by Edwin Anthony
Often, when a breeder wants to use a stallion, he or she may have a hard time figuring out which types of mares will be the best fit for that stallion. There are no such problems when considering Capote.
He has worked with mares from a variety of lines, but when the final tallies are in, he clearly works the best with mares from the Mr. Prospector and Vice Regent lines. Considering that Vice Regent is the sire of emerging sire-of-sires Deputy Minister, this gives breeders plenty of opportunities to take advantage of these strong crosses.
"Strong crosses" may be an understatement. When crossed with Mr. Prospector mares, Capote has sired She’s Tops (G2), True Flare (G2) and Capote’s Prospect (stakes winner of $130,000). Other runners by Capote out of Mr. Prospector-line mares include the top runners Capote Belle (G1, Fappiano mare), Agincourt (G1, Conquistador Cielo mare), Acceptable (G3 winner, G1-placed, $713,000, Woodman mare), and Holy Capote ($202,000, Conquistador Cielo mare).
Seattle Slew, sire of Capote, and Mr. Prospector are both from the important Myrtlewood family. So, it comes as no great surprise that Seattle Slew, as well as his sons, cross well with Mr. Prospector. Mr. Prospector has always had a good record of crossing with Nasrullah and his son Bold Ruler. Seattle Slew is a great grandson of Bold Ruler, but is inbred through a son and a daughter of Nasrullah 4x4. Capote’s dam is inbred to Nasrullah through a son and a daughter as well, 2x3 in her case. Thus, Capote is inbred 5,5x3,4 to Nasrullah through two sons and two daughters. This amazing concentration and balance of Nasrullah’s genes has perhaps made Capote an excellent horse to cross with Mr. Prospector from the start.
The Vice Regent line has not been nearly as prominent in America as Mr. Prospector’s, although the emergence of Vice Regent’s son Deputy Minister is certainly beginning to change the face of American bloodlines. Capote has already shown a great affinity for mares from the Vice Regent line.
Capote’s champion son and leading earner Boston Harbor (G1) is out of a mare by Vice Regent. Boston Harbor had a banner 2-year-old season in 1996, capping it with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). He won in a stirring stretch duel with another son of Capote, Acceptable.
Canadian Oaks (Can-I) winner Capdiva is out of a mare by Vice Regent’s son Deputy Minister. So, Capote has an American champion and a Canadian classic winner on the Vice Regent/Deputy Minister cross. Regal Classic is another good son of Vice Regent (23 stakes winners to date), so perhaps his daughters will cross well with Capote as well. There is every reason to believe that Regal Classic will be a good damsire, as he is out of the great Canadian broodmare No Class.
There are several sons of Deputy Minister out there that are already proven, including Silver Deputy, Salt Lake, and Dehere. With other sons of Deputy Minister like Awesome Again, Deputy Commander, French Deputy, and Touch Gold recently retired to stud, this is a cross that breeders should be able to take advantage of for many years to come, either with Capote as the sire or damsire in the pedigree.
There is reason to believe that Capote will cross particularly well with Silver Deputy, Dehere, and French Deputy. Silver Deputy is out of a mare by Mr. Prospector, who has such a good record of crossing with Capote. Dehere is out of a mare by Secretariat, which when combined with Seattle Slew in the past resulted in Horse of the Year and leading sire A. P. Indy.
French Deputy has a connection with Seattle Slew and Capote that is similar to the one that has led to success in crossing Seattle Slew with Cure the Blues. French Deputy and Cure the Blues both have 2nd dams by Bold Ruler. Thus, when they are crossed with Seattle Slew, or one of his sons, there is balanced inbreeding (through a son and a daughter) to Bold Ruler. The Cure the Blues/Seattle Slew cross has already resulted in American Chance (G2) and 1998 2-year-old Incurable Optimist, nine length winner of the Generous S. (G3). Balanced inbreeding to Bold Ruler has resulted in other top runners like Prairie Bayou (champion and classic winner), Louis Quatorze (classic winner), Grand Slam (G1), Afternoon Deelites (G1), Great Palm (G1), Is Your Pleasure (G1), and Slew of Damascus (G1). So, there is every reason to believe that French Deputy will fare well when crossed with Seattle Slew and Capote, especially given Capote’s record with Vice Regent and Deputy Minister.
Keep in mind that Capote’s three leading earners (Boston Harbor, Acceptable, and Capote Belle) all three have a connection to either Vice Regent or Mr. Prospector. And you can’t look at the damsire records of Mr. Prospector, Vice Regent, or Deputy Minister without noticing the prominent presence of Capote’s runners. As the Deputy Minister line becomes more and more prominent and Mr. Prospector line continues to expand, Capote’s name should be at the top of breeders’ lists for mares from these lines.
