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Mares on Monday: Drive Joy a New Star for a Canadian Matriarchy

7/14/2025

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​June 28 brought one of the most spectacular cards of the Argentine racing season, the Gran Premios Estrellas, which are the national equivalent of the Breeders’ Cup. Hosted this year at Palermo, the seven races of the Estrellas—six of them at Group 1 level—will undoubtedly have a significant effect on 2025 voting in the Pellegrini Awards, Argentina’s year-end championships. The impact is particularly heavy on the juvenile divisions, whose members became 3-year-olds on July 1.

Charm, winner of the Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile Fillies (ARG-G1), has already been profiled in connection with her win in the Gran Premio de Potrancas (ARG-G1) (see “Mares on Monday: A Charming Contender for a Pellegrini Award," June 1, 2025) and may well have sealed the two-year-old filly championship. Now a Group 1 winner on dirt and turf, her only misstep was a second-place finish in the Premio Eliseo Ramirez (ARG-G2), a half-length behind Tiz Joy.

Drive Joy, winner of the Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile (ARG-G1), has less of a lock on his division, as he was soundly beaten into third last out in the Gran Criterium (ARG-G1). Nevertheless, he looked quite solid in his dirt debut after making his first four starts on turf, and he previously won the Premio Raul y Raul E. Chevalier (ARG-G2) on the grass in April. He also has a pedigree that suggests that he will be an intriguing Classic prospect to watch in the 2025/26 season for Argentine-3-year-olds, with an intriguing Canadian connection through his female family.

Drive Joy is by Grade 1-placed Fortify, a son of Distorted Humor who has finished six times among Argentina’s top five sires and is currently second on the 2025 general sire list. His firepower as a sire may be partly due to his wonderful female family, which is a branch of the fabulous La Troienne clan developed by Ogden Phipps and then by William S. Farish. Fortify’s male line, which traces back to Mr. Prospector through Forty Niner, includes the South American champion sires Roar (Argentina), Jules (Brazil), and Apprentice (Peru) as well as the important Argentine sire and broodmare sire Luhuk.

Drive Joy’s broodmare sire is another overachieving stallion, 2001 Hopeful Stakes (USA-G1) winner City Zip, a Carson City half brother to Ghostzapper who was noted for his versatility as a sire. But there is nothing overachieving about Drive Joy’s female family. Descended from 1973 Canadian champion 3-year-old filly Square Angel, this matriarchy has not previously had Group 1 success in Argentina, but it has accomplished plenty elsewhere in the world.

A strong-bodied daughter of 1964 Belmont Stakes winner Quadrangle, Square Angel was produced from one of E. P. Taylor’s foundation mares, Nangela, who could trace her tail-female line back to the great English race mare Pretty Polly. Square Angel was no Pretty Polly, but after being sold to General Preston Gilbride for CAN$20,000 as a yearling, she had enough talent to win the 1973 Canadian Oaks and three other Canadian stakes races. Taylor, knowing a good broodmare prospect when he saw one, repurchased her following her racing career and bred four stakes-winning daughters from her, three of whom went on to be Grade/Group 1 producers.

Pride of place among Square Angel’s daughters surely belongs to Kamar (by Key to the Mint), who followed in her dam’s hoof prints by winning the 1979 Canadian Oaks and a Sovereign Award as Canadian champion 3-year-old filly. She was still better as a producer, earning honors as the 1990 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year after foaling 1984 Canadian champion 3-year-old male Key to the Moon (by Wajima), multiple Grade 1 winner Gorgeous (by Slew o’ Gold), 1990 Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) winner Seaside Attraction (by Seattle Slew), and 1986 Princess Margaret Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Hiaam (by Alydar). All three of Kamar’s stakes-winning daughters have had importance as broodmares, and their descendants have taken Grade/Group 1 races in England, France, and the United Stakes.

Kamar’s 1989 Nijinsky II filly, Jood, was much less accomplished as a racer, posting two thirds while racing in England, but she more than made up for that in the paddocks by producing 2001 European Horse of the Year Fantastic Light (by Rahy) and listed stakes winner Hi Dubai (by Rahy). Jood’s daughters have successfully transplanted Kamar’s family into the Southern Hemisphere. Drive Joy is the only foal of Hi Dubai’s French-bred daughter Zip Drive (by City Zip), but Jood is also the dam of Wanice (by Mr. Prospector), dam of multiple Argentine listed winner Anees (by Harlan’s Holiday) and second dam of 2013 B.T.C. Cup Stakes (AUS-G1) winner Your Song (by Fastnet Rock). In addition, Jood is the dam of Daanet al Dunya (by Rahy), dam of 2015 Pago Pago Stakes (AUS-G2) winner Tarquin (by Hard Spun) and second dam of multiple Australian Group 2 winner Character.

Just how much distance Drive Joy will want may be open to some question, but he is obviously fully capable at a mile, and Kamar’s family has repeatedly shown the ability to go classic distances. He will be one to keep an eye on as the foals of the 2022 Argentine crop moves toward their country’s Classics.


