American Classic Pedigrees
  • Home
  • Books
    • American Classic Pedigrees
    • Dream Derby
    • Gold Rush
    • The Kentucky Oaks
    • The Kingmaker
    • Recommended Reading
  • Blogs
    • Mares on Monday
    • Horse Tales
  • Articles
  • Horse Profiles
    • Horse Profiles A-E
    • Horse Profiles F-K
    • Horse Profiles L-Q
    • Horse Profiles R-Z
  • Links
  • About ACP
    • Author
    • Contact
    • For Contributors

Mares on Monday: Intricate Adds Complexity to 2024 Oaks Picture

11/27/2023

0 Comments

 
​The 150th Longines Kentucky Oaks is still six months away, but several possible contenders have already emerged. Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) winner and likely American champion juvenile filly Just F Y I is one; Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G1) winner Tamara, now known to have been compromised by injury when finishing up the track in the Juvenile Fillies, is another, and there are several other fillies that flashed significant talent during the 2023 racing seaosn. On November 25, Intricate joined that number with a strong victory in the Golden Rod Stakes (USA-G2) at Churchill Downs, powering home by 3½ lengths in the 8.5 furlong test. Adding to the impression made by the win, she galloped out strongly afterward, suggesting that another sixteenth of a mile should be no problem at all.

Intricate is a daughter of 2017 American Horse of the Year Gun Runner, who has led his crop of American sires for three consecutive years and is currently third on the American general sire list. Bred by LBD Stable, she is the first foal of the winning Distorted Humor mare Complex Analysis. The American champion broodmare sire of 2017, Distorted Humor currently stands ninth on the list of maternal grandsires, putting him in line for his seventh appearance among the top 10.

Complex Analysis is a full sister to Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Abraham and a half sister to Groton Circle (by Mr. Greeley), dam of 2018 Pegasus Stakes (USA-L) winner Supreme Aura (by Candy Ride). The siblings are out of Tabarin (by 2002 American champion sire El Prado), a half sister to multiple Grade 2 winner Miss Isella (by Silver Charm), 2003 Arkansas Derby (USA-G2) winner Sir Cherokee, and multiple listed stakes winner Guam Typhoon (by Distorted Humor). Tabarin is also a half sister to multiple Grade 3-placed Lady Linda (by Torrential), dam of 2013 Preis der Diana-Deutches Stuten Derby (German Oaks, GER-G1) winner Penelopa (by Giant’s Causeway; dam of English listed stakes winner Pennymoor, by Frankel) and multiple European listed stakes winner Lajoscha (by Gleneagles).

Tabarin, in turn, is out of Irish-bred La Cucina, whose sire Last Tycoon upset the 1986 Breeders’ Cup Mile (USA-G1) and was champion sprinter in England and France that year, La Cucina is a half sister to Group 2-placed listed stakes winner Ocean Air (by Elegant Air) and is out of the stakes-placed Grey Dawn II mare Fandangerina, a half sister to stakes winner Cordial Prince (by Cornish Prince). The female family traces back to Shy Dancer, whose other descendants include 1980 American champion 2-year-old filly and 1981 Kentucky Oaks victress Heavenly Cause, 2012 Canadian champion turf male Riding the River, and 1991 Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Opening Verse. Generally speaking, this has been a family whose members have shown improvement from age 2 to age 3 and beyond, so provided that Intricate can stay sound and healthy, she should be one to watch between now and next May.


0 Comments

Mares on Monday: Loyalty in Legacy of Great Lady M.

11/13/2023

0 Comments

 
On November 11, Loyalty made her case for a Sovereign Award as Canada's champion female sprinter with a solid win in Canada’s biggest race for the division, the Bessarabian Stakes (CAN-G2). Seven-wide on the turn for home, the 4-year-old Josie Carroll trainee more than made up the lost ground and powered home to a 1½-length win over a dozen rivals, stopping the clock in 1:22.27 for the 7 furlongs. Also the winner of the Hendrie Stakes (CAN-G3) in July, Loyalty owns a 4-3-0-1 record in Canada this year and a lifetime record of 11-7-0-2. She has earned $398,647 for co-owners Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck) and LNJ Foxwoods, more than winning out the US$270,000 she cost as a yearling.

Bred by Best a Luck Farm (Tommy and Lori Fackler) and Godolphin, Loyalty is by 2007 King’s Bishop Stakes (USA-G1) winner Hard Spun, who has forged a solid stud career just below the top level. A son of Danzig and the stakes-winning Turkoman mare Turkish Tryst, he has sired 100 stakes winners as of November 13, 2023, including 2012 American champion 3-year-old filly Questing and Breeder’s Cup winners Aloha West (2021 Sprint) and Spun to Run (2019 Dirt Mile).

