Violet's grandpa on her daddy's side is Runaway Groom, a 1979 sire who currently is at stud at the Vinery in Lexington, Kentucky. His 2007 stud fee is $12,500! He is 28 years old, and when he raced, he raced 18, won 6, placed 5, and showed 1. He won the Breeders Stakes, Travers Stakes, and Prince of Wales Stakes. The latter two were Grade 1 Stakes. In fact, by winning the Queens Plate, Prince of Wales and Breeders Stakes at Woodbine, he became the Canadian Triple Crown Winner! He has so-far foaled over 1,000 babies with 22 foal crops, with 139 stakes horses, 54 graded stakes horses, and 13 record setters. Four of his children have become millionaires on the race track. His son, Violet's daddy, Groomstick is #6 of Runaway Groom's top 10 race-earning children. He is considered a precious, if under-appreciated stud. Currently, he is ranked #20 nationally as preferred stud, and in Kentucky he is currently ranked #13. Last year's 2006 breeding season, he finished with the national rank of 78! Not so bad!!! There are a million different ways to rank him though -- producer of dirt track horses, milers, sprinters, etc. In 2006, he was often in the Top 5 on many of these lists. And he is very popular as a stud in New York, Florida and the Southeast region. See how sexy he is in his racing photo?! What a hottie! So, he is 28 years-old and there are some experts who perceive him as very precious. One Reines-de-Course pedigree analyst said that "Nasrullah-line sires are precious to us at this point in the history of breeding." Specifically, of Runaway Groom, this analyst said, "If you're lucky enough to have some of this bloodline, do work it properly and try to keep it alive. It's really pretty precious stuff." You can read more about him and his famous children at the following links:
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and take a look at one of his boys, a 2000 stud named The Lady's Groom. He's hilarious because he looks like the boy version of my very girly Violet!!
or you can even watch him winning the Travers Stakes at the following link. After he won the Canadian Triple Crown, his owner sent him to America to kick some butt here. It's very exciting because he is in last place the entire race and then suddenly comes from behind in the last turn -- he beats the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes winners for that year! They were all entered in that race. What a stud muffin!
You can also read about him at the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame! They are very proud of him. So, hey you, Elena. Violet's grandpa can be a trick question for the "Dead or Canadian" game!