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Mares on Monday: Shisospicy Sizzles for Cool Mood's Family in Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint

11/3/2025

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The 2025 Breeders’ Cup showcased both top racehorses and top female families, with representatives of the families of Best in Show, South Ocean, Dinner Partner, Nuit de Folies, and Native Street scoring big. Another top family with a Breeders’ Cup-winning scion is that of 1969 Canadian Oaks winner Cool Mood, whose sixth-generation descendant Shisospicy blitzed open company in the Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (USA-G1). The first 3-year-old filly to win the race, Shisospicy nailed down her first Grade 1 win with an impressive front-running performance and ran her lifetime record to six wins and two placings from nine starts. The daughter of 2019 American champion male sprinter Mitole also put herself in the driver’s seat for an Eclipse Award in the female sprinter division ahead of Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (USA-G1) winner Splendora, who has two 2025 stakes wins to Shisospicy’s four (three of them graded) and does not have the cachet of a major win over males. The other likely contenders in the division, Grade 1 winners Kopion and Hope Road, both hurt their chances by losing at the Breeders’ Cup.

Cool Mood made a previous appearance in the “Mares on Monday” column on September 23, 2024, when she was profiled in connection with multiple graded stakes winner My Mane Squeeze. A fifth-generation descendant of Cool Mood through her daughter Moody Maiden (by Apalachee), My Mane Squeeze is still in training and has added a win in the Johnstone Stakes for New York-breds and four graded stakes placings to her resume since being profiled.

A tough, sound mare who made 41 starts, Cool Mood was even more productive as a broodmare as a racehorse and was especially noteworthy as a dam of broodmares. Two of her five stakes-producing daughters, Shy Spirit (by Personality) and Passing Mood (by Buckpasser) earned Canadian Broodmare of the Year honors after producing Canadian Triple Crown winners Izvestia (by Icecapade) and With Approval (by Caro), respectively, and the two accounted for six other stakes winners between them including 1997 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) winner Touch Gold (Deputy Minister x Passing Mood).

Shisospicy descends from another of Cool Mood’s black-type producers, Princess Laika. A daughter of French champion juvenile and excellent sire Blushing Groom, Princess Laika was unable to win in 13 starts and produced only one stakes winner, Cool Gold Mood (by Premier Ministre)—not exactly an inspiring overall record. Her profile looked much better after her 1993 Gone West daughter, Lady Laika, got into production. After producing two stakes-placed runners, Lady Laika dropped Healthy Addiction (by Boston Harbor) as her fourth foal. Healthy Addiction won the 2006 Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (USA-G1) and three Grade 2 stakes before heading to the paddocks, where she produced 2015 Vanity Stakes (USA-G1) winner My Sweet Addiction (by Tiznow). Through another daughter, Ashlee’s Lady (by Gilded Time), Lady Laika is also the second dam of 2012 Davona Dale Stakes (USA-G2) winner Yara (by Put It Back) and the third dam of 2021 Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Stakes (USA-G3) winner Jalen Journey (by With Distinction).

Princess Laika had two other daughters who were multiple stakes producers and produced a Grade 3 winner each. The better of the two was Gold Liaka (by Yukon, a Northern Dancer half brother to the great sire Mr. Prospector), who produced multiple Grade 3 winner Maren’s Meadow (by Meadowlake) and listed stakes winners Golden Path (by Slew o’ Gold; dam of 2008 Premio Jose Rodriguez Razzeto, PER-G3, winner Mukhtar, by Grindstone) and Chamul (by Mutakddim). Maren’s Meadow, in turn, produced Maren’s Melody (by Unbridled’s Song), whose winning Into Mischief daughter Mischief Galore produced Shisospicy as her second foal. Mischief Galore has since produced the unraced 2023 colt Yasup and a 2024 filly, both by Yaupon. She was covered for 2026 by Jackie’s Warrior.

Shisospicy is cataloged as Hip 147 for tonight’s Fasig-Tipton “Night of the Stars” sale as a racing or broodmare prospect, and her dam, Mischief Galore, is also in the sale as Hip 160. Both, of course, have just gotten a huge boost to their potential price tags. Interestingly, My Mane Squeeze is also up for sale as Hip 122, selling as a racing or broodmare prospect. With a bit of luck and the right mates, any of these mares could go on keeping the heat turned up for Cool Mood’s family.


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Mares on Monday: Long Shot Kappa Kappa Proves a Good Bet in Raven Run

10/20/2025

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​Kappa Kappa may have been the second-longest shot on the board in the Lexus Raven Run Stakes (USA-G2) on Saturday at Keeneland, but she ran like a solid favorite. Never far away from the lead, she proved game and determined down the stretch in spite of brief difficulty in switching leads and gained the decision from Vodka with a Twist in the final strides. Ragtime, who was favored after coming in off a nice win in the Dogwood Stakes presented by Resolute Racing (USA-G3), encountered some early crowding but closed well to be third.

