by Nigel Pullen ©

When T. M. Opera O kicked for home 400 metres out in the 2001 Japan Cup, it looked certain that his position as the world's leading money-earner would be further strengthened. However, he had victory snatched from him by the late surge of the Japanese Derby winner Jungle Pocket, ensuring a home-trained success in the penultimate leg of this year's Emirates World Series.

The distaff side of Jungle Pocket's pedigree is predominantly American, and its development was due in no small part to the doyen of Florida breeding, Fred J. Hooper. Born in 1897, and a construction contractor, Hooper bought his first racehorse at the Keeneland Summer Sales of 1943. He named the $10,200 yearling, by Sir Gallahad III out of One Hour, Hoop Jr. after his son, and the colt proved the best possible advertisement for racehorse ownership by winning the 1945 Kentucky Derby. It was the start of a long association with the turf for Hooper, as he lived to the ripe old age of 102. Never a slave to the whims of fashion, he bred a host of top class performers in that time.

Another of Hooper's early Thoroughbreds was Olympia, a real speed merchant who numbered the San Felipe, Flamingo and Wood Memorial Stakes amongst his 15 victories from 41 starts. To prove just how quick, he even took on and beat Champion Quarter Horse Stella Moore over her optimum distance.

The mare Santa Brigida appeared 4x5 in Olympia's pedigree, and for good measure he also had a strain of Melton in his fifth generation, the latter being a full brother to the dam of Santa Brigida. One of Olympia's sons was the top class juvenile Greek Game. A member of that vintage 1954 crop of American colts that included Bold Ruler, Gallant Man, Nearctic and Round Table, Greek Game still managed to win both the Washington Park Futurity and Arlington Futurity as a juvenile in Fred Hooper's distinctive colours of blue silks, red sleeves, white shoulder braces with a white 'H' in a circle. Greek Game raced for three more seasons, boasting a career record of 10 wins from 55 starts.

In view of the fact that Olympia's pedigree had Santa Brigida and Melton close up, it is instructive to note that Greek Game's maternal grandsire Questionnaire was 4x5x5 to the closely related trio Melton, Ayrshire and St. Serf. A closer examination reveals that Melton's granddam Violet was a full sister to Feronia, who featured as the granddam of Ayrshire and dam of St. Serf.

Where does this all fit in to our story? When retired to stud Greek Game sired Poliniss, a Hooper-bred filly who was to become the fourth dam of Jungle Pocket. A pretty useful racer, Poliniss won four of her 17 starts, probably posting her best effort when runner-up in the Nursery Stakes as a juvenile. Her pedigree was quite unusual in that it had three different sons of the important mare Selene, namely Hyperion (by Gainsborough), Sickle (by Phalaris) and Pharamond II (by Phalaris), appearing 4x4x4.

A similar sort of pattern, this time featuring Selene's sons Hunter's Moon, Hyperion and Sickle, could be found 4x3x3 in the Santa Anita Derby winner Sham, a colt unfortunate enough to have been born in the same year as Secretariat. That wonderful broodmare Fall Aspen was another example, being 4x3x4 to Hunter's Moon and Hyperion. Whilst quite similar in many respects these three patterns were also subtly different. Poliniss had Hyperion, Sickle and Pharamond II present through son strains; in Sham it was the complete reverse with Hunter's Moon, Hyperion and Sickle all supplying daughter strains; while Fall Aspen had a daughter of Hunter's Moon together with a son and daughter of Hyperion.

A further interesting relationship present in Poliniss was the 2x3 cross of Olympia and Menow. Both had Selene, Ultimus and John O'Gaunt close up, and while Olympia was of course 4x5 to Santa Brigida, Menow traced tail female to that very same mare, and his third dam Lady Cicero was 5x5 Feronia/Violet. Oddly enough, Polynesian, the other stallion in Poliniss' family to supply a son of Selene, also had a strong background of Feronia and Violet.

Over the next few years, Poliniss played a pivotal role in furthering the stud career of another Hooper-bred colt, the Kentucky Derby runner-up Crozier (My Babu - Miss Olympia by Olympia). Three of her offspring sired by Crozier went on to become stakes winners, namely Wedge Shot (Futurity Stakes-G1), Eximious (Railbird Stakes-G3) and Pitching Wedge; while Precisionist (Breeders Cup Sprint-G1) and Motivity (a stakes winner placed in G2 events) were by Crozier out of daughters of Poliniss. Since Olympia was also the maternal grandsire of Crozier it meant that these matings all brought together a son and daughter of Olympia, and in fact six of Crozier's 10 Graded winners boasted a double of Olympia. With 12 of her 14 offspring winning races, Poliniss proved to be a splendid broodmare.

