Stopchargingmaria (USA)
March 26, 2011 – Living
Tale of the Cat (USA) x Exotic Bloom (USA), by Montbrook (USA)
Family 11-g
March 26, 2011 – Living
Tale of the Cat (USA) x Exotic Bloom (USA), by Montbrook (USA)
Family 11-g
On the surface, Stopchargingmaria had a pedigree suggesting she might be best suited to sprints, as she was by a sprinter out of a mare by another sprinter. However, her dam Melegant was the product of three successive crosses to stallions capable of getting classic stamina, and Stopchargingmaria drew on this heritage to win Grade 1 races at up to 10 furlongs. She was a near-champion at 3 and 4 before having marked success in the sales ring.
Race record
18 starts, 9 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$3,014,000
2013:
2014:
2015:
Honors
Assessments
Rated at 119 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile fillies of 2013, 4 pounds below co-highweights She’s a Tiger (the official divisional champion) and Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) winner Ria Antonia (who was also the year’s champion juvenile filly in Canada).
Rated at 117 pounds for her performance in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on the 2015 World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 17 pounds below overall highweight American Pharoah (who earned his rating in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, USA-G1) and 6 pounds below the top-rated older female on dirt, Beholder (who earned that assessment in the TVG Pacific Classic, USA-G1).
As an individual
A well-made dark bay or brown mare, Stopchargingmaria tended to run her best races when fresh. She had a good racing temperament and could be placed as her jockey desired. She was retired as a 5-year-old after seeming to lose interest in racing.
As a producer
As of April 2021, Stopchargingmaria has produced two named foals of racing age but has yet to be represented by a winner.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Stopchargingmaria was bred by Harvey Clarke in partnership with the Seitz family’s Brookdale Farm. She was raced by Mike Repole at 2 and 3. She was then sent to the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November sale, where she failed to make her reserve on a US3.15 million bid. Shortly afterward, Repole sold the filly privately to Town and Country Racing (Louise Courtelis and Kiki Courtelis), which campaigned Stopchargingmaria at 4 and 5 before selling her to Gonçalo Borges Torrealba’s Three Chimneys Farm at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton November sale. In 2018, Stopchargingmaria was sold for US$4.4 million, in foal to Tapit, to Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm at the Fasig-Tipton November sale; Pope also purchased the mare’s 2018 Pioneerof the Nile filly for US$.19 million at the same venue. Stopchargingmaria was trained by Todd Pletcher throughout her racing career. She was ridden to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and in the Coaching Club American Oaks by Javier Castellano.
Pedigree notes
Stopchargingmaria is outcrossed through five generations. She is out of Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Exotic Bloom, whose sire Montbrook (by Buckaroo) won two Grade 3 sprints before becoming a four-time Florida champion sire. Exotic Bloom is a full sister to My Sister Sandy, dam of English Group 2 winner Van Beethoven (by Scat Daddy), and a half sister to Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner See Tobe (by Concerto).
Exotic Bloom and her siblings are out of the winning Kris S. mare Melegant, whose half sister Lady Tabitha (by Lyphard) won a listed stakes at 4 and is the second dam of Brazilian Group 3 winner Indriya. Melegant is also a half sister to L’abidjanaise (by Dixieland Band), dam of 2012/2013 Ecuadorean Horse of the Year Shamui (by Cactus Ridge) and second dam of 2014 Venezuelan Horse of the Year Ninfa del Cielo.
Melegant was produced from the stakes-winning Sir Ivor mare Abidjan, whose stakes-placed half sister Bunting (by Private Acoount) is the dam of Grade 2 winner Vision and Verse (by Storm Cat) and stakes winner Distorted Legacy (by Distorted Humor) and is also the second dam of Grade 2 winner Art Collector. Another half sister to Abidjan, Private Banking (by Private Account), is the second dam of 2008 Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Ginger Brew and multiple Grade 2 winner Bourbon Bay, while a third half sister, Hello Again Hello (by Gone West) is the dam of Brazilian listed stakes winner Pioneering Again and the second dam of 2018 Grande Prêmio São Paulo (BRZ-G1) winner Euquemando and Brazilian Group 3 winner First Fighter. Abidjan and her sisters are out of the Hoist the Flag mare Flag Waver, a listed stakes-winning half sister to 1972 Champagne Stakes winner Stop the Music (by Hail to Reason) and 1976 Amory L. Haskell Handicap (USA-G1) winner Hatchet Man (by The Axe II).
Books and media
Footage of Stopchargingmaria’s victory in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Distaff can be accessed at the Breeders’ Cup Hall of Champions (https://www.breederscup.com/history-tradition/hall-champions/stopchargingmaria).
Fun facts
Photo credit
Photo taken by Jessica Morgan at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Used by permission.
