Greyhound of the Month
A couple of October stakes provide an opportunity to look at a refreshingly different sort of pedigree (through Bluffs Open winner Boc’s Mc Dandy) and an unherald NGA Auction sale who wrote his own rags-toriches tale by winning the Derby Lane Fall Sprint winner (Craigie I Am Jak). An early November win by Angel Tree in the year’s richest stake at Bluffs meant much of the season’s spotlight was focused in Iowa this time around. Meanwhile, back in Florida there was no doubt that Slatex Cadillac was the new queen of Miami’s marathons, thanks to the resurrection of the Hecht Marathon.
Brad Boeckenstedt and Mickey Hasty’s Boc’s Mc Dandy took home top prize in the $60,000 Bluffs Run Open on Oct. 1. The victory for the brindle 2-year-old, bred by Boeckenstedt, put this column’s spotlight directly on his parentage (Dox Out Of Peace-Miss Reta Scott), which is an eye-catching diversion from the usual Top 5 or 10 sire names that tend to dominate the pedigrees featured here most of the time.
Dox Out Of Peace was a Lincoln distant greyhound (won 12 races there one year), plus ran third in the St. Patrick’s Day Stake at the Rhode Island track. He was a littermate to Dea’s Magic Touch, who set the 3/8 record at Wheeling.
This litter’s prowess for distance racing is no surprise—being sired by Greys Statesman, who—besides running some impressive 3/8 stakes of his own—is most noted for having sired Hall Of Famer Talentedmrripley. In Ripley’s case, Statesman combined with an Irish bitch line. Well, Dox goes halfway there, having been sired by Fortress*. The dam line, through Dox Lacie, goes back to X’s Long N Lean, who was by Factual-Miss Oakley— thus a sister to Flagler International Classic winner X’s Call Me Sir. Honey B Troubles boasts two classic dam lines behind each parent—Classy Clema behind Jock’s Warrior, and L.L.’s Zee/Lindy Lil behind X’s Long N Lean. She also boasts two entries of the R.H. Walters’ Basic Black stock (one through Unruly, the other through Outstanding).
If Dox Out Of Peace’s strength leans toward distance racing, Boc’s Mc Dandy’s dam is just the opposite— especially in her sire line. Splishin Vallie was a top-notch sprinter, and her dam, Skimar Giggles goes back to super-sprint star He’s My Man, out of Flower Design*, through Driven By Design (whose sister Cruzin By Design is the mother of the country’s No. 1 ranked sire, Dodgem By Design, by Gable Dodge). In the tail dam line is Petite Genius, whose mother Moonlight Falkon was by Hall Of Famer K’s Flak and Fallon—both champion stake racers at St. Pete in their day (and both Flashy Sir Award winners). From this cross that produced Moonlight Falkon came Infallible, who won the 1987 Mile High puppy stake. Skimar Stinger (Giggles’ dam) is linebred to Downing, through Fallon and through Stinger’s sire HB’s Commander, while Giggles’ sire, Driven By Design, is linebred to the Friend Westy-Miss Gorgeous family (through Highway Robber and Sand Man).
More of the FW-MG family shows up here (a third cross behind Miss Reta Scott coming through Rooster Cogburn, at the very top, then a fourth entry—a second appearance by Sand Man, both with Maythorn Pride—through Fortress*, behind the Dox blood).
Anchoring the very top line and the very bottom is none other than K’s Flak (as the sire of Greys Statesman and Petite Genius’ dam, Moonlight Falkon). In all, there are five Hoefers (Flak’s grandsire) behind Mc Dandy, three of those in conjunction with Elsie Jones.
John Boyd bred the pup Craigie I Am Jak, took him to the Spring Meet, then sold him for a paltry amount ($2,500) to Michelle and Tammy Edgar after a so-so showing in the Track Stakes. Much more attention was focused on Jak’s littermate Craigie I Am Red, who won a main stake and sold for $12,000. But Craigie I Am Jak, a red brindle January 2010 son of Lonesome Cry-Craigie Crimson, found some new gears at Derby Lane in the Campbell Kennel, developed a powerful late kick and is now the Derby Lane Fall Sprint champion.
