More Than Ready (TrueNicks,SRO)
notched up a pair of weekend stakes winners
with Vote Early (TrueNicks A++)
taking the Weekend Delight Stakes at Turfway Park, and Miss Challenge (TrueNicks A+) winning the Statuette Stakes
at Belmont Park.
Both have interesting - and somewhat related - pedigrees.
Miss Challenge is out of the Polish Numbers mare Full Figure. This is the very
successful More Than Ready/Danzig cross, but particularly interesting is the
fact that Polish Numbers' dam, Numbered Account, is a sister to Playmate, the
dam of More Than Ready's broodmare sire, Woodman.
The second interesting thing about the pedigree of Miss
Challenge is that her granddam, Averell, is a stakes-placed half-sister to 2-year-old champion Lord Avie. Why is that interesting? Well, Vote Early just
happens to be out of a mare by Lord Avie. What's more, she and stakes winner
Iron Goddess are the only two foals of racing age by More Than Ready out of
Lord Avie mares!
So, what's going on here? Well, Lord Avie's dam, Avie, is by
Gallant Man (inbred 2 x 2 to the similarly-bred Mah Iran and
Mahmoud) out of a mare by a grandson of Pharamond II. Halo's dam, Cosmah, is by
a son of Pharamond II, out of a mare by Mahmoud. Add in the fact that Halo is
by as son of Turn-to and Lord Avie by a grandson of Turn-to, and we have a very
similar background at work.