Blushing K. D. (USA)
June 1, 1994 – August 2000
Blushing John (USA) x Lilac Garden (USA), by Roberto (USA)
Family 19-b
June 1, 1994 – August 2000
Blushing John (USA) x Lilac Garden (USA), by Roberto (USA)
Family 19-b
The tragic heroine of the 1997 racing season, Blushing K. D. showed such good form against members of her own division that she was being readied for a tilt against males in the Buick Haskell Invitational Handicap (USA-G1) when she fractured both sesamoids in her left foreleg while in training. A three-year battle to save her life ended when colic combined with chronic laminitis related to her injury forced her euthanization in 2000.
Race record
10 starts, 8 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$918,900
1996:
1997:
Honors
Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2001)
As an individual
A somewhat high-strung chestnut mare described as “ordinary-looking,” Blushing K. D. had a feisty disposition and a strong will to win. She typically stalked the pace in her races but could run on the lead if desired and had a sharp turn of foot.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Blushing K. D. was bred by Carl Icahn's Foxfield (KY). She was owned by James and Sue Burns, who purchased the filly for US$25,000 from the 1996 Fair Grounds Sale Company's March sale of horses of racing age. She was trained by Sam Davis Jr. and was ridden to her Kentucky Oaks score by her regular jockey, Lonnie Meche. After a 1999 insurance settlement on Blushing K. D., the insurance company donated the mare to veterinarian Ric Redden, who sent the mare to equine reproduction specialist Bruce Lyle in hopes that artificial insemination and embryo transfer to a surrogate mare would allow him to breed a Quarter Horse foal from her. Unfortunately, Blushing K. D. (whose chronic laminitis was the reason that neither the Burnses nor Dr. Redden felt that she could go through a normal breeding or pregnancy) developed severe colic while at Dr. Lyle's clinic and could not be saved. She was buried at Dr. Lyle's farm near Aubrey, Texas.
Pedigree notes
Blushing K. D. was much the best racer sired by 1990 American champion older male Blushing John. Her pedigree shows inbreeding of 4x5x5 to five-time American champion sire Nasrullah, also a champion sire on the English/Irish list. She is a half sister to 2002 Hong Kong Horse of the Year Electronic Unicorn (by Housebuster), to 2006 Dance Smartly Stakes (CAN-G2) winner Ambitious Cat (by Storm Cat), and to listed stakes winner February Storm (by Storm Cat). In addition, Blushing K. D. is a half sister to Lilac Lane (by Bahri), dam of Japanese Group 3 winner Fifth Petal (by King Kamehameha), and to Sharaiji Blossom (by Saint Ballado), dam of Grade 2 winner Dothraki Queen (by Pure Prize).
Blushing K. D. and her siblings are out of the winning Roberto mare Lilac Garden, whose dam Balletomane (by Nijinsky II) won the 1981 Princess Stakes (USA-G3) and is a half sister to 1975 Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA-G1) winner Group Plan (by Intentionally), Grade 2 winner Cut Class (by Arts and Letters), listed stakes winner Perforce (by Seattle Song), and 1976 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up McKenzie Bridge (by Le Fabuleux). Balletomane, in turn, was produced from juvenile stakes winner Nanticious (by Nantallah), whose stakes-winning half sister Artists Proof (by Ribot) is the dam of 1977 William Hill Futurity (ENG-G1) winner Dactylographer (by Secretariat) and Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Nugget Point (by Nureyev).
Nanticious is out of the winning Ambiorix mare Be Ambitious, whose other foals include stakes-placed Bold Heiress (by Bold Ruler), dam of Grade 3 winner Niccolo Polo (by Monteverdi) and stakes winner Color Bearer (by Hoist the Flag). Be Ambitious is a half sister to 1955 Kentucky Oaks winner Lalun (by Djeddah; dam of 1962 American champion 2-year-old male Never Bend, by Nasrullah, and 1971 American Derby and Travers Stakes winner Bold Reason, by Hail to Reason) and is out of the high-class race mare Be Faithful (by Bimelech out of 1946 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Bloodroot).