The Raven Run was the third win from four starts for the improving Kappa Kappa, who came in off an easy allowance win in Pennsylvania-bred company at Parx Racing and was making her first start away from Parx. She became the 15th stakes winner and fifth graded stakes winner of 2025 for Omaha Beach, who leads the American third-crop sire list and is 11th on the American general sire list. The son of War Front stood the 2025 Northern Hemisphere season at Spendthrift for US$35,000 but, not surprisingly, is getting a bump to US$75,000 for 2026.

On the distaff side of her pedigree, Kappa Kappa traces back to Itsabet, a foundation mare for Harry Z. Isaacs’ Brookfield Farm, via that matriarch’s most important daughter, Iaround (by Round Table). This branch of the family includes Juddmonte Farm’s great broodmare Hasili and is responsible for five champions: 1977 Irish champion 2-year-old filly Sookera, 2001 American champion turf female Banks Hill, 2005 American champion turf male Leroidesanimaux, 2005 American champion turf female Intercontinental, and 2009 Canadian Horse of the Year Champs Elysees. All of these horses trace back to Iaround through her daughter Irule (by Young Emperor).

Kappa Kappa’s branch of the family has not been quite so distinguished but has also done very well. Her fifth dam is Irule’s half sister I’m a Pleasure (by two-time American champion sire What a Pleasure), who produced 1984 Jerome Handicap (USA-G1) winner Is Your Pleasure (by Accipiter) and listed stakes-placed I’m Tickled Pink (by Sportin’ Life), dam of Brazilian listed stakes winner Mamangaba (by Dubai Dust). I’m a Pleasure is also the dam of I’ll Get There (by multiple Grade 1 winner Copelan), dam of 2000 Hollywood Starlet Stakes (USA-G1) winner I Believe in You (by Pleasant Tap) and restricted stakes winner Ready Cash (by Key to the Mint).

I’m a Pleasure’s first foal was In Jubilation, whose sire Isgala (by 1959 American champion sprinter Intentionally) was one of Isaacs’ homebred stallions and proved a useful stallion from limited opportunities. Defying the conventional wisdom that decrees that a mare will normally produce her best runner from her first five foals, In Jubilation waited until her seventh foal to come up with Little Baby Bear (by Broad Brush), a multiple Group 1 winner in Brazil. She then added two more stakes winners in 1997 Indiana Derby (USA-L) winner Dubai Dust (by Broad Brush) and 1999 Flamingo Stakes (USA-G3) winner First American (by Quiet American; a sire of some importance in Brazil) and finished her production record with Mulata Assanhada (by Royal Academy), dam of multiple Brazilian listed stakes winner Amado Mio.

I’m in Celebration (by Copelan), In Jubilation’s fourth foal, won three of her four starts and was second in the other but did not stay healthy long enough to try her mettle in stakes company. She produced the Grade 3-placed listed stakes winners Nice to Know (by Known Fact) and Cheers and Tears (by Bold Ruckus) as well as Sommerfest (by El Prado), dam of 2006 Turfway Breeders’ Cup Stakes (USA-G3) winner Beautiful Bets (by Alphabet Soup); Birthday Wire (by Birdonthewire), dam of listed stakes winner Wiredfortwotwenty (by Greatness); and Charming Amanda (by Charismatic), dam of Puerto Rican stakes winners Charming Tam (by Tamhid) and Copa de Oro (by Nite Light).

Accomplished, I’m in Celebration’s daughter by 1998 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) winner Awesome Again, failed to win from three tries but produced 2019 Kelso Handicap (USA-G2) winner Pat on the Back (by Congrats) and New York restricted stakes winner Sarah Accomplished (by Performing Magic). To date, the only one of Accomplished’s daughters to produce a stakes winner is the winner Pharoah’s Princess (by multiple Grade 1 winner Pioneerof the Nile), who produced Kappa Kappa as her fourth foal and had no further produce until this spring, when she dropped a filly by Tiz the Law.

Given the timing and the necessity of a cross-country trip, it seems unlikely that Kappa Kappa’s connections will wheel her back in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (USA-G1) at Del Mar, but it can be hoped that the 2026 edition will be on her radar. If she remains in training and continues showing the gameness and speed she displayed in the Raven Run, it’s a good bet that there will be some future stakes races with her name on the trophy.




