Page 38 - Barrel Stallion Register 2017

The speed and cow sense of Sun Frost, who is the sire of PC Frenchmans Hayday, aka Dinero, influenced Mel Potter in his purchase of Dinero.
Bar was a stakes winner and set a track record at Pomona going 330 yards in :17.2 before an injury forced his retirement. Bardella went to the track to become the running Champion Two-Year-Old Filly for 1952 and the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in 1953. Mel recalled how he knew these horses
and their influence on the purchase of Dinero was based on the speed and the cow sense they carried. “When you see how Sun Frost
is bred, that topside has so much speed,” he said. “I had a ranch right next to Art Pollard and all those horses were right across the fence from me for five years.”
The dam of Sun Frost was Prissy Cline. Her pedigree was very familiar to Mel as her sire was Driftwood Ike, a foundation sire
for the Mel Potter Driftwood-bred horses. Driftwood Ike was sired by Driftwood and he was out of Hancock Belle by Buck. Thus, Dinero carries the blood of Driftwood.
The dam of Prissy Cline was Josephine El by Super Charge. Super Charge was an AAA rated runner sired by Depth Charge and he was out of O’Quinns Midget by King P-234. The race which Lightning Bar got injured occurred in a race at Pomona, California, against Super Charge.
“Then on the other side of Sun Frost there was a lot of speed and cow there,” Mel continued. “A lot of people don’t realize about that speed. Joe Bassett was a darn good roper and a heck of a racehorse guy. He had Super Charge and he had ridden Driftwood in the old match ropings. Both of those horses were runnin’ son of a guns.”
“People don’t think about speed when they talk about Driftwood Ike, but he sired several
PC FRENCHMANS HAYDAY ENTERS
It was Mel’s admiration for French Flash Hawk, aka Bozo, that led to the next part of
the story and why he bought PC Frenchmans Hayday, aka Dinero. Mel believes that Bozo was one of the greatest barrel horses of all time, and his record of being a four-time WPRA World Champion Barrel Racer and a 5-time AQHA/ PRCA Barrel Racing Horse of the Year certainly attests to that. Dinero was a full brother to Bozo.
“We were in Oklahoma City at the Rodeo Hall of Fame Weekend at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum,” Mel tells us as to how his ownership of Dinero came about. “The Cowan’s were having this sale in South Dakota, and they had this full brother to Bozo named PC Frenchmans Hayday. I was thinking a fella ought to buy that horse.”
“So, I decided to fly up there and see if
I could buy that stud,” he continued. “He was just a colt and Dale Smith and I flew up there. We went in the morning and flew back that night. I bought him and gave $65,000 for him. Everybody thought I was nuts. I bought two others, a filly and a gelding.”
But as you listen to Mel, you get a distinct
impression that it was more than just his admiration of Bozo as a performer that led
to his purchase of Dinero. Our conversation stressed the horse’s pedigree and how it is built on speed with a crossover to cow sense.
The sire of Dinero is Sun Frost, the 1979 son of Doc’s Jack Frost, who is sired by Doc Bar by Lightning Bar. The dam of Doc Bar was the AA rated mare Dandy Doll. She was sired by Texas Dandy and out of Bar Maid F. Bar Maid F was sired by Bartender II and she was out of Nelly Bly by Red Joe of Arizona, the 3/4-brother to Joe Reed II, the sire of Leo. The dam of Doc’s Jack Frost was Chantella, an AAA rated mare sired by War Chant by Three Bars TB. The dam of War Chant was Hula Girl P by Ed Echols by Zantanon.
The dam of Chantella was Bardella, who was a full sister to Lightning Bar. They were sired by ThreeBarsTBandoutofDellaP.DellaPwas
a Cajun-bred mare sired by Doc Horn and she was out of an Old D J mare. This makes Doc’s Jack Frost line-bred to the full brother and sister Lightning Bar and Bardella.
Art Pollard was the owner and breeder of Lightning Bar and Bardella. Both of these runners were proven on the track. Lightning
36 SPEEDHORSE
Kristi Peterson & 4-time WPRA World Champion/ 5-time AQHA/PRCA Barrel Horse of the Year French Flash Hawk, aka Bozo. Mel Potter’s admiration for Bozo led to his purchase of his
full brother PC Frenchmans Hayday.
SPEEDLINES