Working with Tesiopower: Part 2

When constructing a pedigree based on either linebreeding or outcrossing principles it is an advantage to be able to check that the genetic cocktail that you have put together is actually producing the outcome that you are seeking.
For example, you may have a young racemare fresh off the track that had a distinct staying aptitude. Let's assume that she was well-performed and peaked with maturityand is deemed as a Commercial mare from which you plan to breed for the Sales.
She lacked a bit of top end speed or turn of foot and definitely lacked precocity.
She may need a stallion with high speed ( probably a sprinting stallion ) as well as one who is injecting very early maturity ( probably a stallion who is a recognised producer of juvenile performance ).
By utilising the Dosage Icon within the Tesiopower programme for a particular test-mating we can immediately see if the chosen stallion is indeed having the soughtafter impact on the proposed foal's likely Dosage Profile ( otherwise referred to as an Aptitude Profile ).
Whilst never one hundred percent guaranteed, the Dosage Profile is the best indicator we have to work with at the moment thanks to the upgrading work in 2002 of Dr Steve Roman and  William Hewitt, the latter bringing in the American greats in 1977 as the early dosage work focussed on European performance only through the work of founding pioneers, firstly Lt Col J.J.Vuiller and then Franco Varola.
It is not our intention here to go into the deep mechanics of how dosage operates other than to very briefly summarise it's workings.
Based on largely superior male performers over time who are termed Chefs-de-Race, each Chefs De Race was placed into one of five categories based on race performance.
The categories presented what was known as a Dosage Profile and comprised Brilliant, Intermediate, Classic, Solid and Professional classifications.
Points were allocated to each   Chefs-de-Race based on his appearance in the pedigree at particular generational levels.
For example, the 1st generational level incurred 16 points, the 2nd level 8 points, the 3rd level 4 points and the 4th generational level 2 points.
It was not uncommon for some elite male ancestors to have their points split and equally allocated to two category types e.g. Brilliant and Classic.
In the perfect world an equal balance of sprinting and stamina qualities throwing a Normal Distribution Curve may be desirable but there are many reasons why breeders are breeding a horse including going down a sprinter's path or focussing exclusively on a staying type or wanting to focus on a likely juvenile type.
In our work with dosages the points tally for the summationof each of the five classifications is not as important as the balance of the spread in order to achieve a well-equipped all round racehorse.  
To highlight what we are talking about here we will randomly summarise the Dosage Profiles of Sunline and High Chaparral.
                                         Sunline             High Chaparral
Brilliant                                 4.0                       7.5
Intermediate                          5.0                       5.5
Classic                                  8.5                     23.0
Solid                                     2.5                       9.5
Professional                          1.0                       2.5
Total:                                  21.0                      48.0

Although the above Dosage Profile totals appear wide apart the key point is the distribution balance rather than the totals per se. Both were elite racehorses. What High Chaparral offered as a stallion was a high infusion of Class predecessors up close in a pedigree match, something absolutely excellent to upgrade a mare's pedigree to the benefit of her foal.
From the five classifications as outlined above Tesiopower delivers a Speed / Stamina Index with Speed set to a maximum of +2.0 and Stamina set to a maximum of -2.0. From this we can ascertain a horse's likely Centre of Distribution towards either speed or stamina.
From left to right the Brilliant, Intermediate and half of the Classic categories are found in the left half i.e.Speed half of the Speed / Stamina Index and half of the Classic and all of the Solid and Professional categories are to be found in the right half or the Stamina half of the Speed / Stamina Index.
Sunline has a Centre of Distribution of 0.40, this sitting comfortably in the Speed sector whilst High Chaparral has a Centre of Distribution of 0.12 placing him just inside the Speed sector. If this Centre of Distribution had jumped to the Stamina side the you would have expected a pretty dour sort of animal more akin to a Secured Deposit type.
A third associated measure that we find more than useful is the Dosage Index.
This is a great indicator of where a foal from a mating is likely to settle in terms of it's own aptitude. We call this it's likely Aptitude Profile.
Again from left to right we run through five different categories with Earlycomer and Sprinter on the left side of the Centre of Distribution and Miler, Middle Distance and Stayer placed on the right side of the Centre of Distribution.
If we go back to Sunline her Dosage Index is 1.71 which has her placed just inside a Middle Distance category i.e. a 2000-2200 metre horse maximum, about as ideal as you could get for a Cox Plate horse.
High Chaparral on the other hand has a Dosage Index of 1.04 placing him on the outer edge of Middle Distance and on the cusp of Stayer so once again ideal as a Derby aspirant. No surprises then that he put an English and an Irish Derby on his resume.
Before we conclude, a quick word on a recent impressive 6 lengths debut maiden winner in New Zealand who turned a lot of heads with his ultra quick time. His name is One More Time, a son of the Street Cry stallion Per Incanto.
One More Time's Dosage Profile is as follows;

Brilliant             5.0
Intermediate      2.5
Classic              7.5
Solid                 0.0
Professional      1.0
Total:               16.0 

This is a Speed /Stamina Index that is geared towards Speed with a Centre of Distribution of 0.66 so we are more than likely looking at a sprinter / miler here with maturity.
This is further confirmed if we look at the resultant Dosage Index of 2.37 which pinpoints perhaps a dead set miler with maturity.

Footnote:

We mentioned earlier on that Tesiopower Dosage indicators are not an exact science and occasionally toss up an exception.
In 2005 Wahid ( Almutawakel - Rory's Helen, by Rory's Jester )was down to debut in the 1200m Wakefield Challenge Stakes, from the Sharrock barn at Waitara.
We had done our due diligence on his Tesiopower Aptitude Profile which gave us tremendous confidence to have a healthy wager on him in this race. He didn't let us down, romping home and paying handsomely more because of the "unknown factor" than anything else. But Tesiopower had indicated to us that he would be a big chance if he lived up to his profile.
His Dosage Profile read like this;

Brilliant                 17.0
Intermediate           3.0
Classic                   9.0
Solid                      0.0
Professional           2.0
Total:                    31.0

With a Centre of Distribution of 1.06 for his Speed / Stamina Index ( way skewed towards Speed ) and a Dosage Index of 3.77 ( just into the realms of a Sprinter and near bordering on a precocious Earlycomer ) there was no way anything pointed towards him winning the 2006 NZ Derby ( despite starting the favourite minus my money this time ) but win it he did with a slashing turn of foot at the business end.
​It was an appropriate reminder that young horses can do what they are not bred to do against their own Age Group and that Dosage Profiles are not a completely foolproof tool.