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Mares on Monday: Setup for a Clash of Unbeatens in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies

10/6/2025

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After an exciting weekend of racing, two undefeated juvenile fillies appear to be on a collision course for the NetJets Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1), carded for October 31, 2025, at Del Mar. One, Frizette Stakes (USA-G1) winner Iron Orchard, ran down Spinaway Stakes (USA-G1) third Rileytole in the last stride to claim a “Win and You’re In” ticket to California. The other, Spinaway winner Tommy Jo, kept her undefeated record intact via the stewards’ box after being fouled by first-place finisher Percy’s Bar in the final furlong of the Darley Alcibiades Stakes (USA-G1) at Keeneland, also a “Win and You’re In” race.

Both fillies boast blue-blooded pedigrees to back up their racing resumes. A daughter of six-time American champion sire Into Mischief, Tommy Jo is the second foal and first winner from listed stakes winner Mother Mother, who placed three times at the Grade 1 level. A half sister to 2014 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) runner-up Commanding Curve (by Master Command), Mother Mother is by multiple Grade 1 winner and 2009 Kentucky Derby runner-up Pioneerof the Nile, a son of 2003 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) winner Empire Maker who gained fame as the sire of 2015 American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Mother Mother’s dam is the winner Mother, whose sire Lion Hearted is a Grade 2-placed son of Storm Cat and Easy Goer’s full sister Cadillacing (winner of the 1988 Ballerina Stakes, USA-G1). Mother was produced from Proper Lassie, a half sister by the good Northern Dancer horse Topsider to stakes winner Proper Ridge (by Cox’s Ridge), and Proper Lassie, in turn, is out of the listed stakes winner Proper Miss (by 1965 American champion 3-year-old male Tom Rolfe), a half sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Proper Reality (by In Reality) and listed stakes winners Proper Native (by Our Native) and Proper Reflection (by Relaunch). The female line traces back to the important 20th-century broodmare Alablue.

Iron Orchard is from the same sire line as Tommy Jo as she is the first Grade 1 winner sired by 2020 American Horse of the Year Authentic (by Into Mischief). She is the third named foal and second winner from stakes-placed Onebrethatatime, whose sire Brethren (by Distorted Humor) won the 2011 Sam F. Davis Stakes (USA-G3) and has had some success as a regional sire in Florida. A half sister to 2011 Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (USA-G3) winner Wonderlandbynight (by Sky Mesa), Onebrethatatime is also a half sister to Gilded Miracle (by Gilded Time), dam of 2023 Shoemaker Mile Stakes (USA-G1) winner Exaulted (by Twirling Candy) and second dam of 2023 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (USA-G2) winner Accomplished Girl (by Street Boss).

Onebrethatatime and her siblings are out of the winning Gulch mare Onemiracleatatime, a half sister to listed stakes winner Timeless Love (by Gilded Time). The next dam in the tail-female line, Katie Love (by 1986 American champion turf male Manila) is out of the Francis S. mare Gonfalon, also the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Ogygian (by Damascus) and second dam of 1996 Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1) winner Honour and Glory (by Relaunch).

On paper, Tommy Jo looks to be the faster of these two fillies based both on speed figures and on a line through Rileytole, but anything can happen on Breeders’ Cup day and often does. The West Coast contingent also cannot be taken lightly after Explora’s monster race in the Oak Leaf Stakes Presented by Oak Leaf Racing Association (USA-G2), and it must be remembered that Bottle of Rouge beat her for the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G1) at Del Mar, where she is now 2-for-2 (see “Mares on Monday: Bottle of Rouge Is the Toast of the Del Mar Debutante,” September 8, 2025). As daughters of Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1) winners Blame and Vino Rosso, respectively, they should have no trouble with the 8.5-furlong distance and may well improve next year to boot. In any event, the Juvenile Fillies should be one of the more interesting races on the Breeders’ Cup card and will probably crown this year’s junior princess of the sport in the United States, regardless of which filly wins.


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Mares on Monday: Clicquot Bubbles Up in Cotillion Stakes

9/22/2025

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​In Saturday’s Cotillion Stakes (USA-G1) at Parx Racing, three Grade 1 winners—Good Cheer, La Cara, and Scottish Lassie—furnished most of the pre-race chat. Post-race was a different story, as all three of the big names failed to hit the board. Instead, a new shooter’s connections got to pop some champagne as last-out Indiana Oaks (USA-G3) winner Clicquot, making her Grade 1 debut, gamely withstood a stiff drive through the stretch to beat Dry Powder home by a neck. Ourdaydreaminggirl, the longest shot on the board at 47-1, made a strong closing run to finish another head back in third.

