General Meeting Represented at Del Mar

DEL MAR, Calif. (July 20, 2002) -- Among the eight stallions at Golden Eagle Farm, General Meeting is best akin to a Rock of Gibraltar for the leading California breeding program. With workmanlike regularity, the well-fitted 14-year-old stallion has been represented by high class, durable racehorses, including four Cal-bred champions and the top class filly Excellent Meeting. 

From his same foal crop of 1996 emerged Golden Eagle-homebreds General Challenge, the colorful, long-striding gelding who won the Pacific Classic at age 3 and the Santa Anita Handicap the following year, and Excellent Meeting, a prolific Grade I performer among her own kind, including stablemate Silverbulletday, before running a creditable fourth in the 1999 Kentucky Derby. 

General Meeting's four state-bred champions -- General Challenge, Magical Allure, Career Collection and Daring General -- along with Excellent Meeting and Crowning Meeting, were all born from broodmare sires hailing from Nearco, a hallmark of many Seattle Slew progeny, himself a descendant of the same line.

Not surprisingly, General Meeting's five yearlings at this summer's Del Mar Sale, three fillies and two colts, are a select group pedigree-wise and carry a conspicuous dose of the Nearco influence.

Of the fillies, Hip 44 is out of Sparkling Star, a daughter of Lyphard and half-sister to the dam of Career Collection and Hip 72 is out of Grade I Santa Ana winner Annual Reunion, granddaughter of Northern Dancer. Hip 129 is out of a Pleasant Colony mare, whose influence continues to widen in the role of broodmare sire.

Of the two colts, Hip 93 is out of a mare by leading sire In Excess, another of the Nearco legion. Hip 126 brings to the sale one of the remarkable Golden Eagle families to emerge in recent years. The yearling is out of the Half a Year mare Good Spirit, kin to both the good producer Big Spirit and Spirit of Eagles, dam of the German-bred Silvano. Anointed as racing's newest 'globe-trotter' a year ago, Silvano won major races on three continents, including the Arlington Million here in the US, and his worldwide success led to Spirit of Eagles being named Germany's 2001 broodmare of the year. 

General Meeting's progeny have earned more than $15 million, and this spring he was the sire of choice for Lady's Secret, America's 1986 horse of the year and now a California resident.
-- Robert Knolhoff, Jr.