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Along the Lily Lane: A Pretty Fair Day for Farrell

2/27/2017

There were really no surprises at the Fair Grounds on Saturday, other than perhaps how easy it was for Farrell to dust six rivals in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (USA-II). The daughter of Malibu Moon and the stakes-winning Unbridled's Song mare Rebridled Dreams was simply much too good for a field that included 14 hands Winery Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-I) runner-up Valadorna. While she has yet to show form that threatens the memory of her seventh dam, the great Twilight Tear, Farrell is probably the best runner produced from the family of the 1944 American Horse of the Year in decades and has solidified her position as the best of the Eastern sophomore fillies to emerge so far this spring.

Farrell will not hold her position without challenges, of course, and one of them announced herself on the New York circuit on Saturday as Yorkiepoo Princess won her third straight stakes race plus 50 points on the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-I) leaderboard in winning the Busher Stakes (USA-L). While the daughter of Kantharos and the Unreal Zeal mare Kickapoo Princess has a pedigree that suggests speed as her strong suit, her race in the Busher---her first around two turns---showed a nice maturity that may stand her in good stead in trying to stretch out to 9 furlongs, as she relaxed off the early pace and saved her speed for when it counted. Her performance suggested that she is becoming the most dangerous sort of speed horse, the type that can kill you on the front end if she is left alone or burn you from behind if she needs to take back off of a potential speed duel.

Still, the queen of the day was pretty plainly Farrell, who would probably be the unquestioned favorite for the Oaks were it not for the brilliance shown by her "cousin" Unique Bella (also out of an Unbridled's Song mare) in the Las Virgenes Stakes (USA-I) on February 5. The Fair Grounds Oaks (USA-II) on April 1 now seems to be squarely in the sights of the Coffeepot Stables homebred, and unless something else can pull off a major upset, look for Farrell to go into the Run for the Lilies unbeaten in 2017 and ready to take on all comers.

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2017 Triple Crown Trail: Rising and Falling Stars

2/26/2017

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In the spring of the year, a Thoroughbred colt's reputation can shoot up with the speed of a dot.com launch in the late 1990s, or crash even faster. This year's Risen Star Stakes (USA-II) illustrated the point beautifully. As graded stakes winners Guest Suite and Mo Town failed to look like winners at any point, Girvin angled out from the rail at the top of the stretch and used a sharp burst of speed to seize the lead, the race, and the top of the Kentucky Derby leaderboard.

How long he will stay there is anyone's guess, as is how far he will stay. Sired by 2008 Wood Memorial (USA-I) winner Take of Ekati from the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon (also the dam of 2015 Iroquois Stakes, USA-III, winner Cocked and Loaded, by Colonel John), he could be anything from a miler to a true classic horse depending on which of the mix of influences in his pedigree proves dominant.

Girvin illustrates the rapidity with which Mr. Prospector's influence has spread in the American Thoroughbred population, as he is inbred 4x5x4x5 to Claiborne Farm's great sire, as well as 5x5 to Secretariat. He also has a pedigree angle guaranteed to intrigue Louisiana fans, as his second dam, the speedy Yes It's True mare Catch My Fancy, is inbred 3x2 to Monique Rene. The queen of Louisiana racing in the early 1980s, Monique Rene won 15 stakes races at Louisiana tracks, mostly over sprint distances, and compiled an overall record of 29 wins and eight placings from 45 starts.

The next outing for Girvin is likely to be the Louisiana Derby (USA-II), a race that hasn't really been inspiring as a source of Kentucky Derby winners. No horse has pulled off the Louisiana Derby--Kentucky Derby double since Grindstone in 1996, though last year's winner, Gun Runner, ran a solid third at Louisville. Still, a good horse can come from anywhere, and a solid win in the final leg of the Fair Grounds' series of Derby preps would mark Girvin as a legitimate contender for the roses.

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Weekend Trivia Challenge for 2/25/17

2/25/2017

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Sired by a Horse of the Year from a Horse of the Year, this horse earned four championship titles of his own including two as a Horse of the Year. Who was he, and who were his illustrious parents?

