Mares on Monday

Mares on Monday: She Be Smooth Makes It Look Easy in Davona Dale

3/2/2026

Following a solid win in the Forward Gal Stakes (USA-G3) on January 31, On Time Girl was a 4-5 favorite for Gulfstream Park’s Davona Dale Stakes (USA-G2) on February 28. She was a reasonable choice in a field in which only one of the other six fillies, Cash Run Stakes winner Haute Diva, had won anything but a maiden special weight. Maiden winner She Be Smooth had other ideas, though. Making only her second lifetime start, the Todd Pletcher trainee dawdled behind the field early but made up nearly six lengths between the three-quarter pole and the stretch call to go from over four lengths off the lead to a length and a half in front. From there, she kept widening under mild urging, finishing six lengths ahead of My Miss Mo, who held the place by half a length over On Time Girl.

A Calumet Farm homebred, She So Smooth is the fourth stakes winner and first graded stakes winner from the first crop of 2021 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap (USA-G1) winner Lexitonian. The stallion is a son of Speightstown out of the Tapit mare Riviera Romper, whose dam, Swap Fliparoo (by Exchange Rate), won the 2006 Test Stakes (USA-G1). This seems a speed-oriented pedigree, but Lexitonian is also the sire of Fire and Wine (out of Double Latte, by The Factor), who won the 9-furlong Coronation Futurity last year at Woodbine.

On the dam’s side, She Be Smooth is the last foal of 2009 Ogden Phipps Handicap (USA-G1) winner Seattle Smooth. The dam of six previous winners, including Grade 3-placed Seattle Slang and minor stakes-placed Gunfire (both by Tapit), Seattle Smooth is by Quiet American, now the broodmare sire of 147 stakes winners, and is out of unraced Our Seattle Star (by Washington D. C. International, USA-G1, winner Seattle Song), making her a half sister to stakes-placed Storming Starlet and to Moonshine Gal (by Forest Wildcat), dam of 2018 Ladies Handicap (USA-L) winner Just Got Out (by Harlington).

A half sister to multiple restricted stakes winner Rare Star (by Rare Performer), Our Seattle Star is out of stakes-placed Starsburg (by Whitesburg), a half sister to minor stakes winner Bold Decision (by Handsome Boy). Produced from juvenile stakes winner Dot’s Star (by the good juvenile Su Ka Wa, a son of 1956 American champion 2-year-old male Barbizon), Starsburg is part of a line of descent from Helen Barbee, a tough race mare crowned by racing historians as the American champion older female of 1912.

On paper, She Be Smooth looks more like a come-from-behind miler than a filly that really wants a two-turn distance, but one never can tell for certain without trying, and with 50 points toward a starting berth in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) already in the bank, there seems no reason not to try her at a longer trip and plenty of reason to do so. Although come-from-behind runners always run the risk of encountering traffic jams, the responsiveness she showed to Flavien Prat’s handling and her quick acceleration should serve her well in a larger field and give her a good chance to prove herself as a genuine Kentucky Oaks contender against stronger competition.

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Mares on Monday: Haulin Ice Hauls in a Cool Million

2/23/2026

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A restricted race for Arkansas-breds, the Downthedustyroad Breeders’ Stakes at Oaklawn Park is not the sort of contest that usually showcases racing’s heroes. Last Friday’s edition was an exception to the rule. Gaining her second consecutive victory in this event, Haulin Ice made a massive overlay out of her 1-5 odds as she sailed home 11¾ lengths ahead of her nearest rival. The win made her the first Arkansas-bred millionaire and cemented her status as the greatest racing idol produced in the state since the “Arkansas Traveler,” Nodouble, won back-to-back national championships in the handicap male division in 1969 and 1970.

To be sure, Haulin’ Ice is not the equal of Nodouble, who won several stakes now classed as Grade 1; her best efforts in 2025 landed her a pair of Grade 3 wins in the Vagrancy Stakes at the spring Belmont at the Big A meeting and the Princess Rooney Stakes at Gulfstream. Nevertheless, the now 5-year-old mare has been a model of consistency, racking up 11 wins and 5 seconds in her 20 starts, and if her race on Friday was any indication, she is back and better than ever for 2026. Add her flashy gray coloration to her speed, her willingness, and her off-the-beaten-trail origins, and you have a racehorse that fans find easy to take to their hearts.

Haulin Ice is from the first crop of Louisiana-based Coal Front, whose sire, the Bernardini horse Stay Thirsty, won the 2011 Travers Stakes (USA-G1) and 2012 Cigar Mile Handicap (USA-G1) but has not had stud success commensurate with his racing ability. The winner of five graded/Group stakes races including the 2017 Amsterdam Stakes (USA-G2) and the 2019 Godolphin Mile (UAE-G2), Coal Front is the second-leading earner for his sire behind multiple Grade 1 winner Mind Control. He had a breakout year for a regional stallion in 2025 as he was also represented by Rebel Stakes (USA-G2) winner Coal Battle, now a millionaire in his own right, and Carter Handicap (USA-G2) winner Crazy Mason—all horses that were sired on a US$2,000 stud fee.

