Lightning, they say, never strikes twice in the same place. Apparently, “they” never met Puca. The 12-year-old daughter of Big Brown and the Silver Ghost mare Boat’s Ghost has been represented by three runners thus far, and after debuting with a multiple stakes-placed Gun Runner filly, Gunning, she produced back-to-back colts by 2017 American champion 2-year-old male Good Magic. Named Mage and Dornoch, respectively, they have now elevated their dam to membership in an elite club indeed. By winning the 2023 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1) (Mage) and the 2024 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (USA-G1) (Dornoch), they have made their dam the proud producer of two winners of American Triple Crown races.
The lineage of this club goes back to well before the American Triple Crown became a linked series in the public mind in the 1930s. Its founder is Maggie B. B., a stakes-winning daughter of Australian and the Boston mare Madeline, whose produce record includes 1879 Preakness Stakes winner Harold (by Leamington) and 1884 Belmont Stakes winner Panique (by Alarm). It also includes Iroquois (by Leamington), who was sent to England and became the first American-bred horse to win the father of all Derbies, the Derby Stakes (and, for good measure, the St. Leger Stakes, third leg of the English Triple Crown), in the mother country in 1881. Jaconet, a full sister to Harold and Iroquois, added to the family’s luster by becoming the dam of 1888 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Dixon.
Cinderella, an evil-dispositioned, weedy mare by Blue Ruin or Tomahawk out of the Brown Bread mare Manna, followed Maggie B. B,’s feats by throwing 1896 Belmont Stakes winner Hastings (by Spendthrift; the paternal grandsire of the immortal Man o’ War) and 1898 Kentucky Derby winner Plaudit (by Himyar). Both her Classic-winning sons became the progenitors of male lines that still persist today, though in tenuous state—through the sons of Tiznow and Put It Back in Hastings’s case, and through Holy Bull to Macho Uno to Mucho Macho Man in Plaudit’s. In addition, Cinderella’s daughter Slippers (by Meddler) produced 1913 Preakness winner Buskin and is the granddam of two-time American champion filly Prudery, who produced 1927 Kentucky Derby winner Whiskery and 1928 Preakness Stakes winner Victorian to covers by Whisk Broom II.
In between Cinderella and Prudery, three more mares produced two winners each of races that would later be considered part of the American Triple Crown. Lady Margaret (The Ill-Used x Lady Rosebery, by Kingfisher) was a stakes winner from a family that served the breeding program of August Belmont well, and she continued that tradition for August Belmont II by producing 1896 Preakness winner Margrave (by St. Blaise) and 1901 Belmont winner Masterman (by Hastings), as well as two other stakes winners. In addition, her daughter Lady Madge became the second dam of 1924 Belmont winner Mad Play as well as 1921 American co-champion handicap male Mad Hatter.
Ignite (Woodlands x Luminous, by Alarm) was next up, and she won the 1892 Alabama Stakes before becoming the dam of 1900 Preakness winner Hindus (by Volante) and 1906 Kentucky Derby winner Sir Huon (by Falsetto) as well as the stakes-winning filly Altuda (by Alvescot). She was followed by Leisure (Meddler x Yorkville Belle, by Miser), a member of Harry Payne Whitney’s broodmare band who produced Preakness winners Royal Tourist (1908) and Holiday (1914) to covers by Sandringham and Broomstick, respectively. Her daughters did not breed on with any distinction, nor did Prudery’s only daughter, Coquetry (by Chicle), have any impact.
Following Prudery, there was a long dry spell before the next dam of two American Triple Crown races came along, though Margaret Lawrence (Vulcain x Bohemia, by Wagner) achieved a unique distinction by producing the only full brother-and-sister pair to win the Kentucky Derby (Lawrin, 1938) and Kentucky Oaks (Inscolassie, 1940), both sired by Insco. For good measure, Margaret Lawrence also produced 1939 American co-champion 3-year-old filly Unerring (by Insco), dam of 1947 Preakness winner Faultless (by Bull Lea). Another remarkable matron of this period was Calumet Farm foundation mare Blue Delight (Blue Larkspur x Chicleight, by Chicle), a good stakes winner in her own right and dam of Kentucky Oaks winners Real Delight (1951), Bubbley (1952), and Princess Turia (1956)—the first two to covers by Bull Lea, and Princess Turia to a cover by Heliopolis. No other mare in American racing history has produced three winners of the same Classic race, and Princess Turia added an exclamation point by producing Forward Pass (by On-and-On), who won the 1968 Kentucky Derby on the disqualification of Dancer’s Image and won the Preakness on his own merits.
