Arguably the most prestigious test of stamina on the planet, the Gold Cup (ENG-G1) at the Royal Ascot meeting requires more than a grinding plodder to win it. It calls for stamina, yes, but also for a tactical turn of foot that can be called on when the chips are down and for boundless courage in a tight finish. Those qualities were displayed in sterling fashion by the top two finishers in this year’s edition of the Cup. Last year’s winner, Trawlerman, set a strong gallop from flag-fall to finish and showed great determination when hooked, actually edging to the fore again. But his challenger, Scandinavia, would not be denied. The winner of last year’s St. Leger Stakes (ENG-G1) at Doncaster, the 4-year-old son of Justify found a final surge that his 8-year-old rival could not quite hold off, earning the victory by a nose.
Certainly, Justify can be credited with much of Scandinavia’s talent, but not all. Standing behind the colt’s unraced dam, Fabulous (by the grand racer and sire Galileo) is her dam, Mariah’s Storm, who both displayed and passed on both a strong dash of speed and the kind of determination that can be only inborn, never instilled by training.
A daughter of the fine Blushing Groom horse Rahy and 1982 Little Silver Handicap (USA-G3) winner Immense (by Roberto), Mariah’s Storm seemed likely to be a championship contender among the American juvenile fillies of 1993 after winning the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (USA-G2). Instead, she fractured a front cannon bone, placing not only her racing career but her life in jeopardy. The grit that she had displayed on the racetrack came through in her fight for life and more. In a comeback that became the inspiration for the 2005 movie Dreamer, Mariah’s Storm fought her way back to the races, winning five more graded stakes at ages 3 and 4 before retiring to the paddocks.
For her first mating in 1996, Mariah’s Storm was put to Storm Cat, a horse noted for the high energy and hot desire to win he put into his progeny—and, not coincidentally, the male-line ancestor of Justify. The resulting colt, Giant’s Causeway, showed a combination of brilliance and absolute determination worthy of both parents. Dubbed the “Iron Horse,” the tough colt won the Prix de la Salamandre (FR-G1) as a 2-year-old of 1999. The following year, he ran in eight consecutive Group 1 races in England and Ireland, winning five of them and finishing second in the other two. He then crossed the Atlantic and, in his first attempt on dirt, staged a pulsating duel with Tiznow through the stretch. In the giant colt from California, he met his match in raw will to win, but he lost no stature whatsoever in going down by a neck. Standing in Ireland and later in Kentucky, Giant’s Causeway led the American general sire list three times.
Mariah’s Storm produced two more noteworthy colts by Storm Cat in Freud and Tumblebrutus. Both Group 2-placed during their racing careers, they received chances at stud due to their elder brother’s prowess and made the most of them, with Freud leading the New York regional sire list six times as well as having some success in Argentina; Tumblebrutus became a three-time champion sire in Chile. The daughters of Mariah’s Storm by Storm Cat were no less distinguished, with 2007 Cherry Hinton Stakes (ENG-G2) winner You’resothrilling taking advantage of repeated matings to Galileo to become the dam of 2014 Irish One Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) winner Marvellous, 2015 Two Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) and Irish Two Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) winner Gleneagles, 2021 Prix de Diane Longines (French Oaks, FR-G1) winner Joan of Arc, 2017 Moyglare Stud Stakes (IRE-G1) winner Happily, Australian Group 2 winner Taj Mahal, and Grade 1-placed Irish Group 3 winner Coolmore. You’resothrilling’s full sister Pearling, a non-winner, produced multiple Group 1 winner Decorated Knight, also by Galileo.
Mariah’s Storm visited Galileo’s record-breaking sire, Sadler’s Wells, in 2007 and produced Love Me Only the following spring. Love Me Only never raced but produced 2015 Great Voltigeur Stakes (ENG-G2) winner Storm the Stars to a cover by Galileo’s excellent half brother Sea the Stars. Fabulous, the last of Mariah’s Storm’s important foals, also never raced but, in addition to Scandinavia, is the dam of 2022 Prix Saint-Alary (FR-G1) winner Above the Curve (by American Pharoah) and is thus the first mare to produce Group 1 winners by two different winners of the American Triple Crown.