On the distaff side, Haulin Ice is the first foal of unraced She’s Smoke, whose sire Half Ours (by Unbridled’s Song) won the 2007 Richter Scale Breeders’ Cup Sprint Championship Handicap (USA-G2) and was a three-time champion sire in Louisiana according to The Blood-Horse. She’s Smoke is also the dam of the winner She’s So Coal, a 3-year-old full sister to Haulin Ice, and most recently produced a 2025 colt by Yorkton.

She’s Smoke is out of the More Than Ready mare Ready at Nine, who so far has managed to come up with only two winners from 10 named foals of racing age, A winner of one of 12 starts during her own racing career, Ready at Nine is out of Nine Pines, a daughter of 1992 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Pine Bluff, who won a non-blacktype stakes at Remington Park. She in turn is out of unraced Ninth Trestle (by Forty Niner), a half sister to 1993 Prince of Wales’s Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Placerville (by Mr. Prospector) out of multiple Grade 1 winner Classy Cathy (by Private Account). Aside from Placerville, the results obtained from this female line of descent have been disappointing up to now given its opportunities. Yet those opportunities were not entirely wasted; they formed a genetic pool that still held enough in the way of superior genes to come up with Haulin Ice when opportunity arrived in the form of a talented and very well-bred stallion.

Coal Front is quite an interesting study himself. Inbred 3x3 to 1992 Horse of the Year A.P. Indy, an American champion sire and broodmare sire, he is out of Miner’s Secret, a mare inbred 3x3 to both A.P. Indy’s sire Seattle Slew (the 1977 American Triple Crown winner and also a champion sire and broodmare sire) and Mr. Prospector, a two-time American champion sire and the most influential American broodmare sire of modern times. The cross of A,P. Indy over Mr. Prospector and his line is responsible for all of A.P. Indy’s top North American sire sons, so Coal Front represents a concentration of a combination that has had quite a good history. In She’s Smoke, he met a mare line bred to Mr. Prospector (she has three crosses of Mr. Prospector at her fifth generation) but completely free of Seattle Slew and A.P. Indy. She’s Smoke also boasts a cross to Storm Bird, the broodmare sire of Stay Thirsty, which gave Haulin Ice a 4x5 cross to that fine racehorse and sire.

What in all of this genetic stew sparked to create a racer as good as Haulin Ice is a guessing game when all is said and done; we still know far less about genetics than we think we do, as new discoveries continue to add layers to the complexity of the study of heredity. The good news for all of us who are fans of the sport is that, after failing to make her reserve on a bid of US$875,000 at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton November sale, Haulin Ice will get one more season to display her talents on the track as an even more mature and seasoned racer. With any luck at all, she should continue to cement her position as the crown diamond of the Arkansas-bred program while winning new fans across the country.

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Mares on Monday: Will Lovely Bloodlines Be Enough to Carry Bella Ballerina to Kentucky Oaks Glory?

2/16/2026

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Some horses are born with golden spoons or the equivalent (golden bits?) in their mouths. Bella Ballerina would seem to be one such. Sired by a Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) winner out of a Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1)-producing dam and representing the same connections that won the Oaks with her half sister Pretty Mischievous in 2023, Bella Ballerina came into the world with every possible advantage. Being a horse, she does not blush for it. She simply does what a Thoroughbred is born to do: run. And so far, she has not put a foot wrong. Following a game score in the Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra (USA-G2) Stakes—a race also won by Pretty Mischievous—she is now three-for-three and has earned US$481,525 for owner Godolphin and trainer Brendan Walsh.

Bella Ballerina is more lightly raced than was Pretty Mischievous at this stage of her career, having made three starts to her sister’s five. Part of this may reflect the difference in their sires, as the stock of Into Mischief (sire of Pretty Mischievous) tend to be earlier developing than those of Bella Ballerina’s sire, Street Sense. To be sure, Street Sense was a champion juvenile before landing the 2007 Kentucky Derby, and his wins included the 2006 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (USA-G1) by a record 10 lengths. He also has a respectable record of siring winning juveniles, with nearly 24 percent of his winners earning their first victories as 2-year-olds. Nevertheless, his runners usually wait until at least the last months of their 2-year-old seasons to start making headway, in part because they on average need more distance than the Into Mischiefs. Into Mischief is a six-time champion juvenile sire (according to The Blood-Horse) for good reason, with almost 33 percent of his winners making their first scores at 2, and Pretty Mischief was 3-for-4 at that age with a win in the Untapable Stakes to her credit.

