Anyone who saw Kiss Me Kate’s three dismal losses as a 2-year-old could have been forgiven for thinking that the filly would never amount to much, but she started coming around quickly in the spring of her 3-year-old season and announced herself as a contender in the 3-year-old filly division by winning a division of the Acorn Stakes by 12 lengths. By the end of 1951, Kiss Me Kate was one of two American champions that headed a breakout year for the stud career of 1943 American Triple Crown winner Count Fleet (the other was 1951 Horse of the Year Counterpoint). She failed to add to her reputation after her championship year and was a disappointment as a broodmare in a breeding career plagued by reproductive problems.
Race record
29 starts, 7 wins, 4 seconds, 7 thirds, US$196,505
1951:
1952:
1953:
Honors
American champion 3-year-old filly (1951)
Assessments
Rated at 121 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American fillies and mares of 1953, 5 pounds below highweighted Real Delight and 4 pounds below the official champion handicap mare, Sickle’s Image.
As an individual
A striking, well-balanced chestnut mare standing 15.3 hands, Kiss Me Kate had good scope and substance and was particularly notable for her muscular development about the stifle; she otherwise had the flat musculature typical of a stayer. She could be faulted for toeing out slightly in front. She was willful and inclined to be unruly but also intelligent and alert, and with good handling became confident and playful in her demeanor. She improved markedly after she began racing in blinkers. She handled both fast and off surfaces well and generally raced best when coming from off the pace. Her stride was long and smooth. Her campaigns as an older female may have been affected by an osselet (calcification in an ankle) that she began developing midway through her 3-year-old season.
As a producer
Kiss Me Kate produced five named foals, of which four started and three won. Her only foal of any significance was her daughter Penny Hearts (by Double Jay), dam of 1976 John B. Campbell Handicap (USA-G2) winner Festive Mood (by Johns Joy) and second dam of 2005 Venezuelan champion 2-year-old filly Moon Invictus.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Kiss Me Kate was bred by Walter M. Jeffords and raced for him as a third-generation homebred. She was trained by Oscar White.
Pedigree notes
Kiss Me Kate is inbred 5x5 to 1903 English Triple Crown winner Rock Sand. She was one of four foals produced from Irish Nora, whose half sister Snow Goose (by Mahmoud) won the 1948 Saratoga Cup and other important races and is the dam of juvenile stakes winner Merganser (by Pavot); the second dam of 1971 French champion miler Faraway Son, French Group 2 winner Liloy (an important sire in Argentina), 1967 Delaware Oaks winner Lewiston, and 1969 Prix de Meautry winner Mismalova; and the third dam of 1978 Oaks Stakes (ENG-G1) and Irish Guinness Oaks winner Fair Salinia (IRE-G1), multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Baillamont, and Grade 2 winner Rambo Dancer. Irish Nora is also a half sister to 1945 Narragansett Special winner Westminster (by Bull Dog) and to the excellent broodmare Blue Denim (by Blue Larkspur), a Reine-de-Course. In addition, Irish Nora is a half sister to Aunt Chaney (by Blue Larkspur), dam of 1953 Santa Anita Derby winner Chanlea (by Bull Lea) and third dam of 1968 Longacres Mile Handicap winner Steel Blade.
Irish Nora and her siblings were produced from the Man o’ War mare Judy O’Grady, whose five stakes placings included a runner-up finish in the 1935 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Judy O’Grady is a half sister to multiple juvenile stakes winner Good as Gold (by Golden Broom) and is also a half sister to stakes-placed St. Agnes (by Golden Broom), second dam of 1948 Pollyanna Stakes winner Alsab’s Day, and to Judy L. (by Firethorn), dam of 1952 Ashland Stakes winner Free for Me (by Free for All).
Judy O’Grady was produced from Bel Agnes (by 1913 July Stakes winner Ambassador IV), a full sister to 1927 Brooklyn Handicap winner Peanuts and a half sister to Agnes Star (by Bubbling Over), dam of multiple stakes winner Mower (by Sickle). Produced from the Sardanapale mare Agnes Sard, Bel Agnes is also a half sister to Foxy Agnes (by Gallant Fox), dam of multiple stakes winner Alfoxie (by Bimelech; dam of stakes winner Grandpaw, by Sun Again).
