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PEDIGREE HANDICAPPING NOVEMBER 4, 2007 Influence of the forgotten Gulch by Tim Holland The interest of some followers of pedigrees may have been piqued upon noting that the sire of last Saturday's Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) winner, the somewhat obscure stallion Kipling who stands in the unusual location of Oklahoma, and Court Vision, who impressively won the Iroquois S. (G3) at Churchill Downs the following day, are full brothers. Indeed, they are both out of Weekend Storm (Storm Bird), an unraced full-sister to Preakness S. (G1) winner Summer Squall and half-sister to Horse of the Year and leading sire A.P. Indy. While this is one of the hottest female families in North America today, the horse industry can be fickle and it does not take long for sires to slip out of fashion when they are less successful for a year or two. Having not sired a Grade 1 winner since 2004, this seems to be the case with GULCH (Mr. Prospector), who is the sire of Kipling and Court Vision. Gulch started his racing career under the care of Leroy Jolley, best known as the conditioner of 1980 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Genuine Risk. After winning his first five starts, including the Hopeful S. (G1) and Futurity S. (G1) in New York, the bay colt met his first defeat when second to Capote in the Norfolk S. (G1) at Santa Anita. This was followed by a fifth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) run that year at the same venue as the Norfolk, after which he was shipped back east to prep for the Kentucky Derby. In his third start of the year, Gulch defeated Gone West in the Wood Memorial (G1), after which he finished a creditable sixth behind Alysheba in the Derby and followed that up with solid fourth- and third-place finishes in the second and third legs of the Triple Crown series. Curiously, and in a move unheard of 20 years later, Gulch scored a victory in the prestigious Metropolitan H. (G1) in between his Preakness S. (G1) and Belmont S. (G1) efforts. This schedule may have been a testament to Gulch's toughness, but also may have dulled him for the remainder of the season when, although he recorded good seconds in the Whitney H. (G1) and Woodward S. (G1), he was unable to win in his six final starts of the year which culminated in the worst performance of his career, a ninth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1). Having made 14 starts as a three-year-old, Gulch deserved a break, and D. Wayne Lukas was listed as his new trainer when he won an allowance at Santa Anita on his reappearance the following March. The four-year-old followed this victory with a win in the Potrero Grande H. (G3) over the previous year's Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) heroine Very Subtle, before being stretched out in distance to nine furlongs in the Oaklawn H. (G1). Gulch's stamina had seen to be suspect on several occasions the previous year, and his fading third-place finish at Oaklawn Park was further indication that Gulch was more talented as a sprint or mile runner -- a view that was backed up in his next two starts which resulted in victories in the seven-furlong Carter H. (G1) and a repeat win in the one-turn, one-mile Metropolitan. After his Met Mile score, Gulch was given a few more route tries which produced some good efforts, including a runner-up finish to the champion filly Personal Ensign in the Whitney and a third to Alysheba and Bet Twice, his Triple Crown rivals from the previous year, in the Philip H. Iselin H. (G1). This final defeat was Gulch's final attempt at a route, for in his penultimate lifetime start, he ran second in the seven furlong Vosburgh S. (G1) which served as a prep for what would be the colt's finest moment, a victory in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Churchill Downs. Closing from off the pace, Gulch's Sprint victory was achieved over a strong field that included Grade 1 winners Afleet, Very Subtle, Precisionist and Mining, and ensured him the title of champion sprinter. Gulch's race record was remarkable. He was clearly best as a miler/sprinter, and six of his seven Grade 1 wins were recorded in races up to a mile and around one turn. Grade 1 sprints are probably the most competitive of any races at the top level and, consequently, the hardest to win, and to put Gulch's achievement in perspective it should be noted that not one of the 18 horses that have been crowned champion sprinter since have come even close to recording six Grade 1 victories. Indeed, the nearest were four champions (Housebuster, Rubiano, Artax and Aldebaran) who recorded just three lifetime Grade 1 wins each -- a number Gulch bettered in his championship year alone. Retired to stud in 1989, Gulch was quickly successful, siring two Grade 1 winners, Great Navigator (Hopeful) and Wallenda (Super Derby), from his first group of foals. Two crops later came his best known runner, the Kentucky Derby winner, champion and leading sire Thunder Gulch as well as Harayir, winner of the English One Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1), and Prix Jean Prat (Fr-G1) winner Torrential. Gulch's highest earning representative, Eagle Café, who won the Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-G1) and the NHK Mile Cup (Jpn-G1) was born in 1997. Nayef, who was the champion three-year-old in England mainly due to his easy Champion S. (Eng-G1) victory, was foaled the following year. The Cliff's Edge became Gulch's most recent Grade 1 winner when he won the Blue Grass S. at Keeneland, which helped his sire to a respectable 25th place in the Leading Sires by Earnings list at the end of 2004. While the last two years may have seemed disappointing for Gulch at first glance, it should be noted that he finished both years in the Top 100 sires in the nation and was represented by seven stakes winners in each year. Gulch's influence as a sire of sires has so far been seen greatest through Thunder Gulch, who is responsible for Grade 1 winners such as Point Given, Spain, Balance, Tweedside and Circular Quay. More recently, Nayef's first runners appeared on the track this year in Europe and he is already responsible for nine individual winners. His starters included the first two finishers in Doncaster's May Hill S. (Eng-G2) and as a late developer himself and with a classic pedigree, there is every reason to expect his offspring to improve as three- or four-year-olds. In time it may be through his daughters that the influence of Gulch is most prevalent. Indeed, as a broodmare sire Gulch is already credited with 41 stakes winners, and he is currently in 22nd place on the Leading Broodmare Sire list by earnings. His chief earner this year is Lawman, who won the Prix Du Jockey Club (Fr-G1), and previous major runners out of mares by Gulch include Melbourne Cup (Aus-G1) victor Media Puzzle; Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-G1) and Eclipse S. (Eng-G1) winner Refuse to Bend (Ire) and Siren Lure, who won the Triple Bend Invitational H. (G1). So far in 2007, as a sire, Gulch's progeny have won 10 stakes and earned nearly $3.5 million, which puts him in 53rd place in the Leading Sires by Earnings list -- not bad for a stallion that has not had a "big" horse this year -- but maybe Court Vision can change that when he bids for the Kentucky Jockey Club S. (G2) on November 24.
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