A Comparison of Secretariat and Favorite Trick
(This is the text of an article originally written in early 1998)

The comparison began almost immediately. Favorite Trick had just overwhelmed his competition in the fourteenth Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) to complete a perfect freshman campaign. His eight wins in as many starts stood as the best record for a major juvenile winner since Native Dancer won nine straight nearly a half-century earlier. The discussion escalated when Favorite Trick was subsequently named Horse of the Year for 1997 three months later. The object of the comparison was, of course, the last two-year-old accorded that same honor, the immortal Secretariat in 1972.

Since champions of different eras can never compete, we may only speculate as to which was better. Our objectivity in this particular case is biased by Secretariat's unparalleled achievements at three. Some will argue that his dominating performances in the classics, on turf and on dirt, and against the best older horses in training, confirmed the extraordinary quality of his previous year's races. Others might say that on a race for race basis, Favorite Trick was an equally spectacular youngster. Only time will put the accomplishments of these two extraordinary individuals in the proper perspective. Let's acknowledge that with Secretariat assigned 129 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap, and with Favorite Trick given 128, they both towered over their contemporaries. And both were acclaimed as superior to the typical juvenile champion who is historically assigned 126 pounds. Regardless of whether Favorite Trick and Secretariat were similar in ability, or lengths apart, they are definitely different in terms of physical type and pedigree.

Secretariat was a large, powerfully made colt. As he matured, he developed from a "pretty, fat kid" into an imposing figure with the muscularity of a body builder. His heart girth was huge and he had an enormous stride length. He wasn't especially fast out of the gate, but when he got rolling, his power, grace, and speed were truly something to behold. He grew to be a dominating presence which, combined with an "attitude" and a swagger, formed the charismatic image that survives to this day. Favorite Trick lacks the physical stature of Secretariat, but is an exceptional individual nevertheless. He is an unusually attractive colt with a beautiful head and an athletic, superbly well-balanced body. His motion is quick and agile, almost cat-like, and he is brilliant out of the gate. His demeanor on the track reflects coolness, confidence, and poise, and he is always in control. He strikes one as being unusually intelligent.

As disparate as they are physically, they are even farther apart on pedigree. Secretariat was born and bred of royalty, a true blueblood.  He was produced by uniting the sire lines of prestigious Claiborne Farm in Kentucky (the home of champions, great stallions, and exceptional broodmares) with a female family from the highly regarded Meadow Stable of Virginia. His sire, Preakness Stakes winner and Brilliant/Intermediate chef-de-race Bold Ruler, died young at age seventeen, and was near the end of his stud career when Secretariat was foaled.  He has arguably the best statistics of any North American stallion of the modern era, leading the general sire list eight times (more than any sire of this century).  From just 356 foals he sired 82 stakes winners (23%).  His AEI was an astronomical 7.78.  The great Northern Dancer would later match Bold Ruler in percent stakes winners, but fell far short in AEI with 5.14.  The best sire in the world today, Danzig, lags well behind on both counts with 18% stakes winners and and AEI of 5.31 through 1997.  Bold Ruler also got eleven champions and numerous successful sons.  Despite an erroneous reputation for not siring stayers, nearly a dozen of his stakes winners were victorious at classic distances, including Grade 1 level performers like Lamb Chop, Bold Bidder, Bold Hour, Gamely, Dewan, Top Command, and Wajima, not to mention Secretariat himself.  Several good sons, including Boldnesian, Bold Commander, Bold Bidder, and What a Pleasure, became direct male line links to classic winners. The quality of the Bold Ruler line endures at its highest today through the world-class sire and Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew.

Between 1966 and 1976, Secretariat's broodmare sire, Intermediate/Solid chef-de-race Princequillo, led the general broodmare sire list eight times.  The gallery of high class runners produced from his daughters is breath-taking.  Bold Lad, Caucasus, Comtesse de Loir, Diplomat Way, Fort Marcy, High Echelon, Key to the Mint, Mill Reef, Revidere, Sham, Sir Gaylord, and Successor are just a few.  Not many, if any, broodmare sires in this century have been as profoundly influential as Princequillo.

Somethingroyal, the dam of Secretariat, was eighteen years old when Secretariat was foaled.  She had already produced three major stakes winners.  The first was Sir Gaylord, a son of Brilliant/Intermediate chef-de-race Turn-to, and one of the very top colts at two and three in 1961-62.  He later became a major success at stud and was eventually named an Intermediate/Classic chef-de-race.  The second was First Family, by First Landing, which captured the Gulfstream Park Handicap in 1966. The previous year he had placed in the Belmont Stakes.  The third major winner from Somethingroyal was Syrian Sea, a full sister to Secretariat.  She was among the best juvenile fillies of 1967 and subsequently placed in the Coaching Club American Oaks at three.

