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Mares on Monday: Caitlinhergrtness Is Queen in the King's Plate

8/26/2024

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​On July 20, Caitlnhergrtness entered the Woodbine starting gate as a lukewarm favorite in the Woodbine Oaks Presented by Stella Artois (CAN-R) but was outfinished by second choice Kin’s Concerto. Since then, the two fillies have been on different trajectories. Sent to the second leg of Canada’s Triple Tiara series, the Bison City Stakes (CAN-R) on August 10, Kin’s Concerto ran the worst race of her career and ended up seventh after running rather erratically. Caitlinhergrtness, on the other hand, stepped up her game. Supplemented to Canada’s oldest and most prestigious Classic, the King’s Plate, on August 23, Caitlinhergrtness ran down heavily favored My Boy Prince (last year’s Canadian champion 2-year-old male) to win by three-quarters of a length for owners Siena Farm and WinStar Farm. Her record now stands at three wins and two placings from seven starts.

Bred by Jesse Korona, the King’s Plate winner is one of six 2024 stakes winners from the first crop of multiple Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach. Runner-up to Maximum Security in Eclipse Award voting for champion 3-year-old male in 2019, the son of War Front is one of the best-bred young stallions out there. A half brother to American champion 2-year-old filly Take Charge Brandi (by Giant’s Causeway), he is out of Charming (by Seeking the Gold x 2013 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year and multiple Grade 1 winner Take Charge Lady), a half sister to 2013 American champion 3-year-old male Will Take Charge (by Unbridled’s Song), 2012 Florida Derby (USA-G1) winner Take Charge Indy (by A.P. Indy), and 2022 Beholder Mile Stakes (USA-G1) winner As Time Goes By (by American Pharoah). This family was covered in more detail in a previous post (“Mares on Monday: The Lady Took Charge,” May 24, 2021).

On the distaff side, Caitlinhergrtness’s pedigree is no less interesting. Her third dam is stakes-placed Helsinki, a daughter of 1989 French champion 2-year-old male Machiavellian and 1985 Gilltown Stud Irish Oaks (IRE-G1) heroine Helen Street and so a full sister to 2002 Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) winner and successful sire Street Cry. Helsinki proved at least as good a broodmare as Street Cry was a sire, producing 2004 European champion 2-year-old male and 2005 French dual Classic winner Shamardal (by Giant’s Causeway; a fine stallion in his own right) and 2013 Beresford Stakes (IRE-G2) winner Geoffrey Chaucer (by Montjeu). Helsinki is also the dam of Shamarbelle (by Montjeu), second dam of 2022 Chilean champion 2-year-old turf filly Sos Genia.

Diamond Necklace, Helsinki’s 2004 daughter by Unbridled’s Song, was stakes-placed in Ireland during her own racing days. She is the dam of Grade 1-placed listed stakes winner Dogtag (by War Front) and has two stakes producers among her daughters. One, stakes-placed Raskova (by Henrythenavigator), is the dam of 2023 Hobartville Stakes (AUS-G2) winner Osipenko (by Pierro). The other is Belatrix (by Giant’s Causeway), who produced Caitlinhergrtness as her fourth foal. Belatrix has since produced Sovereign Star, an as-yet-unraced 2-year-old colt by Midnight Lute, before being sold for US$11,000 at the 2023 Keeneland November sale, in foal to Greatest Honour. She failed to produce a live foal and was bred back to Loggins for 2025.

After four starts on dirt with only a maiden win to show for them, Caitlynhergrtness has definitely improved since being switched to turf (she won an optional claimer on the grass prior to the Woodbine Oaks) and the Tapeta course at Woodbine. That puts a question mark on whether she will try the boys again in the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Stakes (CAN-R), which will be contested over 9.5 furlongs on the dirt at Fort Erie on September 10. The third leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the September 29 Breeders’ Stakes (CAN-R), is over 12 furlongs on the turf at Woodbine, a surface more to her liking and perhaps more favorable in spacing between races as well.

Whether or not Caitlinhergrtness tackles the males again, it seems likely that she will stay in Canada for now. On speed figures, she would need to make a substantial jump to be competitive with Thorpedo Anna, whose game stretch run in the Draftkings Travers Stakes (USA-G1) fell a shrinking head short of catching 2023 American champion 2-year-old male and 2024 Curlin Florida Derby (USA-G1) winner Fierceness. There are several good options coming up at Woodbine on both the main track and the turf course, however, and trainer Kevin Attard can afford to give his filly whatever time she needs to be at her best for her next race as he plots a course toward a possible Sovereign Award.
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Mares on Monday: Doing the Wave Is Sweet in Pucker Up

8/7/2024

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​Prior to last Sunday’s Pucker Up Stakes (USA-G3) at Ellis Park, lightly-raced Waves of Mischief was not on anyone’s list of the top American 3-year-old fillies on turf. Following the race, that may have changed. Rebounding from an ignominious last-place finish in the June 29 Selene Stakes (CAN-G3) on Woodbine’s all-weather surface, Waves of Mischief threw in a huge race in the Pucker Up to run down favored Regret Stakes (USA-G3) winner Pin Up Betty by a head. For her effort, Waves of Mischief earned a 112 Equibase speed figure, comparing favorably to the back-to-back 110 ratings posted by Cinderella’s Dream in winning the Fasig-Tipton Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) and the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (USA-G2) in her last two outings.

Given that Waves of Mischief’s race represented a 24-point jump from her previous top figure (an 88 in her maiden outing) and a 49-point swing from the Selene Stakes, the Brendan Walsh trainee will need to show that she can turn in strong races consistently before she merits comparison with the best of her division. Nevertheless, the Pucker Up represents a big step forward for a well-bred filly with the credentials to be an excellent broodmare when the time comes.

