adargatis is by Teddy's son, Asterus, and also out of Helene De Troie. Coming forward from Adargatis, Belle De Jour is laden with Tourbillon, who provides much-needed male strains of Glencoe (Vandal) to balance all of the female Glencoe (mostly through Pocahontas) present in Domino and, with him, most prominant American pedigrees.

Being from the tail-female line of Spend A Buck naturally invites Spend A Buck in the pedigree of any of Ice Box's mates. Mares with Riverman should also be considered prime candidates as a sex-balanced double of Prince John did not hurt Gr. 1 winners Big Blue Kitten and Songbird as well as New York stakes winners Friend Or Foe and Our Entourage in the least.

So, which broodmare sire is set up to be the ultimate Nick with Ice Box? Mares by Kitten's Joy should be an easy slam-dunk with Ice Box, providing him with more La Troienne and doubling Prince John, Buckpasser, and Northern Dancer, and adding Roberto - a known genetic equivalent to Buckpasser - into the already-potent mix. Last but not least is a same-generation cross of full sisters Bel Sheba and Wac, better known as the dams of Alysheba and Lear Fan, respectively. Also from the El Prado line we have Medaglia D'Oro, who also offers additional Prince John and La Troienne. 

Empire Maker or his Triple Crown-siring son Pioneerof the Nile will also provide a double of Ice Box's own female line in Adargatis via Cornish Prince. Pioneerof the Nile also features a tail-female line of Olympia, which always tracks well with La Troienne. Empire Maker's inbreeding to In Reality also makes a nice splash with Pulpit. But don't take my word for it... Just ask Tapit.

Another angle to try is the cross of full sisters in blood Busanda (dam of Buckpasser) and Blue Eyed Momo, the mother of Francis S. Blue Eyed Momo can be found through sources like Cherokee Run, Catienus, Honour and Glory, and Johannesburg. The Busanda / Blue Eyed Momo cross has been rock-solid and will continue to be so into the future. Crossing close kin Nijinsky II and The Minstrel should also be powerful.

If anyone has daughters of Even The Score, who also stands alongside Ice Box at Millennium Farms, crossing daughters of Even The Score with Ice Box gives nice doubles of Speak John and Barbizon, both speed influences. It should be noted that Barbizon was at the top of the Experimental Handicap over Bold Ruler, Federal Hill, Round Table, and other top horses and should be considered a prime target for inbreeding.

Ice Box has the support of stallions costing ten times his fee and is an excellent value at any price.

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This post is in loving memory of our mare Espana, half-sister to Spice Island, dam of Ice Box. Espana was a very kind, loving mare despite her battles with laminitis that eventually took her life.

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