Monongahela’s longshot win in the Philip H. Iselin S.-G3 on 6/22/19 was a thrill for all pedigree nerds, as he may be the lone representative of a long-lost sireline, that of the great Round Table and his son Princequillo, who still influence the breed through his female offspring, through his son Apalachee and his grandson K One King. Monongahela is a five-year old son of K One King, trained by Jason Servis and ridden yesterday by Jose Lezcano, and the horse now has six wins from 24 starts, with total earnings of $381,043.

K One King was a winner at two and three, of a non-graded stakes at three, but his triumph was at four, in the Oaklawn H.-G1, over, among others, Cat Thief. Retired after a suspensory injury with earnings of just under $700,000, prestigious Gainesway Farm in Lexington brought him onto their formidable roster in 2000, no doubt because of his unique pedigree, as the Princequillo/Round Table line had already all but disappeared. His stud fee was $6500. He then began a tour of the Bluegrass, standing at Margaux Farm, Silver Springs Stud, and Millennium Farm, with his stud fee dropping to a low of $2500. Despite research, all one can assume is that he was retired after the 2018 season. His entire stud career resulted in only 284 foals and 211 starters, and a dismal 2% blacktype winners. A big, handsome, chestnut, he was, as noted, from a sireline known to have great, producing daughters rather than great male race horses, and at this time there are no representatives of that sireline at stud that I am aware of.

K One King’s sire was Apalachee, a son of Round Table, out of Moccasin, a daughter of the great Blue Hen Rough Shod II, a sterling pedigree. It also featured inbreeding to Nantallah, a son of Nasrullah, and Heliopolis, by Hyperion, a truly old school mix of blood. Monongahela’s dams’ side adds two doses of Turn-to which call out to the two doses of Nasrullah on his top side, as well as another dose of Nasrullah through Mr. Prospector’s dam, Gold Digger, plus adding that all-important Buckpasser through his broodmare sire, Touch Gold, with it’s strong dose of La Troienne.

Add inbreeding to Native Dancer, top and bottom, through Native Charger and Mr. Prospector, plus the strength of Deputy Minister, and this pedigree begins to take the shape of a potential stakes winner. But the true key to the pedigree is Monongahela’s third dam, Just Us Girls, by Stage Door Johnny. A great stamina influence, Stage Door Johnny was by Prince John, a son of Princequillo, providing the huge heart gene of that great broodmare sire on Monongahela’s dam’s side, and reaching out to match the Princequillo sireline. Finally, it must be noted that Nantallah’s dam, Shimmer, is inbred to Sir Gallahad II, adding more of his dam, Plucky Liege, to the Bull Dog, Sir G’s full brother, in the dams’ side of Monongahela.

This collection of truly old school pedigree nicks warms a pedigree nerd’s heart. That Princequillo and his son Round Table, who once dominated thoroughbred breeding, have become nearly extinct saddens one, but Monongahela’s victory in the Iselin demonstrates the staying power of those great, nearly extinct sirelines.

-- Roberta Smoodin