Handling a surface switch from turf to dirt with aplomb, Get Her Number went from maiden winner to Grade 1 winner in the American Pharoah Stakes at Santa Anita on September 26. He also secured a "Win and You're In" berth in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile (USA-G1), which will likely be his next start.
How good he really is remains a question, considering that only two of his rivals had collected any black type at all coming into the race: Spielberg, the favorite, who had been second to Dr. Schivel in the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (USA-G1), and Touchdown Brown, second in the restricted I'm Smokin Stakes. The weakness of the field is reflected by Get Her Number's unimpressive time of 1:44.92, which earned an Equibase speed figure of 88---the lowest for the race since Bond Holder posted an 85 in 2013. Nonetheless, he is now officially a Grade 1 winner and may improve off his first effort at the distance and over the unfamiliar surface.
A fifth-crop son of 2011 Florida Derby (USA-G1) winner Dialed In and that stallion's first Grade 1 winner, Get Her Number has an interestingly constructed pedigree undergirded by a female family that has produced some high-class horses. The core of the pedigree is a 3x3 sex-balanced cross to Storm Cat, sandwiched by a 4x4 sex-balanced cross to Mr. Prospector, and all four grandparents are backed by classy female families, giving Get Her Number a deeper pedigree than might be apparent from looking at his immediate parentage.
The colt's dam, Fancier, was admittedly nothing to write home about, as her two wins from nine starts after her maiden victory came in cheap races. Nonetheless, she had two points to commend her. One is that she is a daughter of Bernstein, a Storm Cat son who has been a multiple champion sire and broodmare sire in Argentina. The other is that she hails from the family of Shy Dancer, a mare who revitalized a branch of a fine family developed by the Whitneys with substantial help from the important sire Grey Dawn II.
One of many cases in which a mare of Whitney lineage became a foundation for someone else's breeding program, Shy Dancer filled that role for Jacques Wimpfheimer, who bred four stakes winners from her. The best of them on the track was Petite Rouge (by Ballydam), who won the 1963 Spinaway Stakes and produced multiple French Group 3 winner Princess Arjumand (by Prince Taj). She bred on through her daughter Aldonza, whose Grade 2 winning-son Purple Mountain and Grade 3-winning grandson Dawn Quixote were both by Grey Dawn II. Petite Rouge also produced the Grey Dawn II mare Auge Rouge, whose son Smarten Up (by Smarten) won the 1985 San Rafael Stakes (USA-G2).
Shy Dancer's second stakes winner was 1965 Adirondack Stakes winner Lady Dulcinea (by Nantallah), who produced 1980 American champion juvenile filly Heavenly Cause (dam of the good Maryland sire Two Punch) to the cover of Grey Dawn II. Lady Dulcinea also produced Heavenly Cause's stakes-winning full brother Jacques Who and 1983 Monmouth Oaks (USA-G2) winner Quixotic Lady (by Quadratic; second dam of Grade 2 winner Confide). In addition, Lady Dulcinea produced La Basque, dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Bounding Basque (by Grey Dawn II) and Grade 2 winner El Basco (by Grey Dawn II's top son Vigors). The most recent major winner to come from Lady Dulcinea's branch of the family was 2012 Canadian champion turf male Riding the River.
Shy Dancer's other two stakes winners both emerged after the North American grading system was instituted in 1973, and both were Grade 3 winners. One, the Northern Dancer colt Champagne Charlie, was exported to Japan. The other was four-time Grade 3 winner Shy Dawn (by Grey Dawn II), who produced multiple Grade 1 winner Opening Verse (by The Minstrel), Grade 3 winner So She Sleeps (by Seattle Slew), and multiple stakes winner Dangerous Dawn (by Cox's Ridge). She also produced the 1986 Prix Morny (FR-G1) runner-up Shy Princess (by Irish River), whose foals include English Group 2 winner Diffident (by Nureyev) and Pegasus Princess (by Fusaichi Pegasus), the granddam of Get Her Number.
While Shy Dancer's family has produced some horses capable of fine performances at 9 furlongs or more, the family tends to be tilted more toward sprinters and milers, leaving the question of whether Get Her Number will fare well at more than an extended mile, particularly in better company than he faced last Saturday. So far, Dialed In does not seem to be stretching out his offspring much, and Bernstein was a multiple Group 3 winner over sprint distances. Nonetheless, he has already added some fresh credit to a family that need not he shy in anyone's company.
