KING CONCH HAS MADE A DRAMATIC COMEBACK

It is not very often that we witness the resurgence of a stud career once thought headed toward oblivion. It is even less often that we witness the re-birth of a stallion’s life in a single, dramatic, turn-around season.

One of the most interesting stories of the 1998 racing season in North America is the resurgent stud career of King Conch, the 9-year-old son of Speedy Crown standing at the Armstrong Brothers in Ontario. Through the first two seasons that his offspring raced, King Conch was nowhere on the radar screen. His first crop of two-year-olds, racing in 1996, did not offer much promise. His biggest money-winning two-year-old in 1996 took home just $57,000, and when, in 1997, he showed some limited promise, producing a couple of $100,000 winners, there were critics who continued to dismiss his ability to sire champions with any consistency. Although a very young horse, his stud fee fell from it’s initial level of $5,000 to $3,500, and his book dwindled. In the 1998 breeding season, he bred fewer than 25 mares.

A NEW SEASON OF PROMISE FOR KING CONCH IN 1998
But a funny thing happened to King Conch on his way to the trash heap of young, failed stallions. He refused to go quietly His get began winning. In 1997, his son Carscot Harmony won in 1:57 4-5, and earned $191,657. His daughter, Warrawee Kes, took home $117,865 in Ontario Sires Stakes dollars. Another son, King Kruzer, won at two in 2:00f, earning just at $100,000 before being exported. Another filly, Armbro Roseanne, banked $90,800 and the ill-fated Majestic Prince trotted in 1:59f at two.

Many observers were still unimpressed with King Conch's abilities. Trust us, they said, King Conch is a dead issue. His 1997 yearlings averaged less than $10,000. Just two years before, in 1995, his yearlings had sold for an average of nearly $23,000. In 1998, however, his yearling average at the Canadian Classic Sale in Toronto, where the best King Conch offspring would be sold, rebounded to more than $20,000. On the track, King Conch has had an exceptional year.

AMONG THE TOP TEN SIRES IN ALL THE TOP CATEGORIES

King Conch ranks among the top ten sires in North America in money won by his two-year-olds, and ranks among the top six sires in money winnings by his three-year-olds, behind only Valley Victory, Balanced Image, Sierra Kosmos, Speedy Crown and Garland Lobell. He is also in the top ten among sires of trotters of all ages, currently ranking seventh in that important category, though he has but three crops of racing age.

Warrawee Kes, one of his 1997 stars, returned to shine in the Ontario stakes this season, as did Armbro Roseanne. He also added some major two-year-old winners. His stars this season include the two-year-old filly CL Brightness 2,2:00 2-5s; $192,430, a multiple Ontario Sires and Trillium stakes winner. Among the three-year-olds, his King Of Trot was the dominant Ontario Sires Stakes colt in his division, capturing more than $250,000, adding to the $42,000 he earned at two. He also beat several Grand Circuit colts at Woodbine last summer. King Conch's aged stars were led by Corn Cob Conch, who won $115,479 this season.

KING CONCH'S SIRE STAKES NUMBERS ARE VERY HIGH

In the all-important Ontario Sires Stakes action, King Conch had a terrific season, as his get trailed only that of the legendary Balanced Image. King Conch’s Ontario Sires Stakes offspring won more than $1.1 million in 1998, and this from only 40 starters, 17 of whom were winners. To give us an idea as to how well King Conch performed, the leading money-winning pacing sire in the Ontario Sires program was Run The Table, and his 104 offspring won $1.3 million. King Conch, indeed, had a very good year. He was the third most productive stallion in the Ontario program.

SPEEDY CROWN DOES NOT HAVE A LOT OF SUCCESS AS A SIRE OF SIRES

Speedy Crown, the sire of King Conch, has had his problems in leaving a son here in North America, a well documented fact. Speedy Crown, like many of our memorable sires, has had a difficult time leaving a son to perpetuate his own remarkable record as a sire. I think that many of the problems that King Conch faced were based on a presumption of failure that has plagued some of Speedy Crown’s earlier siring offspring, most notably Prakas and Jazz Cosmos. Even though Speedy Crown sired Speedy Somolli in the male line that eventually led to Valley Victory, there are those who believed that Speedy Crown’s sons were not going to succeed in any similar, meaningful way. When King Conch's first crop of two-year-olds failed to impress, he was summarily marked for failure. But now, the evidence suggests otherwise.

Speedy Crown’s son Sir Taurus, standing at Blue Chip Farms in New York, has become a recognized sire of trotting fillies, and his offspring are now well-received at all the major yearling auctions. Several Sir Taurus fillies have sold well at public auction to major breeders as potential broodmares. King Conch’s performance this year mirrors that of Sir Taurus, except that King Conch would appear to have the added dimension of siring top colts as well as fillies. A year ago at the Canadian sales, the King Conch offspring did not sell well. This year, they rebounded.

AN INTERESTING BACKGROUND AND LINEAGE

While analyzing King Conch’s renaissance, it is imperative that we take note of his racing background and pedigree. He was, himself, a very accomplished race horse. He set a world record winning the Breeders Crown at two at Pompano Park, whistling around that five-eighths oval in 1:56.2f, displacing Valley Victory as world champion.

King Conch was the top-rated three-year-old of his year and looked the part early, winning the Founders Gold Cup at Vernon Downs. However, a knee injury before the Hambletonian compromised him, and he finished second to his stablemate, Alf Palema in the 1992 Hambletonian final, after winning a heat of the great stake. King Conch took his mark of 3, 1:55 1-5 winning the Review Stake at Springfield, and earned more than $670,000.

