Nicking tricks: what works with Deep Field

Image courtesy of Shannay VanDyk

Standing his last two seasons at $88,000 (inc GST), having kicked off at $22,000 (inc GST), Deep Field on the track was a horse held in high regard - so much so that he started favourite at each of his eight starts; odds-on on six occasions.

Including his first five starts, at each of which he displayed considerable speed winning by wide margins; his maiden over 1100 metres at Gosford by 10l, a contest over the same trip at Canterbury by 4.5l, a 1100-metre race at that same course by 5.5l, the Listed Tatt's Lightning H. by 5.5l and the G2 Linlithgow S. by "just" 1l but impressive after facing the breeze.

When tested at the elite level, Deep Field was not as brilliant but hardly disgraced when finishing third in the G1 Lightning S. behind the multiple Group 1 winners Lankan Rupee (Redoute's Choice) and Brazen Beau.

Always popular at stud, Deep Field served 257 mares in his first season, another 1227 since. Of his 420 runners (the oldest of whom just turned six) from 952 live foals, 290 (69 per cent) are winners. A horse who didn't race until the winter of his 3-year-old year, Deep Field is not a horse renowned for his 2-year-olds, though that seems a slightly unfair assessment, given the fact he has been represented by 60 juvenile winners including two stakes winners.

His 2-year-old runner strike rate of 33.7 per cent improves significantly with 57.8 per cent of his 3- and 4-year-olds being winners. He has had seven 3-year-old stakes winners and 12 4-year-old stakes winners, while Aysar recently became the first of his 5-year-olds to succeed at stakes level.

Deep Field's sons are outperforming his daughters...

This is not atypical of the sireline...

Northern Meteor

Fairy King

Encosta De Lago

Each of these stallions is however making their mark as broodmare sires - Northern Meteor's daughters, from their first 198 runners, producing 107 winners including five stakes winners, whilst Encosta De Lago is represented by 141 stakes winners as a broodmare sire, headed by 18 Group 1 winners and Fairy King’s daughters have produced 42 stakes winners, spearheaded by a pair of top-flight winners.

Pedigree

As a massive fan of line-breeding to the family of a well-related stallion, the female line is always the first port of call when I study a pedigree and Deep Field is from one of the world's greatest families.

His fifth dam is the mighty mare Eight Carat (GB) (Pieces Of Eight {Ire}) whose own fifth dam is the legendary Mumtaz Mahal's (GB) (The Tetrarch {GB}) most influential daughter Mumtaz Begum (Fr) (Blenheim {GB}). Mumtaz Mahal is out of another great influence Lady Josephine (GB) (Sundridge {GB}) whose daughter Lady Juror (GB) (Son-In-Law {GB}) also made her mark.

Deep Field's pedigree is saturated with Lady Josephine influence - eight strains of Mumtaz Begum's temperamental but brilliant son Nasrullah (Ire), four of Lady Juror's son Fair Trial (GB), eight of Mumtaz Mahal's record-breaking G1 Epsom Derby winning grandson Mahmoud (Fr), one of Lady Juror's grandson Tudor Minstrel (Ire) and one each of Lady Juror's great-grandsons, the half-brothers Aristophanes (GB) and Faux Tirage (GB).

This is racing royalty and it is interesting to see just how much Deep Field picks up on the influence of his own family.

Nasrullah is going further back in pedigrees these days but he keeps making his presence felt and Deep Field's stakes winners Cosmic Force, Chat, Aysar and Sky Field are all out of mares line-bred to him within six generations.

It is a worthwhile task to look at how other stallions influenced by the Lady Josephine family have fared with Deep Field. Such as Choisir, Flying Spur, O'Reilly (NZ), Rock Of Gibraltar (Ire), Testa Rossa and Tiger Hill (Ire) - all of whom are the damsires of Deep Field stakes winners.

The stand-out is Canny Lad who, with his three Fair Trial strains, is a stallion of great interest. Especially, as his grandam Beautiful Dreamer (Coeur Volant {GB}) is bred on a close 3 X 3 cross of her sire's grandam Dodoma (GB) (Dastur {GB}), daughter of Mumtaz Begum.

A total of 53 of the 74 Deep Field runners out of mares carrying a Canny Lad strain are winners; this 71.6 per cent strike rate outperforms Deep Field's overall ratio of 68.6 per cent. Five of those are stakes winners - most notably, two of his first four Group 1 winners - Portland Sky and Al Muthana who are both out of mares whose sires are out of Canny Lad mares (Shrewd Rhythm and Redoute's Choice).

Looking at Deep Field's closer relations, he is yet to sire a stakes winner over a strain of Octagonal (NZ) though the 77.3 per cent strike rate is excellent, while two of his three runners with Kaapstad (NZ) are winners.

But he has had most exposure with an even closer relation in Commands, son of Eight Carat's daughter Cotehele House (GB) (My Swanee {GB}) - fourth dam of Deep Field. The closest cross in the pedigree of Commands is to Petition (GB), son of Fair Trial and whilst the overall strike rate of the Deep Field/Commands cross is only average, it has from just 15 runners produced the dual Group-winning stallion Cosmic Force and the Group 3-placed multiple city winner Sky Command.

