The individuals and families present in Move To Strike’s pedigree as described below, are accompanied by suggested sires to seek in mares’ pedigrees (marked in BOLD) to complement or reinforce these features.
Focusing on Move To Strike’ sire I Am Invincible, his 10-time Group 1 winning daughter IMPERATRIZ is bred on the same cross as Move To Strike, also being out of a Shamardal mare. Her second damsire is Encosta De Lago(by Fairy King). I Am Invincible has had plenty of success with mares from the sire lines of FAIRY KING, his brother SADLER’S WELLS and three-quarter brother NUREYEV. Group winners bred on this pattern by I Am Invincible include MEDIA SENSATION, INVINCIBELLA, LOMBARDO, DAME GISELLE, WISHFUL THINKER, LIBERTINI, MISS LEONIDAS, TIZ INVINCIBLE, KING’S GAMBIT, ENRICHED, etc.
FAIRY KING line mares to seek for Move To Strike are predominantly those by his son ENCOSTA DE LAGO and sons NORTHERN METEOR (sire of ZOUSTAR and DEEP FIELD), MANHATTAN RAIN, NEEDS FURTHER and RUBICK.
SADLER’S WELLS line mares to suit Move To Strike include those by, or tracing to ADELAIDE, ARTIE SCHILLER, AUTHORIZED, CAMELOT, CHURCHILL, DAWN APPROACH, DUNDEEL, EL PRADO, FLYING ARTIE, FRANKEL, GALILEO, HIGH CHAPARRAL, HIGHLAND REEL, KERMADEC, MEDAGLIA D’ORO, RIP VAN WINKLE, SINGSPIEL, SO YOU THINK, TAVISTOCK and TORONADO.
Representatives of NUREYEV include ASHKALANI, EXCELLENT ART, GOOD JOURNEY, PEINTRE CELEBRE, PIVOTAL, SIYOUNI, SPINNING WORLD, STARCRAFT, STAR WITNESS and STRAVINSKY.
Invincible Spirit, grandsire of Move To Strike, is out of a mare by Kris (by Sharpen Up). He is a brother to KEEN and DIESIS. I Am Invincible / SHARPEN UP combinations have an impressive 13.27% stakes winners to runners rate. Group winners by I Am Invincible with another line to Sharpen Up via their dams, carry them via damsires DANEHILL DANCER, CHOISIR, COMMON GROUNDS, HIGH CHAPARRAL, KEEN and MASTERCRAFTSMAN. For further impact, DANEHILL DANCER carries a daughter of Sharpen Up to sex balance the son, Kris.
Move To Strike carries ALMAHMOUD family members Danehill, Machiavellian, Halo (twice) and four lines to Northern Dancer. Significantly, Danehill is represented by a daughter, Move To Strike’s third dam. This opens up a world of DANEHILL sons and grandsons for Move To Strike. While there are too many representatives to list, it is notable that of I Am Invincible’s 15 Group 1 winners, five were out of mares from the Danehill sire line, namely VINROCK out of a REDOUTE’S CHOICE mare; HOME AFFAIRS out of a FLYING SPUR mare; IN SECRET out of a CHOISIR mare; VIDDORA out of a MASTERCRAFTSMAN mare; and MARABI out of a TIGER HILL mare.
Redoute’s Choice’s son SNITZEL looks particularly appealing with Move To Strike. He sex balances both Danehill and Bletchingly via his sire, while his dam carries a daughter of Storm Bird to sex balance the son, Storm Cat, present in Move To Strike.
MACHIAVELLIAN appears in Move To Strike through daughter Helsinki, dam of Shamardal. A sex balanced duplication of Machiavellian would be created by Helsinki’s brother STREET CRY – sire of PER INCANTO, PRIDE OF DUBAI. SHOCKING, STREET BOSS and STREET SENSE, as well as another Machiavellian son in VETTORI. PRIDE OF DUBAI creates additional close linebreeding with Move To Strike by his being a grandson of ELJAZZI, also granddam of Invincible Spirit.
Storm Cat, grandsire of Shamardal, is a grandson of CRIMSON SAINT, who is also famous for her son, ROYAL ACADEMY. The combination of these two in a mating has produced such horses as Group 1 winnersSANTA ANA LANE, RIFF ROCKET, GYTRASH, VEIGHT FOXWEDGE, AWESOME ROCK, LION’S ROADand IRISH LIGHTS. Mares carrying Royal Academy’s descendants such as BEL ESPRIT, MOSHE and ALI-ROYAL appeal. Royal Academy is also easily accessed as damsire of FASTNET ROCK, who is doubly appealing for Move To Strike, being a son of Danehill.
Mares carrying SIR TRISTRAM have also worked well with I Am Invincible. Group 1 winners VIDDORA, INVINCIBELLA, ZAPATEO, LADY LAGUNA, ANOTHER PROPHET and MEDIA SENSATION are examples. Ancestors of Sir Tristram to source in mares’ pedigrees include PIERRO, LONHRO, COLOMBIA, KAAPSTAD, MILITARY PLUME, MARAUDING, RESET, SAVABEEL and ZABEEL.
Caerleon, sire of Move To Strike’s second damsire Generous, is a LA TROIENNE family member. This famous line can be boosted by such members as MORE THAN READY, WOODMAN, SCREEN HERO, BUCKPASSER, CONGRATS, PRIVATE ACCOUNT, NOBLE BIJOU, POLISH NAVY, BELONG TO ME, FRANCIS S, HOOK MONEY, CORNISH PRINCE, POKER, MR. BUSHER, THE AXE II, PARDAL, ARDAN, BIMELECH and JET ACTION.
The LADY SUSAN family is represented by DANZIG (twice), ROCKEFELLA (twice) and BLETCHINGLY. These three work extremely well together. Other members of this family include the lesser seen BEACHES, COPPER KINGDOM, GREY SEAS, KAMPALA, MILLIONAIRE, KING OF BABYLON, LA FONTAINE, SHOWOFF and IMMORTAL. Move To Strike’s sireI Am Invincible, whose damsire Canny Lad is a son of Bletchingly, works very well with mares carrying daughters of BLETCHINGLY. I Am Invincible’s Group winners bred on this pattern include BRAZEN BEAU, LIBERTINI, ECKSTEIN, HOLYFIELD and HAWAII FIVE OH.
Author: Jane Henning
23 April 2025