Still, although Bella Ballerina made but two starts at 2, she made them count, taking a Keeneland maiden special weight on October 5, 2025, and the Golden Rod Stakes (USA-G2) (a race in which Pretty Mischievous finished third in 2022) on November 29. It is worth remembering that the sisters’ dam, Pretty City Dancer, was also a good juvenile, dead-heating for the 2016 Spinaway Stakes (USA-G1), though she failed to progress from that victory and did not win again in seven starts as a 3-year-old. Given that Pretty City Dancer is a Tapit half sister to Lear’s Princess (by Lear Fan), who upset Rags to Riches in the 2007 Gazelle Stakes (USA-G1), her failure to develop further had to be a disappointment, especially given that her dam Pretty City (by Carson City) is a half sister to 1988 Bernard Baruch Handicap (USA-G1) winner My Big Boy.

As Bella Ballerina continues on the Fair Grounds path along the Lily Lane to the Kentucky Oaks—she will likely be seen next in the Fair Grounds Oaks, a race in which Pretty Mischievous finished second—the question now is how much upside she has. On paper, it should be quite a bit given her ancestry. Her Equibase figures are all in the upper 80s, however, showing virtually no progression. That might be good enough against this year’s Eastern filly division, which frankly looks like a rather weak bunch, but the California girls have posted figures more in line with previous years’ Oaks winners and as a group seem to be several lengths better than what Bella Ballerina has been facing. Blood may tell when the lilies are awarded on May 1, but another adage may prove out in the heat of competition: pretty is as pretty does.

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Mares on Monday: Unveiling a South American Branch of a Top American Family

2/9/2026

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Last week was a good one for the late Into Mischief stallion Can the Man, whose progeny swept two top-level 1600-meter events for 3-year-olds at Brazil’s Gávea course on February 1 as well as picking up a Group 3 win in the same country on February 7. The leading lady in this series of successes was Veil, who got the better of a testing stretch battle to win the Grande Prêmio Henrique Possolo (BRZ-G1). The runner-up in Cidade Jardim’s version of the Grande Prêmio Diana (BRZ-G1) in her last outing back in November, Veil collected her second Group score and her first at the Group 1 level, adding another elite success to the record of a family that has been producing good horses in the Western Hemisphere for nearly two centuries.

Tracing back to the Irish-bred Vamp, who was imported to the United States in 1835, this branch of Bruce Lowe Family 1-o kicked into high gear through Friar’s Carse. Although she was a daughter of 1916 American Horse of the Year Friar Rock, who was commonly reckoned to be the best stayer of his day in the United States, Friar’s Carse took more after the speed commonly imparted by her maternal grandsire, Superman (a grandson of the brilliant Domino) and was considered the best American juvenile filly of 1925 in spite of a wind problem that prematurely ended her racing career.

Friar’s Carse was one of the few top-quality race mares put to the great Man o’ War during the latter part of his stud career, and she did not waste those opportunities. Her son War Relic, although vile-tempered and no better than the third-best 3-year-old colt of 1941—and it was not close between him and his superiors, American Triple Crown winner Whirlaway and the grand stayer Market Wise—managed to continue Man o’ War’s male line through his sons Intent and Relic, and his full sisters Speed Boat and War Kilt were both good race mares and important producers.

Anchors Ahead was also a full sister to War Relic but never made it to the track. She made up for that by producing three stakes winners, the best of which was 1944 Spinaway Stakes winner and stakes producer Price Level (by Sickle). Anchors Ahead also produced Honor Bound (by Bull Dog), another excellent broodmare whose foals included 1968 Widener Stakes winner Sette Bello (by Ribot), 1956 Westerner Stakes winner Count of Honor (by Count Fleet), and 1955 Vanity Handicap winner Countess Fleet (by Count Fleet), as well as the noteworthy broodmares Her Honor and Contessa Honora (both by Count Fleet).

Count Fleet, the 1943 American Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year, was both a champion sire of racehorses and a champion broodmare sire, and Countess Fleet lived up to both sides of that heritage. She produced the good 1960s turf runner Flit-to (by Turn-to), the equivalent of a multiple graded stakes winner; stakes winner Sir Earl (by Sir Gaylord); and 1976 Sheepshead Bay Handicap (USA-G2) winner Fleet Victress (by King of the Tudors), dam of stakes winner Minstress (by The Minstrel). Unfortunately, Countess Fleet left only one other filly, the winner Fleet Empress (by Young Emperor), and while Fleet Empress did produce the minor stakes winner Band Practice (by Stop the Music), she did not seem a likely candidate to carry the line much further—especially after none of her seven daughters managed to produce a stakes winner.

