While she was sired by a champion racer and stallion, La Chica came from a relatively humble female family and did not add to its reputation as a racer. However, when crossed to the speedy sires Ariel (a grandson of Sweep) and John P. Grier (a horse descended from the same Ben Brush/Domino cross that had produced Sweep), she produced four stakes winners, one a champion, and a stakes producer. She did not replicate those results when upgraded to the top stallions Sir Gallahad III and Blenheim II, but her daughters from those matings did well as broodmares, and her descendants through her earlier daughters include the great broodmare Grey Flight and the immortal Native Dancer.
Race record
Unraced
As an individual
A gray mare; no further information available.
As a producer
La Chica produced eight named foals, of which seven started and won. Her important foals were as follow:
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, La Chica was bred by Leslie Combs, Trustee, who bred all her foals alone or in partnership. She disappears from the records after the birth of her last foal, La Chicuela, in 1945.
Pedigree notes
La Chica is outcrossed through five generations. She is a half sister to Danise M. (by Épinard), dam of the good juvenile filly Incidentally (by Mr. Busher) and second dam of 1961 New Orleans Handicap winner Greek Star. Danise M. is also the third dam of 1966 American champion 2-year-old filly Mira Femme and 1963 Paumonok Handicap winner Kisco Kid.
La Chica's dam La Grisette was imported to the United States in 1925. She was unraced but is a half sister to Young April (by Valiant), second dam of 1940 Grand National Steeplechase winner Bogskar. Their dam Miss Fiora (by 1885 Derby Stakes and St. Leger Stakes winner Melton) was unplaced in all three of her starts, and her dam Fiona (by 1890 Champion Stakes winner Amphion) won her only victory in a selling race (the equivalent of an American claiming race) at Epsom Downs as a juvenile.
Fun facts
Last updated: December 17, 2024
Race record
Unraced
As an individual
A gray mare; no further information available.
As a producer
La Chica produced eight named foals, of which seven started and won. Her important foals were as follow:
- Planetoid (1934, by Ariel) was a juvenile stakes winner. She is the dam of the remarkable matriarch Grey Flight (by Mahmoud), whose nine stakes winners include 1955 American champion 3-year-old filly and co-champion handicap female Misty Morn, the 1963 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year; two-time American champion sire What a Pleasure, and 1962 Schuylerville Stakes winner Bold Princess, a notable producer in her own right. Grey Flight also produced Clear Ceiling, dam of 1980 One Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) winner Quick as Lightning and ancestress of American champions Kona Gold, Inside Information, and Smuggler. Planetoid's other foals include stakes producers Just-a-Minute (by Can't Wait) and Planetrix (by Ambiorix).
- Miyako (1935, by John P. Grier) was also a juvenile stakes winner. She is the dam of the good steeplechaser Columbus (by Discovery) and the second dam of the great racehorse and sire Native Dancer.
- El Chico (1936, by John P. Grier) was the American champion 2-year-old male of 1938. He died in training as a 3-year-old.
- La Rhumba (1937, by Ariel) produced stakes winner Placer (by Dogpatch).
- Chicuelo (1938, by Ariel) won the 1940 Tremont Stakes. A stud failure, he sired only two unimportant stakes winners.
- Chelita (1942, by Sir Gallahad III), a twin, produced stakes winners Travertine (by Nordlicht) and Scansion (by Heliodorus) and is the second dam of Irish Group 3 winner Misty Bend. She is the third dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Track Barron and Grade 2 winner Romantic Lead.
- La Chicuela (1945, by Blenheim II) produced 1957 Firenze Handicap winner Gay Life (by Eight Thirty). She is the third dam of 1978 Widener Handicap (USA-G1) winner Silver Series.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, La Chica was bred by Leslie Combs, Trustee, who bred all her foals alone or in partnership. She disappears from the records after the birth of her last foal, La Chicuela, in 1945.
Pedigree notes
La Chica is outcrossed through five generations. She is a half sister to Danise M. (by Épinard), dam of the good juvenile filly Incidentally (by Mr. Busher) and second dam of 1961 New Orleans Handicap winner Greek Star. Danise M. is also the third dam of 1966 American champion 2-year-old filly Mira Femme and 1963 Paumonok Handicap winner Kisco Kid.
La Chica's dam La Grisette was imported to the United States in 1925. She was unraced but is a half sister to Young April (by Valiant), second dam of 1940 Grand National Steeplechase winner Bogskar. Their dam Miss Fiora (by 1885 Derby Stakes and St. Leger Stakes winner Melton) was unplaced in all three of her starts, and her dam Fiona (by 1890 Champion Stakes winner Amphion) won her only victory in a selling race (the equivalent of an American claiming race) at Epsom Downs as a juvenile.
Fun facts
- La Chica's name means “The Girl” in Spanish.
- According to Bloodlines.net (https://www.bloodlines.net/TB/Families/Family5f.htm), descendants of La Chica have the L2a2 mitochondrial DNA type, not the mtDNA B1a type found in other tail-female descendants of Ebony (a 1728 mare who is the second dam of Family 5-f's foundation mare, an unnamed daughter of Bajazet). This indicates a mistake in the record of La Chica's tail-female lineage somewhere between the dam of the Bajazet Mare and La Chica herself; the location of the error cannot be pinpointed with more accuracy without mtDNA tests being done on tail-female descendants of the Bajazet mare through sources other than La Chica.
Last updated: December 17, 2024