On April 3, previously unheralded Rock Your World vaulted into contention for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1) with a facile win in the Runhappy Santa Anita Derby (USA-G1). Pressured through a quick early pace by Parnelli, the Candy Ride colt had plenty left and had no difficulty in turning back favored Robert B. Lewis Stakes (USA-G3) winner Medina Spirit in the stretch.
While this was not a very strong renewal of the Santa Anita Derby, Rock Your World was making only his third lifetime start and appears to be a colt with a lot of potential for further development. Stamina should not be any issue for him with Empire Maker and Giant's Causeway as the sires of his first two dams, and he comes from a female line that has
Rock Your World's fifth dam is Like a Charm, a filly that Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Croll paid US$6,500 for at the 1965 Timonium yearling sale. Raced in the colors of Croll's wife Bobbi, the bargain filly made only three starts but won all three including the Sorority Stakes (a Grade 1 race when the North American grading system was instituted in 1973). She won US$79,914 and paid further dividends when she produced four stakes winners headed by Grade 3 winner Herecomesthebride (by Al Hattab) and became the second dam of four more.
Light a Charm was not one of Like a Charm's stakes winners; in fact, the Majestic Light filly never made it to the track. She produced only four foals but made good on those opportunities as her third foal was the Olympio filly Olympic Charmer. A winner on both dirt and turf, she showed some of the versatility displayed by Olympio, winner of the 1991 Hollywood Derby (USA-G1) on the turf and victor in multiple Grade 2 events on dirt. (For good measure, Majestic Light was even better as a dual-surface horse, winning Grade 1 events on both.) Olympic Charmer also showed a fair measure of the talent displayed by her sire and broodmare sire, winning the Railbird Stakes (USA-G2) at 3; and the El Encino Stakes (USA-G2) at 4; in addition, she was second in the 1999 La Brea Stakes (USA-G1).
Olympic Charmer kicked off her producing career with another good race mare. This was Charm the Giant, a daughter of Giant's Causeway whose record included the 2007 Wilshire Handicap (USA-G3) and two other stakes wins as a 5-year-old. Charm the Giant, in turn has two stakes winners to her credit: multiple Grade 1-placed listed stakes winner Charm the Maker (by Empire Maker), dam of Rock Your World, and Liam the Charmer (by Smart Strike), who won the 2018 John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (USA-G2) as a 5-year-old.
Rock Your World has already proven his versatility, having come into the Santa Anita Derby off a grass win in the listed Pasadena Stakes, and in spite of Like a Charm's prowess at 2, the overall trend of this family has been toward improvement with maturity. That bodes well for a colt who made his third time out the charm with a Grade 1 win and now has his sights set on an even bigger prize.
While this was not a very strong renewal of the Santa Anita Derby, Rock Your World was making only his third lifetime start and appears to be a colt with a lot of potential for further development. Stamina should not be any issue for him with Empire Maker and Giant's Causeway as the sires of his first two dams, and he comes from a female line that has
Rock Your World's fifth dam is Like a Charm, a filly that Hall of Fame trainer Jimmy Croll paid US$6,500 for at the 1965 Timonium yearling sale. Raced in the colors of Croll's wife Bobbi, the bargain filly made only three starts but won all three including the Sorority Stakes (a Grade 1 race when the North American grading system was instituted in 1973). She won US$79,914 and paid further dividends when she produced four stakes winners headed by Grade 3 winner Herecomesthebride (by Al Hattab) and became the second dam of four more.
Light a Charm was not one of Like a Charm's stakes winners; in fact, the Majestic Light filly never made it to the track. She produced only four foals but made good on those opportunities as her third foal was the Olympio filly Olympic Charmer. A winner on both dirt and turf, she showed some of the versatility displayed by Olympio, winner of the 1991 Hollywood Derby (USA-G1) on the turf and victor in multiple Grade 2 events on dirt. (For good measure, Majestic Light was even better as a dual-surface horse, winning Grade 1 events on both.) Olympic Charmer also showed a fair measure of the talent displayed by her sire and broodmare sire, winning the Railbird Stakes (USA-G2) at 3; and the El Encino Stakes (USA-G2) at 4; in addition, she was second in the 1999 La Brea Stakes (USA-G1).
Olympic Charmer kicked off her producing career with another good race mare. This was Charm the Giant, a daughter of Giant's Causeway whose record included the 2007 Wilshire Handicap (USA-G3) and two other stakes wins as a 5-year-old. Charm the Giant, in turn has two stakes winners to her credit: multiple Grade 1-placed listed stakes winner Charm the Maker (by Empire Maker), dam of Rock Your World, and Liam the Charmer (by Smart Strike), who won the 2018 John Henry Turf Championship Stakes (USA-G2) as a 5-year-old.
Rock Your World has already proven his versatility, having come into the Santa Anita Derby off a grass win in the listed Pasadena Stakes, and in spite of Like a Charm's prowess at 2, the overall trend of this family has been toward improvement with maturity. That bodes well for a colt who made his third time out the charm with a Grade 1 win and now has his sights set on an even bigger prize.
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