Hidden Talent (USA)
April 25, 1956 – 1965
Dark Star (USA) x Dangerous Dame (IRE), by Nasrullah (IRE)
Family 21-a
April 25, 1956 – 1965
Dark Star (USA) x Dangerous Dame (IRE), by Nasrullah (IRE)
Family 21-a
Owing to the Kentucky Oaks having been split into two divisions in 1959, Hidden Talent was one of two Oaks winners that year, though she had to survive a stewards' inquiry to keep her share of the lilies after drifting out in the stretch. She was decidedly the superior of her fellow Oaks heroine Wedlock, both as a racer and as a broodmare.
Race record
30 starts, 8 wins, 7 seconds, 4 thirds, US$65,214
1958:
1959:
Assessments
Rated at 105 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1958, 12 pounds below champion Quill.
Rated at 118 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old fillies of 1959, 8 pounds below co-highweights High Bid and Silver Spoon but 6 pounds above her fellow Oaks winner, Wedlock.
As an individual
A feminine bay mare, Hidden Talent was speedy but did not have to have the lead to be effective. Trainer Woody Stephens described her as a "nice, smart filly" who was not big or robust.
As a producer
Hidden Talent produced four named foals, of which three started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Hidden Talent was bred and owned by Captain Harry F. Guggenheim, who raced her in the name of his Cain Hoy Stable. She was trained by Woody Stephens and was ridden to her Kentucky Oaks win by Manuel Ycaza.
Pedigree notes
Hidden Talent is outcrossed through five generations. She is a full sister to 1959 Matron Stakes winner Heavenly Body, dam of French Group 3 winner A Thousand Stars (by Hoist the Flag) and second dam of English Group 2 winners Celestial Storm, Thawakib, and Made of Gold; multiple French Group 3 winner Snow Day; and Grade 3 winner Henschel. Heavenly Body is also the third dam of multiple Group 1 winner Sakhee, 1989 Flower Bowl Handicap (USA-G1) winner River Memories, French Group 3 winner Raise a Memory and Grade 3 winner Scratch Paper.
Returning to Hidden Talent, she is also a full sister to Dangerous Star, dam of multiple stakes winner Alegria de Deanna (by A Gambler) and restricted stakes winner Perilous Star (by Top Avenger) and second dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Lady Tak. In addition, she is a half sister to His Lady Fair (by Tom Fool), dam of 1984 Demoiselle Stakes (USA-G1) winner Diplomette (by Sr. Diplomat) and third dam of Grade 2 winner Unite's Big Red, and to Lost Love (by Dedicate), dam of Mexican stakes winner Esplendoroso (by Assagai).
Hidden Talent and her siblings were produced from Dangerous Dame, an Irish-bred daughter of Nasrullah who was imported to the United States as a yearling. Talented enough to be an allowance winner on the tough New York circuit, Dangerous Dame was produced from 1946 Irish champion 2-year-old filly Lady Kells (by His Highness), a half sister to 1949 Irish Two Thousand Guineas winner Solonaway (by Solferino) who also produced Focal, second dam of English Group 2 winner Head for Heights. Lady Kells, in turn, was produced from Irish stakes winner Anyway, whose sire Grand Glacier is a stakes-winning son of 1919 Derby Stakes winner Grand Parade.
Fun facts
Last updated: December 15, 2022
Race record
30 starts, 8 wins, 7 seconds, 4 thirds, US$65,214
1958:
- 2nd Astoria Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Jamaica)
1959:
- Won Kentucky Oaks (second division) (USA, 8.5FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Ashland Stakes (USA, 6FD, Keeneland)
- 3rd Test Stakes (USA, 7FD, Saratoga)
Assessments
Rated at 105 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1958, 12 pounds below champion Quill.
Rated at 118 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old fillies of 1959, 8 pounds below co-highweights High Bid and Silver Spoon but 6 pounds above her fellow Oaks winner, Wedlock.
As an individual
A feminine bay mare, Hidden Talent was speedy but did not have to have the lead to be effective. Trainer Woody Stephens described her as a "nice, smart filly" who was not big or robust.
As a producer
Hidden Talent produced four named foals, of which three started and won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Carmina (1962, by Turn-to) never raced but produced Carminita (by Oceanic II), a stakes winner in Puerto Rico.
