Random Thoughts of the Day

The younger brother of Barbaro, Nicanor, has been shipped recently to Fair Hills Training Center. I'm sure we'll be hearing soon about how his first workouts have gone. Poor guy, he doesn't realize that there are thousands of people out there holding their breath to see how he does. Probably a good thing too; I'd be nervous! I just hope everyone around him is able to keep their nerves down when he races, so he doesn't pick up on it. I hope they give Edgar Prado the first ride on him too, it would only be fitting.
And Big Brown's stallion rights are in the process of being sold...sigh. More bad feet coming our way in a couple years. Apparently there is a "major international stable" trying to get him - two guesses as to who. Gee, how many major international stables are there?! Darley or Coolmore. One of the two. He's scared off most of his contenders from the Derby for the Preakness...only Recapturetheglory is going to try to face him again. So, yeah, unless things go horribly wrong, I'm predicting another potential Triple Crown winner. I have mixed feelings about that; the thrill of it is great, we haven't had one in thirty years and the sport needs one - but I just don't think he's in the same class as Secretariat, Seattle Slew, or even Affirmed. And quite frankly, considering the publicity over Eight Belles' death, I don't think we need one this year. But considering how fresh he looked crossing the wire at the Derby, I think he'll make it the Belmont distance. Saturday, June 7 will truly be a day of reckoning.
Bryan was talking to me about how he saw something about Eight Belles being inbred, so I pulled up her pedigree online and showed him how she was very inbred to Native Dancer. Her second dam, Be A Prospector, is by Mr. Prospector (who is by Raise a Native) out of an Exclusive Native mare (who is also by Raise a Native). Raise a Native appears three times on the pedigree, and his sire, Native Dancer, appears once more as well. Even Big Brown has multiple names appearing multiple times; both his sire and dam are by sons of Northern Dancer, and the cross of Damascus to a Round Table daughter is in there twice.
I know you want to stick to what works...but seriously, this is ridiculous!
Anyway...it was really funny though, because Bryan was amazed that you could track pedigrees all the way back to the late 1600s.
I found a terrific list on this website...I'm going to print it out and put it up beside my desk. And I'm probably going to write it out and put it in the ag office.
http://www.glennong.com/post/32984296
And, finally...finals are almost over. I have one left. YAY!!!!!!