Would like some input...

[Susie Rydell]

I've got 4 mares left to plan breedings for, and I'm drawing some blanks. Was hoping for some suggestions.

The first is Balletto (Timber Country - Dance Destiny, by Nijinsky). Timber Country's other best offspring is probably Admire Don, who's out of a Tony Bin mare. His only SIM-rep is Jungle Pocket, who's just far too turfy for Balletto. To me, her pedigree's pretty much a big question mark in the SIM. Woodman's best rep has been Bosra Sham... whose daughter Speedyjetsdaughter (Magellan) crossed well with The Natural. Any suggestions or paths to travel down would really be appreciated!

I was pretty lucky to snag Miss Priceless, a turfy 3/4 sister to Three Day Event (Priceless Forever - Miss Alleged, Alleged) off of the sales page. Three Day's best, of course, was probably Three Ring Circus (Yokoa Cat). Using Yokoa Cat as a starting, I've been tossing around Tejano Causeway, The Scarlet Nite, and Midnightconfession. Any input would be great!

Paseana's Girl (Lode - Paseana, by Ahmad). Her 3/4 sister Pass the Loot has the good horse Arrogance, by AP Indy. I was thinking along those lines, but I'm not sold on any of the Indy's at stud. My favorite of the bunch is Mineshaft, but that's quite a lot of Mr. Prospector. I'm intrigued by both Zinfandel and Chesapeake Bay, but all thoughts are welcome.

Supersonic (Unsounded - Silverbulletday, Silver Deputy) has a very nice runner by Conduit... Silverbulletday's best was by Priceless Forever... Any opinions on Konstantine's prospects as a sire? Also thinking about Loki Dynasty or my own son of Priceless Forever - Gotham City.

Many thanks to anyone who gives this a looksee

[Eric Nalbone]

Balletto, to my knowledge, never ran on turf, so she's worth a turf breeding at some point or another to see how she might perform. Writing a horse off as simply a dirt horse or simply a turf horse is dangerous in the SIM, given such idiosyncracies as Storm Cat's EXTREME penchant for turf and the abilities of a surprising number of horses to go both ways. The DB isn't open right now, but I can say that I'd be looking for something along the lines of Halo: take a look at the pedigree of More Than Ready, who is Southern Halo x Woodman's Girl. If you can replicate this with, say, Southern Image, you might be looking at a very dynamic runner. The cross also brings in Deep Impact, one of your own stallions, as a perfect test-case for future years when you might decide to test Balletto's turf abilities.

More on the rest to come later when I have time, I'll just keep editing this post.

[Laura Ferguson]

To add to what Eric said, Destiny Dance won the G3 Sheepshead Bay Handicap on turf during her racing career, and produced a turf stakes winner in Dearly, who in turn is the dam of True Cause, a turf stakes winner in England (True Cause is bred similarly to Giant's Causeway along the Storm Cat x Rahy mare cross).

This female family as a whole has been effective on both surfaces - Destiny Dance is a half-sister to Alyssum, who was a stakes winner on dirt, and is a half-sister to two turf stakes winners. Her dam, Althea, competed in the Kentucky Derby after whipping boys in the Arkansas Derby, and was also champion 2yo filly.

Althea's dam, Courtly Dee, also produced G1 winner's Ali Oop and Ketoh (dirt), G2 winner Twining (dirt) and Aquilegia (G2 winner, turf).

Aurora, one of the turf stakes-winning half-sisters to Desety Dance, produced G1 winner Arch (dirt), whose runner have done better on turf.

Similarly, the Timber Country side of the family is also surface-versatile. While Timber Country himself raced exclusively on dirt, he is a half-brother to turf G1 winners Fort Wood, Northern Aspen, and Hamas, and turf G2 winners Bianconi, Colorado Dancer (better known as the dam of Dubai Millennium), and and Elle Seule. Timber Country is also closely related to the ill-fated stakes winner (dirt) Prince of Thieves.

So, honestly, you can probably go both ways with Balletto, but I definitely think it is worth trying to breed a turfer out of her at some point. Good luck!

[Susie Rydell]

Thanks so much for the input! I honestly hadn't considered turf with Balletto due to her own success on dirt along with her sire's (and her sire's other best - Admire Don) but you both make really compelling points. Muchas gracias!

[Susie Rydell]

Another idea for Miss Priceless... Exit