b4breeding

This blog is a tribute to Bachelor Hanover whose bloodlines bring together some great rivers I have so much respect for – from his sire Nibble Hanover, his dam The Old Maid (a daughter of Spinster) plus the synergy (nick) this family has had with other great maternal lines through the influence of Breath O Spring and her offspring, through the nick of The Old Maid’s son Dancer Hanover and Romola Hanover, and of course Dancer Hanover as the damsire of Albatross.

For me, Spinster and her offspring, particularly her daughters, are one of those clusters of quality like Adora, Golden Miss, Romola Hal and many of their daughters, and the trotting family of  Goddess Hanover as an example in the North American trotting families, who have added something extra to our breeding lines well over and above what could be expected from good individuals.

In fact, they are clusters of excellent genes that have enough power as rivers of influence to cut through the rocky landscape, spread out and forge fertile valleys and tributaries. Here is a big tip o’ the hat to those wonderful families.

How lucky we were to get Bachelor Hanover in New Zealand!

Bachelor Hanover stood in New Zealand 50 years ago – a new import from America after a very successful racing career but a slow start to breeding. He stood light stud duty at the North American Symphony Acres Stud Farm and was purchased by Jim Dalgety at that establishment’s dispersal sale in 1964. Tip o’ the hat to Jim Dalgety and I will try to follow this blog up with some more personal recollections if possible.

My personal connection is through my mare Zenterfold (In The Pocket x Zenola Star). Zenola Star is the grand-daughter of Zenover who was 3×4 to Spinster through her sire Bachelor Hanover and her grandsire on her maternal line, Light Brigade. When I went into a deal to breed Zenterfold with Aria and Geoff Small I noted that Aria said: “The family likes The Old Maid”. That was the only tip I got, but it has served me very well. It is why I have kept a Grinfromeartoear mare as a broodmare, who is delivering good progeny so far.  I’m surfing the river currents. If you are interested, check out the pedigree of my latest foal from Shadow Play x The Blue Lotus, just arrived and a full sister to the colt I sold previously, and you will understand why I went with this match. I may end up surfing to Somebeachsomewhere lol. (Note for North American readers, the Grinfromeartoear brother racing up your way is called Destination Moon N)

Back to the Bachelor

Bachelor Hanover, son of The Old Maid, half brother to Dancer Hanover and a really great contributor to our “down under” bloodlines.

Bachelor Hanover was a very good racehorse – amongst many other achievements he was 2nd in the first American Messenger Stakes ever run: 1956 Messenger – 2nd behind stablemate Belle Acton (Harnesslink), a good sire and a really potent broodmare sire. This harness racing video shows Bachelor Hanover and Stanley Dancer in the very first edition of the Messenger Stakes in 1956 at Roosevelt Raceway link

His presence in pedigrees of New Zealand families gives us a link back to one of the finest and most influential modern maternal families – Spinster, a daughter of Spencer and the Belwin mare Minnetonka. Spinster’s legacy includes another sire so influential in NZ pedigrees, her son Light Brigade (by Volomite). But also Lady Scotland and Vixen (by Scotland), and the sire Thunder On (also by Scotland).

Her daughter The Old Maid, the dam of Bachelor Hanover, has proven a potent influence in many pedigrees, and a line with some quite specific preferences as well as generic great genes. As well as Bachelor Hanover the Spinster line has produced many top horses and solid families (a detailed legacy is better traced on Classic Families).

Just some of the results of The Old Maid branch:

Frugal Gourmet, French Chef, Sutter Hanover, Plat du Jour, Kentucky Spur, Thorpe Hanover, Clever Innocence, Tylers Best, Bettor Be Perfect, Jimmy Nail, Motu Hatrick, Kiwi Scooter, Major In Art, Man Around Town, Dave Palone, Wakizashi Hanover…In no particular order and missing a lot of really interesting highways and byways of this family and plenty of other top performers.

Bachelor Hanover is well known down under, but his Adios half brother Dancer Hanover was the North American star – he nicked so well with Romola Hanover so appears in many topline modern sire pedigrees, and he is the damsire of Albatross.

Like many of these really pivotal families you can find as many weaker branches as successful branches, and sometimes there are unexpected later eruptions of talent from either one. What helps is where breeders keep adding quality and more importantly compatibility to a line.

Just “coping” with the good “guy”

The sire of Bachelor Hanover is Nibble Hanover. For someone like me, who often focuses on the maternal lines of horses, my exploration of Nibble Hanover’s contribution in so many quality pedigrees has been a relevation. Check out my various blogs in the series starting here. What did Nibble Hanover bring to the match with The Old Maid? Added his classic families –  dam Justissima with her double dose of Expectation/Miss Copeland, including on the maternal side the wonderful broodmare Fruity Worthy who deserves a blog of her own. And remember Nibble Hanover is part of the Guy Axworthy sire line, and what a potent horse Guy Axworthy was. That’s the same sire line that comes through with The Old Maid, via Guy Abbey. And through Guy Abbey’s maternal line, The Old Maid gets that incredible Princess Royal maternal influence I have blogged about before. And her damsire Spencer also pulls down the Guy Axworthy sire line, plus brings in that other great (x factor) line of Ethelwyn/Kathleen.

Going way back in Bachelor Hanover’s pedigree you find that both Nibble Hanover and The Old Maid have strong influences from the U2 family of Minnehaha. In Nibble Hanover’s pedigree it come via two sons of Beautiful Bells – Chimes and Belwin. Belwin is buried in his sire’s line as the damsire of Calumet Chuck, and Adbell more accessible in his maternal line as the sire of Fruition. With Bachelor Hanover’s damline,  The Old Maid brings Minnehaha in again twice via her sire Guy Abbey (Chimes on his sire and maternal line), and twice from her dam Minnetonka. (There is also another reference from Spinster’s sire Spencer, tracing to a sire called Bow Belles from a daughter of Minnehaha.

Crikey, that kind of really old pedigree tracing back is not usually my “go”. These duplications probably reflect the small world that standardbred breeding was back then – and still is now. But it also is an example of successful line breeding to quality maternal and paternal influences. “Form is intermittent but class endures”. Often it needs a fresh kick up the arse along the way, a wake up call on type and ability, but if you time it right, reaching back to really strong quality influences and repeating them (or what they love) seems to work wonders. I recommend you spend a lazy hour just grazing this amazing family back and forth on Classic Familes, the free database that gives successful (as defined on the site) offspring of sires and mares.

Bachelor Hanover died in 1975 but he had made a great contribution to our breed – read about him on Addington Raceway Timeline here which is a lovely summary of his career and contribution.