 |
| Riley's Pedigree |
 |
| I thought I'd add this for comparison sake. Very similar conformation indeed! *If I had to pick, I'd say Golden Missile has a nicer shoulder. |
I'm not going to pretend to understand race records (beyond the very basics) or much about breeding and how it plays an important role in progeny, however when I bought Riley I knew he had both incredible breeding. Today (in a moment of work boredom) I thought I'd dig a little deeper into both Riley's sire and Grand sire.
First, his sire is Golden Missile.
 |
| Emily told me the other day to look him up because Riley looks so much like him! |
 |
| Not a shabby race record! And Mike Smith was his jockey!!! |
|
I didn't know too much about Golden Missile until today but he had a wildly successful race record that spanned several years (he only ran once as a 3 year old). His progeny have auctioned for record-setting prices as 2 year olds. I can see now where Riley gets his conformation from, but his head is certainly not as refined as Golden Missile's.
Oh, and just for fun I looked up some 2009 foals from the farm Riley was bred at (sadly none of him), but I have a pretty good idea of what he may have looked like as a foal!
 |
| These two both have big blazes and one big sock! |
 |
| &%$*^%$*$! |
Riley's grand sire hardly needs an introduction... AP Indy.
 |
| And now I see where Riley gets his booty. |
 |
| An equally impressive race record, earning over $270,000 a start. |
A few fun facts about AP Indy:
He won the Belmont stakes and the Breeder's Cup Classic in 1992 (along with other stakes wins), he was entered into the Kentucky Derby the same year but was scratched the morning of the race. He was named horse of the year in '92 and leading sire in America in 2003 and 2006. He was sired by triple crown winner Seattle Slew out of a mare who was sired by another triple crown winner, Secretariat. He was the top priced yearling of 1990 at 2.9 million. In 2000 he was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. Some of his most famous progeny include Bernardini, Golden Missile, Mineshaft and Rags to Riches.
What I have been told about AP Indy progeny is that they have excellent temperaments and tend to be quite trainable. My vet commented during his PPE that the "class" comes through on these well bred horses. If by class, she means class clown, maybe!
I feel quite honored to have a horse that comes from such an amazing family tree! AP Indy is no longer producing foals, he was pensioned in 2011, but I'm always on the look out for more grand babies! A friend of mine just picked up a 4 year old one off the track!
That's all for now, back to my work day!
