Briar Rose's bloodlines

"Dizzy Lizzy", as she was known to the Jockey Club, was sired by Cat Thief, who put his stamp on her:

Her dam's sire was Academy Award, one of the last surviving sons of Secretariat:

How it started

It all started with a brief email on 7/10/2012 8:29 PM from our riding instructor, Julia, with a link to the website of a nearby place that retrains off-track Thoroughbreds, Leighton Farm. 

I took a look at the pictures. Four years old, solid bay mare, 15.3 hands tall, retired sound. Not bad, her conformation basics were decent, but I admit she didn't jump off the screen at me.

Then I took a look at the linked videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6HCIaIybGU

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDCFYy8mVss

and I was impressed. She has a lovely trot stride, especially after being warmed up at the canter. She fussed a little with her head, like any green horse, but accepted the directions of her rider nicely.

Then I freeze-framed a shot of her jumping and liked the form I saw:

I checked her racing records: 10 starts, one win, $9032 earned. Last raced in November, 8 months ago. Yeah, that's why she's available.

Then I took a look at her bloodlines.

3/16 Secretariat!?? Alydar, Mr. Prospector, Northern Dancer!??

I emailed Julia: 7/10/2012 8:47 PM, 18 minutes after the first email: "I'll take her".