I like the SC temperament. I’ll agree with @Texarkana that he (SC) and direct progeny could be sensitive, but in a good way (IMHO). I believe part of what has fueled the negativity about SC temperaments is that he quickly proliferated available TBs after-race market, and many of the homes his offspring went to were not always knowledgeable or educated, and for many of them, they were first time OTTB owners – they would look casually at their horse’s pedigree and the only name they would recognize was SC, so that’s where they blamed their issues rather than looking critically at their own management or riding.
Personally, I look for SC - he has shown he is consistently improving the movement in the modern TB most notably through his sons/grandsons - Freud, Frost Giant, GC, Stonesider, Johannesburg, Hennessey, Black Minnaloushe, Scat Daddy – are all varying in type to some degree but all are consistently passing on their movement. I think it comes from South Ocean and Terlingua, personally, but that is just a guess.
SC sired catty, classy horses. What is funny to me is that he was shrimpy, but some of his offspring have been humongous (17h, 18h) - the mare certainly came into play sometimes there . SCs can jump. This horse has one of my favorite SC sons (Hennessy) paired with another one of my favorites, Forestry. I’ve really liked the Hennessy horses I have met, he also combines a known mareline for UL eventing talent and it is a shame we lost him so young. Forestry just seems to sire all around good natured horses, with a little of the SC chrome and a lot of the heart.
Nothing wrong with Mr P in a pedigree, as Texarkana already covered, his strongest trait was letting the mare come through while adding a dose of speed. He is a horse you can very reliably linebreed to and does not seem to cause hidden issues to come to the forefront - which can’t be said for some other modern sires being linebred to (such as Seattle Slew). Regarding Mr P and breakdown - like UBS, he sired precocious youngsters that were fast and it was and is very easy to push them too far when they show that much speed and talent.
Lots of Tom Rolfe, Bolero, Menow, Mahmoud, Bold Ruler linebred in this pedigree. Many focus on the sireline of SC because it is more quantifiable in terms of racing, but SC’s damline was impeccable for sport. When you have SC you get Spy Song, who is an excellent line for jumping. Crimson Saint (mare) is not talked about too often but when she is brought up it is usually to point out she was an incredible dam and, came from a very strong family for sport. Many people liked Bolero (her damsire) for the long format. Bolero came from the Rock Sand sire line, Bolero being a very valuable name to see as he was sex-balanced linebred to Rock Sand top + bottom, great line for eventers.
P.S – I don’t necessarily think people put too much stock in pedigree for TBs. The thing about race-bred TBs is they are incredibly homologous; there is not always much diversity in bloodlines or type, especially if you are limited to a specific location. It’s not like warmblood registries where you can cross horses of varied descent and get genetic goulash in terms of what shows up ‘phenotypically’. With TBs, it’s very hard not to linebreed, and all that linebreeding brings ancestor traits to the forefront, over and over again… Meaning you can usually look at a TB’s page and pretty consistently guess what the horse is like before seeing it. Not saying it’s always a guarantee, but if you have a good enough handle on the sires in this industry in particular, it’s usually a fair guess.
I am tired of vet bills from previous horses (mostly warmbloods…sigh) plus I have always said if you can find a good TB then heaven awaits… 