The big racing news of Saturday, September 21, occurred when both Grade One races at Parx, the Cotillion S. for three-year-old fillies and the Pennsylvania Derby for three-year-old colts were won by longshots, both by near-forgotten stallions.

Street Band was the upset winner of the Cotillion S., besting previously unbeaten Guarana, Champion Two-Year-Old Jaywalk, and Grade One winner Bellafina, for trainer/co-breeder/co-owner (as well as exercise rider) Larry Jones, giving jockey Sophie Doyle her first Grade One win, as well as the filly herself. Street Band’s sire is Istan, who stood the early part of his career at Airdrie Stud in the Bluegrass before being sold to Saudi Arabia after getting off to a slow start at stud, and failing to attract big books of mares. Street Band is Istan’s first Grade One winner as well, though he has had eight other black type winners.

Istan was sired by the great Gone West, whose pedigree strength includes Mr. Prospector on top, and the wonderful Secretariat mare Secrettame on bottom, but what is most interesting, and provided the stallion with immense opportunity in the breeding shed, is the complete absence of Northern Dancer. Istan himself is out of a Bluebird mare, by Storm Bird, out of a Sir Ivor mare, echoing the breeding of Gone West’s super-fast and super sire son Elusive Quality.

But the first established nick with Gone West was created by Juddmonte Farm, which bred full brothers Zafonic (Champion Two and Three-Year-Old Colt in Europe, France and England) and Zamindar out of The Minstrel mare Zaizafon. What the Juddmonte brain trust noted was the addition of Northern Dancer blood, of course, but also a doubling of Menow, the maternal great-great grandfather of Secrettame, and the maternal great grandfather of Flaming Page, The Minstrel’s second dam. Shadwell soon followed suit with its graded stakes winner Muqtarib, also out of a Minstrel mare, and the nick was set in stone. With that knowledge, the first element that jumps out of Street Band’s pedigree is that her second dam is Minstrel’s Lassie, by, of course, The Minstrel.

What’s also worth noting is that other stone cold nicks for Gone West, with mares by Nijinsky II and Storm Bird, demonstrate, with a little digging, how similar the pedigrees of The Minstrel, Nijinsky II and Storm Bird are, with Nijinsky’s pedigree featuring that inbreeding to Menow, Bull Page, and Gallant Fox. In fact, Nijinsky’s dam is Flaming Page herself, The Minstrel’s second dam. Storm Bird also features Bull Page and Gallant Fox on his dams’ side. Gone West may also have been one of the handsomest sons of Mr. Prospector, as he had a beautiful, masculine head with heavy jowls and much more bone and substance than his sire, whose gangly appearance belied his siring power. The combination of good looks and pedigree were magical.

The other upset winner, of the Pennsylvania Derby-G1, was Math Wizard, who came out of the same $16,000 maiden claiming race that Maximum Security also ran in, inspiring TVG to call it the most productive maiden claimer of all time. Math Wizard went off at 30-1, and won going away in a sensational closing turn of foot. Math Wizard is by Algorithms, a fourth crop sire standing at Claiborne Farm for $5000. Algorithms is inbred, 4 x 3 to Fappiano, through his sons Quiet American and Cryptoclearance. Both doses are through daughters of these stallions, with Algorithm’s dam, graded stakes winner and black type producer Avaknowsthecode, also the dam of Justin Phillip and Greenpointcrusader, both Grade One winners, among others.

Math Wizard’s pedigree is similar to Street Band’s given the near-dearth of Northern Dancer (in the sixth position through his daughter Northern Fable), and the presence of a potent Northern Dancer influence of Deputy Minister, his broodmare sire, and the addition of Halo, bringing in the powerful daughters of Almahmoud, Natalma and Cosmah. This same combination exists in Street Band’s pedigree, as her broodmare sire is Street Cry, whose sire, Machiavellian, is out of the Halo mare Coup de Folie.

Sounds almost like a recipe: add a sprinkling of Cosmah and Natalma to an excess of Mr. Prospector, sufficient hay and water, and get yourself a Grade One winner. These two spectacular upsets at Parx actually represent an age-old combination of Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer and Halo, which clearly works. Just for fun, it should also be noted that Deputy Minister sire, Vice Regent, was out of Victoria Regina, a daughter of Victoriana. And, presto, in The Minstrel’s pedigree, his dam, Fleur, is by Victoria Park, himself a son of Victoriana. The genetic jigsaw puzzle becomes complete.

-- Roberta Smoodin