“New Stallion Series: Rocking Trick” by Michael Ventura, copyright 2004.

The First Year Stallion Rocking Trick will stand the '05 breeding season at River Run Farm in Kentucky; where the fee will be $3,500LFG.

 A 2-time GI winner in Argentina of the 2000 Carrera Estellas Juvenile (ARG-GI) at the age of two and the 2002 Ciudad De Buenos Aires (ARG-GI) under 130lb. in the blistering time of 54.33 for 1,000 meters at the age of four, Rocking Trick is by the Icecapade line stallion Phone Trick and from a mare by 7-time champion juvenile sire and 2-time leading general sire Storm Cat.  (To put Rocking Trick’s time in the Ciudad Buenos Aires in perspective, the North American record for the slightly shorter distance of 5f is 54.60 set by General Express under a much lighter impost of 115lbs.; and the all-time mark in the metric Nation of France for the exact same distance of 1,000 meters is 54.30 set by the great Champion Sprinting Mare Habibti.)

The Storm Cat mare (Razzi Cat) that produced Rocking Trick also produced Randy Cat (by Roy), a very fast filly from Argentina who won 3 GIs and once ran 1,600 meters in a scintillating 1:31.83.  I think Randy Cat’s time, which was only 1/5 of a second off Elusive Quality’s world record for one-mile (a distance less than 9 yards longer than 1,600 meters), was legit as to set it she had to win a prestigious Argentinean GI that was run the same day and track as the Carlos Pellegrino (the greatest race of them all in South America) by a three-quarters of a length over a 4-time GI winning miler and member of the opposite sex named Lord Card. 

Though he was bred and raced in Argentina, Rocking Trick doesn’t have any of those pesky, difficult to assimilate, Argentinean lines.  He is by a speedy American sire that sired two Juvenile Champions (Favorite Trick and Phone Chatter), and out of a speed throwing mare by a speedy American sire who has been the Champion American Juvenile sire 7 times as of this writing; with the 2^nd dam coming from much more stamina oriented French lines and being by Luthier, a son of French 2000 Guinieas winner Klairon who led the French sire lists on four different occasions. 

Luthier, who is perhaps best known as the sire of 84’s Arc Winner Sagace (who also finished a neck in front of Rainbow Quest in the hotly contested ’85 Arc before getting his number taken down), proved to be an even better sire of broodmares, and was Champion Broodmare Sire of France for eight years (1987-’93, 1995).

So far, Rocking Trick’s branch (Clever Trick) of the Icecapade sireline has been having a really hard time getting a sire good enough to replace Phone Trick.  But none of Phone Trick’s other sons given a shot at stud have anything in the league of Storm Cat as their broodmare sire save the yet unproven Zavata (from a Cox’s Ridge mare) and 2004 first year stallion Intidab (from a Mr Prospector mare), who intriguingly enough has sired three stakes horses from a mere six foals in his first crop, including Kentucky Cup Juvenile Stakes (G3) and Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) winner Greater Good. 

We can also note that the best older son of Phone Trick at stud, the late G3W Pick Up The Phone (3 SW and a AEI of 1.63 from a only 63 foals), was from a mare by Coastal, a significantly better sire than the broodmare sires of the Phone Trick sons given the best shots at stud (namely Medieval Man the damsire of Favorite Trick, Ramahorn the damsire of Mazel Trick, and Ramsinga the damsire of Caller I. D.).

Another thing that makes Rocking Trick stand out amongst Phone Trick sons is his 2^nd dam La Vire; she had excellent construction on her pedigree (check out the 5x5 to 1929’s Champion English sire Tetratema and the 5x5x5x5 to Blandford), and she came from some of the best French lines.

Even looking just at her parents, she’s by the great French stallion Luthier and out of Vale, a mare that threw the fine Phaeton colt Vitiges, who won prestigious races like the Prix Robert Papin (FR-GI), Prix Morny (FR-GI), and Champion S (ENG-GI).

Bred to Storm Cat, La Vire got the fine Argentinean broodmare Razzi Cat (see above), and bred to Seattle Slew she got the good steeplechaser Yaw, who won the prestigious New York Turf Writers Cup twice. 

This is a very strong female family on Rocking Trick: his dam threw Multiple GIWs Rocking Trick and Randy Cat. His 2^nd dam threw a horse by Seattle Slew who would have been a multiple GIW if they had a grading system for steeplechases back in the early 90’s.  And his 3^rd dam Vale threw a multiple GIW and Champion in Vitiges, who won one of the greatest races of France (the Prix Morny, one of their most prestigious 2YO races) and one of the greatest races in England (the Newmarket Champion S, which has been won by such all-time greats as Pretty Polly, Nasrullah, Brigadier Gerard, Sir Ivor, and Hatoof).  Vale also produced Virunga, who finished 2^nd in the Yorkshire Oaks (Eng-GI) and in turn produced Prix Jacques le Marois (FR-GI) winner Vin De France. 

