Page 38 - November 2021

SPEEDLINES
The dam of Black Widder is
Grace H by Oklahoma Star P-6. The P-6 in Oklahoma Star P-6 represents the designation assigned to the first 19 stallions found in the AQHA Stud Book that are now known as the AQHA Stud Book Foundation Sires.
Oklahoma Star P-6 was bred by Tommy Moore, who raced Oklahoma Star P-6 until it became impossible to find a match race for him, and then later he was purchased
by Ronald Mason where he lived the rest of his life. It was Ronald Mason who brought Oklahoma Star P-6 and Beggar Boy together to produce horses like Black Widder.
The sire of Oklahoma Star P-6 was Dennis Reed, a Thoroughbred Remount Stallion who was sired by Lobos by Golden Garter by Bend Or. Bend Or was the sire of Bona Vista, the broodmare sire of The Tetrarch, who was the sire of Mumtaz Mahal found in Mahmoud’s pedigree.
Cutthroat was the dam of Oklahoma Star P-6, and she was Moore’s great race mare. She traveled and sometimes raced under another name. One of those names was May Mattson. So, it is at this point that we have some confusion, or should I say differences, in who she was really sired by. The AQHA shows that she is sired by a horse named Gulliver by Missouri Rondo by Missouri Mike by Printer, one of the early foundation Quarter Horse sires. The AQHA shows that Cutthroat was out of Belle K by Dan Tucker.
But Ronald Mason researched and was of the opinion that Cutthroat was sired
by Bonnie Joe. This is the Bonnie Joe that sired Useeit, the dam of Black Gold and Beggar Boy. Bonnie Joe was also the sire of Joe Blair, the sire of Joe Reed P-3 sire of Joe Reed II, who was the sire of Leo. Then we see again that Vandy was out of Jean
Ann Blair by Joe Blair. It must be noted that Oklahoma Star/Leo was a great cross with Miss Meyers, the World Champion who was sired by Leo and out of a daughter of Oklahoma Star P-6. Vandy crossed on Leo was a great cross. This cross produced three Champions, including Vandy’s Flash who was out of Garrett’s Miss Pawhuska by Leo.
In 1925, Cutthroat foaled a filly named Grace H that was sired by Oklahoma Star P-6. This gives Beggar Vanet a breeding pattern of 4x4x5x4 to Bonnie Joe if we use Bonnie Joe as the sire of Cutthroat, and Grace H a breeding pattern of 2x1 to Cutthroat.
Grace H is also the dam of Midnight Molly by Chief P-5 by Peter McCue. Midnight Molly is the dam of Drift by Leo. Drift was the dam of Jet Deck Jr
by Jet Deck. Jet Deck Jr was the 1968 Champion 2-Year-Old Colt and the 1969 Champion 3-Year-Old Colt.
A Mare’s Genetic Contribution
In a recent conversation with Billy Smith, one of the original partners along with Pat Guthrie and Vessels Stallion Farm in the syndication of FDD Dynasty, he was quick to respond about the mare’s influence in the breeding of racehorses. He stated, “I think that the mare is probably 65 to 70% of the whole process.”
If that is the case, what is the genetic explanation for where this increased influence is coming from by the mare? We will start with a look at the Mitochondrial DNA. When we look at a cell, we see
the cell nucleus that houses the DNA, or genetic information, that makes the
animal what it is. Outside the nucleus is the Mitochondria, which is where the energy the cell needs to function comes from. The Mitochondria are our source of energy for our cells to function. The Mitochondria are separate from the genetic information in the cell’s nucleus. The Mitochondria is made
up of Mitochondrial DNA, or the genetic information that defines the Mitochondria, and the Mitochondrial DNA is separate from our nuclear DNA and it is passed down from the mother to her foals. So, the mother supplies cellular energy by passing her Mitochondrial DNA on to her foals.
The interesting part of this is there are groups of cells called haplotypes that stay together and are passed down generation after generation, and these haplotypes are used to determine parentage of the foal. So, the haplotypes are passed down to each generation - from Cutthroat to Dinastia Toll BRZ to Brazilian Dasher. This
makes Cutthroat the tap root mare or the foundation mare in this line.
Therefore, pedigree researchers will follow the tail female line or that bottom line of mares in the bracket pedigree. This is the first genetic happening that shows how the mare influences not only her sons but her daughters as well. So, this gives
us a reason to look at a stallion’s dam as a source of his energy that probably means more as an influence on his racing ability. Author’s Note: A stallion doesn’t pass his mitochondrial DNA on to his foals. It always comes from the mare he is bred to.
Another factor that is important deals with the X and Y chromosomes, or our
sex chromosomes, that make an animal a male or a female. Billy Smith made this point about broodmare sires, “I believe if you look back at the good broodmare sires, they have good mamas and, yes, there are
AQHA Broodmare of the Year First Prize Rose, dam of Champions First Down Dash & First Prize Dash, winning an allowance in 1980.
36 SPEEDHORSE November 2021