On August 1, Munnyfor Ro went from maiden winner to Canadian Classic winner in the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Budweiser. Kept off the pace in the early going and allowed to settle, she was full of run as the field turned home and finished one and a quarter lengths ahead of Emmeline, who continued on gamely after being collared in the stretch to finish second by a nose over Il Malocchio.
This was not a strong renewal of the Oaks, but it still represented a substantial jump up for Munnyfor Ro, who had previously been 1-for-8 with four placings in addition to her lone win. The connections of the Munnings filly now have a choice: to point her for the remaining races of Canada's Triple Tiara, or to take a shot at the boys with her in the Queen's Plate, Canada's top race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.
Whether Munnyfor Ro has what it takes to defeat the best males of her crop remains to be seen, but her pedigree suggests that the 10 furlongs of the Plate are quite possibly within her scope. She descends from an excellent branch of the La Troienne clan that descends though Up the Flagpole. By Hoist the Flag out of The Garden Club, by Herbager, Up the Flagpole won the 1981 Delaware Oaks (USA-G2) during her own racing days before becoming a versatile broodmare with top runners over both sprint and classic distances.
Up the Flagpole produced seven stakes winners all told, of which three were Grade/Group 1 winners. All three of her top-level winners were fillies. The first of the trio was Prospectors Delite (by Mr. Prospector), who won the 1992 Ashland Stakes (USA-G1) and Acorn Stakes (USA-G1) before going on to a stellar broodmare career that earned her Kentucky Broodmare of the Year honors in 2003. All five of her foals became stakes winners including 2003 American Horse of the Year Mineshaft (by A.P. Indy) and multiple Grade 1 winner Tomisue's Delight.
The youngest of Up the Flagpole's Grade/Group 1 winners was Runup the Colors (by A.P. Indy), who won the 1997 Alabama Stakes before producing 2013 Louisiana Derby (USA-G2) winner Revolutionary (by War Pass). In between Prospectors Delite and Runup the Colors came Flagbird (by Nureyev), who added a bit of European flair to the family by winning the 1995 Premio Presidente della Repubblica (ITY-G1).
The highweighted older female of 1995 over 9.5 to 11 furlongs in England, Ireland, and Italy, Flagbird was disappointing as a broodmare, with a record of five winners (three of them stakes-placed) from eight foals, but one of those stakes-placed runners was Dubai Belle (by Mr. Prospector), who did her part to keep the family rolling along by producing 2008 Ashland Stakes (USA-G1) winner Little Belle (by A.P. Indy) and stakes winner Dubai Dancer (by A.P. Indy). Little Belle, in turn, produced just three foals but is the dam of 2017 Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (USA-G1) winner Dickinson (by Medaglia d'Oro), now the dam of an unraced 2-year-old colt by Curlin, Higginson, and 2020 and 2021 colts by Quality Road.
Like her sister, Dubai Dancer had a short producing career, with only four named foals on her record. Her eldest daughter, Repartee (by Distorted Humor) did not win in two starts, but she has come through as a broodmare as Munnyfor Ro is her second foal. Her most recent foals are the unraced 2-year-old filly Retort (by Liam's Map) and a 2020 filly by Unified; her 2021 foal died.
Most modern American racehorses have pedigrees infused with more brilliance than raw stamina, and Munnyfor Ro is no exception. However, her connections seem to have her figured out now with the running style that suits her best, and given that she belongs to a family that has typically waited until at least age 3 to show its true ability, still better days may lie ahead, both for her and for a family that is still proudly flying its colors.
This was not a strong renewal of the Oaks, but it still represented a substantial jump up for Munnyfor Ro, who had previously been 1-for-8 with four placings in addition to her lone win. The connections of the Munnings filly now have a choice: to point her for the remaining races of Canada's Triple Tiara, or to take a shot at the boys with her in the Queen's Plate, Canada's top race for Canadian-bred 3-year-olds.
Whether Munnyfor Ro has what it takes to defeat the best males of her crop remains to be seen, but her pedigree suggests that the 10 furlongs of the Plate are quite possibly within her scope. She descends from an excellent branch of the La Troienne clan that descends though Up the Flagpole. By Hoist the Flag out of The Garden Club, by Herbager, Up the Flagpole won the 1981 Delaware Oaks (USA-G2) during her own racing days before becoming a versatile broodmare with top runners over both sprint and classic distances.
Up the Flagpole produced seven stakes winners all told, of which three were Grade/Group 1 winners. All three of her top-level winners were fillies. The first of the trio was Prospectors Delite (by Mr. Prospector), who won the 1992 Ashland Stakes (USA-G1) and Acorn Stakes (USA-G1) before going on to a stellar broodmare career that earned her Kentucky Broodmare of the Year honors in 2003. All five of her foals became stakes winners including 2003 American Horse of the Year Mineshaft (by A.P. Indy) and multiple Grade 1 winner Tomisue's Delight.
The youngest of Up the Flagpole's Grade/Group 1 winners was Runup the Colors (by A.P. Indy), who won the 1997 Alabama Stakes before producing 2013 Louisiana Derby (USA-G2) winner Revolutionary (by War Pass). In between Prospectors Delite and Runup the Colors came Flagbird (by Nureyev), who added a bit of European flair to the family by winning the 1995 Premio Presidente della Repubblica (ITY-G1).
The highweighted older female of 1995 over 9.5 to 11 furlongs in England, Ireland, and Italy, Flagbird was disappointing as a broodmare, with a record of five winners (three of them stakes-placed) from eight foals, but one of those stakes-placed runners was Dubai Belle (by Mr. Prospector), who did her part to keep the family rolling along by producing 2008 Ashland Stakes (USA-G1) winner Little Belle (by A.P. Indy) and stakes winner Dubai Dancer (by A.P. Indy). Little Belle, in turn, produced just three foals but is the dam of 2017 Coolmore Jenny Wiley Stakes (USA-G1) winner Dickinson (by Medaglia d'Oro), now the dam of an unraced 2-year-old colt by Curlin, Higginson, and 2020 and 2021 colts by Quality Road.
Like her sister, Dubai Dancer had a short producing career, with only four named foals on her record. Her eldest daughter, Repartee (by Distorted Humor) did not win in two starts, but she has come through as a broodmare as Munnyfor Ro is her second foal. Her most recent foals are the unraced 2-year-old filly Retort (by Liam's Map) and a 2020 filly by Unified; her 2021 foal died.
Most modern American racehorses have pedigrees infused with more brilliance than raw stamina, and Munnyfor Ro is no exception. However, her connections seem to have her figured out now with the running style that suits her best, and given that she belongs to a family that has typically waited until at least age 3 to show its true ability, still better days may lie ahead, both for her and for a family that is still proudly flying its colors.
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