When it was previously announced that six-time Group One winning mare Laurens (Siyouni x Recambe, by Cape Cross) would visit No Nay Never in 2020, the match seemed an excellent one. But that has changed, and Laurens will now be bred this year to 23-year-old Invincible Spirit, a perennial leading sire and sire of sires. Perhaps this was a choice based on the fear that the old standby would not be at stud much longer, and that the opportunity must be seized.

At least on paper, however, the cross with No Nay Never remains a very good one.
Invincible Spirit (Green Desert x Rafha, by Kris) stands at the Irish National Stud for 100,000€, and is certainly one of the great sires of our time. But he has not sired any Group or Listed winners with Siyouni, Laurens’ broodmare sire, and has only sired one such winner with Siyouni’s sire, Pivotal, though that is the Group One winning Mayson, in his lengthy career. As well, the resulting foal would be 2 x 4 Green Desert, as he is the sire of Invincible Spirit, and the sire of Laurens’ broodmare sire, Cape Cross. The theory in breeding seems to be that there is no such thing as too much Green Desert, but seems a mite too close.

Laurens’ pedigree is interesting for many reasons, but most notably the presence of Imperatrice in her female family instantly adds fascination. Imperatrice is the dam of Somethingroyal (Princequillo), the dam of Secretariat, and also the dam of Sir Gaylord, prominent in Green Desert. It must be noted as well that a dose of Bold Ruler, through Stop the Music, creates, in Laurens’ dams’ side, a close genetic relative of Secretariat, and reaches out to the strength of Somethingroyal in Green Desert, making the choice of Invincible Spirit a good one.

The very hot, young No Nay Never, by Scat Daddy and out of the Elusive Quality mare Cat’s Eye Witness, offers better inbreeding to Somethingroyal, through the Secretariat mare, Terlingua, the dam of Storm Cat; through Gone West’s dam, Secrettame, also by Secretariat; and through Sir Gaylord’s previously mentioned son, Sir Ivor, also in Elusive Quality’s pedigree. No Nay Never stands at Coolmore Ireland, for 150,000€, so the stud fee shouldn’t have been an issue.

One more element in Laurens’ pedigree would make her more appealing to the Storm Cat/Mr. Prospector available in No Nay Never: her dose of Rough ‘n Tumble in her sires’ side, and of Dr. Fager, a son of Rough ‘n Tumble, in her dams’ side. In North American breeding, both the Storm Cat line and the Mr. Prospector line like little better than an addition of that family for grit and speed.
Though No Nay Never hasn’t yet, in his brief career, had a Group or Listed winner out of a Siyouni or Pivotal mare, it is Laurens’ dams’ side that begs for No Nay Never. With luck, that young stallion will have a long career at stud, as will Laurens, and they can keep their date in the future.

-- Roberta Smoodin