IntheBlood06 HashtagsPed

In The Blood: Hashtags

IntheBlood06 HashtagsPed

The social media phenomenon of hashtags, or hash marks, are used as labels to identify a topic or subject in cyberspace. The term “hashtag” took on a new form when, on April 15, a 2013 blue roan stallion named Hashtags became the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Open Champion. Hashtags, ridden by Tatum Rice, scored a 220, earning $74,095 and bringing his total earnings to $154,441 for owner Jose Raul Garcia.

IntheBlood01 HashtagsHashtags & Tatum Rice • Photo by Hart PhotosHashtags was bred by Jim Haworth, of Southwest City, Missouri. A look at the pedigree of Hashtags shows a strong affinity for the NCHA Super Stakes, brings out a familiar linebreeding pattern and gives us some insight into the broodmare power of the great Rey Jay.  

Sire Line

Hashtags’ sire, Metallic Cat ($637,711), was the 2008 NCHA Futurity Open Champion and the 2009 NCHA Horse of the Year. Metallic Cat was also the 2009 NCHA Super Stakes Open Reserve Champion, which is the first tie to this great event in the pedigree of Hashtags.

IntheBlood02 MetallicCatMetallic Cat at his home in Amarillo, Texas • Photo by Debbie RobertsEqui-Stat Elite $12 Million Sire Metallic Cat rose to the top of the sire charts in 2016 as the leading sire of cutting horse money-earners. Last year, his foals earned $4,054,843, with Metallic Rebel ($156,133), Meteles Cat ($128,330) and Mistresssis ($118,151) putting up the year’s best numbers.

The sire of Metallic Cat is High Brow Cat, the all-time leading sire of cutting horse money-winners with earnings of more than $73 million. High Brow Cat is sired by 1986 NCHA Futurity Open Reserve Champion High Brow Hickory, an Equi-Stat Elite $4 Million Sire by Doc’s Hickory.

Metallic Cat is out of Chers Shadow, who was a finalist in the 2002 Abilene Spectacular 4-Year-Old Open. Sadly, Metallic Cat was her last foal. She produced four foals, with two more money-winners in Little John 448 and Bet Yer Valentine. Chers Shadow is by Peptoboonsmal (Peppy San Badger x Royal Blue Boon x Boon Bar) and out of Shesa Smarty Lena ($224,005), a daughter of Smart Little Lena. Shesa Smarty Lena can be considered somewhat of a bridesmaid, as she was the Reserve or Co-Reserve Champion at six aged events including the Abilene Spectacular in the 4-Year-Old Open. She claimed her championship in the 1996 NCHA World Finals Open.

Shesa Smarty Lena is out of Shesa Playmate, the 1982 NCHA Derby Open Champion. Shesa Playmate is by Freckles Playboy (Jewel’s Leo Bars x Gay Jay x Rey Jay).

Dam Line

Hashtags is out of Dual Rey Tag ($57,251), a multiple aged-event finalist including the 2010 NCHA Super Stakes Amateur. Dual Rey Tag is the dam of one other money-earner in Smooth Rey Tag, an NCHA Super Stakes Amateur finalist. Dual Rey Tag and Smooth Rey Tag were shown in those Amateur events by Haworth.

IntheBlood05 DualReyDual Rey • QHN File PhotoDual Rey is the sire of Dual Rey Tag. Dual Rey is No. 3 on the Equi-Stat Lifetime Cutting Statistics sires chart. His winners include Reys Desire, TR Dual Rey, Dual Smart Rey and SVL Reyl Smart, all of which were NCHA Super Stakes Champions or Reserve Champions.

Dual Rey is also a top 25 all-time leading maternal grandsire. His daughters have produced earners of more than $10 million in the arena. Dual Rey finished 2016 as the year’s third-leading maternal grandsire with earnings surpassing $2 million. He was represented in 2016 by horses such as Stevie Rey Von ($110,783), Purple Reyn ($103,049), Cattys Hope ($94,257) and Hashtags. With the addition of Hashtags, all four of these horses have been featured in the QHN Insider’s In The Blood.

Dual Rey is sired by Equi-Stat Elite $25 Million Sire Dual Pep, an all-time leading sire of money-winners. His leading performers include Dually Lena, Autumn Boon, Olena Dually, Kit Dual and Smokin Dually, all of which were NCHA Super Stakes Champions or Reserve Champions in the Open or Non-Pro.

Dual Pep is by Peppy San Badger and out of Miss Dual Doc, by Doc’s Remedy. This gives the pedigree of Hashtags a collateral linebreeding to the three-quarter brothers in blood Peptoboonsmal and Dual Pep. They are three-quarter brothers in blood because they are sired by Peppy San Badger and out of mares sired by full brothers Boon Bar and Doc’s Remedy.

Dual Rey is out of Nurse Rey, by Wyoming Doc. As a producer, Nurse Rey has an Equi-Stat record of nearly $675,000, which includes High Brows Nurse, the 1996 NCHA Super Stakes Open Reserve Champion. Jay Moss is the dam of Nurse Rey, and she was sired by Rey Jay. Jay Moss is also the dam of Rey Lynx ($595,310).

IntheBlood03 PlayinTagPlayin Tag & Cara Brewer • Photo by Jamie LittlefieldDual Rey Tag’s dam, Playin Tag, was the 2004 NCHA Super Stakes Open Champion when ridden by Cara Brewer. Playin Tag was an NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro finalist that same year with Sue Barry in the saddle. Playin Tag is the dam of foals with Equi-Stat records totaling $165,336. Her performers include Wendels Player, an NCHA Super Stakes Amateur finalist.

The pedigree of Playin Tag brings the blood of Rey Jay back into focus. Her sire, Playgun, is by Freckles Playboy (Jewel’s Leo Bars x Gay Jay x Rey Jay). Playin Tag is out of Peppys Rey Jey, who is by NCHA Open World Champion Peponita. Peppys Rey Jey earned $11,864 in the cutting pen and is the dam of six money-winners, with Playin Tag her leading earner.

The dam of Peppys Rey Jey is Rey Jay’s Flash, by Rey Jay. Rey Jay is a King Ranch-bred stallion who became a show horse, earning his American Quarter Horse Association Championship and NCHA Certificate of Ability while banking $24,991. Rey Jay proved his prowess and greatness as a performance horse with the handicap of being nearly blind in his right eye.

IntheBlood04 ReyJayRey Jay • QHN File PhotoThe legacy of Rey Jay as an influence on the modern cutting horse is highly visible in the Jewel’s Leo Bars/Rey Jay cross. This cross produced Freckles Playboy and Colonel Freckles, both great performers who went on to become great sires. Some other great performers from this cross include Freckles Flynt and Jay Freckles, both proven performers who died before showing their worth as sires, and mares like Jay Moss, who influenced the industry with foals like Nurse Rey and Rey Lynx. Adding in Rey Jay’s Flash, Hashtags has a breeding pattern of 7 x 5 x 6 x 5 to Rey Jay.

The interesting part of all of this is the linebreeding to the collateral relatives Peptoboonsmal and Dual Pep. Then there is Dual Rey Tag, who has a breeding pattern of 4 x 5 x 4 to Rey Jay and is crossed back on the Freckles Playboy blood found in the pedigree of Chers Shadow. Both breeding patterns return the blood of the sire’s dam (Chers Shadow) to the foal. This breeding pattern increases the influence of this mare on Hashtags’ pedigree. The “returning the blood” breeding pattern is a common form of linebreeding.


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