Inbreeding is a double-edged sword in breeding. Used judiciously, the mating of closely related animals with a common high-class ancestor or ancestors can be used to concentrate desirable traits. Unfortunately, inbreeding also raises the chance of undesirable recessive genes being paired. In addition, it can result in a general loss of quality and vigor among the offspring, a phenomenon known as inbreeding depression. Most Thoroughbred breeders see the disadvantages to close inbreeding as outweighing the advantages, and as a result, few plan matings which have a common ancestor closer than the fourth generation on both sides (or sometimes in the third generation on one side or the other).
Raymond Roncari was an exception to the rule. In 1991, he bought Our Millie for US$51,000 at the Keeneland November mixed sale, in foal to Dr. Blum. She had done nothing on the racetrack to justify such a price, finishing third once from two starts, and had yet to produce a winner. Her primary attraction was her pedigree: A daughter of Mr. Prospector out of the Northern Dancer mare Sleek Dancer, she was a full sister to multiple stakes winners Northern Prospect and Sue Babe. The last-named filly was the dam of 1987 Budweiser Irish Derby (IRE-I) winner Sir Harry Lewis and Grade I-placed stakes winner Sir Richard Lewis (she would later produce Grade II-placed stakes winner Cyrano as well), and Our Millie was also a half sister to 1978 Monmouth Oaks (USA-I) winner Sharp Belle (by Native Charger) and to Sleek Belle (by Vaguely Noble), dam of four stakes winners.
After foaling out Our Millie's Dr. Blum colt, Roncari managed to get Our Millie booked back to her own sire. The resulting filly, Winloc's Millie, did nothing to shake up the prejudice against close inbreeding. Unplaced in four starts, her best effort netted her a dismal BRIS speed figure of 58. She was a bit better as a broodmare, throwing seven winners from eight foals, but none of them were anything to write home about.
Winloc's Glory Days (2001, by Belong to Me) was the best of the bunch. She won or placed in 11 of her 19 starts, earning US$155,260, and both her BRIS speed figure of 94 and her Standard Starts Index of 3.23 suggest a filly of solid allowance class. Inbred 3x4 to Northern Dancer, her pedigree also shows inbreedings of 4x3x4 to Mr. Prospector's sire Raise a Native and 5x5x4x5x6 to Native Dancer, sire of Raise a Native and maternal grandsire of Northern Dancer. This pattern of outcrossing away from a parent's closest inbreeding while inbreeding to other strains in the pedigree was commonly used in the stud of the 17th Earl of Derby, whose breeding program yielded remarkable results in turning out both top racers and high-quality breeding stock. In the case of Winloc's Glory Days, it resulted in a mare who was a substantial upgrade on the class of her dam.
Breeder E. H. Lane III continued the Derby pattern by mating Winloc's Glory Days to Stroll, a paternal grandson of A.P. Indy whose pedigree is free of Northern Dancer but has a third-generation cross of Mr. Prospector and a fifth-generation cross of Raise a Native through that sire's son Atan, a horse who does not appear in the pedigree of Winloc's Glory Days. The result, Wet Your Whistle, can be faulted for a highly strung temperament but not for performance; he won the Highlander Stakes (CAN-IT) on June 29 and is riding a four-race win streak.
Winloc's Millie also produced I'm a Mosaic Rocker, a full sister to Winloc's Glory Days. The second best among Winloc Millie's foals, she won or placed in 15 of her 33 starts and earned US$110,059, suggesting that she was at least fairly consistent and durable if lacking in class. Sent to Argentina, she produced Grade II-placed stakes winner Ranfanoso to the cover of Irish-bred Cima de Triomphe. Ranfanoso's pedigree is a pileup of one inbreeding after another, showing crosses of 4x3 to Northern Dancer's great sire son Danzig, 5x4x5x4 to Northern Dancer himself, 5x3x4 to Mr. Prospector, and 6x5x4x5 to Raise a Native.