​
Loyalty is 3x5 inbred to Hard Spun’s paternal grandsire, Northern Dancer, and is also 4x4 to 1990 champion American sire Alydar. Behind both these inbred ancestors is two-time American Horse of the Year Native Dancer, the maternal grandsire of Northern Dancer and the paternal grandsire of Alydar through his sire Raise a Native. As another Raise a Native son, two-time American champion sire Mr. Prospector, is the male-line great-grandsire of Loyalty’s dam, and Native Dancer’s maternal grandson Icecapade is the sire of Loyalty’s fourth dam, the “Gray Ghost” appears 5x6x6x7x6x7 in Loyalty’s pedigree, with an additional cross of Native Dancer’s sire Polynesian appearing at the sixth remove.

Turning to Loyalty's female line, she is a half sister to 2018 American champion female sprinter Shamrock Rose (by First Dude) and is out of the unraced Elusive Quality mare Slew’s Quality, whom the Facklers bought for US$35,000 at the 2007 Keeneland November mixed sale, in foal to Consolidator. An attempted resale at the 2008 Ocala Breeders’ Sales October mixed sale fell through when Slew’s Quality failed to make her reserve on a US$39,000 bid, and the Facklers have good reason now to be glad it did. Aside from Loyalty and Shamrock Rose, they have bred two stakes-placed runners and three other winners from their star broodmare, and the mare’s 2022 colt by Authentic (a US$425,000 RNA at this year’s Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale) is said to be looking very promising; according to the Facklers, he will probably be offered at the 2024 OBS April sale of 2-year-olds in training. Slew’s Quality was barren in 2023 but may be headed for a return date with Hard Spun in 2024.

A half sister to multiple French Group 3 winner Slew the Red (by Red Ransom), Slew’s Quality is out of Great Lady Slew (by Seattle Slew). A winner on the track, Great Lady Slew is also the dam of two stakes-placed runners and of the Diesis mare Marple, the second dam of South African champion 2-year-old filly Mahbooba (by Galileo).

Great Lady Slew, in turn, is a half sister to stakes winner Baldy’s Dream (by Green Dancer) and is out of the winner Great Lady Sharon. Sired by Alydar from Great Lady M. (by Icecapade), Great Lady Sharon is a half sister to 1986 American Horse of the Year Lady’s Secret (by Secretariat); to stakes winner Missy Slew (by Seattle Slew), dam of restricted stakes winner Vow (by Rahy); and to Great Christine (by Danzig), dam of 2003 Japanese champion older female Believe (by Sunday Silence) and second dam of 2022 Sprinters Stakes (JPN-G1) winner Gendarme (by Kitten’s Joy).

Great Lady M. was not a great race mare, but she was solid, tough, and consistent, picking up seven sprint stakes wins among her 14 wins from 58 starts, and she put the lie to the notion that hard-raced mares make poor broodmares, with no less than six of her daughters figuring in the production of graded or Group stakes winners. Her family has often skipped generations when it came to producing anything with significant class, but it keeps coming up with good horses nonetheless. If Loyalty does capture a Sovereign Award, she will be the sixth national champion descended within five generations from a tough little mare whose good qualities have persisted in pedigrees for nearly forty years and show no signs of slowing down.


0 Comments

Mares on Monday: Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filly Turf Outcome Not Hard to Justify

11/6/2023

0 Comments

 
American racing does not have a championship category for juvenile fillies on turf, but if it did, the palm would surely belong to Hard to Justify. Already the winner of the Miss Grillo Stakes (USA-G2) at Aqueduct, the Chad Brown trainee gave her conditioner a record sixth win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) with a gritty half-length score. She finished 2023 with a perfect three-for-three record, all over grass. Her earnings of US$687,750 represent a nice return on the US$190,000 she cost owner Wise Racing (Allen Wise) at the 2022 Keeneland September sale.

A daughter of the red-hot young sire Justify, who also begot NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) winner Just F Y I, Hard to Justify is the second foal and first winner out of Instant Reflex, a US$300,000 acquisition for breeder Yeguada Centurion S.L. from the 2019 Keeneland November mixed sale. The mare’s only other produce to race is the 2020 Arrogate colt Quick Reflex, a winner in Spain. Instant Reflex also has a yearling colt by Uncle Mo.

Grade 3-placed on grass as a racer, Instant Reflex is by four-time Grade 1 winner and important sire Quality Road out of the winning Seeking the Gold mare Without Delay, a half sister to 2013 La Coupe (FR-G3) winner Slow Pace and 2018 Pat Day Mile Stakes (USA-G3) winner Funny Duck (both by Distorted Humor). Without Delay is also a half sister to Slow Sand (by Dixieland Band), dam of 2020 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (USA-G2) winner King Guillermo (by Uncle Mo) and second dam of 2021 July Cup (ENG-G1) winner Starman (by Dutch Art), and to Jolie Chanson (by Mount Nelson), dam of 2022 Festival Stakes (ENG-L) winner Majestic Dawn (by Dawn Approach).