The eldest of those daughters was the winning Advocator mare Queen’s Advice, who failed to produce any winners among her six named foals. This might have been the end of the story, except that her younger daughter, the Megaturn mare Pointe Du Bout, was exported to Brazil after being purchased for US$2,500 as a short yearling from the 1990 Keeneland January mixed sale. That was a turning point in the family fortunes, as Point Du Bout, a winner in her adopted country, first produced three-time listed stakes winner Charge Ahead (by Irish Fighter) and then the 1999 Trempolino filly Zimbamia, who won the 2002 Grande Prêmio Diana at Cidade Jardim. Point Du Bout also produced Tua Carina (by Our Emblem), dam of 2025 Grande Prêmio Proclamacao da Republica (BRZ-G2) winner Piu Carina (by Kentuckian), and Vestida de Noiva (by Dubai Dust), who produced Veil as her fifth foal.

As illustrated by the history of the family of Friar’s Carse, not every branch of even the best families will continue to produce at a high level. Some will be culled out from the better breeding programs, and most of those failures will continue to display why they became culls. Every now and then, though, one becomes a pleasant surprise. Point du Bout has been one such, going from bargain-basement yearling to Group 1 producer, and it can be hoped that Veil and Piu Carina will continue the upward trend, both in the remainder of their racing careers and as producers.

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Mares on Monday: On Time Girl Says "Yes, This Time" in Forward Gal

2/2/2026

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If the cards keep falling into place for Not This Time, life may hand him a “yes, it’s time” for the spring Classics. Already the sire of impressive UAE Two Thousand Guineas (UAE-G3) winner Six Speed, the stallion added two more hopefuls for the first weekend in May at Churchill Downs on the last weekend in January at Gulfstream Park. After airing by 5¾ lengths in the Holy Bull Stakes (USA-G3) on January 31, Not This Time’s son Nearly moved into the position of the early favorite for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1) following the defection of Ted Noffey from the Derby trail. Two races earlier on the same card, his daughter On Time Girl gained credentials and points toward a start in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) with a three-length score in the Forward Gal Stakes (USA-G3).

Bred and owned by the Albaugh family (who also campaigned Not This Time as a homebred), On Time Girl improved her record to four wins and a second from five starts while overcoming reluctance to start and a less-than-ideal trip. Already the winner of a 6½ furlong stakes race over the Churchill Downs strip, she has yet to be tried beyond sprint distances, but on paper, there is no reason yet to think her a pure speedster.

On Time Girl is the second foal and first winner for Uncle Mo's daughter Girl Daddy, a mare the Albaughs acquired as a US$500,000 yearling from the 2019 Keeneland September sale. In a three-start racing career, Girl Daddy easily trounced a maiden special weight field at Ellis Park, scampered home by two lengths in the 2020 Pocahontas Stakes (USA-G3), and ran third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1), two lengths and a nose behind divisional champion Vequist and Frizette Stakes (USA-G1) winner Dayoutoftheoffice, respectively. Her first foal, the 2022 Into Mischief filly Show and Tell, has not raced, and the mare’s only other produce is a yearling full sister to On Time Girl.

Girl Daddy is one of two winners from four named foals produced from the Unbridled’s Song mare Cara Marie, also the dam of a 2025 filly by Life Is Good. A Grade 2-placed stakes winner in her own racing days, Cara Marie is a half sister to Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Abby’s Angel (by Touch Gold), whose gelded son Comicas (by Distorted Humor) won the 2018 Dubawi Stakes (UAE-G3), and to 2010 Irish Oaks (IRE-G1) runner-up Miss Jean Brodie (by Maria’s Mon). Cara Marie is also a half sister to Miss Ludy, whose daughter Ludy Lucia (by multiple Grade 1 winner Aragorn) won the 2017 Premio Copa de Plata Italo Traverso (CHI-G2), and to Twiggles (by Maria’s Mon), dam of multiple stakes winners Sweet Bye and Bye (by Sky Mesa) and Buy Land and See (by Cairo Prince).

Cara Marie, in turn, is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Miss Kilroy, a half sister to 2004 Davona Dale Stakes (USA-G2) winner Miss Coronado (by Coronado’s Quest), dam of 2013 Sharp Cat Stakes (USA-L) winner Arethusa (by A.P. Indy), and to multiple Grade 3 winner Karen’s Caper (by War Chant), dam of 2012 UAE Two Thousand Guineas winner Kinglet (by Kingmambo). The next dam in On Time Girl’s tail-female line, Miss Caerleona (by Caerleon), was a good staying filly who won the 1996 Cardinal Handicap (USA-G3) and placed in graded events at up to 1½ miles.

Overall, On Time Girl’s pedigree suggests that the 9 furlongs of the Kentucky Oaks should be within her scope, and trainer Brad Cox has indicated that she may start next in the one-mile Davona Dale Stakes (USA-G2) on February 28. This gradual stepping up in distance from 6 to 6½ to 7 to 8 furlongs is a rather old-fashioned approach for a modern trainer, but gradual development may be much the best approach for a filly whose sire and dam both had only brief (if highly promising) racing careers. One can hope that her reluctance to start in the Forward Gal does not reflect the development of a physical or mental problem that may bring her own racing career to a premature end.

