A No Nonsense Pedigree

The decade of the 1990's has been noteworthy in world trotting for many reasons, not the least of which is that it has been a remarkable decade for trotting females. We have been blessed to see many of the finest fillies in history compete over the last ten years of this century.

The decade opened with the final chapters in the wondrous career of Peace Corps, and we got to see the development of such wonderful fillies as Continentalvictory, Act Of Grace, Lookout Victory, Armbro Keepsake, Winky's Goal, Imperfection, Gleam and Armbro Monarch, Expressway Hanover, Moni Maker and CR Kay Suzie. In Europe, racegoers delighted to the exploits of aged stars Ina Scot and Queen L.

Another top filly also appeared in the latter part of this decade and she was purposely left off the foregoing list because she is the subject of our column this week--the spectacular No Nonsense Woman, a daughter of the first crop of Sierra Kosmos.

Bred by Massimo Bianchi of Switzerland and Dr. Bill Solomon of Pin Oak Lane Farm in Pennsylvania, No Nonsense Woman was sold at the 1995 Harrisburg sale of the Standardbred Horse Sales Co. for $40,000. The successful buyer was the veteran and skilled horseman Jim Doherty, whose horsemanship had been honed on the New England circuit as a young trainer, and then were fully developed as he brought a stable of top raceway horses to the Meadowlands in the late 1970's when that racing complex was opened. Doherty is respected and liked by his peers and his management of No Nonsense Woman is one of the finest examples of a professional horseman working his magic with a potentially great, but headstrong filly.

Doherty knew the strapping dark brown filly had ability from the moment he put her between the shafts. As a two-year-old, she flashed her brilliance in winning the Goldsmith Maid, and showed her problems in making a break in a Breeders Crown elimination. She is a big, robust filly and wanted to race aggressively. At three, No Nonsense Woman developed into a very mature, raceable filly. There is no doubt that in the hands of a less competent horseman, we would never have heard of No Nonsense Woman. To indicate the respect that Doherty commands, many observers thought he might start his filly in the Hambletonian Open division in 1997, as her brilliant tactical speed may have been a tough assignment for Malabar Man's deliberate racing style. The thought was that if Malabar Man spotted her a bunch of lengths, he might not catch her. Unfortunately, No Nonsense Woman was having physical problems at the time of the Hambletonian, and Doherty kept her with the fillies, but it should be noted that she and the ill-fated Must Be Victory put on a much better show in the Hambletonian Oaks than the boys did in the big race. The two fillies trotted in 1:53.2 when the colts had all they wanted in 1:55.

Rebounding from her Oaks loss, No Nonsense Woman never lost again in 1997, capping her remarkable two-year-run through the Stakes Guide with a convincing victory in the Breeders Crown at Mohawk. She won more than $1.1 million and earned a 3,1:54 badge at Du Quoin in the World Trotting Derby filly stake. She won 14 of her 17 starts at three, and was three times second. She also won the inaugural Delvin Miller, the Colonial Lady and the Matron.

No Nonsense Woman is from the first crop of the brilliantly fast Sierra Kosmos 3,1:53.4 and is out of the Prakas mare Sarah's Fergi, now the property of Hanover Shoe Farms. No Nonsense Woman is the third foal of her dam, who is a half-sister to the $2.5 million winner Napoletano 3,1:53.2, and is also a half-sister to the Ohio stakes star Norine Hill T1:57.3; $150,068 and J D's Tryst 1:59.2; $63,901. The second dam is the Noble Victory mare Noble Sarah, a full sister to the iron-tough Noble Tryst 3,T1:59.3, a horse who won 32 races and more than $500,000.

Florican Songcan     Ami Song Nearly Perfect     Super Bowl Exciting     Gypsy Slipper Sierra Kosmos     Victory Song Noble Victory     Emily's Pride Sunkiss Bel     B F Coaltown Sunday Hill     Starlette Hill No Nonsense Woman     Speedy Scot Speedy Crown     Missile Toe Prakas     Star's Pride Prudy Hanover     Prudence N Sarah's Fergie     Victory Song Noble Victory     Emily's Pride Noble Sarah     Rodney Miss Sarah Rodney     Victory Miss

Maternally, this is one of the breed's best and biggest families, and one of its most historic, for this family is home to such important horses as Peter Volo, Worthy Boy and Rosalind. In fact, No Nonsense Woman's sixth dam, the Peter the Great mare The Great Miss Morris, is a full sister to Peter Volo in the famed Nervolo Belle branch of this family.

The fact that a non-record half-sister to such a brilliant horse as Napoletano would produce an outstanding trotter should not come as a surprise to anyone with any knowledge of pedigrees. A very good way to produce a champion is to own and breed a mare who is a sister or half-sister to a top horse or mare. In many cases, such as this one, the sister or half-sister will outproduce the more accomplished sibling as a broodmare. It is a recurring pattern in many successful pedigrees.

Additionally, No Nonsense Woman's pedigree gives us more evidence of the often productive outcome of effective inbreeding. Sierra Kosmos, her sire, is doubly linebred to Star's Pride and Victory Song, and her dam Sarah's Fergi is doubled up to Star's Pride and Rodney. No Nonsense Woman is herself inbred to Noble Victory. Sierra Kosmos has a Noble Victory dam, and there are multiple crosses to Speedy Scot, Star's Pride and Rodney in this genetic mix. It is a very strong, contemporary pedigree.

Let us return to the siring side of this equation for a moment. Sierra Kosmos was owned, trained and driven by Rick Beinhauer of Pennsylvania, and he was as precocious a colt trotter as ever appeared. From his very first appearance on the track, he displayed breathtaking speed. He was a difficult horse to manage however, and often made breaks behind the gate. His headstrong ways notwithstanding, he still won half his 30 starts, and earned $558,710. His most important victory came in the Beacon Course at The Meadowlands (he was not eligible to the Hambletonian) and he also won a heat of the World Trotting Derby and captured the Bluegrass Stake at Lexington, where he took his record.

Sierra Kosmos is currently one of the top young sires in the industry, having produced not only a trotter of No Nonsense Woman's accomplishment, but he is also the second-leading money-winning sire currently in North America. In 1997, his get earned more than $2.8 million, ranking him among the top three trotting sires. His two and three year olds won more money than the comparable get of Valley Victory. He was the sport's second leading sire of 2:05 two year olds and also among the top five in the production of 2:00 3-year-olds.

The only thing wanting in his production to date is the siring of a colt star, and that should only be a matter of time. His 3-year-old son Kick Tail is currently undefeated in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action and he also has the Currier & Ives winner Mr. Jack Daniels and another good colt named Anything's Possible. Any one of these, or a yet undiscovered 2-year-old, could be the colt star he needs to move into trotting's upper echelon.

No Nonsense Woman's racetrack presentation always intrigued me, for she is remarkably like her close relative Napoletano. I would suggest that if we super-imposed video of the two side by side it would hard to tell the difference between them.

Napoletano was one of our favorite horses and his three-year-old career in North America was marked by two amazing defeats of arch-rival Mack Lobell in the World Trotting Derby and the Kentucky Futurity. The latter race, in which he robbed Mack Lobell of the Triple Crown, is pointed to by most observers as one of the greatest trotting races of all time. A tall, athletic, streamlined horse, Napoletano had a long, ground-devouring stride that eerily re-appeared in No Nonsense Woman.

If No Nonsense Woman can regain the form of her two and three-year-old seasons in the US, she will join a long list of trotting females delighting racing fans on both sides of the Atlantic.