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Mares on Monday: A Scent of Jasmine in a Forbidden Kingdom

1/31/2022

In January 29's San Vicente Stakes (USA-G2), Forbidden Kingdom scored his first stakes win with a front-running upset over a trio of Bob Baffert trainees, including Grade 1 winner Pinehurst. The victory was a tribute to the patience of trainer Richard Mandella and jockey Juan Hernandez, who have been schooling Forbidden Kingdom to relax and not waste his abundant speed. How far those lessons will take him is anyone's guess; at this time of year, the question his connections will be asking is, far enough to make him a contender on the American Triple Crown trail?

As a son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, Forbidden Kingdom certainly has the desired heritage on that side of his pedigree. The distaff side of his pedigree may be another question. He belongs to the family of White Jasmine, a clan that can certainly supply speed but which has shakier credentials when it comes to stamina.

White Jasmine herself was something of a surprise as an influential broodmare. She had a pedigree that was more blue-collar than fashionable. Sired by the Crimson Satan stallion Whitesburg (who won two sprint stakes as a juvenile), she was out of Red Jasmine, whose dam was a half sister to Crimson Satan. That made White Jasmine inbred 3x3 to the Chilean import Papila, a runner-up in Chile's Las Oaks, but White Jasmine had no Classic pretensions herself; her best performances were a couple of stakes placings in minor events in Michigan.

In spite of being bred mostly to moderate sires, White Jasmine produced four stakes winners (two at the Grade 3 level) as well as stakes-placed Coragil (by Metfield), dam of 2002 Churchill Downs Distaff Handicap (USA-G2) winner Softly (by Binalong) and 2008 Hanshin Cup Handicap (USA-G3) winner Coragil Cat (by Forest Wildcat). Coragil is also the second dam of 2018 Gulfstream Park Hardacre Mile Stakes (USA-G2) winner Conquest Big E (by Tapit).

White Jasmine's best racing daughter is Til Forbid (by 1980 Belmont Stakes, USA-G1, winner and American champion 3-year-old male Temperence Hill), who won the 1991 Arlington Oaks (USA-G3) and placed in four Grade 1 races at 3. Til Forbid is also White Jasmine's most important broodmare daughter, though she produced only one stakes winner herself; this was 2001 Indiana Breeders' Cup Oaks (USA-G1) winner Scoop (by Gone West, in turn the dam of Grade 3-placed multiple stakes winner Coolwind (by Forest Wildcat) and the second dam of 2013 Iowa Derby (USA-G3) winner Looking Cool (by Candy Ride).

Scoop's half sister Kings Lynn (by Mt. Livermore) was only Grade 3-placed on the track but has done well as a producer, throwing 2009 Top Flight Handicap (USA-G2) winner Sara Louise (by Malibu Moon) and 2010 Debutante Stakes (USA-G3) winner Just Louise (by Five Star Day) as well as Jabalino (by Deputy Commander), a multiple major stakes winner in Mexico. Just Louise, in turn, produced Forbidden Kingdom as her fifth foal, and has a 2020 colt by Bolt d'Oro and a 2021 filly by Not This Time waiting in the wings. She was most recently bred to multiple Grade 1 winner Tiz the Law.

Given the prizes waiting down the road, there seems no good reason not to try Forbidden Kingdom around two turns, and the colt's connections appear to be tentatively penciling in the Santa Anita Derby (USA-G1) on April 9, a 9-furlong race that offers more than enough points to guarantee its winner a Kentucky Derby starting berth. It a two-turn trial over a slightly shorter distance is desired, the San Felipe Stakes (USA-G2) at a mile and one-sixteenth on March 5 might be just the ticket and would earn points toward the Kentucky Derby as well. Yet, son of a Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) as he is, there is a distinct possibility that Forbidden Kingdom may trip over his pedigree when it comes to longer distances, for both Just Louise and Five Star Day (a son of the good sprinter Carson City) earned their primary credentials over sprint distances, as did Kings Lynn's sire Mt. Livermore. Kings Lynn was able to handle intermediate distances reasonably well, but it is not until one comes to Til Forbid---three generations back---that an animal with a taste for a bit more distance appears. Still, if the colt proves to have stamina limitations, a good sprinter-miler is nothing to be sneered at. And if Forbidden Kingdom demonstrates that he in fact combines the speed of his female family with American Pharoah's ability to carry that speed over Classic distances---and if he can be taught to relax off a potential speed duel, always a risk with a front-running sort---then he may well prove one of the more formidable colts in this year's Triple Crown series.

