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Mares on Monday: Volatile Has a Right to Be Dangerous

7/27/2020

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It seems stunning that in a year in which trainers have been crying for a place to run their horses, a Grade 1 sprint with a total purse of $232,500 could not draw but five entries. Yet that's exactly what happened in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga on July 25, and the race was further reduced when Lexitonian was scratched at the gate on the recommendation of the track veterinarian. That left three Grade 1 winners in the race---Whitmore, Mind Control and Firenze Fire---and Volatile, a lightly-raced 4-year-old who was coming in off an 8-length romp in the Aristides Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 6. At the race's end, Volatile made it four Grade 1 winners from four starters, scoring by one and a quarter lengths over the veteran Whitmore.

Some observers found the results rather unsatisfying, given that Whitmore had broken through the gate prior to the official start and that Volatile was allowed to get away with an opening quarter in :23.46, downright leisurely by the standards of top sprinters. Yet to his credit, Volatile accelerated through each quarter of the race, running the second two panels in :23.21 and the final quarter in :22.94. Further, he had set a stakes record in the Aristides, blowing through that race in a torrid 1:07.57, a performance that had made him a 2-5 favorite in the Vanderbilt. If he did not show quite that kind of foot in the Vanderbilt, he also never looked threatened at any time during the race and coasted through the final strides.

A son of Violence, Volatile is from a family that has had its fair share of individuals that could show wicked speed, that of Dangerous Dame. A precocious and speedy daughter of Nasrullah from 1946 Irish champion 2-year-old filly Lady Kells, Dangerous Dame produced two good stakes winners in 1959 Kentucky Oaks winner Hidden Talent and 1959 Matron Stakes winner Heavenly Body, both by 1953 Kentucky Derby winner Dark Star. Through these two fillies, Dangerous Dame's family extends to horses such as 1986 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Too Bald; champions Capote, Lake Country and Myasha; and Grade/Group 1 winners Broad Brush, Exceller, Sakhee, River Memories, and Bob and John.

Dangerous Star, a full sister to Hidden Talent and Heavenly Body, was much less accomplished than either of her sisters, failing to place in her only start. She improved on her race record in the paddocks, producing two stakes winners. More importantly, her Lucky North daughter Star of My Eye produced Lady Tak (by Argentine champion sire Mutakddim), a top-class sprinter-miler whose victories included the 2003 Test Stakes (USA-G1) and the 2004 Ballerina Stakes (USA-G1). Both races were contested over 7 furlongs at Saratoga. Lady Tak, in turn, is the dam of Group 2-placed Japanese stakes winner A Shin Spartan (by Zensational) and of Melody Lady (by Unbridled's Song), winner of the 2013 El Paso Times Handicap at Sunland Park and the dam of Volatile. Still in production, Lady Tak most recently foaled a Maclean's Music colt on March 9, and her youngest foal to race is her 3-year-old daughter Casual (by Curlin), a winner of two of three starts before running unplaced in the Longines Acorn Stakes (USA-G1) on June 20.

Melody Lady has also not been idle. Previously the dam of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Buy Sell Hold (by Violence), she is also represented by the 3-year-old colt Soccer Dad (by Bayern), who ran second in his only start at 2. The mare has an unraced 2-year-old, the Bayern colt Grendel, and produced a filly by Army Mule on February 7.

While Volatile could possibly stretch out to a mile and perhaps a little more on paper, his future in 2020 appears to lie in the sprint division, where he is already being talked of as a candidate for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (USA-G1). More immediately, one juicy possibility is a clash with the brilliant Vekoma in the 7-furlong Forego Stakes Presented by America's Best Racing (USA-G1) on August 29. If it happened, Vekoma---already the winner of the Runhappy Carter Handicap (USA-G1) over 7 furlongs and the Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1) at a mile---would probably rule as favorite, but Volatile has already done enough to prove himself dangerous regardless of the competition and should be a worthy contender in American racing's fastest division.







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Weekend Trivia Challenge for 7/24/2020

7/24/2020

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This handsome runner of yesteryear was considered the best older male in America as a 4-year-old in spite of failing to win a stakes race that season. Unfortunately, he was a better runner than sire and may have ended his days as a cart horse. Who was he?
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Mares on Monday: No Blushing for Paris Lights in CCA Oaks

7/20/2020

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Last Saturday's Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1) field may have been short on quality (as measured by pre-race records of the entrants) and quantity, but it was not short on excitement. Racing all the way outside stablemate Crystal Ball, Paris Lights withstood a stretch-long duel and thrust her head in front in the final strides to take the filly classic. It was the first stakes win for the daughter of Curlin, who also garnered enough points toward the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) to guarantee herself a slot if her connections so desire.

