Inbreeding to the broodmare sire of the sire

Legendary authority Leon Rasmussen utilized the concept

By Sid Fernando

On Sunday morning, I happened to be chatting at the same time via text with one of the most successful and knowledgeable professionals in the industry and, through X (Twitter), with a young pedigree professional about the same topic: inbreeding to the broodmare sire of the sire.

A case had popped up that illustrated this paradigm. On Saturday, the 4-year-old Gun Runner colt Hall of Fame—once a promising 3-year-old with Classics aspirations—won the G3 Mineshaft Stakes at Fair Grounds, his first black-type score.

Hall of Fame (outside) breezing for Steve Asmussen at Keeneland as an unraced 2-year-old in 2023.

Gun Runner’s broodmare sire is Giant’s Causeway. Hall of Fame’s dam’s sire is also Giant’s Causeway; therefore, Hall of Fame is inbred to the broodmare sire of his sire, 3x2 to Giant’s Causeway. See the pedigree below:

The industry professional was interested, aware of the concept of inbreeding to the broodmare sire of the sire.

In an earlier conversation, the pedigree professional had noted the success of inbreeding to Unbridled with Tapit, and I’d mentioned that we at WTC had helped breeders Gary and Mary West construct the first successful mating involving Tapit and Unbridled, with G2 winner West Coast Belle, a foal of 2012.

Why?, I was asked. Hall of Fame’s pedigree allowed me to explain West Coast Belle’s pedigree, below:

In this case, Tapit’s broodmare sire is Unbridled, and West Coast Belle’s dam is by Unbridled’s Song, a son of Unbridled. Therefore, West Coast Belle is inbred 3x3 to Unbridled—the broodmare sire of the sire.

And as for the why, there are other considerations as well, but, as I noted in both concurrent conversations, the person who told me about the concept was the great pedigree authority Leon Rasmussen, who’d studied the history of this pattern. He’d also added to it, notably in the pedigree of Quiet American, a colt bred by Tartan, which was run by the legendary John Nerud.

Nerud, always a student, wanted to change up some matings and approached Leon for help, and Quiet American’s pedigree has Leon’s thumbprints all over it. Not only was this colt inbred to the broodmare sire of the sire—Nerud’s iconic Dr. Fager—but he was also inbred on the Rasmussen Factor (RF), which is to say, in this case, through the same female lines of the sire and dam. See the pedigree:

Quiet American is inbred 3x2 to Dr. Fager—the broodmare sire of Fappiano—and he is also inbred 4x3 to the mare Cequillo (the Rasmussen Factor).

Leon had asked that I never reveal any of his interactions with Nerud until both he and Nerud had passed, and I honored that request.

Below, me and Leon, outside his favorite Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles, many, many years ago.