Mating Suggestions
New Zealand’s breeding industry has a proud tradition of producing quality stayers and it's always especially exciting when a stallion which has a strong chance of adding to our reputation is announced.
Shocking's Melbourne Cup and Australian Cup victories were both notable for his devastating turn of foot, a quality that is keenly sought after by discerning breeders. When looking for compatible mares to mate with the son of Street Cry, it makes sense to look for bloodlines which have a good chance of reinforcing this vital component of racing class.
In recent decades Sir Tristram and his son Zabeel have been clearly pre-eminent as sources of superior staying ability and one should never ignore the obvious when planning matings. There is no reason why Shocking x Sir Tristram won't work and the latter’s inbreeding to Princequillo is particularly attractive. It's also worth noting that Shocking's damsire Danehill has done especially well with mares from the Sir Tristram line. Grosvenor is a standout in this respect.
Street Cry's other Southern Hemisphere dual Group 1 winner is Whobegotyou. His damsire Carnegie appeals strongly for Shocking, partly because he's by Sadler's Wells and partly because he's out of a Riverman mare. The Group 2 winning South African son of Street Cry, Eight Street, is out of a granddaughter of Sadler's Wells and it's not surprising that any son of Machiavellian would do well with a mare boasting a dominant Northern Dancer line - given the Almahmoud duplications that such a cross involves.
Danehill has also crossed powerfully with mares strong in Northern Dancer, so any mare with strong lines of this breed -shaping stallion is worth considering for Shocking.
Returning to Riverman, he is one stallion that carries little risk when he is inbred to - a study of Anabaa’s progeny quickly establishes that. Apart from Carnegie, sources of Riverman in New Zealand include Thorn Park, Golan, Spinning World, Sir Godfrey, Brief Truce and Anabaa himself. Moreover, if Riverman is likely to work well with Shocking, there's a strong chance that his close relative Mill Reef will do the same. So mares by sires such as Pentire, O'Reilly, Last Tycoon and Towkay are also worth serious consideration as well as any mare with a significant Never Bend presence such as Volksraad, Desert Sun and Yamanin Vital are especially appealing.
Inbreeding to Ribot has gained much success in recent years and it’s notable that the great Street Cry mare Zenyatta is inbred to his grandson Hoist The Flag. For this reason Shinko King mares appeal strongly for Shocking. It's also apparent that Street Cry works well with Ribot's son His Majesty, Street Sense being bred on this cross. As Street Sense's dam features Dixieland Band and His Majesty it seems reasonable to deduce that mares by Stark South might suit Shocking especially well.
Finally, mares by Giant's Causeway tick just about all the boxes for Rich Hill's new stallion. His successful sire son Shamardal is out of a full sister to Street Cry. It's difficult to think of a stronger recommendation.
