Building Bloodlines is an in-depth exploration of the bloodlines behind some of the most successful horses over the last decade.
Delving into the ancestry of the last decade of winners across 12 major races in the UK and Ireland, uncover the trends to help you analyse the winners of the future…
The Gems of the Generations
Over the past decade there have been some familiar horses that have featured within winners’ bloodlines time and time again. They’ve become kings and queens of the breeding shed. Below you can discover the horses to most frequently appear in bloodlines across our study.
To explore the horses most frequently found in the bloodlines of winners across the UK and Ireland’s biggest races use the following toggles. You can filter by National Hunt or Flat racing, as well as viewing the overall most featured horses. To view the different generations of parentage, select from the options in the drop-down menu.
- Overall
- Flat
- National Hunt
Top 5 Horses in a Champion's Bloodline
The Rest of the Field
Bloodlines By Race
Analysing the last 10 winners in 12 of the biggest UK and Irish races, uncover the Champions of Cheltenham, the Daddies of the Derby and the legends of the Leger.
To discover the horses that most frequently appear in the first four generations of a winner’s bloodline, select from the meets below to discover a race-by-race breakdown.
Select a race
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Bloodlines By Year
Explore the races above in further detail, with the full bloodlines of the past 10 winners. Use the race toggles above to select your race and the years below to view four generations of bloodline for each winner.
Select a year
- 2010
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
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Winning Horse
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Year Born
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Owner
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Trainer
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Breeder
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Horse Type
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What Are Bloodlines?
The bloodline of a horse is essentially a racehorse’s family tree. For breeders and owners, getting the right bloodstock is huge, and is big business. Foals can be snapped up for upwards of £1million dependent on the mare and stallion, and over the years a number of sires and dams have proven to produce regular winners.
It’s believed at the very beginning of breeding horses in the UK, all thoroughbreds can be traced back to three imported stallions of Turkomen, Arab and Barb descent. Today, however, it’s the USA which is the largest producer of thoroughbreds, with the likes of Sadler’s Wells, Northern Dancer and Danehill notable Champion Sires.
Bloodlines by Generation
You can trace the bloodline of a horse back generations. This study explores the past four generations of parentage across the last 10 winners of the UK and Ireland’s biggest meetings.
To help understand which horses fall into each bracket, we have detailed each generation below…
First Generation:
- Dam: The mother of a horse.
- Sire: The father of a horse.
Second Generation:
- Granddam: The grandmother of a horse on either side.
- Grandsire: The grandfather of a horse on the sire’s side.
- Damsire: The grandfather of a horse on the dam’s side.
Third Generation:
- Great-Grandam: The great-grandmother of a horse on either side.
- Great-Grandsire: The great-grandfather of a horse on the sire’s side.
- Great-Damsire: The great-grandfather of a horse on the dam’s side.
Fourth Generation:
- Great-Great-Grandam: The great-great-grandmother of a horse on either side.
- Great-Great-Grandsire: The great-great-grandfather of a horse on the sire’s side.
- Great-Great-Damsire: The great-great-grandfather of a horse on the dam’s side.