Books and media
Blushing K. D. is profiled in Chapter 12 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
Last updated: January 24, 2023
Race record
10 starts, 8 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds, US$918,900
1996:
- Won Princess Futurity (USA-L, 6.5FD, Louisiana Downs)
1997:
- Won Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1, 9FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Fantasy Stakes (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Oaklawn Park)
- Won Monmouth Park Breeders' Cup Oaks (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Monmouth)
- Won Fair Grounds Oaks (USA-G3, 8.5FD, Fair Grounds)
- Won Davona Dale S. (USA-L, 8.5FD, Fair Grounds)
- Won Fair Grounds Sales Derby (USA-R, 8.5FD, Fair Grounds)
Honors
Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2001)
As an individual
A somewhat high-strung chestnut mare described as “ordinary-looking,” Blushing K. D. had a feisty disposition and a strong will to win. She typically stalked the pace in her races but could run on the lead if desired and had a sharp turn of foot.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Blushing K. D. was bred by Carl Icahn's Foxfield (KY). She was owned by James and Sue Burns, who purchased the filly for US$25,000 from the 1996 Fair Grounds Sale Company's March sale of horses of racing age. She was trained by Sam Davis Jr. and was ridden to her Kentucky Oaks score by her regular jockey, Lonnie Meche. After a 1999 insurance settlement on Blushing K. D., the insurance company donated the mare to veterinarian Ric Redden, who sent the mare to equine reproduction specialist Bruce Lyle in hopes that artificial insemination and embryo transfer to a surrogate mare would allow him to breed a Quarter Horse foal from her. Unfortunately, Blushing K. D. (whose chronic laminitis was the reason that neither the Burnses nor Dr. Redden felt that she could go through a normal breeding or pregnancy) developed severe colic while at Dr. Lyle's clinic and could not be saved. She was buried at Dr. Lyle's farm near Aubrey, Texas.
Pedigree notes
Blushing K. D. was much the best racer sired by 1990 American champion older male Blushing John. Her pedigree shows inbreeding of 4x5x5 to five-time American champion sire Nasrullah, also a champion sire on the English/Irish list. She is a half sister to 2002 Hong Kong Horse of the Year Electronic Unicorn (by Housebuster), to 2006 Dance Smartly Stakes (CAN-G2) winner Ambitious Cat (by Storm Cat), and to listed stakes winner February Storm (by Storm Cat). In addition, Blushing K. D. is a half sister to Lilac Lane (by Bahri), dam of Japanese Group 3 winner Fifth Petal (by King Kamehameha), and to Sharaiji Blossom (by Saint Ballado), dam of Grade 2 winner Dothraki Queen (by Pure Prize).
Blushing K. D. and her siblings are out of the winning Roberto mare Lilac Garden, whose dam Balletomane (by Nijinsky II) won the 1981 Princess Stakes (USA-G3) and is a half sister to 1975 Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA-G1) winner Group Plan (by Intentionally), Grade 2 winner Cut Class (by Arts and Letters), listed stakes winner Perforce (by Seattle Song), and 1976 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up McKenzie Bridge (by Le Fabuleux). Balletomane, in turn, was produced from juvenile stakes winner Nanticious (by Nantallah), whose stakes-winning half sister Artists Proof (by Ribot) is the dam of 1977 William Hill Futurity (ENG-G1) winner Dactylographer (by Secretariat) and Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Nugget Point (by Nureyev).
Nanticious is out of the winning Ambiorix mare Be Ambitious, whose other foals include stakes-placed Bold Heiress (by Bold Ruler), dam of Grade 3 winner Niccolo Polo (by Monteverdi) and stakes winner Color Bearer (by Hoist the Flag). Be Ambitious is a half sister to 1955 Kentucky Oaks winner Lalun (by Djeddah; dam of 1962 American champion 2-year-old male Never Bend, by Nasrullah, and 1971 American Derby and Travers Stakes winner Bold Reason, by Hail to Reason) and is out of the high-class race mare Be Faithful (by Bimelech out of 1946 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Bloodroot).
Books and media
Blushing K. D. is profiled in Chapter 12 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Blushing K. D. had the latest known foaling date of any Kentucky Oaks winner.
- Blushing K. D. was named in honor of her sire and of her owners’ children by previous marriages—Kim, Kendall, Kyle, Dwaina, David, and Darrell.
- Blushing K. D. first hinted at just how much talent she had in the 1997 Fair Grounds Sales Derby, in which she beat colts by 20 lengths.
- Previous to Blushing K. D.’s 6-length victory in the Fantasy Stakes, owner James Burns disclosed that he and his wife had been offered nearly US$1 million for the filly. After the race, a larger group was reportedly being put together to make an offer for her. Burns did not rule out the possibility of a sale but said, “It’s going to take a bunch of money to get her.”
- Just minutes before the 1997 Kentucky Oaks, lightning struck so close to Churchill Downs that it knocked out the jumbo television monitors in the infield. The Oaks itself ran in a torrential downpour, which did nothing to dampen the jubilant winner’s circle celebration of the Burnses and some two dozen of their Texas friends.
- Of the nine fillies in Blushing K. D.’s Kentucky Oaks field, four would win Grade 1 races in 1997 and another was Storm Song, the American champion 2-year-old filly of 1996 and multiple Grade 1-placed in 1997.
- The injury that eventually led to Blushing K. D.’s death was caused by the filly’s own high spirits and dominant behavior during a morning workout on July 26, 1997. As the filly was galloping, another horse came alongside her. Blushing K. D. leaped and kicked out at the other horse, coming down at an odd angle with all her weight on her left foreleg.
- Blushing K. D. was honored by the inauguration of a stakes race bearing her name at the Fair Grounds.
Last updated: January 24, 2023