Pine Chip's First Crop Led All First Crop Trotting Sires

Now that some of the excitement and interest in Moni Maker’s on-going European successes has died down, it is time to return to a review of the 1998 racing season. All of the season-ending statistics are available, and we can begin to analyze the results of what was a very productive and memorable racing season.

Perhaps the most intriguing question of the 1998 season that was on everyone’s lips and minds throughout last season, was the wide-spread success of the first crop of Pine Chip, the world’s fastest trotter. From the moment he left the racetrack at the conclusion of his 4-year-old season in 1994, there has been much speculation about what the son of Arndon might accomplish as a stallion.

PINE CHIP HAD THE LEADING MONEY-WINNING COLT TROTTER

All Pine Chip did in his first season was to sire the leading money-winning colt trotter, and place three colts among the top ten money-winning two-year-old trotters of the season, including two of the top three money-earners. He was the only North American trotting sire with a trio of sons in the top ten. His sons, the Valley Victory stake champion, Starchip Entrprise, and the Peter Haughton winner Enjoy Lavec occupied two of the top three spots, and another son, Davanti, rounded out the trio of top ten money-winners. The powerful Starchip Entrprise was the leading money-winning freshman colt, with $374,684 earned, while Enjoy Lavec was not far behind with $313,458. Davanti, whose stakes wins included the Standardbred at Delaware, a Kentucky Sire Stake at Lexington and a Valley Victory elimination, won $131,245. All three of these talented colts are from Speedy Crown mares.

It has always been speculated that Pine Chip was a horse who would benefit from both the cross of Speedy Crown and Valley Victory mares, as a large percentage of his book contained mares with that parentage. This is interesting when we consider that Pine Chip is a horse whose own lineage combines the blood of Speedster on both the top and bottom of his pedigree. His sire, Arndon, is a son of Speedy Scot, and a grandson of Speedster. His dam, Pine Speed, is by Speedy Somolli, a son of Speedy Crown, and great grandson of Speedster. This gives Pine Chip a 4 x5 generation linebred cross to Speedster, and a 3 x 4 generation linebred cross to Speedy Scot, Speedster's leading son. Mating Pine Chip with a Speedy Crown mare gives the foal a 5 x 6 x 4 generation linebred cross to Speedster, a 4 x 2 generation cross to Speedy Crown, and a 3 x 3 generation inbred cross to Speedster’s son, Speedy Scot.

PINE CHIP IS A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE MODERN-BRED TROTTER

This is one of the few times in recent history that trotters have been bred in this way, although it is very reminiscent of the inbred and linebred crosses that we see among our top pacers, which are sometimes doubly and triply inbred to the different, yet complementary branches of the Hal Dale male line. Since Hambletonian’s time, however, the breed has always been receptive to both inbreeding and linebreeding. These latest developments only serve to inform us once again of the efficacy of linebreeding, particularly when you match different branches of the same male line, as is the case here. Arndon, Pine Chip’ sire, does not have a drop of Speedy Crown blood, but is a member of the Speedster sire family, just like Speedy Crown and his son, Speedy Somolli.

PINE CHIP BRED 250 MARES IN 1998!

Pine Chip stood his first four seasons in 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1998 at a stud fee of $10,000, and the size of his book has steadily increased in each year he has been in the stud at Castleton Farm. In 1998, he was the most popular trotting stallion in North America, with his book closing out at 250 mares. This is an amazing turn of events for a horse once thought to be a poor risk in the stud due to dismal, initial fertility tests. We can remember a time when a stud deal for Pine Chip at the end of his 3-year-old season collapsed because the horse was thought to be a bad breeding risk. Pine Chip has obviously come a long way in that department, and he is currently among the busiest stallions in the history of the breed.

PINE CHIP HAS FEE EQUAL TO LEADING SIRE BALANCED IMAGE

Pine Chip’s 1999 stud fee was doubled from $10,000 to $20,000, apparently in an attempt to limit the horse’s book of mares. This increase in stud fee is rather dramatic, and somewhat unprecedented. The only other trotting stallion with that high a fee is leading sire Balanced Image, and his fee is $20,000 Canadian, or about $13,000 in US funds. This makes Pine Chip, effectively, the highest-priced trotting stallion in North America. However, several important events occurred that would seem to endorse this move.