Table: Summary of Lady Josephine (GB) influenced stallions

Another great family

Another great family always worthy of study is that of the wonderful mare Selene (GB) (Chaucer {GB}) and Deep Field is bred on the highly successful combination of her descendants Star Way (GB) and Sir Tristram (Ire).

While the former has never really proven himself to be a line-breeding subject, the latter has and six of Deep Field's stakes winners - including Portland Sky - are line-bred to him.

That G1 Oakleigh Plate winner has further Selene family influence via Shrewd Rhythm and Mossborough (GB) as well as multiple strains of Selene's sons Pharamond (GB) and Hyperion (GB).

As the grandsire of Star Kingdom (Ire) the latter is of course prevalent in Australian pedigrees and Deep Field has fared particularly well with Biscay (eight stakes winners including Portland Sky and Al Muthana) whose son Bletchingly is the sire of Canny Lad.

Meanwhile, the only Deep Field runner out of a mare by Selene's G1 2000 Guineas-winning descendant Entrepreneur (GB) is a stakes winner; the dual Listed winner Riddle Me That.

Table: Deep Field and the Sir Tristram (Ire) sireline

Deep Field's damsire Elusive Quality (USA) is bred on a 4 X 5 cross of the great mare Somethingroyal (USA) (Princequillo {Ire}) via her prolific sons Secretariat (USA) and Sir Gaylord (USA). The latter, to whom six of Deep Field's stakes winners are line-bred, is the grandsire of Sir Tristram and the former - a grandson of Nasrullah - is also proving a force for Deep Field - three of his stakes winners boasting a Secretariat cross.

Elusive Quality is also line-bred to his own family, his ancestress Frizette (USA) (Hamburg {USA}) also ancestress of his grandsire Mr Prospector (USA) to whom Deep Field is line-bred 5 X 4 X 4. Three of Deep Field's stakes winners - and another six of his stakes placegetters - carry further Mr Prospector and he boasts a very good strike rate with Mr Prospector's closer relation Seattle Slew (USA); two of the 15 winners from only 21 runners being stakes winners including Al Muthana.

One of Deep Field's Mr Prospector strains is his daughter Rolls (USA), grandam of Deep Field's grandsire Encosta De Lago. She is also the dam of Flying Spur who appears in the pedigrees of two of Deep Field's stakes winners including the recent Listed Chautauqua S. winner Aysar.

That horse is a descendant of Rolls' grandam Fanfreluche (Can) (Northern Dancer {Can}) whose son L'Enjoleur (Can) appears in the pedigrees of four Deep Field runners - all of whom are winners including the G2 Theo Marks S. winner Chat.

Deep Field's sire Northern Meteor is bred on a 6 X 4 cross of his own fourth dam Rough Shod (GB) (Gold Bridge {Fr}), also fourth dam of Encosta De Lago's sire Fairy King (USA). This family has well and truly proven its value as a line-breeding force and Deep Field has sired stakes winners out of mares carrying strains of its members Sadler's Wells (USA), Nureyev (USA), Topsider (USA), Perugino (USA), Yeats (USA) and Val de Loir (Fr).

With his Danehill (USA)-free pedigree, Deep Field is a popular choice for owners of mares from that line and 12 of his stakes winners have Danehill in them. Deep Field carries a strain of Graustark (USA) who has always combined exceptionally well with his full brother His Majesty (USA) - dam sire of Danehill; the terrific mare Flower Bowl (USA) (Alibhai {GB}) duplicated.

Table: Deep Field and the Danehill (USA) sireline

Deep Field is also picking up on the influence of the prolific Aloe (GB) (Son-In-Law {GB}) family of which Elusive Quality's sire Gone West (USA) and Sir Tristram's damsire Round Table (USA) are members. Seven of the eight Deep Field runners line-bred to Gone West are winners including the triple Listed winner Isotope whilst the Hong Kong Group 1 winner Sky Field is one of the nine winners from 11 runners out of mares with Pompeii Court (USA) whose sire Tell (USA) is bred on a close 2 X 3 cross his own third dam Knight's Daughter (GB), dam of Round Table.

And six of the nine Deep Field runners with a strain of Aloe's great-grandson Aureole (GB) are winners including the G2 Karrakatta Plate winner Dig Deep. He is yet to sire a stakes winner out of a mare with Aloe's descendant Tale Of The Cat (USA) but of the 14 runners, 10 are winners including the stakes-placed Luvoir. From just two runners with Johannesburg (USA) a result is the multiple city winner Our Deep Agenda whilst over Doutelle (GB) - eight winners from nine runners, two of those stakes placed.

Deep Field carries a not-so-common strain of Free America (USA) who hails from the same family as Northern Dancer's wonderful sons Nijinsky (Can) and The Minstrel (Can) and Deep Field combines nicely with both - 10 stakes winners, including the Group 1 winners Portland Sky and Al Muthana, with the former and two stakes winners, from just nine runners, with the latter.