Pedigrees 360 – What Makes a Blue Hen?

Tara Madgwick - Friday June 17

The star of the show at Royal Ascot on Day 3 was blue-blooded young stayer Kyprios, who became the third Group I winner from his blue hen dam Polished Gem when taking out the Group I Ascot Gold Cup, so we thought it might be interesting to see if the new Pedigrees 360 software could shed some light on the genetic magic behind this exceptional family.

A homebred for Moyglare Stud, four year-old Galileo stallion Kyprios is the final foal from revered matriarch Polished Gem, who has had 10 foals to race and all are winners, eight of them stakes-winners as listed below:

Kyprios (Galileo) G1

Search for a Song (Galileo) G1

Free Eagle (High Chaparral) G1

Custom Cut (Notnowcato) G2

Sapphire (Medicean) G2

Valac (Dark Angel) G3

Falcon Eight (Galileo) Listed

Advertisement

Amma Grace (Galileo) Listed

A winner over 7f at Leopardstown at two from just five starts, Polished Gem is a full sister to Group I winner Dress to Thrill, who was a much better racehorse on the track, but has failed to match the deeds of her sister as a broodmare.

The Pedigrees 360 profile on KYPRIOS reveals he has three very rare components to his pedigree.

1. He has four clusters 'off the charts', a pattern very rare in modern racehorses

2. His dominant ancestor back to nine generations is TEDDY, quite extraordinary to see 19 duplications of TEDDY in a modern day horse

3. His dam, the blue hen POLISHED GEM, also has an extraordinary profile, also having three clusters 'off the charts'. Other blue hens that also have three or four clusters off the charts include SOMETHINGROYAL, LA TROIENNE, and DANCING SHOW

You can see from the chart below that POLISHED GEM has high duplications of not just one or two but FOUR dominant ancestors TEDDY, FAIR PLAY, SPEARMINT, and AJAX, unheard of in modern mare pedigrees. It does explain her potency, and it's not just with GALILEO, she has also produced the Group winner SAPPHIRE by MEDICEAN which is a completely different sireline.

Advertisment
More Reading...
2026 Inglis Yearling Sale Series Entries Open
Entries for the 2026 Inglis Select Yearling Sales Series – which will be headlined by the presence of the highly anticipated Snitzel x Winx colt at the Easter Sale – are now open.
Another G1 Triumph for Aga Khan Stud Bred Gelding
Aga Khan Studs don’t race a lot of geldings, but one that they do is Calandagan, who made it back to back G1 wins overnight when beating a select field in a tactical battle to win the Group I King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (1m4f) at Ascot.
Two New SW's for Too Darn Hot
Too Darn Hot is set to be crowned Champion Australian Second Season Sire and is headed back to Darley Australia this spring at a fee of $275,000 and overnight he produced two new stakes-winners in the UK and Ireland.
Rookie breeder Auret basks in Ka Ying Rising glory
Group One winning trainer Fraser Auret collected trophies of a different variety on Saturday night as he took centre stage at the Property Brokers National Breeding Awards at the Sir Don Rowlands Centre in Cambridge.
Stallion Shares in Cool Aza Beel Offer Rare Opportunity via Magic Millions Virtual Sale
Breeders will have a timely chance to invest in one of Australia’s most exciting young stallions next week, with two individual stallion shares in Cool Aza Beel to be offered via the Magic Millions Virtual Sale on Tuesday, August 5.
New G1 Winner for Too Darn Hot
Fresh from siring two new stakes-winners in Europe on Saturday Too Darn Hot (GB) kept the momentum going on Sunday with a new Group I winner and Tornado Alert is a half-brother to Just Fine (IRE), winner of the Group I ATC The Metropolitan in 2023.
Sires With Winners - Monday July 28
Here is the full list of 23 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Sires With Winners - Saturday July 26
Here is the full list of 86 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Fifth Winner For Hanseatic As Audio Pop Cam Wins
With four jumpouts under her belt, winning the last three, Tony and Calvin McEvoy's Hanseatic filly Audio Pop Cam was too good for her rivals, starting favourite to win the Unox Casa Maiden Plate (1100m) at Pakenham with ease.
Beaufort Downs Celebrate Stakes Success with Platinum Diamond
A pedigree close to the hearts of Beaufort Downs has added another black-type strike to the North Canterbury farm’s roll of honour.