Bred by Pam and Martin Wygod, Waves of Mischief was a US$575,000 purchase for owner Qatar Racing from the 2023 Ocala Breeders’ Sales April sale of 2-year-olds in training, While a 10-second furlong during the breeze show did not hurt her stock any, her pedigree was probably a greater attraction. Sired by five-time American champion sire Into Mischief, Waves of Mischief is a great-granddaughter of 2009 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Sweet Life, no small recommendation for a broodmare prospect.

Sired by the good Roberto stallion Kris S. (a solid influence for stamina), Sweet Life is one of four stakes winners produced from the stakes-placed Flying Paster mare Symbolically. The best of the group was Pirate’s Revenge (by the fine California regional sire Pirate’s Bounty), who won the 1995 Milady Handicap (USA-G1) and Bayakoa Handicap (USA-G2). In addition to her stakes winners, Symbolically also produced Symbolic (by Silver Deputy), second dam of 2018 Robert J. Frankel Stakes (USA-G3) winner Fahan Mura (by English Channel).

Sweet Life showed talent not too far off that of Pirate’s Revenge, winning the restricted Providencia Stakes at Santa Anita at 3 and running second in the 2000 Beverly Hills Handicap (USA-G1) the following year. As a broodmare, she got off to an excellent start with her first foal, Sweet Catomine (by Storm Cat), who won the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (USA-G1), Oak Leaf Stakes (USA-G2), and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1) to claim the 2004 Eclipse Award as American champion 2-year-old filly. Sweet Catomine trained on to win the 2005 Santa Anita Oaks (USA-G1) but proved a disappointing broodmare, though she is the second dam of stakes winners Naughty Thoughts (by The Factor) and Inthewinner’scircle (by Medaglia d’Oro).

Following Sweet Catomine, Sweet Life produced the winning Giant’s Causeway mare Sweet Way, dam of three stakes-placed runners and second dam of listed stakes winner Committee of One (by Mendelssohn). Gold West, a winning gelding by Gone West, came next, and Sweet Life then produced Sweet Catomine’s full sister Life Is Sweet in 2005. The winner of the 2009 Santa Margaret Invitational Handicap (USA-G1) in March at Santa Anita, Life Is Sweet returned to Santa Anita for the Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (USA-G1) that fall and ably deputized for her stablemate Zenyatta, who had been entered against the males in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). (She won, making her the only filly or mare to date to have done so.) Running the race of her life at 8-1 odds, Life Is Sweet put in a Zenyatta-like late run of her own to win by 2½ lengths. Unfortunately, her broodmare career has not reflected her racing merit, though she is the second dam of the minor stakes winner Batucada (by Union Rags). She last produced a live foal, the Uncle Mo filly Life’s for Living, in 2021.

Sweet Life’s third and final stakes winner is listed stakes winner Calmonico (by Storm Cat), who placed in two Grade 2 races, She is also the dam of Symbolic Gesture (by Bernardini), who is the dam of 2020 Risen Star Stakes (USA-G2) winner Modernist (by Uncle Mo).

Ain’t She Sweet, a full sister to all three of Sweet Life’s stakes winners, never made it to the racetrack and, like her more accomplished sisters, never produced a black-type runner in spite of being bred to a series of top-rank sires. Pearl River, her unraced daughter by four-time Grade 1 winner Quality Road, is the first of her daughters to come up with a runner of significance, producing Waves of Mischief as her third foal. Since then, the mare has foaled Stars and Stripes, a 2022 colt by Not This Time who has yet to race, and an unnamed 2023 colt by Nyquist.

A top-class broodmare based on her own production record, Sweet Life has not bred on as well as might be hoped through her daughters and granddaughters. Nevertheless, Waves of Mischief certainly gives reason to hope for a sweet future for this family, both during the remainder of her racing career and during her future broodmare career.
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Mares on Monday: Full Steam Ahead as Thorpedo Anna Targets Travers

7/29/2024

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​With her win in the Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1), Thorpedo Anna confirmed that she stands head and shoulders above the rest of this year’s sophomore fillies. Ordinarily, a top filly would probably go on to the Alabama Stakes Presented by Keeneland (USA-G1), remaining within her division, but Thorpedo Anna has been so dominant that Saratoga might have trouble even rounding up opponents willing to come out for second and third money.

Ruling out the Alabama left two other options on the table for Thorpedo Anna’s connections. One would be to await the fall Belmont at the Big A meeting to tackle older females. (Thorpedo Anna is ineligible for Saratoga’s major race for older fillies and mares on dirt, the Grade 1 Personal Ensign Stakes, because that race is restricted to ages 4 and up.). The other is to tackle the best of the 3-year-old males in training in the DraftKings Travers Stakes (USA-G1). This is the option chosen by trainer Kenny McPeek, who announced his decision on July 27 following consultation with the filly’s owners.

Only seven fillies have ever won the Travers, and the last was Lady Rotha in 1915, who won via a controversial disqualification of apparent six-length winner Trial By Jury and was readily beaten in the Alabama five days later by Kentucky Oaks winner Waterblossom. The last filly to win the Travers on her own merits was Ada Nay, who waltzed home by six lengths in a year in which the race was contested at 9 furlongs, and 1895 winner Liza likewise won at that distance. Fillies actually had their greatest successes when the Travers was contested at 14 furlongs, winning four times during the years 1865-1876 over this testing distance; these heroines of the turf included Ruthless, who also won the inaugural Belmont Stakes over 13 furlongs.

