Stallion Spotlight offers stud farm representatives a chance to address breeders and answer questions as they plan their future matings.
This time around, Rick Burke of Irish Hill and Dutchess Views Stallions discusses champion and dual classic winner Big Brown, a son of Boundary who is regularly one of New York's top sires.
Big Brown
B. h., 2005, Boundary x Mien, by Nureyev
Race Record: 8-7-0-0; $3,614,500
Advertised Fee: $5,000
Question: What makes Big Brown an attractive stallion for potential breeders?
Rick Burke, Irish Hill and Dutchess Views Stallions: He's going to get you a racehorse. Big Brown was a tremendous racehorse, and he's got runners all the time in New York. He's done very well as a stallion in New York. He's going to give you size, he's going to add bone, and he's going to improve your mares.
If I've got a mare lacking in a physical aspect. What can Big Brown best contribute to that equation?
Burke: He'll get you a dirt horse, turf horse. Somelikeithotbrown does tremendous on the turf. He can help add bone, if you need to add distance, you name it, he's going to help you. If you've got a mare that's hard to get bred, he's going to get her pregnant. He's extremely fertile, even for his age. For years, I've told owners if they're having trouble getting a mare bred, just go to Big Brown, and bang, he has the mare pregnant.
Big Brown is by Boundary, a son of Danzig. What can a breeder looking to capture that Danzig-line influence find familiar in Big Brown?
Burke: They're runners. He does look like his sire Boundary, but he gives Danzig's running ability. It doesn't matter; small horse, big horse, they're all runners, and Danzig did that, too. He can produce racehorses like Danzig.
What do you see in Big Brown that might come from his broodmare sire, Nureyev?
Burke: The turf comes out on the bottom side. Physically, a lot of Big Brown's babies look like him. They're going to have that big shoulder, that big rear end. He's going to add bone to them and give them size if they need size. He's good at influencing his offspring.
What do you think makes Big Brown a good fit for the New York program?
Burke: The fact that he improves his mares. When he came to New York, he wasn't doing as well in Kentucky with the mares there, and once he came to New York, he's done tremendous in improving the mares and getting runners. He's got a couple every day running at the track.
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If you appreciate our work, you can support us by subscribing to our Patreon stream. Learn more.What are some of the common traits that you've seen among Big Brown's foals, both as young horses at the sales and as older horses at the races?
Burke: They look like him and they're going to run like him. He's going to get you dirt or turf, whatever you're looking for. He passes on his body type. Big Brown's a big horse. He's got great balance, even for his age. He's got a very stout body to him. He's got a presence to him.
What can the success of a horse like Grade 2 winner Somelikeithotbrown tell us about the caliber of horse that Big Brown can put on the track?
Burke: He has the caliber to get them out there. If you go back to his first race, he was good on the turf, and then he was even better on the dirt. He was a dual-surface horse. Who knows how great Big Brown could have been on the turf? He did so well on the dirt, but if he'd have run on the turf where he could have been even better, who knows?
What else should breeders know about Big Brown before picking up the phone?
Burke: He's going to get your mare pregnant. He's very fertile, and he can improve on the mare. Whatever you're looking for – if you have a mare that needs a little more leg or bone, he's going to do that. If you've got one that needs a little more size, he's going to do that. Whatever you need him to do, he's going to get it done.
The post Stallion Spotlight Presented By New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc.: Champion Big Brown ‘Good At Influencing His Offspring’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
