Wicked Strong Pedigree Insights

By Andrew Caulfield
Saturday, Aqueduct 
TWINSPIRES.COM WOOD MEMORIAL S.-GI, $1,000,000, AQU, 4-5, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:49 1/5, ft. 
1–s#@WICKED STRONG, 123, c, 3, by Hard Spun 
     1st Dam: Moyne Abbey, by Charismatic 
     2nd Dam: Classic Approval, by With Approval 
     3rd Dam: Classic Value, by Copelan 
($375,000 yrl ’12 KEESEP). O-Centennial Farms; 
B-William Flynn (KY); T-James A Jerkens; J-Rajiv 
Maragh. $590,000. Lifetime Record: 6-2-1-1, 
$704,610. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the 
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. 
2–Samraat, 123, c, 3, Noble Causeway–Little Indian 
Girl, by Indian Charlie. O-My Meadowview Farm; 
B-My Meadowview LLC (NY); T-Richard A Violette Jr. 
$190,000. 
3–Social Inclusion, 123, c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Saint 
Bernadette, by Saint Ballado. ($60,000 yrl ’12 
KEESEP). O-Rontos Racing Stable Corp; B-Robert 
Tillyer, Martin Keogh & Dr C Blackey (KY); T-Manuel 
J Azpurua. $90,000. 

Margins: 3HF, NO, 1HF. Odds: 9.20, 3.20, 1.60. 
Also Ran: Schivarelli, Uncle Sigh, Noble Moon, Kristo, Effinex, Harpoon, Los Borrachos. Scratched: Kid Cruz. Click for the brisnet.com chart, the brisnet.com PPs or the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO. 
All racing fans on both sides of the Atlantic look forward to Derby time, but for the pedigree pundit this can be a tricky few weeks. Often it’s far from easy to tell which of today’s GI Kentucky Derby contenders have stout enough bloodlines for the all-important jump from nine to 10 furlongs. In England it is usually the same old story when the connections of the 2,000 Guineas winner decide to chance their colt’s stamina over an extra half mile at Epsom. 
It therefore makes a welcome change to come across a leading Kentucky Derby contender whose pedigree and demeanor suggest strongly that the extra furlong at Churchill Downs will be a definite plus, rather than a minus. That colt, of course, is Wicked Strong, who was putting in all his best work in the closing stages of the GI TwinSpires.com Wood Memorial. 
This confidence is based on the simple fact that Wicked Strong’s sire Hard Spun and broodmare sire Charismatic both performed extremely well on Derby Day. Hard Spun was the only one to make a race of it with Street Sense in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, and he could be forgiven for weakening a little in the final eighth, having set early fractions of :22.96 and :46.26. Later, in a re-jig of the Kentucky Derby form, Hard Spun made much of the running to finish second to Curlin in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, with Street Sense back in fourth on that occasion. Charismatic, for his part, finished strongest of all to defeat Menifee and Cat Thief in the 1999 Derby. 
Further confidence in Wicked Strong’s stamina is added by the records of his four great-grandsires. Northern Dancer wore the roses after the 1964 Derby; Turkoman earned the champion older horse title in 1986 largely through his efforts over a mile and a quarter; Charismatic’s sire Summer Squall was runner-up to Unbridled in the Derby before gaining his revenge in the Preakness; and With Approval, the sire of Wicked Strong’s second dam Classic Approval, won Canada’s Breeders’ S. over a mile and a half and was beaten only half a length in the GI Breeders’ Cup Turf. 
The name of Wicked’s Strong’s grandsire Danzig is often associated more with speed than stamina, but the truth is that his rich legacy has been wonderfully varied. Although the nearest he came to siring a Kentucky Derby winner were the seconds by Stephan’s Odyssey and Hard Spun, he sired winners of the 
GI Preakness S. and the GI Belmont S. If Hard Spun were to sire a Kentucky Derby winner, he wouldn’t be the first son of Danzig to do so, as Polish Navy was responsible for the 1993 winner Sea Hero, and we’ve also seen two sons of Danzig sire winners of the Derby at Epsom. 
Hard Spun proved himself one of Danzig’s tougher sons with a 10-race sophomore career which saw him tackle just about every distance from seven furlongs to a mile and a half. It was fitting that he tackled all three legs of the Triple Crown as his pedigree could be described as classic. His third dam Luiana produced Little Current, winner of the Preakness and Belmont in 1974, and Luiana was also a half-sister to that exceptional brother-and-sister team of Chateaugay (Kentucky Derby and Belmont S.) and Primonetta (champion older female of 1962 and Broodmare of the Year in 1978). 
While Hard Spun pulled too hard to give himself a chance of lasting a mile and a half in the Belmont, he galloped First Defence into submission in the GI King’s Bishop S. over seven furlongs. He also reversed Kentucky Derby form with Street Sense in the 
GII Kentucky Cup Classic over a furlong less. 
Hard Spun didn’t only follow in Street Sense’s footsteps in the Kentucky Derby. He also followed him to Darley’s stallion complex and has now taken the same journey to Darley’s Japanese branch which Street Sense took a year earlier. Street Sense did well enough during 2013, with seven graded stakes winners, to earn a return ticket. There must be a good chance that Hard Spun will follow suit, as he has also enjoyed graded success this year with Reload (GIII Canadian Turf S. over a mile). 
It mustn’t be forgotten that Hard Spun was one of those young stallions who found support ebbing away in his first few years. Having attracted 181 mares in his first season, for 143 live foals, he had 105 foals from 147 mares in his second and 96 from 137 mares in his third crop, which includes Wicked Strong. His fourth crop is a little bigger, at 104 live foals, and there are 123 yearlings in his fifth. 
His move to Japan may have been precipitated partly by 2013 results which didn’t compare to his impressive efforts in 2012, when he had only two crops on the track. His total of stakes winners in 2012 stood at an impressive 16, with two of the 16 scoring at the top level. Questing led the way with her Grade I victories in the CCA Oaks and the Alabama S., which established she stayed pretty well, and Zo Impressive played her part by winning the GI Mother Goose S., prior to finishing second to Questing in the CCA Oaks. 
In contrast, the stakes winner tally fell to seven in 2013, when Hard Spun had only one graded winner in North America (the GISP filly Hard Not To Like). However, he also had a very speedy English-trained son in Moviesta (G2 King George S.). 
To get back to Wicked Strong, he has the probably unwanted distinction of being the first winner of any great note out of a daughter of Charismatic. Although the son of Summer Squall started his stallion career at a fee of $35,000 in 2000, he was on his way to Japan by the end of 2003. His only important winner from four American crops was Sun King, who repeatedly ran well in Grade I contests without quite managing to win one. 
Wicked Strong’s dam Moyne Abbey gained her only win in 12 attempts on turf. She is a half-sister to several above-average performers, the most successful being the smart turf miler Gulch Approval. Wicked Strong’s third dam, the dual GIII winner Classic Value, is also the second dam of Student Council, winner of the GI Pacific Classic and GI Pimlico Special, and this female line also produced that excellent but ill-starred filly Three Ring.