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.
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.
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