To join this historic group of fillies, Thorpedo Anna must answer two questions. One, does she want the distance? She has done everything asked of her at up to 9 furlongs but has never been tried at a longer distance. Against other fillies, it seems likely that she could coast another furlong on class even if she doesn’t really want the trip. Against colts, that may not be an option. Her pedigree is inconclusive; although she comes from the family of Kentucky Derby winners Northern Dancer and Cannonade, her sire scored his marquee win at 7 furlongs; beyond that, she has a nice mix of speed and stamina influences without a strong leaning one way or the other. Essentially, one cannot say from her bloodlines that she cannot get 10 furlongs, but one cannot say that she will, either.
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The other question is simply this: is she good enough? Her 105 Equibase speed figure from the Coaching Club American Oaks is up there with Dornoch’s recent performances (107 in the Haskell, 106 in the Belmont) and better than Seize the Grey’s career-high Preakness run (101). Sierra Leone has an average Equibase figure of 106.5 over his last four starts, while Mindframe has paired 105 figures in his last two starts. On paper, Fierceness is the fastest horse on the field, but his in-and-out pattern is concerning. If Thorpedo Anna moves forward off her Oaks romp, she should be right there in the mix provided that she has the mental attitude not to be intimidated by running with the boys. If she regresses even slightly, the chances are very good that she will be an also-ran.
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Mares on Monday: Kin's Concerto Shows Spark of an Old Flame in Woodbine Oaks

7/22/2024

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​Inaugurated in 1956, the Woodbine Oaks is Canada’s counterpart to the Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1). Although it does not command the same level of prestige, being restricted to Canadian-breds, it is nonetheless an interesting race that usually draws together the best of the sophomore fillies foaled under the Maple Leaf flag. As such, it has often served as a springboard to a Canadian championship campaign within the division or an assault on the boys in Canada’s premier Classic, the King’s Plate, which this year will be held on August 17.

This year’s winner is Kin’s Concerto, who ran down favored Caitlinhergrtness in the final seventy yards to win by a neck. The victory made Sofia Vives the first female jockey to score in Canada’s top filly Classic and gave trainer Josie Carroll her third Woodbine Oaks win, and Equibase gave the winner a respectable speed rating of 95, marking the fifth straight race in which Kin’s Concerto has shown a small improvement.

This cannot be said to have been a stellar Oaks field, given that Caitinhergrtness had won but two of her five starts and had no previous black type and that Kin’s Concerto was second choice in spite of having only a maiden win to her credit from four starts. Nevertheless, the winner’s development is on a good trajectory thus far, and she has an interesting pedigree that suggests that greater accomplishments may not be outside her scope in the future.

Kin’s Concerto is a daughter of the enigmatic Mendelssohn, a Scat Daddy half brother to four-time American champion Beholder and to five-time American champion sire Into Mischief. The winner of the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (USA-G1) and the 2018 United Arab Emirates Derby (UAE-G2), Mendelssohn clearly had high-class talent, but many observers felt that his 3-year-old campaign lacked focus and perhaps placed too much stress on the colt through several long trips between racing venues, causing him to achieve less than he might otherwise have.

Retired to Ashford Stud at the end of his 3-year-old season, Mendelssohn was well received but had to compete with a still better son of Scat Daddy in 2018 American Triple Crown winner Justify. His results have so far not justified early hype; Kin’s Concerto is only his 13th stakes winner from 627 named foals of racing age, and so far, none of his foals have shown anything close to the level of talent he himself possessed.

Even so, Mendelssohn has the kind of genetics and performance behind him to enable him to sire a breakout horse at any time, and while Kin’s Concerto seems unlikely to be that horse, she does have significant potential. She is the seventh foal and fourth winner produced from Kincardine, an unraced daughter of 2000 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) winner Fusaichi Pegasus. Like Mendelssohn, “Fu Peg” was a highly talented and magnificently bred horse (by Mr. Prospector out of a full sister to 1992 Preakness Stakes, USA-G1, winner Pine Bluff) who proved erratic as a sire but did beget a few top individuals, among them 2007 Australian champion 3-year-old male Haradasun, 2014 Chilean champion older male Bronzo, and Roman Ruler, a Grade 1 winner in the United States and a two-time champion sire in Argentina.

Kincardine is a full sister to Vulcan Rose, dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Flameaway (by Scat Daddy) and Canadian stakes winner Ellan Vannin (by Spring At Last). Also a half sister to 2007 Canadian Stakes (CAN-G2) winner Essential Edge (by Storm Cat) and to Flaming Rose (by Grand Slam), dam of two-time Nijinsky Stakes (CAN-G2) winner Tiz a Slam (by Tiznow), Kincardine is out of Rose of Tara, a half sister by 1991 Irish Horse of the Year Generous to five stakes winners produced by the magnificent broodmare Flame of Tara.

A daughter of multiple Group 1 winner Artaius (by Round Table), Flame of Tara was a fine race mare in her own right, collecting Group 2 wins in England and Ireland, but she outbred herself tremendously when she produced Salsabil (by Sadler’s Wells) as her second foal. After winning the 1990 General Accident One Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) and Gold Seal Oaks (ENG-G1), she then conquered males in the Budweiser Irish Derby (IRE-G1). She also collected two Group 1 wins in France during her career, winning the 1989 Prix Marcel Boussac and 1990 Prix Vermeille and produced three graded/Group stakes winners of her own during a brief broodmare career.