Paris Lights also enhanced her value as a prospective broodmare, which was already quite high thanks to her family connections. She descends from the marvelous family of Best in Show, which captured its second Grade 1 win in less than two weeks after War of Will won the Maker's Mark Mile Stakes on July 10.

Paris Lights traces her descent from Best in Show through Blush With Pride, a Blushing Groom half sister to War of Will's ancestress Minnie Hauk. The best of Best in Show's daughters on the track, Blush With Pride won the 1982 Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) and Santa Susana Stakes (USA-G1) before producing three graded/Group stakes winners of her own, including 2007 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour (by Deputy Minister).

Toward the end of her producing career, Blush With Pride was mated four successive times to the great European stallion Sadler's Wells. Her first daughter from this cross was Group 1-placed Maryinsky, whose first two foals were 2007 European co-champion 3-year-old filly Peeping Fawn (by Danehill) and 2007 Criterium International (FR-G1) winner Thewayyouare (by Kingmambo). Peeping Fawn is the dam and granddam of listed stakes winners, and Maryinsky's most recent foals are the 2018 American Pharoah colt Narmer (who is still unraced) and a 2019 American Pharoah filly.

Maryinsky's full sister Butterfly Blue was less distinguished on the race course, winning one of nine starts with no black type, and also failed to produce any stakes winners, though four of her foals were stakes-placed. Her record as a dam of broodmares is improving her overall profile, however. Sapphire Pendant (by Danehill Dancer), Group 3-placed on the turf, came up with a Group 3 winner last year in Ecrivain (by Lope de Vega), winner of the 2019 Prix de Chenes. Listed-placed Lacadena (by Fasliyev) has done still better, as she has multiple Grade 1-placed Grade 3 winner America (by A. P. Indy) to her credit as well as Paris Bikini (by Bernardini), dam of Paris Lights.

Lacadena's branch of the family is in a good position to continue adding honors, as America's first three foals are the 2018 Curlin colt First Captain (a $1.5 million sales yearling who is as yet unraced), the 2019 Curlin filly American Caviar, and a 2020 colt by Uncle Mo. As for Paris Bikini, she followed Paris Lights with the unraced 2018 Into Mischief colt Cousteau and has a 2019 Distorted Humor filly and a 2020 Always Dreaming colt. Thus, even if  Paris Lights fails to follow up on her initial Grade 1 success, there are more prospects in the pipeline to keep this family proud for some time to come.





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Weekly Trivia Challenge for 7/17/2020

7/17/2020

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This horse later became a member of the National Museum of Racing's Hall of Fame, but he began his racing career in much humbler circumstances. Among his early starts was a claiming race, which he duly won, earning a purse of US$380. Nonetheless, his owner came out a loser on the deal as he had to pay several times the value of the purse to keep the horse from being claimed away. (Under the terms of the race, which were not the same as those of a modern claimer, the owner could submit a counter-bid to keep his animal if someone put in a claim for his horse.) Shortly after the race, the owner sold the horse at a modest profit, only to see the animal become a stakes winner a couple of races later. Who was the horse, and who was his hard-luck owner?
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Mares on Monday: Art Collector Bebops into Derby Picture

7/13/2020

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Unbeaten so far in 2020, Bruce Lunsford's homebred Art Collector thrust himself into the conversation surrounding the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1) with an authoritative win over top filly Swiss Skydiver in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (USA-G1). As he is a son of 2006 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner and American champion 3-year-old male Bernardini, there is reason to believe that he will have no problem with the 10-furlong Derby distance, and this is reinforced by a look at his female family.

Art Collector is a fifth-generation descendant of Bebop II, a stakes-placed daughter of 1951 French champion sire Prince Bio who became part of Greentree Stud's broodmare band. Her immediate impact in the paddocks was not particularly impressive, as three stakes-placed runners were the best she could produce from 10 named foals. It was her broodmare daughters who proved Bebop II's worth. Four of them became stakes producers, and two did well indeed: stakes-placed Stepping High (by No Robbery), who produced the stakes winners and successful sires Buckaroo (by Buckpasser) and Parade Marshal (by Caro) as well as several broodmares of significance, and Bebopper, a daughter of Tom Fool.

While Bebopper never won or placed in a stakes, she was a consistent sort whose talent easily placed her in the category of "New York allowance winner" and probably made her the equivalent or better of many a stakes winner on a lesser circuit. Her sons Stop the Music (by Hail to Reason) and Hatchet Man (by The Axe II) were both high-class racehorses and sires of some significance, and two of her non-stakes-winning daughters also made contributions to the family reputation, as Crazy Music (by Hail to Reason) produced 1985 Laurel Turf Cup Handicap (USA-G3) winner Crazy Moon (by Stage Door Johnny) and Boasting (by Bold Lad) became the second dam of 1996 American champion 3-year-old filly Yanks Music.