Other GIWs descended of Vale include Prix Du Cadran (FR-GI) winner Victoire Bleue, 2003 Grand Prix De Paris (FR-GI) and Prix Jean Prat (FR-GI) winner Vespone; and Rocking Trick’s fellow grandson of La Vire: Germinis, who won the Longchamp Prix Du Cadran (FR-GI) as well.  In addition, the 1993 French Highweight Older Mare was Verveine, she with Vale as her 4^th dam, and Verveine’s daughter Volga was in turn a millionaire who won the EP Taylor S (CAN-GI) and her other daughter Vallee Enchantee won over 1.6 Million Pounds and the Hong Kong Vase (HK-GI).  And then there’s Freddy, an Argentinean Horse of the Year and Champion 3YO Colt who won the Estrellas Juvenile (ARG-GI), Grand Premio Nacional (Argentinean Derby) (ARG-GI), and the Carlos Pellegrino (ARG-GI) in an excellent time of 2:23.90 for 2400 meters (nearly 1 ½ Miles).

That’s a grand total of literally 10 individual GI winners under Rocking Trick’s first three dams; in contrast Phone Trick’s other son Favorite Trick had a 3^rd dam in Jackie Dare who was born only two years after Vale and yet has only one descendent who won a GI in a major racing country (Favorite Trick). 

The likely next GIW for this fine Daniel Wildenstein (Allez France) developed family is 2YO Fillies Mile (GB-GI) runner-up Maid’s Causeway, the top filly so far by likely 2004 Champion English Freshman Sire Giant’s Causeway.  Note that Giant’s Causeway was a son of Storm Cat, the damsire of Rocking Trick; Maid’s Causeway is thus 2x4 to Storm Cat and Vale, a stallion and mare that show up 1x2 in RT’s dam Razzi Cat, a multiple GI producer. 

Looking at the 10 GIWs and 5 GI Producers under Rocking Trick’s 3^rd dam, we find a G2W and Multiple GI Producer (Verveine) by Lear Fan and a GIW (Vespone) from a mare by Alysheba (out of a full sister of Lear Fan’s dam).  However in both cases Vale come through her granddaughter Venise, a daughter of Nureyev, whose 2^nd dam Thong was a full sister to Alysheba and Lear Fan’s damsire Lt Stevens.  Inbreeding to the Rough Shod II family of Special and Lt Stevens is powerful enough a pattern that its working in the context of the Vale family (even twice) shouldn’t be given that great an amount of weight of itself given that Rocking Trick doesn’t have the Rough Shod II family.  (Though Lear Fan is good enough with Rocking Trick for other reasons besides this that I recommend him as a broodmare sire for him anyway.)

The specific Thong line stallion Nureyev is even stronger with this family; with the good broodmare Venise being by him and the GI winner Valle Enchantee and G2 Producer Vallee Des Reves both being inbred to him 2x3.  The only thing holding me off from recommending Nureyev descended mares is that while Nureyev has had some success with Storm Cat (see GIWs Var and Island Fashion and the G2W Maid’s Causeway), it’s not that tremendous given the quality of the stallions involved and it doesn’t really overcome Nureyev interacting poorly with Rocking Trick’s sire Phone Trick and Icecapade sireline.

No such problems are presented by Alydar, who is found in the GI Producer Vanishing Prairie through his son Alysheba and the GI Winner Vallee Enchantee through his maternal grandson Peintre Celebre: He is an excellent nick with RT’s damsire Storm Cat and in a related benefit Alydar’s dam Sweet Tooth is 3x3 to Bull Lea, a stallion to whom Rocking Trick is inbred 5x7.  Sweet Tooth is also 4x4 to Blandford’s best son Blenheim, and Rocking Trick’s 2^nd dam La Vire is inbred 5x5x5x5 to Blandford through one son and three daughters.  (And an Alydar mare and RT’s Icecapade sireline has combined in Japanese GIW Personal Rush, who managed to finish 6^th in the 2004 BC Classic.)