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Mares on Monday: Fionn Flies Home in Belmont Invitational Oaks

7/7/2025

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​In her second start, Fionn hinted that she might be something above the ordinary, taking a Fair Grounds maiden special weight on the turf by 4¼ lengths under a hand ride. On July 5, she fulfilled that promise, nipping favored Nitrogen on the line to take the Belmont Invitational Oaks Stakes (USA-G1) at Saratoga. In the process, she set a new course record of 1:44.84 for 9 furlongs and boosted her lifetime record to five wins and two placings from seven starts. A US$75,000 yearling purchase, she has now earned US$624,270 for trainer Brad Cox and owners George Messina and Michael Lee.

Bred by Bill Shiveley’s Dixiana Farms, Fionn is the 11th Grade/Group 1 winner sired by 2010 Malibu Stakes winner Twirling Candy, who stands at Lane’s End. A quirky but talented racehorse, Twirling Candy is arguably second only to Gun Runner among Candy Ride’s sons at stud and has shown surprising strength as a turf sire, leading all American sires of grass runners in 2024 according to The Blood-Horse. Fionn is his second winner of the Belmont Invitational Oaks, following Concrete Rose in 2019. Twirling Candy is currently ninth on the American general sire list and, following Fionn’s big win and a win in the Kelso Stakes (USA-G3) by Think Big on the same card, has a narrow lead over Medaglia d’Oro in the turf sire standings.

Fionn is the first foal of the Giant’s Causeway mare Gaelic Gold, a mare that Shiveley obtained for US$275,000 through the 2021 Keeneland November sale with Fionn in utero. Her second foal, the 2023 Essential Quality colt Essential Storm, has yet to start but posted two 3-furlong works at Lone Star in June; he was a US$105,000 yearling purchase at Keeneland September for Jeffrey and Julie Puryear. Gaelic Gold has since produced a yearling colt by Connect and a 2025 colt by Jackie’s Warrior.

A runner who placed in half her six starts, Gaelic Gold is a half sister to Sea Foam (by Medaglia d’Oro), a winner of five restricted stakes for New York-breds. She is also a half sister to the stakes-placed Hard Spun gelding Straw Into Gold. Their dam, Strike It Rich (by Unbridled’s Song), won the 2010 Boiling Springs Stakes (USA-G3) and is a half sister to stakes winners Tomlin (by Distorted Humor) and Ari Oakley (by Gun Runner). Strike It Rich is also a half sister to stakes-placed Sumptuous (by Hennessy), dam of 2024 Santa Maria Stakes (USA-G2) winner Coffee in Bed (by Curlin) and 2018 Toboggan Stakes (USA-G3) winner Great Stuff (by Quality Road).

Strike It Rich and her siblings were produced from 2003 Silverbulletday Stakes (USA-G3) winner Belle of Perrintown, by 1993 American champion 2-year-old male Dehere. Belle of Perrintown, in turn, is out of the unraced Mr. Prospector mare Hot Match (out of 1988 Fantasy Stakes, USA-G1, winner Jeanne Jones, by Nijinsky II), a half sister to Grade 1-placed stakes winner Roman Treasure (by Roman Ruler).

This female line traces back to the early 20th-century foundation mare Etoile Filante and in its other branches includes American champions Fair Star, Fairy Chant, Parlo, Arts and Letters, and Silverbulletday as well as 1934 Preakness Stakes winner High Quest. Historically, Etoile Filante’s line has had something of a “hit or miss” quality, but in Fionn, it clearly has a hit. Time will tell if that hit proves to be a home run.
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Mares on Monday: Remembering a Queen-Maker, D. Wayne Lukas

6/30/2025

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​D. Wayne Lukas knew a thing or two about training a good colt. He trained 14 colts to win American Triple Crown races, from Codex in 1980 to Seize the Grey in 2024. He trained Cat Thief to win the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) and had five winners of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (USA-G1), second only to Bob Baffert. At one time or another during Lukas’s long career as a Thoroughbred trainer, colts from his stable scored in just about every major event for males on the American calendar. Both Criminal Type (1990) and Charismatic (1999) earned American Horse of the Year honors in the trademark Lukas white bridle, and before moving over to Thoroughbreds, Lukas also trained the exceptional Quarter Horse champion Dash for Cash, a horse still legendary in Quarter Horse circles.

Nevertheless, if Lukas is remembered for one thing more than another, it will be the remarkable fillies that graced his stable. More than any other trainer of modern times, Lukas could spot a potential star filly, get inside what made her tick, and develop her into a champion. Sixteen fillies and mares earned Eclipse Awards while in Lukas’s barn, compared to nine males that did so.

Lukas also racked up a remarkable record in some of the nation’s top races for distaffers. Along with Woody Stephens, he holds the record as the top Kentucky Oaks trainer of all time, sending out Blush With Pride (1982), Lucky Lucky Lucky (1984), Open Mind (1989), Seaside Attraction (1990), and Secret Oath (2022). He holds the trainers’ record for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) with six winners and sent out four winners of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (USA-G1), one short of Bill Mott’s record. As if this were not enough, he developed one of only three fillies to win the Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) in Winning Colors, who won the 1988 running and was third in the classic Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) as well.

