Super Bowl--One Of Our Siring Giants Now Retired

The North American foaling season is drawing to a close. This spring marks the 25th and final year in which offspring of Super Bowl will be born, the last for the only living winner of trotting's Triple Crown. There is an element of sadness and celebration to the denouement of Super Bowl's reign on the world trotting throne, for he is truly one of the most historically signficant race horses and sires of all time.

Super Bowl was a foal of 1969, and was bred and sold at auction by Stoner Creek Stud. He was purchased, trained and raced by Hall of Famer Stanley Dancer. At two and three, Super Bowl became one of the most celebrated race horses ever, winning 38 races and more than $600,000. At two, when he won in 1:59.4, a mark that seems modest by today's standards, he was actually the third fastest 2-year-old trotter of all time (only Nevele Pride and Noble Gesture were quicker.) Truth be told, he he was not as dominant at two as he was at three, a trait repeated in many of his most successful offspring. At three, Super Bowl had a period where he was invincible, winning 18 races in a row in a season which saw him win 23 times in 28 starts. Although he won the Triple Crown, he was not Horse of the Year. His stablemate, Albatross, was judged the best of Dancer's two remarkable racing champions.

Super Bowl trotted in 1:56.2 winning the Hambletonian, a performance that was a world record for 3-year-olds, and the second fastest trotting mile of all time (Noble Victory in 1:55.3 was faster.)

I have been fortunate enough to have seen every Hambletonian since 1963 and there are a small number of them that stick in your memory. Super Bowl's world records at Du Quoin that day is one of them. Super Bowl was a tremendously handsome race horse. Dancer checked him pretty high, and he had a powerful, strong, ground-devouring stroke. He was a passing-gaited horse with terrifically efficient action. Like all of Dancer's best champions, he was a sensational post horse, able to establish his dominance off the gate.

Super Bowl began his stud career in 1973, and by the end of this foaling season, he will have produced in excess of 2,100 foals. From every conceivable angle, and by any yardstick, his stud career has been a fabulous success. He has produced an even dozen Breeders Crown champions, 11 millionaires, six Hambletonian winners (second only to his sire Star's Pride,) and five Kentucky Futurity winners. He is the leading sire of 1:55 trotters with 16 and his progeny have won in excess of $70 million. Another $6-8 million has been won in Europe. Super Bowl has more than 350 in 2:00, and has sired the dams of more than 300 in 2:00. The latter will grow dramatically as his daughters populate the broodmare bands of all the leading nurseries.

During his career, he has produced oustanding sons such as American Winner 3,1:52.3; Napoletano 3,1:52.3; Supergill 3,1:53.3; Express Ride 4,1:53; Somatic 3,1:53; Probe 3,1:54.3; Giant Victory 3,1:54.4; Legend Hanover 3,1:56.1, Tagliabue 4,1:53.3; Final Score 3,1:56.3; Speed Bowl 3,1:56.2 and the current stars Take Chances 3, 1:54.2, winner of the 1997 Kentucky Futurity and Bowlin For Dollars 3,1:53.

Super Bowl has also produced some of the breed's most outstanding racing fillies, like Jef's Spice 3,1:55.2; Armbro Keepsake 3,1:54.3; Delmegan 4,T1:55.3; Davidia Hanover 4,1:56 and Keystone Harem 3,1:53.4. Super Bowl has also produced a number of horses who found additional racing and/or siring celebrity in Europe, including Super Arnie 3,1:54.1; Herschel Walker 3,1:56.1; and Allen Hanover, sire of the sensational Ina Scot.

One of the most interesting aspects of Super Bowl's siring career is that it blossomed late in his life. His best foals came after he reached his 20's. This is particularly engaging when we look at his own sire Star's Pride, who sired Super Bowl when he was 22. Super Bowl was 21 the spring that American Winner was foaled, and his 1997 2-year-old star Feel The Motion 2,1:57 was sired when he was 25.

We should also look at Super Bowl's performance as a broodmare sire. He has nearly a dozen 1:55 broodmare credits. He is most famous as the sire of the dam of the amazing Peace Corps, the leading money-winning trotter of all time. But Super Bowl has also produced the dams of Hambletonian winners Alf Palema and Harmonious; Breeders Crown winner Armbro Fling and Hambletonian Oaks winner Gleam. Another Super Bowl mare is the dam of world champion Arndon, sire of Pine Chip. Yet another Super Bowl mare sired the dam of European star Coktail Jet. Sugarcane Hanover, a top racing son of Florida Pro and the sire of Kramer Boy, also has a Super Bowl dam.