Without Delay and her sisters are out of 2001 Hillsborough Handicap (USA-L) winner Slow Down (by Seattle Slew), a half sister to multiple Grade 3 winner Olmodavor (by A.P. Indy) and two-time Prairie Bayou Stakes winner Dac (by Distorted Humor). Produced from 1994 Beverly Hills Handicap (USA-G1) winner Corrazona, an El Gran Senor half sister to 1990 Wood Memorial Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner Thirty Six Red (by Slew o’ Gold) out of the Stage Door Johnny mare Heartbreak, Slow Down is also a half sister to stakes-placed Seeking the Heart (by Seeking the Gold), second dam of 2022 Joe Hernandez Stakes (USA-G2) winner Chewing Gum (by Candy Ride). The female family traces back to the great 20th-century matriarch Bourtai, whose other descendants include American champions Bayou, Sacahuista, Shuvee, Slew o’ Gold, and War Pass.

Hard to Justify is inbred 4x5x4 to two-time American champion sire Mr. Prospector, a common enough pattern in modern American breeding, and has two more crosses of the great sire at the sixth generation and one at the seventh. The really salient thing about her pedigree is its sheer quality; from top to bottom, it reads like a “Who’s Who” of American racing and breeding, with no names appearing in the first five generations that did not prove themselves as possessing some class either on the track or in the breeding shed—mostly both. With a genetic background like this plus her own proven racing ability, it will be a hard thing indeed if Hard to Justify does not contribute to her breed as a broodmare—but, one can hope, not until she has further displayed her talent on the race course. 
​
0 Comments

Mares on Monday: Romance Sea Outruns Family in Argentine Oaks

10/30/2023

0 Comments

 
​On October 14, Romance Sea rebounded from a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Gran Premio Polla de Potrancas (Argentine One Thousand Guineas, ARG-G1) to become Argentina’s latest Classic winner in the Gran Premio Selección (Argentine Oaks, ARG-G1). The robust filly made use of a powerful run in the last 100 meters to take the measure of Polla de Potrancas winner Madonna Benois and earn her third victory from four starts.

Romance Sea is a daughter of 2017 Champagne Stakes (ENG-G2) winner Seahenge, a son of Scat Daddy and the stakes-winning Not for Love mare Fools in Love who has been shuttling between Haras de Haies Nueve in France and Haras Vacación in Argentina since entering stud in 2019. The filly is from her sire’s first Southern Hemisphere crop, which also includes Premio Old Man (ARG-G3) winner Beauty Sea.

On the distaff side of her pedigree, Romance Sea’s female family entered Argentina via the English-bred Little Miss Tootle (by 1960 July Cup winner Tin Whistle). Little Miss Tootle produced the 1971 Snow Ball mare La Independencia, in turn the dam of two stakes-producing daughters. One, Ibera Pub (by Pappe II) won both her starts before producing multiple Argentine Group winner Pub River (by the stakes-winning Ramsinga horse Riverside Sam). The other, La Iberica (by Argentine Group 3 winner El Escorial), produced 1992 Premio Republica de Panama (ARG-G3) winner Ebro Side (by Riverside Sam).

Ebro Side, in turn, produced Ebro Speed (by Ibero), dam of 2008 Premio General Belgrano (ARG-G2) winner Speed Sale (by Not for Sale), and Ebrolize (by 1988 United Nations Handicap, USA-G1, winner and 1997 Argentine Stallion of the Year Equalize). The latter mare won only one of five starts but proved a good broodmare with her 2004 foal, Lucky Island (by Lucky Roberto), who was sent to the United States and won the 2008 Tom Fool Handicap (USA-G2) and Bold Ruler Handicap (USA-G3).

Ebrolize’s next foal was unraced Summer Romance (by Argentine champion sire and broodmare sire Orpen), dam of 2021 Premio Omega (ARG-G2) winner J Be Mallorca (by J Be K) and Argentine listed stakes winner J Be Man (by J Be K). She followed up with Lize Song (by Sultry Song), dam of Argentine listed stakes winner Donna Gaia (by Don Valiente), and in 2010 produced a second stakes winner in multiple Group 3 winner Romance Night (by Orpen), who produced Romance Sea as her third foal. Romance Night has since produced the 2022 colt Reggaetonero (by Equal Stripes) and the 2023 colt Romance Latino (by Il Mercato).

The best members of Romance Sea’s family have been milers, and given that neither her sire, Seahenge, nor her broodmare sire, Orpen, showed significant form at distances of a mile or more, the source of the stamina she used to win a 2000-meter race (about 1¼ miles) is a little mysterious. Most likely, she is throwing back to her second dam’s sire, Equalize, who won the Red Smith Handicap (USA-G2) over 10 furlongs and set a new course record in winning the 9½ furlong United Nations Handicap. Regardless of where it came from, her ability to stay adds an extra dimension to an improving family.