In many cases, any benefits drawn from close inbreeding are often seen in descendants a generation or two past the highly inbred individual, and this seems to have been the case with Winloc's Millie. (For a parallel case, see "A Genetic Map to Grade I Success", posted 9/5/2015.) It does not always or even often work out so well, but for the breeder with a long-term program and the willingness to experiment, it does have the potential to pay dividends when the horse being inbred to is of the highest class as a racer, sire or broodmare.
Raymond Roncari was an exception to the rule. In 1991, he bought Our Millie for US$51,000 at the Keeneland November mixed sale, in foal to Dr. Blum. She had done nothing on the racetrack to justify such a price, finishing third once from two starts, and had yet to produce a winner. Her primary attraction was her pedigree: A daughter of Mr. Prospector out of the Northern Dancer mare Sleek Dancer, she was a full sister to multiple stakes winners Northern Prospect and Sue Babe. The last-named filly was the dam of 1987 Budweiser Irish Derby (IRE-I) winner Sir Harry Lewis and Grade I-placed stakes winner Sir Richard Lewis (she would later produce Grade II-placed stakes winner Cyrano as well), and Our Millie was also a half sister to 1978 Monmouth Oaks (USA-I) winner Sharp Belle (by Native Charger) and to Sleek Belle (by Vaguely Noble), dam of four stakes winners.
After foaling out Our Millie's Dr. Blum colt, Roncari managed to get Our Millie booked back to her own sire. The resulting filly, Winloc's Millie, did nothing to shake up the prejudice against close inbreeding. Unplaced in four starts, her best effort netted her a dismal BRIS speed figure of 58. She was a bit better as a broodmare, throwing seven winners from eight foals, but none of them were anything to write home about.
Winloc's Glory Days (2001, by Belong to Me) was the best of the bunch. She won or placed in 11 of her 19 starts, earning US$155,260, and both her BRIS speed figure of 94 and her Standard Starts Index of 3.23 suggest a filly of solid allowance class. Inbred 3x4 to Northern Dancer, her pedigree also shows inbreedings of 4x3x4 to Mr. Prospector's sire Raise a Native and 5x5x4x5x6 to Native Dancer, sire of Raise a Native and maternal grandsire of Northern Dancer. This pattern of outcrossing away from a parent's closest inbreeding while inbreeding to other strains in the pedigree was commonly used in the stud of the 17th Earl of Derby, whose breeding program yielded remarkable results in turning out both top racers and high-quality breeding stock. In the case of Winloc's Glory Days, it resulted in a mare who was a substantial upgrade on the class of her dam.
Breeder E. H. Lane III continued the Derby pattern by mating Winloc's Glory Days to Stroll, a paternal grandson of A.P. Indy whose pedigree is free of Northern Dancer but has a third-generation cross of Mr. Prospector and a fifth-generation cross of Raise a Native through that sire's son Atan, a horse who does not appear in the pedigree of Winloc's Glory Days. The result, Wet Your Whistle, can be faulted for a highly strung temperament but not for performance; he won the Highlander Stakes (CAN-IT) on June 29 and is riding a four-race win streak.
Winloc's Millie also produced I'm a Mosaic Rocker, a full sister to Winloc's Glory Days. The second best among Winloc Millie's foals, she won or placed in 15 of her 33 starts and earned US$110,059, suggesting that she was at least fairly consistent and durable if lacking in class. Sent to Argentina, she produced Grade II-placed stakes winner Ranfanoso to the cover of Irish-bred Cima de Triomphe. Ranfanoso's pedigree is a pileup of one inbreeding after another, showing crosses of 4x3 to Northern Dancer's great sire son Danzig, 5x4x5x4 to Northern Dancer himself, 5x3x4 to Mr. Prospector, and 6x5x4x5 to Raise a Native.
In many cases, any benefits drawn from close inbreeding are often seen in descendants a generation or two past the highly inbred individual, and this seems to have been the case with Winloc's Millie. (For a parallel case, see "A Genetic Map to Grade I Success", posted 9/5/2015.) It does not always or even often work out so well, but for the breeder with a long-term program and the willingness to experiment, it does have the potential to pay dividends when the horse being inbred to is of the highest class as a racer, sire or broodmare.
RSS Feed