Pedigree Analysis by Matt O’Neil
Wildcat Heir is one of a select group of grade one-winning Storm Cat grandsons at stud in North America. Leading first crop sire Johannesburg, a son of Storm Cat stallion Hennessy, is showing that the Storm Cat sire-line is strong and will extend further.
The first few stakes winner by Johannesburg are out of Mr. Prospector-line mares, early evidence that the cross that has worked so well with Storm Cat and his sons will be carried on by the grandsons.
Although Wildcat Heir himself is bred on the Storm Cat-Mr. Prospector/Fappiano cross, it will no doubt be tempting to send him Mr. Prospector line mares. Fortunately, inbreeding to Mr. Prospector has worked especially well when the Fappiano strain is involved. The most prevalent combinations thus far with Fappiano have been Conquistador Cielo, Forty Niner, and Gone West. Stallions out of Mr. Prospector mares such as Pulpit, and particularly Silver Deputy, have also shown good results with the Fappiano influence.
Mare by the Mr. Prospector stallion Crafty Prospector, and his son Robyn Dancer, are interesting as they also bring In Reality (damsire of Crafty Prospector) into the equation. There are at least 40 stakes winners carrying a double of In Reality, including Breeders’ Cup Distaff heroine Unbridled Elaine and Classic winner Empire Maker. Eight of those stakes winners inbred to In Reality involve Crafty Prospector, five of those through Robyn Dancer.
Wildcat Heir’s damsire, Pentelicus, is bred on the wildly successful Fappiano-In Reality cross and is closely related to Unbridled and his full brother Cahill Road. They, along with the sons of Unbridled, have also produced good results with a return of In Reality.
Valid Appeal shows up in another 10 of the In Reality inbred stakes winners. This opens the door for his remaining daughters and those of his sons Successful Appeal, Valid Expectations, Valid Wager, World Appeal, Kipper Kelly and Mr. Jolie, as well as to mares by stallions out of Valid Appeal daughters such as the Forty Niner grandson Trippi and Halo’s Image.
Another target of reinforcement in Wildcat Heir’s pedigree is Lalun, dam of Never Bend (grandsire of Wildcat Heir’s second dam) and Bold Reason. A double of Lalun can be found in innumerable European stakes winners, primarily through Sadler’s Wells, who is out of a Bold Reason mare, and the carious Never Bend-line stallions that include Mill Reef, Shirley Heights, Darshaan and Distinctive. Lalun is not as prevalent in North America, but her influence is found in the stallions, El Prado, Horse Chestnut, Twining and Premiership.
The Storm Cat-Alydar cross has produced some 31 stakes winners including Grade 1 winners Storm Flag Flying, Cat Thief, Madcap Escapade and November Snow. The solid sire Menifee, the first grade one-winning grandson of Storm Cat to stud, has proven especially successful with Alydar-line mares, siring three stakes winners, including a pair out of daughters of Saratoga Six. Other prominent sources of Alydar are Alysheba, Easy Goer, Strike the Gold, Criminal Type and Turkoman. They Alydar stallion Jeblar stood for many years in Florida and his quality daughters should also be considered for Wildcat Heir.