Craigie I Am Jak’s dad, Lonesome Cry, is also a former NGA auction pup—selling in the Fall 2002 Auction to Cary Alsobrook for $15,000. Now ranked third nationally, Lonesome Cry has been discussed at length before in these pages—a son of Hall Of Famer Gable Dodge, out of Jabberin Jackie (linebred to Profits Andy).
Craigie Crimson is by Craigie M Series—a stud not known to many, but a son of Molotov, out of Craigie Slip On (a Fortress* female, whose mother, Oshkosh Twist, is best known for having produced Craigie Whistler). Crimson’s dam, Yellow Daisy* has been a productive dam for the Boyd family; one of her pups was Craigie Demander (by Craigie Whistler—thus very much bred like Craigie Crimson).
Yellow Daisy’s dam line goes back to HB’s Commander—therefore doubling up the Hall Of Famer in Crimson’s third generation (Commander also having sired Molotov). The tail line goes back to Wise Memory, who was by Jock’s Steeler and Memory Given*, a product of Sail On II and the Sand Man-Maythorn Pride female Bleak Weather—an absolute classic dam line here in America. Note that both SP’s Glitz and Wise Memory combine that Sand Man-Maythorn Pride lineage with Classy Clema—something we saw earlier behind Boc’s Mc Dandy, through Dox Lacie.
There are four Downings in the pedigree, three of them behind Craigie Crimson. Farther back in that lineage resides sire-line pillar Westy Whizzer, who makes an incredible 13 appearances.
Note, too, that both Fortress* and Murlens Slippy are by Irish stud Im Slippy.
Slatex Cadillac, bred and owned by G. Kirk Harlan, combines a little of the blood of both Boc’s Mc Dandy (i.e., the Greys Statesman) and Craigie I Am Jak (i.e., Wise Memory). The red March 2008 veteran out of Flying Hydrogen-Slatex Station has emerged as one of the nation’s top females, especially over the distance courses. She recently won the $50,000 Hecht Marathon at Flagler, then followed up with a 3/8 in the Naples Inaugural.
Flying Hydrogen is by recent Hall Of Fame inductee Kiowa Sweet Trey and gets plenty of distance ability from S.S. Jeno and Kunta Kinte in his dam line. He also offers linebreeding to Friend Westy-Miss Gorgeous, through Rooster Cogburn (behind Valensky) and Sand Man via Westpark Model, who goes back to the Sand Man-Maythorn Pride daughter Slight Chill.
Slatex Cadillac’s dam, Slatex Station, ranks as one of the very best in the country right now—and not just because of Cadillac. Bred to Hydrogen’s sire, Sweet Trey, she produced the best litter at Bluffs Run this year, which includes track win leader Slatex Emerald (33 wins in her first 49 starts). It’s behind Station’s sire WW Apple Jax that we find Greys Statesman and Wise Memory again. Apple Jax’s parents are both dam line descendants of the Sand Man-Maythorn Pride line we just mentioned—Derby Day* through Wise Memory (whose granddam was Bleak Weather, another of those priceless Sand May Maythorn Pride bitches), WW Royal Princess through Slight Chill, whom we saw behind Hydrogen. In all, there are four Sand Mans behind Apple Jax, mingling with a fifth Sand Man behind Hydrogen, plus three more Friend Westy-Miss Gorgeous entries in Cadillac’s pedigree (two through Rooster, one through Robber).
That Highway Robber appearance is behind GH’s Eleanor in Station’s dam line, through GH’s Eleanor’s sire Beau Boogie. Eleanor (owned and bred by Kirk’s grandfather, George) was A Jeno’s Leo Go daughter with an Irish dam line of high reputation—no less than Yurituni, from the Millies Fancy family.
Angel Tree’s victory in the $500,000 Bluffs Run Iowa Breeders Classic on Nov. 5 was a “like father, like daughter” story —Angel Tree being a product of the 2004 winner of that same stake, RA Blazer. Angel Tree, bred by Tim Waller, is a white and brindle September 2009 product, owned by Clayton Black and raced by the Blake & Black Kennel.