Also significantly, we find two GIWs (Vespone and Victoire Bleue) and one GI Producer (Folgada, dam of Freddy) from basically different branches are by sons (Llandaff, Lyphard’s Wish, or Legend of France) of Lyphard.  Note that Lyphard has not only combined with Rocking Trick’s 3^rd dam Vale in two GIWs and a GI Producer.  But he has also combined with Rocking Trick’s 2^nd damsire Luthier in top runners like the excellent ’98 Arc winner Sagamix; the 2001 American Champion Older Mare Gourmet Girl; the French Classic Winner Matiara; Riboletta, a Brazilian and American GI Winner who won the 2000 Eclipse for Champion Older Mare; her full brother, Brazilian Triple Crown Winner and Horse of the Year Super Power; Brazilian GIW Ay Caramba; and Fillies Mile (GB-GI) Winner Glorosia. 

Breeding Rocking Trick to a Lyphard granddaughter would also result in 4x5 linebreeding to Northern Dancer through Storm Bird and Lyphard; this pattern has worked in the Brazilian GIW Lost Love, WTC 1000 Guinieas (AUS-GI) winner Lady of the Pines, and the French Oaks (FR-GI) winner Nebraska Tornado.

We also find two GIWs (Vespone and Germinis) are by stallions (Llandaff or Vaguely Pleasant) who were by sons of Northern Dancer out of daughters of Vaguely Noble; we find two GIWs and Champions (Freddy and Randy Cat) are by Roy; we also find three GIWs (Freddy, Randy Cat, and Vespone) are by stallions (Roy or Vaguely Pleasant) tracing back to Frizette (13-c) in the female line; and finally we find a GIW (Vin De France) and multiple GIW Producer (Razzi Cat) both have Bold Ruler; Bold Ruler being one of the better nicks with Phone Trick (see for instance Caller One), and just about the best nick with his other sons. 

Note that in Vin De France the Bold Ruler comes through his grandson Foolish Pleasure, whose 2^nd dam Becti was a relative to Rocking Trick’s 2^nd damsire Luthier; both having Tourbillon, Blandford, The Tetrarch; and either Pretty Polly or her full sister Admiration in the direct female line.  From very few examples, Foolish Pleasure bred to a Luthier mare got GI Producer Eversince, the dam of German and Italian GIW Caitano (this is very interesting as the branch of Vale that led to the GIW Vin De France was not the one [La Vire] with Luthier on it).

And also note Vaguely Noble has had some serious success with Rocking Trick’s dam grandsire Storm Bird.  Vaguely Noble and Storm Bird having combined in the champions Indian Skimmer and Spain, plus the GIW Yell.

Thus I’d consider the presence of Bold Ruler, his grandson Foolish Pleasure, Vaguely Noble, and/or Lyphard in the pedigree of a mare for Rocking Trick a major plus.  Another major advantage of Vaguely Noble is that his sire Vienna traced to the same female family (Pretty Polly, 14-c) as RT’s 2^nd damsire Luthier and Nearctic, to whom Rocking Trick is inbred 4x5. 

The rare ability of Rocking Trick’s sire Phone Trick was to both “integrate” much more stamina oriented lines from France and other European countries and come off the victor in the ensuing “speed vs. stamina” genetic conflict.  A 2YO GI winner of the Argentinean equivalent of the BC Juvenile Colts who once ran 1,000 meters in 54.33, Rocking Trick himself is an excellent example of this.  Thus breeding him to the right kind of French/Euro lines would have the threefold benefit of helping out Phone Trick; returning Rocking Trick some of the high quality ancestors in his 2^nd dam La Vire; and adding some speed to lines that probably need it.

It’s also important to note that Rocking Trick is 4x5 Nearctic and 5x6 Native Dancer through the ¾ relatives Icecapade and Northern Dancer; and that he’s also 5x5x6x7 to Nearco through those two crosses of Nearctic and a cross apiece of the ¾ brothers Royal Charger and Nasrullah; 6x6x7 to Hyperion through Nearctic and his 5^th dam Calluna; 6x6 to Prix De l’Arc de L’Triumph winner and 4-time leading French sire Djebel through his sons Djeddah and Clairon; and 5x7 to 5-time leading American sire Bull Lea through his daughter Last Wave and son Bull Page.  Rocking Trick also has two close up ancestors (Storm Cat and Icecapade) tracing back to the 1917’s Champion 2YO Filly and fine Whitney broodmare Rosie O’Grady.  And mark well that his sire Phone Trick shares Djeddah and Bull Lea with Roy, the sire of his 3-time GI winning half-sister Randy Cat; suggesting these two stallions will be key strains for Rocking Trick.

Mating Recommendations: Older Strains (except for Roy and Summer Squall)

Fappiano and Never Bend (Roy).    