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Mares on Monday: Destino d'Oro Flies Down Stretch in Pegasus

1/26/2026

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There were plenty of cheers for 7-year-old warrior Skippylongstocking earning a Grade 1 win at long last in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (USA-G1), but the performance of the day may have been turned in earlier on the card when Destino d’Oro steamrollered past eight rivals in the final sixteenth of a mile to win the Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes (USA-G2). A previous winner of the 2025 Pucker Up Stakes (USA-G3), she covered the final five-sixteenths of a mile in the neighborhood of 28.1 seconds and won by a going-away half-length over fellow late runner Crevalle d’Or. A daughter of Bolt d’Oro, Destino d’Oro captured her fifth win and third stakes win from eight lifetime starts and boosted her bankroll to US$829,884.

Bred by Hurstland Farm and James H. Greene Jr., Destino d’Oro is the latest star for a fine old family tracing back to Belair Stud foundation mare Marguerite, now mostly remembered as the dam of 1930 American Triple Crown winner Gallant Fox (by Sir Gallahad III). Although that was no small accomplishment, there was actually quite a bit more to Marguerite’s record than that, though not on the track; she wrenched her back in her only start and never raced again. Her legacy would lie elsewhere.

Marguerite’s produce record would have been much above the ordinary even without Gallant Fox, whose full brothers were 1938 English champion 2-year-old male Foxbrough and the good stakes winner Fighting Fox. Foxbrough had no impact at stud, but Gallant Fox begot 1935 American Triple Crown winner Omaha and his Ascot Gold Cup-winning full brother Flares (who handed on the male line of Sir Gallahad III to his son Chop Chop and grandson Victoria Park) as well as 1936 American Horse of the Year Granville, while Fighting Fox’s 18 stakes winners included 1952 American champion handicap male Crafty Admiral, another useful stallion and the broodmare sire of 1978 American Triple Crown winner Affirmed. Prior to her three fine sons by Sir Gallahad III, Marguerite had been put twice to Wrack, and the result of the first of those matings was Petee-Wrack, whose eight stakes wins included the 1928 Travers Stakes, the 1929 Metropolitan Handicap, and the 1930 Suburban Handicap.

None of Marguerite’s five daughters proved exceptional on the track, the best of them being 1937 Pimlico Oaks runner-up Lucky Pledge (by Sir Gallahad III), but three of them became multiple stakes producers. The most important of the trio is Marguery (by Sir Gallahad III), dam of 1949 Long Branch Handicap winner Whirling Fox (by Whirlaway) and 1956 Sorority Stakes winner Marullah (by Nasrullah). Marullah produced 1967 Amory L. Haskell Handicap and Brooklyn Handicap winner Handsome Boy and two-time Delaware Handicap winner Blessing Angelica to covers by Beau Gar, and Marguery also produced Marullah’s full sister Russ-Marie, whose daughter Margarethen (by Tulyar) won five stakes races, including two editions of the Beverly Handicap, before founding a branch of the family that leads to French and American champion Trillion, 1991 Irish Horse of the Year Generous, 2001 Irish One Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) and Vodafone Oaks Stakes (ENG-G1) winner Imagine, and others of merit.

Tim Marie, a Tim Tam half sister to Margarethen, was devoid of her sister’s talent, running unplaced in four starts. She redeemed herself in the breeding shed, producing multiple Grade 1 winner Life’s Hope (by Exclusive Native) and multiple stakes winner Little Happiness (by Raise a Native; dam of juvenile stakes winner Happy Bid, by Spectacular Bid) as her first two foals. She also produced the winning Codex filly Ventured, whose stakes-placed daughter Doc’s Destiny (by Doc’s Leader) is the dam of Heart of Destiny (by Lion Heart), runner-up in the 2011 Darley Alcibiades Stakes (USA-G1). Heart of Destiny, in turn, produced Destino d’Oro as her seventh and final foal.

Now a 4-year-old, Destino d’Oro came up flat in her only previous attempt at Grade 1 company, the 2025 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup Stakes (USA-G1), but trainer Brad Cox has indicated that he will probably target a Grade 1 race with her in the not-too-distant future, possibly at the spring Keeneland meeting. Given the form she showed on Saturday, she should be a contender to add more Grade 1 glory to a distinguished family.