Winning Colors exemplified one of the key elements in Lukas’s handling of top fillies: he was never afraid to send a filly out against males if he thought she belonged there. Terlingua, his first top filly, won the 1978 Hollywood Juvenile Championship (USA-G2), defeating Flying Paster (a future multiple Grade 1 winner) by 2¼ lengths. During Lady’s Secret’s championship season in 1986, she raced four times against males in Grade 1 events, winning the Whitney Handicap and placing in the other three. Serena’s Song tackled males five times during her career, coming away with the winner’s trophies in the 1995 Haskell Invitational Handicap (USA-G1) and Jim Beam Stakes (USA-G2). Even in the twilight of his career, Lukas was willing to take a shot with a girl against the boys, sending Secret Oath out to run third in the Arkansas Derby (USA-G1) and a respectable fourth in the Preakness.

Sadly, perhaps the best filly he ever had in his barn died with her full potential still untapped; this was Landaluce, a daughter of Seattle Slew who earned a posthumous Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old filly in 1982 after winning her five starts by a combined margin of 46½ lengths. Unbeaten, untested, and unextended on the track, she died of a massive bacterial infection on November 28, 1982, with her head cradled in Lukas’s arms. She might have been one for the ages had she lived.

No other horse Lukas trained ever captured his heart as Landaluce had, but the “Coach” was blessed to have three other legendary fillies who defined his career perhaps better than any other horses he trained. The first was Lady’s Secret, a tiny daughter of Secretariat who proved to have inherited an outsized share of her sire’s talent and heart. Second only to champion Mom’s Command (whom she defeated by two lengths in the 1985 Test Stakes, USA-G2) as a 3-year-old, Lady’s Secret became the “Iron Lady” of racing at age 4, when she started 15 times, all in graded stakes races. She won 10 of those races, setting a single-season North American record with eight Grade 1 wins, and placed in her other five starts, earning the golden Eclipse statuette of 1986 as American Horse of the Year.

Winning Colors came along next. A big, fiery daughter of Caro who was taller and stronger than most of the colts of her year, she earned her ticket to the Kentucky Derby by mowing down the best of the West Coast sophomore males in the 1988 Santa Anita Derby (USA-G1), a race she won by 7½ lengths. Following her front-running Kentucky Derby win, she became only the second filly to compete in all three American Triple Crown races (the first was Genuine Risk in 1980) and later pushed the unbeaten older champion female Personal Ensign to her absolute limit in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, with the older filly snatching victory in the last jump of what is still considered one of the finest Breeders’ Cup races of all time.

Rounding out this trio of racing queens is Serena’s Song. Like Lady’s Secret, she was on the small side, taking after her sire, Rahy. But where Lady’s Secret was iron, Serena’s Song was pure hickory. After finding her stablemate, champion Flanders, just a little too good for her in an epic renewal of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, Serena’s Song moved into the gap created by Flanders’s injury and retirement with a nearly flawless 13-race campaign at age 3. In hindsight, she probably should have run in the 1995 Kentucky Oaks rather than the Kentucky Derby as she proved not to stay beyond 9 furlongs, an eighth of a mile short of the Derby distance. Still, she had certainly proved her right to enter the Derby by whipping eventual Derby runner-up Tejano Run in the Jim Beam Stakes, and she became the first filly to win the Haskell Invitational Handicap later in the year. She was an easy choice as the champion 3-year-old filly of 1995. At 4, Serena’s Song could not quite match eventual champion Jewel Princess, but in a tough 15-race campaign, she won a pair of Grade 1 races and placed in five more top-level races, including a runner-up finish in the 1996 Whitney Handicap while conceding winner Mahogany Hall 3 pounds of actual weight. Serena’s Song went on to join Terlingua, Blush With Pride, and Seaside Attraction as top broodmares who were conditioned by Lukas during their racing careers and is still living in retirement at the advanced age of 33.

Lukas’s magic touch with fillies was an outgrowth of the careful observation and sharp attention to detail that marked him throughout his training career. “If you make a mistake with a colt, you can probably correct it next time and he’ll just shrug it off,” he said during a 2024 interview with yours truly. “Fillies aren’t forgiving. If you make a mistake with one, she’ll remember it and she may never trust you again.” In his view, the trick was to get inside a filly’s head and figure out what she wanted and needed before a crucial mistake could be made. He succeeded more often than not, and that was what made him racing’s “queen-maker,” perhaps the greatest trainer of American champion fillies of all time.

Rest in peace, Coach. You, too, were one for the ages.





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Mares on Monday: Vahva Steps Out in Chicago

6/23/2025

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​After 2024 Derby City Distaff Stakes (USA-G1) winner Vahva followed up two unplaced efforts and a six-month layoff with a seventh-place finish in the 2025 edition of the Derby City Distaff, a fair number of observers wondered if the mare shouldn’t be retired. On June 22, 2025, Vahva said, “Not yet.” Taking the track for the Chicago Stakes (USA-G2) at her favorite oval, Churchill Downs, Vahva pressed the early pace of Gray Lightning, assumed command at the top of the stretch, and ran on gamely for a three-quarters-length score over Claret Beret. Her performance was good for an Equibase speed figure of 113, the highest of her career. 2024 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (USA-G2) winner Zeitlos ran third, beaten another three and one-quarter lengths, with Grade 1 winner Brightwork and multiple graded stakes winners Emery and My Mane Squeeze further back. Now five-for-six at Churchill Downs and ten-for-thirteen at her favorite distance of 7 furlongs, Vahva is closing in on becoming a multimillionaire, having boosted her bankroll to $1,991,010 with the win.

