Belmont Stakes 2012 Bloodlines: Union Rags

Which horse has the best pedigree to handle twelve furlongs in the final leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday, June 9 at Belmont Park? My Belmont Stakes alphabetical list continues with Union Rags.

Union Rags’s late sire Dixie Union (by Dixieland Band) won the G1 Haskell in 2000, defeating Captain Steve and Milwaukee Brew. He also captured the G1 Malibu in his final career start and sired 39 stakes winners from his first eight crops including Gone Astray and Grasshopper. Dixie Union’s offspring are usually effective up to a mile and an eighth.

Dixie Union’s sire was Dixieland Band (by Northern Dancer), a Maryland-bred horse I remember when I first started following racing in the early 1980′s. Dixieland Band won the G2 Pennsylvania Derby and G2 Mass ‘Cap. He also competed in the 1983 Belmont Stakes and finished 14th.

Read the rest of this post at HorseRacingNation.com.

Belmont Stakes 2012 Bloodlines: Street Life

Which horse has the best pedigree to handle twelve furlongs in the final leg of the Triple Crown on Saturday, June 9 at Belmont Park? My Belmont Stakes alphabetical list continues with Street Life.

Street Life’s sire Street Sense (by Street Cry-IRE) won 6 of 13 races in 2006-07. The ’06 G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champ also captured the G3 Tampa Bay Derby, G1 Kentucky Derby, G2 Jim Dandy, and G1 Travers. He banked more than $4.3 million for trainer Carl Nafzger and owner Jim Tafel. The promising young sire is responsible for graded winners Motor City and Castaway.

Street Sense’s sire Street Cry-IRE (by Machiavellian) went 5-for-12 from 2000-02 and won such prestigious stakes races as the G1 Dubai World Cup and G1 Stephen Foster. He has sired multiple stakes winners including Desert Party, Street Boss, and Zenyatta.

Read the rest of this post at HorseRacingNation.com.