Having established Super Bowl's credentials, let us get to our real mission here, and that is an analysis of his stud career. We will begin with his own pedigree. Super Bowl is inbred to Volomite in that he is a son of Star's Pride, a grandson of Volomite, and his dam, Pillow Talk is a Rodney mare whose own dam is by Volomite. Another remarkable aspect of Super bowl's lineage is that he is only five generations removed from Peter The Great, a horse foaled in 1895! By way of contrast, Valley Victory is some 12 generations from Peter The Great. This fact is often pointed out by those who believe in the breeding theory that each successive generation is superior to the one that preceded it. Super Bowl is a very good case in point that good blood is good blood regardless of its age.

Super Bowl's inbred cross to Volomite is fascinating when we consider that one of his most successful racing sons, Napoletano, is also doubled up to Volomite on his maternal side. Most of Super Bowl's best production occured when he was mated with mares by Speedy Crown and his sons. American Winner and Bowlin For Dollars are both out of mares by Speedy Somolli, a son of Speedy Crown. Other Super Bowl's with Speedy Crown dams include Davidia Hanover, Probe, Giant Victory, Tagliabue, Cumin, Royal Troubador and Somatic.

There are only two sons of Super Bowl who reached prominence and who are not from Speedy Crown line mares. Napoletano is from a mare by Noble Victory and Supergill is from a mare by Bonefish. The interesting item in Napoletano's pedigree is that not only is Super Bowl inbred to Volomite, but so is his dam, Noble Sarah. She is by Noble Victory, a grandson of Volomite, and out of a mare by Rodney, like Super Bowl himself, and the third dam is by Victory Song, a son of Volomite. Napoletano also has a 2 x 4 generation cross to Star's Pride since he is by a son of Star's Pride and out of a mare by Noble Victory, whose Star's Pride dam won the Hambletonian. This same 2 x4 to Star's Pride not only shows up in Napoletano's pedigree, but also also recurred in Supergill, Super Arnie, American Winner, Express Ride, Davidia Hanover and Jef's Spice. This was clearly the recipe for success.

Peter Volo Volomite     Cita Frisco Worthy Boy     Peter the Brewer Warwell Worthy     Alma Lee Star's Pride     Guy Axworthy Mr McElwyn     Widow Maggie Stardrift     San Fransisco Dillcisco     Dilworthy Super Bowl     Scotland Spencer Scott     May Spencer Rodney     Protector Earl's Princess Martha     Mignon Pillow Talk     Peter Volo Volomite     Cita Frisco Bewitch     Clever Hanover Bexley     Santos Express

Super Bowl, unlike some of our most important sires, is a well-bred animal maternally. His female side is not deep, but his dam is a sister to the dam of Hambletonian winner Kerry Way and that mare produced the exceptional international star Classical Way. During his siring career, Super Bowl also fared best with mares from the top families. Seldom has he produced a champion with a non-descript background. Most of his best offspring have deep maternal families, including American Winner and Supergill. Jef's Spice and Armbro Keepsake both come from superb maternal backgrounds. Standing at Hanover Shoe Farms, Super Bowl had access to the army of well-bred mares at our biggest farm, as well as the hundreds of prominent mares from outside breeders.

Super Bowl took much of his physical appearance from his Rodney dam, as he was clearly more typical of the robust Rodney blood than that of the smaller, more refined Star's Pride types. We know now that the Rodney bloodline is very strong, since Valley Victory, Speedy Crown, Speedy Scot and Pine Chip, among others, all trace to Rodney in their male line. And he has enjoyed great success when mated with mares from this same male line. A number of his better offspring are all from Rodney-Speedster-Speedy Scot-Speedy Crown line mares. We have noted many of these examples above but there is more evidence of this type of inbreeding being very effective. Super Arnie, one of the most exciting young sires in Europe, is from a mare by Arnie Almahurst, an underrated son of Speedy Scot, as is Express Ride.

Super Bowl's legacy is one of monumental excellence. Now 29 and in retirement at Hanover Shoe Farms, he can take his place among the siring giants of our breed.