AP Answer – son of Champion AP Indy out of Champion Pas de Reponse
Fate may have played a key role in the destiny of excitingly well bred stallion A.P. Answer (USA) landing at Peter and Jenny Blyth’s Clifton Stud. But there was no luck in the manner his daughter Snow Call opened her sire’s winner account when speeding home to win a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m at Turffontein last Tuesday evening.
Trained by Corne Spies and ridden by Fanie Chambers, Snow Call is from A.P. Answer’s first crop and showed terrific speed and commitment to beat Arrive At Five with ease in a good time of 58,02 secs.
Snow Call was bred by Bruce Campbell, who races her in partnership. She is out of the one time winning Northern Guest mare, Snow Goose.
A.P. Answer’s first crop were in demand and sold for up to R200 000.
Peter Blyth takes up the story.
“We did a trip to the USA to see the Kentucky Derby and some stud farms in Lexington back in 1998. At Lane’s End Stud, we saw A.P. Indy and I was blown over by him,” Peter recalls. “He was absolutely beautiful. He was a $2,9 million yearling and a top racehorse.
“At the time we stood Allied Flag (also bred at Lane’s End) and from him we bred ‘Horse Of The Year’ Classic Flag, the record-breaking winner of the 1998 Durban July. Allied Flag was by Danzig and I have always been a huge fan of Danzig.
“Coincidently at the time, two of A.P. Indy’s Gr 1 winners were Run Up The Colors, a half-sister to our Allied Flag and Tomisue’s Delight who won or placed in five Gr 1 events in 1997. She was out of Prospector’s Delight (by Mr Prospector) another half-sister to our Allied Flag. Now, importantly to note, subsequently they put Prospector’s Delight to A.P. Indy and got the now very successful sire and four times Gr 1 winner Mineshaft. I could not wait to get back to tell my fellow shareholders in Allied Flag, that we should buy an A.P. Indy as our Allied Flag daughters should go very well, by what was already proven in the USA.
“At Claiborne we saw both Danzig and Mr Prospector. They were both near their ends but to see and touch these two world famous horses was incredible and a moving experience. While there, we stood at Secretariat’s grave. Secretariat had made such an impression on me when I was a youngster. We also stood at Bold Ruler and Buckpasser’s grave – two world famous sires.
“We also saw Seattle Slew at Three Chimneys, where he stood – a champion [1977 Triple Crown winner] and sire of A.P. Indy – and he bowled me over. Then at Ashford stud we saw Storm Bird. Storm Bird is a top sire, being the sire of Storm Cat, amongst others and his mother South Ocean is the fourth dam, along the bottom of A.P. answer’s female line.
“I wasn’t shopping for a stallion, having moved to KZN, but agents were still emailing me prospective sires. I would just look and delete the emails after glancing at them. When A.P Answer’s pedigree landed on my computer, all of the horses I had seen in the States was in this pedigree. A.P. Indy, Danzig, Mr Prospector, Seattle Slew, Secretariat and Storm Bird’s mother, Bold Ruler and Buckpasser. It was like an omen!! By A.P. Indy out of a Danzig mare, I couldn’t believe it. So instead of deleting it I just closed it. The next day I couldn’t help having another look. I hadn’t done any research but I could see this was a helluva good pedigree.
“Eventually I spoke to ‘the boss’ Jenny, and said I have a confession to make. I have a stallion pedigree on my email that I can’t delete, do you want to have a look at it? She said the only way to get it deleted was to get the price and the problem would be solved. But as it turned out, he was buyable. So the email was never deleted and that was how it all started. When I saw photos of the horse, I saw similarities to Allied Flag and I was even keener on him.”
A.P. Answer stands just under 16.1h.
“I think that he is a good looking horse, a racy looking horse with Danzig definitely coming through,” Peter says. “Sadly he damaged his knee and couldn’t produce it on the track as a result. People like the look of him and he has a good temperament. He has produced very nice foals – they are racy, scopey horses, and they are good looking. Most of the KZN breeders bought shares in him and he has been well supported thanks to them all.
“A.P. Answer won two races on turf over a mile in America, but his near fore knee plagued him. One of the partners that owned him, said that had the knee injury not happened, you would have heard a lot more about this horse. With his stunning pedigree, had he won Stakes races, there is no way that he would have been here.”
A.P. Answer has an incredibly strong dam-line. Pas de Reponse, his mother, was a champion 2 year-old filly with five wins in England and France, which include the Gr 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and 2nd in the GR1 Prix de l’abbaye de Longchamp, then third in the Prix Morny Gr 1. Her two brothers, Sunday Doubt and Saying are both Black Type winners too.
A.P. Answer stands at Clifton Stud for a fee of R10 000.
