How can you not be a huge admirer of the Miss Duvall (U7) standardbred family. Born in 1868 this big black mare was fertile ground from which a massive tree has grown. There are several key branches that seem to continue to grow in strength. A good summary of the family’s influence in sires who did stand or are standing in Australasia is in this article from Harnessbred.com
Among the established classics from the Romola Hal branch are Art Major, Perfect Art, Real Artist, Panspacificflight and Captaintreacherous; from the Willola branch are Silent Majority (sire of Abercrombie), What’s Next, Sportswriter; from the Adora branch are Life Sign, American Ideal, Western Ideal, He’s Watching.
Note that these are descendants of the female line, and don’t include the sons of these sires who have stood at stud, including newbies like Vincent, unless they also include a U7 female line as well.
There are also familiar names from some of the less active branches – Road Machine, Big Jim, DM Dilinger.
But Miss Duvall doesn’t stop there.
The strongest U7 branches keep providing “engine room” value on the maternal line of top colts who go on to become potential top sires.
It is the branches with proven record that continue to produce the strongest and most potent maternal lines. The branches are sorting themselves out. Not every twig is going to be a branch.
In terms of the smaller branches that we got “Downunder” I’ll look at updating that in my future blogs, but if you have a few hours to spend, then researching through the main Australian Harness Racing website (Horse Search) or Harness Racing New Zealand (Info Horse/Horse Enquiry) will give you a starting point of local interest. Start with something basic like Romola, and watch yourself go down the rabbit holes!!!
Or refresh with search on this blog for Romola Hal and my series of what was current in this part of the world 5 years ago. I will be updating this in my next blog – but would love comments from those who know more information.
Looking through the latest Register of Standardbred Sires NZ, it’s clear that the U7 momentum continues.
The latest flowering of the Miss Duvall family tree shows up in some of the well credentialed young sires available this season.
The newer arrivals with U7 strong maternal lines are (in no particular order)
- Bettor’s Wish – his damsire is Western Ideal; his dam is a great grand-daughter of Three Diamonds
- Capt Midnight – Worldy Treasure is the dam of his sire Captaintreacherous; American Ideal is his damsire.
- Tall Dark Stranger – his damsire is Art Major; his dam is a descendant of Hobby Horse Tar.
- Luck Be Withyou – his sire is Western Ideal; his dam is a great grand-daughter of Three Diamonds.
- Rock N Roll World – his dam is Worldly Beauty, a grand-daughter of Rodine Hanover
- Downbytheseaside – dam’s maternal line (Hobby Horse Tar)
That’s a hugely impressive list of new/potential sires.
And not so new but current:
- He’s Watching (still available in Australia but not NZ) – his sire is American Ideal; his dam is a great grand-daughter of Leah Almahurst
- Sportswriter – dam’s maternal line (Hobby Horse Tar)
- Captaintreacherous – established now, but still fresh in the market, his dam is Worldly Treasure.
You could also include those sires with Western Ideal (son of Leah Almahurst) as their damsire – McWicked, Fear The Dragon… or with Real Artist as their damsire – Rockin Image (if he becomes available here). And eventually there will be young sires with Art Major as their damsire (rather than their sire) too.
What a very old, very modern and very classy family – U7.
Tip o the hat to Miss Duvall.
b4breeding 
Nice read very true all thru the mares ,but us little guys with love for sport and horses very tough,especially with pacing demons today,but have a little luck lately with trotters, best wishes to all us little guys, we could all use it
Good luck all
Yes I am one of those little breeders, trying to make magic from what we have or what we see and get. It is not easy. It’s a huge challenge and if we are not careful it can such us dry financially. Best wishes – yes. But also just suggesting that thinking before breeding can help. Hence B4breeding lol
Love reading your thoughts on breeding, and am thrilled that u have returned to blogging again. I have missed you!!
I am a hobbyist, who started in this game only 7 years ago, thanks to my partner who has been involved for decades. He had a lovely mare from N42 family he bred who was doing rather well on the track when we met. He had her very big, gentle, classic winning mum that he had also bred and raced a decade before. Sadly, this branch ended, with the handy race mare dying suddenly during training and her Mum unable to hold pregnancies… Sad, so we found a young, NZ bred, classic winning relation by RR Hanover mid last year. This family is sentimental to us, which shouldn’t be part of decision making when breeding to win !!
Sadly, we haven’t had that same success that was in train when I met my current partner, but we keep hoping. And we hope that those doses of U7 u write about might do the trick!
I pour many hours looking into breeding. Ive also tried applying some science by performing statistical analyses (ie average dollars won, etc) of crosses with broodmare sires including Village Jasper mares, Perfect Art and Armbro Operative broodmares sorted by quality of the mare’s immediate family.
