Nearly Carries Century-Long Legacy of La Troienne

The offspring of Not This Time have been featured in this column with some frequency. That's simply because he's proving to be a remarkable conduit for class, something underlined again Jan. 31 with two first-time graded stakes wins by his progeny. On Time Girl took the Forward Gal Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park and then two races later Nearly captured the Holy Bull Stakes (G3). Nearly—who if all goes to plan will aim to make his only other start before the first Saturday in May in the Florida Derby (G1)—cruised to a 5 3/4-length victory in the Holy Bull, meaning that he's won the last three of his four lifetime starts by a total of 20 lengths. Today, though, rather than focus on Not This Time, we're going to look at the intriguing patterns built up in the female line of Nearly. Like many a Thoroughbred success story, we can start with La Troienne. Bred by Marcel Boussac, La Troienne failed to win in seven starts and was consigned to the Tattersalls December Sales at Newmarket in 1930, bred to Gainsborough for her first foal. There she was sold for 1,250 guineas to Colonel E. R. Bradley and shipped to his Idle Hour Farm. The foal she was carrying at the time had to be euthanized, however, but La Troienne went on to produce five stakes winners, including champions Black Helen and Bimelech (winner of the 1940 Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes). Through her daughters, she founded a family so powerful that she stands as the most important mare imported to North America in the 20th century. Nearly goes back to La Troienne, through his sixth dam, Boda. She was by 1937 Triple Crown winner War Admiral, who sired several important runners and producers from the La Troienne family, including champion 3-year-old Filly Bridal Flower, who in turn was out of La Troienne's daughter, the Selima Stakes victress Big Hurry. Despite this illustrious background, the King Ranch-bred Boda failed to win in 11 starts, and none of her offspring proved capable of winning a stakes event. Judged by the elevated standards associated with the La Troienne family, Boda also represents what has been one of the less powerful branches. She is the ancestress of 46 stakes winners, 15 graded, but just one grade 1-scorer in Secretariat's daughter Super Staff, who is heroine of the 1992 Yellow Ribbon Invitational Stakes (G1). The most notable branch of Boda's family comes down through Nearly's fourth dam, Cherokee Frolic. This durable and classy mare won 16 of 45 starts, 10 of them in black-type events, including the 1981 Test Stakes (G2) and Railbird Stakes (G3). Cherokee Frolic is the only graded stakes winner sired by the minor stakes winner Cherokee Fellow, and it's probably no coincidence that Cherokee Fellow introduced another cross of La Troienne. Cherokee Fellow's La Troienne cross is through his broodmare sire, Francis S., who is out of Blue Eyed Momo, who in turn is by War Admiral out of La Troienne's daughter Big Event, making him closely related to Boda. What's more, Francis S. is by Royal Charger, while Cherokee Frolic's dam, Fauchon, is by Final Ruling and a son of Nasrullah—a three-quarters brother to Royal Charger. Consequently, Francis S. and Fauchon have a very similar background. Cherokee Frolic produced a pair of graded stakes winners, one of which is Nearly's third dam, Lindsay Frolic, and the other, Fabulous Frolic, successful in the 1994 Tropical Park Derby (G3). In addition to those descending through Lindsay Frolic, Cherokee Frolic is the ancestress of at least 16 other stakes winners, including Canadian champion Hunters Bay, and graded scorers Smok'n Frolic, Frolic's Dream, and Mokat. Lindsay Frolic, by Mt. Livermore, won 11 times from 4 1/2 to 9 furlongs, with seven of those victories in black-type events, the most notable of which was the 1996 Sabin Handicap (G3). Like her dam, Lindsay Frolic produced a pair of stakes winners: Super Frolic, whose most notable success came in the 2005 Hawthorne Gold Cup (G2), and Nearly's second dam, Stormy Frolic. A four-time black-type winner, Stormy Frolic was by Summer Squall, a mating that gives a trio of Nasrullah/Menow crosses coming through Summer Squall's dam, Weekend Surprise; through Red God, the grandsire of Mt. Livermore; and, through Funny Fellow, grandsire of Cherokee Frolic. Stormy Frolic's best runner is Frolic's Revenge (by Vindication), who captured five black-type events, and produced the speedy Drew's Gold (Violence), recent winner of the Jan. 23 Al Shindagha Sprint (G3) at Meydan Race Course and in the United States won the Gold Fever Stakes and Jimmy Winkfield Stakes and was second in the Woody Stephens Stakes (G1). Ib Prospecting, the dam of Nearly, is by a Seattle Slew line sire like Frolic's Revenge but crucially from the A.P. Indy branch, as she is by Mineshaft. This means the pedigree of Ib Prospecting shows a 3x3 inbreeding of Weekend Surprise, dam of A.P. Indy and Summer Squall. Notably in this context, Weekend Surprise's dam Lassie Dear is by Buckpasser, whose own dam is the outstanding racemare Busanda and yet another War Admiral/La Troienne family product. Incidentally, Seattle Slew has War Admiral/La Troienne sisters Striking and Busher 3x3 in his dam, My Charmer. This rather intriguing pedigree didn't reap its reward on the track for Ib Prospecting, who had only two victories from nine starts that were in a $20,000 maiden claiming event at Santa Anita Park, which she took by 4 1/2 lengths, and a $25,000 claiming event for non-winners of two races at the same track, both over 6 furlongs. While that clever mating didn't really pay off, the clever one that produced Nearly did. Not This Time is a grandson of Storm Cat, who is bred on the same Storm Bird/Secretariat cross as Summer Squall, giving Nearly the three-quarters relatives 3x3 in his pedigree. Of course, Not This Time, is not without some interesting inbreeding of his own in his female line as his granddam is inbred 2x3 to Ta Wee—twice champion sprinter; half sister to the legendary Dr. Fager; and a daughter of the great mare Aspidistra. And, just by "coincidence," Aspidistra is by Better Self, by La Troienne's son, Bimelech, and out of a War Admiral mare (Bee Mac). This continued accumulation of La Troienne through related strains might seem long ago and far away, but in this case, it has relevance. La Troienne stems from the N2a mitochondrial haplotype. Mitochondria, which exist outside the nucleus of the cell and travel only in the direct maternal line, are essential to the process of aerobic energy, but for optimum function, they require the right nuclear DNA. One way to increase that probability is to cross the family with stallions that carry well-performing members of the mare's mtDNA line (as with the buildup of La Troienne we see here). This is not just an academic theory in the case of Nearly. Not only does Not This Time also stem from the N2a mtDNA line, but out of mares from the same haplotype, he's been represented by grade 1 winner Cy Fair, millionaire Next, graded stakes winner Abientot, and Woodbine Oaks scorer No Time, and from the same La Troienne branch as Nearly, graded stakes winner Midnight Stroll and Six Speed, who won the UAE Two Thousand Guineas (G3) Jan. 23.