Lady Pitt (USA)
May 10, 1963 – c. 1984
Sword Dancer (USA) x Rock Drill (USA), by Whirlaway (USA)
Family 20-b
May 10, 1963 – c. 1984
Sword Dancer (USA) x Rock Drill (USA), by Whirlaway (USA)
Family 20-b
Like her sire, Lady Pitt took some time to find her best form but was considered the best filly of her generation as a 3-year-old. Her form declined badly after her championship season, but she made up for that in the paddocks, producing one of the best foundation mares of the late 20th century in her daughter Blitey.
Race record
47 starts, 10 wins, 14 seconds, 5 thirds, US$413,382
1965:
1966:
1967:
1968:
Honors
American champion 3-year-old filly (1966)
Assessments
Rated at 114 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1965, 6 pounds below champion Moccasin.
Rated at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old fillies of 1966, co-highweight with Destro and Natashka.
As an individual
A chestnut mare, Lady Pitt stood 15.3 hands. She was a rather light-framed filly with an excellent shoulder and good balance but somewhat crooked hind legs and rough ankles.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Lady Pitt produced 10 named foals, of which nine started and six won. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Lady Pitt was bred by John W. Greathouse. She was owned by Thomas Eazor's Golden Triangle Stable, which purchased Lady Pitt from the 1964 Keeneland July yearling sale for US$24,000. She was trained by Stephen DiMauro. Ogden Phipps purchased Lady Pitt privately in 1969. There is no report for her after she was reported barren for the third consecutive season in 1984.
Pedigree notes
Lady Pitt is inbred 5x4 to three-time American champion sire Fair Play, with another cross at the sixth generation for good measure. She was much the best of four stakes winners produced from Rock Drill. The others were Doug's Serenade (by Royal Serenade), Rocky Link (by Sailor), and Gunite (by Crozier), dam of stakes winner My Sweet Baby (by In Reality). Lady Pitt is also a half sister to Dash'n Home (by Decathlon), dam of Grade 2 winner Cathy's Reject (by Best Turn), and to Predrill (by Pretense), third dam of 2004 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (USA-G1) winner Nothing to Lose.
Rock Drill's only stakes win was in the six-furlong Susan Stakes at Thistledown. A half sister to Mexican stakes winner Home Free (by Impound) and to Torture (by Third Degree), dam of Mexican stakes winner Stride Rite (by Revoked), she was produced from Flyaway Home, a daughter of Display out of 1931 Arlington Oaks winner Canfli (by 1916 American champion 2-year-old male Campfire). The female line traces to the important producer Filante, a daughter of Sardanapale imported to the United States by Delbert Reiff in 1917.
Books and media
Lady Pitt is profiled in Chapter 9 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Last updated: December 20, 2022
Race record
47 starts, 10 wins, 14 seconds, 5 thirds, US$413,382
1965:
- Won Astarita Stakes (second division) (USA, 7FD, Aqueduct; dead heat with Prides Profile)
- 2nd Schuylerville Stakes (first division) (USA, 5.5FD, Saratoga)
- 2nd Gardenia Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Garden State)
- 2nd Frizette Stakes (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Demoiselle Stakes (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
- 3rd Astoria Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Aqueduct)
1966:
- Won Vineland Handicap (USA, 9FD, Delaware)
- Won Delaware Oaks (USA, 9FD, Delaware)
- Won Coaching Club American Oaks (USA, 10FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Mother Goose Stakes (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Orchid Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Gulfstream Park)
- 2nd Kentucky Oaks (USA, 8.5FD, Churchill Downs; from third by disqualification)
- 2nd Jasmine Stakes (first division) (USA, 6FD, Hialeah)
- 2nd Gazelle Handicap (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- 2nd Alabama Stakes (USA, 10FD, Saratoga)
- 3rd Beldame Stakes (USA, 9FD, Aqueduct)
1967:
- 3rd Maskette Handicap (USA, 8FD, Aqueduct)
1968:
- 2nd Santa Paula Handicap (USA, 7FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Santa Barbara Handicap (USA, about 10FT, Santa Anita)
Honors
American champion 3-year-old filly (1966)
Assessments
Rated at 114 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juveniles of 1965, 6 pounds below champion Moccasin.