Still, it was not until Weekend Surprise (Secretariat x Lassie Dear, by Buckpasser) came along that the club of mares with two American Triple Crown race members to their credit got another member, and she did so in style by producing 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall (by Storm Bird) and 1992 Belmont Stakes winner A.P. Indy, whose Classic win became part of a Horse of the Year season. Returning to the standard set by Cinderella, Weekend Surprise, the 1992 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, is continuing to influence the Thoroughbred through her daughters as well as through both her Classic-winning sons.
Until Dornoch came through in the Belmont, Better Than Honour was the only 21st-century member of the club, producing back-to-back Belmont winners in Jazil (2006), by Seeking the Gold, and Rags to Riches (2007), by A.P. Indy; the latter also scored in the Kentucky Oaks and earned a title as American champion 3-year-old filly. The winner of the 1998 Demoiselle Stakes (USA-G2), Better Than Honour was named 2007 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year and produced two other stakes winners, but it is her non-stakes-winning daughter Teeming (by Storm Cat) who is a Grade 1 producer and the second dam of 2023 Belmont winner and American champion 3-year-old male Arcangelo (by Arrogate).
Puca, thus, has joined some very distinguished company indeed, and has an unusual place even within this elite circle: she is the only one other than Prudery whose Classic-winning foals are full siblings. And she has a chance to add to that record. After producing the 2022 McKinzie colt Baeza, a mid-May foal who is still awaiting his first start, she was given a year off and then produced a Good Magic colt—a full brother to Mage and Dornoch—on April 4 of this year before revisiting Good Magic for yet another hoped-for sibling to her Classic winners. Will the lightning strike a third time? No one yet knows, but the possibility is there and undoubtedly hoped for by her new owner, John Stewart, who bought her from Robert Clay’s Grandview Equine for US$2.9 million via the 2023 Keeneland November sale and now has what may be the most valuable mare in the country in his possession.
The lineage of this club goes back to well before the American Triple Crown became a linked series in the public mind in the 1930s. Its founder is Maggie B. B., a stakes-winning daughter of Australian and the Boston mare Madeline, whose produce record includes 1879 Preakness Stakes winner Harold (by Leamington) and 1884 Belmont Stakes winner Panique (by Alarm). It also includes Iroquois (by Leamington), who was sent to England and became the first American-bred horse to win the father of all Derbies, the Derby Stakes (and, for good measure, the St. Leger Stakes, third leg of the English Triple Crown), in the mother country in 1881. Jaconet, a full sister to Harold and Iroquois, added to the family’s luster by becoming the dam of 1888 Belmont Stakes winner Sir Dixon.
Cinderella, an evil-dispositioned, weedy mare by Blue Ruin or Tomahawk out of the Brown Bread mare Manna, followed Maggie B. B,’s feats by throwing 1896 Belmont Stakes winner Hastings (by Spendthrift; the paternal grandsire of the immortal Man o’ War) and 1898 Kentucky Derby winner Plaudit (by Himyar). Both her Classic-winning sons became the progenitors of male lines that still persist today, though in tenuous state—through the sons of Tiznow and Put It Back in Hastings’s case, and through Holy Bull to Macho Uno to Mucho Macho Man in Plaudit’s. In addition, Cinderella’s daughter Slippers (by Meddler) produced 1913 Preakness winner Buskin and is the granddam of two-time American champion filly Prudery, who produced 1927 Kentucky Derby winner Whiskery and 1928 Preakness Stakes winner Victorian to covers by Whisk Broom II.
