Chef-de-Race: Nodouble
ch.h., 1965 (Noholme II- Abla-Jay, by Double Jay)
(September 18, 2010)
Dosage: Pedigree & Performance
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Chef-de-Race: Smart Strike
b.h., 1992 (Mr. Prospector-Classy 'n Smart, by
Smarten)
(September 18, 2010)
Chef-de-Race:
Nodouble
ch.h., 1965 (Noholme II- Abla-Jay, by Double Jay)
(September 18, 2010)
Mr. Prospector is widely regarded as North America's premier sire of sires over at least the last quarter century, not only in terms of numbers of successful sons at stud but in terms of their superior quality as well. Literally dozens of Mr. Prospector's sons and grandsons may be found on various leading sire lists and they are prominent both regionally and internationally. A partial list of direct male line descendants of note include (alphabetically) Afleet, Broken Vow, Candy Ride, Carson City, Chester House, City Zip, Conquistador Cielo, Crafty Prospector, Cryproclearance, Distant View, Distorted Humor, E Dubai, Elusive Quality, End Sweep, Fappiano, Forty Niner, Fusaichi Pegasus, Gone West, Grand Slam, Gulch, Jade Hunter, Kingmambo, Lemon Drop Kid, Machiavellian, Miswaki, Mr. Greeley, Northern Afleet, Quiet American, Point Given, Roman Ruler, Rubiano, Seeking the Gold, Smoke Glacken, Speightstown, Street Cry, Thunder Gulch, Two Punch, Unbridled, Unbridled's Song and Woodman. And this roster barely scratches the surface. In North America, 17 (43%) of the top 40 current leading sires on the general sire list are direct male line descendants of Mr. Prospector. Since 2000, fully 67% of the winners of American Triple Crown races represent the Mr. Prospector sire line. His legacy is truly remarkable and the expansion of his influence continues with each passing year.
Among the numerous stallions carrying on the Mr. Prospector sire line, none has been more prominent in North America in recent years than his own son, Smart Strike, a bay colt of 1992 out of Canadian champion three-year-old filly and 1991 Canadian Broodmare of the Year Classy 'n Smart, by Smarten. A half brother to Canadian Horse of the Year and U.S. champion three-year-old filly Dance Smartly, Smart Strike did not race at two (unusual for a successful sire) but won six of eight starts at three and four in an injury-shortened career, including the Grade 1 Philip H. Iselin Handicap at a mile-and-a-sixteenth and the Grade 3 Salvator Mile Handicap, earning almost $340,000.
Smart Strike went to stud at Lane's End Farm in 1997 (where he still stands) and was an immediate success. His first crop, foals of 1998, ultimately afforded 10 stakes winners or 18% of the entire crop. Currently he is the sire of at least 73 lifetime stakes winners that include two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, champion turf horse English Channel, champion two-year-old and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Lookin At Lucky, Canadian Horse of the Year Soaring Free, Canadian champion three-year-old fillies Eye of the Sphynx and Gold Strike, Canadian champion turf horse Portcullis and Canadian champion two-year-old Added Edge. In addition, he is the sire of Grade 1 winners Shadow Cat, Fabulous Strike, Furthest Land and Square Eddie and the winners of three Breeders' Cup races. Smart Strike led the general sire list in 2007 and 2008 and was the leader in North American earnings in 2009. He is currently sixth on the general sire list for 2010. Also, his daughters have produced Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mine That Bird in addition to graded stakes winners Euphony and Shared Account.
A review of Smart Strike's North American open stakes winners reveals an average Dosage Profile (DP) of 9.75-3.84-9.87-0.25-0.17, average Dosage Index (DI) of 3.64 and average Center of Distribution (CD) of 0.97. These are figures more like those of a sprint sire than a sire with an average winning distance (AWD) of 8.36 furlongs and almost 19% progeny stakes wins at a classic distance. The shift toward stamina by Smart Strike is further confirmed by the following chart comparing the distribution of his progeny's stakes wins by distance with those of all sires in our database. It clearly shows a dramatically lower percentage of sprint stakes winners, a marginally higher percentage of middle distance stakes winners and a significanly higher percentage of route stakes winners compared to the average sire. This result indicates that Smart Strike's aptitudinal influence is not based simply on the distance distribution of available stakes races. Rather, the result suggests aptitudinal prepotence for stamina which is supported by the non-representative Dosage figures of his descendants. The predicted average DI and average CD at an AWD of 8.36 furlongs are 2.93 and 0.64, respectively.
In order to bring the Dosage figures for Smart Strike's descendants more in line with the figures for the general population with similar performance characteristics we will assign him as a split Intermediate/Classic chef-de-race. Additionally, we will assign the sire of his second dam, Nodouble, as a split Classic/Professional
Briefly, Nodouble, representing the once prominent Hyperion sire line, was a stellar race horse and sire. He was named champion handicap horse in both 1969 and 1970 and led the general sire list in 1981. Over his stud career he sired 91 stakes winners, an extraordinary 14% from foals, and his daughters produced 89 stakes winners. An exceptional sire of turf horses, his top runner as a direct sire was multiple Canadian champion and Horse of the Year Overskate whose greatest victories were on the grass at distances of 11 furlongs and longer. The top foal produced by his daughters was multiple Canadian champion and Horse of the Year Sky Classic whose best wins were also on the grass at a mile-and-a-half.
With Smart Strike as a split Intermediate/Classic chef-de-race and Nodouble as a split Classic/Professional chef-de-race, Smart Strike's revised Dosage figures are average DP 9.75-11.47-18.41-0.25-1.08, average DI 2.95 and average CD 0.70. These are very close to the predicted figures. Finally, Smart Strike's DP contribution to his foals changes from 8-2-6-0-0 (equivalent to DI 4.33 and CD 1.13) to a far more realistic 8-10-15-0-1 (equivalent to DI 3.00 and CD 0.71).
These revisions justify the additions of Smart Strike and Nodouble as the 214th and 215th chefs-de-race.