Bred by Woodford Thoroughbreds, Vahva became the sixth graded stakes winner of 2025 for her sire Gun Runner. Currently third on the American general sire list, the 2017 Horse of the Year has finished among the nation’s top five sires for the last three years. Vahva is a member of his second crop, which also includes 2024 Churchill Downs Stakes (USA-G1) winner Gun Pilot.

Vahva was produced from Holiday Soiree who won the restricted Shine Again Stakes as a 4-year-old in 2013 and placed in five other stakes, among them the 2013 Humana Distaff Stakes (USA-G1). A half sister to multiple stakes winner Marquee Prince (by Cairo Prince), Holiday Soiree is by multiple Grade 1 winner Harlan’s Holiday, a rather underappreciated stallion who was the American champion juvenile sire of 2012. Unfortunately, Harlan’s Holiday died the following year at age 14, but he has been more than ably succeeded by his son Into Mischief, now a six-time leader of the American general sire list.

Vahva is inbred 4x4 to two-time American champion sire Storm Cat through his sons Giant’s Causeway, the broodmare sire of Gun Runner, and Harlan, the sire of Harlan’s Holiday. She carries a third cross of Storm Cat at the fifth generation through Holiday Soiree’s great-granddam Casanova Storm. This mare, a Grade-3 placed half sister to stakes winner Casanova Market (by Silver Ghost) and multiple Grade 1-placed Casanova Move (by Langfuhr), produced multiple turf Grade 3 winner Duveen (by Horse Chestnut) and restricted stakes winner Cherry Hill Lady (by Grand Slam). She also produced Casanova Striker (by Smart Strike), who produced four minor stakes winners.

Casanova Striker’s three stakes-winning daughters were unremarkable as producers, but her multiple stakes-placed daughter Try to Remember (by Include) is the dam of Holiday Soiree and Marquee Prince. She is also the dam of Swiss Alps (by Majesticperfection), dam of 2024 Seneca Overnight Stakes (USA-L) winner Miss Justify (by Justify). Holiday Soiree, also the dam of Grade 2-placed Signal From Noise (by Arrogate) and Ahavah (by City of Light), most recently produced Where Luck Lives, an unraced juvenile filly by Nyquist and a yearling filly by City of Light. She was bred to Gun Runner for this spring but has no produce listed for 2025.

A US$280,000 purchase from the 2021 Keeneland September sale, Vahva is undoubtedly worth more than that now if she never races another step. Assuming she remains in form, her most likely year-end target will be the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (USA-G1), which will be held at Del Mar this year. If she can manage to transfer her form to the West Coast, look for her to be a serious contender in this year’s female sprinter division.




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Mares on Monday: Whiskey's In the Air in the Eatontown Stakes

6/16/2025

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​In her first start back after a seven-month break, Whiskey Decision stepped up to the ranks of graded stakes winners with a comfortable two-length score in Saturday’s Eatontown Stakes (USA-G3) at Monmouth. In doing so, she took the measure of a couple of nice fillies in Maggie Go, a Group 2 winner from Argentina, and multiple stakes winner Ozara, who was coming in off a smart win in the Monroe Stakes at Gulfstream Park. Now the winner of half her eight lifetime starts, Whiskey Decision has earned $305,887 for breeder-owners Fred W. Hertrich III and John D. Fielding.

Whiskey Decision is the latest graded or Group winner from the family of 1978 American co-champion filly It’s in the Air, the first champion sired by two-time American champion sire Mr. Prospector and the winner of five Grade 1 races at ages 3 and 4. Foreshadowing Mr. Prospector’s extraordinary accomplishments as a broodmare sire, It’s in the Air was also a fine broodmare, producing a trio of stakes winners (headed by French Group 2 winner Bitooh, by Seattle Slew) and several other daughters who bred on to good effect. Her descendants include Grade/Group 1 winners in Australia, England, Japan, and the United States.

Note Musicale, an unraced daughter of the great European sire Sadler’s Wells, proved the best of It’s in the Air’s daughters as a broodmare. She is the dam of Musical Chimes (by In Excess) who followed up a win in the classic Poule d’Essai des Pouliches (French One Thousand Guineas, FR-G1) in 2003 with wins in the 2004 John C, Mabee Handicap (USA-G1) against her own sex and the Oak Tree Breeders’ Cup Mile Stakes (USA-G2) against males. Note Musicale also produced Music Note, who won five Grade 1 races including the 2008 Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1) before producing 2021 Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) winner Mystic Guide (by Ghostzapper) and 2021 Penn Mile Stakes (USA-G3) winner Gershwin (by Distorted Humor). Music Note is still in production and most recently produced a 2025 colt by Nyquist,

Music Note’s full sister Contralto is the dam of El Gran General (by Street Sense), a stakes winner in Panama, and her unraced half sister Music Room (by Unbridled’s Song) has two graded stakes producers to her credit. The first, Distorted Music (by Distorted Humor), is the dam of 2025 Arkansas Derby (USA-G1) winner Sandman (by Tapit) and of 2022 Chilukki Stakes (USA-G3) winner She Can’t Sing (by Bernardini). The other, Funny Song (by Distorted Humor), produced Whiskey Decision as her first foal before giving birth to the 2022 More Than Ready filly Bridgeport (twice placed from six starts), the unraced 2023 filly Cowgirl Paradise (by Not This Time), and a yearling filly by Not This Time.

