Starchip Entrprise Sails Into New Breeding Territory

Examine the photo which accompanies this article. Look carefully at the physical quality of Starchip Entrprise, the awesome Pine Chip colt whose most recent triumph in the Valley Victory stake at Garden State Park last weekend moved him to the forefront of our 2-year-old trotting crop.

I was impressed with this colt from the very first time I saw him as a yearling last fall when he was sold by his breeder Richard Heffering as a part of a $3.75 million dispersal of elite trotting bloodstock. The colt was a $70,000 yearling, and is the fourth foal of the Speedy Crown mare Starlet Crown 3,2:00 1-5; $74,277. The purchaser was Jimmy Doherty on behalf of his successful partnership with Helen and Frank Rubinetti. Doherty, one of our most accomplished horsemen, has again worked his magic on Starchip Entrprise, developing him into a legitimate star.

Starchip Entrprise has been a work in progress all summer, since his early lessons at The Meadowlands this spring. He won early in 1:56 4-5, then had a couple of starts when he made miscues that Doherty attributed to inexperience. Doherty did not panic with his colt, racing him carefully and in spots where he thought he could succeed. He was second in the Peter Haughton final to Enjoy Lavec, part of an impressive three-horse sweep of that important stake for Pine Chip.

The fact that Starchip Entrprise won the Valley Victory last weekend is not so important as was the manner of victory. This was an awesome performance that many observers simply shook their head about. The colt was simply incredible. He won in 1:56 under absolutely no urging, trotting his final quarter in an eased-up :27 4-5 seconds. This is the second fastest trotting mile of this season by a colt here in North America (Self Possessed won in 1:55 4-5 at Du Quoin this past summer)and one of the most impressive miles I have seen in a long time by a freshman trotter. The effort equals Lindy Lane's stakes record. It would appear that Starchip Entrprise will trot very near an even 1:55 at first asking.

A VERY CONTEMPORARY PEDIGREE

Starchip Entrprise is the fourth foal of his Speedy Crown dam, Starlet Crown. Her first two foals were Super Bowl fillies, one of which was exported. Her next foal was a promising Valley Victory colt who died in the spring of his two-year-old year. Starlet Crown is herself a sister to the accomplished racehorse and producer Crown Starlet 3, 1:57 1-5, a winner of more than $625,000, and dam of the good fillies My Starlet 4, 1:56 3-5; $340,258 and Lady Starlet 2, 1:59 2-5; $251,112. My Starlet in turn is the dam of the 1997 Breeders Crown winner My Dolly.

This writer is very familiar with this pedigree, because like me it has its roots in the Midwest. One of the top trotters of the early 1960's in Chicago was the splendid Rodney mare Carolina Rodney 2:01 1-5, a winner of nearly $120,000 on the tough Chicago circuit. Bred to Star's Pride, Carolina Rodney produced the good trotters Native Starlight T1:56 4-5, a stakes winner of more than $250,000; Native Starline 2:00 2-5f; a winner of more than $355,000; and Native Star 4,2:02; $113,275. She also produced a daughter, Native Starlet who earned a mark of 4,2:01 1-5, a good mare who herself earned more than $170,000.

Native Starlet was then bred to Noble Victory and that mating produced Victory Starlet 3,1:59 3-5, a $203,000 winner. And when Victory Starlet went to Speedy Crown, she produced the aforementioned Crown Starlet and now Starlet Crown. Thus, Starchip Entrprise carries a very strong maternal influence which features a Speedy Crown dam, a Noble Victory second dam, a Star's Pride third dam and a Rodney fourth dam. All of these stars were bred by Victor and Morris Zeinfeld and trained and driven by Jim Dennis. This is about as good a maternal link that is available to a modern trotter.

THE PLATINUM CROSS OF SPEEDY CROWN ON A NOBLE VICTORY DAM
I have pointed out in this space before the efficacy of breeding Speedy Crown mares whose own dams are by Noble Victory. This Speedy Crown x Noble Victory dam cross is at work on Muscles Yankee, Donerail and Victory Dream, three of Valley Victory's best racing sons, and here it is again in Starchip Entrprise.

Except that this time around, it does not match a Speedy Crown x Noble Victory mare with Valley Victory, but with Pine Chip, a horse who traces in his male line to Speedy Scot, just like his Speedy Crown dam. The really interesting thing, of course, is that Pine Chip's dam is by Speedy Somolli, providing yet another link to the Speedy Scot male line. This is a totally unique and very contemporary mating in that the relationship to Speedy Scot is in the fourth generation of the sire; the 5th generation of the dam of the sire; and in the third generation of the dam of Starchip Entrprise,and thus expressed as 4 x 5 x 3 to Speedy Scot.

This type of intense linebreeding is very new to the trotting horse, although we have been breeding any number of successful pacers over the past few seasons using this kind of breeding cross to different branches of the Meadow Skipper siring family.

What is also interesting is that there are a number of crosses to Star's Pride at work here as well. Starlet Crown is inbred to Star's Pride in that her dam, Victory Starlet is by Noble Victory, who has a Star's Pride dam, and her own mother is by Star's Pride. Pine Chip is by Arndon, whose dam is by Super Bowl, a son of Star's Pride, and Speedy Somolli, the sire of Pine Chip's dam, is from a mare by Star's Pride as well. Needless to say, this intense linebreeding to both Speedy Scot and Star's Pride has produced a pretty memorable colt.

Starlet Crown, the dam of Starchip Entrprise, is now the property of Armstrong Brothers, who foaled a full sister to Starchip Entrprise this past spring in Ontario. The mare is now in foal to Malabar Man. Armstrong's purchased Starlet Crown from the Heffering dispersal last fall for only $55,000, but we must remember that at that time even though Starchip Entrprise had sold for $70,000 as a yearling, his dam was then 0-for-3 as a producer.

When this kind of pedigree matching produces a colt of such superior physical quality and talent, we have to take note. Starchip Entrprise looked like a man among boys the other night, and he is clearly poised to produce a record mile in the Breeders Crown if the need should arise. I like Angus Hall,Self Possessed and CR Commando a lot. They are very good colts, but they looked hopelessly overmatched against Starchip Entrprise in the Valley Victory. This is clearly a new kind of contemporary trotter that is very exciting.