Like her sire, Flight Dancer proved best at age two, running third in the Queen Mary Stakes at Ascot. Her daughter Minstrella (by The Minstrel) took after her, earning championship honors in Ireland as a juvenile. But her other good daughter, the Halo filly Misty Gallore, won a grade II stakes at nine furlongs.Misty Dancer, Flight Dancer's 1988 foal, was by Lyphard, one of the stronger stamina influences among Northern Dancer's sons. How well she herself stayed is open to question as she ran unplaced in her three starts. Her best daughter, Quiet Dance, ran second in the nine-furlong Demoiselle Stakes (gr. II) at two and won the restricted Gala Lil Stakes over the same distance at four before producing Saint Liam as her second foal.Quiet American, the sire of Quiet Dance, was essentially a miler and has generally transmitted a similar preference to his offspring unless helped out by stamina from the dam's side, as in the case of dual Classic winner Real Quiet. But the late Saint Ballado, the sire of Saint Liam, is another story. Although he never ran over more than nine furlongs himself, his champion daughter Ashado and son Captain Bodgit have demonstrated that he could sire offspring capable of going 10 furlongs without needing strong stamina influences on the dam's side. Saint Ballado's sire Halo and grandsire Hail to Reason have both been significant influences for stamina, so it remains to be seen whether Saint Liam will follow in the footsteps of his staying sire line or will show more of the influence of a more speed-oriented female line as the distance stretches out.Horses do not race as often now as they once did, and Saint Liam is committed to beginning his stud career in 2006 regardless of the outcome of the Classic. But if he cannot match Gallorette for durability, he can make a fair claim to matching her in class by winning the Classic. One could hardly ask for a better legacy from a great mare.
American Classic Pedigrees by Avalyn Hunter
In American Classic Pedigrees, author Avalyn Hunter examines the pedigrees of the winners of the five American Classic races from 1914 to 2002: the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, Belmont Stakes, Kentucky Oaks, and Coaching Club American Oaks.
Readers can trace the rise and fall of various sire lines through the decades as Hunter shows how the Thoroughbred breeding market often dictated which bloodlines had a stronger chance of surviving and gaining prominence.
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