Produced from A Wind Is Rising (by 1960 Wood Memorial Stakes winner Francis S., by Royal Charger), It’s in the Air is a half sister to Morning Has Broken (by Prince John), the second dam of 1994 European champion 3-year-old filly Balanchine and multiple Irish Group 1 winner Saoirse Abu, so this is a family that has had a remarkable amount of success at the top level given its relatively small numbers. Whiskey Decision would have to step up her game considerably to join the family’s roster of Grade/Group 1 winners, but with a Grade 3 win to her credit, one can be sure she will receive excellent opportunities to add to the luster of her pedigree as a broodmare when the time comes for her to go to the paddocks.
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Mares on Monday: A Charming Contender for a Pellegrini Award

6/1/2025

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​On May 25, Charm joined the ranks of Argentina’s top juvenile fillies by taking the Gran Premio de Potrancas (ARG-G1) over the turf at San Isidro. Second in the Premio Eliseo Ramírez (ARG-G2) over 1400 meters (about seven furlongs) at the same course on April 4, Charm quickened readily to the front in the Potrancas and had no difficulty in holding sway at the end of the 1600-meter distance. Should she go on to the Gran Premio Estrellas Juvenile Fillies (ARG-G1) on June 28 (Argentina’s equivalent to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies, USA-G1), she will have to leave the turf for the dirt at Palermo, but this may not be an issue as she won her maiden race on dirt, and she is now proven at the 1600-meter distance.

Charm is the first Group 1 winner for her sire Strategos, who was Argentina’s champion sprinter in 2020. The winner of three Group 1 races at 1000 meters that year while racing on both dirt and turf, Strategos proved that he was more than a pure speedball by winning the 2021 Gran Premio de Honor over 2000 meters at Palermo. Strategos is a son of Zensational (by Unbridled’s Song), a three-time Grade 1 winner over 6 and 7 furlongs in the United States, and is out of 2020 Argentine Broodmare of the Year Candy Woman, a daughter of Candy Ride.

Charm is out of Roman Princess, whose sire Roman Ruler (by Fusaichi Pegasus) won the 2005 Haskell Invitational Handicap (USA-G1) and led the Argentine general sire list three times. A three-time winner over 1400 and 1600 meters at Palermo, Roman Princess is a full sister to Group 3-placed Roman Prince and is out of stakes-placed Queen Annette, a daughter of Grade 1-placed Big Play (by Czaravich). Queen Annette’s full sister Tonguie was sent to Chile, where her son Pecoiquen (by seven-time Chilean champion sire Hussonet) won Chile’s oldest top-level race, the Premio El Ensayo (CHI-G1), in 2004; she is also the second dam of 2017 Premio Carlos Allende Navarro (CHI-G3) winner Going Away (by Seeking the Dia), whose dam is Pecoiquen’s stakes-placed full sister, It’s a Dream.

The next dam in Charm’s tail-female line, Queen Anne, won her only start. Sired by 1970 Polla de Potrillos (Argentine Two Thousand Guineas) winner Cipol, Queen Anne is out of Royale, whose sire Court Harwell won the 1957 Jockey Club Stakes in England and led the combined English/Irish general sire list in 1965 as well as leading the Argentine general sire list in 1970. Produced from 1954 Polla de Potrancas (Argentine One Thousand Guineas) winner Elite (by 1946 Gran Premio Nacional/Argentine Derby winner Seductor, an important sire and broodmare sire), Royale is a half sister to Tibaldo (by Tatan), a good stakes winner in both Argentina and the United States, and to Scelto (by Scratch), a stakes winner in Argentina. This female line has been producing good winners in Argentina since the English-bred mare Jumble arrived in Argentina in 1902.

Charm has something of a “could be anything” pedigree, though tilted more toward miler speed than stamina, and it is premature to speculate how she might fare in either the 1600-meter Polla de Potrancas or the 2000-meter Gran Premio Selección (Argentine Oaks), both of which will be run on dirt at Palermo during the Argentine spring. For now, though, a Pellegrini Award as Argentina’s champion 2-year-old filly appears within reach, and if Charm is as versatile as her sire, that and more may lie in her future,


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Mares on Monday: Seismic Beauty Looks Good in the Santa Margarita

5/26/2025

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​It might not have been an earthquake, but Seismic Beauty’s easy win in the Santa Margarita Stakes (USA-G2) on Sunday at Santa Anita surely registered with those keeping an eye on the older female division in the United States. A daughter of the late Uncle Mo, the Bob Baffert trainee led throughout in her stakes debut to score by five lengths over stablemate Splendora for MyRacehorse.com and Peter Leidel, Never out of the money in six lifetime starts, the bay filly has won three times and has earned US$236,840.