In between Cinderella and Prudery, three more mares produced two winners each of races that would later be considered part of the American Triple Crown. Lady Margaret (The Ill-Used x Lady Rosebery, by Kingfisher) was a stakes winner from a family that served the breeding program of August Belmont well, and she continued that tradition for August Belmont II by producing 1896 Preakness winner Margrave (by St. Blaise) and 1901 Belmont winner Masterman (by Hastings), as well as two other stakes winners. In addition, her daughter Lady Madge became the second dam of 1924 Belmont winner Mad Play as well as 1921 American co-champion handicap male Mad Hatter.
Ignite (Woodlands x Luminous, by Alarm) was next up, and she won the 1892 Alabama Stakes before becoming the dam of 1900 Preakness winner Hindus (by Volante) and 1906 Kentucky Derby winner Sir Huon (by Falsetto) as well as the stakes-winning filly Altuda (by Alvescot). She was followed by Leisure (Meddler x Yorkville Belle, by Miser), a member of Harry Payne Whitney’s broodmare band who produced Preakness winners Royal Tourist (1908) and Holiday (1914) to covers by Sandringham and Broomstick, respectively. Her daughters did not breed on with any distinction, nor did Prudery’s only daughter, Coquetry (by Chicle), have any impact.
Following Prudery, there was a long dry spell before the next dam of two American Triple Crown races came along, though Margaret Lawrence (Vulcain x Bohemia, by Wagner) achieved a unique distinction by producing the only full brother-and-sister pair to win the Kentucky Derby (Lawrin, 1938) and Kentucky Oaks (Inscolassie, 1940), both sired by Insco. For good measure, Margaret Lawrence also produced 1939 American co-champion 3-year-old filly Unerring (by Insco), dam of 1947 Preakness winner Faultless (by Bull Lea). Another remarkable matron of this period was Calumet Farm foundation mare Blue Delight (Blue Larkspur x Chicleight, by Chicle), a good stakes winner in her own right and dam of Kentucky Oaks winners Real Delight (1951), Bubbley (1952), and Princess Turia (1956)—the first two to covers by Bull Lea, and Princess Turia to a cover by Heliopolis. No other mare in American racing history has produced three winners of the same Classic race, and Princess Turia added an exclamation point by producing Forward Pass (by On-and-On), who won the 1968 Kentucky Derby on the disqualification of Dancer’s Image and won the Preakness on his own merits.
Still, it was not until Weekend Surprise (Secretariat x Lassie Dear, by Buckpasser) came along that the club of mares with two American Triple Crown race members to their credit got another member, and she did so in style by producing 1990 Preakness winner Summer Squall (by Storm Bird) and 1992 Belmont Stakes winner A.P. Indy, whose Classic win became part of a Horse of the Year season. Returning to the standard set by Cinderella, Weekend Surprise, the 1992 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, is continuing to influence the Thoroughbred through her daughters as well as through both her Classic-winning sons.
Until Dornoch came through in the Belmont, Better Than Honour was the only 21st-century member of the club, producing back-to-back Belmont winners in Jazil (2006), by Seeking the Gold, and Rags to Riches (2007), by A.P. Indy; the latter also scored in the Kentucky Oaks and earned a title as American champion 3-year-old filly. The winner of the 1998 Demoiselle Stakes (USA-G2), Better Than Honour was named 2007 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year and produced two other stakes winners, but it is her non-stakes-winning daughter Teeming (by Storm Cat) who is a Grade 1 producer and the second dam of 2023 Belmont winner and American champion 3-year-old male Arcangelo (by Arrogate).
Puca, thus, has joined some very distinguished company indeed, and has an unusual place even within this elite circle: she is the only one other than Prudery whose Classic-winning foals are full siblings. And she has a chance to add to that record. After producing the 2022 McKinzie colt Baeza, a mid-May foal who is still awaiting his first start, she was given a year off and then produced a Good Magic colt—a full brother to Mage and Dornoch—on April 4 of this year before revisiting Good Magic for yet another hoped-for sibling to her Classic winners. Will the lightning strike a third time? No one yet knows, but the possibility is there and undoubtedly hoped for by her new owner, John Stewart, who bought her from Robert Clay’s Grandview Equine for US$2.9 million via the 2023 Keeneland November sale and now has what may be the most valuable mare in the country in his possession.
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