Part One: His Pedigree by Michael Ventura © 2004.

4th dam Masked Kiss 
By Damascus from a Cosmic Bomb mare, Masked Kiss was 2x3x4 to Cosmic Bomb / Blade of Time / By Jimminy, all three by Pharamond or his full brother Sickle and out of mares by Blue Larkspur. Her 2nd dam Ariel Beauty was by Ariel out of the Man O' War mare Galleon Gold; Galleon Girl's dam Golden Haze was also the dam of Galleon's Gold's full sister Big Beauty, the 3rd dam of Cox's Ridge.  

Golden Haze had a very intense concentration of old American blood, being 3/3 to Hamburg, who carried the highest weights ever carried by a juvenile and led the American sire lists in 1905; and the 1901 Futurity Stakes winner Yankee. Hamburg and Yankee were both by Hanover out of daughters of Mannie Gray, also the dam of the legendary Domino. In addition Golden Haze's dam Smoky Lamp was 2x4x4 to Himyar, the sire of Domino; and she traced back to the important 19th Century taproot mare Young Maid of the Oaks (12-b); the ancestress of the great early New York bred racer American Eclipse's best son Medoc and Commando, the best son of Domino. 

Golden Haze also had H.P. Whitney's foundation sire Broomstick and Cinderella, the dam of Man O' War's grandfather Hastings, in the 3rd generation.  Golden Haze's sire Golden Broom, a very good looking horse who ran three very famous yearling trials against Man O' War, but who was plagued by Quarter trouble like a lot of colts from his male line, traced back to the 1852 taproot mare Balloon (A1), the ancestress of 1896 Kentucky Derby winner and leading American sire Ben Brush; making Golden Haze a female line recapitulation of the Commando (12-b) / Ben Brush (A1) cross which produced many good horses, especially for E. R. Bradley's Idle Hour Stock Farm.

For instance: Equipoise, the great champion and very good sire; Panache, the dam of St. Brideaux, Beaming Beauty, the dam of Bubbling Over and 4th dam of Damascus; Look Up, the 2nd dam of Roman; Ultimate Fancy, 2nd dam of Hildene, the dam of Hill Prince and First Landing; Ultimate Fancy's relative Idle Dell, the 3rd dam of the important Eight Thirty daughter Sunday Evening; and most importantly Black Toney, the foundation stallion for E.R. Bradley's Idle Hour Stock Farm.

Perhaps the best example of the Commando/Ben Brush crosses' power is found in the great Meadow Stable matriarch and 1950 Broodmare of the Year Hildene. Her sire Bubbling Over's dam was Beaming Beauty, and her dam Fancy Racket's dam was Ultimate Fancy. Another good example is Bar Nothing, the 3rd dam of Damascus; she resulted from breeding Beaming Beauty to Black Toney's grandson Blue Larkspur.

The other great daughter of Idle Dell's great-granddaughter Sunday Evening besides Home By Dark was Prayer Bell (the dam of Silent Screen), and she was by Better Self, a stallion inbred 2x4 to Black Toney. Prayer Bell was thus 4/3x5 Idle Dell/Black Toney; two sources of the Commando/Ben Brush cross.

3rd dam Glass Collector
Masked Kiss was bred to Hildene's son First Landing to produce Glass Collector. First Landing's sire Turn-To was 3x3 to Pharos, a 3/4 brother to Sickle and Pharamond (both by Phalaris o/o Selene); and his damsire Bubbling Over was a fellow Bradley bred to Blue Larkspur and shared a similar background of North Star III, Commando, Commando's sire Domino, and Ben Brush with him. Since two of Glass Collector's Sickle or Pharamond/Blue Larkspur crosses come through Damascus this extremely clever and interesting pattern is also found in other horses combining First Landing and Damascus. (Note Damascus traced back to Bubbling Over's dam Beaming Beauty in the female line; that great broodmare thus showed up 4x6 in Glass Collector.)

