| The Ottawa Citizen |
February 13, 2005
|
Up and down the Ottawa Valley, dozens of horse lovers have some rather unusual bragging rights. They can claim that their mounts are the grandsons and granddaughters of the legendary Secretariat -- and the great-grandsons and -daughters of the great Northern Dancer.
An Arnprior horse is the reason. Nias, sired by Secretariat and the grandson of Northern Dancer, has sired some 120 registered thoroughbreds and maybe twice as many foals in matings with mares of other breeds, from quarterhorses to Appaloosas.
Nias, now 24, has made it his vocation for the past decade to broadcast the genes of two of the greatest racehorses of the past century all over the Ottawa Valley.
At about $1,000 a pop in breeding fees, having a Nias foal with those astonishing bloodlines has been an affordable luxury for horse lovers all over Eastern Ontario.
How Nias came to live in Arnprior is a story in itself. His co-owner, Marilyn Bandy, was in Florida looking for a new stallion for Marlandy Stables when she heard about the bay stallion at an auction.
Born in Maryland in 1980, Nias' dam was Royal Statute and her sire was Northern Dancer. A syndicate had bought Nias for more than $1 million U.S. before he even had a chance to race.
But Nias suffered a bowed tendon -- a common-enough injury that often brings a horse's racing career screeching to a halt. Meanwhile, the syndicate began a series of legal squabbles over his ownership.
"I just happened to be at the right place at the right time," says Bandy.
By the time the legal dust had settled, Nias was almost 15 and had never raced. His owner was Virginia Harding, who still retains co-ownership.
"He never got a chance to prove himself," says Bandy.
At least at the racetrack. But in the world of horse racing, a stud's success is measured by the success of his foals.
While some breed registries allow mares to be bred through artificial insemination -- by remote, so to speak -- the Jockey Club demands that thoroughbred mares be bred by the stud -- in person, so to speak.
And in racing, there are just as many statistics as in baseball. Some of Nias' foals have gone on to the big time -- they have combined earnings of some $382,000 U.S.
By the time Nias came to Arnprior he had already sired a number of moderately successful racehorses, including Secretariatslegend out of a mare called Smoggy, who had $87,000 U.S. in North American winnings. Sailing Sain had earnings of over $46,000 U.S., and Itchee Annie with earnings of over $37,000 U.S.
Other foals had been sent outside North America -- Fast and Shifty was sent to Peru to race and Concert Grande went to the Dominican Republic.
And that's just at the track.
Marilyn McFadden of Lone Wolf Farm in Burritts Rapids has won an impressive clutch of awards with two foals by Nias. No Spare Change and Lone Willow have had significant wins in the line class at the Royal Winter Fair, an event in which horses are judged for their confirmation.
No Spare Change, who is a bright chestnut like his famous grandsire, was born in 1999. He was junior line champion at the Royal in 2000 and senior champion in 2001. Lone Willow won junior line champion in 2002 and senior and grand champion in 2003 and 2004.
In line classes, good looks are important. McFadden liked the looks of Nias. "He's regal," she says.
And the Secretariat bloodline don't hurt, even for a horse who will never see a racetrack.
Part of it was the heart that made Secretariat a legend. When he was autopsied after his death in 1989, his heart weighed 22 pounds, about triple what is typical. A large heart essentially makes a horse an oxygenation machine. That kind of power is valuable in other equestrian disciplines, including jumping and eventing.
"You're looking at bloodlines and athleticism," says McFadden. "He had big lungs and a big heart."
Bev Millar of North Gower owns Veenus, a Trakehner mare who has had a Nias foal, a filly called Sally Go Round the Sun. Veenus is carrying her second Nias foal.
Some horse breeders like to mix thoroughbred blood to the bloodlines of warmbloods like Trakehners to add some fizz and elegance. Having Nias' blood gave a "nice lightness" to Sally, who was sold last summer, says Millar.
"The opportunity to have a foal with this parentage doesn't come along very often."
Nias is known for his easy temperament and good manners, and so are many of his foals. "She's smart and easygoing and just a delight," says Millar of Sally.
Other Nias progeny are living more sedate lives.
Bethany Yuck, 14 , rides Stetson aka Dancer's Secret on the trails on her family's dairy farm in Kinburn. Stetson's dam was an Appaloosa. There are no plans to show Stetson, though he is known as a bit of character around the farm.
"He's just a goof. He's pretty smart. He tries to get away with everything," says Debbie Yuck, Bethany's mother.
Nias turns 25 in May. He's always been fussy about food and has always turned his nose up at apples. He can send Bandy scurrying to the feeds for some novelty that suits his tastes.
"His bloodlines are out of style now," said Bandy. "Some people prefer the more-modern bloodlines."
Northern Dancer, who commanded $1 million U.S. in stud fees in the early 1980s, lived to be 28, a ripe old age for a thoroughbred. He produced 635 foals.
Secretariat, who produced 653 foals, died at 19. His notable descendants include Smarty Jones and Storm Cat.
Nias still looks good and feels good, says Bandy. "He looks like a five-year-old."
People often ask Yuck if she lets Bethany run Stetson flat out. No way, she says.
"It's not safe."