The success of the first crop on the racetrack was very impressive. When Enjoy Lavec won the first major stake of the season with a first-over triumph in the Peter Haughton at The Meadowlands in early August, two other Pine Chip colts, Starchip Entrprise and Wired Pine, both hit the board with him in an astonishing one-two-three Pine Chip sweep. No one could remember a time when a single sire’s offspring so completely dominated a major, trotting stakes event. Later in the year, Starchip Entrprse was an impressive winner of the Valley Victory stake, with a stake-record equaling performance in 1:56. Pine Chip led all trotting sires in North America in 1998 with ten 2:00 two-year-olds.

PINE CHIP'S SALES NUMBERS ALSO HELD UP WELL

Secondly, at the annual fall sales in Lexington, Pine Chip colts and fillies were again heartily received by the marketplace, a trend that continued at the big Harrisburg auction in November. In total, there were 94 Pine Chip yearlings that sold in 1998, and they averaged more than $56,000. His colts averaged nearly $52,500 while the fillies sold for a mean of just over $61,000. These numbers were impressive, but they were still down somewhat from his initial reception at the 1997 sales, when the colts had averaged $60,000 and the fillies sold for an average of just over $73,000.

One area where there was more interest in 1998 in the Pine Chip yearlings was at the very top of the market, where the very best trotting yearlings are in high demand. In 1997, Pine Chip had ten $100,000 yearlings. This past fall he had 15 six-figure yearlings, a full 50 per cent increase. Seven of his top ten selling yearlings in 1998 were fillies, including his sales topper, Pine Nugget, a half-sister to the dam of Nan’s Catch (dam of Moni Maker) who sold for $250,000 at Tattersalls. The Pine Chip filly from world champion Winky’s Gill, and thus a half-sister to the successful young sire Supergill and the talented filly Winky’s Goal, sold for $200,000.

BREEDERS FUELED THE MARKET FOR PINE CHIP FILLIES

This impressive sales record for fillies at the 1998 auctions was somewhat surprising, since the fillies in Pine Chip’s first crop did not race with much distinction. In fact, Pine Chip did not place a single filly among the top 20 distaff money-winners. His leading money-winning filly was the stakes-placed Bit O Candy, second in the season-ending Goldsmith Maid to division leader Rum Boogie. Bit O Candy earned a mark of 2,Q2:02.2 and won $107,428. Interestingly, Pine Chip had only two fillies who won stakes. Chiptease 2,1:58 3-5, won a Robert Stewart Memorial elimination, and Spicy Secret 2,1:59.3, won a Kentucky Sire Stake. Bit O Candy and Chiptease are both from Valley Victory mares, and that is a cross that will bear watching in the years to come.

Still, the fillies were in much demand at the fall auctions. This also was a surprise, but then, when the buyers of the fillies were examined, it was discovered that most went to major breeders. Many of the Pine Chip fillies that sold this year were out of outstanding mares from some of our best families. Breeders realize the potential of these fillies as not only future racing prospects, but also as broodmares. These are wise moves for breeders, for if the Valley Victory male line continues to prosper, these Pine Chip fillies from good tribes will make ideal mates for the sons and grandsons of Valley Victory.

STARCHIP ENTRPRISE WAS PINE CHIP'S LEADING COLT

One of the Pine Chip colts that impressed everyone was Starchip Entrprise, the striking, handsome colt campaigned effectively by the veteran horseman Jim Doherty. He was most convincing when he rattled home in hand so strongly in the 1:56 Valley Victory final. In the season-ending Breeders Crown, Starchip Entrprise was hampered by a gravel injury, and did not race up to par. He cut the mile and was second to new world champion Angus Hall in that one’s 1:54 4-5 effort in the Breeders Crown elimination. In the Crown final, Starchip Entrprise was first off the gate, then surrendered the lead to CR Commando and sat a pocket through that one’s amazing 1:53 2-5 world record effort. Starchip Entrprise was the only colt that seemed ready to trot with CR Commando in the Breeders Crown final, but made a break in deep stretch when he angled out to engage the front-runner. Starchip Entrprise is a big, impressive colt with an efficient, athletic gait and looks like the type that will only improve with maturity.

