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Blofeld is a young Maryland stallion that we have used repeatedly in his first few seasons at stud. Through the first two months of 2022, he’s had 12 of his first-crop 3YOs race and 11 of those have won — an outstanding statistic that tracks his overall winners/runners ratio of 12 from 13 (out of just 24 foals in his first crop). With these first runners suggesting that Blofeld might be a sire on the rise, we are excited to send So Dear his way in 2022.
Blofeld was an unbeaten graded stakes winner at 2YO, the first graded winner for his sire Quality Road, who is now among the elite stallions in the country. Quality Road has so far had 11 runners out of mares by Tiznow or one of his sons, of which 10 are winners and one is the G2 winner Road to Victory. So that’s promising, even if the nicking system currently gives it a “no rating” designation.
We also find it relevant that Blofeld carries two crosses of Grey Flight through his dam (and with one of his most promising winners so far — Royal Spy — carrying two more crosses of Grey Flight, we think that influence is meaningful despite it being relatively removed in his pedigree), and So Dear’s dam is a half to the G3 placed So Glitzy by Gilded Time (whose broodmare sire, What a Pleasure, is a son of Grey Flight) and to the 7-time winner So Swanky by Fly So Free (whose sire, Time For a Change, traces in tail female to Grey Flight).
Also of interest to us is that Blofeld has 3 instances of the mare Flower Bowl in his pedigree, through her sons His Majesty and Graustark, as well as her daughter Bowl of Flowers, and So Dear brings in another line of His Majesty (through Cormorant in her case, whereas Blofeld has it via Pleasant Colony). And this mating will also bring together the closely-related My Babu, Ambiorix and Turn-To, which Edwin Anthony found especially noteworthy to the success of So Dear’s G1 winning half-brother Silver Wagon (as we’ve noted and quoted in our previous mating recommendations for her).
Although Blofeld himself was a relatively early 2YO and had most of his success at 2, he’s proving that he might be a bit more of a later-developing influence based on these first crop results. So the fact that So Dear placed in her first start as a 2YO and is a half-sister to the G1 winning 2YO Silver Wagon will hopefully blend well with Blofeld’s tendencies and produce a slightly earlier maturing foal. Then again, both Blofeld and So Dear are large, long, leggy horses, so perhaps those physical traits will lend themselves more to a late-developing type; but even if they do, Blofeld is quickly proving that it’s worth being patient with his offspring.