The TrueNicks rating will ultimately reveal itself to have a number of applications that were not even considered at the initial stages of its development. One thing it may do is point out stallions that have future upside due to books of mares that have a strong affinity with them. This was brought to mind by a look at the ratings for the carried foals from day four of the Keeneland January sale.
The Top 10 in this category features no fewer than three foals by Mizzen Mast , who is quietly flying under the radar as a potentially very useful sire. The highest rated of the trio is hip 1298, the Military (by Danzig) mare Beaugeste, a winner of $123,394 and a full sister to the listed stakes winning juvenile Beau Dare. This rates an A++ on the Mizzen Mast/Danzig score – which already has two stakes winners – and we should also add owns the potent combination of Graustark and Majestic Light (grandsire of the dam of Military).
The only carried foal which has a higher variant on day four is hip 1201. This is the A.P. Indy mare Spectacular Indy, a sister to Japanese stakes winner Sayaka. She is carrying a foal from the first crop of Saint Ballado’s son Star Dabbler, and this earns an A++ on the Saint Ballado/A.P. Indy cross that has produced graded stakes winners Lord of the Game and Prospective Saint from only three starters.
Third-rated carried foal, also with an A++, is hip 1168, Rumcake. A daughter of Wekiva Springs, the half-sister to multiple stakes winner Johnny Dollar goes back to crack turf mare Drumtop. She is carrying a foal by the Sadler’s Wells stallion Powerscourt (GB), thereby bred on the Sadler’s Wells/Runaway Groom cross. Since Powerscourt is out of a mare by a son of Blushing Groom, the sire of Runaway Groom, this represents the often successful pattern of breeding a sire back to his own broodmare sire line. We should also note that Drumtop’s dam, Zonah, is a three-parts-sister to Thong, the granddam of Sadler’s Wells.
Among the short yearlings at the sale, a pair of young sons of Carson City hold sway. Top of the day is hip 1737, a colt by millionaire Pollard's Vision out of Moon Bird, a daughter of Meadow Flight, who earned nearly $170,000. This foal is bred on the Carson City/Meadowlake cross, which despite being something of a product of extremes as far as size is concerned, has produced stakes winners Little Miss Zip and Tishmeister (both by City Zip). This cross itself was foreshadowed by the grade I-winning filly Carson Hollow, who was by Carson City out of a mare by Meadowlake’s sire, Hold Your Peace.
Hip 1325 is a filly that is bred to be sharp, as she is by Cuvee, probably the fastest juvenile of his crop, out of Cercida, a stakes winner who scored six times at 2. This is a product of the Carson City/Copelan cross that has been best advertised by the good sprinter Wrangler. The third-ranked short yearling is a daughter of Buddha and Danzig Darling, a mare who was 25 years old when this one was foaled. Danzig Darling, a stakes-winning half-sister to graded scorer Pennyhill Park, has bred 11 winners from 14 foals of racing age, including stakes winners Misnomer and Darling Danzig, and she’s also dam of four stakes-placed horses, so there should be some residual value here. As far as racing is concerned, it’s no surprise that this foal’s nick earns an A++, as two of Buddha’s first three stakes winners are out of Danzig-line mares.