None of Flame of Tara’s other foals was quite the equal of Salsabil, but even without Salsabil’s exploits, Flame of Tara’s record would have been more than respectable. Bred to 1986 English and French champion sprinter Last Tycoon in 1987, she produced Marju, who won the 1991 St. James’s Palace Stakes (ENG-G1) at the Royal Ascot meeting and proved to be a useful sire. Her next stakes winner was Danse Royale (by 1983 French champion 3-year-old male Caerleon), who won the 1993 Prix de Psyche (FR-G3) but was a disappointing broodmare. Salsabil’s 1992 full brother Song of Tara was not a patch on his elder sister but was much better than an empty stall, winning the listed Prix Nimbus in France and placing in three Group races in England and Ireland, and the last of Flame of Tara’s stakes winners, Flame of Athens (by Royal Academy) won the 1995 P. V. Doyle Memorial Railway Stakes (IRE-G3) as a 2-year-old. Throw in two Group 2-placed runners in Nearctic Flame (by Sadler’s Wells; dam of two listed stakes winners) and Spirit of Tara (by Sadler’s Wells; dam of multiple Group stakes winner Echo of Light, by Dubai Millennium, and two other stakes winners), and Flame of Tara’s broodmare record looks very good indeed.

Generous, the sire of Rose of Tara, was an excellent stayer who tended to beget horses of similar stripe, and given that Fusaichi Pegasus clearly stayed 10 furlongs well, it seems quite reasonable to conjecture that Kin’s Concerto is the sort of filly who would favor a distance of ground, particularly as she matures. This naturally leads to the question of how she might do if sent after the 10-furlong King’s Plate, in which the likely favorite would by My Boy Prince. A son of Cairo Prince, My Boy Prince is riding a three-race win streak and won the Plate Trial Stakes on the same day that Kin’s Concerto won the Woodbine Oaks, earning an identical Equibase speed figure of 95. On earlier speed figures, he is decidedly faster than Kin’s Concerto has thus far shown on his day, but those days have come at sprint distances or on turf.

Kin’s Concerto could, of course, stay within her division and contest the Bison City Stakes, the second leg of Canada’s Triple Tiara, on the King’s Plate undercard, but that race is at a mile and one-sixteenth and carries a purse of CAN$250,000 against CAN$1 million for the King’s Plate. Her connections’ choice, and its outcome, may reveal whether she has more than just a spark of what made Flame of Tara and her progeny burn so brightly.
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Mares on Monday: Sweet Azteca Keeps the Music Playing for Cee's Song

3/11/2024

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Sweet Azteca was one of the least-experienced and least-credentialed runners in the field for the B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile Stakes (USA-G1) on March 9 at Santa Anita. She had made only three prior starts, and in her only previous stakes effort was third in the Las Flores Handicap (USA-G3) on New Year’s Day. The Las Flores was only Sweet Azteca’s second lifetime start, though, and the fillies that outfinished her—Chismosa and Hot Peppers—were both multiple stakes winners who had acquitted themselves well in graded company. Showing that the experience had been beneficial, the Sharp Azteca filly bounced back with a 12-length romp in an optional claimer on February 2. That was eye-catching enough to make her the second choice behind 2023 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (USA-G1) winner Adare Manor—whose resume includes four other graded stakes wins—in the Beholder Mile, and Sweet Azteca proved she was ready for the big time with a front-running win by three-quarters of a length over that rival. The time for the mile on a fast track was 1:36.40, good enough for a 109 Equibase figure.

Owner-breeder Pamela Ziebarth is intimately familiar with Sweet Azteca’s family and what it is capable of delivering. With her mother, the late Cecelia Straub-Rubens, she has helped develop a branch of Bruce Lowe Family 26 from the mare Cee’s Song, whose history is worth further review in light of recent developments that include the emergence of Tarifa as a contender for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) (see “Tarifa on Well-Trodden Path to Lilies,” February 19, 2024).

Bred by Cotswold Farms 1981, Cee’s Song was sired by the Seattle Slew horse Seattle Song, who won the Prix de la Forêt against all-aged competition as a juvenile in France and won the Washington, D.C., International (USA-G1) as a 3-year-old in the United States. He was a useful sire, getting 20 stakes winners from 346 named foals, but left his primary mark on pedigrees through Cee’s Song.

The female line of Cee’s Song traces back to Sulenan (by 1960 Travers Stakes winner Tompion), whose dam Blue Canary (by the Bimelech horse Buy and Sell) is a half sister to 1961 co-champion 2-year-old male Crimson Satan (by Spy Song). Sulenan’s first foal was multiple stakes winner Swinging Lizzie (by The Axe II), who produced Grade 1 winners Swing Till Dawn (by Grey Dawn II) and Lively One (by Halo) and is the ancestress of Brazilian Group 1 winner American Gipsy.

Sulenan produced no more stakes winners but is also the dam of the winner Sleep Lonely (by Olympia's good son Pia Star) who has been responsible for the most prominent modern branch of this family. The dam of Canadian Grade 2 winner Quantra (by Quadrangle) and multiple Canadian stakes winner Mr. Kapacity (by 1972 Canadian champion 3-year-old male Nice Dancer), she also produced Lonely Dancer, a winning full sister to Mr. Kapacity and the dam of Cee's Song.

Cee’s Song, thus, had a good but not top-of-the-line pedigree and was not a particularly outstanding physical specimen when she went through the 1987 Keeneland September yearling sale. (Her catalog page would later be improved by her stakes-winning half sister Leery Baba, by Well Decorated, and her stakes-winning half brother Ceetoit, by Cee’s Tizzy.). Still, she was attractive enough to sell for US$50,000 to Straub-Rubens, who must have found her purchase a frustrating sort. It took Cee’s Song two years and 10 tries to break her maiden, with the breakthrough coming in a maiden claimer at Hollywood on April 26, 1990. Luckily for Straub-Rubens, she retained ownership of Cee’s Song, who ran in allowance company thereafter. Either Cee’s Song had a knack for finding races with just one rival too good for her or, more likely, was one of those headache horses that has some ability but will not leave the safety of the herd, for in her remaining eight starts, the filly was second six times and third once without winning again. She retired to her owner’s broodmare band having won once and placed 11 times from 18 starts for earnings of US$82,225.