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Mares on Monday: Taken by the Wind Shoots Straight in Silverbulletday

1/19/2026

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In recent decades, the New Orleans road to the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) has been a strong predictor of success at Churchill Downs, most recently producing 2025 Oaks victress Good Cheer, who remained unbeaten through her path to the lilies. This year, another unbeaten filly has just begun 2026 with an early stepping stone on the Lily Lane. Taken by the Wind, whose name comes from the lyrics of the Fleetwood Mac song “Rhiannon,” set the pace all the way in the Silverbulletday Stakes at the Fair Grounds and dug in gamely in the stretch to claim both the lioness’s share of the purse and the 20 points toward an Oaks starting berth.

Adding in the 10 points she earned for winning the Pocahontas Stakes (USA-G3) last fall, Taken by the Wind is now tied for second in the Oaks standings with Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) winner Super Corredora at 30 points, five behind current leader Explora. Luv Your Neighbor, a last-out second in the Untapable Stakes over the same track and distance (a mile and 70 yards) on December 20, climbed to fifth on the Oaks leaderboard with her second-place finish, bringing her total Oaks points to 15.

Bred in Florida by Courtney Meagher, Taken by the Wind is one of two stakes winners from the first crop of he Candy Ride horse Rock Your World. The winner of the 2021 RUNHAPPY Santa Anita Derby (USA-G1), Rock Your World was produced from the Grade 1-placed stakes winner Charm the Maker (by Empire Maker), who belongs to a solid family descended from the mid-twentieth-century Irish import Albany Isle.

On the distaff side, Taken by the Wind is a member of American Family 5. This line was quite prominent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries but last produced a top-level winner when Afleet Express won the 2010 Travers Stakes. The connecting link between his tail-female line and that of Taken by the Wind is Thora, a foal of 1878 who is generally considered to be the American champion older female of 1882. Thora produced two-time American champion filly Yorkville Belle, and it is through Yorkville Belle that Taken by the Wind’s line descends.

Bubble, a granddaughter of Yorkville Belle, produced 1928 Alabama Stakes winner Nixie (by Peter Pan) and her unraced full sister Champagne. From there, the next point of interest in the line is Champagne’s granddaughter Iseult (by Sir Gallahad III), who won the 1933 Acorn Stakes and produced 1937 Spinaway Stakes winner Merry Lassie (by Stimulus), one of the best juvenile fillies of her year. Iseult also produced juvenile stakes winner Navigating (by Hard Tack), dam of 1961 American champion handicap female Airmans Guide (by One Count), and the winning Snark filly Arrogance, dam of juvenile stakes winner Snooty (by Better Self).

Sister Snob, Snooty’s half sister by Mr. Busher, had no reason to be snobbish about her racing performance; she won only twice from 33 starts. Her daughter Holly-O. (by Victory Morn) was much better, taking the 1966 Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and the 1967 Barbara Fritchie Handicap. A half sister to juvenile stakes winner Lightning Lark (by Petare), Holly-O. In turn produced 1975 Fantasy Stakes (USA-G2) winner Hoso (by Solo Landing), dam of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Raise a Prospector (by Mr. Prospector).

Hoso’s best producing daughter was Raise a Prospector’s full sister Love from Mom, who produced 1998 San Vicente Stakes (USA-G2) winner Sea of Secrets (by Storm Cat), 1998 Vernon O. Underwood Stakes (USA-G3) winner Love That Jazz (by Dixieland Band), 1995 Broward Handicap (USA-G3) winner Fight for Love (by Fit to Fight), and 1992 Board of Governors’ Handicap (USA-G3) winner Dancing Jon (by Gate Dancer). She also produced Love Always (by Saint Ballado), who was unplaced in three starts but produced the winner Up for Grabs (by First Samurai). A US$3,000 purchase for Meagher from the 2013 Ocala Breeders’ Sales fall mixed sale, she is now the dam of Taken by the Wind—her fifth winner and second black-type runner, following stakes-placed Running Memories—as her eighth foal. The mare’s most recent produce is an unnamed juvenile colt by Global Campaign. She is awaiting a 2026 foal by Champions Dream and will visit Mullikins afterward.

On speed figures, Taken by the Wind is well behind both Explora and Super Corredora at this stage of her development. Fillies can develop very rapidly in the spring, though, and she is in the hands of Kenny McPeek, a trainer who certainly knows how to get a filly ready for the “Lilies for the Fillies.” If she isn’t in the class of McPeek’s 2024 Oaks winner, Thorpedo Anna, Taken by the Wind still hasn’t met the filly that can beat her yet, and the determination she showed in winning the Silverbulletday should stand her in good stead as she continues along the Lily Lane.