There is a smorgasbord of U7 sires available in AUS & NZ, with combinations from all the main sirelines. I will be trying our Mayflower broodmare by U2 Blissfull Hall with U7s Capt Midnight this season. She had a filly by U7s Mr Feelgood several years ago – this didnt work thanks to soreness… It seems to me that this branch of the Mayflower family has crossed well with stallions descending back to ‘Meadow Cheer’ historically, and in more recent generations, Cam Fella sire lines. I also think just like u, that U7 likes U2. I have noticed that Blissfull Hall’s daughters seem to appreciate American Ideal, so hope the breeding fairies bless this mating for us. I like his size and high speed too, which I believe is what this really little, but tough mare needed more of when she raced for us.
Our NZ Bred and raced N42 mare by U20 RR HANOVER is in foal to U7s Sportwriter and due in a few weeks time. Like u, I also think U7 and U20 seem to nick with one another. Other considerations with this cross too of course, including his smaller size and her very big size, and a few other things about the cross.
Our N6 (Harold’s Rest) Betterthancheddar broodmare has a delightful filly born 4 weeks ago by U7s Hes Watching that is very correct and free legs everywhere. This filly doesn’t look anything like her mum did as a foal, so I think she’s thrown to her sire. The betterthancheddar mare was a natural 2yr old who really excited her trainer at the time, and is a super looking type of broodmare. This was a branch with lots of depth, but there hasn’t been much happening for a few generations. We thought we had something with this mare when she was in work until it all went south, and we learned a few, hard lessons. Who knows, right?! Let’s hope U7 does it for her.
My brown/black mare by U7 Big Jim that i bred free legs everywhere since birth, and is from a successful branch of the U302 family. She won races without being a champ, loves to run all day, and had high speed, but suffered a career ending fracture after we fixed her breathing problems. More lessons learned here! She goes in foal to a non U7 stallion and outcross sire Mel Mara. He’s rather quiet and chilled, and i hope he throws some of his attitude into her foal as well as his strength and longevity on the track. Her family has really crossed well with no nukes sirelines, including RR Heaven, so i figured why not an outcross that descends from the maternal family of RR Heaven and no nukes. He appears to be good value,.. I really like him actually, cos he ran against and beat the big boys and had blistering speed as a 2yo… my bad. I shouldn’t get so keen on a particular sire, but can’t help myself.
So in the last few years, U7 has been and is a popular choice for us. They come out pacing from my experience! When they are new sires and fashionable u typically pay quite handsomely for them, eg Capt Midnight is quite a bit really.
Having said that, I also look at crosses that work in the family or that branch because certain sires or sirelines are more likely to bring success.
But, just like u returned to blogging, I think it’s time for me to look at another set of broodmares more objectively, eg daughters of RR Hanover and then Bettors Delight mares in a statistical sense to see what they appear to cross with. Let’s see what my data indicates may increase my chances. Having said that, there’s more to it than just data, cos I look at size, attitude, gait/ movement, temperament, etc
Do u rely on data or stats when making choices Bee?
Lovely to meet you! I’m glad you love the process of matching mares and sires, the whole thing is challenging and a lot of fun. Results in terms of racing success are hard when you are breeding small numbers, so it is important to enjoy every step of the way, learn from everything. You’ve got the right attitude – and it sounds like you have some lovely mares and foals.
Like you, I found Mel Mara an exciting siring prospect and wanted him for one of my mares but he was not available here in NZ. His maternal line is classic! And yes he was a really good horse on the track. That’s going to be an interesting match.
I also think Capt Midnight has a stunning pedigree But so did He’s Watching and NZ breeders and buyers just weren’t that interested in him.
To answer your question: I use data and stats but with a ‘grain of salt’ as often the numbers are just too small to show statistically significant trends. You’ll notice that studs promoting their sires often list almost every potential match in their “recommended matches” which always makes me laugh! The numbers of crosses between specific damsires and sires is often way too small to be meaningful, except for sires like Bettor’s Delight who have left so many over a long period of time. For individual sires, I look more closely at foals to starters/winners stats than who leads the stakes winnings. But most of all I look at the mare’s strengths and any weaknesses (phenotype and genotype) and try to add value to what she has. A tight budget means I have a limited choice but that makes me think more carefully! I don’t mind trying new sires if the match is right. In New Zealand we have a real reputation of waiting until a new sire proves himself before booking in mares, although that is starting to change with Bettor’s Wish being quickly booked out this season.
Now I am no longer breeding for yearling sales, I’ve found it much more enjoyable. Takes the pressure off!
I’m not sure when I’ll blog again – that was a burst on U7 and I will wait until I feel inspired again or when some of my youngsters are showing what they’ve got.
Feel free to keep in touch via my email (it is on my blogsite) if I am not actively blogging – and all the best for the coming season!