Blue Striker

WHILE all the hoo-hah of the Nationals was being played out at Sandown on Friday night, Victorian dog man Peter Akathiotis was once again proving "when you are on a good thing, stick to it".

Peter's home-bred Blue Striker (Blue Giant-Blue Lavros by Where's Pedro) ran 29.57 to win a graded race on Nationals night which compared more than favourably with the 29.43 run by West On Augie to win the Group 1 National Sprint.

Blue Striker, you see, will not be two years old until November and yet, in 12 race starts to date he has won five and earned $21,000.

Reservoir based Peter has been breeding with Blue Striker's direct damline since Aussie Girl (Chief Dingaan-Ima Card by Benjamin John) a bitch whelped way back in 1983.

A mating to Buka Sunset with Aussie Girl produced a very good race bitch Peter named Aussie Sunrise.

Therein lies the success of Peter Akathiotis.

His latest star on the rise, Blue Striker, is hugely in-bred to Aussie Sunrise 5x5x5. Let's see how.

Blue Striker's sire Blue Giant (Knocka Norris-Aussie Nicky)raced 114 times for Peter winning 21 and being placed 30 times earning $91,000.

His litter brother Nockabout Aussie started 126 times for4 18 wins and 36 placings earning $104,000.

Blue Giant's dam Aussie Nicky was in-bred 3x3 to Aussie Sunrise along the tail female line on both sides of her pedigree. Aussie Nicky was 2x2 to half sisters Aussie Tears and Aussie Pearl.

Aussie Tears had 82 starts for 20 wins and 21 placings.

Aussie Pearl had 42 starts for five wins and five placings and she was a Sandown winner.

Blue Lavros (Where's Pedro-Aussie Belle by History Lesson) is the dam of Blue Striker and she started 47 times for eight wins and 11 placings earning $27,000.

She too came from a wonderful litter which also included Kid Maximus (11 wins, 29 placings, $88,000) and Hala Belle (12 wins, 17 placings, $65,000).

Blue Lavros has Aussie Sunrise as her fourth dam.

But the factor that caught my eye most was that Aussie Nicky (dam of Blue Giant) and Aussie Belle (dam of Blue Lavros) are virtually sisters each carrying Aussie Sunrise, Gun Law Osti and Head Honcho in their pedigree.

There are five named offspring in Blue Striker's litter and two are winners so far ... remembering they will not be two until November.

WHICH brings me to the recent Waterloo Cup victory of Bear Left (El Grand Senor-Angel's Chorus by Bekim Bale).

On the racetrack, Con Dimopoulous-owned and Ray Henness-trained Bear Left has started 15 times for six wins and two placings.

His dam Angel's Chorus (Bekim Bale-Casey's Angel by Spiral Nikita) was a finalist in the Group 2 WA Oaks while winning six races and earning $18,000.

Angel's Chorus was from that fabulous litter that included Group stars All Strung Out (25 wins, $215,000) and Anything Less (15 wins, $91,000).

This is the famed direct damline of National Lass.

Bear Left appears to have thrown to the Bekim Bale side of his pedigree. He is just 31kgs, similar in weight to his damsire Bekim Bale. His sire, El Grand Senor, raced at 39.7kgs and EGS's damsire Elgrando was 39.6kgs.

The pedigree of Bear Left shows a 2x4 cross the litter brothers Where's Pedro and Hallucinate but they are hardly placed in Bear left's pedigree to impact.

The only real line breeding found in Bear Left's pedigree comes via the sisters Zulu Moss and Riviera Moss but they are way back.

Dam Angel's Chorus is line bred to the genetic relations Westmead Flight and Phantom Flash (both by Flashy Sir and out of daughters of famed broodbitch Westmead Satin).

They come into Angel's Chorus' pedigree 4x3.

Waterloo Cup runner-up Julana (Dyna Double One-Chelabella by Cosmic Rumble) has a nicely balanced pedigree.

Dam Chelabella is in-bred 3x3 to daughters of Brett Lee who is found in Dyna Double One via a SON.

Spiral Nikita is duplicated in Julana's pedigree but via sons. Being a female, Julana is herself the balancing effect in this mating.

Julana's third dam Lil Lee is incestuously in-bred to Wee Sal 3x3, which makes Julana's dam Chelabella in-bred three times to Wee Sal 5x5x5 all of them positioned to impact with each other.

It would be my opinion Chelabella needed to be mated to a complete outcross stud dog in a bid to help her succeed at stud.