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Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/28/2022

1/28/2022

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What horse was the last descended in direct male line from Herod to win a national championship in the United States?

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Mares on Monday: Call Me Midnight Adds to a Noble Heritage

1/24/2022

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On January 22, 2022, previously unheralded Call Me Midnight thrust himself into the developing American Triple Crown picture with a surprise victory in the Lecomte Stakes (USA-G3) at the Fair Grounds. Dismissed at better than 28-1, the late-running son of two-time Breeders' Cup Sprint (USA-G1) winner Midnight Lute took advantage of a favorable pace scenario and scored by a head over Epicenter, earning 10 points toward a starting berth in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1).

To be considered a serious contender, Call Me Midnight will have to show in future starts that he can do more than take advantage of a pace meltdown, but he certainly has the pedigree to develop in that direction. He is from the family of two-time English champion filly Noblesse, a clan that includes a number of distinguished representatives on both sides of the Atlantic.

The winner of the 1963 Oaks Stakes, Noblesse clearly stayed well but was quick enough to be a champion at 2. Although she produced only five foals, all were black-type runners, and Noblesse handed down her desirable blend of speed and stamina to two daughters: the Ribot mare Carezza and the Raise a Native mare Where You Lead. Neither were able to emulate their dam's feats, but both inherited enough of her talent to be Group 3 winners and to show good form in more prestigious races.

Carezza, the elder, won the 1972 Nell Gwyn Stakes (ENG-G3) over seven furlongs and was second in the Ribblesdale Stakes (ENG-G2) over 11 furlongs. She was followed by 1973 Musidora Stakes (ENG-G3) winner and Oaks Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up Where You Lead, who has been the primary conduit for Noblesse's family and kicked off her broodmare career by producing 1978 Prix de Minerve (ENG-G3) winner I Will Follow (by Herbager). The first of three Group 1-producing daughters of Where You Lead, I Will Follow, in turn, produced Rainbow Quest (by Blushing Groom), winner of the 1985 Coronation Cup (ENG-G1) and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (FR-G1) and an important sire in Europe.

Where You Lead's unraced daughter by Foolish Pleasure, Idyllic, did good service as a broodmare with three stakes winners to her credit, headed by 1988 Three Chimneys Dewhurst Stakes (ENG-G1) winner Scenic (by Sadler's Wells); she is also the second dam of Group 1-placed Italian Group 3 winner Without Connexion. Nonetheless, Where You Lead's most important producing daughter was also her best racing daughter: Slightly Dangerous (by Roberto), who won the 1982 Fred Darling Stakes (ENG-G3) and, following her dam's example, was second in that year's Oaks Stakes.

The 1997 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, Slightly Dangerous earned her laurels by producing four stakes winners, with one more emerging after the honors had been bestowed. The best was her first, Warning (by Known Fact), a brilliant miler who earned five championship titles in England and France in 1987-1988 before becoming a good sire. The next was Commander in Chief (by Dancing Brave), winner of the 1993 Ever Ready Derby (ENG-G1) and Budweiser Irish Derby (IRE-G1), who was followed by multiple Group 2 winner Dushyantor (by Sadler's Wells), a three-time champion sire and six-time champion broodmare sire in Chile according to the Stud Book de Chile's statistics. Slightly Dangerous then came up with her first stakes-willing filly; this was Yashmak (by Danzig), winner of the 1997 Flower Bowl Invitational Handicap (USA-G1) and Ribblesdale Stakes (ENG-G2) before producing 2014 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardére-Grand Critérium (FR-G1) winner Full Mast (by Mizzen Mast) and Group 2-placed Australian listed stakes winner Sound of Nature (by Chester House).