Besides combining so well with Rocking Trick’s dam Razzi Cat in the 3-time GIW and 2001 Champion Argentinean 2YO Filly Randy Cat, Roy, his sire Fappiano, and his damsire Never Bend have all enjoyed success with Rocking Trick’s sire Phone Trick or a full sister of his grandsire Clever Trick.

Roy sired 2-time ARG-GI winner Ice Point from a daughter of Clever Trick’s full sister Jamra.  And besides combining with Clever Trick’s sister in Ice Point through his son Roy, Fappiano grandsired Futurity (GI) winner Traitor from a Clever Trick mare and Fappiano also grandsired Gazelle H (GI) and Beldame S (GI) winner Exogenous from mare by Rocking Trick’s sire Phone Trick himself.

And besides combining with Clever Trick’s sister in Ice Point, Never Bend combined with Clever Trick in Champion 2YO Yes It’s True and G3 winner Nice Assay, the dam of Hopeful (GI), Santa Anita Derby (GI), and Pacific Classic (GI) winner Came Home and A Gleam (G2) winner AP Assay.  Never Bend also combined with Clever Trick through Rocking Trick’s sire Phone Trick in the Undefeated Champion Juvenile of 2001, Favorite Trick.

Never Bend is a particularly key ancestor to look for in mares for Rocking Trick as he also ties together both sides of RT’s pedigree on a more theoretical plane: Never Bend returning Clever Trick his 2^nd damsire Djeddah and hailing from the same 19-b (Nan Darrell) female family as Rocking Trick’s dam.

Clever Trick does very well with returns of Djeddah: Phone Trick’s best son Favorite Trick being 5x6 to Djeddah, Phone Trick’s best daughter Phone Chatter being 5x4 to Djeddah, Clever Trick’s best maternal grandson Yes It’s True being 5x6 to Djeddah, and Yes It’s True’s recent Champagne (GI) winner Proud Accolade being 6x6x7 to Djeddah.

Key To The Mint and Missy Baba (Sauce Boat and Plugged Nickle).

Key To The Mint is a very nice cross with Rocking Trick’s damsire Storm Cat; Breeder’s Futurity (G2) winner and 3-time G3W Mountain Cat being by Storm Cat from a Key To The Mint mare and Preakness (GI) / Belmont (GI) winner Tabasco Cat being by Storm Cat from a mare by Key To The Mint’s son Sauce Boat.

Phone Trick bred to a Key To The Mint mare got Shiny Happy; the dam of Brazilian GI winner Norway Boy (by Dodge).  Note that the dam of Dodge was bred on the same cross of Storm Bird and Secretariat as RT’s damsire Storm Cat.  Thus a foal by Rocking Trick from a Key To The Mint mare would be very closely related to the GIW Norway Boy.

With Rocking Trick’s Icecapade male-line, a Key To The Mint line mare produced Carter (GI) and Metropolitan (GI) winner Wild Rush; he being by Icecapade’s son Wild Again o/o Rose Park, by Plugged Nickle (Key To The Mint-Toll Booth).  Intriguingly, Plugged Nickle was a ¾ brother to Tabasco Cat’s damsire Sauce Boat; both being by Key To The Mint and out of either the great taproot mare Missy Baba or her daughter Toll Booth.

Besides interacting well with Storm Cat through her son Sauce Boat in Tabasco Cat and with the Icecapade male-line through her grandson Plugged Nickle in Wild Rush, Missy Baba is the dam of Raja Baba.  And a Raja Baba line mare bred to another son of Phone Trick besides Rocking Trick (Pick Up The Phone), produced Touch Tone (o/o Super Seniorita, by Raja Baba’s son El Baba), a winner of the Iowa Derby who finished a close second behind the great champion Point Given in the GI Haskell Invitational.

Another good thing about Missy Baba is that she nicked very well with Storm Cat’s damsire Secretariat in Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise and with the Storm Bird/Secretariat cross that resulted in Storm Cat himself in Weekend Surprise’s Hopeful (GI) and Preakness (GI) winning son Summer Squall.

Missy Baba’s sire My Babu is also a very good nick with Secretariat through other sources; see Secretariat’s Melbourne Cup (AUS-I) winning son Kingston Rule, Sister Dot, the dam of Dehere, 4-time GI winner Marlin, and Storm Cat’s BC Sprint winning daughter Desert Stormer.

Blushing Groom and Khaled.

Like Key To The Mint, Blushing Groom is an excellent nick with Storm Cat (see Euro Champion Giant’s Causeway, Test (GI) winner Missed The Storm, Lane’s End Breeder’s Futurity (GI) Consolidator, and Prix de Salamandre (FR-GI) winner Abjabr). 