0 Comments

Mares on Monday: Maybe Next Year for Vahva

10/23/2023

0 Comments

 
As everyone at the top end of racing gears up for the Breeders’ Cup, it’s worth keeping an eye out for those horses that won’t be there this year but might be a year away from competing on American racing’s biggest stage. Among those horses in 2023 is Vahva, who seems to have found a home for herself at 7 furlongs—which is, of course, the distance of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (USA-G1). Sent after the 7-furlong Lexus Raven Run Stakes (USA-G2) after annexing the 7-furlong Charles Town Oaks (USA-G3) in her last outing, Vahva handled the step up in class in professional fashion, grinding her way past front-running Alva Star in the final sixteenth of a mile. She posted a career-best Equibase figure of 110—her second consecutive triple-digit performance—and improved her lifetime record to 10-4-2-2 with earnings of US$873,810.

A 3-year-old daughter of 2017 American Horse of the Year Gun Runner (who currently leads the American third-crop sire list and is second on the general sire list), Vahva is the fifth winner and first stakes winner from six foals of racing age produced from Holiday Soiree (by multiple Grade 1 winner and 2012 American champion juvenile sire Harlan’s Holiday). Also responsible for listed stakes-placed Signal From Noise (by Arrogate), Holiday Soiree most recently produced a 2022 filly by City of Light that went for US$400,000 at Keeneland September and a 2023 filly by Nyquist.

Holiday Soiree won the restricted Shine Again Stakes at Saratoga in 2013 and placed in five other stakes races, her efforts including a third in the 2013 Humana Distaff Stakes (USA-G1). A half sister to Grade 3-placed multiple stakes winner Marquee Prince (by Cairo Prince), Holiday Soiree was produced from multiple stakes-placed Try to Remember, a full sister to stakes winner Midnight Soiree. Try to Remember is also a half sister to stakes winners Silver Time (by Indian Charlie), Ciguaraya (by Latent Heat), and Fuerteventura (by Summer Front).

Include, the sire of Try to Remember and Midnight Soiree, won the 2001 Pimlico Special Handicap (USA-G1) and became the last successful sire from the male line of Domino to stand in the United States. For many years a stalwart at Brereton Jones’s Airdrie Stud, he also stood in Argentina, where he led the general sire list in 2015. Unfortunately for the continuation of his male line, he was a much better sire of fillies than colts, and his lone Group 1-winning son, 2016 Gran Premio 25 de Mayo winner Don Inc, died young. Try to Remember was produced from the Smart Strike mare Casanova Striker, a half sister to multiple Grade 3 winner Duveen (by Horse Chestnut) and restricted stakes winner Cherry Hill Lady. The female line traces back to the English import Pastorella, dam of the great Colin—an unbeaten member of the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame—but it has been a long time since this female lineage produced anything remotely close to Colin’s level of class, and Vahva is the best horse produced by her tail-female line in generations.

Vahva is inbred 4x4x5 to two-time American champion sire and seven-time champion juvenile sire Storm Cat, a reliable source of speed and precocity as well as overall class. Given that her sire and dam were at their best as 4-year-olds, there seems to be good reason to hope that she will continue her improvement in 2024. If she does, look for her in the Breeders’ Cup starting gate in 2024.
0 Comments

Mares on Monday: Tony Ann Proves a Good Bet in Franklin Stakes

10/16/2023

0 Comments

 
​Reigning Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (USA-G1) winner Caravel was a heavy favorite for the Franklin Stakes (USA-G2) at Keeneland on Sunday, but Tony Ann apparently hadn’t gotten the word. The fifth choice in the field of eight fillies and mares, the lightly raced 5-year-old battled stride for stride with the multiple Grade 1 winner through the final sixteenth of a mile and at the wire prevailed by a neck. It was the first stakes win for the daughter of Cairo Prince and raised her lifetime record to 10-5-1-3 with earnings of US$511,883.

Tony Ann is a fifth-generation descendant of Itsabet, the foundation mare for Harry Isaacs’s Brookfield Farm. Like Fred Hooper down in Florida, Isaacs was something of a maverick, making use of his own homebred sires and of lines better known for soundness and toughness than for briliance and fashion. His results can hardly be faulted, as he developed a family that has had remarkable worldwide influence.

Itsabet was the first stakes winner to carry Isaacs’s colors, and she was a nice racer by anyone's standards. The daughter of two-time American champion sire Heliopolis and the Rolled Stocking mare Jayjean won four sprint stakes during her career including the 1948 Colonial Handiap and Prioress Stakes, suggesting that she was probably at least the equivalent of a modern Grade 3 winner. Following her retirement to the paddocks, she produced the stakes winners Ifabody (by Brookfield) and Isendu (by Inyureye), but her true gift to her breed was through her daughters.


