DA VAlentino across the board, reflecting all ages and all three genders. another is that his temperament is a reliable aspect of his genetic contribution, as many of his foals even at young ages adapt willingly to amateur handling. “Temperament is very important to us,” Maureen Grossman observes. “We like to love and hug and be with our horses, and he’s very peopleoriented. The foals are extremely smart and gentle; I would say they are very knowing of what you want of them and enjoy doing it. his oldest are now 5, and when you add that wonderful attitude to his physical ability, that’s why we’re looking forward to seeing them in performance.” Perhaps what is most amazing is that the Grossmans do not screen or filter mares nominated to be bred to Da Valentino. “We allow the mare owner to make that decision,” Dan says. “Obviously, it doesn’t work 100 percent of the time, where every horse that comes out is over the top, but he certainly has an extremely high percentage of excellent horses.” The key to Da Valentino’s record as a sire and his potential for the future is his pedigree, Grossman continues. The line-up of proven names in every generation is indicative of the depth that their stallion has to offer. Versace, Fame VF, Padrons Psyche, Bey Shah, *Padron, Echo Magnifficoo and *El Shaklan crowd the immediate family tree, with equally stellar names farther
back, representing both halter and performance. The complementing damlines are strong as well. a sampling of opinions from horsemen who had winning Da Valentino get at Scottsdale this year reveals widespread approval of the stallion’s quality. William E. Jackson Jr., who bred and owns the Valentino son Onitnelav, studied the pedigrees carefully before booking the stallion for his mare, royal Ghazallah, a Marwan al Shaqab daughter who is linebred to the Egyptian sire anaza El Farid. “Da Valentino’s very complete; I can’t really fault him,” he says. “One thing unique about him is his unusual neck. his neck sets in on his shoulders perfectly and comes out of the withers at an angle to form the perfect silhouette at the stand-up position. also, the length of his neck and bend and extension at the poll is such a sought-after quality by breeders. That is what I guess you would say is perfect—and the elegance that he exudes. Onitnelav is such an elegant and dramatic horse; he has extreme features, and his bone structure is extreme. We named him ‘Valentino’ spelled backwards because when he was born, he looked so much like his sire to us that we thought he might be a mirror image.” Onitnelav also inherited his sire’s personality, Jackson adds. a very friendly horse, he is also confident and charismatic, with a commanding presence that is unmistakable in the show ring.
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