What do you think of her?

[Pennylane]

I have a rescue who has made great progress, but I do not know much about her pedigree, or thoroughbred pedigrees in general. She is a 6 YO unraced OTTB, who was skinny when I brought her home. After ulcer treatment, putting weight on, getting her feet in order etc, she’s turning into a cute/sweet little horse, who I just adore. She is a very different ride from any other horses I have ridden, including other OTTB’s, but she always try’s.

Her JC name is Fairy Reef. Do any of you guys have an opinion on her breeding? I have a pic from the day I brought her home (where I found her) and a pic of her lunging the other day, because our ring was flooded. She’s changed a lot in the few months I’ve had her.

TIA!

[vineyridge]

I just answered below.

[vineyridge]

She’s lovely, just lovely. And what an engine she does have. If she has the brain to do dressage, I’d certainly consider doing eventing with her.

[Texarkana]

She is from a regally-bred line of duds.

She has an extremely classy pedigree full of big names who have not been able to reproduce the success of their parents/siblings… Which is why she’s not a racing broodmare.

She is gorgeous in that lunging photo and I bet she will be a wonderful horse for you!

[Pennylane]

Thanks guys!
She does have a motor, well, she doesn’t ever get tired. Her gaits are very steady and she maintains a consistent pace, but I think you could trot/canter for an hour and she would be happy to go for another hour! She’s very personable, and I just love that she’s always waiting for me when she sees my car pull up.

I just feel lucky to have her, she’s quite special, and I had no idea that she was bred as well as some people say! I just love her!

[Texarkana]

Her sire is half brother to Kingmambo, one of the most influential sires of all time. At one time, Kingmambo stood for a fee of $300,000! If you ever end up with a chance to own a Kingmambo bred horse, jump on it, as in general they have some of the best brains I have ever encountered.

While your mares sire, Mingun, was a successful runner, he was a major disappointment in the shed compared to his brother. He was exported to Denmark after not siring anything particularly noteworthy in the US.

Your mare’s dam, Ice Gala, was unraced yet very well bred. She is by one of the most successful sires in European history, Sadler’s Wells, and out of a stakes-placed and equally well bred mare. Unfortunately, your mare’s dam and your mare’s granddam both produced nothing but lousy racehorses or unraced horses, even when bred to top sires. Which is why despite having a drool-worthy pedigree, your mare isn’t a good candidate for a racing broodmare except maybe at the regional level. The produce record of the dam line is the single most important thing when looking at a racing pedigree, and your mare’s dam line kind of fizzled out.

Lucky for you, because that means you get a SUPER classy sporthorse prospect!

[vineyridge]

Skating produced one son who won two G3s in France. Skating was in Sheikh Mo’s barns, and he sent most of her produce to Europe to race. She wasn’t a COMPLETE dud in the shed.

The sort of horse that would be sent to Europe to race is just the sort of horse that one would want for a sport horse.

[beaujolais]

Link to breeding, please.

She’s beautiful, Penny.

[alto]

[QUOTE=sonomacounty;7814170]
Link to breeding, please.

She’s beautiful, Penny.[/QUOTE]

I just dropped her name in the search box to get this - looks like the right mare

[vineyridge]

If you trace the damline up to Skating, it seems to have been a foundation line for the Maktoums, starting with Sheikh Mo’s father. At least Running Ballerina was bred by the Dalham Stud, which is one of the Maktoum farms now. All her produce were bred by the Maktoums. Ice Gala was also bred by the Maktoums. But she seems to be the dead branch on the speed tree.

According to this:
http://mainstreetthoroughbredgroup.blogspot.com/
Fairy Reef had a 2012 foal named Emmanuel Road by Kandaly. He is unraced as yet and was foaled in Louisiana, per Equineline. And Fairy Reef was bred back to Kandaly for the next year. He was a winner of the Louisiana Derby and died in 2014. Alydar was his sire.

Given Louisiana racing, I cannot imagine why these two horses were there and were bred to each other. The chance of a router foal would be very high.

Here’s Kandaly’s Blood Horse story. http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/87452/kandaly-1994-louisiana-derby-winner-dies It’s possible that if you wanted to find out about Emmanuel Road, you could contract Main Street Thoroughbreds who listed him for sale last year.