The main branches of Itsabet’s family extend through Ironically (by two-time San Juan Capistrano Handicap winner Intent) and Iaround (by Round Table). The former is the ancestress of 1975 American champion 2-year-old filly Dearly Precious, 2000 European Horse of the Year and three-time American champion sire Giant’s Causeway, 1982 Oaks d’Italia (ITY-G1) winner Ilenia, and English Group 2 winner You’resothrilling, the dam of European Classic winners Marvellous, Gleneagles, and Joan of Arc as well as Irish Group 1 winner Happily. The latter is the ancestress of Grade/Group 1 winners Leroy S., Is Your Pleasure, Little Baby Bear, So Factual, and I Believe I You and is also the granddam of 1977 Irish champion 2-year-old filly Sookera, whose daughter Kerali is the second dam of American champions Leroidesanimaux, Banks Hill, and Intercontinental as well as Canadian Horse of the Year Champes Elysees.

Is Certain, Itsabet’s 1966 daughter by 1963 Wood Memorial Stakes winner No Robbery (by Swaps), is less accomplished but not inconsequential. The dam of 1976 Riggs Handicap (USA-G3) winner Surely Royal (by Young Emperor), she also produced Grade 2-placed stakes winner In True Form (by multiple stakes winner Imasmartee, by Amerigo) and the winning Cormorant mare I’m Well Bred, second dam of 1998 Jersey Derby (USA-G2) winner Who Did It and Run.

In True Form also became a multiple stakes producer, throwing multiple restricted stakes winner Top of Our Game (by Steinlen) and claiming stakes winner Truly Needy (by Yukon), in turn the dam of 2004 Native Diver Handicap (USA-G3) winner Truly a Judge (by Judge T. C.). In addition, she produced Freedom Dance (by Irish Group 3 winner Moscow Ballet, by Nijinsky II), who won nine of her 17 starts without gaining black type. Freedom Dance, in turn, produced 2008 Ancient Title Breeders’ Cup Stakes (USA-G1) winner Cost of Freedom (by Cee’s Tizzy) and the winning In Excess mare Never Ever, who produced Tony Ann as her eighth foal and most recently foaled 4-year-old Midnight’s Girl, a winning daughter of Midnight Storm.

While Caravel will go on to the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint if all goes well, further plans have not yet been announced for Tony Ann. While most breeding farms would be more than happy to welcome her to their broodmare band, it can be hoped that she will get at least another chance or two to demonstrate her class and her courage before she goes to the paddocks.
0 Comments

Mares on Monday: Just a Three-Race Champion?

10/9/2023

1 Comment

 
Figuring out a 2-year-old’s true merit is a maddening exercise these days, given the frequent appearance of maiden winners (however impressive) coming off that single start to run in what is supposedly a Grade 1 race. When the race is run over an off track, the form becomes even more difficult to decipher. That is worrisome enough for horseplayers, who will be looking at a lot of animals in the juvenile races of the Breeders’ Cup who are coming in off only two or three lifetime starts. For those looking at pedigrees and performances with an eye to the next generation, it is still more concerning; there are Grade 1 wins that indicate ability easily in the top percentile of the breed, and there are Grade 1 wins that mark the victor only as the best of a weak group on a particular day.

Among the newly presented puzzle pieces in the juvenile filly division is Just F Y I, who earned a Breeders’ Cup “Win and You’re In” slot for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) off a drawing-off 3¾ length win in the Frizette Stakes (USA-G1). A first-out winner in a 6-furlong maiden at Saratoga on August 26, the Bill Mott trainee faced three other fillies with only a maiden win to their credits in Life Talk (who was making her third lifetime start), Central Avenue, and even-money favorite Emery. The only Frizette entrants to have won twice were Princess Indy, who won the one-mile Sorority Stakes at Monmouth on August 20 for her second win from three starts, and Irish Maxima, who came in undefeated in two races.

Bill Mott has never been known for cranking down hard on juveniles, especially when bigger targets lie ahead, and perhaps the sealed track had something to do with a lackluster set of performances across the board; according to Equibase speed figures, not one filly in the field matched or outdid her previous best form, and most regressed substantially. Nonetheless, Just F Y I’s figure was the worst in the Frizette since 2006, when Sutra pulled a 12.50-1 upset, and it was about 20 points below the average figures posted by the champions and serious championship contenders that have won this race since then. That’s not what you want to see going into racing’s biggest weekend.

Still, if Just F Y I has the talent to be more than a Grade 1 winner in a field that so far appears well below Grade 1 quality, Mott is the man to pull it out and develop it, and on pedigree it should be there. The filly is a daughter of 2018 American Triple Crown winner Justify, who has been red-hot lately with Prix Marcel Boussac-Criterium des Pouliches (FR-G1) winner Opera Singer, Jessamine Stakes Presented by Keeneland November (USA-G2) winner Buchu, and Miss Grillo Stakes (USA-G2) winner Hard to Justfy all emerging since the beginning of October. Now the sire of 18 stakes winners, who also include 2023 Grade 1 winners Arabian Lion and Aspen Grove, Justify may well see a bump to the US$100,000 stud fee he commanded in 2023 when Ashford Stud releases its 2024 fees.