Our interest centres on her ninth foal, a filly named Skillful Miss, who won two of her 20 starts. Her sire Daryl's Joy was bred in New Zealand, where he became Champion Two-Year-Old in the 1968-69 season, and went on the following season to win the Victoria Derby and W.S. Cox Plate in Australia. He sealed his reputation on the international stage by racing in America at four and five, winning the Oak Tree Stakes, Del Mar Handicap and San Luis Obispo Handicap. In all this versatile performer faced the starter 30 times, recording 16 victories at distances ranging from five to 12 furlongs. Daryl's Joy then carved a niche for himself as a successful stallion in Florida before returning to Australia in the twilight of his career.

Daryl's Joy had a powerful pedigree pattern, being 3x3 to the 1933 Epsom Derby winner Hyperion, via his sons Stardust and Ruthless. This of course further reinforced the Selene background, and made Skillful Miss 4x4x5x5x5 to the siblings Hyperion, Sickle and Pharamond II, all these strains incidentally coming via sons of these stallions. The appearance of Hyperion's son Ruthless was also of interest; his cross of Gainsborough/Hurry On being mirrored in Rameses the Second, who sired Poliniss' third dam.

When retired to the paddocks, Skillful Miss wasted no time in making an impact as a broodmare. Her first foal, a filly by Nodouble named Skillful Joy, won graded stakes at two, three and four. Her eight career victories included the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G2), Linda Vista Handicap (G3), El Encino Stakes (G3) and Chula Vista Handicap (G3) from a total of 45 starts.

Skillful Joy's sire Nodouble had been a durable performer on the track, earning the accolade of Champion Handicap Horse at both four and five. Amazingly he too traced tail male to Hyperion, and in fact his great grandsire Stardust was also the grandsire of Daryl's Joy, making Skillful Joy 4x4 to this particular son of Hyperion. Rather like Daryl's Joy, Nodouble's pedigree had antipodean connections, his grandsire Star Kingdom being the premier speed influence in Australia, and one of their most influential sires. In fact Star Kingdom's pedigree proved a perfect foil for Daryl's Joy's own sire Stunning. Not only were both by Stardust; but also Star Kingdom's third dam Virgin's Folly (by Swynford out of a White Eagle mare) was a three-quarter relative to Blandford, the sire of Stunning's maternal grandsire His Grace. All this made Jungle Pocket's granddam Skillful Joy 5x5x5x6x6x6 to Selene's sons Hyperion, Sickle and Pharamond II.

This concentration was further intensified in the next generation with Jungle Pocket's dam Dance Charmer being sired by none other than Nureyev, a stallion 4x4 to a daughter and son of Hyperion, with a further strain of Sickle. Although visiting a veritable Who's Who of top stallions such as Alydar, Nijinsky II, Mr Prospector, Nureyev and Danzig, Skillful Joy proved a disappointing broodmare. Perhaps the reason for this failure could be attributed to her plethora of son strains of Selene, nine in total, and the problem of finding a suitable stallion to redress this imbalance.

Research has shown that the best race and broodmares are more likely to have duplications of a stallion via two daughters and a mare via a son and daughter (often referred to as filly factors), while top colts generally have duplications of a mare via sons, or a stallion via a son and daughter (colt factors).

Jungle Pocket's dam Dance Charmer never raced, and apart from the build up in her pedigree of Selene there was an important connection between her third dam Poliniss and Northern Dancer's dam Natalma. Not only did Polynesian sire the dam of the former and the sire of the latter, but these two mares also shared strains of Light Brigade, Gainsborough, Swynford, Chicle, Peter Pan, Roi Herode and Disguise II.

Let us now turn our attention to Jungle Pocket's sire Tony Bin. Bred in Ireland, Tony Bin went through the sales ring as a foal; fetching just 3,000 guineas to a bid from the B.B.A (Italia) representing the Italian-based Allavamento White Star. At the time it probably appeared a fair price, for his dam, the Hornbeam mare Severn Bridge, won just a minor nine furlongs maiden from 12 starts. Her previous best offspring had been Swing Bridge (by Swing Easy), a colt good enough to finish third in Royal Ascot's Coventry Stakes (G3). However, Swing Bridge had later won seven times in Italy, and this no doubt proved a factor in Tony Bin being acquired by Italian owners.

After winning the Victoria Cup Handicap, Tony Bin's sire Kampala, made a successful transition to Group company by taking the Hungerford Stakes (G3), proving a very useful performer at around seven furlongs and a mile. Initially retired to stud in Ireland, his best winners in Europe, apart from Tony Bin, were Highland Chieftain (G1), Irish Safari (G3), Teach Dha Mhile (G3), Atall Atall and Reprint. In 1986 he moved to New Zealand followed by spells in Australia and Japan, and his Southern Hemisphere son Oompala won at Group 2 level, before finishing third in the 1994 Melbourne Cup (G1).