How good he really is remains a question, considering that only two of his rivals had collected any black type at all coming into the race: Spielberg, the favorite, who had been second to Dr. Schivel in the Runhappy Del Mar Futurity (USA-G1), and Touchdown Brown, second in the restricted I'm Smokin Stakes. The weakness of the field is reflected by Get Her Number's unimpressive time of 1:44.92, which earned an Equibase speed figure of 88---the lowest for the race since Bond Holder posted an 85 in 2013. Nonetheless, he is now officially a Grade 1 winner and may improve off his first effort at the distance and over the unfamiliar surface.
A fifth-crop son of 2011 Florida Derby (USA-G1) winner Dialed In and that stallion's first Grade 1 winner, Get Her Number has an interestingly constructed pedigree undergirded by a female family that has produced some high-class horses. The core of the pedigree is a 3x3 sex-balanced cross to Storm Cat, sandwiched by a 4x4 sex-balanced cross to Mr. Prospector, and all four grandparents are backed by classy female families, giving Get Her Number a deeper pedigree than might be apparent from looking at his immediate parentage.
The colt's dam, Fancier, was admittedly nothing to write home about, as her two wins from nine starts after her maiden victory came in cheap races. Nonetheless, she had two points to commend her. One is that she is a daughter of Bernstein, a Storm Cat son who has been a multiple champion sire and broodmare sire in Argentina. The other is that she hails from the family of Shy Dancer, a mare who revitalized a branch of a fine family developed by the Whitneys with substantial help from the important sire Grey Dawn II.
One of many cases in which a mare of Whitney lineage became a foundation for someone else's breeding program, Shy Dancer filled that role for Jacques Wimpfheimer, who bred four stakes winners from her. The best of them on the track was Petite Rouge (by Ballydam), who won the 1963 Spinaway Stakes and produced multiple French Group 3 winner Princess Arjumand (by Prince Taj). She bred on through her daughter Aldonza, whose Grade 2 winning-son Purple Mountain and Grade 3-winning grandson Dawn Quixote were both by Grey Dawn II. Petite Rouge also produced the Grey Dawn II mare Auge Rouge, whose son Smarten Up (by Smarten) won the 1985 San Rafael Stakes (USA-G2).
Shy Dancer's second stakes winner was 1965 Adirondack Stakes winner Lady Dulcinea (by Nantallah), who produced 1980 American champion juvenile filly Heavenly Cause (dam of the good Maryland sire Two Punch) to the cover of Grey Dawn II. Lady Dulcinea also produced Heavenly Cause's stakes-winning full brother Jacques Who and 1983 Monmouth Oaks (USA-G2) winner Quixotic Lady (by Quadratic; second dam of Grade 2 winner Confide). In addition, Lady Dulcinea produced La Basque, dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Bounding Basque (by Grey Dawn II) and Grade 2 winner El Basco (by Grey Dawn II's top son Vigors). The most recent major winner to come from Lady Dulcinea's branch of the family was 2012 Canadian champion turf male Riding the River.
Shy Dancer's other two stakes winners both emerged after the North American grading system was instituted in 1973, and both were Grade 3 winners. One, the Northern Dancer colt Champagne Charlie, was exported to Japan. The other was four-time Grade 3 winner Shy Dawn (by Grey Dawn II), who produced multiple Grade 1 winner Opening Verse (by The Minstrel), Grade 3 winner So She Sleeps (by Seattle Slew), and multiple stakes winner Dangerous Dawn (by Cox's Ridge). She also produced the 1986 Prix Morny (FR-G1) runner-up Shy Princess (by Irish River), whose foals include English Group 2 winner Diffident (by Nureyev) and Pegasus Princess (by Fusaichi Pegasus), the granddam of Get Her Number.
While Shy Dancer's family has produced some horses capable of fine performances at 9 furlongs or more, the family tends to be tilted more toward sprinters and milers, leaving the question of whether Get Her Number will fare well at more than an extended mile, particularly in better company than he faced last Saturday. So far, Dialed In does not seem to be stretching out his offspring much, and Bernstein was a multiple Group 3 winner over sprint distances. Nonetheless, he has already added some fresh credit to a family that need not he shy in anyone's company.
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