Slightly Dangerous had previously produced listed-placed Shirley Valentine (by Shirley Heights), dam of Group 3 winners Memorise (by Lyphard) and Multiplex (by Danehill) and second dam of English Group 2 winner Await the Dawn and Australian Group 3 winner Index Linked, so when Yashmak's full sister Jibe emerged as a listed stakes winner in 1998 (having previously been Group 1-placed at 2), there was every reason to expect that she would make a good broodmare too. Instead, she was a disappointment, throwing just one winner from eight foals. Four of her six daughters have become stakes producers thus far, however, headed by unraced Overseen (by First Defence), who produced Call Me Midnight as her fourth named foal of racing age. Not the most fortunate of broodmares, Overseen gave birth to a dead foal in 2020 and then missed to Honor Code before being put to Frosted for 2022.

While Call Me Midnight has yet to show that he belongs with the top colts of his crop, he does have something going for him that many other potential Derby horses do not; he broke his maiden over the Churchill Down strip, a distinct plus given that not every horse shows a liking for that surface. Should he progress as hoped during the spring, he may be in a good position to add further distinction to the family of a mare who has already proven herself noble in every way.

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Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/21/2022

1/21/2022

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Horses have been named for some pretty common things, but somehow an everyday word often sounds better when a foreign equivalent is used. Can you name the champions or Classic winners profiled on this site whose French or Spanish names translate to "pickled cabbage," "spinach," "garlic," and "peppermint"? (Extra kudos if you can do it without resorting to a dictionary, on-line or otherwise.)

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Mares on Monday: A Royal Heritage from Argentina

1/17/2022

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On January 11, 2-year-old Princess Lele fetched what proved to be a sale-topping US$750,000 at the Keeneland January mixed sale. The price is somewhat deceptive, as the filly was purchased by Three Chimneys Farm after being sold to dissolve a partnership between Three Chimneys and Hill 'n' Dale Farms. Nonetheless, it is still a substantial amount of money for a filly that has yet to turn in a timed work, much less a race. So, what makes her worth risking a solid six figures?

With high-end colts, the American sales ring essentially rewards speculation on a young horse's potential value as a stallion; the hope is that if a youngster with desirable conformation and bloodlines pans out on the track---itself a considerable gamble---he will be one of the handful of colts out of each crop that goes to stud and rakes in millions in stud fees before it is even seen whether his offspring can outrun the proverbial fat man. For fillies, the game is different. While it is certainly desirable that a pricy filly will show significant racing ability, much of her price will be based on the perception of her residual value as a broodmare even if she never makes it to the track. Given that a stallion must secure at least fifty or sixty mates a year to have viability in the commercial market while a mare can conceive by but one mate per year, fillies need much less in the way of a resume to get access to good-quality mates, and few stallion owners will turn away a well-bred young mare regardless of her track performance. Accordingly, a "deep" pedigree---one stacked with major winners and producers, particularly along the tail-female line---is a major selling point for a filly, even more so than for a colt.

On that basis, Princess Lele certainly qualified as a potential sales topper. Sired by the fine stallion Quality Road (who himself boasts as regal a pedigree as any in the American Stud Book), she comes from a family that has produced excellent results for generations both in the United States and in Argentina, where it was initially developed at the famous Haras Chapadmalal.