On the distaff side, Just F Y I is one of three winners from as many foals of racing age produced by Star Act, whose only other produce is a 2023 full sister to Just F Y I. A stakes-placed daughter of 2002 Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) winner Street Cry, Star Act is a half sister to Celebrity Cat (by Storm Cat), whose son Uncle Benny (by Declaration of War) won two listed races and ran second in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (USA-G1).

Star Act, in turn, is out of Starrer, who gave the performance of a lifetime in finishing first in the 2001 Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1) by 11 lengths. Unfortunately, she did so without the services of her jockey, Chris McCarron, who had been unseated at the break, but she later made up for the missed opportunity by winning the 2003 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (USA-G1) and Santa Maria Handicap (USA-G1) as well as three Grade 2 races. A daughter of the top stamina influence Dynaformer, Starrer is a half sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Stellar Jayne (by Wild Rush) and is out of multiple Grade 3-placed To the Hunt (by Relaunch), whose half sister American Royale (by American Standard), a multiple Grade 2 winner, was one of the fastest sprint fillies ever seen in New York for as long as she stayed healthy.

On paper, Just F Y I has the potential for some significant upside as she continues to develop, and she will need to tap into some of that potential if she is to compete with the likes of FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G1) winner Tamara, Darley Alcibiades Stakes (USA-G1) winner Candied, and Chandelier Stakes (USA-G2) winner Chatalas, all of whom have run substantially faster figures during their own brief careers. Any one of these fillies can nail down a championship by proving in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies that her signature win thus far was not a one-off. The likelihood is that when the dust has settled, the juvenile filly champion will be unbeaten but with only three starts under her girth—not very satisfying to those of us who can remember when even 2-year-old champions were much more thoroughly tested, but reflective of today’s racing world, at least in North America.
1 Comment

Mares on Monday: Streaking Adare Manor is a Distaff Contender

10/2/2023

0 Comments

 
​On paper, Sunday’s Zenyatta Stakes (USA-G2) at Santa Anita looked like a paid workout for heavily favored Adare Manor, a last-out winner of the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (USA-G1). In this case, the reality was perfectly in line with the prediction. Only three other fillies and mares entered the starting gate, and none had the early speed to go with Adare Manor. On cruise control from start to finish, the big filly easily added her third Grade 2 win of the season to go with her Grade 1 score. She won by 5¼ lengths, stopping the timer for the 8.5 furlongs in 1:43.70.

A daughter of Uncle Mo, Adare Manor is from the family of the mid-20th century matriarch Rough Shod II through a branch descended from the great mare’s granddaughter Aphonia. A half sister by Tom Fool’s good racing son Dunce to three-time American champion Gamely, Aphonia produced stakes winners George Spelvin (by Nantallah), Messina (by Secretariat), and Sitzmark (by J. O. Tobin) as well as the good Florida sire Cutlass (by Damascus) and multiple stakes producer Nosey Nan (by Nantallah), dam of stakes winners Regal Rumor (by Damascus; dam of stakes winner Bayou Hebert, by Hoist the Flag), Table the Rumor (by Round Table), and No Cabeza (by Executioner).

These results were good but hardly spectacular, and unraced Secret Rumor (a full sister to Regal Rumor) did not even rise to that level, producing five low-class winners from nine foals. Among her non-winners were two unraced mares by Spectacular Bid. One, Spectacularsecret, was sent to Brazil, where she produced Grande Prêmio João Borges Filho (BRZ-G2) winner Hot Way (by Robbama, by Roberto x Table the Rumor), Grande Prêmio Federico Lundgren (BRZ-G3) winner Exalting (by New Colony), and Brazilian listed stakes winner Moroti. The other is unraced Jennifer’s Bid (by Spectacular Bid), who produced only two foals but came up with a decent runner in listed stakes winner Miss Bid Flash (by Horse Flash), in turn the dam of listed stakes winner Spectacular Cat (by Forest Wildcat).

Maya’s Note, a winner by Editor’s Note, was the only producing daughter of Miss Bid Flash, and she continued the modest success of this branch of the family via stakes winner Effie Trinket (by Freud), who placed in three Grade 2 races, and unraced Explosive Story (by the winning Storm Cat horse Radio Star), dam of 2016 Hilliard Lyons Doubledogdare Stakes (USA-G3) winner Brooklynsway (by multiple Grade 3 winner Giant Gizmo, by Giant’s Causeway). Brooklynsway, in turn, produced Adare Manor as her first foal; she has since foaled an unnamed 2-year-old filly by Into Mischief, the 2022 Ghostzapper filly Nosleeptilbroodklyn, and a 2023 colt by Uncle Mo before being bred back to Tapit.