Cee’s Song was not the only horse Straub-Rubens owned that was beginning its breeding career in 1991. Cee’s Tizzy was just then entering the stud after carrying Straub-Rubens’s colors. A talented but fragile son of Relaunch and the winning Lyphard mare Tizly (whose dam Tizna had been a top-class race mare in Chile and the United States), Cee’s Tizzy had won half his six starts and had run a respectable third behind Home At Last and Unbridled in the 1990 Super Derby (USA-G1) in spite of sustaining a carpal fracture during the race. Straub-Rubens felt he deserved a chance at stud and backed her opinion by mating him to Cee’s Song during all but one season in 1991-2000.

Straub-Rubens fell victim to heart disease and cancer on November 7, 2000, but she had seen her decision to “marry” Cee’s Song and Cee’s Tizzy pay tremendous dividends. The second foal from this “marriage” was Budroyale, a slow-developing horse who came on to be a Grade 2 winner at 5, 6, and 7 and ran second to Cat Thief in the 1999 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). The 1¼ lengths that separated Budroyale from victory was the margin that kept Cee’s Song from producing Breeders’ Cup Classic winners in consecutive years, for in 2000, Budroyale’s full brother Tiznow claimed Eclipse Awards as American champion 3-year-old male and American Horse of the Year with a stirring victory over European Horse of the Year Giant’s Causeway in the Classic, just three days before Straub-Rubens’s death. One year later, Tiznow repeated his title in the Breeders’ Cup Classic with an even more dramatic win over a top European horse, downing Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (FR-G1) winner Sakhee in the final stride after being passed and apparently beaten. He added another Eclipse Award to his collection, this as the American champion older male of 2001, and went on to become a successful sire.

All told, Cee’s Song produced nine foals to matings with Cee’s Tizzy (who justified Straub-Rubens’s faith in him by leading the California sire list twice). Two more, Tizbud and Tizdubai, became stakes winners, the latter at Grade 2 level, and Tizdubai is the dam of Madinat Jumeirah, a champion in Bahrain, and the second dam of Tarifa, while Tizbud had some success as a sire in California. Three other full sisters have also gotten in on the family act: Tizso, dam of 2012 Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner Paynter (by Awesome Again), Grade 3 winner Tiz West (by Gone West), and listed stakes winner Tizakitty (by Distinctive Cat); Tizamazing, dam of 2013 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Oxbow and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Awesome Patriot (both by Awesome Again); and Tizsweet, whose stakes-winning granddaughter So Sweetitiz (Grand Slam x Sweetitiz, by El Prado) is the dam of Sweet Azteca. Since producing Sweet Azteca, So Sweetitiz has since become the dam of the winning Dialed In filly Sweet Gal of Mine, the unraced 2-year-old colt Mucho Dulce (by Mucho Macho Man), and the 2023 colt Under the Big Sky (by Tonalist).

Following Straub-Rubens’s death, Cee’s Song visited Cee’s Tizzy for the last time before going to the 2001 Keeneland November sale. Purchased by Dromoland Farm for US$2.6 million, the mare ended up in the custody of the Coolmore conglomerate, which promptly sent her to two-time leading American sire Storm Cat. The results perhaps gave force to the country proverb, “Dance with the gal what brung you,” for Cee’s Song’s matings to high-fashion sires after her sale—three to Storm Cat and one to his champion son Giant’s Causeway, himself eventually a three-time American champion sire—yielded four foals that managed to win four races from 35 starts between them, headed by stakes-placed C’mon Tiger. Cee’s Song produced a dead foal in 2008, was barren in 2009 and 2010, and died in 2011.

Patience and familiarity have paid off for Ziebarth, who bred or co-bred both Sweetitiz and So Sweetitiz as well as Sharp Azteca. Thanks to her perseverance, the veteran breeder can now enjoy the sweet sound of success as Sweet Azteca carries the legacy of Cecelia Straub-Rubens and Cee’s Song forward for another generation.




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Mares on Monday: Fiona's Magic Makes It a Family Affair in Davona Dale

3/4/2024

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Every year, both the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1) and the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) come up with one or more possible Cinderella stories as the potential fields for the spring Classics shape up. This year, one of the candidates for a glass slipper in the Oaks is Fiona’s Magic, who sprang a gate-to-wire upset in the Davona Dale Stakes Presented by FanDuel TV (USA-G2) at Gulfstream Park. The Stonehedge Farm South homebred showed herself to be thoroughly game as she responded well when hooked by Into Champagne and was edging away again at the finish to score by a half-length.

In fairness, the race came up substantially weaker than expected thanks to the scratch of last year’s champion 2-year-old filly, Just F Y I. Nonetheless, it was a good win at the right time of year for Fiona’s Magic, a last-out second to the speedy R Harper Rose in the Forward Gal Stakes (USA-G3). The filly now has 60 points toward a starting spot in the Kentucky Oaks, probably enough to get her into the starting gate regardless of any further developments.

Fiona’s Magic is the first stakes winner for Florida second-crop sire St. Patrick’s Day, a full brother to 2015 American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah who stands at Journeyman Stud near Ocala. St. Patrick’s Day did most of his racing in Ireland, where he was Group 3-placed, but on his brother’s record might have done better racing on dirt in the United States. Stonehedge owner Marilyn Campbell owns a 25 percent interest in the stallion, making the victory of Fiona’s Magic doubly sweet for her.