Fun facts
Last updated: December 26, 2023
Race record
29 starts, 7 wins, 4 seconds, 7 thirds, US$196,505
1951:
- Won Acorn Stakes (first division) (USA, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Delaware Oaks (USA, 9FD, Delaware Park)
- Won Gazelle Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Alabama Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Coaching Club American Oaks (USA, 11FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Beldame Stakes (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Ladies Handicap (USA, 12FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Jockey Club Gold Cup (USA, 16FD, Belmont)
1952:
- Won New Castle Handicap (USA, 10FD, Delaware Park)
- 2nd Vineland Handicap (USA, 8.5FD, Garden State)
- 2nd Gallorette Stakes (USA, 9FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Firenze Handicap (USA, 9FD, Jamaica)
- 3rd Saratoga Cup (USA, 14FD, Saratoga)
1953:
- Won Firenze Handicap (USA, 9FD, Jamaica)
Honors
American champion 3-year-old filly (1951)
Assessments
Rated at 121 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American fillies and mares of 1953, 5 pounds below highweighted Real Delight and 4 pounds below the official champion handicap mare, Sickle’s Image.
As an individual
A striking, well-balanced chestnut mare standing 15.3 hands, Kiss Me Kate had good scope and substance and was particularly notable for her muscular development about the stifle; she otherwise had the flat musculature typical of a stayer. She could be faulted for toeing out slightly in front. She was willful and inclined to be unruly but also intelligent and alert, and with good handling became confident and playful in her demeanor. She improved markedly after she began racing in blinkers. She handled both fast and off surfaces well and generally raced best when coming from off the pace. Her stride was long and smooth. Her campaigns as an older female may have been affected by an osselet (calcification in an ankle) that she began developing midway through her 3-year-old season.
As a producer
Kiss Me Kate produced five named foals, of which four started and three won. Her only foal of any significance was her daughter Penny Hearts (by Double Jay), dam of 1976 John B. Campbell Handicap (USA-G2) winner Festive Mood (by Johns Joy) and second dam of 2005 Venezuelan champion 2-year-old filly Moon Invictus.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Kiss Me Kate was bred by Walter M. Jeffords and raced for him as a third-generation homebred. She was trained by Oscar White.
Pedigree notes
Kiss Me Kate is inbred 5x5 to 1903 English Triple Crown winner Rock Sand. She was one of four foals produced from Irish Nora, whose half sister Snow Goose (by Mahmoud) won the 1948 Saratoga Cup and other important races and is the dam of juvenile stakes winner Merganser (by Pavot); the second dam of 1971 French champion miler Faraway Son, French Group 2 winner Liloy (an important sire in Argentina), 1967 Delaware Oaks winner Lewiston, and 1969 Prix de Meautry winner Mismalova; and the third dam of 1978 Oaks Stakes (ENG-G1) and Irish Guinness Oaks winner Fair Salinia (IRE-G1), multiple Grade/Group 1 winner Baillamont, and Grade 2 winner Rambo Dancer. Irish Nora is also a half sister to 1945 Narragansett Special winner Westminster (by Bull Dog) and to the excellent broodmare Blue Denim (by Blue Larkspur), a Reine-de-Course. In addition, Irish Nora is a half sister to Aunt Chaney (by Blue Larkspur), dam of 1953 Santa Anita Derby winner Chanlea (by Bull Lea) and third dam of 1968 Longacres Mile Handicap winner Steel Blade.
Irish Nora and her siblings were produced from the Man o’ War mare Judy O’Grady, whose five stakes placings included a runner-up finish in the 1935 Jockey Club Gold Cup. Judy O’Grady is a half sister to multiple juvenile stakes winner Good as Gold (by Golden Broom) and is also a half sister to stakes-placed St. Agnes (by Golden Broom), second dam of 1948 Pollyanna Stakes winner Alsab’s Day, and to Judy L. (by Firethorn), dam of 1952 Ashland Stakes winner Free for Me (by Free for All).
Judy O’Grady was produced from Bel Agnes (by 1913 July Stakes winner Ambassador IV), a full sister to 1927 Brooklyn Handicap winner Peanuts and a half sister to Agnes Star (by Bubbling Over), dam of multiple stakes winner Mower (by Sickle). Produced from the Sardanapale mare Agnes Sard, Bel Agnes is also a half sister to Foxy Agnes (by Gallant Fox), dam of multiple stakes winner Alfoxie (by Bimelech; dam of stakes winner Grandpaw, by Sun Again).
Fun facts
- Kiss Me Kate was named after a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew. Written by Cole Porter, Kiss Me Kate won five Tony Awards in 1949 during its original run and another five Tonys when revived fifty years later.
- Kiss Me Kate enjoyed sharing sandwiches, chocolate bars, and plugs of tobacco with her groom, to whom Charles Hatton of the Daily Racing Form gave a great deal of credit in developing the filly mentally. (Unfortunately, he never gave the name of this influential man.)
- Owner Walter Jeffords always felt that Kiss Me Kate was a "throwback," bearing a stronger resemblance to Fair Play (the sire of Man o' War) than to any of her more immediate ancestors.
Last updated: December 26, 2023