Bred by Don Alberto Corporation, Clicquot is the 15th Grade/Group 1 winner sired by Lane’s End veteran sire Quality Road, who has been represented by 19 stakes winners so far in 2025. Also the sire of recent Ballerina Stakes (USA-G1) winner Hope Road, Quality Road has sired 639 winners (59.2 percent) and 93 stakes winners (8.6 percent) from 1,080 named foals aged 3 and up, giving him a remarkably consistent record for a modern-day stallion. Clicquot is the stallion’s fourth Grade 1 winner from an A.P. Indy-line mare, following Bellafina, Dunbar Road, and Emblem Road but is the first stakes winner of any sort sired by Quality Road from a Tapit mare.

Clicquot was produced from Tapit’s daughter Royal Obsession, who was the runner-up in the 2016 Gazelle Stakes (USA-G2) during her own racing days. A US$1.8 million purchase for Don Alberto Corp. from the 2017 Keeneland November mixed sale, Royal Obsession is also the dam of stakes-placed Silver Ticket (by Curlin) and the winning Distorted Humor filly Rue de Bac. She did not produce a live foal in 2023 or 2024 but gave birth to an Elite Power filly this spring before visiting Good Magic.

Tapit, of course, needs no introduction; a three-time American sire champion, he is currently leading the American broodmare sire list after finishing fifth in 2022, second in 2023, and third in 2024. Royal Obsession’s dam Rote is another matter, with her only other black-type runner being Jumby Bay, who placed in a couple of small stakes races at Tampa Bay Downs. Rote, though, is a winning Tiznow half sister to 2006 Garden City Breeders’ Cup Stakes (USA-G1) winner Magnificent Song (by Unbridled’s Song). She is also a half sister to three graded/Group stakes-placed runners, and having Storm Cat and Round Table as the sires of the next two dams along the female line certainly did not hurt Royal Obsession’s appeal.

Rote and her siblings were produced from Song to Remember (by Storm Cat), a winning half sister to multiple Grade 3 winner Lech (by Danzig), 1989 Miss Grillo Stakes (USA-G3) winner Savina (by Nijinsky II), and listed stakes winner Crimson Guard by Danzig). Produced from stakes-placed Wedding Reception (by Round Table), Song to Remember is also a half sister to Erandel (by Danzig), dam of 2003 Oceanport Handicap (USA-G3) winner Runspastum (by Woodman) and second dam of 2013 Gardenia Stakes (USA-G3) winner Devious Intent (by Dixie Union). Wedding Reception, in turn, is out of 1964 Diana Handicap winner Prodana Neviesta (by Reneged), making her a full sister to 1974 Lawrence Realization (USA-G2) winner Prod and a half sister to 1975 Schuylerville Stakes (USA-G3) winner Nijana (by Nijinsky II). Another half sister to Wedding Reception, Dowry (by Damascus), is the dam of 1986 San Simeon Stakes (USA-G3) winner Estate (by Singh).

Now riding a four-race win streak after breaking her maiden at second asking, Clicquot has jumbled the standings in the American 3-year-old filly division into a tangle unlikely to be resolved before the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (USA-G1). Barring something very unusual happening, such as a leading filly successfully tackling colts or older males in a late-season graded race (a la Surfside in the 2000 Clark Handicap, USA-G2), the Eclipse statuette will probably go to whichever of the top 3-year-old fillies turns in the best performance in the Distaff. Which one will it be? At this point, your guess is as good as mine, and quite possibly better.
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Mares on Monday: Bottle of Rouge Is the Toast of the Del Mar Debutante

9/8/2025

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​With the three top choices out of the seven fillies in the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G1) field in his stable, the odds were pretty good that Bob Baffert would be the trainer of the winner. The surprise came in which one actually got the job done. Brilliant maiden winner Explora was made the odds-on favorite with Sorrento Stakes (USA-G3) winner Himika getting the nod as second choice, but it was Bottle of Rouge who defied her 9-1 odds and ran out the winner by a length after showing commendable determination in a duel with Explora; Himika settled for fourth after failing to peg back Explora with her own challenge.

Now the winner of two of her three starts, Bottle of Rouge padded her bankroll to a total of $240,000. She is the fifth stakes winner and first graded stakes winner for 2019 American champion older dirt male Vino Rosso, whose oldest runners are 4-year-olds. The son of Curlin and the Street Cry mare Mythical Bride stands at Spendthrift Farm, and the connection between his name (meaning “red wine” in Italian) and that of his daughter is obvious.

