Harness: Ever-expanding Western Ideal siring tree is branching out

The great Western Ideal is in the process of establishing a very noticeable siring tree that should well extend through the next decade.

Certainly the best siring son of Western Hanover, Western Ideal achieved a degree of notoriety by producing not one but two “superstar sons” in his initial crop, they being Rocknroll Hanover and American Ideal. Not only were they racetrack rivals but each became a significant if not “great” stallion, which might have been the first time a single stallion produced two great siring sons in the same crop.

Generally speaking, it’s rare when two “super sires” come along in the same crop and on the pacing side, one would have to go back to the group from 1979 (3-year-olds in 1982) to find stallions of equal magnitude, they being Cam Fella and No Nukes, in whatever order you choose to put them. As it is, both are sufficiently far enough back on the pedigree tree so their descendants can be safely crossed. There are innumerable examples of Cam line stallions being bred with Nukes line mares and vice versa.

While Western Hanover was initially somewhat of a surprise in terms of his overall stallion magnitude, his great son Western Ideal was anything but a shock. By the time he reached stud, it was obvious that Western Hanover sons could be producers. Western Ideal’s pedigree was impeccable being from the great Abercrombie mare Leah Almahurst, she from the brilliant K Nora family.

Western Ideal was not instantly brilliant at age 2, with three wins in nine outings and earnings of $57,452, though there were reports of his training a mile in 1:52 at Lexington the week prior to the incident where he sliced a tendon while leading in either the International Stallion or Bluegrass stake.

He spent virtually all his 3-year-old season undergoing stall rest at Brittany Farms and at age 4 was turned over to Blair Burgess, who painstakingly brought him along culminating in a Breeders Crown appearance late in the year.

At 5, he was turned over to Brett Pelling and we know the rest as he won 10 of 14 starts and was named the Dan Patch Aged Pacer of the Year in 2000.

While first-crop son Rocknroll Hanover was named Horse of the Year in 2005, there were those convinced his rival and paternal half-brother American Ideal was every bit as good. Basically that’s been borne out in the stud ranks as both were instantaneous successes. Rocknroll Hanover had Horse of the Year Rock N Roll Heaven in his first crop while American Ideal countered with Heston Blue Chip and American Jewel in his second crop.

Rocknroll Hanover unfortunately expired way too early in 2013 at age 11, but thus far he has contributed stallion sons Rockin Image, Pet Rock and A Rocknroll Dance, in addition to Rock N Roll Heaven.

Of those, Rockin Image has been hugely successful in Indiana while Pet Rock is among the sire leaders in Ohio. A Rocknroll Dance has been a leading sire on the tough Pennsylvania circuit while the exported Rock N Roll Heaven’s best offerings have been in the Southern Hemisphere. Whether any of these will produce major siring sons remains to be seen but for now, they are extending the Western Ideal-Rocknroll Hanover branch.

American Ideal on the other hand has produced a noticeable siring son in Heston Blue Chip, he responsible for last year’s excellent 2-year-old filly Zero Tolerance.

Of note, Eric Cherry’s Let It Ride Stable is a part owner and he’s committed 40 well-bred broodmares to Heston Blue Chip.

Then in a few short weeks will come the debut performers by his brilliant Meadowlands Pace winning son He’s Watching from whom much is expected as the foals are normal sized and have received very favorable training reports.

Then there’s another Western Ideal stallion son in Always A Virgin, a perennial leading sire in Indiana and rival of Rockin Image for Hoosier State honors each year.

Always A Virgin has a stallion son named Always B Miki, not only the world’s fastest harness horse at 1:46, but a potential impact stallion of mammoth proportions. His first-crop yearlings will sell later this year and undoubtedly will be highly sought after, especially since the caliber of mares they’re from is exceptional.

At this point, Western Ideal is sufficiently back in the pedigree where daughters of those “grandsons” Always B Miki, He’s Watching, A Rocknroll Dance, etc. can be interbred with each other, thus creating the classic 3x4 line cross to a power source – that being Western Ideal.

Perhaps the greatest example of that 3x4 line cross to a power source was when daughters of Scotland and Volomite were interbred with each stallion, with the power source being Peter The Great via sons Peter Scott and Peter Volo.

Whether this will happen with Western Ideal is uncertain at this time, though as his male line continues to branch out, it’s eminently possible.