Note that Bail Out Becky also carried Hail To Reason in her third generation; thus she also represents the cross of Hail To Reason and First Landing that produced Victory Gallop's…

2nd Dam Glass House (4xSW and G3 placed)
Glass Collector was bred to the Hail To Reason's great ill-tempered stallion son Halo to produce Glass House, who was thus inbred 3x3 to the strong sire Turn-To through his best son Hail To Reason and First Landing, and 3x4 to Cosmic Bomb through his best daughter Cosmah and Log House, who was the dam of the SW siblings Justakiss and Blarney Kiss (by Royal Charger's son Irish Lancer). 

The inbreeding to Cosmic Bomb is good because it provides further reinforcement for the Phalaris-Selene / Blue Larkspur crosses found in Damascus; and the inbreeding to Turn-To is good because, even by the exalted standards of inbreeding to Turn-To, inbreeding to him through Hail To Reason and First Landing has been a wonderful success.

Perhaps a reason for this success is that Hail To Reason is out of a mare by Blue Larkspur's son Blue Swords; because of this Hail To Reason is by Turn-To out of a granddaughter of Blue Larkspur and First Landing is by Turn-To and out of a mare by Blue Larkspur's close relative Bubbling Over. In the specific case of Glass House the Hail To Reason comes through Halo, who was 4x4 to Blue Larkspur, making it even more intense.

Inbreeding to Turn-To through Halo and First Landing hasn't had that much success besides Glass House. But of the 6 GI winners listed above three; Bail Out Becky, Kissin Kris, and La Tizona; have Hail To Reason coming through Roberto, who was also 4x4 to Blue Larkspur besides having a cross of Blue Larkspur's great nick-buddy Bull Lea.

(I indicated the generations they show up in because more weight should be given to a crosses' success the closer the two stallions involved show up.)

1st Dam Victorious Lil 
Glass House was bred to Vice Regent to produce La Prevoyante S. winner Victorious Lil. She is thus 2x2 to Halo and Northern Dancer. Besides their being two grandsons of the Mahmoud's excellent daughter Almahmoud; Halo provides much needed substance and bone to his even more, if such a thing is possible, illustrious cousin.

Vice Regent and Halo have combined in the first two generation of the very nice broodmare Shining Through (dam of GI winner Bahamian Pirate and top American sprinter Strong Hope), and Gran Premio Estrellas Sprint (ARG-I) winner Asset. In the 3rd generation they have combined in Pamplona Coca Cola (PER-I) winner and Peruvian Champion Grass Mare Nadja.

As confirmation, Halo has also had success with Vice Regent's full brother Viceregal, who was a much better racehorse but much worse sire. Unsurprisingly given their relative merits as stallions, there's less success, but not that much less. Halo and Viceregal have combined in the first two generations of G2 winning Canterbury Track Record Setter and Millionaire Present Value; Lexington (G3) and Rutgers BC H. (G3) winner Holy Mountain; SW Halo's Princess, the dam of Italian GI winner Hailsham; and the 1994 Champion Older Male of Japan, Marvelous Sunday.

Another nice thing about the breeding to Vice Regent is that he brings in Bunty Lawless in his 4th generation (Bunty Lawless is clearly a key ancestor in Vice Regent since his best son Deputy Minister is inbred 3x5 to that sire of Windfields and Bunty's Flight). Bunty Lawless traced back to Alice Gray, a full sister of Faustus and Mannie Gray, the dam of Domino and the granddam of Hamburg. Thus Bunty traced back to the great Gallopade (23-b) female family that has had a historically important consonance with the Young Maid of the Oaks (12-b) line that produced Victory Gallop himself.

(Note on Victorious Lil: If you look closely at her pedigree you'll see why there are benefits to inbreeding other than fixing traits of a prepotent ancestor. Thanks to her 4x4 inbreeding to Almahmoud and her dams 3x3 inbreeding to Turn-To and 3x4 inbreeding to Cosmic Beauty; 11/16ths of the dam's pedigree automatically nicks well [see Cosmah and her son Halo] with the grandsire's 2nd dam.)