On the distaff side, Fiona’s Magic is the fourth foal of Mollie’s Magic, who had previously produced FTBOA Florida Sire Dr. Fager Stakes (USA-R) winner Cajun’s Magic to the cover of Stonehedge stallion Cajun Breeze. The dam of four winners from as many foals to race, Mollie’s Magic has since produced the unraced 2-year-old colt Blazing Hot (by four-time Florida champion sire Khozan, another stallion in which Campbell owns an interest) and a yearling colt by Cajun Breeze. Barren for 2024, she is returning to St. Patrick’s Day this spring.

Sired by Factum, a winning Storm Cat half brother to War Front who also stood at Stonehedge, Mollie’s Magic was bred in Florida by the late Gil Campbell (who co-founded Stonehedge Farm South with his wife, Marilyn). The mare never raced but is a half sister to stakes winners Two T’s at Two B (by Untuttable), Scandalous Act (by Act of Duty), and Boo Boo Kitty (by Poseidon’s Warrior), all listed as bred by Gil Campbell or Stonehedge.

Mollie’s Magic and her siblings were produced from Seductive Lady, a US$33,000 yearling purchase from the 2002 Ocala Breeders’ Sales August sale. A half sister to restricted stakes winners I’m Impressed (by Proud Birdie) and Motion to Appeal (by Bellamy Road), the daughter of multiple Grade 1 winner and Canadian champion sprinter Langfuhr had enough ability to win a first-level allowance at Philadelphia Park as a 3-year-old after taking a maiden special weight at Colonial Downs earlier in the year but in her first start at 4 was last in a US$50,000 claimer at Aqueduct, beaten nearly 30 lengths, and was promptly retired.

This family has turned out some useful runners from fairly modest opportunities, but Fiona’s Magic’s score in the Davona Dale was the biggest win for a horse from this tail-female line since Copano (a daughter of Seductive Lady’s great-granddam, Saratoga Flirt) won the Black Helen Handicap (USA-G2) and the Orchid Handicap (USA-G3) as a 5-year-old in 1977. The next step for the filly is to try a two-turn race, most likely in Gulfstream Park’s Gulfstream Park Oaks (USA-G2) at 8.5 furlongs on March 30. Her performance there will probably determine whether Fiona’s Magic can continue eying Cinderella’s footwear or if midnight arrives early. ​
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Mares on Monday: Lemon Muffin Gains a Sweet Win for Lukas

2/26/2024

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​When D. Wayne Lukas sent out Aaron Sones’s 3-year-old filly Lemon Muffin to contest the Honeybee Stakes (USA-G3) on February 24, a fair number of people probably wondered what Lemon Muffin was doing there instead of in a maiden special weight or even a maiden claimer. As of post time, the filly was winless in five starts and was coming off four consecutive second-place finishes in maiden special weights. Further, the field was a nice one, as might be expecting for a Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1) qualifying race carrying 50 points to the victor. Out of the field of 10, four were stakes winners, including favorite West Omaha, a last-out winner of the listed Silverbulletday Stakes at the Fair Grounds. Two more had earned black type, including Darley Alcibiades Stakes (USA-G1) third Alys Beach. As the only maiden in the field, it was small wonder that Lemon Muffin was going off at a shade over 28-1.

Lemon Muffin had two things going for her, though. One was the lifetime of experience of D. Wayne Lukes, who well knows that fillies can make very rapid progress in the spring of their 3-year-old seasons—especially fillies that have already been showing significant improvement from age 2 to age 3 and that are still shy of their actual third birthdays. (For the record, Lemon Muffin was foaled on April 4, 2021.) The other was a pedigree that clearly cried out for two turns, embodied in a filly that had never been sent more than 7 furlongs. Both were vindicated when Lemon Muffin drew off to win by 3½ lengths, clearly relishing the distance.

Bred by Mr. and Mrs. Theodore R. Kuster and the Collected Syndicate, Lemon Muffin is from the second crop of the City Zip horse Collected, who turned in his best racing performances when defeating Arrogate in the 2017 TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (USA-G1) and running second to American Horse of the Year Gun Runner in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1). Both races were over 10 furlongs, and it is worth noting that while City Zip never won over more than 7 furlongs himself, he emulated his ancestor Blushing Groom (the broodmare sire of his sire, Carson City, and a horse City Zip distinctly resembled) by siring a number of progeny that stayed better than he himself did, Collected among them. Collected’s top runners to date are Grade 2 winners Conclude, Kalik, and Taxed, who all took their signature wins over 9 furlongs.

On the distaff side, Lemon Muffin is the ninth foal, fifth winner, and first stakes winner from Pelt, whose sire Canadian Frontier (by Gone West) did his best running over 6 furlongs and whose half brother High Stakes Player (by the multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter High Brite) did the same, both being Grade 3 winners at the distance. Pelt, however, is also a half sister to stakes winner Mather Miss, who scored her black-type win over 8½ furlongs and had an average winning distance of 8.46 furlongs. Mather Miss was sired by 1991 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Black Tie Affair, a fact that furnishes a key to Lemon Muffin’s background: she comes from a line of mares that tends to produce according to the speed/stamina proclivities of its mates. Further evidence of this is provided by Mather Miss’s daughter Arch Mistress (by 1998 Super Derby, USA-G1, winner Arch), winner of the 1800-meter Yellowwood Handicap (SAF-G3) in 2005.

