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Originally Posted by philcski
In my opinion, pedigree is a great tool to determine what should happen when horses try new things, but once he/she attempts a new task that actual performance should take precedence over pedigree.
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Precisely. Kona Gold was bred to win the Belmont, but he was best sprinting. Genetics can be such a funny thing at times - a recessive chestnut shows up after 2 or 3 generations of dominant bays and browns (a Secretariat, for instance); a genuine stayer shows up from a family of sprinter/milers because he takes after dad (Round Table, Damascus).
I liken it to a slot machine with dozens of wheels - you can have lots of stamina, or early maturity, or speed, or good lungs, or good legs on an individual wheel to improve the odds, but there is always the chance that they won't come up for this particular animal.