Victory Gallop's sire Cryptoclearance
A son of Fappiano out the Hoist The Flag mare Navel Orange who won the Florida Derby (GI) and ran an impressive 44 times to earn $3.3 Million; Cryptoclearance represents the successful cross of Fappiano or his 3rd dam Cequillo with Hoist The Flag.

Cequillo's son Hot Dust (by Jet Action) won the Hialeah Turf Cup and finished second in the 1960 Travers; he was sent to Argentina in 1969. Hot Dust was inbred 3x4 to Blenheim, 4x4 to Man O' War, and 4x4 to Sir Gallahad or his full sister Marguerite De Valois.  

Hoist The Flag's son Present The Colors won a stakes and was G2 placed; he was sent to Brazil, where he became a classic sire. Present The Colors was 4x5 to Princequillo, the damsire of Hot Dust, and his 2nd dam threw 1972 Champion Older Mare Typecast when bred to Princquillo's son Prince John.

Hot Dust, the son of Cequillo, and Hoist The Flag's son Present The Colors have nicked very well in Brazil, as breeding Present The Colors to granddaughters of Hot Dust has resulted in significant Brazilian GI winners Tawanna, Above The Sky, and Country Baby (ped). Also a grandson of Hoist The Flag bred to another granddaughter of Hot Dust got Brazilian Premio Jockey Club (BRZ-I) winner Don Formal.

Fappiano himself and Hoist The Flag have combined in Chilean GI winner Host besides Florida Derby (GI), Pegasus (GI), Don (GI), and Widener H. (GI) winner Cryptoclearance.

Cequillo  and Hoist The Flag (ped) shared Man O' War, Princequillo, and either Marguerite De Valois or her full brother Sir Gallahad. Another stallion besides Hoist The Flag with a background of Princequillo, Man O' War, and Sir Gallahad is Epsom Derby (GB-I) winner Sir Ivor. Sir Ivor is worth looking into because he comes from the same Turn-To male line as Halo and First Landing, who are crossed 2x2 in Victory Gallop's 2nd dam Glass House.

Crossing Sir Ivor and Hoist The Flag has resulted in Victoria Oaks (AUS-I) winner Arborea; Batuka, a Champion 3YO filly and Horse of the Year in Peru; St. Leger (GB-I) winner Shantou; French 2000 Guinieas (FR-I) winner Vettori; and Arkansas Derby (G2) winner Cryptostar, who was by Cryptoclearance.

Of necessity, Sir Ivor and Fappiano have combined in Cryptostar, but they've also combined in Anees, the Champion 2YO Colt of 1999, Santa Maria H. (GI) winner India Divina, Premio St. Leger (CHI-I) winner Fontanella Borghese, and Grand Premio Hippodromo (CHI-I) winner and Champion Chilean 3YO Colt Derby Lodge.

If given a chance, Sir Ivor could be a really key strain for Victory Gallop, since besides his affinity for Hoist The Flag and Fappiano, Sir Ivor mares bred to Victory Gallop's 2nd damsire Halo got 7xtime GI winning filly Goodbye Halo and 3xtime GI winning colt Jolie's Halo.

Sir Ivor and Halo have combined further back in horses like Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) winner Almutawakel, Champion S. (GB-I) winner Storming Home, Woodford Reserve (GI) winner White Heart, and French Classic winner Vettori.

Note that Vettori and Almutawakel combined not just Sir Ivor and Halo, but also Sir Ivor and Hoist The Flag, the damsire of Cryptoclearance. Besides being crossed in Coup De Folie, the dam of Almutawakel and Vettori's sire Machiavellian, Halo and Hoist The Flag are combined in Victory Gallop Himself

Victory Gallop's sire Cryptoclearance was peculiarly suited to his dam Victorious Lil. Bred to a daughter of Halo Reply, a mare bred on the same cross of Halo, Northern Dancer, and Windfields as Victory Gallop's dam, Cryptoclearance got his number one daughter Strategic Maneuver, the Champion 2YO Filly of 1993.

