By Frank Marrion - Harness Racing Weekly

Tinted Cloud is a very good example that some sires prove to be something very different to what one might have realistically expected, or that they are not always what they seem to be.

On pedigree and performance, one could have expected him to prove a useful sire of juvenile speed, but it is the individual that really matters in most cases, as opposed to breeding and racing credentials, that is more likely to provide a more reliable guide to what sort of sire he might turn out to be.

On pedigree, Tinted Cloud is by In The Pocket and from the Direct Scooter sire line, which is about as close as one is going to get to a source of precocious juvenile ability, and from a No Nukes mare who belongs to a family of early speed, with close relations including top 2-year-old colt Island Fantasy, the brilliant filly Three Mile Island and the ill-fated Storm Island, who was a hot pre post Woodrow Wilson favourite before dying.

He was also clearly the best juvenile colt about in Maryland in 1996, running away with his Sires Stakes final by four lengths in 1.54.2f, while he was just as dominant at three, winning two Maryland Sires Stakes finals, one by nine lengths in 1.52.6f.

However, one of the reasons In The Pocket was never accorded due respect at stud in America was because he stood his initial seasons in Maryland, and like Tinted Cloud on the track, he had no real competition at stud.

Tinted Cloud would later prove his class as a free-for-all pacer outside of Maryland, but cleaning up in that boutique standardbred state, was hardly about to raise too many eyebrows.

Tinted Cloud is not your average In The Pocket however, or a Courage Under Fire, Light And Sound, Advance Attack, Bella's Boy, Lennon, Tupelo Rose and Under Cover Lover.

They were noted juveniles largely because they weren't overly big horses.

Tinted Cloud is much bigger than your average standardbred today at 16.1 hands, and while he is an imposing and athletic individual, he is not representative of a breed which in more recent times, has in many quarters been 'bred small to go early'.

While there are those breeders, owners and trainers who aim for Sires Stakes racing, there are just as many who would prefer a Cup horse whose career has a degree of longevity as an aged horse, and Tinted Cloud offers some size and 'bottom' to certain equations.

So the Tinted Clouds take time, and while he had the ability to be placed in 1.48 and change at The Meadowlands, such times also don't necessarily prove a reliable indicator of genuine speed.

Such is the style of racing at The Meadowlands and most North American tracks, where they are far more likely to run four fast and even quarters as opposed to just a fast last half or quarter, it takes good stayers to win and/or be placed in sub-1.50 miles there.

There was a time when the standardbred went through a 'speed explosion' which was almost entirely attributed to Meadow Skipper, but that speed explosion was in reality almost entirely due to the advent of the Meadowlands and the fact that Meadow Skipper was a great sire of true and game stayers who were well suited to the style of racing.

Thus, while Tinted Cloud might have appeared 'on paper' to be a likely source of early speed, he was always going to be a better sire of stayers and his progeny were always going to take time.

We know this now anyway, with that wonderful benefit of hindsight.

One could count his juvenile winners on one hand, but we can see from the accompanying table and the winning percentages, just how much his progeny improve from age three to four.

After getting good books in his first two seasons at stud, Tinted Cloud's popularity waned over the next three years, due to not many of his progeny showing up quickly enough, but he has certainly bounced back since last year due to a combination of factors.

Some solid performers last season and some much needed depth from his first crop has certainly been one big factor, while not hurting either was having two starters from his first crop in the 2004 Sires Stakes Final (Richard Henry, Tee Pee Village), two winners in Chief Red Cloud and the ill-fated Chromatic on New Zealand Cup day last year on a day which was dominated by In The Pocket and Christian Cullen, or Richard Henry winning last season's WA Derby.

But mostly, the reason he has bounced back from attracting just 40 mares two years ago to 220 last season and probably over 150 this year, is because he is now being considered a sire doing a decent job who represents very good value.

Particularly now that he is available at $1500 in a 'two for one' deal.

He has found a niche market for breeders and owners who are looking to race, without spending a fortune on stud fees.

He has never really had the commercial mares from the start - he has only had four yearlings sell at the sales - and not a lot is about to change in that respect.

And while he is going to suffer in the immediate coming years due to lack of numbers coming through from his third, fourth and fifth crops, with over 150 foals hitting the deck this season, he will one day return to the right side of the 'numbers game' ledger.

“Champion sires will always overcome poor mares, but on the whole the quantity and quality of the mares a sire is accorded has an awful lot to do with it, so Tinted Cloud was up against it right from the start,” said studmaster Michael House recently.

“But he is now being recognised as being excellent value, and there aren't a lot of options in that department here any more,” he added.

TINTED CLOUD: NZ crop by crop as at November 2...

Crop* Fee Mares Foals (fert)Reg Qual/sters Wnrs Prem Av (sold)

4yos $2500 171 124 (74.7%) 108 60 (55.5%) 32 (29.6%) $16,000 (2)

(Chief Red Cloud, Nemisis, Richard Henry, Tee Pee Village, Two Clouds)

3yos $2000 116 80 (69.6%) 71 33 (46.5%) 9 (12.7%) $5750 (2)

(Anna Livia, Loud N Clear)

2yos $1250 87 56 (67.5%) 48 5 (10.4%) 2 (4.2%) None

TOTALS 374 260 (70.6%) 227 98 (43.2%) 43 (18.9%)

1yos $1250 44 35 (79.6%) 23 - - None

Foals $1250 40 23 (60.5%) 20

05/06 $1250 220

05/06 $1500**

*Denotes age of crop last season.

**Denotes second mares free.

Tinted Cloud's NZ siring stats season by season...(as at November 2)

Season Sters Wnrs Sts 1st 2nd 3rd Stakes (place)

06/07 23 6 72 7 2 7 $45,440 (15th)

05/06 49 25 388 42 29 36 $281,011 (16th)

04/05 35 14 208 25 25 16 $141,672 (30th)

03/04 6 0 9 0 0 0 $2029 (110th)

Totals 677 74 56 59 $470,152

The second elimination provided the second track record of the night as Redbud Stable & Michael McNeely’s Thisbigdogwillfight became the fastest 3 Y.O. gelding pacer in Balmoral Park history when he tripped the timer in a blistering 1:49.2.

With the top three pacers in the division all drawing into this elimination the race figured to be a heated affair from start to finish. It proved to be just that as My Boy David (Andy Miller) and Fox Valley Tribal (Ryan Anderson) traded turns on the front end through opening splits of 26.4 and 54.2.

After spying that action from a nice spot in fourth driver Brent Holland moved Thisbigdogwillfight first over on the final turn and these two had drawn to within a length of My Boy David as they rolled by the three-quarter-mile station in 1:22.2.

The pace setter continued to hold firm through the lane but a determined Thisbigdogwillfight was still living up to his name. Slowly reeling in the leader through the final sixteenth of a mile the Jim Eaton trained son of the The Big Dog was able to get a head in front as they hit the wire in the record setting time.

My Boy David was a game second while Fox Valley Appeal (Mike Oosting) rallied for the show dough. Fox Valley Tribal wound up fourth while Wonderful One (Sam Widger) gained a spot in the final with his fifth place finish.