On entering training Tony Bin soon showed his owners that they had secured a real bargain. Although winning four of his nine starts at two and three, it was in the following couple of seasons that he really came to the fore, becoming one of the regular cast in the major European middle distance races. He won back-to-back runnings of both Premio Presidente della Republica (G1) and Grand Premio di Milano (G1) on his home turf, and after a further Group 1 success in the Gran Premio del Jockey Club, climaxed his career with a neck victory over Mtoto in the 1988 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1). Placed in a further eight Group 1 events across Europe including finishing runner-up to Trempolino in the 1987 'Arc', his race record read 15 wins from 27 starts. After ending his career with a fifth place in the Japan Cup (G1), Tony Bin remained in Japan to take up stallion duties and developed into one of their most consistent sires before his death in March 2000. Although leading sire there once in 1994, he generally had to play second fiddle to the dominance of Sunday Silence.

When discussing the pedigree of Jungle Pocket's dam Dance Charmer, it was noted the plethora of sons of Selene it contained, with Hyperion occurring 5x5x6x6x6x7 through five sons and just one daughter strain. It is therefore highly relevant that Jungle Pocket's sire Tony Bin provided some excellent balances to this. Not only was he 5x3x5 to Hyperion, via one son and significantly two daughters, but also 7x5 to two daughters of Hyperion's own sire Gainsborough. These appearances of Gainsborough had added importance by virtue of the fact that they were both in combination with Hurry On via Court Martial's dam Picture and Preciptic (sire of Tony Bin's granddam). The reverse Gainsborough/Hurry On cross was found in both Ruthless and Rameses the Second, who we noted previously were 3x5 in Jungle Pocket's third dam Skillful Miss. Furthermore, Stardust, to whom Jungle Pocket's second dam was 4x4, provided a very similar background of Gainsborough crossed with Hurry On's close genetic relative Sundridge.

Two further important balancing strains provided by Tony Bin were his maternal grandsire Hornbeam and great grandsire Zeddaan. Hornbeam's cross of Hyperion and Nearco made him a reverse three-quarter relative to Nureyev's grandsire Nearctic; while Nureyev's granddam Thong had a similar Nasrullah, Goldbridge and Swynford heritage to the aforementioned Zeddaan. Indeed, Tony Bin's pedigree had a further connection with Nureyev's sire Northern Dancer, with his granddam Priddy Fair boasting a similar Lady Juror, Gainsborough, The Tetrarch and Blandford combination to Mahmoud, the sire of Northern Dancer's granddam.

With the proliferation in Japan of mares having strains of Northern Dancer, these links perhaps go some way to explaining Tony Bin's success there as a stallion, for many of his group winners have Northern Dancer in their dams. As well as Jungle Pocket's Japanese Derby (G1) win, Tony Bin also sired the 2001 Japanese Oaks (G1) heroine Lady Pastel. Although the pedigrees of their respective dams at first appear quite dissimilar, they both carried an influence that related to Tony Bin's third dam Campanette, the latter being by Fair Trial out of Calluna by Hyperion. Jungle Pocket had Forli, a grandson of Hyperion and inbred to the seven-eighths sister and brother Riot and Fair Trial. Lady Pastel on the other hand had Tudor Minstrel, another grandson of Hyperion, who this time combined Pharos and Lady Juror. The last two link to Fair Trial, who was by Pharos' full brother Fairway out of Lady Juror. Interestingly, Forli has cropped up in two more of Tony Bin's Group winners in 2001, namely Lord Cronos and Lord Platinum.

It is worth noting that Campanette traced tail female to the mare Mine D'Or, herself a daughter of the rarely found stallion Goldseeker. Goldseeker was by Hermit's son The Miser, and his granddam was a full sister to Brother To Strafford; interesting considering the abundance of horses tracing to Maid Of Masham with the assistance of the latter, especially in combination with Hermit. This raises hopes that Mill Reef, a stallion especially rich in this background, and quite common in the current Japanese gene pool, could work well in combination with sons and daughters of Tony Bin in the future.

This stallion Goldseeker may have another important role to play too. His granddam, an unnamed mare by Young Melbourne, also had strains of the Gohanna mare, Sultan and Whalebone close up. There just happens to be another unnamed Young Melbourne mare with a similar genetic background, and she was the dam of the important broodmare Quiver. This gets more interesting when you consider that Quiver appeared 3x3 in the mare Cinna, who was none other than the tail female ancestress of the dominant sire of current Japanese breeding, Sunday Silence. Needless to say all the three Group winners to date out of Tony Bin mares, namely Admire Boss, Admire Vega and Sun Place, are by Sunday Silence.

It will be interesting to see how these particular strains work with descendants of Tony Bin in the future; but perhaps the lesson to be learned from both Jungle Pocket's own pedigree and his ancestry is the importance of ensuring a good balance between son and daughter strains in any planned matings.