Keeper Hill (USA)
April 18, 1995 – November 20, 2015
Deputy Minister (CAN) x Fineza (USA), by Lypheor (GB)
Family 16-a
April 18, 1995 – November 20, 2015
Deputy Minister (CAN) x Fineza (USA), by Lypheor (GB)
Family 16-a
A good staying filly, Keeper Hill was handicapped by a one-dimensional running style but nonetheless won three Grade 1 races and was placed in eight more. She met with her share of bad luck as a broodmare and was less successful in the paddocks than on the track.
Race record
21 starts, 4 wins, 7 seconds, 5 thirds, US$1,661,281
1998:
1999:
As an individual
A big, scopy, good-looking dark bay or brown mare, Keeper Hill preferred to come with a strong run from well off the pace. She was described by Bobby Frankel as "a pleasure to train." Keeper Hill loved carrots as a treat both while a racer and as a broodmare.
As a producer
Keeper Hill was unfortunate as a broodmare as she lost the first three years of her producing career to the Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome epidemic then sweeping the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. She also suffered trauma to her reproductive tract after producing a dead foal in 2012 and was not bred back that year to allow for recovery time. She tended to throw foals even larger than herself regardless of the stallion's size. The only one of her foals to achieve any note from eight named foals of racing age is 2012 River City Handicap (USA-G3) winner Keep Up (by Unbridled's Song); three others of her foals are winners.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Keeper Hill was bred by Chadds Ford Stable et al. She raced for the partnership of Mill Ridge Farm, Dr. John Chandler, Audrey Otto and Claude "Shug" McGaughey. She was initially trained by McGaughey but after her third start moved to the barn of Bobby Frankel. As a broodmare, she spent her entire producing career at Mill Ridge Farm. Keeper Hill was pensioned from broodmare duty after the birth of her 2015 foal (which died unnamed) and died at Mill Ridge on November 20, 2015.
Pedigree notes
Keeper Hill is inbred 3x4 to Northern Dancer. She is a half sister to 1995 Commonwealth Breeders' Cup Stakes (USA-G2) winner Golden Gear (by Gulch). Her dam Fineza is a stakes-placed half sister to 1988 Top Flight Handicap (USA-G1) winner Clabber Girl (by Alydar) and stakes winner Famously Free (by Unbridled). Fineza is also a half sister to November Rose (by Caro), dam of Japanese stakes winner Elizabeth Rose (by Northern Taste) and second dam of three-time Brazilian champion sire Agnes Gold, and to stakes producers Tajniak (by Irish River) and Lola Montes (by L'emigrant).
Jedina (by What a Pleasure), the dam of Fineza, is one of five stakes winners produced from the important producer Killaloe (by Dr. Fager). The others are the 1981 Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1) winner and top sire Fappiano (by Mr. Prospector), 1995 Prix Jean Prat (FR-G1) winner Torrential (by Gulch), Grade 3 winner Portroe (by Mr. Prospector), and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Royal Troon (by Foolish Pleasure). Jedina is also a half sister to Bought Twice (by In Reality), dam of 2000 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) winner Commendable (by Gone West) and second dam of English Group 2 winner Primarily.
Books and media
Keeper Hill is profiled in Chapter 12 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
Last updated: January 23, 2024
Race record
21 starts, 4 wins, 7 seconds, 5 thirds, US$1,661,281
1998:
- Won Las Virgenes Stakes (USA-G1, 8FD, Santa Anita)
- Won Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1, 9FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Santa Anita Oaks (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- 2nd Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Gazelle Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- 2nd Mother Goose Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Breeders' Cup Distaff (USA-G1, 9FD, Churchill Downs)
1999:
- Won Three Chimneys Spinster Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Keeneland)
- 2nd Delaware Handicap (USA-G3, 10FD, Delaware)
- 3rd Personal Ensign Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Beverly Hills Handicap (USA-G1, 10FT, Hollywood)
- 3rd Ruffian Handicap (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Belmont)
As an individual
A big, scopy, good-looking dark bay or brown mare, Keeper Hill preferred to come with a strong run from well off the pace. She was described by Bobby Frankel as "a pleasure to train." Keeper Hill loved carrots as a treat both while a racer and as a broodmare.
As a producer
Keeper Hill was unfortunate as a broodmare as she lost the first three years of her producing career to the Mare Reproductive Loss Syndrome epidemic then sweeping the Bluegrass region of Kentucky. She also suffered trauma to her reproductive tract after producing a dead foal in 2012 and was not bred back that year to allow for recovery time. She tended to throw foals even larger than herself regardless of the stallion's size. The only one of her foals to achieve any note from eight named foals of racing age is 2012 River City Handicap (USA-G3) winner Keep Up (by Unbridled's Song); three others of her foals are winners.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Keeper Hill was bred by Chadds Ford Stable et al. She raced for the partnership of Mill Ridge Farm, Dr. John Chandler, Audrey Otto and Claude "Shug" McGaughey. She was initially trained by McGaughey but after her third start moved to the barn of Bobby Frankel. As a broodmare, she spent her entire producing career at Mill Ridge Farm. Keeper Hill was pensioned from broodmare duty after the birth of her 2015 foal (which died unnamed) and died at Mill Ridge on November 20, 2015.
Pedigree notes
Keeper Hill is inbred 3x4 to Northern Dancer. She is a half sister to 1995 Commonwealth Breeders' Cup Stakes (USA-G2) winner Golden Gear (by Gulch). Her dam Fineza is a stakes-placed half sister to 1988 Top Flight Handicap (USA-G1) winner Clabber Girl (by Alydar) and stakes winner Famously Free (by Unbridled). Fineza is also a half sister to November Rose (by Caro), dam of Japanese stakes winner Elizabeth Rose (by Northern Taste) and second dam of three-time Brazilian champion sire Agnes Gold, and to stakes producers Tajniak (by Irish River) and Lola Montes (by L'emigrant).
Jedina (by What a Pleasure), the dam of Fineza, is one of five stakes winners produced from the important producer Killaloe (by Dr. Fager). The others are the 1981 Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1) winner and top sire Fappiano (by Mr. Prospector), 1995 Prix Jean Prat (FR-G1) winner Torrential (by Gulch), Grade 3 winner Portroe (by Mr. Prospector), and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Royal Troon (by Foolish Pleasure). Jedina is also a half sister to Bought Twice (by In Reality), dam of 2000 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) winner Commendable (by Gone West) and second dam of English Group 2 winner Primarily.
Books and media
Keeper Hill is profiled in Chapter 12 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Fun facts
- Keeper Hill is the tallest peak in the Silvermine Mountains of County Tipperary, Ireland. Its original name in Irish Gaelic is Sliabh Coimeálta, “mountain of guarding.”
- Keeper Hill's best runner, Grade 3 winner Keep Up, was lucky to make it to the races at all as he fractured his left knee as a yearling and required seven months' stall rest after surgery.
Last updated: January 23, 2024