And Blushing Groom’s 4^th dam is the fine Aga Khan broodmare Éclair, who produced Khaled (by Hyperion), an excellent nick with both Rocking Trick’s Icecapade sireline (see Icecapade’s best son Wild Again, who was o/o a Khaled mare), and Rocking Trick’s sire Phone Trick himself (see Phone Trick’s best daughter, Champion 2YO filly of ‘93 Phone Chatter, whose 2^nd damsire was Khaled’s son Hillary).  Also Éclair was bred to Umidwar to produce Blushing Groom’s 3^rd dam Emali, and Umidwar’s full sister Udaipur became the 3^rd dam of Wild Again, the best son of Clever Trick’s sire Icecapade.

Nijinsky and Dewan  

Nijinsky forms perhaps the best nick of all with Storm Cat; with major GI winners Black Minnaloushe (o/o a mare by Green Dancer), High Yield, Good Reward, and Nebraska Tornado, as well as Kings Bishop H (G2) winner and top young sire Tale of the Cat all being by Storm Cat with Nijinsky on the damside.  In addition, Storm Cat’s son Hennessy got 3-time AUS-GI winner Grand Armee from a granddaughter of Nijinsky’s son Whiskey Road.

Phone Trick and Nijinsky have combined in G3 winner Star of Valor and PR-G2 winner Tantalizing Tease, and Phone Trick bred to a mare by Nijinsky’s ¾ brother The Minstrel got Semoran, a G3 winner of $860K.  Phone Trick’s sire Clever Trick sired 3-time G2 winner Tricky Creek from a Nijinsky granddaughter and a daughter of Clever Trick bred to Nijinsky’s son Sky Classic got recent Shadwell Turf Mile (GI) winner Nothing To Lose.  Also Nijinsky’s son Caerleon and Rocking Trick’s Vale female line have combined in EP Taylor (CAN-GI) winner Volga.

Dewan is by Bold Ruler, a good foil to other sons of Rocking Trick’s sire Phone Trick, and out of Sunshine Nell, a half-sister to Last Wave, the dam of Phone Trick’s damsire Finnegan.  Thus a mare by a son of Dewan bred to Rocking Trick would be 4x4 to the ½ sisters Sunshine Nell and Last Wave.  Both being out of the great Calumet racemare and very good broodmare Nellie Flag and by a sire (either Sun Again or Bull Lea) hailing from the Teddy male line and tracing back in the female line to The Apple (9-f), a fine taproot who was also the 4th dam of Nellie Flag herself.

Also note Dewan sired Ramahorn, the damsire of Mazel Trick (by Phone Trick); Mazel Trick being 4x4 to said full sisters and Richard Mandella’s “fastest horse I ever trained”.

Danzig and Buckpasser (Danehill, Eagle Eyed, and Honor Grades)

Danzig is easily the strongest stallion by far save Rocking Trick’s damsire Storm Cat to have GI success as the damsire of a Phone Trick runner, namely the Dubai Golden Shaheen (UAE-GI) winner and earner of over $3.1 Million Caller One.  This is very meaningful because Danzig has also combined with Phone Trick’s sire Clever Trick in the additional GIWs Peeping Tom, winner of the Carter H (GI), and Elegant Fashion, who in 2003 became the first filly to win the Hong Kong Derby (HK-GI) since 1976.

In the case of Caller One’s dam Baltic Sea, Peeping Tom’s sire Eagle Eyed, and Elegant Fashion’s grandsire Danehill (a full brother of Eagle Eyed), Danzig came in the immediate context of Buckpasser, who is also an excellent nick with Phone Trick and Clever Trick: Buckpasser being found in the damside of not just Phone Trick’s Champion son Caller One, but also in his Champion daughter Phone Chatter, his two-time G3W son Semoran, his G2W son Star Of Valor, and his G3W son/good sire Pick Up The Phone; and Buckpasser combining with Clever Trick in not just Peeping Tom and Elegant Fashion, but also within the first three generations of the additional GIW Roamin Rachel, a winner of the Ballerina H (GI) and the dam of recent Japan Cup (GI) winner Zenno Rob Roy.

This is of importance as Danzig and Buckpasser are a very strong nick who have combined not just in Danzig’s greatest son Danehill, his full brother Eagle Eyed, and Baltic Sea, but also in the first four generations of an amazing 20 GIWs and the nice sire Honor Grades, who traces back to previously recommended strain Missy Baba in the female line. 

Another advantage of Danehill besides him grandsiring Elegant Fashion from a daughter of Clever Trick is that he sired 4-time GIW Fairy King Prawn from a granddaughter of Rocking Trick’s 2^nd damsire Luthier.  And a further advantage of both Danehill and his brother Eagle Eyed is that their damsire His Majesty combined with Phone Trick in the G2Ws Speed Dialer and Star Of Valor.

