Franco Varola saw the future as Growth Consumption, where mere few made for majority and the breeding by numbers would express amorphous challenges ahead. ➡️⬇️
The issue of the availability of the Y chromosome persists. From earliest developing phrases, the broader scale by type & types now presides to bare few. The rarity value considered lesser yet (thoughtfully) greater, as by comparison to a Darley Arabian scale.
The commercial bred further funnels toward same few stallions, accelerating a public dilemma.
By common-sense, the saturation and the over-saturation of a genetic threshold is what Varola with article above alludes overcooking the pot. Generally, science thesis makes for a genetic quality erosion however in-breeding model for deleterious alleles outcomes serves it own position.
By market dynamics, economics or otherwise, and with personal overview, it is fascinating to see what’s further developing out/within a pedigree, also with strong merit.
By this, it is analysing not to algorithm model linebreeding, but by appreciating ‘form’ to the forgotten. Additionally, it may be assumed these are the occurring trans-transposing genes.
We don’t yet fully appreciate emergence through and in another source.
Nature, however, compensates by locating unexpected sources of power and an unheralded racehorse achieves (new) stallion prominence.
The Developing Racehorse – what morphology principle?
Taking expertise from another, dressage school aligns ‘mechanics’ and function, carriage and balance: a deep look whether the horse can correctly access their hind end, the longissimus dorsi muscle and thoracic sling muscles to display symmetry of gait and purity of gait and a quality of movement which increases the horse’s soundness and longevity. Good horizontal balance transfers weight back toward the hindquarters, making the horse light and agile.
Serving functional, this is true inheritance and what individual(s) hinge into it for executing speed and stamina.
A phenotype study @Christmas Day (IRE) – – Christmas Day (IRE) & the Derby breeds. presented strain, Derring-Do descendant Nearco line (breeder, sire of sires) through Dante.
Dante was the outstanding racehorse of his generation; his excellence was honoured in 1958 when the York Racing Authority inaugurated the Dante Sweepstakes. He won eight of his nine starts. An exceptionally handsome brown, he was only a qualified success, signally failure to get any near him in racing ability. He was never the leading sire and the highest position he attained on this list was third place in 1954 and 1955, largely through his son, Darius, who was near the best of his age and winner in 1954 of the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes and third in the Derby, and in 1955 winner of the Eclipse Stakes. Darius was among the fifth of a total of seven crops of Dante. A handsome bay he raced on twenty occasions scoring nine victories. Stamina limitations restricted his career for he barely got one and a half miles. He proved the best of the three-year olds in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1954 when he finished thired place, ahead of Never Day Die and Arabian Nights.
credit – See How They Ran by Richard Ulbrich
The brilliant undefeated Nearco, had in his stallion career already produced New Derby Stakes winner in Dante (1942), the St Leger and Irish Derby win, Sayajirao (1944) and an Oaks and Irish Oaks winner, Masaka (1945). Via his sons, Nasrullah (1940) Royal Charger (1942) and Mossborough (1947) he was to prove himself the distinguished sire of sires. Nimbus (1946), winner of the Two Thousand Guineas and the Epsom Derby, (apparently) failed as a stallion. (Note Nimbus 1/2 brother to Grey Sovereign by Nasrullah by Nearco). Sire of Northern Dancer, Nearctic (CAN) was born 1954.
As astute breeders of animal husbandry ascertain two strains are All. Its evident that it is not alone to male line – Northern Dancer ➡️ Nearctic ➡️Nearco
Readers may further appreciate other genetic sources of Nearco (outside Nasrullah, Royal Charger, Nearctic) will feature to the Iffraaj son, Wootton Bassett (GB) dec. & Sea the Moon(IRE) & Camelot.
These, by example, ‘X’ types with #BT (Byerley Turk) Ahonorra (GB) his daughter Park Appeal (IRE) with @Nimbus (Nearco) distaff.
Time and time ‘dismissed’ or representee genetic strains are easily overlooked. And whilst thoroughbred breeding has certainly re-aligned itself to the Commercial entity product, it is without a doubt the natural genetic courses shall reoccur where nobody thinks.
Key Pedigree – Blakeney #BT Blakeney Horse Pedigree (#BT sire line Hethersett, noting Nearco daughter, Netherton Maid + Nasrullah by Nearco + Nebana daughter by Nearco. He raced 3 seasons and was a Champion British Sire of 2YOs.
When his sire Hethersett died in 1966, the breeding industry was yet to realise the vital loss to its ranks that it had sustained. In the short time that he was at stud, just two season, his two crops, which together numbered less than 48 runners, elevated him posthumously to third place on the list of leading sires in 1969 and to tenth position in 1970. Fortunately, in the year of his death, a son, Blakeney, the winner of the 1969 Epsom Derby was born. A medium sized, beautifully proportioned bay.
As swiftly as the opening appeared Blakeney, with quicksilver speed, burst through and in strides had the race won – a trait he was known for.
Blakeney – his winning performances were on good to solft, good and firm going. He stood 15.13/4 hands tall.
The capacity of a stallion to transmit racing ability is a mystery yet unsolved, and conceivably insoluble. Expectation and high hope in matters breeding have been a path to disillusionment, and “stud failure” is all too often the judgement handed down on a stallion who stud career has failed to match an illustrious racing career.
Richard Ulbrich
references credit, See How They Ran by Richard Ulbrich
(top right Blakeney & middle right Top Ville)
What of Top Ville (IRE) form ?
Al Wukair (#GA/GB) Diktat 2nd dam Park Appeal ✅- 3rd dam Top Ville ✅. He was transferred 2025, at Yeguada La Serreta Stud Farm and Valmodomus Farm Spain. Sire of note to G3 winner colt Khovikhov Horse Pedigree (FR) @ June 2026 – 1st Prix de la Porte Maillot (Fr-Gr3) 1400m
Credit References & chosen transcripts Richard Ulbrich, author.
The Thoroughbred Link 