Enjoy Lavec also made money in the Breeders Crown final, trotting in sub-1:55 territory, and he was carefully managed by trainer Jimmy Takter through only eight 1998 starts. Possessing a wonderfully-rich pedigree, Enjoy Lavec is from a Speedy Crown sister to Mack Lobell, and one would think he will be a factor in the 1999 chase for the Hambletonian and the other major prizes.

While Starchip Entrprise, Enjoy Lavec and Davanti are all from Speedy Crown mares, they are the only offspring of Pine Chip and a Speedy Crown mare among the horse’s best foals, and this is most intriguing. Fully one fourth of Pine Chip's initial first book were Speedy Crown mares. Bit O Candy, the Pine Chip filly who was second in the Goldsmith Maid, is from a Valley Victory mare, as is Chiptease, one of his two stakes-winning daughters. Pine Chip had five $100,000 winners in the first crop and at fifth place was Comet’s Tail 2, 2:00 4-5 ($101,240) and that good colt is a half-brother to 1998 3-year-old Kick Tail, as both are from the royally-bred Bonefish mare Victorious Tail, who was not only a top stakes filly herself, but is a full sister to the dam of Valley Victory.

Wired Pine 2, 1:57 ($67,84) is a Pine Chip colt that has an impressive maternal background, since he is a half-brother to world champion Express Ride 4,1:53; Carry The Message 2, 1:57.2 and Peter Haughton winner Harry’s Bar 2,1:58 1-5, all sons of the super-producer Flory Messenger. Third in the Peter Haughton stake after cutting the mile, Wired Pine was done racing in August, and should return a major factor in 1999. Another good Pine Chip colt was the stakes-winning Arbor 2,1:57 2-5, who won the fastest division of the Review Stake at Springfield and was also third in the Bluegrass at The Red Mile. Arbor is from the Bonefish mare Kentucky Rosebud, and is from the same immediate maternal family that produced 1998 distaff star Fern. Yet another good one was Pug A Mahone 2, 1:58 2-5, who was the fifth consecutive 2:00 trotter for his Prakas dam, Quaint Custom.

PINE CHIP'S FIRST CROP WON NEARLY $1.4 MILLION

Pine Chip had 44 starters from 90 registered foals of 1996 and they earned just short of $1.4 million. This total was good for third among all sires of two-year-old trotters, with Garland Lobell leading that important category at just over $1.53 million. Pine Chip was, of course, the leading first crop trotting sire, ahead of the $1.08 million won by the first crop of Victory Dream.

One of the characteristics that has endeared and sustained Pine Chip in the early going is that he produces a very athletic, appealing horse. Many of his offspring have his refined head and the well-developed shoulder and high wither which is his trademark. Pine Chip was one of the most athletic horses ever to race. He had a tremendously strong gait with a great deal of buoyancy, for lack of a better term. Pine Chip had a great deal of "spring" in his gait, and spent a lot of time in the air as he flew down the track. In this way, his gait, and that of his offspring, are markedly different than that of the Valley Victory offspring, who typically are low-headed, with little action.

THE FIRST CROP DOES NOT DELIVER A STALLION--OR BREAK HIM

We are always reminded that a strong first-crop showing by a stallion is not always a precursor of things to come. We must remember that Baltic Speed had both Peace Corps and Valley Victory in his first crop, and then could not produce a follow-up champion. We are also reminded that Speedy Crown’s only 2:00 performer in his first crop was a pacer! So we should resist the temptation to rush to judgment. This season should give us a much clearer picture as to Pine Chip’s real quality and abilities as a sire. We can't wait!