It is interesting to find that King Conch carries the same Speedy Crown x Bonefish mare cross of the vaunted Moni Maker. Not many Bonefish mares were bred to Speedy Crown, but that is a shame. Bonefish is a son of Nevele Pride, and he was Nevele Pride’s only Hambletonian winner. Nevele Pride is a son of Star’s Pride. This cross works because it is a refinement of a very good basic cross that Speedy Crown enjoyed throughout his remarkable career. Many of Speedy Crown’s best offspring are from either Star’s Pride mares or from mares that trace to Star’s Pride in their male line.

On this list are such luminaries as Prakas (Star’s Pride dam); Kit Lobell (Hickory Pride dam); Armbro Goal (Star’s Pride dam); Embassy Lobell (Lindy’s Pride dam); Royal Prestige (Nevele Pride dam); Nealy Lobell (Star’s Pride dam) and many others. You get the idea. This is a cross that worked.

King Conch is yet another feather in the cap for a Bonefish dam, as are Moni Maker, Valley Victory, Supergill, Me Maggie, and a host of other top trotters.

King Conch’s success has led to a recent syndication of the horse by the Armstrong Brothers, where he has stood during the past six seasons. This syndication was prompted by a $1 million offer for the horse from Italian interests. Armstrong Brothers had stood King Conch on a lease, but had no equity in the young stallion, since he was still owned by the same interests which raced him. The Armstrong lease, however, provided a clause that gave them first option to match any offer for King Conch. When the offer surfaced this past summer, Armstrong Brothers exercised their right to match the offer, purchased a sizable equity in the horse, and are now in the process of syndicating him among Canada’s leading breeders with a few prominent American breeders along for the ride as well.

AN HISTORIC FEMALE PRESENCE

There is more, for sure, to the King Conch story than just King Conch, of course. The exploits of his half-brother Viking Kronos, 3,1:56f, have done much to draw attention to the pair and to their dam, Conch 2,1:57 4-5; $485,889. Viking Kronos needs no introduction to anyone who has paid attention to trotting news in the past two years. His undefeated two-year-old campaign, conducted entirely in Europe, promised a brilliant career that was cut short this year by injury, but not before the son of American Winner drew raves from anyone who saw him perform. Added to this surge of interest was the fact that King Conch’s exported son, King Kruzer, performed well in Europe this season, bringing further attention to his sire
.

Conch, the dam of King Conch, was herself a very good filly. Bred by Castleton Farm, she won at several important stops on the Grand Circuit at both two and three. Her major career triumph was the 1985 Hambletonian Oaks for Hakan Wallner. Conch, now owned by Canadian trotting enthusiast Al Libfeld, has had five foals, including King Conch and Viking Kronos. She also has a current two-year-old filly by Pine Chip and older colts sired by Prakas and Sugarcane Hanover.

Conch’s pedigree has always intrigued me, because there is very little close-up quality in her immediate lineage. Her own, dam, Viking’s Venus is by the Hambletonian winner AC’s Viking, a Hoot Mon horse who, like many sons of Hoot Mon, could not sire anything of real quality. Viking’s Venus also produced the good filly Demilo 2,2:00 3-5; $83,238 and eight winners from 15 foals, but nothing of note other than Conch. The next dam is the nondescript Star’s Pride mare Carmita Hanover, while the fourth dam is the Guy Abbey matron, Cathey, a foal of 1939. Cathey’s dam, however, and possibly the key to unlock the key to Conch’s quality, is the well-known producer Kashmir, the Belwin mare responsible for the families that led to such noted trotters as Firm Tribute, Speed In Action, Imperfection, Rosemary, Royal Prestige, Almost An Angel, Tamerlane, Wordly Woman, Power Seat, Nearly Perfect, Take Chances, Self Possessed, and the European star Meadow Prophet.

Conch’s third dam, Cathey, is a three-quarter sister to the noted Kashmary. This is the Maggie H. maternal family, one of trotting’s best outposts, although the branch leading to King Conch and Viking Kronos is a pretty flimsy limb on the family tree. Kashmir’s most noted daughter was Kashmary, a daughter of world champion Mr. McElwyn. And it is Kashmary who is responsible for nearly all of the aforementioned production in this family through her daughters Miss Electra and the well-known Kashaplenty. In addition, a full sister to Kashmir is the fifth dam of Running Sea in yet another emerging branch of this same family.

A FEW COMMON LINKS IN THE PEDIGREE OF BOTH COLTS

Given the fact that King Conch and Viking Kronos are half-brothers, what are the common links in their pedigrees? Well, there aren’t many. King Conch is by Speedy Crown, a Speedster line stallion, and Viking Kronos is a grandson of Star’s Pride through his son American Winner. King Conch is linebred 3 x 4 to Speedster, since his sire is a grandson of Speedster, and his dam, Conch, is by Bonefish, a horse with a Speedster dam. American Winner brings a strong dose of Star’s Pride and more Speedster blood to the mating with Conch. The common cross to Star’s Pride comes from the fact that American Winner is a son of Super Bowl and grandson of Star’s Pride, and Conch is by Bonefish, another grandson of Star’s Pride. The common cross to Speedster in Viking Kronos’ pedigree is on his maternal side rather than the sires, as with King Conch.

American Winner’s dam, BJ’s Pleasure, is by Speedy Somolli, a son of Speedy Crown, and his second dam, Matina Hanover, famous as the dam of Mack Lobell, is by Speedy Count, another son of Speedster. But there the similarities end. We have to end up giving Conch a lot of credit for this pairing, as both Viking Kronos and King Conch were outstanding two-year-olds.

We should also be reminded, again, the next time that we are too harsh in an early judgment of a stallion’s future, that we should wait a while before making that critical appraisal. In the case of King Conch, he is now a big hit, and is assured a major opportunity over the next decade in the ever-growing Ontario market. Time will tell us if Viking Kronos can deliver his own brand of exciting promise on the racetrack in the breeding shed.