|
|
PEDIGREE HANDICAPPING SEPTEMBER 9, 2007 Tribal Rule - A Grade 1 winner and three more stakes in a week by Tim Holland When Georgie Boy won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) on Wednesday, some pedigree handicappers previously unfamiliar with the stallion TRIBAL RULE (Storm Cat) may have noticed that this was not only the first graded win for that sire, but also that this was the stallion's fourth stakes winner within the past week. Indeed, Georgie Boy completed the quadruple started by Rush with Thunder in last Friday's El Cajon S. and continued by Rockella in the Palo Alto S. at Bay Meadows and Rule by Force at Yavapai Downs on Monday. Tribal Rule was trained throughout his racing career by Julio Canani, and a look at his past performances suggests that he was fast and talented. In all four of his lifetime starts, the colt was made the odds-on favorite. He obliged twice and finished second on the other two occasions and earned BRIS Speed ratings in excess of 100 three times. However, the gaps between Tribal Rule's running lines also indicate that he faced some soundness issues. Indeed, his worktab shows him breezing in the summer as a three-year-old, but it was not until early November the following year that he made his debut at Santa Anita. Having posted a bullet work a week earlier, the four-year-old showed promise while finding one better. This effort was followed by another lengthy layoff, as he did not reappear until the next summer at Del Mar, when he did not disappoint by breaking his maiden by eight lengths. This victory was followed three weeks later by an equally easy allowance win before more problems kept the colt away from the races until the following July at Hollywood Park, where he would finish second in his final start. Being by Storm Cat, who is the sire of successful stallions such as Giant's Causeway, Forestry, Tale of the Cat and Hennessy, and as a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Key Phrase (who is also the dam of stakes winner and promising first-year sire Yankee Gentleman), Tribal Rule owns the credentials on pedigree alone to stand at stud, and his first year standing at River Edge Farm in California for a fee of $5,000 produced 49 named foals. Two of these, Half Famous in North America and Mexican Loop in Mexico, became stakes winners as two-year-olds and helped the sire end the year as the leading freshman sire standing in California and to a respectable 18th place nationwide. While last year was promising for Tribal Rule, this summer is proving that this is a sire for handicappers and breeders to pay close attention to, in big part since they seem to perform well over a variety of surfaces. Indeed, Rush with Thunder had broken his maiden last year on the dirt at Golden Gate and won his second race when switched to the turf. However, the gelding has really come into form over Del Mar's new Polytrack, winning all four of his starts over that surface including a win in a $62,500 claimer in which he returned more than $52 prior to his win in the aforementioned stakes. Georgie Boy is another son of Tribal Rule that has shown his best form so far on Polytrack. After two decent in-the-money finishes over the Cushion Track at Hollywood Park, the dark bay gelding broke his maiden in the Graduation S. restricted to California-bred runners at Del Mar. This was followed by a good second to Salute the Sarge (Forest Wildcat) in the Best Pal S. (G2) before he turned the tables on that rival in the Futurity with a good closing effort from off the pace. With earnings of $286,806, Georgie Boy is Tribal Rule's leading earner and has helped the sire's Polytrack record to an impressive record of 8 wins, 4 seconds and 2 thirds from 22 starts -- a 36-percent win rate. The offspring of Tribal Rule have been less successful so far over the Hollywood Park Cushion Track with two wins from 29 starts. However, it should be noted that a son, Suit Yourself, handled the surface well in an impressive maiden win and that eight of the sire's progeny have recorded second-place finishes over the new artificial track. Rockella, who had won her first race on the turf at odds of nearly 5-1 (a move at which Tribal Rule's offspring have won at a rate of 36 percent), showed a powerful late kick to provide Tribal Rule with his first stakes win on the turf in the Palo Alto at more than 9-1. Similar to Rush with Thunder, Rockella is a runner that has proven herself over different surfaces through owning three previous traditional dirt wins as well as a second-place finish over the Cushion Track. The majority of Tribal Rule's runners have shown tactical speed and many also have the ability to win over a route distance but two, Indian Ashton and Rule by Force, appear destined to be sprinters. The former broke his maiden last year as a juvenile in his debut at Del Mar. Trained by Wesley Ward, Indian Ashton spent this spring and the early summer in Florida where he made two unsuccessful sprint attempts at Calder. On both occasions the bay was faced with off tracks and each time he encountered trouble at the break. Returned to California and switched to grass sprints, Indian Ashton's form has improved with two wins and a second-place finish in three starts. Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, Rule by Force was one of Tribal Rule's four recent stakes winners when he won the Yavapai Downs Futurity after rating just off the early pace and getting up to score by a head. Along with tactical speed Tribal Rule's representatives are somewhat precocious, accounting for him not only being the leading Californian freshman sire of last year but also his standing as the 11th leading sire of two-year-olds nationwide this year. This achievement becomes more notable when one considers that he has had far fewer runners than any of the stallions above him on the table, and also that he commanded a lower stud fee than any of those rivals. It should also be recognized that while they are generally ready to race early in their careers, many of his offspring benefit from racing experience. Indeed just four of his 45 first-timers returned winners (9 percent) while six of his 35 runners (17 percent) second time out (not including those four that did win their debuts) were victorious.
 Send this article to a friend
|
|
