I’ve been a fan of Pure Champion for quite some time now and it’s encouraging that he’s left a horse with undoubted class.
Tyler Eight has started four times and recorded three impressive victories; it’s hard to imagine him not gaining black type in the near future.
So what of his pedigree? He comes from a consistent family but one that has failed to gain black type in its most recent three generations. His fifth dam is the speedy Pakistan 11 mare, Taj Rani, herself a half-sister to the dam of the brilliant Weenell. Stars from the family in recent decades include Confiscate, Sarah Fay and Eastern Classic.
There’s a lot to like about Tyler Eight’s pedigree mix. To begin with, both sire and dam feature the Rahy – Nijinsky cross. There’s also the Storm Cat – Sir Tristram nick, Inbreeding to Danzig, Ribot and Mr Prospector, not to mention Secretariat and Sir Ivor. Most importantly, all these influences work well together.
One of my favourite duplications is Grey Sovereign, especially when it’s coupled with Princely Gift. Given Grey Sovereign’s temperament, inbreeding to him might seem to be anything but a smart move, but one of the first things I noticed when I started to observe pedigrees closely back in the late 1960’s, was that Grey Sovereign duplications could work effectively and that many pedigrees of good horses featured both Grey Sovereign and Princely Gift. Tyler Eight has two lines of Grey Sovereign and one of Princely Gift.
Racing needs star performers; I strongly suspect that Tyler Eight will be a star of the not too distant future.