The line traces back to Juventas, whose sire Botafogo is still regarded by some as the best racehorse ever bred in South America. The best of the small number of foals sired by Botafogo (who, regrettably, died young), she won the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo and the Premio Eliseo Ramírez, both races that have held Group 1 status in Argentina, as well as a number of other stakes now accorded Group status. She, in turn, produced Bimba (by seven-time Argentine champion sire Congreve), a stakes winner who placed in both the Gran Premio 25 de Mayo and the Polla de Potrancas/Argentine One Thousand Guineas.

Bimba, in turn, produced Argentine champion Bambuca (by 1930 Eclipse Stakes and Champion Stakes winner Rustom Pasha), who won 13 of her 19 starts and placed in the other six. A beautifully made full sister to A G Lucho, a stakes winner who was sent to Peru for stallion duty, Bambuca produced Gamin (by Tatán), a multiple stakes winner in the United States, and Good Star (by Masked Light), who won the Gran Premio Maipú (one of Argentina's top sprint stakes). Bambuca also produced Miss Venecia (by stakes-placed Luxembourgo), who did not add to the family laurels on the race course but atoned for this failing by producing four stakes winners.

Aside from 1985 Gran Premio General San Martin (ARG-G1) winner Mister Marco (by Go Forth), the best of Miss Venecia's foals was Miss Bimba, whose three Group stakes wins included the 1985 Premio Abril (ARG-G2). Sired by 1974 Saratoga Special (USA-G2) winner Our Talisman (a son of the good Bold Ruler horse Cornish Prince), Miss Bimba in turn produced Miss Peggy (by the Argentine Group 2 winner and important sire Fitzcarraldo), winner of the 1994 Premio Canada (ARG-G3) and the 2000 Argentine Broodmare of the Year after producing 2000 Argentine Mare of the Year Miss Linda and 2000 Premio Arturo R. Bullrich (ARG-G2) winner Miss Mary, both by the great Argentine-based sire Southern Halo.

Not done after producing Miss Mary and Miss Linda, Miss Peggy also produced 2004 Argentine champion miler Mr. Nancho and Miss Simpatia to further covers by Southern Halo. The last-named mare never raced, but after her daughter Miss Match (by the A.P. Indy horse Indygo Shiner) won the 2011 Santa Margarita Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) (having already won the 2008 Gran Premio Selección/Argentine Oaks, ARG-G1), she was imported to the United States. There, she produced 2016 Acorn Stakes (USA-G1) winner Carina Mia to the cover of Malibu Moon. Princesse Lele is Carina Mia's second foal, following the as yet unraced Curlin 3-year-old Pius Maximus, and Carina Mia (who sold for $2.6 million at the 2021 Keeneland November sale) produced a 2021 Curlin colt and was last reported as in foal to Uncle Mo for 2022.

Princesse Lele, thus, comes from a female line which for seven generations has traced through either graded/Group-class race mares or stakes producers with Grade/Group 1-level winners on their produce records. That is depth of pedigree to an extent rarely seen, and would probably be enough to justify her price tag by itself. Should she live up to that royal heritage on the track, the sky may be the limit as to her value if she ever sees an auction ring again.

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Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/14/2022

1/14/2022

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It is a well known fact that when Canonero II won the Kentucky Derby, he touched off national celebrations in Venezuela, the home of his owner and trainer. Perhaps less well known is the fact that a Kentucky Oaks-winning filly had a similar impact in Brazil, where her race was nationally televised because of her Brazilian connections. Who was this filly, and who owned and trained her?

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Mares on Monday: Stars but no Lilies for Bitty Girl

1/10/2022

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On January 8, Under the Stars took what would ordinarily be a first step toward a starting berth in the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) with a gritty win over Awake At Midnyte in the Santa Ynez Stakes (USA-G2), a points race toward the Run for the Lilies. While the distance is only seven furlongs, the daughter of Pioneerof the Nile showed enough stamina to stay atop or very close to the pace all the way and still have enough left in the tank to gut it out against a determined rival, and she stopped the clock in a smart 1:22.51, earning a 98 BRIS speed figure. The fly in the ointment is that Under the Stars is a member of Bob Baffert's barn and as such is ineligible to earn points toward the Oaks due to Baffert's ongoing suspension at Churchill Downs.

