stallion analysis

by Rommy Faversham

Faversham

ON FAVERSHAM

Faversham is the only full brother to Hall of Fame-bound California Chrome, who stands as the all-time richest Kentucky Derby winner with earnings well over $14 million dollars.

Faversham followed Chrome’s path to racing exactly two months delayed since Chrome was foaled in February and Faversham in April. Faversham was scheduled to start his first race in June of his 2YO year but was scratched when he was found to have a tendon tear which would hamper him his entire racing career.  

California Chrome sired his first three crops at Taylor Made Farms in Kentucky.   The first two  of these included his shuttling to Haras Sumaya near Santiago, Chile.  In November of 2019,  he was sold to Arrow Stud the island of Hokkaido, Japan.  

California Chrome (USA) Photo Curtesy Taylor Made Stallions

A description of their pedigree starts with the male line of Seattle Slew with a relatively close (3X4) duplication of Mr. Prospector internally. This potent affinity between these two breed shapers are no doubt related to their common matriarch, 1936 sprinting champion Myrtlewood.

A much more remarkable relationship exists between the brothers’ dam, Love The Chase and My Charmer, dam of Seattle Slew - founder of this sire line. Slew’s dam, My Charmer is inbred 3X3 to Striking and her Hall of Fame sister Busher (both by War Admiral from Baby League by Bubbling Over). The pair were two of La Troienne’s key granddaughters both very close relatives of Numbered Account, who appears 3X3 within the dam of this extraordinary pedigree. 

Faversham’s pedigree also carries a cross of the half-brothers, Secretariat and Sir Gaylord in the fifth generation, creating inbreeding to 1973 Broodmare of the Year Somethingroyal.

It is the formation of these patterns of female family inbreeding (FFI), I believe, that makes the California Chrome / Faversham pedigree particularly auspicious. As such, FFI will continue to serve as a primary strategy in the pedigree analysis of potential broodmare candidates for Faversham, specifically the introduction of complementary family strains.

Let me add that it is indeed a privilege to actually get to recommend matings for a stallion whose full name just happens to be that of my own family. I have Perry and Denise Martin to thank for all of that.

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                                                      KEY SIRES & SIRE LINES FROM KENTUCKY                                                                                                                                                                                           .                                          who appear particularly compatible with FAVERSHAM

Collectively, Pulpit-line stallions have, so far, done especially well with three principal lines. The first is DEPUTY MINISTER. This cross has already produced Grade 1 winners such as
Frosted, Tapizar, So Many Ways and American Gal.

The second consist of select branches from the STORM CAT line. These include:

1) FORESTRY (who descends from the family of Mr. Prospector)
2) TALE OF THE CAT (who descends from the family of Pulpit)
3) TABASCO CAT (whose broodmare sire Sauce Boat descends from the family of A.P. Indy)
4) JOHANNESBURG (who descends from the family of Pulpit)
5) BERNSTEIN (who descends from the family of Buckpasser)

The third group is made up of key branches from the dominant line of MR. PROSPECTOR

1) UNBRIDLED’S SONG (who descends from the family of Lucky Pulpit)
2) MUTAKDDIM (who descends from the family of Not For Love)
3) LEMON DROP KID (who descends from the family of A.P. Indy)
4) WOODMAN (whose dam is a full sister to Numbered Account)

Other important Kentucky stallions who create valuable FFI patterns with Faversham include: 

1) TIZNOW (whose broodmare sire Seattle Song descends from the family of Lucky Pulpit)
2) SUPER SAVER (whose grandam is a full sister to Not For Love)
3) PRIVATE ACCOUNT (an influential son of Numbered Account)
4) HALO (who descends from the family of Northern Dancer)
5) MORE THAN READY (a grandson of Halo out of a Woodman mare)

Furthermore, as described above, Faversham benefits from his significant accumulation of the many different strains of the great 20th century matriarch La Troienne*. As such, continued introduction of additional complementary strains within the pedigrees of his mates can only be considered of a good thing.

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                                                                   KEY SIRES FROM CALIFORNIA
                                         who appear particularly compatible with  FAVERSHAM

California breeders considering Faversham as a potential stallion candidate would do well to look for any pedigree patterns of success that might appear within California Chrome’s first three North and South American crops.

Daughters of the following California sires create valuable FFI patterns with Faversham.

1) TIZBUD • A recently retired full brother to TIZNOW; inbreeding to the family of Lucky Pulpit. This one qualifies as my top choice as a broodmare sire for Faversham. By breeding him to a Tizbud mare, the hypothetical offspring’s sire and broodmare sire would both be full brothers to arguably, the two greatest Cal-breds in the Golden State’s long history (apologies to the great Swaps who happens to contribute two strains in Faversham’s pedigree).
2) RICHARD’S KID Two time Pacific Classic winner; a son of LEMON DROP KID and a grandam by PRIVATE ACCOUNT.
3) GALLANT SON Grade 3 winning son of Malabar Gold who descends from the family of Lucky Pulpit.  Recently moved from Daehling Ranch to Washington state.
4) FULLBRIDLED A son of UNBRIDLED’S SONG who like FAVERSHAM stands at Daehling Ranch in Elk Grove, just south of Sacramento. This certainly figures to increase the likelihood that daughters of both #3 and #4 are not far away.
5) GRAYDAR Late developing Grade 1 winning son of UNBRIDLED’S SONG. Sired some nice runners in Ky. First year in California. Should have some local daughters before too long.
6) BEDFORD FALLS a winning son of FORESTRY and graded stakes-siring half-brother to leading sire Harlan’s Holiday.

7) INFORMED A multiple Grade 2 winning son of TIZNOW.
8) SLEW’S TIZNOW A Grade 1 placed son of TIZNOW. Proven domestic stallion.
9) THORN SONG A multiple Grade 1 winning son of UNBRIDLED’S SONG. Sired four California crops before an early death.
10) GLOBALIZE A Grade 2 winning son of Summer Squall (a half-brother to A.P. Indy).
11) BLUEGRASS CAT A Grade 1 winning son of STORM CAT. Sired three California crops in between New York and Turkey. His grandam is a full sister to Not For Love.
12) FRUITION A son of Woodman and useful California sire from 1999 to 2008. His daughters when mated to Faversham creates auspicious inbreeding to the full sisters Playmate and Numbered Account

Two more distant California sires that create valuable FFI patterns with Faversham when they appear within the broodmare’s pedigree are CANDI’S GOLD a son of Mr. Prospector’s half brother Yukon) and RHYTHM a full brother to Not For Love.

Another group of compatible broodmares would be those who descend in tail-female line to the aforementioned key families within Faversham’s pedigree.

As is always the case, all potential matings need to take into account a comparison of the conformations of sire and dam.

Good Luck