As Danzig is a strong nick with Clever Trick; Clever Trick is a very good nick with Buckpasser; Buckpasser and Danzig are a very strong nick; and Phone Trick, Danzig, and Buckpasser have all three combined in the GIWs Caller One, Peeping Tom, and Elegant Fashion, mares combining Danzig and Buckpasser should be given especial consideration for Rocking Trick as a “Three-Way Nick” (see my article on Bago) between Danzig, Clever Trick, and Buckpasser would thus be effected.

Mating Recommendations: More Recent Recommended Damsires Who Are Sources Of Multiple Older Recommended Strains

Sources of Key To The Mint and Blushing Groom.

Swain, besides being by a son of Blushing Groom from a mare by Key To The Mint, is from the same Pretty Polly (14-c) female line as Rocking Trick’s 2^nd damsire Luthier and Nearctic, to whom Rocking Trick in inbred 4x5.

Sources of Fappiano and Nijinsky.

Rubiano, besides being by Fappiano from a Nijinsky mare, traces back to the same Beadah (3-o) female family as Phone Trick’s best daughter Phone Chatter.  Note that Beadah was by Djeddah, the 3^rd damsire of Clever Trick.

Sources of Beadah and Dewan.

Glitterman’s sire is Dewan and his 4^th dam is Beadah.

Sources of Never Bend and Khaled’s Son Hillary.

J. O. Tobin, besides being by Never Bend from a Hillary mare, has Imperium, a half-brother to Secretariat’s dam Somethingroyal, as his 2^nd damsire.

Sources of Raja Baba and Never Bend.

An even better source of Raja Baba than El Baba, the previously mentioned and recommended damsire of Touch Tone, is Is It True, a son of Raja Baba from a mare by Never Bend’s son Proudest Roman.  Is It True’s 2^nd damsire Dead Ahead was a son of Turn-To, who ties together the sireside and damside of Rocking Trick’s pedigree: Turn-To being one of the greatest stallions of the 20^th Century whose sire was Royal Charger (sire of Phone Trick’s damsire); his 3^rd dam Sweet Lavender was also the 2^nd dam of Klairon, the sire of Razzi Cat’s 2^nd damsire Luthier.  And Is It True’s best offspring is his son Yes It’s True, a GI winning millionaire who is out of a Clever Trick mare.

Sources of Blushing Groom and Nijinsky.

Peaks And Valleys is just about the best broodmare sire for Rocking Trick except maybe Roy and Is It True; he combines Storm Cat’s two best nicks (Blushing Groom and Nijinsky) and he has recommended strains Never Bend and Amerigo, who was the damsire of Phone Chatter’s damsire Pass The Glass, in the 4^th generation through his 2^nd dam Strike A Pose.

Sources of Key To The Mint and Nijinsky

Java Gold is by Key To The Mint from a Nijinsky mare.

Rockamundo is also by Key To The Mint from a Nijinsky mare and in addition his 3^rd dam Roseliere, a Champion 2YO filly in France, is a beautiful pedigree foil for Klairon, the sire of Rocking Trick’s 2^nd damsire Luthier.  From very few examples, Luthier and Roseliere, who would be crossed 4x5 in the result of breeding a Rockamundo mare to Rocking Trick, have combined in German GI winner Oxalagu (he was 3x3x3 Roseliere / Luthier / Nijinsky, who would show up 5x4x4 in the result of breeding a Rockamundo mare to Rocking Trick).

Gentlemen has Nijinsky and Key To The Mint in the 3^rd generation, and his 2^nd dam Hidden Glance brings in both Francis S, an interesting pedigree foil for Phone Trick’s dam Pick Up The Phone (they share Royal Charger, War Admiral, and the great matriarch La Trioenne), and Tessa Gilliam, Royal Charger’s full sister, though her son Gentle Art.  Gentle Art’s full sister Courtessa was an excellent foil for Luthier’s sire Klairon in Klairessa, the dam of 3-time GI winner Habibti  (IRE).  Also, Gentlemen’s sire Robin Des Bois traces to the Cherokee Rose (8-c) female line of both Icecapade and Storm Cat.