On the distaff side, Bottle of Rouge was bred by Kathie Maybee, who acquired the filly’s dam Blues Corner after the mare failed to change hands on a US$19,000 bid at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky February mixed sale. For Maybee, Blues Corner has produced Golden Line (by Cross Traffic), a winner in Saudi Arabia, and Visceral, a 4-year-old Violence colt who has been unplaced in two starts. She was barren in 2022 and since producing Bottle of Rouge has given birth to a yearling full sister to the Debutante winner and a 2025 filly by Yaupon,

As Visceral and Bottle of Rouge sold for US$150,000 between them as weanlings, Maybee has not done badly with Blues Corner, whose bargain price reflected both an indifferent race record (one third from five starts) and an unfashionable sire in Bluegrass Cat. Now the broodmare sire of 25 stakes winners, Bluegrass Cat was a much better racehorse than stallion, winning the 2006 Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) and running second in that year’s Kentucky Derby (USA-G1), Belmont Stakes (USA-G1), and Travers Stakes (USA-G1). Although he was the leading New York-based sire of 2013, much more had been expected of him given his splendid pedigree; a son of Storm Cat, he belonged to an excellent branch of the La Troienne family tracing back through 1971 American champion 2-year-old filly Numbered Account.

A half sister to 2012 Philip. H. Iselin Stakes (USA-G3) winner San Pablo (by Jump Start) and to Grade 2-placed Slider (by Prenup), Blues Corner is out of Hunt’s Corner, a winning daughter of Silver Ghost. Sired by Mr. Prospector from the high-class race mare Misty Gallore (by Halo), Silver Ghost had a temper rivaling Halo’s but had speed as well, setting a track record for 6.5 furlongs at Belmont in 1985. He parlayed that speed and his fine pedigree into a quite useful career at stud, becoming the sire of the Grade 1-winning fillies Dreams Gallore, Love Lock, and Lunar Spook and the broodmare sire of 2024 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Puca.

Hunt’s Corner is a half sister to stakes-placed Twist the Facts (by Known Fact), dam of listed stakes winner Spin Zone (by Wild Zone), and is out of Treacherous Twist, a winning daughter of the useful speed sire Torsion and a half sister to stakes winner Turning Pleasant (by Pleasant Colony). The next dam in Bottle of Rouge’s tail-female line, Treacherous Turn (by Turn-to), is out of Treachery, by the good Mahmoud son Promised Land and a half sister to 1960 American champion 2-year-old male and 1970 American champion sire Hail to Reason (by Turn-to).

Although Bottle of Rouge is arguably the best runner produced by her direct female line since Hail to Reason, she would have to go a long way to be his match. Still, with a Grade 1 win over the track in the leadup to this year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1), a championship may not be out of her reach—and an Eclipse Award would be a good reason for her connections to raise a toast to her. With a bottle of red, of course.


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Mares on Monday: Daddy's Little Girl or Mini-Mom? Either Way, Hope Road Dances to Ballerina Win

8/25/2025

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​Hope Road acted like Daddy’s little girl during loading into the gate for the Resorts World Casino Ballerina Stakes (USA-G1) at Saratoga on Saturday, but when the gates flew open, it was a case of “like mother, like daughter.” Emulating her dam, 2018 Ballerina winner Marley’s Freedom, Hope Road came strongly through the stretch and got the job done by two lengths over multiple graded stakes winner Scylla. It was the first Grade 1 win for the Cicero Farms homebred, who improved her record to five wins from 12 starts and increased her lifetime bankroll to $886,620.

Hope Road is by Quality Road, who won three Grade 1 races and set three track records during his career but gained  notoriety for his pre-race display at the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). On that occasion, he became so keyed up and upset that he all but sat down in the gate, forcing a scratch. He recovered to turn in brilliant performances in the 2010 Donn Handicap (USA-G1) and Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1) as a 4-year-old. Retired to Lane’s End Farm in Kentucky, he has been a good sire whose 15 Grade/Group 1 winners include American champions Abel Tasman, Corniche, and National Treasure.

Hope Road is the first foal of Marley’s Freedom, a half sister to listed stakes winner Noble Charlotte (by Include) and to Indian Carlie (by Indian Charlie), dam of multiple stakes winner Noble Commander (by Forestry). A daughter of 2010 American champion older male Blame, Marley’s Freedom won three other graded stakes races at distances up to a mile in addition to her Ballerina win. Following Hope Road, she has produced the unraced 3-year-old filly Freedom Song (by Medaglia d’Oro), a yearling colt by Uncle Mo, and a 2025 colt by Violence. She most recently visited Not This Time.

