Mepunga Blazer

MEPUNGA Blazer's victory in the recent Group 1 Maturity at The Meadows is an exercise in line breeding to satisfy almost anyone the least bit interested in such things.

Mepunga Blazer is a son of Barcia Bale (Go Wild Teddy-Princess Bale) and the Premier Fantasy-Mepunga Diamond bitch Mepunga Nicky and therein lies a pedigree mix of so many closely related ancestors it is, in my opinion, worthy of analysis.

Mepunga Blazer down Paradise Lass (My Bro Fabio-Key To Eden) and Shadale (Barcia Bale-Budgie Lass) and all three are fabulous examples of intense line breeding to produce Group 1 class offspring. I will get to Paradiso Lass and Shadale soon.

While an immediate look at the pedigree of Mepunga Blazer shows his closest in-breeding is a 4x3 cross of Brett Lee, the "behind the scenes" links in the pedigree are fabulous.

Barcia Bale is building a reputation of working extremely well when mated to bitches that bring in a cross of Where's Pedro to link with his litter brother Hallucinate (damsire of Barcia Bale).

I always believe Barcia Bale would be a success at stud. He is NOT typical of Wheeler-bred race stars with outcrossed pedigrees generally unable to be pre-potent at stud. He is by a good, old-fashioned Aussie stud dog in Go Wild Teddy and his dam is by Hallucinate another good, old-fashioned Aussie.

He was always going to suit a lot of potential mates. Having Hallucinate as his damsire was going to make him a natural for bitches with Where's Pedro in them.

Group 1 winner Shima Bar is in-bred to Hallucinate and his other litter brother Carnage.

Mepunga Blazer has a 3x2 cross of Hallucinate and Mepunga Diamond. They are virtual brother and sister. Both are by Brett Lee. Their dams carry Paris Match and Osti's Idol respectively and this pair is both by Brother Fox from a daughter of Osti Lee.

Where's Pedro's race and breeding stars Mogambo, Lady Arko and Flamenco (My Bro Fabio's dam) have Osti's Idol in their damline.

So, instead of "just" having a 4x3 double of Brett Lee in his pedigree, Mepunga Blazer actually is in-bred 3x2 to virtual brother and sister.

Also in this mating, the cross of Grove Whisper in Barcia Bale's damline is linked to the crosses of virtual sisters Wise Memory and Murlens Chill in Premier Fantasy (damsire of Mepunga Blazer). Premier Fantasy has sired real stars like Flash Reality, Tuiaki, Tommy Brislane and Prince Diablo to bitches with Grove Whisper in their dam.

But, it doesn't end there.

Keep checking the direct tail female line of Mepunga Blazer and we come across a bitch called Mystic Therase (his fifth dam). She is by Indiana Bale (Fag Ash-Emiline Bale). Do a direct damline trace on the pedigree of Barcia Bale and via Lansley Bale we come across a legend called Winifred Bale (Temlee-Emiline Bale).

Interesting is the fact Fag Ash is a son of Temlee. Thus Indiana Bale and Winifred Bale are virtual brother and sister.

The direct tail female line of Mepunga Blazer runs to a famed foundation bitch called Magenta. This is also the direct damline of Malawi's Prince (found in the damline of Barcia Bale's sire Go Wild Teddy), but also of champion producer Secretly who is also found in the pedigree of Brother Fox and Pretty Short.

Mepunga Blazer's pedigree is a saturation of famous bloodlines and so intense it produced a Group 1 star. The fact his own dam Mepunga Nicky was a Group 1 and Group 3 winner gave it a little nudge into stardom as well.

PARADISO Lass proved her sire My Bro Fabio is on the road to stardom at stud when, as a baby, she chased home kennelmate Mepunga Blazer when second in the Maturity.

"The Lass" is out of Group stayer Key To Eden, but the pedigree put together to produce Paradiso Lass is fabulous.

It shows 4x4 line breeding to Black Shiraz and Head Honcho, both balanced via son and daughter, and also a double of Rapid Supreme 6x5 and balanced as well.

I believe My Bro Fabio will work best when he mates daughters of Barcia Bale to link Where's Pedro and Hallucinate. But he should also be mated with bitches who bring in a DAUGHTER of Head Honcho.

This is because his direct damline traces to Spanish Dance and she is bred along identical lines to Head Honcho and they have combined in the pedigree of many great race dogs ... Fabio is one example himself.

SHADALE, the third placegetter in the Maturity, is another son of Barcia Bale.

He is out of the Meticulous-Giddigan bitch Budgie Lass a pretty handy race bitch herself.

Check out the pedigree of Shadale. He is in-bred 3x2 to the virtual brothers Hallucinate and Meticulous both of who are by Brett Lee and out of a daughter of Bobniak.

BUT, the commonality does not end there.

Shadale is line-bred 2x2 to Go Wild Teddy and Giddigan. They are bred on a reverse cross. Go Wild Teddy is by Head Honcho from a daughter of Malawi's Prince. Giddigan's sire has Malawi's Prince in his line and she is out of a daughter of Head Honcho.

When it comes time to mate Shadale's litter sisters, there is no doubt they will need an outcross mating such is the intensity of their pedigree.