Bred by 2500 Determined Stud, Seismic Beauty is the first foal produced from Knarsdale, whose sire Medaglia d’Oro needs no introduction. Stakes-placed as a 5-year-old, Knarsdale was purchased from the 2020 Keeneland November mixed sale for US$430.000 with Seismic Beauty in utero and recouped most of her purchase price when Seismic Beauty sold for US$400,000 at the same venue a year later. Seismic Beauty proved a successful pinhook when resold for US$550,000 at the 2022 Keeneland September yearling sale, and Knarsdale finished buying herself out with her next foal, the Bernardini colt Cincazul, who went for US$500,000 at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale and has now won two of his three starts. Since then, Knarsdale has produced the 2023 Essential Quality filly Steel Magnolia (a US$225,000 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling who has yet to race) and a 2024 full sister to Seismic Beauty and was bred back to Charlatan.

Knarsdale is out of Secret File, who was runner-up in the 2011 Gardenia Stakes (USA-G3) at Ellis Park as a 4-year-old. She was keeping some excellent company that day; in that race, the daughter of two-time American champion sire Smart Strike was beaten three lengths by future two-time American champion female sprinter Groupie Doll and finished 3¾ lengths ahead of Stage Magic, now famous as the dam of 2018 American Triple Crown winner Justify. This is a case where careful examination of a race record turns up a hint of more ability and class than a bare reading of the record’s summary might indicate.

Secret File, in turn, was produced from Emery Board, who won the listed Go for Wand Stakes at Delaware Park 2001 and was third in the same year’s Florida Oaks (USA-G3). Sired by 1996 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) winner Grindstone, Emery Board is a half sister to 1998 Flamingo Stakes (USA-G3) winner Chilito (by Strawberry Road) and multiple listed stakes winner Once a Sailor (by Vice Regent). Emery Board is also a half sister to stakes-placed Embraceable (by Dehere), dam of Canadian restricted stakes winners Retraceable (by Medaglia d’Oro; dam of Grade 2-placed stakes winner Another Miracle, by American Pharoah) and Maritime Passion (by Stormy Atlantic; dam of 2016 Highlander Handicap, CAN-G2, winner Passion for Action, by Speightstown). In addition, Emery Board is a half sister to Jealous and Jaded (by Jade Hunter), dam of 2009 Black-Eyed Susan (USA-G2) winner Payton d’Oro (by Medaglia d’Oro).

Emery Board and her siblings are out of 1986 Tempted Stakes (USA-G3) winner Cosmic Tiger (by 1978 Sapling Stakes, USA-G1, winner Tim the Tiger, by Nashua), a half sister to the minor stakes winner El Perico (by Drone) and to Hawaiian Joss (by Hawaii), dam of 1994 Gardenia Handicap (USA-G3) winner Alphabulous (by Alphabatim; dam of restricted stakes winner Fabulous Broad, by Broad Brush). Cosmic Tiger is also a half sister to Heavenly Storm (by Storm Bird), dam of German listed stakes winner Henessy (by Alkalde), and to Codetogo (by Lost Code), dam of stakes winner Cedar Knolls (by Broad Brush). Produced from the winner Cosmic Law (by Delta Judge), Cosmic Tiger is from a family tracing back to the mid-twentieth-century foundation mare Your Hostess.

A big, long-striding filly, Seismic Beauty was given plenty of time to grow into her frame without being pushed, and that time appears to have paid off. She will likely step up to Grade 1 company in her next outing, and the results of that race will probably go a long way in determining whether she will play a part in this season's year-end championships.
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Mares on Monday: Matilda Waltzes to German 2000 Guineas Win

5/19/2025

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​On May 18, Matilda added her name to the list of fillies who have taken the boys to the woodshed in a Classic race. Sent after the Coolmore City of Troy German Two Thousand Guineas (GER-G2) in only her third lifetime start, the filly showed an explosive turn of foot in the final 300 meters and easily cleared off from her eight rivals to win the 1600-meter race by 6½ lengths for owner-breeder Volker Kaufling, trainer Yasmin Almenrader, and jockey Frida Valle-Skar (who, like her mount, was scoring her first black-type success). Over a course rated as good, Matilda posted a final time of 1:33.89.

Matilda is the latest star from the Minnie Hauk branch of the great Best in Show family, which has been featured in a previous “Mares on Monday” post on January 21, 2019 (“War of Will Strikes Winning Note for Minnie Hauk”). Six years is a lot of time in the bloodstock world, and this branch has been quiet of late—quiet, at least, by the standards of one of the top families of modern times.

Matilda descends from Minnie Hauk through her daughter Aviance (by Northfields), who won the 1984 Heinz 57 Phoenix Stakes (IRE-G1) for Robert Sangster before producing multiple Grade 1 winner Denon (by Pleasant Colony), multiple Group 1 winner Chimes of Freedom (by Private Account), and Group 1-placed stakes winner Imperfect Circle, who distinguished herself as the dam of 1996 Irish Two Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) and 1997 Breeders’ Cup Mile (USA-G1) winner Spinning World (by Nureyev). Imperfect Circle also produced French listed stakes winner Visions of Clarity (by Sadler’s Wells), dam of 2010 Vincent O’Brien National Stakes (IRE-G1) winner Pathfork (by Distorted Humor), 2019 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner War of Will (by War Front), and listed stakes winner Tacticus (by A.P. Indy).