Be that as it may, Coolmore associates Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith are not likely grieving overmuch. If Under the Stars never did anything else, she would enter the Coolmore broodmare band with a Grade 2 win to go with a most attractive pedigree. A half sister to the brilliant Grade 1 winner Bodemeister (by Pioneerof the Nile's sire Empire Maker), she traces her female line back to Bitty Girl, a champion on the race course and an influential broodmare.

Habitat, the sire of Bitty Girl, was known for transmitting first-rate speed and precocity and was an excellent broodmare sire as well. Bitty Girl was a true daughter of her father, for she was the English champion 2-year-old filly of 1973. Second in the 5-furlong Nunthorpe Stakes (ENG-G1) at 3, she was also a good broodmare, producing 1983 Prix Maurice de Gheest (FR-G2) winner Beaudelaire (by Nijinsky II), Irish stakes winner Memento (by Roberto), and Size Six (by Caerleon), the dam of Brazilian Group 3 winner Lady Six (by Sunny's Halo) and the second dam of Brazilian Group 1 winner Hot Six.

From a long-range perspective, the most important of Bitty Girl's foals was Beaudelaire's full sister Nijit, whose three stakes placings included a third in the1980 Cotillion Stakes (USA-G2). Nijit went on to produce listed stakes winner Spanish Parade (by Roberto) and stakes winner Save the Doe (by Spend a Buck) as well as Willa Dear (by Red Ransom), dam of 2008 Comely Stakes (USA-G2) winner Sherine (by Precise End).

Spanish Parade, the best of Nijit's foals on the track, also proved to be the crucial one in continuing the lineage through two daughters by A.P. Indy. One, Post Parade, won only one of 10 starts but is the dam of multiple Japanese Group 3 winner Keiai Elegant (by King Kamehameha), listed stakes winners Keiai Rajin (by Came Home) and Fierce Wind (by Dixie Union), and stakes winner Rebel Yeller (by Dixie Union). The other is multiple Grade 3 winner Parade Queen, who has three stakes horses to her credit as well as Kydd Gloves (by Dubai Millennium), dam of multiple Grade 1 winner She's a Julie (by Elusive Quality). Parade Queen's stakes runners are Obay (by Kingmambo), a champion in Saudi Arabia while racing as "Batraan"; King Gulch (by Gulch), a juvenile stakes winner at Remington Park; and 2006 Sorrento Stakes (USA-G3) winner Untouched Talent, dam of Bodemeister and Under the Stars. Following Under the Stars, Parade Queen produced colts by Justify in 2020 and 2021 before being bred to Uncle Mo for 2022.

Bitty Girl's family has generally been more notable for speed than great stamina and has been quick to revert to its precocious, speedy type when bred to speedier sires even after repeated crosses to more stamina-oriented horses. Thus, with Storm Cat as broodmare sire, there may be some question as to just how much distance Under the Stars really wants. The similarly bred Bodemeister could carry speed over 9 to 10 furlongs, however, and in any event, there are plenty of good races these days at shorter trips. So, even if Under the Stars never gets a chance to try for the lilies, she should have other opportunities to continue adding credit to a family with more than a bit of talent.

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Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/7/2022

1/7/2022

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Welcome to 2022! This week's challenge involves a duplicated name. While the registries of the major racing nations now have protocols in place to keep names of important or famous horses from being duplicated, this has not kept the same names from being used in different countries; in fact, one name used within the last decade for a Grade 1 winner in the United States had previously been used for Group 1 winners in France and South Africa. Can you give this lucky name and the sires and years of birth for all three top-level winners that shared it?

