Since American breeders turned away from foreign-raced turf sires in the early 1990s after the contraction of the industry caused by the recession of the late 1980s, it has become routine to refer to some pedigrees as “dirt pedigrees” and others as “turf pedigrees.” As a veteran of the era when those same European turf stars routinely sired American dirt champions, I have never been very comfortable with such blithe dichotomies, and there could hardly be a better illustration of the reason why than the results of the two biggest races of the weekend. The pedigrees of the winners of the Grade 1 Florida Derby (Audible) and the Group 1 Dubai World Cup (Thunder Snow), both run over a dirt surface, could hardly be more different in terms of the surface preferences of their immediate antecedents, yet each produced top-class performers on dirt. Neither Into Mischief nor Blue Devil Bel, the sire and dam of Florida Derby winner Audible, ever raced on anything other than dirt. Only one of Audible’s four grandparents - Into Mischief’s dam, Leslie’s Lady - ever raced on turf, and she was winless in five tries over the surface despite winning 5 of 23 starts on dirt. In fact, one must reach back to the fifth generation of Audible’s pedigree to find the first two grass horses, the great sire Halo, who also won stakes on dirt, and Northern Dancer’s son One for All. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales Conversely, none of the six ancestors in the first two generations of Thunder Snow’s pedigree ever raced on dirt, and only three of the eight in the third generation tried dirt, and one of them, 1997 Dubai World Cup winner Singspiel, was primarily a turf horse. Inevitably, though, the fourth and fifth generations of Thunder Snow’s pedigree are almost all American dirt horses, or American-bred horses that raced in Europe. All of this is not to argue that the dirt/turf distinction has no validity. It can be a useful initial guide. But anyone who has been around Thoroughbred racing long enough knows that there are no hard and fast rules about anything to do with racehorses. Each is an individual and must be treated as such, and both Thunder Snow and Audible have proven themselves top-class dirt horses. Thunder Snow’s sire, Helmet, was bred in Australia by Sheikh Mohammed’s Darley and was outstanding there as a 2-year-old and early 3-year-old, winning the Group 1 Sire’s Produce Stakes at 2 and the Group 1 Caulfield Guineas at 3. A trip to Dubai for the UAE Derby on the Tapeta surface then in use was ill-advised, however, and he finished 12th. And like everyone else, he had no chance at all in his final start, the Queen Anne Stakes, against the all-conquering Frankel, who won by 11 lengths with Helmet trailing home seventh. :: Get breeding & sales news, Beyer info, and more delivered right to your email! The obvious objective of both ambitious ventures was to make Helmet, who is by one of Danehill’s successful Australian sons Exceed And Excel, an attractive proposition for European breeders, but the racetrack results were not good enough. Italian Guineas winner Anda Muchacha is his only other European group winner, and he has done no better shuttling to Australia. Thunder Snow’s dam, Eastern Joy, by American-bred European turf miler Dubai Destination, is also the dam of Group 2 winner Ihtimal, by Shamardal; Group 3 winner First Victory, by Teofilo; and stakes winners Winter Lightning, by Shamardal, and Always Smile, by Cape Cross, and traces to the American foundation mare Queen Nasra, by Nasrullah, his sixth dam. Audible is the third Grade 1 winner, all on dirt, sired by Into Mischief, who has made a sensational start at stud despite relatively small early crops. Into Mischief has, however, sired Canadian champion grass horse Conquest Enforcer, who also won the Grade 2 Mathis Mile over Santa Anita’s turf course, among his 34 black-type winners from 471 foals age 3 and up. Audible is the only black-type horse among the first four foals of Blue Devil Bel, by Gilded Time, who won 7 of 20 races, mostly in claiming company. Blue Devil Bel is half-sister to stakes winner Akilina, by Langfuhr, the dam of stakes winners Governor Malibu, by Malibu Moon, and Rieno Tesoro, by Speightstown. Her female line has been solidly American and dirt-oriented since her 14th dam, Fairy Gold, the dam of Man o’ War’s sire Fair Play, was imported in 1903 by August Belmont II.