Smokester a Presence at Del Mar

DEL MAR, Calif. (Aug. 1, 2002) -- Someone glancing upon Smokester's name in the 2002 Del Mar Yearling Sales catalogue and inclined to pick out the next good runner of Free House's sire may be tempted to think, 'better hurry.' 

Perhaps the impression of Cardiff Stud Farm's 14-year-old resident, sire of one truly amazing racehorse of the late 1990's, is akin to that of a bright and fleeting comet dashing through the skies of the breeding world. A closer look at Smokester's lineage and his success stories at stud reveal a blueprint for enduring success. 

Smokester and Free House, the latter whose first crop yearlings are in the sale, were both campaigned and presently owned by John Toffan and Trudy McCaffery. They each carry on a thread of the Never Bend-sire line, courtesy of Smokester's sire Never Tabled, a son of the champion stallion and the Round Table mare Table Flirt. Smokester is out of Small World, a winning mare by Prince John's Irish St. Leger-winning son Transworld, himself the sire of top California-bred Flying Continental. Talk about a pedigree built for the long haul.

Moreover, Smokester's better runners at the races have come by way of broodmare sires beholding a decidedly turf and stamina-rich legacy. Interestingly, total earnings of Smokester's progeny on the turf entering this year were just over a modest $300,000, perhaps the mark of a greatly underutilized asset. 

Free House is out of Fountain Lake, a daughter of Big 'Cap and Hollywood Invitational hero Vigors. Smokester's second leading earner, California Cup Classic winner and Big Cap runner-up Bagshot, is out of a mare by Northern Jove, and his other good performers hail from an eclectic group of broodmare sires like Danzig Connection, Equalize (a top class son of Northern Jove), Northern Baby, and Stately Don.

In the Del Mar sale, Smokester's yearlings from his eighth crop include Hip 115, a colt out of a Bailjumper mare, (thus recalling his sire Damascus, one of the terrific female influences), from the family of California champion Dancing Femme. The predominant match comes by way of two fillies, Hips 37, 118, and a colt, Hip 152, all out of stakes-placed producers by Flying Paster, whose influence replicates Free House's line-breeding to Nearco 
-- Robert Knollhoff

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