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But Penny Tweedy has a breeding theory based on the belief that every horse, male or female, has some defects; the trick is to cross bloodlines so that the dam's virtues cancel out the sire's flaws and vice versa. According to this theory, she had the ideal mate for Bold Ruler—a mare called Somethingroyal, daughter of a very different kind of sire named Princequillo.
Horses sired by Princequillo are usually the exact opposite of Bold Ruler foals; they have proved to be tough, durable, and able to go almost any distance, though seldom blessed with early speed. Mrs. Tweedy had never forgotten what another horse breeder once told her: "The Princequillos will run all day—and if the races get long enough and the other horses get tired enough, sooner or later they'll win for you."
The theory that you can breed a brilliant sire of young speedballs with the daughter of a line of gallant and tireless plodders and thereby produce a superhorse may be entirely wrong. Indeed, many people think that all breeding theories are wrong. "What you really need to get a good foal," one expert has said, "is a male horse, a female—and a lot of luck."
Horse racing history is, in fact, full of brilliant and expensive matings that have gone wrong. Champion mares bred to champion stallions have dropped foals that resembled neither parent in any respect except having four legs; the offspring have been pigeontoed, rough-kneed, cow-hocked, swaybacked, puny, soft-boned and wind-broken.
Still, science sometimes triumphs. In March of 1970, Somethingroyal dropped her foal by Bold Ruler at The Meadow. When Mrs. Tweedy visited the farm and saw the colt for the first time, she made a one-word entry in the notebook she keeps on her horses. The word was "Wow!"
The colt was big, bright-eyed, barrel-chested. A picture horse. His legs promised to be straight and flawless; knees and ankles—often soft spots on a thoroughbred—were trim and tight. As he grew, a purist determined not to give him 100% on looks might have argued that his rump was on the skimpy side. He was and still is, as track people say, just a touch goose-butted.
Conformation, like size and breeding formulas, does not always guarantee speed or spirit. Many big horses have their problems—malformed hind legs, for instance, or backs too long for ideal running. The majority of successful racers tend to run in medium sizes, or even on the small side. When Secretariat was a yearling romping around the farm, he demonstrated the proper spirit. Manager Howard Gentry recalls that "he always liked to lead the field, even when he was running with other yearlings across the pasture."
Still, there was some early doubt as to whether nature had intended Secretariat to run or just to be admired for his looks, his intelligence and his calm disposition. All big, growthy horses go through periods when, like awkward teenagers, they seem to be constantly tripping over their own feet. In Secretariat's case there was another problem: an insatiable appetite.