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2017 Triple Crown Trail: What Goes Around Comes Around

2/20/2017

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In 1989, a fiery near-black colt with a hard-luck back story that included a near-fatal illness and a van crash upset "sure thing" Easy Goer for the Kentucky Derby (USA-I). Sunday Silence went on to prove his victory was no fluke, taking both the Preakness Stakes (USA-I) and Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I) from his magnificent rival, and earned honors as America's Horse of the Year. Even so, he could not find a place at a major Kentucky stud farm after being forced into retirement by injury as a 4-year-old and was exported to Japan, where he became the greatest sire in that nation's history.

Because of his location, Sunday Silence never had the opportunity to have his best offspring compete in America's most iconic race, but a grandson may be in position to bring Sunday Silence's story full circle. Named Epicharis, the colt preserved his unbeaten record in Japan's Hyacinth Stakes to earn a guaranteed berth in the Kentucky Derby---Presented by Yum! Brands if his connections choose to avail themselves of it.

Although Japanese racing is conducted mostly on turf, the Hyacinth Stakes is raced on the dirt inner track at Tokyo Race Course, and there was reason to think Epicharis might take to the surface even before that, as his sire, Sunday Silence's son Gold Allure, won the 2002 Japan Dirt Derby. Stamina should be no issue for the colt, as his broodmare sire is 1994 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (FR-I) winner Carnegie. The next dam's sire, however, is Maruzensky (by Nijinsky II), who was the Japanese champion juvenile male of 1976 and who brings a dash of miler speed to the pedigree.

Epicharis has yet to prove himself over a route, but he showed a nice combination of tactical speed and determination in the 1600-meter Hyacinth after finding racing room on the inside in mid-stretch. His connections have indicated that he may resurface in the UAE Derby (UAE-II), and he would need to be a tough one indeed to ship to Dubai, win there, and then ship to Kentucky in condition to have a fighting chance in the Run for the Roses. Nonetheless, "tough" was always a word that described Sunday Silence, and if Epicharis is of the same stripe, look for him to be the hero of one of the more intriguing stories surrounding this year's Kentucky Derby.

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Weekend Trivia Challenge for 2/18/2017

2/18/2017

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No horse has ever been disqualified from a Kentucky Derby (USA-I) victory for a foul committed on the racetrack, but several winners have had to survive stewards' inquiries stemming from roughly run contests. Who was the first Kentucky Derby winner to face such an inquiry?

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2017 Triple Crown Trail: More Than a Ghost of a Chance

2/12/2017

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McCraken went into this last weekend as the buzz horse on most Triple Crown lists, and he made his 2017 debut in style. After setting a new track record in the Sam F. Davis Stakes (USA-III), the unbeaten Ghostzapper colt will likely make his next start as a heavy favorite for the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (USA-II) on March 11.

McCraken, however, isn't the only 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper to have made a splash in his 2017 debut. Making only his second lifetime start, Iliad drew off nicely in the stretch to win the San Vicente Stakes (USA-II), finishing the seven-furlong trip in racehorse time of 1:21.62, Having won his debut over six furlongs at Los Alamitos, the colt is now in nice position to stretch out step by step in the Santa Anita series of Triple Crown preps and will likely start next in the San Felipe Stakes (USA-II) over 8.5 furlongs on March 11.

With his first three dams having been sired by Seeking the Gold, Wild Again and Nodouble---all horses that could stay 10 furlongs or better in top company---it will be more of a surprise if McCraken can't stay the Kentucky Derby trip than if he can. Iliad is more of a question mark. In spite of Ghostzapper's own ability to get 10 furlongs, he has been as apt to throw speed as stamina, and Iliad's broodmare sire is You and I, who showed his best form in the 1-mile Metropolitan Handicap (USA-I). Swoon, the second dam's sire, is a bit more promising as a source of stamina: a son of Secretariat, he was a stakes winner at 10 furlongs and stakes-placed at 14 furlongs. Nonetheless, with a sprinting dam and a miler granddam, Iliad is as likely to be a one-turn horse as a two-turn runner.