[Pennylane]

She did have a foal according to my farriers wife. . . Apparently all the mares were bred back and then thrown in that pasture. . . As far as I know, no one actually had a foal from that second breeding. I have no idea where her foal is now, but I have tried to find him. If he’s part of the original partnership, I may never find him. . . If he was/is in a situation like she was, I would certainly take him and find him a home.

Sonomacounty- thank you! I adore her, I’m not sure how I got so lucky. She’s got a great brain! Hopefully we will show for a long time!

I realize she’s probably not the best racing brood are, and honestly I have no intention of using her as one. If I ever decide to breed her, I’ll be hoping for a hunter or jumper, so will look for a suitable stallion at that time. As athletic and intelligent as she is, she may be the first horse I ever breed. It will be several years at the earliest though!

Thank you all for the compliments, I’m learning far more than I could have imagined about her!

[Texarkana]

[QUOTE=vineyridge;7814044]
Skating produced one son who won two G3s in France. Skating was in Sheikh Mo’s barns, and he sent most of her produce to Europe to race. She wasn’t a COMPLETE dud in the shed.

The sort of horse that would be sent to Europe to race is just the sort of horse that one would want for a sport horse.[/QUOTE]

Not a complete dud at all, especially considering she had TWO black type winners. But, being in Sheikh Mo’s stable, the “rest” of her offspring quite literally had every opportunity in the world to succeed and… didn’t.

Fairy Reef’s foals wouldn’t have any any blacktype or even racing success on the catalog page until the 3rd dam… which sucks for selling racing prospects, but is VERY fortunate for someone wanting a nicely bred sport horse. Because like you said, she is from quite an impressive line of exactly what one would want in a sport horse.

It’s rare to get these lines in sport, especially in a mare, and especially so close up. Pennylane, you are lucky to have found such a fancy-bred horse!

[Pennylane]

Vineyridge-
The link you posted with the pics of her are definitely her. I wonder what happened for her to end up basically abandoned. If she was in foal 9/13, she lost the baby before she was brought to me in early spring. . .Her papered owners were not that syndicate. . . How do these things happen?

Oh well, I’m sure I’ll never know! I’m just glad I ended up with her! She’s the best!

[Texarkana]

[QUOTE=Pennylane;7814555]
Vineyridge-
The link you posted with the pics of her are definitely her. I wonder what happened for her to end up basically abandoned. If she was in foal 9/13, she lost the baby before she was brought to me in early spring. . .Her papered owners were not that syndicate. . . How do these things happen?

Oh well, I’m sure I’ll never know! I’m just glad I ended up with her! She’s the best![/QUOTE]

The Jockey Club does not track ownership. Unlike other registries, they do not re-issue foal papers when the owner changes, so whoever is on her papers is likely either who initially registered her or who purchased her and subsequently named her before she would have started on the track. Usually you just sign off on the back when a horse changes hands, but even that isn’t enforced.

You also don’t need a copy of a mare’s papers to breed her or register the foal, unlike some other registries. Although in your mare’s case, seeing as how she may not be tattoo’d, those papers are a bit more important to her.

I’d bet the breeder culled her for whatever reason or got out of the business altogether…

[Pennylane]

That makes sense. I just wish people would be responsible with their horses! I can’t imagine just leaving them in a field and essentially walking away. . . The story I was given was that the partnership dissolved, and that each partner thought the other partners were taking care of the horses. I know the authorities were involved somehow, but I have no idea what happened. Several people got what seem to be nice horses from that awful situation, I personally think I’m the luckiest! I’m just glad they didn’t get sent off to the killer. . .

[Texarkana]

That just sucks. I’m glad it ended up well after all of that for the horses involved!

[Pennylane]

Me too! Thanks for the info on her breeding, and how TB papers work. I’ve learned quite a bit today!

[vineyridge]

The other partner was a racing stable called Heartline Ranch. They are still racing as of 2014. Not many horses, but one was ridden with some success by Rosie Nap (can’t figure out how to spell her last name and not going to look it up.)

She was sold for next to nothing in one of the Ocala sales. I forget in what year.

She’s very lucky to have landed finally in a good place with someone who loves her.