- Turn to Talent (1963, by Turn-to) was a stakes winner at 2 and 3, with her biggest win coming in the 1966 Pageant Handicap. Her stakes-winning daughter Hay Patcher (by Hoist the Flag) produced multiple Grade 1 winner and 1994 American champion sire Broad Brush (by Ack Ack) and stakes winner Hay Halo (by Halo), a useful regional sire in Maryland; she is also the second dam of five stakes winners including English Group 2 winner Mull of Kintyre (by Danzig). Through other daughters, Turn to Talent is the second dam of Grade 2 winner Williamstown and the third dam of multiple Australian Group 2 winner California Dane and Grade 3 winner Eze.
- Too Bald (1964, by Bald Eagle) was an extremely fast mare whose four stakes wins included two editions of the Barbara Fritchie Handicap. The 1986 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, she produced 1986 American champion 2-year-old male Capote (by Seattle Slew), multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Exceller (by Vaguely Noble), Grade 3 winner Vaguely Hidden (by Vaguely Noble), listed stakes winner American Standard (by In Reality) and Grade 2-placed stakes winner Baldski (by Nijinsky II; a good regional sire in Florida). She is the second dam of two-time Belgian imported champion sprinter Myasha and Grade 3 winners General Royal and Minister's Melody and is also the third dam of 1985 Canadian champion older female Lake Country, 2006 Wood Memorial Stakes (USA-G1) winner Bob and John, Italian Group 2 winner Stanott and multiple Grade 3 winner D'Hallevant.
Connections
Hidden Talent was bred and owned by Captain Harry F. Guggenheim, who raced her in the name of his Cain Hoy Stable. She was trained by Woody Stephens and was ridden to her Kentucky Oaks win by Manuel Ycaza.
Pedigree notes
Hidden Talent is outcrossed through five generations. She is a full sister to 1959 Matron Stakes winner Heavenly Body, dam of French Group 3 winner A Thousand Stars (by Hoist the Flag) and second dam of English Group 2 winners Celestial Storm, Thawakib, and Made of Gold; multiple French Group 3 winner Snow Day; and Grade 3 winner Henschel. Heavenly Body is also the third dam of multiple Group 1 winner Sakhee, 1989 Flower Bowl Handicap (USA-G1) winner River Memories, French Group 3 winner Raise a Memory and Grade 3 winner Scratch Paper.
Returning to Hidden Talent, she is also a full sister to Dangerous Star, dam of multiple stakes winner Alegria de Deanna (by A Gambler) and restricted stakes winner Perilous Star (by Top Avenger) and second dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Lady Tak. In addition, she is a half sister to His Lady Fair (by Tom Fool), dam of 1984 Demoiselle Stakes (USA-G1) winner Diplomette (by Sr. Diplomat) and third dam of Grade 2 winner Unite's Big Red, and to Lost Love (by Dedicate), dam of Mexican stakes winner Esplendoroso (by Assagai).
Hidden Talent and her siblings were produced from Dangerous Dame, an Irish-bred daughter of Nasrullah who was imported to the United States as a yearling. Talented enough to be an allowance winner on the tough New York circuit, Dangerous Dame was produced from 1946 Irish champion 2-year-old filly Lady Kells (by His Highness), a half sister to 1949 Irish Two Thousand Guineas winner Solonaway (by Solferino) who also produced Focal, second dam of English Group 2 winner Head for Heights. Lady Kells, in turn, was produced from Irish stakes winner Anyway, whose sire Grand Glacier is a stakes-winning son of 1919 Derby Stakes winner Grand Parade.
Fun facts
- Had both Hidden Talent and Wedlock raced in the same division of the Oaks, Hidden Talent would likely have been the winner, as she won the second division in time 3/5 of a second faster while carrying 121 pounds to 116 on Wedlock.
- Hidden Talent was the first of a record five Kentucky Oaks winners for National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame trainer Woody Stephens, who also won with Make Sail (1960), Sally Ship (1963), White Star Line (1978), and Heavenly Cause (1981).
- Hidden Talent was also one of four Kentucky Oaks winners for Cain Hoy Stable. The others were Lalun (1955), Make Sail (1960) and Sally Ship (1963). All four were homebreds.
Last updated: December 15, 2022