Additional Recommended Broodmare Sires:

Roberto: Two excellent sources of Turn-To are his son Hail To Reason and Hail To Reason’s son Roberto, who has Bull Lea in common with both Phone Trick and Storm Cat and who has an affinity with Rocking Trick’s great-grandsire Icecapade reflected in the GIWs Clever Dancer (VEN) and Hollywood Story; and who also combined with him or his son Clever Trick in the GI Producers Ghislaine, Cherlendrea, Magnificent Style, Eliza Blue, and the G2W Quinton’s Gold Rush.  Also note Roberto is the 2^nd damsire of Phone Trick’s G2W son Intidab.

Wolf Power: The damsire of GIW Milwaukee Brew who was from RT’s Icecapade sireline, Wolf Power has a cross of Djask on his damline.  Djask is a rare full brother to Djebel, to whom Rocking Trick is linebred 6x6.  In a related note Wolf Power’s 2nd dam Blue Siren is 2x3x3 Djask, Hyperion, and Fair Trial.  Djask’s full brother Djebel, Hyperion, and Fair Trial are 4x4x4 in RT’s 2^nd dam La Vire.

Manila was by Lyphard, who combined with the Vale female family in the GIWs Vespone and Victoire Bleue and the Champion (Freddy) producer Folgada.  And Manila himself sired San Juan Capistrano (GI) Winner and Stakes Record Holder Bienamado (ped) from a mare by Vale’s best son Vitiges.  Also note Manila’s damsire Le Fabuleux nicked very nicely with Rocking Trick’s 2^nd damsire Luthier in Fillies Mile (GB-GI) winner Glorosia, who had Luthier in the third generation and was 4x4 to Le Fabuleux. 

Note that Glorosia was by a sire (Bering) whose dam was bred on the exact same Lyphard/Le Fabuleux cross as Manila.  And finally Manila’s 2^nd dam crossed Bold Ruler (the sire of Storm Cat’s damsire Secretariat and an excellent nick with Phone Trick) over Bull Lea (found in Storm Cat’s sire Storm Bird and Phone Trick’s dam Over the Phone).

Housebuster: His sire Mt Livermore brings in Blushing Groom and returns Storm Cat his 2^nd damsire Crimson Satan; the damside has key ancestor Never Bend.

Irish River: Combining key strain Never Bend with a daughter of Klairon for his son Luthier, Irish River was bred on the exact same cross as the dam of Phone Trick’s Lion City Cup (SIN-GI) winning and Hong Kong International Bowl (HK-GI) placing son Cellular Phone.

Caro has combined with Luthier in the Arc Winner Sagamix and the Prix Royal Oak (FR-GI) Winner Mersey; a Caro mare bred to Storm Cat produced the Hollywood Futurity (GI) Winner Tactical Cat.  The G2W Tomorrow’s Cat and the G3W Cat Appeal (ped) also combine Caro and Rocking Trick’s damsire.  And Caro has combined with Icecapade in the Strub S (GI) Winner Siberian Summer and the Prix de Ganay (FR-GI) Winner Fair Mix. Note that Siberian Summer’s sire was Caro’s son Siberian Express, who traced back to the previously recommended female line of Frizette. 

Another thing I like about Caro is that he traces to the previously recommended 3-o female line through Black Cherry, the 2^nd dam of Blandford (to whom Rocking Trick’s 2^nd dam La Vire is inbred 5x5x5x5) and a half-sister to Black Velvet, the 9^th dam of Phone Trick’s Champion daughter Phone Chatter.

Majestic Light combines Royal Charger and the 8-c female line of Storm Cat / Icecapade with Klairon’s close relative and nicking partner Ambiorix.  On the empirical side of the ledger, we find Majestic Light’s paternal half-brother Coastal combined with Phone Trick in his G3 Winning son and surprisingly good stallion Pick Up The Phone.  And Majestic Light’s son Wavering Monarch, who traces to the same Caithness (8-h) family as Phone Trick, is the damsire of Phone Trick’s G2 Winning son Star Of Valor.

Lord At War: His sire General shares many strong French and English stallions with RT’s 2^nd dam La Vire.

Best Turn brings in the Turn-To sireline, and his son Cox’s Ridge is the damsire of the speedy and well-made 2YO G2W Zavata by Phone Trick.

Val De L’Orne: His sire Val De Loir was bred on the same cross of Brantone and Tetratema to Luthier’s strong 2^nd dam Montagnana and Val De Loir with Luthier himself makes a powerful nick [5GIW and 2 GI Producers].  In addition his dam has a lot of French lines like Rose Prince, Sans Souci, and Forizade in common with RT’s 2^nd dam La Vire; and Val De L’Orne himself is the 2^nd damsire of Icecapade’s Santa Anita H (GI) winning grandson Milwaukee Brew and also shows up with Icecapade in Grand Premio de Honor (ARG-GI) winner Tino Wells. 

