STEVIE WONDERBOY
2003 by Stephen Got Even–Heat Lightining, by Summer Squall
Precocious enough to be a juvenile champion, Stevie Wonderboy is bred for classic stamina, and it is this, rather than raw speed and early maturation, that breeders should probably look for in his progeny. Mares with a solid dash of miler speed should suit him well from an aptitudinal standpoint.
Given that A.P. Indy and his sons have done well with Mr. Prospector — a strain of which Stevie Wonderboy is free — this seems an obvious starting point in selecting mares for him, especially since Roberto (Stevie Wonderboy’s second damsire) has also been potent in combination with Mr. Prospector. Among the various sire sons of Mr. Prospector, the best to try appear to include Seeking the Gold, Fappiano, Forty Niner, and possibly Gone West.
Inbreeding to Northern Dancer is another strategy that can be tried with Stevie Wonderboy. In his case, the best strains to bring in through his mares appear to include Danzig, Nijinsky II, and Dixieland Band. Storm Cat could also be a possibility but only through mares carefully selected for temperament as well as physical compatibility. Another line of inbreeding that has good possibilities is Buckpasser, who historically has done well returned to both A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.
Breeders wishing to try pairing full siblings in a pedigree have some interesting possibilities and could look for mares returning Roberto’s full sister Glorious Song or Storm Bird’s champion full sister Northernette. Another strategy might be pairing Secretariat with the closely related Speedwell through the use of mares returning Cure the Blues; this strategy is seen in A.P. Indy’s grade I-winning son Golden Missile, who is out of a Cure the Blues mare.
Cure the Blues is, of course, a great-grandson of *Turn-to, who seems to be one of those rare sires that one can scarcely get too much of in a pedigree. Another source of *Turn-to that might work very well in Stevie Wonderboy’s mates is Halo, who historically has paired well with Northern Dancer strains. Broad Brush could also be an interesting source of *Turn-to for line breeding purposes.
Blushing Groom has a good track record with multiple strains in Stevie Wonderboy’s pedigree. — by Avalyn Hunter