Regardless, Ghostzapper has emerged from the weekend of February 11-12 as a stallion with an excellent chance of getting his first winner of an American Triple Crown race. As both are bred to improve with maturity, with any luck, both will progress as they continue on their separate paths down the Triple Crown trail, setting up a potentially interesting confrontation on the first Saturday in May. Time will tell.

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Weekend Trivia Challenge for 2/11/2017

2/11/2017

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Who was the first 20th-century Kentucky Derby winner to sire another Kentucky Derby winner?

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Along the Lily Lane: A Belle on Her Way to the Ball?

2/6/2017

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As good as the efforts turned in by Irish War Cry in the Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes (USA-II) and El Areeb in the Withers Stakes (USA-III) looked, the performance of the weekend among the sophomores of 2017 may have been in the Las Virgenes Stakes (USA-II), in which Unbridled Bella summarily disposed of 2016 American champion 2-year-old filly Champagne Room and two other rivals without drawing a deep breath. In spite of being taken in hand late, the powerful gray filly won by nearly 9 lengths in racehorse time of 1:35.66.

So far, trainer Jerry Hollendorfer has expressed a preference for keeping the daughter of Tapit in her own division. This may be a mercy to the colts, for if Unique Bella continues progressing as she has done to date, comparisons to another gray Amazon by the name of Winning Colors may well arise. (Indeed, Unique Bella has already gone Winning Colors one better in one respect, as Winning Colors lost the 1988 Las Virgenes to Goodbye Halo before going on to win the Santa Anita Oaks, USA-I, from her own sex and the Santa Anita Derby, USA-I, and Kentucky Derby, USA-I, from the boys.)

If Unique Bella has an Achilles' heel, it isn't likely to be stamina. Tapit has already sired two Belmont Stakes (USA-I) winners in Tonalist and Creator, and Unique Bella is inbred 3x3 to 1990 Kentucky Derby (USA-I) winner Unbridled, who also took the 1990 Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-I) on his way to honors as American champion 3-year-old male. It is also hard to quibble with the class of a pedigree that boasts a Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic (USA-I) winner as the dam (Unrivaled Belle) and a multiple Grade II winner as the second dam (Queenie Belle).

3-year-old fillies tend to be on a quicker maturation curve in the spring than their male counterparts, and it is possible that Unique Bella will look less impressive compared to the males later on. But then again, perhaps not. Time, and the test of the race course, will tell.

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2017 Triple Crown Trail: On the Warpath

2/5/2017

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While Classic Empire's 2017 debut was a disappointment, the 2017 Triple Crown trail has gained an intriguing new contender in Irish War Cry. Setting even fractions throughout, the unbeaten New Jersey-bred cruised home in the Lambholm South Holy Bull Stakes (USA-II) under a strong hand ride to gain his first graded stakes victory plus 10 points on the Kentucky Derby Leaderboard.

As a son of Curlin, Irish War Cry can be expected to continue improving with maturity. He is the sixth winner and first stakes winner from six foals of racing age for the Polish Numbers mare Irish Sovereign. Herself a solid allowance winner over sprint distances, Irish Sovereign was the best runner produced from the winning Beau Genius mare Irish Genius, a half sister to Italian stakes winner The Irish Knight (by Snow Knight).

Both Polish Numbers and Beau Genius have been better known for throwing speed than stamina, but this was not the case for Saint Crespin III, sire of Irish Genius' dam Irish Trip, who won the 1959 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Irish War Cry, in fact, has a nice balance between speed and stamina in his pedigree, and there seems little reason to doubt that he will stretch out further than the 8.5 furlongs of the Holy Bull. His main challenge now is to gain mental maturity and overcome the greenness he has shown in his races to date. If he can do that, he will be an interesting horse to keep an eye on down to the road to Louisville.

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Weekend Trivia Challenge for 2/4/2017

2/4/2017

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Full siblings have won American championships before, but only once since official voting began in 1936 have full siblings won championships in the same division. Name the successful sibs, the years of their championships and the division in which they took honors.

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