by Les Brinsfield ©

Olin Gentry espoused "return to the sire the best blood of his dam" and "it is very, very important to get the common ancestor in the same generation." Theorists and academics can argue about why - I don't know and possibly, neither did he. Perhaps because it worked was all the reason needed. Whatever else, Roberto was proof positive from the horse that the man practiced what he preached - as you will soon see.

Roberto is a tale of two great breeders: Darby Dan Farm, with the deft hand of Olin Gentry dealing, and the Beiber-Jacobs combine with the steel trap mind of Hirsch Jacaobs doing the planning. The breeding of Roberto was not a joint venture but it was accomplished over time as the consequence of two very able people. Let's give the top side to Beiber-Jacobs and look at the distaff side of Roberto, contrasting against Hail to Reason as we go.

Rarelea is a daughter of Bull Lea from Bleebok by Blue Larkspur - simple! Nothirdchance is a daughter of Blue Swords out Galla Colors by Sir Gallahad III. Now we have the makings! Bull Lea is a son of Bull Dog, he a brother to Sir Gallahad III. So in the case of Rarelea, there is a son of one brother over a daughter of Blue Larkspur while Nothirdchance is by a son of Blue Larkspur out of a mare by the other brother.

We'll call them equivalents as they are so similar and we'll call them inverted as their male and female sides are reversed and when they come together in Roberto's pedigree they contribute one strain of both genders by Blue Larkspur and the brothers. This is sex balanced linebreeding - a clinic put on by masters of the art and the pedigree is their blueprint, left for others to learn from and emulate.

Equivalents you say? Well, look at Royal Charger and Nasrullah: the first out of a daughter of Mumtaz Begum while Nasrullah is her own son - more sex balance, this time to a mare. Now imagine al this transpiring simultaneously. Royal Charger and Nasrullah are bred to mares featuring Plucky Liege, dam of four chefs-de-race, yielding Turn-To and Nashua - more equivalents - see why? Three quarter sibs crossed on Plucky Liege is close enough to a right answer.

So pair up the equivalents by gender - see how similarly the minds of Gentry and Jacobs were working - and Hail To Reason and Bramelea come into existence equivalent to the hilt. Their union resulted in Roberto of whom Mr. Gentry was rightfully proud and he, the man, lamented he, the horse, was the result of a lifetime of learning and applying those lessons. Call it a legacy. [Use Del Mar Pedigree Query to study these relationships]

One of millions of equivalent relationships should be looked at - that of Buckpasser and Hail to Reason. This is timely, given Jump Start [4X4 Buckpasser with Hail to Reason in the fifth] won the recent Saratoga Special. Both Hail to Reason and Buckpasser are important players in today's gene pool. Today, or even decades ago, a look at what might happen when they were crossed would show sex balanced strains of Teddy, Blue larkspur and Man O'War interlocked by a cross of full brothers. Equivalents! Bet your last deuce - Jacobs and Gentry knew.