On her 4-year-old form, Adare Manor is the best runner produced by her branch of the Rough Shod II family since Gamely, and she appears to be heading into the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (USA-G1) with a good shot off a five-race win streak and five consecutive triple-digit Equibase speed figures. In a year in which the major contenders in the division have taken turns in producing top performances and then falling to another rival, her consistency is welcome; the question is whether she has the wherewithal to beat the best race that the likes of Nest, Clairiere, Secret Oath, or Idiomatic can deliver. On past performances, if any of these contenders brings her “A” game, Adare Manor has yet to show that she can quite match that level. Let the others falter even slightly, however, and the door may be wide open for Adare Manor to gallop through.





0 Comments

Mares on Monday: No Ceiling Yet for Cal-Bred Filly

9/25/2023

0 Comments

 
​The reality of the Thoroughbred world is that the majority of major races go to the breeders and owners with deep pockets and access to the best-proven bloodlines, trainers, and facilities. Nonetheless, lightning can strike anywhere at any time, and it struck on September 23 when California-bred Ceiling Crusher stood off Godolphin’s 2-1 favorite Pretty Mischievous to win the US$1 million Cotillion Stakes (USA-G1) at Parx Racing.

To be sure, Ceiling Crusher came into the Cotillion with five wins (three in stakes races) and a third from six starts—good enough to make her the co-second choice at a bit over 3-1—but four of those wins had been in state-bred competition. Still, her last-out win, a six-length romp in the Torrey Pines Stakes (USA-G3) signaled that she might be ready for bigger things, and she came through with a gate-to-wire score over a sealed, sloppy surface. Her 100 Equibase figure for the race, paired with her 104 in the Torrey Pines, puts her right up with the top fillies of her crop—including Pretty Mischievous, who has yet to turn in an effort rated in three digits.

All this is heady stuff for a filly by a US$6,500 stallion and out of a dam that sold for US$4,500 with her Grade 1-winning daughter in utero. Bred by Harris Farm, Ceiling Crusher is by Mr. Big, who currently stands for US$7,500 but commanded US$1,000 less when Ceiling Crusher was conceived. A handsome, powerful son of Dynaformer out of Grade 2-placed stakes winner Fashion Delight (by Fappiano out of 1984 Frizette Stakes, USA-G1, winner Charleston Rag), Mr. Big commanded US$220,000 as a weanling at the 2003 Keeneland November sale but never came close to winning himself out as a racehorse, ending his career with two wins and a third from nine starts. His record suggests a horse compromised by significant physical or mental issues—or both—for he did not even get to the races until he was a 4-year-old and never made more than four starts during a season; yet in both his wins, he put up Equibase speed figures of 106, suggesting stakes-level talent.

Since entering stud in 2010, Mr. Big has sired 12 stakes winners from 213 named foals of racing age, including 27 2-year-olds of 2023. Even without taking Ceiling Crusher into consideration, he has done pretty well given what he has had to work with. The filly is his first Grade 1 winner, and he is also the sire of Grade 1-placed Grade 3 winner Big Score.

Ceiling Crusher is the third named foal out of the Indian Charlie mare Palisadesprincess, previously the dam of the 2018 Constitution mare Namibia (twice stakes-placed in Mexico) and the 2019 Mr. Big filly Cashing Big Checks, winner of rhe 2021 Blue Hen Stakes (a non-blacktype race at Delaware Park). The mare has since produced unraced Majestic Palisades, an unraced son of Majestic Harbor; a 2022 colt by Desert Code; and a 2023 filly by Smiling Tiger.

A half sister to five other winners including 2017 Mother Goose Stakes (USA-G2) third Moana, Palisadesprincess won one of her two starts and finished second in the other. She is out of listed stakes-placed Dixietwostepper (by More Than Ready), one of seven winners produced from the winning Grindstone mare Dixiechickadee. She, in turn, was produced from the stakes-winning Dixieland Band mare For Dixie, also the dam of 2007 Acorn Stakes winner Cotton Blossom (by Broken Vow) and 2005 Perryville Stakes (USA-G3) winner Vicarage (by Vicar). This is a female line that has sporadically come up with some nice horses but has been far from top-class.