Bebopper's most important daughter is the Hoist the Flag mare Flag Waver, who was a listed stakes winner during her own racing days. The dam of stakes winner Abidjan (by Sir Ivor; dam of stakes winner Lady Tabitha, by Lyphard) and of Private Banking (by Private Account), second dam of 2008 Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Ginger Brew, Flag Waver also produced Grade 1-placed Bunting (by Private Account), who produced 1999 Illinois Derby (USA-G2) winner Vision and Verse (by Storm Cat) as her first foal. 10 foals later, Bunting came up with Grade 1-placed stakes winner Distorted Legacy (by Distorted Humor), who produced Art Collector as her second foal.

Distorted Legacy's best racing performance was when runner-up in the 10-furlong Flower Bowl Invitational Stakes (USA-G1), and this family has produced plenty of horses that could handle two turns with aplomb, so stamina is not likely to be a problem for Art Collector. The question now---as it is for every one of his rivals---is whether he has the soundness and luck to make it to the Derby starting gate and the class and tactical speed to make his own luck in America's most contentious race. Nonetheless, he has earned his ticket to the "Big Dance" of the 3-year-old season and will get his chance to collect the country's most coveted piece of sporting art: the Derby trophy.

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Weekly Trivia Challenge for 7/10/2020

7/10/2020

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Normally, a Kentucky Derby win is a ticket to a high-end placement on entering stud, but not for this fellow. He started out at the bottom of his farm's stallion roster and didn't even get a stall in the stallion barn---though he may not have minded, since he was stabled with the mares instead. Who was he? 
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Mares on Monday: Another Star for a Lady Who Was Good Indeed

7/6/2020

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With only four entries, the Los Alamitos Derby (USA-G3) on July 4 left plenty of questions unanswered as to how any of its entrants might fare in the usually crowded, contentions conditions of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1). Nonetheless, winner Uncle Chuck made his stakes debut look pretty good, easily downing multiple graded stakes winner Thousand Words to remain unbeaten and pick up 20 points toward a Kentucky Derby starting slot.

Sired by 2010 American champion 2-year-old male Uncle Mo, who has already sired 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, Uncle Chuck descends from the family of Lady Be Good, a speedy daughter of Better Self who was a prolific producer for Wheatley Stable and Ogden Phipps after winning two stakes races as a juvenile but failing to train on. Given the status of a modern foundation mare by bloodstock expert John Sparkman, Lady Be Good produced four stakes winners and a slew of successful broodmares.

Impish, Lady Be Good's 1972 daughter by Majestic Prince, won her only start and became the dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Lay Down (by Spectacular Bid) and listed stakes winner Karly's Harley (by Harlan).She also foaled four daughters who produced stakes winners. The most notable of the group is I Pass (by Buckpasser), who won two of her three starts and was second in the other in her brief racing career. Bred to Mr. Prospector, she produced the brilliant but unsound Mining, whose six wins from seven starts included the 1988 Vosburgh Stakes (USA-G1).

Mining's older half sister Defer (by Damascus) never made it to the track at all but produced three multiple stakes producers in Cabaret Queen (by Gone West), Millie's Delight (by El Gran Senor) and Defer West (by Gone West). The last-named mare became a minor stakes winner as a 4-year-old but has been a better broodmare than runner, producing 2005 Honorable Miss Handicap (USA-G2) winner Forest Music (by Unbridled's Song) and 2000 Sapling Stakes (USA-G3) winner Shooter (by Dehere).

A very fast mare, Forest Music was also quite sound by the standards of her family, making 18 starts over three seasons of racing. As a broodmare, she has passed on a fair measure of her speed but not her soundness. Her first foal is Maclean's Music (by Distorted Humor), who won his only start and sired 2017 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Cloud Computing from his first crop. Her next foal to achieve some distinction is the Tiznow colt Kentuckian, whose three wins from 10 starts include the 2015 Lazaro Barrera Stakes (USA-G3). Electric Forest, Forest Music's 2015 filly by Curlin, won the 2019 Doubledogdare Stakes (USA-G3) but made only five starts over two seasons.

In Uncle Chuck, Forest Music has another runner who has shown brilliance, but the Los Alamitos Derby was only his second lifetime start, and Uncle Mo is better known for throwing speed than durability. Combined with a family that has had its share of soundness issues, the question of how long Uncle Chuck will last naturally arises. One hopes that it will be long enough to explore the full ability of a colt whose ancestress was good indeed.

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Weekly Trivia Challenge for 7/3/2020

7/3/2020

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This American champion was produced from a mare who at one time was auctioned off for just US$800. Further, she herself started out her racing career in a claiming race, which her trainer candidly admitted was due to the fact that she wouldn't have brought as much as her claiming tag if sold at auction. She won by four lengths and never again ran in anything but stakes races. Who was she?
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    I'm Avalyn Hunter, an author, pedigree researcher and longtime racing fan.

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