by David Manser

(Continued from page 4)

Thus, it can be seen in the pedigree of Teddy (Ajax - Rondeau) that the ancestral strengths in both his sire and dam were quite complementary to each other. The Pocahontas / Waxy and Penelope / Everlasting connection in the pedigree of Ajax was reinforced by the same emphasis in the pedigree of Rondeau with the introduction of new infusions from different sources.

When we look at Helene De Troie (Helicon - Lady Of Pedigree by St Denis) her union with Teddy resulted in a genetic explosion of stellar proportions. It is open to conjecture if this was due more to design than fortuitousness, but this is largely irrelevant in the light of its success. 

Helicon's sire, Cyllene, has already been discussed in relation to St ClaireII. Lady of Pedigree (St Denis - Doxa by Melton) was sired by St Denis (St Simon - Brooch by Blue Green) which was closely inbred to St Angela (King Tom - Adeline) and thus also had Pocahontas close up in his pedigree. St Simon (Galopin - St Angela) was the full brother to Angelica. Brooch (Blue Green - Ornament by Bend Or) was sired by Coeruleus, which had important ancestors,  but their significance was greatly overshadowed by the fact that he served Angelica to produce Blue Green. This put St Angela 2x4 in the pedigree of St Denis.

Coeruleus (Beadsman - Bas Bleu by Stockwell) had Pocahontas close up in his pedigree. Beadsman (Weatherbit - Mendicant by Touchstone) was by a Tramp line sire which was out of Miss Letty. Mendicant was out of Lady Moore Carew (Tramp - Kite). Kite's dam, Olympia, was by the Highflyer line sire ,Sir Oliver, out of Scotilla (Anvil - Scota by Eclipse). Bas Bleu (Stockwell - Vexation by Touchstone) descended via Vat to Wire (Waxy - Penelope). Thus, he was a crucial linkage in the Pocahontas / Waxy - Penelope / Everlasting connection in the build up of Helene De Troie.

Ornament (Bend Or - Lily Agnes by Macaroni) was yet another product of the Bend Or - Macaroni nick. She also traced in tail female to Miss Agnes which made Brooch a reinforcing influence in the genetic pool of common ancestral patterns.

Doxa (Melton - Paradoxical by Timothy) was another very important influence. Her sire, Melton (Master Kildare - Violet Melrose by The Scottish Chief) was also a Stockwell line sire. Master Kildare (Lord Ronald - Silk by Plum Pudding) brought in some influential ancestors. Lord Ronald (Stockwell - Edith by Newminster, a son of Touchstone) descended in tail female to the famed Gibside Fairy (Hermes - Vicissitude).

Silk (Plum Pudding - Judy Go) descended on the distaff side of both her sire and dam via the mare Bigotinni to Fraxinella. Plum Pudding (by Sweetmeat) was out of Foinnualla (Birdcatcher - Brandy Bet by Waxy Pope's son Canteen, out of Bigotinni). Judy Go, by Crozier, was out of Cacique (by Sheet Anchor's son Palrinus out of a Young Blacklock mare ex Bittern by Sligo out of Bigotinni). Waxy Pope (Waxy - Prunella) was also the sire of Sligo, which was out of Cora (Master Bagot - Penelope). Bigotinni was by Sorcerer's son, Thunderbolt, out of a Gohanna mare ex Fraxinella). Thunderbolt's dam, Wowski, was a daughter of Maria, and thus a half sister to Waxy.

Violet Melrose (The Scottish Chief - Violet by Thormanby) was another important ancestor. The Scottish Chief (Lord of the Isles - Miss Ann by The Little Known) was sired by a son of Touchstone and was out of Fair Helen (Pantaloon - Rebecca). Miss Ann was sired by a son of Muley which was out of Lacerta. The tail female of St Simon and Angelica traces via Lacerta to Jerboa, which had another daughter Fawn - the dam of Venison (by Partisan). Miss Ann was out of Bay Missy (Bay Middleton) which traced in tail female to Proserpine (sister of Eclipse).

Violet (Thormanby - Woodbine by Stockwell) also introduced Pocahontas close up in her pedigree. Her sire was either Thormanby (Melbourne - Alice Hawthorn by Muley Moloch - Rebecca) or Melbourne (Humphrey Clinker - Cervantes mare). Woodbine (Stockwell - Honeysuckle by Touchstone) was out of a full sister to Newminster and established a family of enormous quality particularly through Feronia - a full sister to Violet - and Hedge Rose (by Neptunus).

Melton was a full brother to the very important mares Editha and Bridget. This trio provide excellent opportunities for line breeding patterns.

Paradoxical (Timothy - Inchbonny by Sterling) was another ancestor of great importance. Her sire Timothy was one of the rare sons of Hermit (Newminster - Seclusion by Tadmor) while his dam, Lady Masham, was a daughter of Maid of Masham (Don John - Miss Lydia by Belshazzar). Maid of Masham was the direct tail female ancestress of Bona Vista (sire of Isonomy) and Fair Play (sire of Man O'War). Seclusion (Tadmor - Miss Sellon by Cowl) was by a son of Ion. Tadmor was out of the Sultan mare Palmyra (Sultan - Hester by Camel). Miss Sellon (Cowl - Belle Dame by Belshazzar) was sired by a Bay Middleton son, while his dam was out of the Priam daughter, Crucifix. Belle Dame was by Belshazzar out of Ellen - a daughter of the Waxy line sire, Starch - and she descended in tail female to Young Hag.

