As I put together my first offering on the Internet, I'm not altogether sure whether I should be welcoming you, or hoping that you will welcome me, and the articles I will be placing on this page over the coming months...but first, let me introduce myself.

  I have been involved in Harness racing as an owner since 1981, and have had a mixture of successful - and not so successful - performers. My family operates a training centre (Tanglewood) in Ontario...my brother trains horses...and my brother-in-law drives. But, for the past 20 years or so, my area of study has been in the multi-faceted realm of bloodlines. This endeavour has led to the development of a reference library that includes diagnostic and statistical information dating back to the early 1800's, and progressing to yesterday.

  My first written submission relating to bloodlines was published in The Standardbred (Ontario) in 1988, and followed by over 150 articles before that publication's demise in 1994. I have also "penned" 10 features for Hoof Beats since 1993, and bloodline studies for the Island Press (Canada). I consider myself a student of bloodlines...and I envision this page as an interactive sojourn down the road to knowledge, in what I consider to be the most fascinating aspect of the sport of light-harness racing.

  I must admit that it is with some trepidation that I have decided to focus on bloodlines that cross to female ancestors. There are a number of reasons for my retiscence. First of all, many of the naysayers will claim that animals so-bred are inferior in temperment, size and genetic make-up. Others will assert that the individuals portrayed in this illustration are "flukes of nature". And still others will want to negate the observations made herein, by pigeon-holing the author as a proponent of in-breeding, or incestuous breeding. In response to the inevitable, the answer to all of these claims is a resounding "YES"...and "NO"!!

  Since at least the late 1800's, breeders in the sport have credited the mare with the largest proportion of responsibility for the ability of the offspring of she and the sire. Although genetically-speaking the foal is a 50/50 split, the mare has been placed on a pedestal for good reason. Sires have the opportunity to be represented by 100-200 offspring a year, many of these out of the top matrons in the sport. They have a very real shot to produce at least a couple great performers in any given year.

  Broodmares, on the other hand, have only one foal per year, and maybe 20 offspring in a lifetime. So, what kind of mare is it that produces two, three, or even four top-class performers? What kind of genetic pre-potency might she possess? And what kind of performer might be the result of the intermingling of the blood of her offspring? We donıt think twice about breeding foals that are 2x3 and 3x3 to a sire. But how much potential might there be in the foal that is similarly crossed to a great mare? The answers to these questions, most recently, are...C.R. Kay Suzie...and A Stud Named Sue.

  Generally regarded as one of the greatest trotting fillies in the history of the sport, C.R. Kay Suzie holds the 2-year-old world records for all size tracks, regardless of sex (1:55.1; 1:56.1f; 1:56.3h), and is tied with Peace Corps as the fastest 3-year-old filly of all time on mile (1:52.4) and half-mile (1:56) tracks. A winner of the Yonkers Trot, Budweiser Beacon Course and World Trotting Derby against the boys (annihilating them by over 33 lengths in total) and over Aged mares in the Breeders Crown, C.R. Kay Suzie was named the 1995 Harness Horse of the Year in convincing fashion over Jennas Beach Boy.

  C.R. Kay Suzie's sire is Royal Troubador, a son of Super Bowl out of Mae Jeans Crown, who in turn is a daughter of Somolli; and her dam, Country Kay Sue, is by Speedy Somolli, a son of Somolli. Therefore, C.R. Kay Suzie is crossed 2x2 to a full brother and sister, and 3x3 to the great mare Somolli.

  This is not a new pattern in breeding. In fact, it was quite common to find in-breeding (line-breeding) to maternal ancestors on a regular basis in the early days of the sport. For instance, Guy Axworthy, was the leading trotting sire for six consecutive years (1925-1930) before being eclipsed by his own son, Mr. McElwyn in 1931. Guy Axworthy was by the son of a son of William L., out of a daughter of Guy Wilkes (William L.'s full brother). In other words, Guy Axworthy was crossed 2x3 full brothers.

  Dillon Axworthy, most famous as the sire of Dean Hanover, was crossed 3x3 to William L. and Guy Wilkes. In his classic "The American Trotter", John Hervey comments on the bloodlines of Guy Axworthy and Dillon Axworthy as follows: "There is much food for thought in these curiously significant facts."

  Another example of early breeding to female ancestors comes to us by way of the pedigree of the immortal Adios. Adioo Guy, p, 2:003/4, sire of the dam of Adios, was the product of the son (Guy Dillon) of one sister (By Guy), bred to the other sister (Adioo). By Guy and Adioo were both daughters of By By. Thus, Adioo Guy was crossed 1x2 to full sisters. Later, as a stallion, Adioo Guy was bred to the outcross Peter Volo mare Sigrid Volo, and produced the world champion Adioo Volo, who when bred to Hal Dale, gave us the super-sire Adios.

  Adioo Volo also produced a full sister to Adios, named Adieu. When bred to Billy Direct, Adieu produced Evalina Hanover, who in turn gave us Bye Bye Byrd. One of Bye Bye Byrdıs most successful crosses was onto Adios mares (Bye And Large, Batman, Meadow Paige and Keystone Ponder) or mares out of Adios mares (Armbro Nesbit, Keystone Ore, Alberts Star, Say Hello et cetera). These groups represent 2x3 and 3x3 crosses to full siblings Adios and Adieu.

  On the filly side of this same ledger, the 2x3 Adios/Adieu cross produced such foundation mares as Keystone Sandra (nine in 1:58 and five 1:55-producing sires). And Keystone Hula, the dam of seven in 2:00, including Keystone Hera (dam of four in 1:58 from her first four foals) is crossed 2x3 to full siblings Adieu and Farvel. Farvel was also a brother to Adios.

  The basis for placing more importance on the sibling cross than the same-individual one (eg. 3x3 Meadow Skipper etc.) is simple: a stallion can produce scores - even hundreds of offspring in a year. He has a far better chance to produce a good performer than a mare, who has but one prospect per year.

  So mares like Lady Bunker (Guy Wilkes & William L.); Adioo Volo (Adios & Adieu); Countess Vivian (Meadow Skipper & Countess Vivian); Breath O Spring (Race Time & Storm Damage); Somolli (Speedy Somolli & Mae Jeans Crown); Three Diamonds (Life Sign & Threefold); Bergdorf (Abercrombie & Bruce Gimble) and Hobby Horse Tar (Silent Majority & Landslide)...to name but a few...are truly special individuals. And, it is their genetic potential that becomes realized when one doubles back on such mares.

  Naturally, the vagaries of practicing too much inbreeding are well-known...loss of vigor and size, potential sterility among them. Usually, these are the negative consequences of generation after generation of close-in breeding.

  Nonetheless, the success of C.R. Kay Suzie and A Stud Named Sue is likely to re-awaken interest in an aspect of the art of breeding that has been recently dormant.

Your comments and questions are welcome