Tiznow and Officer

Tiznow and Officer

by Avalyn Hunter ©

Similarities and Contrasts

The Man O' War male line has been a line clinging to existence, numerically all but swamped by the far more fashionable lines of Northern Dancer, *Nasrullah, and Raise a Native. But like a battered but defiant boxer, it keeps coming off the ropes for another round.

Severely weakened within the last few years by the deaths of Relaunch and Warning (GB) and the pensioning of Valid Appeal, it now appears to be staging a comeback. Honour and Glory (Relaunch - Fair to All) was the Leading Freshman and Juvenile sire of 2000. This year Valid Expectations (Valid Appeal - Mepache) appears to be a cinch for the freshman sire crown and is high on the juvenile list as well. Judge T C (by Judge Smells, by In Reality) is also well up the juvenile sire list and has sired the Mazarine Breeders' Cup Stakes (Can-1) winner Lady Shari in his second crop.

Two other Man O' War-line stallions have also seen their stock rising rapidly in the last couple of years. The first, Cee's Tizzy, led all California-based sires last year thanks to the exploits of multiple Grade 2 winner Budroyale and the latter's younger full brother Tiznow, Horse of the Year in 2000.

The second, 1993 Champion Older Male Bertrando, has been forging an increasingly impressive record despite getting very little respect from the commercial market during his first few years at stud. In 2001, he has been represented by his best runner so far in the brilliant Officer, winner of five straight races including the Champagne Stakes (G1) before disappointing in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and the California Cup Juvenile.

Unfortunately, Budroyale is a gelding, but Tiznow and Officer have already done enough to ensure that they will receive an opportunity at stud. The former colt, twice winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), has been officially retired and will stand his first season in 2002, at WinStar Farm in Kentucky for a fee of $30,000. Meanwhile, Officer is being pointed to the Hollywood Futurity (G1) on December 16. Barring injury, he will continue his racing career as a three-year-old and possibly beyond.

The pedigrees of Tiznow and Officer show an interesting similarity, as both are sired by horses from the male line of Relaunch and both are out of mares by sons of Seattle Slew. Nonetheless, the pedigrees are very different in other respects, suggesting both differences in racing aptitudes and differences in the types of mates these horses are likely to need when they launch their stud careers.

Tiznow

In Tiznow's case, the most striking aptitude in his pedigree is stamina. His Dosage Index (DI) of 1.86 and Center of Distribution (CD) of 0.65 are both well below average for U.S.A.-bred horses, and these numbers may, if anything, understate the case. Tiznow is no plodder - he has repeatedly turned in works of a mile in 1:35 and change, time good enough to win quite a few stakes races - but he clearly relished the American classic distance of a mile and a quarter, and his pedigree suggests that a mile and a half might well have been within his scope.

Relaunch himself was effective at distances up to a mile and a half, pushing John Henry to equal the world record for that distance in the 1980 San Luis Rey Stakes (G1). Although he sired many good milers, his best sons were capable of staying at least a mile and a quarter in graded company, and there is every reason to believe that Cee's Tizzy could have been one of his best had he stayed sound.

In his brief racing career, Cee's Tizzy flashed brilliant speed at six furlongs and a mile, but stayed well enough to run third at a mile and a quarter in the 1990 Super Derby (G1), his sixth and final start. His dam Tizly was by the Classic chef-de-race Lyphard out of the high-class *Tizna, winner of the Ladies Handicap (G1) at a mile and quarter and possessor of a typically stamina-oriented South American pedigree, so there is no shortage of stamina on the sire's side of Tiznow's pedigree.

In fact, in Tiznow's male line, one must go back four generations to Intentionally to find a horse that could not go ten furlongs in top company. Why Intentionally turned out to be a champion sprinter-miler rather than a stayer is anyone's guess. On pedigree, he should have had no trouble with distance, as he was by the San Juan Capistrano Handicap winner Intent out of a daughter of Discovery and was inbred 4x4 to the Solid/Professional chef-de-race Fair Play.

Turning to the distaff side of the pedigree, the propensity for stamina is equally marked. The maternal grandsire, Seattle Song, won the Washington D.C. International Handicap (G1) at a mile and a half, and he was by Seattle Slew out of a mare by the Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (now G1) winner Prince Blessed, a son of the redoubtable stayer *Princequillo. The second damsire of Seattle Song was *Flushing II, a son of the Epsom Derby winner *Mahmoud out of a mare by the disqualified Ascot Gold Cup winner Buchan, and the next two damsires were the Lawrence Realization winner By Jimminy and the mighty Man O' War.