Chimes of Freedom fared equally well in the paddocks, producing 2004 American champion sprinter Aldebaran (by Mr. Prospector), 2002 Atto Mile Stakes (CAN-G1) winner Good Journey (by Nureyev), 2003 Jenny Wiley Stakes (USA-G3) winner Sea of Showers (by Seattle Slew), and listed stakes winner Tomisue’s Indy (by A.P. Indy). Both Sea of Showers and Tomisue’s Indy disappointed in the paddocks (though Tomisue’s Indy is the granddam of stakes winner Striking Tomisue, by Smart Strike).

While daughters and granddaughters of Sea of Showers and Tomisue’s Indy are still in production, it has been left to Modesty Blaise, a non-winning full sister to Tomisue’s Indy, to carry the family banner forward. She is the dam of multiple Group 3-placed French stakes winner Poupee Flash (by Elusive Quality) and of the gelded High Noon Rider (by Distorted Humor), winner of two restricted stakes races. Modesty Blaise is also the dam of Modesty’s Way (by Giant’s Causeway), who produced Matilda (a daughter of four-time Group 1 winner Soldier Hollow, by In the Wings) as her seventh foal.

Matilda is showing evidence of being a character as well as a highly talented racer, having come home with her tail swishing as though she were using it for a propeller. She displayed the same behavior in her maiden win, so perhaps it is simply her way of waving “goodbye” to her field. At this point, given the speedy proclivities of her female family, she seems more likely to be a miler than a potential Deutches Derby (GER-G1) contender, especially when it is considered that her sire stayed 2000 meters well but did not care for longer trips against top company. Regardless of where she turns up next, she will be an interesting one to follow through the European racing year.
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Mares on Monday: Abaan Stands Tall in Iroquois Winner's Circle

5/12/2025

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​The Calvin Hougland Iroquois Steeplechase is a rite of spring in Nashville, Tennessee, drawing tens of thousands to Percy Warner State Park for a day of fresh air, racing, fashion, and fun. A Grade 1 race according to the National Steeplechase Association, it is also the most prestigious and lucrative event on the spring steeplechasing calendar in the United States. This year’s edition was won by Abaan, who covered the three-mile course in 5:42 to capture his first graded steeplechase win. Also a Grade 3 winner on the flat (he won the 2022 William L. McKnight Stakes, USA-G3), he is the latest star for the family of Take a Stand (by Amerigo), a modern matriarch who can trace her roots back to one of the few old American lines still extant.

A member of American Family 29, Take a Stand produced two stakes winners but did her best work through her stakes-placed daughter Strike a Pose (by Iron Ruler), who was a foundation mare for Pin Oak Stud. The majority of Strike a Pose’s top descendants trace to her daughter Strike a Balance (by Green Dancer), dam of 1995 Canadian Horse of the Year Peaks and Valleys (by Mt. Livermore) and ancestress of Grade 1 winners Higher Power (see “Mares on Monday: Higher Power Takes a Stand in the Pacific Classic, August 19, 2019) and Mucho Gusto among others, but the branch tracing through Strike a Pose’s 1981 Blushing Groom filly, Wedding Picture, is of little less importance.

Wedding Picture was a stakes winner at both 3 and 4, and she produced four stakes winners headed by 1996 Fort Lauderdale Handicap (USA-G3) winner Winged Victory (by Nijinsky II); she also produced stakes-placed Wedded Bliss (by His Majesty), dam of three stakes winners of her own and second dam of 2020 Robert Sangster Classic Stakes (AUS-G1) winner Bella Vella (by Commands), and With This Ring (by Green Dancer), dam of 2004 Nearctic Handicap (CAN-G2) winner I Thee Wed. In addition, Wedding Picture produced Constant Companion (by Relaunch), dam of 2008 American champion turf female Forever Together (by Belong to Me).

Wedding Vow, a 1988 full sister to Winged Victory, was much less accomplished on the track, winning only a maiden race from six starts. She was decidedly better as a broodmare, getting out of the blocks with multiple stakes winner Threshold (by Homebuilder), and improved markedly on that effort with her fourth foal, Broken Vow (by Unbridled). Winner of the 2001 Philip H. Iselin Handicap (USA-G2) and Ben Ali Stakes (USA-G3), Broken Vow became a good stallion for Pin Oak, siring 902 winners and 82 stakes winners so far from 1372 named foals of racing age before being pensioned in October 2021 (he died in 2022).

A full sister to stakes producer Vow That Binds (Miswaki x Wedding Vow), Cross Your Heart is the dam of multiple stakes-placed Anchorage (by Tapit), who produced Abaan to a 2016 cover by 2013 American champion 3-year-old male Will Take Charge. Also the dam of 2023 Hallandale Beach Stakes winner Omaha Girl (by Omaha Beach), Cross Your Heart produced her last foal in 2022; that foal, the Game Winner colt Grand Han, has yet to race.