Pelt was produced from Fee, whose sire Spectacular Bid can scarcely be questioned as to his two-turn credentials; among his many other feats, the 1980 American Horse of the Year set a new world record of 1:57-4/5 for 10 furlongs in the 1980 Charles S. Strub Stakes (USA-G1). A half sister to 1992 Stephen Foster Handicap (USA-G3) winner Discover (by Cox’s Ridge), Fee in turn is out of the stakes-placed Mr. Prospector mare Find, whose dam is the Nijinsky II mare Veroushka. Find is a full sister to 1988 Gardenia Stakes (USA-G2) winner Gild and a half sister to 1984 San Marcos Handicap (USA-G2) winner Lucence (by Majestic Light), and Veroushka is a half sister to 1975 American champion 3-year-old male Wajima (by Bold Ruler) and 1970 Everglades Stakes winner Naskra (by Nasram).

Lemon Muffin will need to step up her game a bit further to match up with the top fillies of her crop, but she is headed in the right direction, and an extra sixteenth of a mile seems very unlikely to be a problem for her. It is also a good sign that, although her performance in the Honeybee was the best yet of her career, it was not such an advance on her earlier races at 3 that she seems likely to regress next out; her pattern suggests steady development rather than a fluke effort. In addition, Lemon Muffin showed the tenacity to overcome adversity in a roughly run race, a desirable trait in what is likely to be a large Kentucky Oaks field. Her next race is likely to come in Oaklawn Park’s Fantasy Stakes (USA-G3) on March 30, and her results there should throw light on her further progress at a crucial time of year.
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Mares on Monday: Tarifa on Well-Trodden Path to Lilies

2/19/2024

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​On February 18, 2023, Pretty Mischievous won her first graded stakes in the Rachel Alexandra Stakes (USA-G2) at the Fair Grounds for Godolphin. Eleven weeks later, she stood in the Churchill Downs winner’s circle following the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1), taking a huge step toward en eventual Eclipse Award as American champion 3-year-old filly.

Fast-forward a year to February 17, 2024, and Godolphin was again in the Fair Grounds winner’s circle following the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, but with a different filly. This time, it was Tarifa who turned in a professional performance over a drenched track to score by 2¾ lengths in what has been one of the best indicator races for the Kentucky Oaks over the last decade; five of the last ten Rachel Alexandra winners have gone on to claim the lilies.

Godolphin’s path to its most recent Oaks candidate began in November 2001, when they went to US$950,000 to secure a weanling full sister to Tiznow from the Keeneland November mixed sale. The 2000 American Horse of the Year, Tiznow had just won his unprecedented second victory in the Breeders’ Cup Classic (USA-G1), and the filly was also a full sister to Grade 2 winner and 1999 Breeders’ Cup Classic runner-up Budroyale. A third full sibling, Tizbud, was an unraced 2-year-old at that time but would go on to become a Grade 2-placed stakes winner in a career compromised by injury.

Named Tizdubai, Tiznow’s little sister showed great promise in her first two starts, winning the 2003 Sorrento Stakes (USA-G2) by four lengths, but then suffered a hock injury. She raced twice more as a 3-year-old in England, finishing unplaced each time, and retired to the broodmare ranks.

A daughter of the Grade 1-placed Relaunch stallion Cee’s Tizzy from the Seattle Song mare Cee’s Song, Tizdubai is a full sister to Tizso, who produced 2012 Haskell Invitational Stakes (USA-G1) winner Paynter to a cover by Awesome Again, and to Tizamazing, who produced 2013 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Oxbow and Grade 3-placed stakes winner Awesome Patriot to covers by Awesome Again. Thus, it was only natural that the same cross should be tried with Tizdubai, and she was booked to Awesome Again in 2016.

The resulting filly, Kite Beach, never made it to the track and was initially bred in 2020. Her first mate was Bernardini, and not simply as a matter of convenience; when bred to Tizdubai, he had sired the mare’s best racer, 2016 Bahrainian champion 3-year-old male Madinat Jumeirah. Tarifa is the result of Kite Beach’s tryst with Bernardini, and a repeat mating in 2021 is responsible for the unraced 2-year-old Josie’s Girl. Kite Beach’s most recent foal is a 2023 colt by Knicks Go.

Tarifa’s task on Saturday was probably made easier by the scratch of Silverbulletday Stakes winner West Omaha, but she left the other filly with some Oaks buzz, Untapable Stakes winner Alpine Princess, back up the track in fourth. Her task now is to progress off her victory and prove that it wasn’t simply a wet-track fluke. If she can do that, she stands a good chance of following a well-trodden path to the Kentucky Oaks winner’s circle.
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Mares on Monday: With Lily Lane Closed, Kinza Will Chart Her Own Course

2/12/2024

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​Kinza might be the best Kentucky Oaks candidate in the country who won’t be going to the Kentucky Oaks. That’s because she is in Bob Baffert’s stable, and Baffert is persona non grata at Churchill Downs. It certainly isn’t for lack of talent; on February 10, Michael Lund Petersen’s filly franked a brilliant debut win on December 29 by leading gate to wire in the one-mile Las Virgenes Stakes (USA-G3). Along the way, she turned back a bid from previously unbeaten Santa Ynez Stakes (USA-G3) winner Kopion with complete authority; 2023 Starlet Stakes (USA-G2) winner Nothing Like You was never really in the hunt and ended up fourth in the five-horse field.

Despite her impressive Beyer figure of 93 (best so far for the 3-year-old filly division), crowning Kinza as the best American 3-year-old filly of 2024 would be wildly premature; there is a lot of racing to go, and more than one filly that shone at Santa Anita in the winter has found a rude welcome waiting for her when brought east to Kentucky or New York. Nonetheless, this was a good race and one that the winner should build on for the future, even if it’s a future that doesn’t include lilies.

