THE Cranbourne Cup victory by Crackerjack Choc was a special one for in-breeding devotees but not one for myself.

Crackerjack Choc is by Cosmic Rumble-Lizzie's Memory by Collision and is owned by Jordan Cooper and trained by Anita Courts. He is from a very good litter that shows intense in-breeding 2x2 to the half relations Spiritual Rumble (the dam of Cosmic Rumble) and Collision (damsire of the Cup winner).

Spiritual Rumble is Brett Lee-Rumble Spirit while Collision is Awesome Assassin-Rumble Spirit.

When Cosmic Rumble won the Group 1 Golden Easter Egg for Steve Kavanagh and trainer, legend Darren McDonald, he was promptly retired to stud.

Collision is six years older than Cosmic Rumble so it was always going to be a temptation for those broodbitch owners with daughters of Collision to try to overcome Mother Nature by putting them to Cosmic Rumble.

There is no doubting in my mind in-breeding and line breeding can outperform a total outcross mating. But intense 2x2 in-breeding to half relations is always tempting fate. Mother Nature, in her wisdom, will often work against such intense pedigrees.

Not always, as is proven by the Cranbourne Cup winner Crackerjack Choc and his very handy littermates, but more often than not.

Breeders MUST always remember, when line breeding all the BEST attributes of a pedigree will be reinforced ... but so will all the WORST.

Litters bred on the Cosmic Rumble/Collision cross struggled when first tried. I heard many reports of the progeny being unsound. This too can a factor with such intensity of blood.

But, as we know only too well, genetics can always toss up a success story and Crackerjack Choc is just that. Two of his littermates were unnamed and another is unraced. But the others, Captain Pete, Crackerjack Sam and OK Jake are all handy performers and city winners.

Four of the seven-pup litter to win in the city, and one Group 2 winner, is a much better performance than the norm.

Crackerjack Choc is from a fabulous family.

His dam Lizzie's Memory was unraced but she is a litter sister to the star Group performer Fully Advanced and two other Group performers in Joshua and Just Tripping.

Their dam Okay Supreme won eight races including wins at Sandown and Angle Park and she just happened to be a litter sister to champion race dog and much underrated stud dog Velocette.

Next dam Texan Lady was a Hobart and Devonport winner but Crackerjack Choc's fourth dam Midnight Flirt was a real star winning 21 races. This is the famed Dark Debutante female family. (My very first greyhound, way back in 1980, was out of Dark Debutante.)

It is the illustrious family of Val Matese and also includes Paua To Burn.

WHILE Crackerjack Choc was lifting Anita Courts and Jordan Cooper to Group-winning status, third placed Archie Fields caught my eye as well.

He is a son of Black Magic Opal-Misty Fields by Droopys Kewell and a half brother to the high class Xtreme Knocka (now at stud) and classy bitch Nicki Fields.

Archie Fields is from the "Portrait" family and this is the family that produced many great gallopers including leading stud dog Primo Uno (Black Shiraz-Prima Portrait). The second dam of Primo Uno is Polly's Portrait (Walkabout Sid-Famous Portrait).

Many, many of the very best progeny sired by Primo Uno had a duplication and balance of Walkabout Sid in their pedigree. It is amazing just how many of his best did.

Try these names for a starter: Turanza Bale, Shimaguni, Turbo Uno, Stagger, On Coin, Exclusive One, Run The Risk, Piggy Back (NZ GOTY), Cash Up, Wot Price Harold, Uno Leo, Live The Dream and that fabulous litter that included Pretty Malaika, Chachi, Dulcinea and El Toreador.

Their balance came via the cross of Walkabout Sid's SON Head Honcho in the pedigree of their dams.

Primo Uno progeny with a double of Walkabout Sid but via just daughters, included Sonador and Uno Witch (dam of Hooksy).

Which brings me back to Archie Fields.

He is bred on the reverse cross to that which helped make Primo Uno great.

His sire Black Magic Opal carries Head Honcho as the sire of his second dam, while Archie Fields' dam Misty Fields has Walking Portrait as her second dam.

Walking Portrait is Walkabout Sid-Famous Portrait.

Yes, highly successful crosses DO work in reverse.