War Front, who stands at Claiborne Farm for $250,000 in 2020, has had stellar offspring running at the highest levels in both North America and Europe, and Saturday, December 28 was no exception, when two of his sons from his 2016 crop won stakes races. Omaha Beach, who more and more looks like the quintessential race horse, won the Grade One Malibu S. at Santa Anita with such ease that Mike Smith didn’t move a muscle, raise a whip, or scrub a neck on the spectacular colt. He was merely a passenger on the superb animal.

Much less heralded was gate to wire winner of the Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream, Halladay. Omaha Beach is a multiple graded stakes winner and earner of $1,651,800, and his second dam is Broodmare of the Year Take Charge Lady, whose immediate family has become more and more important in pedigrees (Omaha Beach is a half-sibling to Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Take Charge Brandi). Halladay’s family is less refined (and this was his first stakes win, and has earned $211,745), but he is out of the Tapit mare Hightap, and the similarities between his pedigree and Omaha Beach’s are fascinating.

What stands out immediately is inbreeding, top and bottom, in both colts, to Ruby Slippers, the dam of Rubiano, who appears twice himself in Omaha Beach’s pedigree, and through Rubiano’s ¾ sister, Tap Your Heels, Tapit’s dam, in Halladay. Omaha Beach is 3 x 4 Rubiano (and therefore 4 x 5 Ruby Slippers), while Halladay is 4 x 4 Ruby Slippers and 4 x 5 Fappiano. Ruby Slippers’ pedigree is blue-blooded, as she was by Nijinsky II (Northern Dancer), out of the In Reality mare Moon Glitter, a perfect match for the Fappiano line because it features In Reality’s close genetic relative, Dr. Fager. It should be noted that Omaha Beach’s fourth dam was by Blushing Groom, which reaches out to the doubling of close genetic relative Nijinsky II.

More than this, though, Moon Glitters dam, Foggy Note, was by The Axe II, a son of Mahmoud. So in both colts, there is double-breeding to Nijinsky II, Fappiano, In Reality/Dr. Fager, and an abundance of other strains of Mahmoud, as Omaha Beach is 3 x 5 x 6 x 7 Northern Dancer, whose dam, Natalma, was by the most influential Mahmoud mare of modern times, Almahmoud, while Halladay is 3 x 6 x 6 x 5 x 5 Northern Dancer. Halladay gets two more strains of Mahmoud through his third broodmare sire, Caveat, who was by Cannonade, whose second dam was Cosmah, Almahmoud’s other important daughter, and the dam of Halo (and it must be noted that Caveat’s dam, Cold Hearted, is out of a Turn-to mare, almost recreating Halo via Caveat). As well, Cold Hearted’s sire was The Axe II—making Halladay 7 x 7 x 6 The Axe II.

The similarities don’t end there. Omaha Beach is out of the Seeking the Gold mare, Charming, bringing Mr. Prospector and Buckpasser together in his dams’ side. As previously mentioned, Halladay is out of a Tapit mare, and Tapit’s sire, Pulpit, brings together Buckpasser and Mr. Prospector as well, reversed from Omaha Beach’s, with Buckpasser through the sire line, and Mr. P through the dam of Pulpit. Then there is the presence of Unbridled in Halladay, Tapit’s broodmare sire, who also represents the Mr. P (through Fappiano)/Buckpasser cross. Of course, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention the Fappiano/Mr. Prospector connection vividly apparent in both pedigrees.

One more distinct similarity must be noted. Omaha Beach’s previously mentioned second dam, Take Charge Lady, is by Dehere, a son of Deputy Minister and grandson of Vice Regent. Dehere as a broodmare sire appears in more and more pedigrees lately, and combining him with other Deputy Minister-line sons and daughters suggests that, like that Fappiano/Mr. P cross, Dehere has created his own sire line and will become more important as time goes on, just as Fappiano has become. In Omaha Beach, Vice Regent appears in the fifth position in the dams’ side, thanks to Dehere. In Halladay’s pedigree, Vice Regent appears in the fourth position, through his son Regal Classic, Halladay’s second broodmare sire.

Patterns like this can’t be ignored, though most of us can’t afford to breed a mare whose pedigree contains inbreeding to Ruby Slippers, Vice Regent, and the Axe II, even if we owned such a mare, to War Front. But we can place a two-dollar win bet on the noses of similarly bred offspring of War Front, and put that pattern to work for us when we enjoy cashing a ticket. Both colts went through the Keeneland September Yearling Sale of 2017, only to be bought back when their reserves weren’t achieved, and to be purchased privately, later. Sometimes even the high rollers buying top-of-the-market yearlings don’t understand what they’re looking at, heartening to those of us who are decidedly low-rollers.

-- Roberta Smoodin