by William Lathrop ©

The recent triumphs of the two-year-old Siphonic, and his rapid development as a racehorse, have led me to examine his pedigree in an effort to discern how this fine young colt came to be. Certainly, his early care, conditioning and training play a huge role in his success, but what was the thought process that led to the mating between Siphon and Cherokee Crossing, and why, in this case, did it succeed?

Siphonic is a result of a familial out-cross. There are no common ancestors until the sixth and seventh generations, where you find Hyperion 6/7 x 6/7, Nearco 6 x 7/7 and Tourbillon 6 x 7/7. Siphon is inbred to Maki 4 x 4, and Dragon Blanc 5 x 5, while Cherokee Crossing is inbred to former Broodmare of the Year, Hildene, through the half siblings First Flush (a mare) and the colt First landing. Hildene, who became blind shortly after entering her breeding career, transmitted strong legs and muscled quarters to her offspring, who were, as a rule, very durable.

Upon closer examination we discover that both Siphon and Cherokee Crossing descend from sire lines that trace back to the great St. Simon, and both are from the Bruce Lowe designated Family Number 4. Bobinski later reclassified Siphon's family to 4b, and Cherokee Colony's to 4r. However, you have to go back 280 years before the families intersect at the Greyhound Mare (1722).

Siphon was a remarkable racehorse, a multiple Grade One stakes winner of over $3,000,000. He was sired by the greatest racehorse in Brazil's recent history, Itijara, out of the Brazilian Oaks winner Apple Honey. The inbreeding to Maki and Dragon Blanc was a carefully planned strategy. The desire was to produce a very good two-year-old with speed. Although neither Maki nor Dragon Blanc were successful sires, this breeding maneuver worked, as it combined beautifully with the maternal lines of both Itajara and Apple Honey.

Maki was a track record holder for seven furlongs, and although he was sired by the Brazilian Stout Chef-de-Race, Formasterus, he was strictly a sprinter. Formasterus added strength and quality to the mating, as his sire, Asterus, was the leading sire in France in 1934, and six times leading broodmare sire.

Dragon Blanc was a very highly regarded two-year-old in France before being injured. He was subsequently sent to Brazil to stand at stud, where he had moderate success. His dam, the unraced La Dame Blanche, was foaled in Germany, where her dam Nymphe Dicte was taken as a prize of war. La Dame Blanche's sire, the gray, Biribi, defeated Asterus in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.

Both Maki and Dragon Blanc proved to be a source of speed and precocity.

Itajara's, grandam, Irish Song, and Ebrea's granddam Eridian, were both out of mares sired by Maki, and those mares were both sired by Dragon Blanc.

The superb racehorse and sire Brantome is found three times in this pedigree, twice through Dragon Blanc, and once through the temperamental mare Mauretania. The addition of the sire Fort Napoleon, a Classic/ Stout Brazilian chef-de-race, was to incorporate a breeding pattern that had been utilized by Marcel Boussac.

Siphonic's dam, Cherokee Crossing, has four classic winners within her first four generations. Her sire, Cherokee Colony is a son of Pleasant Colony out of a daughter of Nijinsky II. The big, nearly 17 hands Pleasant Colony was a stakes winner at two, and a classic winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. He also proved later that he could carry weight and compete against older horses. Nijinsky II needs no introduction, in addition to being a great sire and broodmare sire; he won the Triple Crown in Great Britain.

Cherokee Crossing's dam was Sky Meadows, a daughter of Conquistador Cielo and Prides Crossing by Riva Ridge. Showing enough precocity to win at two, Conquistador Cielo went on to win the Belmont Stakes by 14 lengths as a three-year-old, proving to be one of Mr. Prospector's most stamina oriented colts. Possessing both speed and stamina, Riva Ridge was a champion at two and won the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes wire to wire.

Like any Thoroughbred today, the pedigree of Siphonic becomes more and more inbred the farther back you go, and as you peel back the layers, generation by generation, the pedigree narrows, and you begin to see the fabric of that history becoming intertwined.

In the case of our living example, the formation of this lineage is very interesting because of the way the tapestry of the pedigree is woven. The quality of the individuals used, and the creative thought process involved in selecting them, dam to sire, sire to dam, presents outstanding quality from both Siphon and Cherokee Crossing. The blending of the two is a classic example of how an outcross should be employed. The roots of Siphonic's family give birth to a virtual cornucopia, narrow at first, and widening, as the seeds of quality are added generation by generation. Finally, from the cornucopia's open cone, gallops the fruit of the labor of all who have gone before, in the form of this one talented individual. Siphonic is the result of generations of those who labored with a respect and love for the breed in their hearts, and a plan in their minds.

His sire, Siphon, offers an outstanding outcross for North American breeding. He already has an additional winner out of a mare from the St. Simon broodmare sire line through Plugged Nickle, as well as a pair out of mares from the Northern Dancer sire line.

This mating of Siphon and Cherokee Crossing is the best collaboration between the United States and Brazil since Stan Getz and the Bosa Nova.

December 31, 2001. Copyright by William Lathrop 2001.