Rated at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American 3-year-old fillies of 1966, co-highweight with Destro and Natashka.
As an individual
A chestnut mare, Lady Pitt stood 15.3 hands. She was a rather light-framed filly with an excellent shoulder and good balance but somewhat crooked hind legs and rough ankles.
As a producer
Designated as a Reine-de-Course by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Lady Pitt produced 10 named foals, of which nine started and six won. Her important foals are as follow:
- Queen Pot (1969, by Buckpasser) produced 1985 Premio Emilio Turati (ITY-G1) winner King of Clubs (by Mill Reef). She is also the dam of stakes-placed Gallantsky (by Nijinsky II), an important sire in Chile with at least 33 stakes winners to his credit.
- Bank of England (1970, by Buckpasser) produced 1980 Peter Pan Stakes (USA-G3) winner Comptroller (by Reviewer). She is also the third dam of 1996 Buick Meadowlands Gold Cup Handicap (USA-G1) winner Dramatic Gold and Grade 3 winner Reba's Gold.
- The Liberal Member (1975, by Bold Reason) won the 1979 Brooklyn Handicap (USA-G1).
- Blitey (by Riva Ridge) was a multiple Grade 2 winner. She is the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Dancing Spree (by Nijinsky II), 1990 Hempstead Handicap (USA-G1) winner Fantastic Find (by Mr. Prospector), 1999 Ballerina Stakes (USA-G1) winner Furlough (by Easy Goer), and 1988 Long Island Handicap (USA-G2) winner Dancing All Night (by Nijinsky II). A notable modern foundation mare, her descendants include 1994 American champion 3-year-old filly Heavenly Prize, 2004/05 Chilean co-champion 3-year-old male We Can Seek, 2007/2008 Chilean co-champion 3-year-old filly Weekend Trip, and Grade 1 winners Finder's Fee, Oh What a Windfall, Good Reward, and Persistently. Blitey is also the third dam of two-time Argentine champion sire Pure Prize.
Connections
Foaled in Kentucky, Lady Pitt was bred by John W. Greathouse. She was owned by Thomas Eazor's Golden Triangle Stable, which purchased Lady Pitt from the 1964 Keeneland July yearling sale for US$24,000. She was trained by Stephen DiMauro. Ogden Phipps purchased Lady Pitt privately in 1969. There is no report for her after she was reported barren for the third consecutive season in 1984.
Pedigree notes
Lady Pitt is inbred 5x4 to three-time American champion sire Fair Play, with another cross at the sixth generation for good measure. She was much the best of four stakes winners produced from Rock Drill. The others were Doug's Serenade (by Royal Serenade), Rocky Link (by Sailor), and Gunite (by Crozier), dam of stakes winner My Sweet Baby (by In Reality). Lady Pitt is also a half sister to Dash'n Home (by Decathlon), dam of Grade 2 winner Cathy's Reject (by Best Turn), and to Predrill (by Pretense), third dam of 2004 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes (USA-G1) winner Nothing to Lose.
Rock Drill's only stakes win was in the six-furlong Susan Stakes at Thistledown. A half sister to Mexican stakes winner Home Free (by Impound) and to Torture (by Third Degree), dam of Mexican stakes winner Stride Rite (by Revoked), she was produced from Flyaway Home, a daughter of Display out of 1931 Arlington Oaks winner Canfli (by 1916 American champion 2-year-old male Campfire). The female line traces to the important producer Filante, a daughter of Sardanapale imported to the United States by Delbert Reiff in 1917.
Books and media
Lady Pitt is profiled in Chapter 9 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
Last updated: December 20, 2022