The second damsire of Tiznow is the Northern Dancer horse Nice Dancer, winner of the mile-and-a-half Breeders' Stakes in Canada and the product of a stout French family on his dam's side, and the third damsire is the Solid chef-de-race Pia Star, himself winner of the Suburban and Brooklyn Handicaps. The fourth damsire is the Travers Stakes winner Tompion, and the fifth is Buy and Sell, a son of the 1940 Preakness and Belmont winner Bimelech. Buy and Sell's dam Blinking Owl was a half-sister to the brilliant filly Bee Mac, dam of the staying Better Self (who although primarily a speed horse, could stay well enough to run second in the Belmont Stakes). Blinking Owl's granddaughter Bel Sheba produced Alysheba, one of the most effective ten-furlong runners of the last few decades.

Tiznow descends in tail-female from the Argentine mare *Papila, runner-up in the Chilean Oaks of 1946 and dam of the irascible champion juvenile Crimson Satan, a horse blessed with both blazing speed and the ability to carry that speed over classic distances at three-years-old and upwards. Other Grade 1 winners produced by this line have included Swing Till Dawn, Lively One, and American Gipsy. Generally speaking, the descendants of *Papila have been tough, hardy sorts that improved with age and distance, but the line has occasionally produced horses that excelled as juveniles, most notably Crimson Satan and the English champion Digression. Digression, incidentally, was a son of Seattle Slew, so he was bred from the same sire and dam lines as Tiznow's dam Cee's Song.

Tiznow has the potential to be a much-needed source of stamina in the American Thoroughbred, and his offspring should adapt to most racing surfaces well. Although Tiznow himself raced only on the dirt, major turf runners appearing in the first four generations of his pedigree include Relaunch, Seattle Song, The Axe II, Lyphard, *Tizna, and Nice Dancer.

Potential crosses

The In Reality tribe as a general rule has been quite versatile when it comes to footing, and they have also been superior mudders. The one real failing of Tiznow's pedigree is its lack of precocity; within the first few generations, only Seattle Song and Seattle Slew offer much in the way of early maturity. While this is not necessarily a handicap to those who are breeding horses to race, it is not likely to be a point in Tiznow's favor with commercial breeders. It still has great appeal, since Tiznow is positioned to be an extremely valuable outcross sire to the speed-oriented lines so prevalent today.

His pedigree offers the possibility of linebreeding to Northern Dancer but is free from Raise a Native and carries only two remote strains of *Nasrullah, both through Seattle Slew. This opens up a wide range of possibilities. For instance, Storm Cat has miler speed, is a grandson of Northern Dancer, and is a maternal great-grandson of Crimson Satan offering balanced-sex line-breeding to *Papila. Royal Academy, bred along similar lines, also offers intriguing possibilities for crosses with Tiznow, as does Encino.

Other possibilities for crossing to Tiznow would be mares with Fappiano and Rough'n Tumble close up in their pedigrees. Both of these bloodlines have typically done very well with In Reality-line horses. I particularly like Rubiano as a potential cross, as this offers inbreeding to In Reality and Foggy Note (both very good runners and breeders) through the full brother and sister Relaunch and Moon Glitter as well as additional strains of Northern Dancer and Rough'n Tumble. Since Rubiano seems to be getting excellent percentages of runners and winners, he contributes soundness to the mix as well. Glitterman also offers the Relaunch-Moon Glitter doubling.

Housebuster and Holy Bull could make for very interesting crosses; the former offers Crimson Satan, Rough'n Tumble, and Intentionally as complements to strains in Tiznow's pedigree, while the latter carries Rough'n Tumble, Intentionally, and The Axe II. Finally, Crafty Prospector should be considered, since he is out of a daughter of In Reality, his daughters offer the possibility of a 4x4 balanced-sex inbreeding to that sire.

Officer

As a breeding prospect, Officer is a completely different kettle of fish; the question mark in his pedigree is not precocious speed but durability and stamina. As indicated by his DI of 5.00 and his CD of 1.08, his pedigree is weighted far more towards brilliance than endurance. The figures are somewhat misleading, as Officer's first three sires - none of which are chefs-de-race at this time - could all stay ten furlongs or more in good company, and Relaunch clearly represents more the Classic than the Brilliant influence of his sire, the Brilliant/Classic chef-de-race In Reality. Nonetheless, even if Relaunch is counted as an Intermediate/Classic chef (which he probably will be somewhere down the line), the balance of Officer's pedigree is clearly more toward speed than stamina.

