You never know.
Even through Heaven Rocks (Rocknroll Heaven from Mendelico) brought a good price when sold at the APG sale...it's family has only a sprinkling of winners:
From the taproot mare Old Kate to Mendelico, there are 11 less than noteworthy mares, including the embarassingly named Dustcan and her daughter Can Opener.
You never know where the good ones come from !
http://www.classicfamilies.net/Horse...rseID=10181911
Noel, I imagine the family became irrelevant when the dam won 17/42 so Heaven Rocks was not so much unexpected while Mendelico could have been although her half sister, No More Trouble (2yrs younger) would have encouraged the owners/bidders of Mendelico as NMT won 5 and placed 5 of her first 10 starts as a 3yo
It's a classic case of a Mallee-bred family. Look at the horses bred in the extended family and you can guarantee none of the breeders owned a roadworthy horse float. All tended to be by the stallion just a couple of towns away. Mendelico (Pacific Fella) was a terrific mare, very classy. No surprise she has left a really good horse, as warts'n all as Heaven Rocks is
Short-bred does not necessarily mean ill-bred. Love to hear the experts explain Flashing Red's greatness from his pedigree. Look hard and you find a few topliners among not too many foals.