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Having previously been bred to Mr. Prospector-line stallions from the Unbridled, Forty Niner and Smart Strike branches, the stakes-placed Rock Slide mare Lucy Boo will try the Gone West branch of the Mr. P sire-line in 2019 when she visits Munnings in a Housatonic Recommended Mating.
Rock Slide is a full-brother to Horse of the Year Mineshaft and thus a son of A.P. Indy, and Lucy Boo is actually inbred 3×3 to A.P. Indy’s Triple Crown-winning sire Seattle Slew, with whom Munnings has so far had very good race track results. More specifically, there are two stakes winners from just 34 foals so far by Munnings out of mares by sons or grandsons of Seattle Slew (interestingly, all other sons of Speightstown have combined for just one stakes winner from 102 foals out of such mares), and three more Munnings stakes winners have second dams by Seattle Slew-line horses. There is also the impressive 2-year-old debut winner Fancy Dress Party (a $280,000 yearling purchase) by Munnings from a Seattle Slew granddaughter, so the cross could look even better shortly.
We have mentioned repeatedly (almost ad nauseam, now) how highly we think of Munnings as a stallion, and with his stud fee reduced to $20,000 in 2019, he has to be the best value sire in the business (if he wasn’t already). To hit some of the highlights: from his first 413 foals of racing age, including 128 2-year-olds of 2018, he has 27 stakes winners — an excellent 7%. This includes a pair of Grade 1 winners and eleven total Graded stakes winners. If you take this year’s 2-year-olds out of the stats (he does have one juvenile stakes winner this year), he has 9.5% stakes winners/foals aged 3 and up, and 3.9% Graded winners/foals. He has also accomplished this without much help from his mates, so far, as he has a 1.61 AEI/1.27 CI ratio. With his better-bred crops coming shortly (starting with his 2018 yearlings, of which 64 averaged almost $80,000 this year, compared to his 2017 yearling average of $52,000 for 56 sold), these statistics are only going to improve in the coming years.
As mentioned, Lucy Boo’s sire Rock Slide is a full-brother to Mineshaft, and Mineshaft’s stakes winners as a broodmare sire so far include two by grandsons of Gone West (as Munnings is), one of those being the Grade 2-winning 2-year-old Leave the Light On. And Lucy Boo’s broodmare sire, Williamstown, is also the broodmare sire of a stakes winner by a son of Gone West, so this cross works from both sides. Looking at Lucy Boo’s female family, three of the most accomplished runners on her page are by the Mr. Prospector son Big Mukora — Mr. Prospector being the sire of Gone West as well — so that’s another plus for this pairing.
Lucy Boo herself won at 6 furlongs on dirt and 1-1/16 miles on turf, and was stakes placed on the latter surface. This versatility is something that the Munnings offspring have in common, as well — another factor to recommend this match.
Will Munnings, by Munnings out of a Seattle Slew granddaughter, wins the Gazebo Stakes
Wings Locked Up, by Munnings out of a Seattle Slew granddaughter, wins the Dark Star Cup
Munnings wins the G2 Woody Stephens
Munnings wins the G2 Tom Fool
Munnings breezes prior to selling for $1.8 million at Calder