Itsallgreektome (USA)
February 25, 1987 – February 15, 2007
Sovereign Dancer (USA) x Sans Supplement (USA), by Grey Dawn II (FR)
Family 22-d
February 25, 1987 – February 15, 2007
Sovereign Dancer (USA) x Sans Supplement (USA), by Grey Dawn II (FR)
Family 22-d
Following a game near-upset in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Mile (USA-G1), Itsallgreektome snatched the Eclipse Award for the male turf division away from contenders such as In the Wings, With Approval, and Royal Academy with post-Breeders’ Cup wins in the Hollywood Derby (USA-G1) against his own division and the Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (USA-G1) against older males. A versatile runner who showed high-class form at distances from a mile to a mile and one-half, Itsallgreektome was a multiple graded stakes winner at 4 and suffered his second narrow defeat in the Breeders’ Cup, losing the Turf by half a length to Miss Alleged. He was forced to the sidelines by injury at 5 after a brief campaign and failed to return to his previous form when attempting a comeback at 7.
Race record
29 starts, 8 wins, 10 seconds, 2 thirds, US$1,994,618
1990:
1991:
1992:
Honors
Eclipse Award, American champion turf male (1990)
Assessments
Highweighted at 123 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American turf runners of 1990, 4 pounds below highweighted In the Wings, who won that year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf (USA-G1) in his only appearance in the United States.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American turf runners of 1991, 1 pound below divisional champion Tight Spot.
Rated at 119 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American turf runners of 1992, 7 pounds below divisional champion Sky Classic.
As an individual
A gray gelding, Itsallgreektome had issues with pulmonary bleeding as a juvenile and was castrated as a 3-year-old after his trainer observed what he believed to be testicular discomfort while the animal was galloping. That decision may have been influenced by Itsallgreektome’s being a high-energy horse with a tough disposition that had made him difficult to break as a youngster. (According to Los Angeles Times staff writer Bill Christine, Itsallgreektome was “as hard on his handlers as he is on himself.” He preferred to come from off the pace with one big run when racing and was thoroughly determined in a drive if hooked. His greatest weakness as a racehorse was his tendency to pull himself up after making the lead, a habit that cost him several close finishes.
Connections
Foaled in Florida, Itsallgreektome was bred by Howard Kaskell at his Sugar Maple Farm. A $75,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky September yearling, he was owned by Jheri Redding’s Jhayare Stable and was trained by Wally Dollase except for his last two starts, when he was trained by R. B. Hess Jr. He was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age on February 15, 2007, at Cardiff Stud, California, where he had been living as a pensioner.
Pedigree notes
Itsallgreektome is inbred 4x4 to 1936 Derby Stakes winner and 1946 American champion sire Mahmoud. He is a half brother to 1989 Tropical Park Derby (USA-G2) winner Big Stanley (by Distinctive Pro) and to Splendid Bid (by Spectacular Bid), second dam of Australian Group 3 winner Natural Woman.
Sans Supplement, the dam of Itsallgreektome, won the 1976 Alcibiades Stakes (USA-G2). She was produced from unraced Tout Compris, whose sire Tantieme was a two-time French champion whose wins included two runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The dam of Tout Compris, the Double Jay mare Splendored, won the 1956 Princess Pat Stakes and is a half sister to stakes winner Blasting Charge (by Ambehaving) and to Kim Vee (by Count Speed), dam of two-time Santa Margarita Handicap winner Curious Clover (by Berseem; dam of multiple stakes winner Curious Course, by Coursing) and multiple stakes winner The Field (by Coursing). Splendored is also a half sister to Brilliant Petare (by Petare), dam of 1973 Astoria Stakes (USA-G3) winner What Brilliance (by What a Pleasure) and multiple stakes winner Amasport (by Ambehaving) and second dam of Grade 3 winner What Glitter.
Splendored and her siblings are out of Brilliancy, a winning daughter of Stimulus. The next dam in Itsallgreektome’s tail-female line, Sans Lumiere, is an imported daughter of 1924 Derby Stakes winner Sansovino and the foundation mare Black Ray and is a full sister to 1930 English champion 2-year-old male Jacopo and a half sister to 1936 English champion 2-year-old male Foray II and to 1933 English co-champion 3-year-old filly Eclair (by Ethnarch), dam of 1945 Middle Park Stakes winner and important sire Khaled (by Hyperion).
