I have to add my $0.02 here on the subject of these dogs. I realize that it is a popular bloodline, and I am sure it has been with good reason, but honestly I never been able to share the excitement about the Redboy dogs as so many others have. Neither as a beginner nor as a 20-year veteran.
Back when I first got in, longtime Redboy breeder Tony Robinson (of Apache and Crusher fame -- who owned Truman/Trinx' brother Bodine--as well as a couple other Hollingsworth dogs--which is why I called him) told me directly, "Jack (the Hollingsworth dogs) are even gamer than my Redboy dogs.") So I never bothered to get into them, as I didn't see any reason to demote what I had. And, over the years, everything I have personally ever seen (or heard about), when facing my own dogs, confirms my initial impression.
Believe me, I am well aware of all the great dogs that have come down from this line. I am well aware that these Redboy dogs are supposedly bred for gameness. However, I can only speak from my own experience and (I am not trying to brag, but) every single cross I have ever seen (or gone into) has quit to my stuff. Every single one, except a lone individual dog many years ago (Garrett's Spike) who died DG to Gr Ch Zukill in :48. The rest have all quit, including a daughter of Ch Bozack who quit to Zukill's sister Volcha in 2:12. (I don't know what the bottom side was of the bitch, exactly, but I believe it too was Redboy, possibly Termite / Triple-Ott Red).
This also includes my Pretty Boy dog, whose first fight was over a Jeep/Redboy mix, bred by Rockbottom and G. Long, shown by M. Pinkerton. I don't know the exact breeding, but these are all topnotch guys who are behind the "who's who" of the Jeep/Reboy cross (Long's Werdo/Pinky, etc.). Yet their dog couldn't whip Pretty Boy (who was only 16 months old at the time) and conditioned by a rank beginner. Yes, the contest went 2:42, but Pretty Boy was a mediocre dog at best (though deeply game), and this Jeep/Redboy dog finally quit to him. Again, so much for legendary gameness.
In the meantime, I have rolled into several supposedly badass "battle crosses" involving this blood. My Sun Demon dog stopped Holland's Smuggler (1xW) in :40, and U-Nhan-Rha stopped Smuggler's brother in less time. What made it more embarrassing is that Sun Demon was hog-fat coming off the chain into a conditioned dog ... and was the bottom dog all the way ... until the last :05 ... which is when Smuggler quit (the moment he got tired also and fell behind) ... while Sun Demon had been gasping for breath and was bottom dog the entire time ... and had only got to his feet for :05. Meanwhile, U-Nhan-Rha was 3 lb lighter than his opponent and kicked that dog's ass the entire time. Again, there was not a drop of "legendary gameness" that I saw (except, of course, once again from my dogs).
In other rolls, my Silverback dog absolutely decimated some sort of Redboy/L.G. battlecross (I don't remember the exact breeding, but it was clean and topnotch), as did Ms. Bobbi who decimated another Redboy/L.G. "battle cross," bred similarly. In both cases, my dogs were smaller, and in both cases these "battle crosses" had to be picked up in :12 or less, neither wanting anymore of what they were getting. So, again, it's not like there was a tit-for-tat going on, where sometimes mine lost/quit, sometimes they won ... it was mine always won, the others always quit (or were picked up looking bad).
In another actual contest that I remember clearly, my PonchoBack dog stopped another absolutely topnotch cross utilizing this blood, UWK's My Man (brother to Gr Ch Rose Red) in 2:36. Yes it went 2:36, yes both dogs were truly superior animals, but yes again the Redboy-mix QUIT to my dog. The only absolute gameness that was displayed once again came from one of mine.
I even tried to incorporate this blood into my program, seeing how my dogs would "mix" with this blood, when I bred Cadillac III to Perfect. The result was not some new "grand slam" iconic breeding, but rather the typical mixed result that most people get when the mix dogs together. Only two pups lived: Polar Ice grew up to be a game, rough dog ... while Red Missy supposedly turned out to be a short-winded cur. I was batting 50% which is not good news IMO.
You see, when I bred that same bitch Perfect to U-Nhan-Rha, I got an all-game litter, including a Champion and a 2xW, 1xGL, and in this litter the other dogs in the litter all were fast, game, and talented. By contrast, when bred to Cadillac III, both dogs were slow and ponderous: one was slow, ponderous, but game and rough ... while the other was slow, ponderous, short-winded, and not game. As a matter of fact, one of the sons of U-Nhan-Rha/Perfect, Ch Red Bull, defeated yet another Redboy dog, a son of Ch Bear, for #2, also stopping him in under an hour.
The last battle between my stuff and the Redboy blood occurred toward the end of last year, when Prime Ape came from way back to beat some Eli/Redboy cross (where I don't know the exact breeding either), who (like the "My Man" dog that PonchoBack beat) was also devastating ... but who, ultimately, was neither fast enough, smart enough, nor game enough to hang with one of mine till the bitter end.
So, I am sorry to step on anyone's toes, but I personally just can't get excited when I see that stuff in a pedigree. To me, these dogs lower intelligence and diminish speed. They are not very bright and they're not very fast, at least not the ones I have seen, and these are two of the primary assets I personally breed for that distinguish my dogs from most other lines. To make things worse, the level of gameness that they supposedly add may be a bonus to some lines, but it is actually a demotion to the consistent level of gameness in my line. The only truly positive thing I have seen out of these dogs is they tend to throw a rather large frame, and (when crossed) they seem to throw the potential for a pretty heavy mouth. But I have never seen a single individual that I would call either very fast or very smart ... or (I hate to say it) very game. Not compared to my dogs they're not.
Maybe I have just been "unlucky" in the individuals I have seen (or that my dogs have gone into) ... but that "lack of luck" has happened too many different times, mixed-up too many different ways, for me to ever want to incorporate it in my yard (if I ever decided to breed dogs again).
I am not talking shit; I am just stating what I have directly seen or heard about from reliable sources in actual contests. I am fully aware that I have not seen them all and that there are some truly great dogs of this line, but I honestly don't think they're as high percentage as what people hope them to be. Not by a longshot.
Jack