As a daughter of Blame, who stayed 10 furlongs quite well, Marley’s Freedom might have been expected to want more distance, but Blame may have transmitted the sprinting proclivity of his dam Liable (the 2010 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year) in this case. Although she was sired by Seeking the Gold out of a Nijinsky II mare—ordinarily a formula for classic stamina—Liable scored all six of her career victories over sprint distances. A half sister to the Group 1-winning miler Archipenko (by Kingmambo) and stakes winner Limit, she was produced from Bound, who showed some foot over sprint distances as well as around two turns. This is a branch of the family of Rough Shod II, which was a longtime pillar of Claiborne Farm’s breeding program and proved a versatile source of fine horses with varying distance capacities.

Liable is actually a better guess than the distaff side of Marley’s Freedom’s pedigree as the source of the Ballerina winner’s speed. The dam of Marley’s Freedom, Relaxing Green, was a two-turn runner of modest talent but was about as good as most sired by Formal Gold. The best racing son of 1991 American Horse of the Year Black Tie Affair, Formal Gold boasted a high cruising speed, a weapon he used to win four graded stakes as a 4-year-old including the 1997 Woodward Stakes (USA-G1) and Donn Handicap (USA-G1). Unfortunately, he failed to transmit his own fine qualities consistently, getting a lot of small winners but not much above the ordinary.

Relaxing Green is a half sister to 1999 Lexington Stakes (USA-G3) winner Mythical Gem (by Jade Hunter) and to Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Apple Charlotte (by Smart Strike). Produced from stakes-placed Charlotte Augusta (by 1984 American champion 2-year-old male Chief’s Crown out of 1982 New York Handicap, USA-G3, winner Noble Damsel), Relaxing Green is also a half sister to Anyhow (by Tiznow), dam of 2015 Stephen Foster Handicap (USA-G1) winner Noble Bird (by Birdstone) and Puerto Rican stakes winner Brother Pat (Any Given Saturday).

As the Ballerina was a “Win and You’re In” race for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (USA-G1), the latter race seems to be the likely year-end target for Hope Road. A win on American racing’s biggest day would likely be enough to secure an Eclipse Award as American champion female sprinter for a filly who certainly took after both parents when it comes to ability.
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Mares on Monday: Nitrogen Reaches Atmospheric Heights in Alabama

8/18/2025

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​On June 17, 2025, Nitrogen aired by 17 lengths in an off-the-turf edition of the Wonder Again Stakes (USA-G3) at Saratoga, her first race on a surface other than turf. After she got nipped at the wire in the Belmont Invitational Oaks (USA-G1), her connections decided to see whether that dirt form was a fluke or limited to the slop. They picked an ambitious spot for the trial. Saturday’s Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland Sales (USA-G1) drew a small but select field of six, including both the leading contenders in the American 3-year-old filly division: Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) winner Good Cheer, who dominated the division in the spring, and La Cara, who ripped off front-running victories in the Central Bank Ashland Stakes (USA-G1) and the DK Horse Acorn Stakes (USA-G1). Globe-trotting United Arab Emirates Oaks (USA-G3) winner and Swedish Derby runner-up Queen Azteca and Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (USA-G2) winner Margie’s Intention also merited at least some consideration, with Black-Eyed Susan Stakes third Kinzie Queen rounding out the field.

Following the Alabama, there is now a troika at the top of the division instead of a pair. The reigning Canadian champion juvenile filly, Nitrogen thrust herself into Eclipse Award contention on this side of the northern border with a 1½-length win over Good Cheer; La Cara, the early leader, was a leg-weary fourth.

La Cara, who had things her own way in the early going, had no excuse on the track, though her fitness may have been adversely affected by a strangles quarantine that forced her to stay in the barn and miss a planned start in the Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1) on July 19. Good Cheer likewise had no excuse during the race, running a solid second. Nitrogen was simply the best filly that day, despite drifting in and out in the stretch in a manner that suggested that either she lost mental focus or the distance was a little more than really she wanted. Regardless, she is now in position to chart a path to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (USA-G1) and a possible American championship.

Like Good Cheer, Nitrogen is a daughter of three-time Grade 1 winner Medaglia d’Oro, who needs no introduction as a sire of top fillies or for that matter as a top sire, period. The veteran Darley stallion has 186 stakes winners to his credit, including 29 Grade/Group 1 winners, and is currently 10th on the American general sire list. Aside from Nitrogen and Good Cheer, he is also represented this year by dual Grade 1 winner Spirit of St. Louis.

Bred and owned by D. J. Stable, Nitrogen is out of Tiffany Case, who was purchased from the 2019 Keeneland November mixed sale for $320,000 while carrying Nitrogen’s older half sister, Love to Shop (by Violence). A foal of 2020, Love to Shop won the 2023 Toronto Cup Stakes Presented by Crown Royal (CAN-L) and is Grade 2-placed. Since producing Nitrogen, Tiffany Case’s only other live foal has been a 2024 daughter of Gun Runner, now named Sniper. The mare was bred to Not This Time for 2026.