Based on pedigree alone, Secretariat might well have been the top sales yearling of 1971 had he gone through the ring.  Add his magnificent physique to the mix and you could just about guarantee it.

Favorite Trick's pedigree is no match for Secretariat's either commercially or in terms of ancestral performance.  That is not to say it is without merit.  There is substantial quality to be sure, but at a different level of achievement. His sire, Phone Trick, a son of the very good and consistent sire Clever Trick, was a brilliantly fast horse who was among the best sprinters in North America in the mid-1980s. A multiple graded stakes winner which equaled two track records at Hollywood Park, Phone Trick won nine of ten lifetime starts and was second in the other. His longest win was at seven furlongs. He is recognized as a successful sire, especially of two-year-olds, and he has been prominent on annual juvenile sire lists, leading it in 1997. Earlier on he had sired another Breeders' Cup winner, Phone Chatter, which won the Juvenile Fillies (G1) in 1993 on the way to an Eclipse championship. Some others of his best two-year-olds are Speed Dialer, Caller I. D., and Pick Up the Phone.

Medieval Man, Favorite Trick's broodmare sire, was a stakes winner at two and three (and Grade 1 stakes-placed) and has been a useful sire as well. Among his best is the champion sprinter of 1995, Not Surprising.  Like Phone Trick, he gets a relatively high percentage of two-year-old winners.  His 35 stakes winners (through 1997) also include Favorite Trick's dam, Evil Elaine, and her full sister Ravensmoor, a winner of over $150,000. Evil Elaine was a $44,000 two-year-old in training which sold at the Keeneland November sale as a three-year-old for $125,000. She ran out almost $120,000 and won or placed in five stakes. In 30 lifetime starts, she never won beyond six furlongs. Favorite Trick is her sixth foal. Previously she had produced stakes-placed winner Crafty and Evil, by Crafty Prospector, and stakes winner Cold N Calculating, by It's Freezing, which won just short of $300,000.

On the basis of pedigree, Favorite Trick has every right to be a race horse. Even if he has thus far exceeded expectations, he should in no way be confused with a so-called "off bred" or a horse lacking credentials.

The comparison between the pedigrees of Secretariat and Favorite Trick are brought into greater focus through Dosage analysis. The following pedigrees vividly show the differences. There are nine chefs-de-race within Secretariat's first four generations resulting in a total of 50 points in his Dosage Profile (DP). Six of the seven sires in his first three generations are chefs-de-race.  Favorite Trick has five chefs-de-race, exclusively in his third and fourth generations, accounting for a total of 14 DP points. Secretariat's profile has significant representation in four of the five aptitudinal groups, with varying degrees of speed from Bold Ruler, Nasrullah, Nearco, Pharos, and Pompey, and strong elements of endurance from Princequillo, Prince Rose, Discovery, and Blenheim II. Favorite Trick's pedigree is more heavily shifted toward speed with no representation at all in the stamina wing (Solid and Professional). Whatever staying power Favorite Trick has comes from the partial Classic contributions of Icecapade, Noholme II, and Star Kingdom. Royal Charger and Never Bend add additional brilliance.

Secretariat's DP 20-14-7-9-0, DI 3.00, and CD 0.90 suggest great speed in a horse capable of staying a route of ground. As we know, Secretariat was fast and he could stay. The large Solid component in the DP is also consistent with an affinity for the turf. Favorite Trick's DP 7-2-5-0-0, DI 4.60, and CD 1.14 are much more typical of a sprinter-miler and in line with the capabilities of his sire and dam. The figures fall well outside the guidelines for Classic performance. Only Strike the Gold among Kentucky Derby winners since 1929 had a DI greater than 4.00. The high Dosage numbers coupled with the sprinting characteristics of his close up ancestors strongly suggest that Favorite Trick should not stay the Derby distance against Grade 1 quality three-year-olds on the first Saturday in May. Then again, no one expected he would accomplish what he has thus far in his career.

Pedigree of Secretariat, ch c, 1970

Pedigree of Favorite Trick, dkb/br c, 1995

In a few months we will have a better understanding of Favorite Trick's place in racing history. Unlike Secretariat, who was the absolute fulfillment of his pedigree, Favorite Trick will presumably have to transcend his to even come close to Secretariat's achievements. The odds are not in his favor. However, he continually surprised many people along the path to the 1997 two-year-old championship and Horse of the Year honors. Perhaps, he will continue to do so. Even if he doesn't, his record speaks for itself. He will remain one the best two-year-olds ever to race in North America. If he succeeds, he will be a vivid example of the old, yet true statement that it's horses that make pedigrees, and not the other way around.