Kinza is from the fifth crop of the Giant’s Causeway horse Carpe Diem, now standing in Louisiana after relocating from WinStar Farm in late 2021. Winner of the 2014 Lanes’ End Breeders’ Futurity (USA-G1) and 2015 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (USA-G1), his progeny have shown a little more stamina than the average American runner, suggesting that another furlong or so should be within Kinza’s scope as she continues to mature. Although Carpe Diem himself did not run on the turf, Giant’s Causeway was a turf star himself and sired many good turf runners, suggesting a possible home for Kinza on that surface as well.

On the distaff side, Kinza’s female family is more suggestive of speed, though the presence of Quality Road as broodmare sire does bring additional stamina to the table. Kinza is the second foal and first foal to race from the winning Quality Road mare Secret Wonder, whose stakes-placed dam Maxinkuckee Miss is by 1996 Vosburgh Stakes (USA-G1) and 1997 Metropolitan Handicap (USA-G1) winner Langfuhr. The Canadian champion sprinter of 1996, Langfuhr was sired by Danzig and was one of three stakes winners produced from the stakes-winning Briartic mare Sweet Briar Too.

Returning to Maxinkuckee Miss, she is a half sister to Winikins (by Cozzene), dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Gentle Ruler, a filly who defied the family history and took after her sire Colonel John in being a good stayer. On the other hand, Maxinkuckee Miss is also a half sister to stakes-placed Winiliscious (by Lawyer Ron), whose stakes-winning foals Lil Miss Moppet (by Uncle Mo) and My Beautiful Belle (by Munnings) were both sprinters. For what it is worth, Kinza herself had enough lick to blitz through a furlong in :10-1/5 seconds at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Mid-Atlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training, so she is certainly not devoid of speed.

As owner Petersen has elected to keep Kinza with Baffert in spite of the Churchill Downs ban, there will be no trips to Kentucky in the filly’s future, at least not within the foreseeable future. This may actually be something of a blessing in disguise, as there is unlikely to be any pressure to have Kinza make a particular race during the spring. With a choice of targets out there, the filly can be allowed to develop at her own pace—and so far, that pace was been a pretty good one. An outing against good competition at 8.5 or 9 furlongs should tell us more about where Kinza’s future lies: in the female sprinter ranks, or pursuing some of her division’s traditional prizes around two turns.
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Mares on Monday: Florida Breeding Gets a Day in the Sun in Forward Gal

2/5/2024

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The Forward Gal Stakes (USA-G3) is the first graded stakes on Florida’s road to the Longines Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1), but for winner R Harper Rose, it will probably be the last step on that path—not because the filly lacks quality, but because sprinting appears to be her game. The winner of the seven-furlong Susan’s Girl Stakes from last year’s Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds, R Harper Rose cut back to her favorite trip after falling short in the 8.5 furlong My Dear Girl Stakes in her final race at 2 and had no difficulty making her 2024 debut a winning one, scoring by two lengths over Fiona’s Magic.

Bred in Florida by Sally Andersen, R Harper Rose is a daughter of four-time Florida champion sire Khozan, a Distorted Humor half brother to three-time American champion filly Royal Delta. The winner of both his starts by a total of 16½ lengths before suffering a career-ending injury, Khozan has 15 other stakes winners to his credit including graded winners Background, Foggy Night, and Hot Peppers.

R Harper Rose is the first stakes winner and fourth winner produced from True Bliss, whose sire, Yes It’s True, won the 1999 Frank J. DeFrancis Memorial Stakes (USA-G1) and seven other graded sprint stakes before becoming a good speed sire. A half sister to 2012 The Cliff’s Edge Derby Trial Stakes (USA-G3) winner Hierro (by Hard Spun) and listed stakes winner Cherokee Triangle (by Cherokee Run), True Bliss is out of 2001 Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (USA-G3) runner-up Brief Bliss. The next dam in R Harper Rose’s tail-female line, Annul, is a winner by 1982 American Horse of the Year Conquistador Cielo out of Lyphard’s winning daughter Bygones, a half sister to 1986 Chevington Stud Rockfel Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Al Risk (by Mr. Prospector). This is a decidedly speed-leaning family and probably a major contributor to making R Harper Rose a promising sprinter rather than a two-turn candidate.

Although R Harper Rose is unlikely to go further along the Lily Lane, runner-up Fiona’s Magic may get another chance after earning 10 Oaks points for her runner-up performance. A Florida-bred daughter of St. Patrick’s Day (a Group 3-placed full brother to 2015 American Triple Crown winner American Pharoah), she tired after carving out an opening half-mile in :45.90 but still hung on well for second, and this after being a bit slow at the break. A half sister to juvenile stakes winner Cajun’s Magic (by Cajun Breeze), she is out of Mollie’s Magic, whose sire, the Storm Cat horse Factum, is a winning half brother to War Front. Mllie’s Magic herself is an unraced half sister to stakes winners Two T’s at Two Bs (by Untuttable), Scandalous Act (by Act of Duty), and Boo Boo Kitty (by Poseidon’s Warrior).

Chi Chi filled out a Florida-bred trifecta in the Forward Gal, earning six points toward an Oaks starting berth, and may have the best pedigree of all for stretching out to the 9 furlongs of the “Lilies for the Fillies.” A daughter of 2018 Florida Derby (USA-G1) winner Audible, she is a half sister to 2022 Fountain of Youth Stakes (USA-G2) winner Simplification, who ran a creditable fourth in that year’s Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (USA-G1), and is from the family of 2004 Oaks winner and American champion 3-year-old filly Ashado, who went on to repeat as an Eclipse winner as a 4-year-old. For both her and Fiona’s Magic, the March 2 Davona Dale Stakes (USA-G2), which offers 50 points toward the Oaks to the winner, may be the logical next step along this year’s Lily Lane.
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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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