It took United until age 5 to finally hit the wire first in a graded race after four placings in such events last year, but he now has two such tallies to his credit. Having won the San Marcos Stakes (USA-G2) on February 1, the gelded son of Giant's Causeway added a second Grade 2 score on May 23 when the head bob went his way in a three-horse blanket finish in the Charles Whittingham Stakes.
United is the latest stakes winner from the family of Calumet Farm matriarch Real Delight. A huge dark bay mare standing close to 17 hands, the daughter of Bull Lea and Blue Delight had talent as outsized as her frame and was both the American champion 3-year-old filly and American champion handicap female of 1952. Retired to the paddocks after an injury-shortened 4-year-old season, she became the dam of three stakes winners and established major branches of her family through her Ponder filly Plum Cake (ancestress of champions Our Mims and Christmas Past and champion sires Alydar and Plum Bold) and her Heliopolis filly Heliolight, whose graded-class descendants include 1980 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Codex.
Spring Sunshine, a 1966 daughter of Nashua, was the last stakes winner produced by Real Delight. The winner of the 1968 Golden Rod Stakes, she was also a successful broodmare, producing Grade 3 winners Raise a Cup (by Raise a Native) and Lucky So n' So (by Alydar).
Spring Sunshine's daughter Mawgrit (by Hoist the Flag) produced 1991 Rare Perfume Stakes (USA-G2) winner Dazzle Me Jolie (by Carr de Nasrka) and is the second dam of 1991 Fair Grounds Oaks (USA-G3) winner Rare Pick, but the key to continuing her branch of the family turned out to be Raise a Cup's full sister Pet Eagle, whose daughter Mirror Bright (by Gleaming) produced 1990 Equipoise Mile Handicap (USA-G3) winner Bright Again (by Wild Again) and listed stakes winner Bright Asset (by Private Account). Bright Asset, in turn, is the third dam of three-time Ecuadorean Horse of the Year El Kurdo, but the daughter of Mirror Bright who succeeded in carrying on in North America is the unraced 1994 A.P. Indy mare Indy Flash, the dam of Grade 2-placed multiple listed stakes winner Galloping Gal (by Victory Gallop; dam of 20111 CashCall Futurity, USA-G1, winner Liaison, by Indian Charlie).
Unfortunately, Galloping Gal produced only three foals, but in keeping with this family line's theme of continuing on through "lesser" daughters, Indy Flash is also the dam of unraced Indy Punch (by the Two Punch horse Pulling Punches), who produced United as her fifth foal after previously giving birth to 2018 Philip H. Iselin Stakes (USA-G3) winner Harlan Punch (by Harlan's Holiday) and restricted stakes winner Tensas Punch (by War Front). Indy Punch's most recent foals are the 2018 Carpe Diem filly Friendly Skies, a 2019 filly by Uncle Mo and a 2020 War Front colt, so this point, she is getting every opportunity to be a continued ray of sunshine for a most delightful family.
United is the latest stakes winner from the family of Calumet Farm matriarch Real Delight. A huge dark bay mare standing close to 17 hands, the daughter of Bull Lea and Blue Delight had talent as outsized as her frame and was both the American champion 3-year-old filly and American champion handicap female of 1952. Retired to the paddocks after an injury-shortened 4-year-old season, she became the dam of three stakes winners and established major branches of her family through her Ponder filly Plum Cake (ancestress of champions Our Mims and Christmas Past and champion sires Alydar and Plum Bold) and her Heliopolis filly Heliolight, whose graded-class descendants include 1980 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Codex.
Spring Sunshine, a 1966 daughter of Nashua, was the last stakes winner produced by Real Delight. The winner of the 1968 Golden Rod Stakes, she was also a successful broodmare, producing Grade 3 winners Raise a Cup (by Raise a Native) and Lucky So n' So (by Alydar).
Spring Sunshine's daughter Mawgrit (by Hoist the Flag) produced 1991 Rare Perfume Stakes (USA-G2) winner Dazzle Me Jolie (by Carr de Nasrka) and is the second dam of 1991 Fair Grounds Oaks (USA-G3) winner Rare Pick, but the key to continuing her branch of the family turned out to be Raise a Cup's full sister Pet Eagle, whose daughter Mirror Bright (by Gleaming) produced 1990 Equipoise Mile Handicap (USA-G3) winner Bright Again (by Wild Again) and listed stakes winner Bright Asset (by Private Account). Bright Asset, in turn, is the third dam of three-time Ecuadorean Horse of the Year El Kurdo, but the daughter of Mirror Bright who succeeded in carrying on in North America is the unraced 1994 A.P. Indy mare Indy Flash, the dam of Grade 2-placed multiple listed stakes winner Galloping Gal (by Victory Gallop; dam of 20111 CashCall Futurity, USA-G1, winner Liaison, by Indian Charlie).
Unfortunately, Galloping Gal produced only three foals, but in keeping with this family line's theme of continuing on through "lesser" daughters, Indy Flash is also the dam of unraced Indy Punch (by the Two Punch horse Pulling Punches), who produced United as her fifth foal after previously giving birth to 2018 Philip H. Iselin Stakes (USA-G3) winner Harlan Punch (by Harlan's Holiday) and restricted stakes winner Tensas Punch (by War Front). Indy Punch's most recent foals are the 2018 Carpe Diem filly Friendly Skies, a 2019 filly by Uncle Mo and a 2020 War Front colt, so this point, she is getting every opportunity to be a continued ray of sunshine for a most delightful family.
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