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Mares on Monday: When You're Hot, You're Hot---Just Ask Lavant

1/12/2026

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“When you’re hot, you’re hot” is an old show business adage meaning that success builds on success. It also applies to the world of Thoroughbred breeding, and right now, it applies to the family of the one-time “half-bred” Lavant. Responsible for Grande Prêmio Diana (BRZ-G1) winner Perfect Plastic in November of last year (“Mares on Monday: Lavant’s Family Proves Fully Thoroughbred in Brazil,” November 17, 2025) and Grande Premio Presidente Antonio Grisi Filho (BRZ-G3) winner Shallow Now just a week later (“Mares on Monday: Lightning Strikes Twice for Lavant,” November 24, 2025), Lavant’s family completed a Group-winning hat trick on January 6, 2026, when Brazilian-bred Native Extreme fought his way to a head victory in Uruguay’s biggest race, the Gran Premio José Pedro Ramírez (URU-G1) at Montevideo’s Hipódromo Nacional de Maroñas. The son of the Unbridled’s Song horse Emcee picked up his first top-level win after previously gaining a listed stakes win in 2025 at Maroñas.

Like Perfect Plastic and Shallow Now, Native Extreme descends from the Locris mare On Pass Pas, a Brazilian-bred great-granddaughter of Lavant. Their pedigrees diverge at the next step. Up until now, On Pass Pas’s Group 3-placed daughter Femme Fatale (by Clackson) has gained more recent notice, her branch of the family including Perfect Plastic and Shallow Now as well as 2005 Grande Prêmio Henrique Possolo (BRZ-G1) winner Movie Star and multiple Brazilian Group 2 winner Simply the Best.

Native Extreme brings the spotlight to another daughter of On Pass Pas, Access. A full sister to Femme Fatale, Access was the better racer, winning the 1995 Grande Prêmio Thomaz Teixeira de Assumpção Junior (BRZ-G3) and placing in another Group 3 event. She was also a successful broodmare, producing 2007 Grande Premio Henrique Possolo winner Que Fuerza (by five-time Brazilian champion sire Wild Event, by Wild Again) and 2004 Grande Premio Associacao de Criadores e Proprietarios de Cavalos de Corrida do Rio de Janeiro (BRZ-G3) winner Nikinipó (by the Forty Niner horse Jules, a champion sire in Brazil).

Although Que Fuerza did not quite succeed in reproducing her own class, she still did fairly well as a broodmare, producing 2020 Premio Asamblea de La Florida (URU-G3) winner Hechicero (by multiple graded stakes winner Adriano, by A.P. Indy)) and Amor Gitano (by Northern Afleet), a multiple listed stakes winner in Brazil and Uruguay. She is also the dam of three stakes-placed daughters including Extreme Justice (by Adriano), who produced Native Extreme as her third foal. Now deceased, Extreme Justice has one foal yet to race in Paddington Station, a 2023 colt by 2020/21 Brazilian champion older male Pimper’s Paradise.

How long the Lavant family’s hot streak will continue is anyone’s guess, but the Group 1 wins of Perfect Plastic and Native Extreme will certainly help in securing better matings for broodmares from this clan, including Extreme Justice’s half sisters. Breeders, like everyone else, look for success where success has already been found, and the descendants of Lavant through On Pass Pas have certainly found plenty in recent months.

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Mares on Monday: A Dame Dazzles in the Busanda

1/5/2026

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Aqueduct’s Busanda Stakes on January 3 became a showcase for Dazzling Dame, who picked up the first 20-point race of 2026 towards a starting berth in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1). Picking up her third stakes win from five starts, the admirably consistent filly romped by 11½ lengths and ran the one-mile distance 0.66 seconds faster than My World did in capturing the Jerome Stakes against sophomore males on the same card. The daughter of 2017 betfair.com Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner Girvin earned a solid Beyer Speed Figure of 91 for her effort.

Big winners at Aqueduct in January seldom figure at Churchill Downs when May rolls around, and Dazzling Dame’s well-beaten fourth-place run in the Pocahontas Stakes (USA-G3) last September 13 was not a good omen for future Kentucky Oaks glory—assuming that the filly is even pointed in that direction, as trainer Brittany Russell remarked after the Pocahontas that Dazzling Dame had never seemed comfortable at Churchill Downs prior to the race. Sophomore fillies can develop at remarkable speed in the spring, however, and the Busanda was certainly a step in the right direction for Respect the Valleys’ star, who represents an old American family.

Designated as American Family 4, Dazzling Dame’s lineage traces back to an unnamed daughter of Medley and includes such luminaries as National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame members Swaps and California Chrome. The latter horse is more closely related to Dazzling Dame as both trace their tail-female lines to Princess Ribot, a 1964 daughter of the unbeaten European champion Ribot and Princess Matoaka, by Princequillo. Stakes-placed in Ireland, Princess Ribot produced four stakes winners, the best of which was 1977 American champion older female Cascapedia (by Chieftain). Cascapedia, in turn, produced 1984 Malibu Stakes (USA-G2) winner Glacial Stream (by Crystal Water) and 1991 Rancho Bernardo Breeders’ Cup Handicap (USA-G3) winner Cascading Gold (by Mr. Prospector) and is the second dam of the popular sprinter Big Jag, a multiple Grade 2 winner and victorious in the 2000 Dubai Golden Shaheen (then a listed race).