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Mares on Monday: Simplification Proves a Wise Choice in Mucho Macho Man Stakes

1/3/2022

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The New Year's Day holiday weekend kicked off this year's American Triple Crown trail with several interesting hopefuls taking their first stakes brackets in one-mile events. Among them were Santa Anita's Sham Stakes (USA-G3) winner Newgrange (by Violence out of the Grade 2-winning Empire Maker mare Bella Chianti); Courvoisier, a son of Tapit and 2014 American champion 2-year-old filly Take Charge Brandi who won the Jerome Handicap at Aqueduct; and Dash Attack (by Munnings from a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner Song of Navarone), a smart winner of the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn Park.

Simplification may have been somewhat under the radar prior to the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream, but he should not be now. The 17th stakes winner from the first and second crops of the young Giant's Causeway stallion Not This Time, he not only scored in convincing fashion but was over three seconds faster than any of the other three. That might not seem particularly noteworthy, given the differences in tracks and track conditions, but he also earned a BRIS speed figure of 103 for his effort, five points better than Newgrange and over 10 points better than either of the other two.

Simplification's performance is backed by a solid family descended from the Smarten mare Wising Up, which has consistently been turning out at least one or two nice horses from each mare in the line. Herself the winner of the 1985 Santa Ynez Stakes (USA-G3) and Grade 1-placed, Wising Up is a half sister to multiple Grade 2 winner Foresta (by Alydar), a good turf runner and to So Easily (by Superbity), dam of 2001 Bashford Manor Stakes (USA-G2) winner Lunar Bounty (by Migrating Moon). Wising Up, in turn, produced 1999 Fort Marcy Handicap (USA-G3) winner Wised Up (by Dixieland Band) and French Group 2-placed stakes winner Smart Wise (by Silver Hawk).

Wising Up produced only two fillies, but her 1987 Blushing Groom daughter Wise Bride has done her part to uphold the family reputation. Her best runner is multiple Grade 3 winner Quite a Bride (by Stormy Atlantic), dam of Brazilian Group 2 winner Dona Flor (by Dynaformer) and Brazilian Group 3 winner Amor Total (by Put It Back), and she is also the dam of Goulash (by the Northern Dancer stallion Mari's Book). A restricted stakes winner who was Grade 3-placed, Goulash cemented her own reputation as a broodmare by producing two-time American champion Ashado (by Saint Ballado; dam of listed stakes winner Westwood, by Bernardini).

Goulash's other foals include three full siblings to Ashado, and all are of some significance. The champion's brothers Sunriver and Saint Stephen won the 2007 Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (USA-G1) and 2006 Native Diver Handicap (USA-G3), respectively. Ashado's sister Ballado's Halo ran third in two lesser stakes events and produced two stakes-producing daughters: Halo's Verse (by Unbridled's Song), dam of listed stakes winner Halo Again (by Speightstown) and multiple Grade 2-placed/multiple restricted stakes winner Inflexibility (by Scat Daddy), and stakes-placed Simply Confection (by Candy Ride). whose first foal is Simplification. Simply Confection has since produced a 2020 filly by Mendelssohn and a 2021 filly by Audible and is in foal to Union Rags.

Versatility appears to be a hallmark of this family, which has produced everything from graded stakes-winning juveniles to talented turf horses to Ashado, who won at up to 10 furlongs on the dirt. Simplification is still learning the racing game and may or may not prove suited to the Triple Crown trail, but with his demonstrated speed and a pedigree that suggests that some more distance will be to his liking, it just might not be wise to bet against his making his mark in graded company somewhere down the line.

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Mares on Monday: A Scent of Jasmine in a Forbidden Kingdom

Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/28/2022

Mares on Monday: Call Me Midnight Adds to a Noble Heritage

Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/21/2022

Mares on Monday: A Royal Heritage from Argentina

Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/14/2022

Mares on Monday: Stars but no Lilies for Bitty Girl

Weekly Trivia Challenge for 1/7/2022

Mares on Monday: Simplification Proves a Wise Choice in Mucho Macho Man Stakes

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