Analyzing the 2008 Dam Standings

In January of 2008 I examined the final 2007 Dam Standings. More than a year has passed since then and a review of the 2008 Dam Standings is overdue. Again, the performance of the top litters in the country reaffirm the traits that contribute to an outstanding brood prospect: bloodlines, track performance, and the performance of her littermates. As we discovered last year, another important factor is the age of the dam, and the 2008 standings continue to prove that broods perform best from three to seven years of age.

Track performance: One of the top-20 dams was a stake winner—Fuzzys Lear Jet won the 2004 St. Pete Derby Consolation and made the final of the 2003 Tampa Derby. Four more were top-grade winners at Top-Six tracks and two others ran in top grade at Top-Six tracks. Eight ran grade A at Intermediate tracks, seven of which won in top grade. Two were graders, one at Lincoln and one at Orange Park. One was an Open race contestant in Ireland. Two did not race, but were from litters with more than one top-grade winner at a Top-Six track. Overall, 16 of the 20 ran in or won top grade ranging from the better intermediate tracks to racinos and the vast majority were top-grade winners.

Bloodlines: Unlike 2007 when Molotov ruled the roost by a clear margin, the damsires were spread out among 17 different dogs. Fortress* was represented twice, as was Flying Penske, and Flying Bookie was represented by the litter sisters Atascocita Pinto and Atascocita Sally. Overall, 15 of the 115 dams in the Dam Standings are Molotov daughters. Others represented in numbers are Fortress* (9), P's Raising Cain (5), Gable Dodge (5), Greys Statesman (4), Oswald Cobblepot (4), and Oshkosh Slammer (4). The Top-20 dams descended from several classic damlines led by Maythorn Pride (4) and Lear Jet (2). No other damline had more than one.

Age: The Top-20 dams in 2007 averaged 5 years, 7 months of age, while the 2008 group was far younger at 4 years, 9 months of age with the youngest being just 3 years and the oldest only 7 years, 2 months. Five were 3 years of age, six were 4, five were 5, three were 6, and one was 7.

Once again, the results confirm that well-bred females who performed well on the track, or were from good litters, and are in the prime of their lives, produce the best offspring.