Fun facts
Last updated: December 12, 2024
Race record
29 starts, 8 wins, 10 seconds, 2 thirds, US$1,994,618
1990:
- Won Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (USA-G1, 12FT, Hollywood)
- Won Hollywood Derby (USA-G1, 9FT, Hollywood)
- Won Will Rogers Handicap (USA-G3, 8.5FT, Hollywood)
- Won Ascot Handicap (USA-G3, 9FT, Bay Meadows)
- Won Spotlight Breeders' Cup Handicap (USA-L, 8FT, Hollywood)
- 2nd Breeders' Cup Mile (USA-G1, 8FT, Belmont)
- 2nd Del Mar Invitational Derby (USA-G2, 9FT, Del Mar)
- 2nd La Jolla Handicap (USA-G3, 8.5FT, Del Mar)
- 3rd Cinema Handicap (USA-G2, 9FT, Hollywood)
1991:
- Won Elkhorn Handicap (USA-G2, 9FT, Keeneland)
- Won Keeneland Breeders' Cup Stakes (USA-G3, 9FT, Keeneland; equaled course record 1:48-4/5)
- 2nd Breeders' Cup Turf (USA-G1, 12FT, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Hollywood Turf Handicap (USA-G1, 10FT, Hollywood)
- 2nd Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (USA-G1T, 12FT, Hollywood)
- 2nd Early Times Turf Classic Stakes (USA-G3, 9FT, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Hollywood Gold Cup Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Hollywood)
1992:
- 2nd Hialeah Turf Cup Handicap (USA-L, 12FT, Hialeah)
- 2nd Arcadia Handicap (USA-G3, 8FT, Santa Anita)
Honors
Eclipse Award, American champion turf male (1990)
Assessments
Highweighted at 123 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American turf runners of 1990, 4 pounds below highweighted In the Wings, who won that year’s Breeders’ Cup Turf (USA-G1) in his only appearance in the United States.
Rated at 125 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American turf runners of 1991, 1 pound below divisional champion Tight Spot.
Rated at 119 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American turf runners of 1992, 7 pounds below divisional champion Sky Classic.
As an individual
A gray gelding, Itsallgreektome had issues with pulmonary bleeding as a juvenile and was castrated as a 3-year-old after his trainer observed what he believed to be testicular discomfort while the animal was galloping. That decision may have been influenced by Itsallgreektome’s being a high-energy horse with a tough disposition that had made him difficult to break as a youngster. (According to Los Angeles Times staff writer Bill Christine, Itsallgreektome was “as hard on his handlers as he is on himself.” He preferred to come from off the pace with one big run when racing and was thoroughly determined in a drive if hooked. His greatest weakness as a racehorse was his tendency to pull himself up after making the lead, a habit that cost him several close finishes.
Connections
Foaled in Florida, Itsallgreektome was bred by Howard Kaskell at his Sugar Maple Farm. A $75,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky September yearling, he was owned by Jheri Redding’s Jhayare Stable and was trained by Wally Dollase except for his last two starts, when he was trained by R. B. Hess Jr. He was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age on February 15, 2007, at Cardiff Stud, California, where he had been living as a pensioner.
Pedigree notes
Itsallgreektome is inbred 4x4 to 1936 Derby Stakes winner and 1946 American champion sire Mahmoud. He is a half brother to 1989 Tropical Park Derby (USA-G2) winner Big Stanley (by Distinctive Pro) and to Splendid Bid (by Spectacular Bid), second dam of Australian Group 3 winner Natural Woman.
Sans Supplement, the dam of Itsallgreektome, won the 1976 Alcibiades Stakes (USA-G2). She was produced from unraced Tout Compris, whose sire Tantieme was a two-time French champion whose wins included two runnings of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The dam of Tout Compris, the Double Jay mare Splendored, won the 1956 Princess Pat Stakes and is a half sister to stakes winner Blasting Charge (by Ambehaving) and to Kim Vee (by Count Speed), dam of two-time Santa Margarita Handicap winner Curious Clover (by Berseem; dam of multiple stakes winner Curious Course, by Coursing) and multiple stakes winner The Field (by Coursing). Splendored is also a half sister to Brilliant Petare (by Petare), dam of 1973 Astoria Stakes (USA-G3) winner What Brilliance (by What a Pleasure) and multiple stakes winner Amasport (by Ambehaving) and second dam of Grade 3 winner What Glitter.
Splendored and her siblings are out of Brilliancy, a winning daughter of Stimulus. The next dam in Itsallgreektome’s tail-female line, Sans Lumiere, is an imported daughter of 1924 Derby Stakes winner Sansovino and the foundation mare Black Ray and is a full sister to 1930 English champion 2-year-old male Jacopo and a half sister to 1936 English champion 2-year-old male Foray II and to 1933 English co-champion 3-year-old filly Eclair (by Ethnarch), dam of 1945 Middle Park Stakes winner and important sire Khaled (by Hyperion).
Fun facts
- “It’s all Greek to me” is an English-language idiom referring to communication that is difficult or impossible for the speaker to understand because of its complexity or lack of clarity. (Modern Greek is considered one of the more difficult languages for an English speaker to learn, on a par with Russian, Hindi, and Thai, while koine Greek, the lingua franca of the ancient Roman world and the language of the New Testament, has been the bane of many a seminary student.) Its first appearance in print appears to have been in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar.
Last updated: December 12, 2024