A stakes-placed half sister to 2018 Indiana Oaks (USA-G3) winner and Acorn Stakes runner-up Talk Veuve to Me (by Violence), Tiffany Case is by the late Uncle Mo out of Biblical Point, a winning daughter of Point Given. Produced from Biblical Sense, Biblical Point is a full sister to multiple Grade 2-placed stakes winner Winning Point and a half sister to stakes winner Sense of Duty (by Meadowlake).

Biblical Sense never raced, but she had plenty of pedigree to offer, Sired by Blushing Groom out of the Group 3-placed Northern Dancer mare Star in the North (a half sister to 1975 Prix de Flore, FR-G3, winner Lighted Glory, by Nijinsky II, and to 1986 Prix Kergorlay, FR-G2, winner King Luthier, by Luthier), she is a half sister to 1985 Manhattan Handicap (USA-G1) winner Cool (by Bold Bidder), to 1989 Coloroll Yorkshire Cup (ENG-G2) winner Mountain Kingdom (by Exceller), and to stakes winner Heaven and Earth (by Stop the Music).

Now just a nose shy of being a Grade 1 winner on both dirt and turf, Nitrogen has certainly proved her versatility as well as her class. With a record of six wins and that close second from seven starts in 2025, she has also been as consistent as once could ask. That consistency, combined with her top-flight ability, might just be enough to send her flying to new heights during the remainder of the year.
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Mares on Monday: Seismic Beauty Rocks 'Em in Clement D. Hirsch

8/4/2025

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​With earthquakes shaking our world recently, perhaps Seismic Beauty took it as a sign that it was time to generate a shockwave of her own. The 4-year-old filly, who races for Peter Leidel and My Racehorse, stepped it up in front-running style in Saturday’s Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (USA-G1) at Del Mar. Her 1½-length score over multiple Grade 1 winner Kopion was her first success at the top level, and it also punched her ticket for a “Win and You’re In” entry to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (USA-G1)—which, it just so happens, is being run at Del Mar this year. This is also the track where Seismic Beauty broke her maiden at second asking as a 3-year-old, so she will go into the Distaff with a home-court advantage. A big, rather slow-developing type, she will also go into the Breeders’ Cup with ever-increasing maturity after three straight victories.

The fourth Hirsch winner for trainer Bob Baffert, Seismic Beauty was bred by 2500 Determined Stud, which bought the daughter of Uncle Mo in utero when they picked up the mare Knarsdale for US$430,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Now the sire of 113 stakes winners, Uncle Mo represents the Grey Sovereign branch of the Nasrullah male line, which entered the United States via Uncle Mo’s great-great-grandsire Caro in 1977. The stallion died in December 2024, but his son Nyquist is already a well-established successor, and more Uncle Mo sons have earned trials at stud at some of America’s top stud farms.

Knarsdale, the dam of Seismic Beauty, was not nearly so accomplished during her own racing days, topping out with a minor stakes placing. Nevertheless, she brought a fine pedigree to the mating. A daughter of longtime Darley stalwart Medaglia d’Oro (whose daughters have thus far produced 130 stakes winners), she is out of Grade 3-placed Secret File, whose sire Smart Strike, a two-time leader of the American general sire list, has 206 stakes winners to his credit as a maternal grandsire. Seismic Beauty is her first foal, and Knarsdale is also the dam of the winning Bernardini colt Cincazul and the unraced 2-year-old filly My Steel Magnolia (by Essential Quality). The mare’s most recent foals are a 2024 full sister to Seismic Beauty and a 2025 filly by Charlatan.

This line traces back to the mid-20th century matriarch Your Hostess via the mare’s great-granddaughter White Moon (by Hail to Reason), a product of the Bieber-Jacobs breeding program that never made it to the races. Put to the good sire Delta Judge, she produced the winner Cosmic Law, a half sister to minor stakes winner Silent White (by Silent Screen). From there, the family fortunes began ticking up again as Cosmic Law produced two stakes winners: El Perico (by Drone), a modest stakes winner at Hialeah, and Cosmic Tiger (by Tim the Tiger), a good juvenile whose two stakes wins included the 1985 Tempted Stakes (USA-G3). Cosmic Law also produced Hawaiian Joss (by Hawaii), dam of 1994 Gardenia Breeders’ Cup Handicap (USA-G3) winner Alphabulous (by Alphabatim); Heavenly Storm (by Storm Bird), dam of German listed stakes winner Henessy (by Alkalde); and Codetogo (by Lost Code), dam of stakes winner Cedar Knolls (by Broad Brush).