Ceiling Crusher still has some work to do to catch up with Cal-bred legend California Chrome, who came from even humbler antecedents and accomplished far more. Still, trainer Doug O’Neill and owners Wonderland Racing Stables, Todd Cady, Tim Kasparoff, and Ty Letherman have accomplished all that they set out to do when they shipped their US$22,000 yearling purchase east from California, and they now have a pleasant dilemma on their hands: to go home and take advantage of what looks like easy money in lesser races, or to pony up the US$150,000 it would take to make Ceiling Crusher eligible for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff (USA-G1) and a chance at the championship of the 3-year-old filly division. It may be a tough choice to make, but many people have spent a lot more money without ever getting anything that could require such a decision, let alone a filly who, to judge by this race, hasn’t found her ceiling yet.
0 Comments

Mares on Monday: Pretty Is as Pretty Does

9/18/2023

0 Comments

 
If pretty is as pretty does, She Feels Pretty must look drop-dead gorgeous to her connections after the Johnnie Walker Natalma Stakes (CAN-G1). Tucked nicely into a good traveling position by veteran jockey John Velazquez, the filly showed off a European-style kick when produced at the top of the stretch and swept by her competition with authority. Under a strong hand ride at the finish, she won by 4¼ lengths and completed the mile on firm turf in 1:35.34, compared to 1:35.70 for the colts in the bet365 Summer Stakes (CAN-G1) on the same card. Her win gave trainer Cherie DeVaux her first Grade 1 success and made her the second Grade 1 winner of 2023 for Roy Jackson’s Lael Stables, which took the Maker’s Mark Mile Stakes at the Keeneland spring meeting with Chez Pierre.

As the Natalma is a “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly Turf (USA-G1) at Santa Anita, She Feels Pretty appears to be headed for the same venue at which her sire Karakontie scored his biggest success. A son of Storm Cat’s fine sire son Bernstein from the family of two-time Breeders’ Cup Mile (USA-G1) winner Miesque, Karakontie upheld his great-granddam’s honor at 30-1 odds in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Mile, staged that year at Santa Anita. The first Japanese-bred to win a Breeders’ Cup race, he had previously been both a top 2-year-old and a Classic winner in France, having won the 2013 Jean-Luc Legadere-Grand Criterium (FR-G1) and the 2013 Poule d’Essai des Poulains (French Two Thousand Guineas, FR-G1).

At stud at Gainesway Farm, Karakontie got his first Grade/Group 1 winner last year when Spendarella won the Del Mar Oaks (USA-G1). Thus far, he has sired 110 winners and 11 stakes winners from 277 named foals of racing age, and he seems to do best with mares returning Miesque, members of her immediate family, or Nureyev (Miesque’s sire) in their pedigrees. She Feels Pretty is the first stakes winner from his 2021 crop, and while her distaff-side pedigree is free of Miesque and Nureyev, she doubles up two other important strains from the distaff side of Karakontie’s pedigree. The filly is 4x4 to to-time American champion sire Halo (sire of Karakontie’s broodmare sire, Sunday Silence and paternal grandsire of She Feels Pretty’s broodmare sire, More Than Ready) and 4x4 to Woodman, broodmare sire of both Karakontie’s dam Sun Is Up and More Than Ready). In addition, she carries a 5x5 cross to 1958 American Horse of the Year and champion sire Round Table, as well as 5x5x5 duplications of the ubiquitous Northern Dancer.

She Feels Pretty is the second foal produced from More Than Ready’s daughter Summer Sweet, whose first foal, the 2020 Super Saver filly Lakeside Music, won her only start. (The mare’s other foals are a 2022 colt by Good Magic and a 2023 filly by American Pharoah.). A winner herself on turf, Summer Sweet is a half sister to turf stakes winners Adirondack Summer (by Thunder Gulch) and Summer Breezing (by Langfuhr). Another half sibling, the 2011 Arch mare Summer Solo, ran third in the 2014 Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) and is the dam of 2023 Selene Stakes (CAN-G3) winner Solo Album (by Curlin) and Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Maedean (by Tapit), who bucked the family trend by picking up her stakes score in the 2019 Tempted Stakes (USA-L) as a juvenile on dirt. Summer Sweet’s dam Summer Solstice (by French champion 3-year-old male and successful sire Caerleon, a son of Nijinsky II) continues the turfy theme; winner of the listed Prix de Thiberville as a 3-year-old in France, she is a half sister to multiple French Group 1 winner Act One (by In the Wings).

Although She Feels Pretty has run only twice (winning both times), the Natalma drew a 13-horse field and should have provided a good seasoning experience for the filly, who ducked in just after coming off the final turn before straightening away for her run. The main question mark from the race may be Godolphin hopeful Dazzling Star, who ran a good race to finish third after getting off to a poor start; it is possible that a clear getaway for her might have changed the result, or at least made it closer. Regardless, this was a nice win for a promising filly, and it will be interesting to see how she follows up at Santa Anita on November 3.



0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    I'm Avalyn Hunter, an author, pedigree researcher and longtime racing fan with a particular interest in Thoroughbred mares and their contributions to the history of the breed.

    Categories

    All
    General News
    General Pedigree Info
    Mares: Canada
    Mares: South America
    Mares: USA
    Racing Commentary
    Special

    Archives

    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

    RSS Feed

© 2014-2023 by Avalyn Hunter. All rights reserved. Contributors' materials remain the property of the copyright owners and are used by permission.

Home     Books     Articles     Horse Profiles    Hoofprints    Contact    Links