A noble horse shall live forever

Arrogate died as a result of a neurological health problem at age seven. In his all to brief stallion career, Arrogate (USA) produced remarkable progeny.

TBL profile – Arrogate Horse Pedigree 4×4 Mr Prospector – 5×5 In Reality – dam side 2x Northern Dancer explodes far further to a die-hard potency so penetrative.

By notable distinction it is with the great Man o’ War. He suffered his only defeat by the Whitney-owned Thoroughbred, appropriately named Upset. There was that other day, as Man o’ War raced against John P. Grier to defeat and broke his heart and spirit. (n.b. John P. Grier 2nd dam of Native Dancer)

Man o’ War was labelled a ‘half-bred’.

For reasons well known…historical bloodstock narration was directed largely towards English thoroughbred ‘imperialism’. It discounted unfavourably to stigmatize American exclusions as half-bred. It was a lengthy disheartening period for the American RH and additionally, French (RH), all selected well-built lines and ‘pools’ significantly managed out. (Executed detail, Kirsan’s book).

The Americans strongly objected. A long history and contribution left to be as rightly defended in altruism; a sincere desire to consider and improve the Thoroughbred as a world product and not an animal from any one locality or nation was dismissed. The formative commercialism restricting a market for American bred both in England and in other parts of the world. Pedigrees denied, pride hurt, confidence eroded that really ultimately American Stud Books were just as justified as the English, though neither recognised perfect.

{Well, the battle raged lustily…until the British began to wonder if the “Exclusion Act” instead of helping to improve British bloodstock was perhaps working to its disadvantage. Then came some rather shocking news: the American-bred Battleship, a son of Man o’ War (the half-bred), won the Grand National, most difficult jumping race in Europe, and the American bred Flares (full brother Omaha) won the Ascot Gold Cup, premier distance race of the work…and the great Italian horse Nearco began to assert his leadership and he too had the cursed American cross that made him a technical “half-bred” to his sixth dam by Lexington (on a Lexington/Glencoe cross). The British clearly saw the light and the “Exclusion/Jersey Act” was rescinded}. (H. Finny)

Behind ‘protectionism’, a discontinuing critique for defined Function. True purpose bred, versus notions placed upon ‘purity’ (the beautiful sham) that progressed or updated commercial appeal with fault.

The leading principles faltering, warped in time. Superior typology punches below and above, phenotype 🔄️ genotype.

Contemporary pedigrees come the two familiar determinations ie Mr P & N.D. They fire Native Dancer, fire Discovery, and thence if there is Discovery, it stands to full reason his grand-sire Fair Play & sire of Man o’ War – himself a transformative breed shaper, a trans-cross by America – English lines that so came to bear his fruit.

Man o’ War’s distaff had blending strengths of Herod – Godolphin Arabian & Eclipse via his descendant 3x Beningbrough, being of family 61 strains formulated to branch & breeds standardbred/trotter ex- Mambrino/Hambletonian descendancy.

M o’ W overall to note, @t 14x Orville by Beningbrough – integral crosses for two-three types of speed, scoped to constitution, conformation and disposition.

Its expanse, ever dominant are of siring line(s) stamping afar. One naturally is not far from the other. Hastings ➡️ Fair Play (Man o’ War)➡️Display (Discovery) either & onwards descendants American Flag, War Admiral, War Relic➡️➡️➡️➡️In Reality. War Relic, the pedigree re-counts, daughter/dam selection to Lexington, the wheel rolls its ‘Typology’.

Varola’s typology went to consider a finer assessment work – not so much towards line-bred contributary factors but by functional; he calculated considered traits to the effects of breeding performance i) sire, or of ii) dam’s broodmare sire.

Varola – one ascribes the trait to War Admiral’s own grandsire Fair Play. The mention of Fair Play is not entirely out of order, because one of the recordable cases of split personality is precisely that of the great American racehorse and sire Man o’ War by Fair Play, out of Mahubah, by Rock Sand.

Man O’ War split his produced, broadly into a Fair Play type and a Rock Sand type. His most signficant runners and sires where of the Rock Sand type,

• War Relic, a chestnut out of a chestnut dam, a small horse and distinctly hollow-backed
• War Admiral, a brown out of a bay mare, in size little over 15 hands weighed 400 kilograms as against about 540 kilograms of Discovery.
• Battleship, a chestnut out of a brown mare, a minuscule horse who won the Grand Nation in England and bred good jumpers in the US as well as some mares who bred on.

The old timers tell of the Lexington-Glencoe ‘nick’. Of later years, evidences came to hand of a “nick” between the Fair Play tribe and the descendants of Roi Herode.

Because the late Major August Belmont had Fair Play in his stud as his head sire at the same time that he had a number of daughters of Rock Sand, he naturally bred a large number of the latter mares to the stallion and the results were such that everyone with a Rock Sand mare wanted to breed her to Fair Play to get some more Man o’ Wars and Mad Hatters, etc. (Humphrey S. Finney)

Chasing the Grey (roan) in Arrogate

Sire Unbridleds Song – dam Trolleys Song by grey Caro ➡️➡️Grey Sovereign & Myrobella by Tetratema. @ Dam’s Distaff – by Native Dancer dam Geisha, 4th dam La Grisette by Roi Herode (Fr).

The Herod blood in Greys…

*- Chanter, 1820, (renamed Skeleton when sent to Australia 1827). His brother Drone, traces down to the French horse Le Sancy, and back through Herod to the Byerley Turk. Drone was by Master Robert, 1811, sent to Ireland, by Florizel, sent to America, by Herod, 1758 by Tartar, 1743, by Partner, 1718, by Jig, by the Byerley Turk.

*Drone, 1823, a grey horse, got Whim, a grey mare, who foaled Chanticleer, a grey horse by Birdcatcher, who got Souvenir, a grey mare, who foaled Strathconan, a grey horse by Newminster, and he got Gem of Gem, dam of Le Sancy.

Le Sancy – Le Samaritain – Roi Herode – The Tetrarch – Tetratema – Mr Jinks et al

(* excerpts – Polo breeder Gerald M. Browne; His ‘Grey Wall’ are pictures – 1967 Humprey Finney)

Arrogate – an exceptional runner. A true champion whose spirit ignited the racetrack leaving his progeny to do the rest.