Blazer gets the same Flak/ Representation family found behind Mc Dandy—only in Blazer it’s through Greys Outbound’s highly productive dam Greys Julianna (Statesman’s sister). Blazer’s dam, Redbabybrindle, is by Hall Of Famer EJ’s Douglas, with both of her parents’ male lines going back to Downing (through Understood and Nicky Finn). Spell Weaver is out of WM Bones, from the great female lineage synonymous with the Woodall family--namely, Michigan Vickey.
Angel Tree’s dam, Jays Leeann, is by Craigie Whistler, giving Angel Tree’s parents the HB’s Commander paternal line in common. Oshkosh Twist shows up here—as she did behind Craigie I Am Jak, but through a totally different descending line. Jays Leeann’s dam line is a bit unorthodox, coming from the late Dick Andrews’ stock (On Wisconsin, etc.) and the Black Aztec-Strobes Bonnie line out of Oklahoma. Peaceful Bantry, in the tail dam line, was out of Westpark Elgi*, an Irish female from regal bloodlines: Monalee Champion- Westpark Mustard*.
The linebreeding here is not intense, but what’s there is led by the pair of HB’s Commanders and the Jones line, with Onie showing up twice (behind Flak and Lashing Tide) and Kelly making a double appearance—both behind Craigie Whistler’s dam line.
Honorable Mention
With the focus on Iowa this issue, it’s only appropriate to make mention of Dubuque’s top racers: Puppy Stake winner Hug N Dodgem, its track champion Mamas Special Ed, and its $200,000 Iowa Breeders Classic winner Superior Crown.
Hug N Dodgem (racing for the Blanchard-Calabro Kennel, having been purchased from Harland Olson at last spring’s auction for $4,500) is a September 2009 red-brindle son of Dodgem By Design (Gable Dodge- Cruzin By Design) and Anita Hug (Kiowa Sweet Trey-Twisting Dream).
Mamas Special Ed, who ran second in that race (with three other littermates in the final) and was Greyhound Of The Year at Dubuque with a leading 20 victories for the season, is owned by Stephen Lockwood and raced by Sweetcorn Kennel. Special Ed and littermates are by Stan’s Boy Flyer (Gable Dodge-Choicewheel) and Greys Blue Cloud (Flying Penske-Greys Congress)—still another descendant of the Representation line.
Superior Crown, Dubuque’s Iowabred champ, helped make history for the Oxbow-Trow Kennel, which did the unprecedented by winning both that stake and its consolation (with Superior Hailey) on closing day. Crown is a red-fawn December 2009 son of Lonesome Cry (Gable Dodge- Jabberin Jackie) and USS Ceremony (TNT Star Wars-Alive N Well); the dam line here goes back to Hailey, a sister to Valensky, who produced Oswald Cobblepot.
Lastly, special mention must go to a few of Southland’s more significant stake winners on Nov. 4. Shanett—who now has three sprint stakes to her credit this year—captured the Mid-South Sprint Championship, and would be headlined here, had her pedigree not already been featured in the July/ August issue. Owned by Marc Randle and raced by the Thorne Kennel, Shanett is a June 2009 daughter of Rhythmless (Jimbo Scotty-Temp Lizzie) and Maybix (Iruska All Star-Bipi).
On that same big stake-day at Southland, Mistie Bass won the Ansel Styles Marathon Championship. Owned and raced by Plum Creek, she’s a May 2009 daughter of Dodgem By Design (Gable Dodge-Cruzin By Design) and D’s Moondust (Flying Penske-Do’s Moon Shine).
Also on that day, KL’s Sweet Tea captured the Middle Distance Championship for Karen Legg and the Legg Kennel. Sweet Tea is a March 2009 daughter of EM’s Mac Attack (Fortified Power-EM’s Tania Can) and PB’s Dina Flo (Itsa Jubilee- PB’s Queen Meg).
Gary joined the NCA staff in 1971 as Coursing News editor and has served as NGA Secretary-Treasurer since 1982, also coordinator of the American Greyhound Council, Inc. for the past decade. The last of his and lovely wife Terri's children will be on his way to KU this fall, while 12 grandkids scattered nationwide keep them busy on the homefront in Abilene. Contact info: garyg@ngagreyhounds.com
RSS 2.0 Feed