Bertrando, of course, was a very good juvenile and trained on into a champion at age four, winning Grade 1 races at up to a mile and a quarter and showing fair durability by modern standards. He was plagued by a series of physical problems during his career, however, and his percentages of runners and winners from foals are substandard for a top stallion, suggesting soundness problems among his offspring. Because he was not commercially popular early on and had to take whatever mares were available to have a career at all, some of the trouble can probably be laid at his mates' door, but not all.

Skywalker, the sire of Bertrando, generally gets sounder horses but has sired fewer Graded stakes winners. Himself winner of the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), Skywalker missed most of his three-year-old season due to injury but recovered to join his generation's leaders at four. He raced only once as a juvenile. A massive, powerful, masculine-looking horse, he bears a strong resemblance to champion sprinter Polynesian, to whom his dam Bold Captive was inbred 3x3. His ability to successfully get a mile and a quarter appears to be primarily drawn from his sire Relaunch, as none of Bold Captive's other four stakes winners cared for distances much beyond a mile.

Although Bertrando doubtless has something to do with Officer's precocity, the dam's side of the pedigree is also a strong contributor. Unfortunately, it also suggests a high potential for soundness problems. Both the dam, St. Helens Shadow, and the second dam, Little Bar Fly, were stakes winners at two, and both raced only 11 times during their careers. More ominously, not only did Little Bar Fly's three stakes winners fail to win stakes beyond their juvenile seasons, but the three averaged only slightly more than seven starts apiece, and this despite the fact that two of them were by sires (Wild Again and Son of Briartic) whose get usually train on well.

The damsires also are more indicative of precocious speed and questionable stamina than are Tiznow's. Septieme Ciel, sire of St. Helens Shadow, was a good juvenile in France, winning the Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte (G2). He trained on to win the 1400-meter Prix de la Foret (G1) and the 1600-meter Prix Messidor (G3) but failed repeatedly at longer distances, although he placed in group events at up to 1900 meters.

The second damsire, Raise a Man, was also best at distances of seven or eight furlongs, taking his biggest wins in the San Felipe Handicap (G2) and the Malibu Stakes (G2). He was, of course, a son of the brilliant but unsound Raise a Native.

It is not until the third damsire, the Classic chef-de-race Ack Ack, that we come to a horse who combines the ability to stay ten furlongs with brilliant speed and good soundness.

Officer does have some sources of stamina in his pedigree. Aside from his sire line, the best such strain comes through Septieme Ciel's damsire Green Dancer, who often contributed more stamina than would be suspected from his own miler aptitude, possibly because he was a son of the Classic/Solid chef-de-race Nijinsky II.

Nonetheless, while the evidence to date suggests that Officer can probably get nine furlongs provided he gets a decent trip, his ability to stay further than that is questionable and will need to be proven on the track rather than assumed. As Bertrando and Septieme Ciel were both stakes winners on the turf, grass racing may be an option for Officer as well, particularly if he proves to be a miler and needs more opportunities than can be found on dirt alone.

Officer's sire potential

Officer traces in tail-female to Busanda's daughter Oak Cluster, and this suggests that Buckpasser may be a key factor in choosing the best possible mates for him. Mares with the Raise a Native - Buckpasser cross in their pedigrees may be good choices provided they are carefully selected for soundness, and doubling up strains of *La Troienne (of which Officer carries three) would also seem to be an excellent option.

The Danzig horse Polish Numbers seems particularly intriguing as a potential cross, since he carries both Busanda (through Buckpasser) and Glamour close up, but again soundness would have to be a consideration, since both Bertrando and Danzig were troubled by knee problems. Easy Goer would also be an interesting cross, since he would contribute two lines to *La Troienne as well as a cross to Raise a Native, but the same caveat regarding soundness applies.

Officer is essentially an outcross for Northern Dancer, carrying only one cross at the sixth remove, and his three strains of *Nasrullah are all at the sixth remove or further.

Overall, Tiznow and Officer are two top-class horses whose eventual stud careers will be watched with considerable interest. Their ability has provided their sires with more and better breeding opportunities and should certainly encourage breeders to continue trying the cross of Relaunch to Seattle Slew. Whether they will succeed as sires or not lies with the future, but both offer considerable potential as outcross sires, and it is to be hoped that breeders will give them the opportunities that their racing merit deserves.