No Robbery brings in a priceless cross of Khaled and hails from the same 19-b line that produced both Never Bend [a proven nick with RT’s grandsire Clever Trick and dam Razzi Cat, see “Fappiano and Never Bend (Roy)” section] and Rocking Trick himself; also note that since No Robbery makes an excellent nick with previously recommended broodmare sire Vaguely Noble (see the GIWs Estrapade, Hatif, Hard Buck, and Trust N Luck, mares with both Vaguely Noble and No Robbery should be given special consideration for Rocking Trick.

Siphon: His grandsire Felicio combined the 14-c and 8-c female families, and both of them are inbred to in Rocking Trick; Felicio also shares a background of Hyperion, Prince Rose, Montagnana, Molly Desmond, Abbot’s Trace, and Spearmint with Rocking Trick’s 2^nd dam La Vire, and they also share additional strains of Montagnana’s ancestors Blandford, San Souci, Tetratema, and Blandford’s sire Swynford within six generations.  Also note the related point that Siphon is 6x6x6 to the strong French stallion Brantome (the 2^nd damsire of Luthier) through his daughter Montagnana and two crosses of his son Dragon Blanc, thus Rocking Trick bred to a Siphon mare would be 6x7 to Montagnana and 7x8x8x8 to her sire Brantome; and it would also be at least 7x7x8 to Prince Rose. 

This is of real significance since Prince Bio and Brantome have shown a powerful affinity not just expressed in the Grand Prix Saint-Cloud (FR-GI) winner and fine Brazilian sire Felicio and the good French bred broodmare La Vire, but also in Prix De l’Arc de Triomphe winning filly and European Horse of the Year All Along, Belmont S winning Co-Champion American 3YO Colt and excellent stamina sire Stage Door Johnny, Irish Oaks winner Lagunette, her full sister English Oaks winner La Lagune, Grand Prix de Paris (French Derby) winner Tennyson, Prix De La Foret (FR-GI) winner and sire Snob, Champion S (GB-GI) winner Vayrann, Prix Du Jockey Club (FR-GI) winner Roi Lear, Hollywood Derby (GI) winner Victory Zone, French 1000 Guinieas winner and Multiple GI Producer Rajput Princess, Prix Saint Alary (FR-GI) winner Comtesse De Loir, Grand Prix De Paris winner Yawa, Grand Prix de Saint Cloud (FR-GI) and Prix Lupin (FR-GI) winner Epervier Bleu, Brazilian GIW Super Star, Gulanar, the dam of Yorkshire Oaks (GB-GI) winner Magnificent Star, and finally Fidra, the dam of Pix D’Ishpahan (FR-GI) winner Lightning.  (Note that all 15 of the GIWs save Epervier Bleu had Prince Rose and Brantome within the first four generations).

Mares by Siphon with damsides showing affinities with Rocking Trick’s Icecapade-Clever Trick sireline should be given especial consideration.

Hussonet: The multiple Champion Chilean sire Hussonet is from a mare by Raja Baba and has shown a significant affinity with RT’s male-line ancestor Icecapade; see for instance the Champions Wild Spirit and Domaine.  Since Hussonet has done some of his best work with mares by previously recommended broodmare sire Roy (see Champions Host and National Park), mares with both are especially desirable for Rocking Trick.

Seattle Slew sired the good steeplechaser Yaw from Rocking Trick’s 2^nd dam, and brings in the full sisters Busher and Striking for their full brother Mr Busher, who is found in Phone Trick.  Seattle Slew’s son Excellent Meeting also brings in Alydar and Nijinsky for Storm Cat.

Seattle Slew’s other son Septieme Ciel’s damsire Green Dancer is Nijinsky over Val De Loir over Spy Song; and his 2^nd damsire is Khaled’s son Swaps!  In addition Septieme Ciel traces back to *Cinq A Sept, the female line ancestor of Storm Cat’s damsire Secretariat, and also note Septieme Ciel is the damsire of 2YO GIW Proud Accolade, whose sire Yes It’s True was from a Clever Trick mare.  Finally Seattle Slew’s son AP Indy is 5x5 to key ancestor Turn-To, and inbreeding to Secretariat through AP and Rocking Trick’s damsire Storm Cat has already worked in the GIW Sky Mesa and the G2W Jump Start.  Also note AP Indy’s young (oldest daughters turn 3 in 2005) son Stephen Got Even is 4x6x6 Turn-To and his dam is 5x5 to Bull Lea, a key to how Rocking Trick’s sire and damsire were tied together with both each other and RT’s 5^th damsire Prince Chevalier, who came from the same 9-f female line as Bull Lea, to create him.