California Chrome descends from another daughter of Princess Ribot, the Vaguely Noble mare La Belle Fleur, who never made it to the track but produced Chrome’s stakes-winning great-granddam Chase the Dream (by Sir Ivor). But two years prior to producing Cascapedia, Princess Ribot produced the Chieftain filly Tappahannock. The winner of the 1974 Pucker Up Stakes (USA-G3), Tappahannock was troubled by frequent barrenness but produced five named foals, including three fillies. The eldest, Peppermint Day (by Al Hattab), produced 1993 Fountain of Youth Stakes (USA-G2) winner Duc d’Sligovil (by Sezyou). The second, Alyannock (by Alydar), was no credit to either sire or dam.

Mostly Misty (by Grey Dawn II), Tappahannock’s third daughter, produced 1996 Pucker Up Stakes (USA-G2) winner Ms. Mostly (by Copenlan), who produced two stakes-placed runners and eight other winners from 15 named foals of racing age produced over 15 consecutive seasons. Her first foal, Most Awesome (by Awesome Again), was not one of those winners, managing only a single third-place finish from seven starts before producing two multiple stakes-placed runners and four other winners from nine named foals. Awesome Dama (by multiple Grade 1 winner Corinthian) was one of Most Awesome’s two black-type runners, and Dazzling Dame is her fifth foal and third winner. Awesome Dama has since produced an unnamed juvenile filly by Pinehurst and a yearling filly by Engage who has already been given the name Ms. Engaged.

Dazzling Dame is a confirmed front runner, and such animals can be quite dangerous when they can get loose on the lead—just ask those owners and trainers whose fillies were left in La Cara’s wake in last year’s Central Bank Ashland Oaks (USA-G1) and DK Horse Acorn Stakes (USA-G1). As La Cara also demonstrated, however, most front runners are much less dangerous when unable to take command early or when pressured throughout. To be a serious Oaks contender, Dazzling Dame needs to show the ability to be rated, and she will also need to step up her game substantially against better competition than the four hapless rivals she mauled on Saturday. Still, she is an interesting early development in the new racing season, and she should be a fun filly to keep an eye on.

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Mares on Monday: A Sublime Finish to 2025 in Chile

12/29/2025

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Chile’s Las Oaks (CHI-G1) is usually the last Classic race of the year in the Western Hemisphere. This year’s edition went off on December 26 at Club Hípico de Santiago, and Noche Sublime concluded 2025 with a flourish by galloping home three lengths in front of dual Chilean Group 1 winner Eccentric after a brief tussle at mid-stretch. Bred by Haras Don Alberto, the daughter of 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (USA-G1) winner Mendelssohn gave him his fourth Group 1 winner of the year and padded his lead in the 2025 Chilean sire standings, making it all but certain that Mendelssohn will be crowned the country’s champion sire.

Noche Sublime is the seventh named foal produced from the stakes-placed winner Noche Clasica, whose sire Indy Dancer (by A.P. Indy) ran third in the 2003 Florida Derby (USA-G1) and ranked seven times among Chile’s top 10 sires before dying earlier this year. A full sister to 2008 Premio Selección de Potrillos (CHI-G3) winner Indiscutable, Noche Clasica is also a half sister to Plaza de Mayo (by More Royal), dam of 2011 Premio Carlos Campino (CHI-G2) winner Indy May (by Indy Dancer) and multiple Chilean Group 3 winner Indy Noble (by Indy Dancer).

Noche Clasica and her siblings are out of the winner Noche de Mayo, a daughter of the winning Nijinsky II horse Dancing Groom. Noche de Mayo, in turn, is out of Nobleness, a winning daughter of the winning Nureyev horse Nureyev Dancer. A half sister to Chilean stakes winner Mendelson (by Mr. Long), Nobleness was produced from Elegantosa (by the Chilean stallion Ghirlandao), a half sister to 1983 Paddock Stakes (CHI-G3) winner Touch of Class (by Mr. Long). The female line traces back to the great English matron Feola, whose daughters had marked success in Europe and also introduced branches of this family to the United States (via Knight’s Daughter, dam of the great Round Table and Claiborne foundation mare Monarchy) and Argentina (via Starling, dam of three-time Argentine champion sire Sideral and 1953 Argentine champion 3-year-old filly Siderea).

Noche Sublime was registering only her second win in seven starts in Las Oaks, but the dominance of her victory suggests that better things may be in store for her and for owner Stud Doña Lili. Assuming she remains in training in 2026, she should be one to watch for in Chile’s remaining Classic events.

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Mares on Monday: A Sublime Finish to 2025 in Chile

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