Tepin, Vyjack could serve up rare sibling rivalry in Breeders’ Cup

Although Tepin’s title defense is the overarching storyline for the Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), the champion mare might be part of another historic angle. Her half-brother, Vyjack, is also under consideration for the Mile. If the two Machmer Hall-breds square off, Tepin and Vyjack would become the fourth pair of siblings to compete against each other in a Breeders’ Cup race.

The precedent was set two decades ago by half-brothers Honor the Hero and Prenup, both outsiders in the 1994 Sprint (G1) won by Cherokee Run at Churchill Downs. The 10-1 Honor the Hero set a swift pace under relentless pressure from Soviet Problem and retreated to seventh, while the 13-1 Prenup checked in 13th of 14.

 

Bred by Edward P. Evans in Virginia, Honor the Hero and Prenup were two of five stakes winners produced by the Buckaroo mare Homewrecker. Honor the Hero, a multiple Grade 3 winner by Hero’s Honor, was her first registered foal. Prenup, by Smarten, earned his signature score in the 1994 Jerome (G1). Homewrecker was subsequently responsible for Grade 2 victor Cat’s at Home (by Tabasco Cat) and Grade 3 winner Giant Wrecker (by Giant’s Causeway). Her daughter Marital Spook didn’t win on the track, but she’s a winner in the breeding shed as the dam of Grade 1 hero and sire Yonaguska.

The next half-brotherly rivalry occurred in the 2002 Mile, when Niarchos Family bluebloods Good Journey and Aldebaran lined up at Arlington. That eventful race is most often remembered for another Niarchos homebred, Domedriver, upsetting 4-5 favorite Rock of Gibraltar (as well as the sad breakdown of Landseer).

Good Journey, the 5-1 third choice fresh off a score in the Atto (Woodbine) Mile (G1), was prominent throughout and struck the front, only to be overhauled by Domediver and nipped by “The Rock” late. The 14-1 Aldebaran, last on the far turn, swerved the ill-fated Landseer and passed a couple of rivals in 11th.

Warning: you can see Landseer go horribly wrong in the replay.