Both Victory Gallop and his relative Strategic Maneuver represent the cross of Halo and Hoist The Flag which also produced the very important broodmare French broodmare Coup De Folie, the dam of the GI winning/siring colts Machiavellian (sire of Vettori and Almutawakel) and Exit To Nowhere besides her GI winning/producing daughter Coup De Genie; Coup De Folie's ¾ sister Bonita Francita, the dam of GI winners Jules and Orpen; and also the Japanese Champion Manhattan Café.

I don't want to spend too much time talking about Damascus since he's so far back in the pedigree of Victory Gallop's dam, but here I'll note Damascus's son Private Account (o/o a Buckpasser mare) bred to a daughter of Hoist The Flag produced Hall of Famer Personal Ensign.

And with Victorious Lil's sire Vice Regent, Hoist The Flag has combined in Forgo H. (GI) winner Midas Eyes and Hollywood Starlet (GI) and Los Vergennes (GI) winning filly Composure. Note that Composure traces back to Idle Dell in the female line; Idle Dell also being the female line ancestress of Hildene and her son First Landing.

And Cryptoclearance's damsire is good for even more than bringing in the Halo/Hoist The Flag nick and Hoist The Flag/Vice Regent cross as well; Hoist The Flag supplying leading broodmare sire Roman through his sire Tom Rolfe. Roman is terribly important since he ties together Victory Gallop's sireside and damside. You see, Roman's 2nd dam Look Up is one of those Commando/Ben Brush crosses I mentioned earlier in connection to Masked Kiss and her daughter Glass Collector; that means she is closely related to both of key Victory Gallop damside ancestor Hildene's granddams (Beaming Beauty and Ultimate Fancy).

And to get Roman, Look Up was bred to Buchan, a member of Fappiano's Miss Agnes (16-a) female line, to produce Roman's dam Buckup; Buckup was in turn bred to Sir Gallahad, another member of Fappiano's female line who was not incidentally a full brother to Fappiano's 6th dam Marguerite De Valois, to get Roman.

It's already proven, a priori, that Roman, at least coming through Hoist The Flag, has done well with Fappiano in Cryptoclearance. Now it is only left to us to see how Roman has done with Hildene. There we are not disappointed, finding the fine gelding Roman Brother being by Hildene's son Third Brother and out of a mare by Roman himself. Bred and owned by Lou and Patrice Wolfson's Harbor View Farm, Roman Brother won prestigious races like the Champagne, American Derby, and Jockey Club Gold Cup; he was very nearly a millionaire even though he was born in 1961 and he was justly named 1965's Horse of the Year.

Getting more specific to the strains found in Victory Gallop, we find Roman's maternal grandson Tom Rolfe bred to a mare by Hildene's Preakness winning son First Landing got Run The Gantlet, who won the United Nations, Man O' War, and the Washington D.C. International, a very important turf race of that time. Run The Gantlet was named 1971's Champion Turf Horse and he went on to become a very nice sire of exceptional stamina, a son and daughter (Providential and April Run) winning the Washington D.C. International after him and another son winning that supreme test of stamina, the Ascot Gold Cup (GB-I) twice.

Besides also showing up 4/4 in Victory Gallop, Tom Rolfe and First Landing also show up 4/4 in 2003 in Argentinean GI winner Cumbrecita and 4/5 in Test (GI) winner Society Selection.

Since Run The Gantlet both represents the pattern that tied together Victory Gallop's sire and damside and ties together his sire and damside himself; daughters and  granddaughters of Run The Gantlet should be given very special consideration for Victory Gallop.