Inchbonny (Sterling - Casuistry by The Miner) was a daughter of a very important broodmare. The Miner (Rataplan - Manganese) was the full brother of Mineral - the dam of Wenlock. Casuistry was out of Lady Caroline (Orlando - Lady Blanche by Stockwell) while her granddam was Clementina (Venison - Cobweb by Phantom) which descended to Web. Venison (Partisan - Fawn by Smolensko) was an interesting individual. Partisan's dam, Parasol, was a daughter of Prunella (dam of Penelope) while Fawn was by Smolensko (Sorcerer - Wowski, daughter of Maria - dam of Waxy) out of Jerboa (Gohanna - Camilla).

We can therefore see repetitions of the important ancestral elements of Isinglass in every quarter of La Troienne's pedigree. There is no doubt that the presence of Olympia, Termagant and Banter were collectively as important as that of Everlasting. The offspring of these mares were numerous in the pedigree of both horses. 

La Troienne had a number of separate Bend Or - Macaroni nicks in her important ancestors. I believe the presence of Banter empowered not only this nick,  she was also the key to the successful Isonomy - Hermit nick. My reasons for this belief are beyond the scope of the present article but will be addressed in the future.

More importantly, the pedigree of La Troienne brings with it the foundation mares of many of the prolific broodmare families which established their credentials as the dams of top quality horses. Some of these have already been mentioned, and from their descendants there was ample opportunity for these to cross back over and reappear in the pedigrees of many of the offspring of La Troienne and her own vast dynasty of descendants

CONCLUSIONS:

There is little doubt that Isinglass produced perhaps a fairly disappointing number of good sons and, of these, only John O'Gaunt was exceptional. The impact of the stud career of John O'Gaunt through his full sibling sons Swynford - sire of Blandford - and Harry Of Hereford - sire of Annette K, the grand dam of War Admiral - extends throughout the 20th century.

Equally, Isinglass will be perpetually remembered for producing a number of exceptional broodmares which made a profound impact on the development of the modern Thoroughbred. Goody Two Shoes - dam of Simon's Shoes and Charles O'Malley - made an outstanding contribution. The other daughters of Isinglass mentioned in this article have all made a lasting and valuable contribution to the upgrading of the breed.

In examining the pedigrees of these broodmares it is impossible not to notice the patterns of excellence which have emerged over time. These are worthy of restating for a clearer understanding of the importance of the presence of Isinglass in the deeper removes of modern pedigrees.

The combination of Waxy - Penelope which produced Whalebone and Whisker was a very effective genetic mix,  as it fused together the lines of Eclipse, Herod and Matchem in their progeny. When this combination was expanded to bring in the female sibling Web, which was introduced via Glencoe, it also brought in the connection to Everlasting - a daughter of Eclipse and a tail female descendant of the Regulus mare Fribble's Dam.
This also introduced the connection to the Alexander mare ex Eclipse, Virago and also Young Giantess which descended from Giantess. The result of this was Pocahontas.

When Pocahontas was put to The Baron it produced line breeding to Orville and thereby brought in the very important presence of Termagant. This union created Stockwell and Rataplan. In turn, when these two full brothers crossed over over it created Isinglass. The genesis of Isinglass was greatly assisted by the presence in Isonomy and Dead Lock of key descendants of the broodmares previously mentioned,  plus the presence now of descendants of Camilla, Treasure, Maiden, Creeping Polly and Olympia.

Isinglass seemed to have combined all of these ancestors in a way which provided a concentrated source of transmission of the best of these ancestral elements to his offspring. The achievement of this feat was brought about by repeated instances of the fusing together of the best lines of earlier generations in the creation of the key elements of his pedigree thus projecting forward the quality inherent from the union. This subsequently made the duplication of Isinglass in pedigrees enormously successful, as can be seen in the pedigree of Blenheim (Blandford - Malva). Blandford was a great grandson of Isinglass, while Malva (Charles O'Malley - Wild Arum) was sired by the son of a daughter of Isinglass. Once again, the quality inherent in Isinglass was projected forward into the resultant foal - Blenheim.

One of the strongest lines of Isinglass passed through Goody Two Shoes down to Rough Shod (by Gold Bridge) which produced the full siblings Ridan and his brother, Lt Stevens, and their sisters, Moccassin and Thong (by Nantallah). The most important of these was Thong which produced a sextet of excellent horses from her 13 foals. These included the under rated Mr Prospector brothers, Dusty Boots and Geiger Counter - the latter currently only starting to approach his full potential in Australia - and the Round Table son, King Pellinore. Her best progeny were the full siblings by Forli. These were Thatch and his sisters, Lisadell and Special.

Of this trio, Special was the most significant, as she was the dam of the half siblings Nureyev (by Northern Dancer) and Fairy Bridge (by Bold Reason). Nureyev was an instant success at stud and continued in the same vein. Fairy Bridge was the dam of one of the world's current premier sires, Sadler's Wells (by Northern Dancer) and his full brothers, Fairy King, Tate Gallery and Pereguino and their full sister Fairy Gold.

The progressive consolidation in the genetic strength originating from Goody Two Shoes, which occurred via Rough Shod and culminating in Fairy Bridge and her sons, has created the ideal circumstances to conduct a breeding experiment. It would be of more than academic interest to find out if by placing Sadler's Wells and Fairy King in the same position in a pedigree as Stockwell and Rataplan, respectively, were in the pedigree of Isinglass,  if you could recreate Isinglass. 

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