Last updated: April 14, 2021
Race record
18 starts, 9 wins, 4 seconds, 1 third, US$3,014,000
2013:
- Won Demoiselle Stakes (USA-G2, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Tempted Stakes (USA-G3, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Spinaway Stakes (USA-G1, 7FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Frizette Stakes (USA-G1, 8FD, Belmont)
2014:
- Won TVG Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1, 9FD, Saratoga)
- Won Alabama Stakes (USA-G1, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (USA-G2, 9FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Beldame Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
2015:
- Won Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (USA-G1, 9FD, Keeneland)
- Won Shuvee Handicap (USA-G3, 9FD, Saratoga)
- Won Allaire DuPont Distaff Stakes (USA-G3, 9FD, Pimlico)
- 2nd Madison Stakes (USA-G1, 7FD, Keeneland)
Honors
- Eclipse Awards finalist, American champion 3-year-old filly (2014)
- Eclipse Awards finalist, American champion older female (2015)
Assessments
Rated at 119 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile fillies of 2013, 4 pounds below co-highweights She’s a Tiger (the official divisional champion) and Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) winner Ria Antonia (who was also the year’s champion juvenile filly in Canada).
Rated at 117 pounds for her performance in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff on the 2015 World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, 17 pounds below overall highweight American Pharoah (who earned his rating in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, USA-G1) and 6 pounds below the top-rated older female on dirt, Beholder (who earned that assessment in the TVG Pacific Classic, USA-G1).
As an individual
A well-made dark bay or brown mare, Stopchargingmaria tended to run her best races when fresh. She had a good racing temperament and could be placed as her jockey desired. She was retired as a 5-year-old after seeming to lose interest in racing.
As a producer
As of April 2021, Stopchargingmaria has produced two named foals of racing age but has yet to be represented by a winner.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Stopchargingmaria was bred by Harvey Clarke in partnership with the Seitz family’s Brookdale Farm. She was raced by Mike Repole at 2 and 3. She was then sent to the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November sale, where she failed to make her reserve on a US3.15 million bid. Shortly afterward, Repole sold the filly privately to Town and Country Racing (Louise Courtelis and Kiki Courtelis), which campaigned Stopchargingmaria at 4 and 5 before selling her to Gonçalo Borges Torrealba’s Three Chimneys Farm at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton November sale. In 2018, Stopchargingmaria was sold for US$4.4 million, in foal to Tapit, to Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm at the Fasig-Tipton November sale; Pope also purchased the mare’s 2018 Pioneerof the Nile filly for US$.19 million at the same venue. Stopchargingmaria was trained by Todd Pletcher throughout her racing career. She was ridden to victory in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff and in the Coaching Club American Oaks by Javier Castellano.
Pedigree notes
Stopchargingmaria is outcrossed through five generations. She is out of Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Exotic Bloom, whose sire Montbrook (by Buckaroo) won two Grade 3 sprints before becoming a four-time Florida champion sire. Exotic Bloom is a full sister to My Sister Sandy, dam of English Group 2 winner Van Beethoven (by Scat Daddy), and a half sister to Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner See Tobe (by Concerto).
Exotic Bloom and her siblings are out of the winning Kris S. mare Melegant, whose half sister Lady Tabitha (by Lyphard) won a listed stakes at 4 and is the second dam of Brazilian Group 3 winner Indriya. Melegant is also a half sister to L’abidjanaise (by Dixieland Band), dam of 2012/2013 Ecuadorean Horse of the Year Shamui (by Cactus Ridge) and second dam of 2014 Venezuelan Horse of the Year Ninfa del Cielo.
Melegant was produced from the stakes-winning Sir Ivor mare Abidjan, whose stakes-placed half sister Bunting (by Private Acoount) is the dam of Grade 2 winner Vision and Verse (by Storm Cat) and stakes winner Distorted Legacy (by Distorted Humor) and is also the second dam of Grade 2 winner Art Collector. Another half sister to Abidjan, Private Banking (by Private Account), is the second dam of 2008 Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Ginger Brew and multiple Grade 2 winner Bourbon Bay, while a third half sister, Hello Again Hello (by Gone West) is the dam of Brazilian listed stakes winner Pioneering Again and the second dam of 2018 Grande Prêmio São Paulo (BRZ-G1) winner Euquemando and Brazilian Group 3 winner First Fighter. Abidjan and her sisters are out of the Hoist the Flag mare Flag Waver, a listed stakes-winning half sister to 1972 Champagne Stakes winner Stop the Music (by Hail to Reason) and 1976 Amory L. Haskell Handicap (USA-G1) winner Hatchet Man (by The Axe II).
Books and media
Footage of Stopchargingmaria’s victory in the 2015 Breeders’ Cup Distaff can be accessed at the Breeders’ Cup Hall of Champions (https://www.breederscup.com/history-tradition/hall-champions/stopchargingmaria).
Fun facts
- Stopchargingmaria got her name as a commentary by owner Mike Repole on his wife Maria’s shopping sprees.
- Mike Repole’s failure to get the price he wanted for Stopchargingmaria at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November sale coincided with the failure of the mother-and-daughter team of Louise Courtelis and Kiki Courtelis to land either of the two horses they had targeted as prospects at the auction. Todd Pletcher brokered the deal bringing the two sides together.
- Todd Pletcher became the second trainer in North American racing history to win 1,000 stakes races when Stopchargingmaria won the Alabama Stakes, following in the steps of his mentor, D. Wayne Lukas.
Photo credit
Photo taken by Jessica Morgan at the 2014 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Used by permission.
Last updated: April 14, 2021