As a gelding, Abaan will have no opportunity to contribute to future generations but at age 8 is at the height of his powers by steeplechase standards and should be a fun one to watch in the American steeplechase division during the rest of the 2025 season. As for the family of Take a Stand via Strike a Pose, it has plenty of well-bred female descendants around and will probably continue doing what it does best: producing a steady stream of solid stakes horses and occasionally coming up with one that rises to the top level.
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Mares on Monday: A Truly Royal Matriarch

5/5/2025

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​Over the Kentucky Derby weekend, much was made of the fact that Secretariat appears in the pedigree of every horse that ran in this year’s Run for the Roses. (If that doesn’t torpedo the persistent myth of “Secretariat was a bust at stud,” I don’t know what will.) But, as with every important man, behind every important stallion is his mother, and this seems a very good time to review the influence of Secretariat’s dam, Somethingroyal—especially since she is the direct female-line ancestress of the final Classic winner of the weekend, Desert Flower, who triumphed in the One Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) on May 5.

Even if she had never produced Secretariat (who was the 13th of her 18 named foals), Somethingroyal would still merit memory as a remarkable producer. One could say that as a daughter of eight-time American champion broodmare sire Princequillo and the blue hen mare Imperatrice, she was bred to be a broodmare, and she lived up to the best of that heritage.

She took a couple of stutter steps getting started, producing the unraced gelding Havildar (by Bryan G.) as her first foal and then coming up barren the following year. Cherryville, a tough but not particularly talented Correspondent filly, followed. Stakes-placed as a juvenile, she was not an outstanding producer, but her branch of the family includes Strategic News and The Verminator, Group 1 winners in South Africa and Australia, respectively, and Mor’edah, a two-time champion in Saudi Arabia.

Somethingroyal’s fourth foal was Sir Gaylord (by Turn-to), a top-flight colt who headed the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for 3-year-old males of 1962. After devastating his competition in Florida (which included American co-champion juvenile male Ridan and eventual Kentucky Derby winner Decidedly), he cracked a sesamoid on the day before the Kentucky Derby, for which he would have been favorite. That ended his racing career, but he became a successful sire in the United States and France, getting 12.9 percent stakes winners from foals and siring several successful stallion sons. He was also a noteworthy sire of broodmares. His 1962 three-quarters brother First Family (by Turn-to’s champion son First Landing) won the 1966 Gulfstream Park Handicap and three other stakes races but was nowhere near his equal as a stallion.

Swansea, Somethingroyal’s 1963 foal, was a full sister to Sir Gaylord but was unable to win or place in 10 starts. Her son Chairman Walker (by Buckpasser) never made it to the track at all but had some success as a sire in Chile, while his full sister Buck the Tide produced Arbulus (by Liloy), who ended up in Brazil, There, she produced 2002 Gran Prêmio Zeila Gonzaga Peixoto de Castro (BRZ-G1) winner Aviación (by Know Heights), Brazilian Group 2 winner Cerutti (by Ghadeer), and Brazilian Group 3 winner Persane (by Tampero). Aviación, in turn, produced the aptly named Intercontinental (by Mark of Esteem), a champion stayer in Mauritius, before being imported to the United States, where she produced multiple Group 2 winner Promising Run (by Hard Spun), now the proud dam of Desert Flower (by Night of Thunder) and Group 3 winner Aablan (by Dubawi). Other top horses descended from Swansea include two-time Turkish champion Tiramisu, Chilean champions Paula’s Girl and Domaine, multiple Group 1 winner Chichicastenango, and 2002 Gran Criterium (ARG-G1) winner Eddington.

Secretariat had two older full sisters that made their own marks, and the elder, Syrian Sea, won the 1967 Selima Stakes (then a race of Grade 1 importance) and two other stakes races before producing multiple Grade 2 winner Alada (by Riva Ridge). Alada, in turn, became the granddam of 1992 American champion 3-year-old filly Saratoga Dew, herself the granddam of 2013 Japanese Horse of the Year and important sire Lord Kanaloa. Somethingroyal’s 1969 Bold Ruler filly, The Bride, showed none of the talent that had marked Syrian Sea, but she produced Argentine Group 2 winner At Ease (by Hoist the Flag) and stakes winner Heavenly Match (by Gallant Romeo. The Bride is the second dam of 1990 John A. Morris Handicap (USA-G2) winner Personal Business and the third dam of three-time Japanese champion filly Nishino Flower.

Somethingroyal’s level of production dropped off following Secretariat’s birth, with her final five foals yielding two stakes-placed runners. Nevertheless, those foals were not without significant merit: Somethingfabulous (by Northern Dancer), third in the 1975 Flamingo Stakes (USA-G1), became a useful regional sire in California, and Queen’s Colours (by Reviewer) is the third dam of multiple Australian Group 1 winner Typhoon Zed and Australian Group 3 winner Captain Bax,

Somethingroyal was pensioned from broodmare duty in 1978 after failing to produce a foal the previous year, but the incredible vitality that she had put into her foals still persisted. She lived on as a pensioner for another five years, dying in 1983 at the advanced age of 31. During her last years, she served as a babysitter for new broodmares who were just coming off the track, and it is pleasant to think that this venerable matriarch had a few choice words of equine wisdom regarding the art of motherhood to pass on before heading on to the greener pastures that she truly deserved.



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    I'm Avalyn Hunter, an author, pedigree researcher and longtime racing fan with a particular interest in Thoroughbred mares and their contributions to the history of the breed.

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