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New french blood to the US-Standarbred

The debut was awesome, not to say overwhelming! Ake Svanstedt’s Swedish Superstar Sebastian K. won his elimination for the $175.000 Arthur J. Cutler Memorial at The Meadowlands in 1:50 1/5 (1:08,5), tying the world record held by Giant Diablo, Donato Hanover, Lucky Jim, Muscle Hill and Chapter Seven. For the final of the race, a duel between the Swede and former Hambletonian winner Market Share was expected, but the latter broke stride early, so „Super Seb” won easily in 1:50 2/5 (1:08,6).

The next European Superstar will enter the US races in the fall of this year. Ready Cash, two time winner of the Prix d’Amérique at Paris-Vincennes and the most winning French trotter in history, will be trained by Jimmy Takter for a campaign at the Red Mile in Lexington and maybe more. That is some kind of sensational because the racing career of the colt was already finished, but French trainer Philippe Allaire changed his mind fortunately. The most winning trotters

It is always an interesting thing to see trotters from Europe compete in the new world. There are a lot of examples, a highlight was for sure the legendary March of Dimes Trot in 1988 with the French champion Ourasi, beaten scantily by Sugarcane Hanover with Mack Lobell finishing third. Video

And it is also interesting and sometimes surprising, how European horses influence the US trotting sport. All in all, most of the North American breeders may not have a good feeling when it comes to European blood, especially French one. Dean A. Hoffman told us that e.g. the Swedish horse Revenue (with the French stallion Reve d’Udon as his father respectively with over 42% French blood in his veins) – imported to the US in 2009, returning to Europe for the 2011 breeding season – summarized was a disappointment for the US breeders, even he got punctual big success with horses like Market Share, Break The Bank K, Alcaline or Truculent, the latter competing in Stockholm Solvalla the following weekend in the Elitloppet together with another Revenue offspring, Swedish born Reven d’Amour.

Let’s remember another Swedish import to the US breed, Meadow Road, a big star at the international races in the 1980s. He was exported to the US in 1987 and had big success at stud with Giant Force, born in 1989. And one year before he brought a colt named Primrose Lane, sire of the sensational stallion Kadabra.

Let’s take a look to the future, provided that Sebastian K. and Ready Cash will also be used as stallions in the US. Ready Cash meanwhile is a proven stallion with great success in France, while Sebastian K.’s first season at stud was in 2012, covering only a small number of broodmares (the first crop of Ready Cash with 85 foals was born in 2010, 2011 he had exactly the same number, one year later 82, and in 2013 there have been 88 offsprings by Ready Cash, all numbers only from France).

What happens when Sebastian K. and Ready Cash enter the stallion barn in North America?

Sebastian K.’s sire Korean is French with about 34% influence of US Standardbred blood through sires like Florestan and Super Bowl in his maternal line, not to forget that his paternal line is the one of Hambletonian. Mixed with his mother Gabriella K. (100% US blood), it gives a coefficient of 67% US blood and 33% French blood. Assumably bred to 100% US blood mares, a typical foal of Sebastian K. in North America would have then 83% US blood and 17% French blood.

In case of Ready Cash it’s a little different. His percentage of US and French blood is nearly balanced with 54% French and 46% US blood. His sire Indy de Vive comes from the Star’s Pride paternal line and has influence by Florestan as well has the mother of Ready Cash, Kidea, she also carrying blood of US sires like Workaholic and Kimberland. Ready Cash bred to 100% US mares will produce foals with a coefficient of 73% US Standardbred and 27% French blood.

But – there is one obvious difference. If one will follow the maternal lines, Sebastian K., a winner of currently $2,290,649, is out of one of the great „M”-lines of North America, the one of Mamie, born in 1880. This line produced a lot of world class trotters (respectively sires) in modern times like Fresh Yankee, Mystic Park, Sugarcane Hanover, Somollison, Valley Victory, Huxtable Hornline, Banker Hall, Broadway Hall, Ken Warkentin, Define the World, Explosive Matter, Text Me, Napoleon Bar, Frenchfriesnvinegar, My MVP, Corky, and pacers like Albatross or Nihilator, (a significant list of the Mamie line you can see here).

Ready Cash, on the contrary, originates from a French maternal line, the one of Rosine, born around 1840. This line is really surprising. More or less without any success until the 1980s when Podosis (by Florestan) came along, a classical French Monté-champion under the saddle and later also one time sire champion in France. But in the new millennium it really came thick and fast with that mother line: Jag de Bellouet and Ready Cash appeared, both becoming the most winning Frech trotter in history (both from the sire line of Star’s Pride, Jag de Bellouet is by Viking’s Way while Ready Cash is a grandson of this grandson of Bonefish). Maternal line of Rosine

The future will show if this new generation of French blood influenced trotters will succeed in the US trotting sport. Both aren’t out of the actual most successful sire line in France, the one of Coktail Jet and especially his son Love You, champion sire in France, Sweden and Germany. But Sebastian K. is out of one of the greatest US lines and Ready Cash, who clearly will try to set a new (world)record (1:53 1/5 or 1:10,3 currently) at the Red Mile, will find his paradise by getting mares with 100% US blood. 

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