Flat A DR Hypoing Mare Help Please :)

[Lily Wilkins]

Thanks to Lucas's wonderful generosity, I am leasing this graded stakes winning Blue Hen mare this season: https://www.simhorseracing.com/horse.php?HorseID=963443
This will be her first foal, so I have no past offspring gallops/wins to base my breeding decision off of... That's usually what I look at first with a mare, so I feel super blind right now!

Her nick ratings just add to my anxiety, because she is the first non-mixer mare that I have ever had get FLAT A nicks in my barn before. Sure, A+ is the best... But does that nick even exist in Dirt Routers, really? Out of 9 hypo-matings, she scored A with 3 and A- with 6. Here is the list:
Allonsy : A
Blue Bayou: A
James Dean: A
Castles Crumble: A-
Gladiator: A-
Keefer: A-
Noctis: A-
The People's Horse: A-
Dragonfly: A-

I played around with the search feature a bit and looked at who The Steward has been breeding her Heart Of The Storm sired mares to, but it's all over the map with no real "ah ha!" trends or standout horses. Moreover, when I search for horses with Heart Of The Storm as their dam sire, it's also pretty all over the map; the top earner is by James Dean (my mare nicked A with him, so maybe go for him?), and the second is by Conqueror.

I don't know if this impacts people's opinions, but I intend to breed a filly from this mare in the interest of having a future broodmare prospect.

[Michael Looker]

Sire Heart of the Storm was a very fast horse who could get 1 1/4mi. Damsire Mint had less speed and a touch more stamina. Second damsire Just Victory was a speed horse who got milers as well as short routers.

They’re all outstanding sires, which is a big positive towards the prospects of Sheltered and her foals.

The dam Safe has been okay as a producer. Art sent her to his stallion Happy This Way (by Easy On The Eyes), then Em sent her to another EOTE son (Heart of the Storm, one of her faves), Hero (who is from the mare Timeless), a son of Hero, another son of Timeless, and Guide You Home.

The best foals of second dam Sincere were by Doomsday (x2), Torchwood and Calumet. Doomsday is by War Daddy (another outstanding classic stallion, sire of Mint in Sheltered’s pedigree) and from the same female line as Timeless (his 2nd dam is her dam). Maybe Em likes something about combining the damlines of Timeless and Sincere, Sheltered’s 2nd dam? They’re both daughters of Just Victory.

Torchwood is a fast son of a classic sire and miler/classic hybrid damline. Calumet is another son of EOTE, but who didn’t get 1 1/4mi (his damsire is Stay Inside, a high-class 1 1/16mi-only influence).

Sincere herself looks like a 1 1/16mi or 1 1/8mi horse more than anything, though she was twice graded-placed at 1 1/2mi. This is fine if you’re looking to breed a 1 1/8mi filly anyway.

Sheltered basically carries all of the stuff that has worked for her first two dams (sons of EOTE and War Daddy, daughters of Just Victory). I’m completely out of touch with who the good stallions are, having largely ignored the sim for the last few seasons. So I couldn't push you in one direction or another. I will mention that Gladiator’s second dam is Timeless, but he looks like more of a sire to try if you wanted more stamina for a colt.

Another thing to look at with possible suitors is how their dams have crossed with HOTS/EOTE. If their dams liked the sire of your mare, maybe your mare will like the son.

[Glenn Escobar]

Take a coin. Take Blue Bayou and James Dean. Assign them each a side of the coin. Flip.

[Lily Wilkins]

I went with a gut instinct and picked James Dean. We shall see if that was a good decision soon enough.

Thank you for the generous offer, Danny. I love Blue Bayou and I keep looking for that perfect cool mare to use with him!