Cosmic Tiger carried on with three stakes winners of her own: Chillito, a Strawberry Road gelding who won the 1998 Flamingo Stakes (USA-G3); Once a Sailor (by Vice Regent), a multiple listed stakes winner at the Fair Grounds; and Grade 3-placed listed stakes winner Emery Board (by Grindstone), whose daughter Secret File is Seismic Beauty’s granddam. Cosmic Tiger also produced stakes-placed Embraceable (by Dehere), dam of Canadian restricted stakes winners Retraceable (by Medaglia d’Oro; dam of stakes winner Another Miracle, by American Pharoah) and Maritime Passion (by Stormy Atlantic). The last-named mare is the dam of 2016 Highlander Stakes (CAN-G2) winner Passion for Action (by Speightstown).

Generally speaking, Seismic Beauty’s female line has been solid but unspectacular for generations; prior to Seismic Beauty, it had not produced a Grade/Group 1 winner since 1971, when White Moon’s full sister Hippodamia, France’s champion juvenile filly of 1973, first saw the light of day. Nevertheless, good, solid female families of this sort can have an eruption of class at any time, and with Seismic Beauty, this one just did.

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Mares on Monday: No Time Like the Present in Woodbine Oaks

7/21/2025

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​Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, a veteran of the New York circuit, doesn’t ride north of the Canadian border all that often. His previous trips there have been profitable, though; he has ridden the winner of the Woodbine Mile (CAN-G1) five times and the winner of the E. P. Taylor Stakes (CAN-G1) three times, as well as taking the King’s Plate (then the Queen’s Plate) with Wonder Gadot in 2018. Last Sunday, he added the classic Woodbine Oaks to his resume, bringing No Time home by 3¾ lengths over race favorite Shifty. Winterberry was home third, completing a 1-2-3 sweep for trainer Mark Casse, who tied Jim Day’s record of five wins in Canada's premier Classic for 3-year-old fillies. It was also the second Oaks win for Gary Barber, whose Lexie Lou swept the 2014 Oaks and Queen’s Plate on the way to Canadian Horse of the Year honors.

No Time, who was gaining her first stakes win, will need to step up her game substantially to warrant comparison with Lexie Lou, who ended her 3-year-old season by running an excellent second to 2014 American champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year California Chrome in the Hollywood Derby (USA-G1). Nevertheless, she has a pedigree suggesting that we haven’t seen the best of her yet, as well as connections that should have every chance of bringing out whatever potential she has.

No Time is the fiftieth stakes winner for Not This Time, who has gone from strength to strength since entering stud in 2017. The sire of 12 stakes winners (five of them graded) in 2025, the son of Giant’s Causeway was represented by 17 stakes winners last year, headed by the blazing-fast turf sprinter Cogburn and Matriarch Stakes (USA-G1) winner Sacred Wish. A versatile sire who gets good runners on all surfaces and from sprints to classic distances, he currently stands seventh on the American general sire list.

On the distaff side, No Time is a half sister to two-time Bing Crosby Stakes (USA-G1) winner Ransom the Moon (by Malibu Moon) and to 2022 Frank E. Kilroe Mile Stakes (USA-G1) winner Count Again (by Awesome Again), both horses that needed some time to mature before finding their best form. Their dam, the Red Ransom mare Count to Three, became a stakes winner at age 4, and her “nephew” Paijan (by Mingun out of Count to Three’s half sister Countus Affair, by Black Tie Affair) became a Group 3 winner in Peru at age 4. Of the stakes winners in No Time’s immediate family, Think Red (a full brother to Count to Three) was the most precocious, winning the 2000 Toronto Cup Handicap in July of his 3-year-old season.

Count to Three, in turn, is out of 1990 Matriarch Handicap (USA-G1) winner Countus In (by Dancing Count x Cloudy and Warm, by Cloudy Dawn), who took down her signature score as a 5-year-old. Two of her half sisters did win stakes as 3-year-olds, though at a significantly lower level: Tulindas (by Shelter Half) and Aube d’Or (by Medaille d’Or). The last-named mare is the third dam of 2021 American Horse of the Year Knicks Go (by Paynter), who reached his best form as a 5-year-old.

No Time, then, is a filly one would reasonably expect to be slow to come to her best form. Even as she stands, on speed figures she would be a reasonable fit for the upcoming King’s Plate, a race won by eight previous Oaks winners. The most recent to complete the double was Moira (2022), who went on to become the 2022 Canadian Horse of the Year and the 2024 American champion turf female. That would be a lofty standard to emulate, but given time, it may not be out of reach.
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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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    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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