It has been said that the full impact of a stallion or mare on the Thoroughbred breed cannot truly be assessed until fifty years after the animal’s death, but with three fine stallion sons to her credit and two daughters who are the dams of multiple Group 1 winners, it is hard to believe that Mariah’s Storm will ever be remembered as anything but one of the great matriarchs of her breed. She may be gone now, but the fire in her blood is still storming on and seems likely to do so for the foreseeable future.
Certainly, Justify can be credited with much of Scandinavia’s talent, but not all. Standing behind the colt’s unraced dam, Fabulous (by the grand racer and sire Galileo) is her dam, Mariah’s Storm, who both displayed and passed on both a strong dash of speed and the kind of determination that can be only inborn, never instilled by training.
A daughter of the fine Blushing Groom horse Rahy and 1982 Little Silver Handicap (USA-G3) winner Immense (by Roberto), Mariah’s Storm seemed likely to be a championship contender among the American juvenile fillies of 1993 after winning the Arlington-Washington Lassie Stakes (USA-G2). Instead, she fractured a front cannon bone, placing not only her racing career but her life in jeopardy. The grit that she had displayed on the racetrack came through in her fight for life and more. In a comeback that became the inspiration for the 2005 movie Dreamer, Mariah’s Storm fought her way back to the races, winning five more graded stakes at ages 3 and 4 before retiring to the paddocks.
For her first mating in 1996, Mariah’s Storm was put to Storm Cat, a horse noted for the high energy and hot desire to win he put into his progeny—and, not coincidentally, the male-line ancestor of Justify. The resulting colt, Giant’s Causeway, showed a combination of brilliance and absolute determination worthy of both parents. Dubbed the “Iron Horse,” the tough colt won the Prix de la Salamandre (FR-G1) as a 2-year-old of 1999. The following year, he ran in eight consecutive Group 1 races in England and Ireland, winning five of them and finishing second in the other two. He then crossed the Atlantic and, in his first attempt on dirt, staged a pulsating duel with Tiznow through the stretch. In the giant colt from California, he met his match in raw will to win, but he lost no stature whatsoever in going down by a neck. Standing in Ireland and later in Kentucky, Giant’s Causeway led the American general sire list three times.
Mariah’s Storm produced two more noteworthy colts by Storm Cat in Freud and Tumblebrutus. Both Group 2-placed during their racing careers, they received chances at stud due to their elder brother’s prowess and made the most of them, with Freud leading the New York regional sire list six times as well as having some success in Argentina; Tumblebrutus became a three-time champion sire in Chile. The daughters of Mariah’s Storm by Storm Cat were no less distinguished, with 2007 Cherry Hinton Stakes (ENG-G2) winner You’resothrilling taking advantage of repeated matings to Galileo to become the dam of 2014 Irish One Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) winner Marvellous, 2015 Two Thousand Guineas (ENG-G1) and Irish Two Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1) winner Gleneagles, 2021 Prix de Diane Longines (French Oaks, FR-G1) winner Joan of Arc, 2017 Moyglare Stud Stakes (IRE-G1) winner Happily, Australian Group 2 winner Taj Mahal, and Grade 1-placed Irish Group 3 winner Coolmore. You’resothrilling’s full sister Pearling, a non-winner, produced multiple Group 1 winner Decorated Knight, also by Galileo.
Mariah’s Storm visited Galileo’s record-breaking sire, Sadler’s Wells, in 2007 and produced Love Me Only the following spring. Love Me Only never raced but produced 2015 Great Voltigeur Stakes (ENG-G2) winner Storm the Stars to a cover by Galileo’s excellent half brother Sea the Stars. Fabulous, the last of Mariah’s Storm’s important foals, also never raced but, in addition to Scandinavia, is the dam of 2022 Prix Saint-Alary (FR-G1) winner Above the Curve (by American Pharoah) and is thus the first mare to produce Group 1 winners by two different winners of the American Triple Crown.
It has been said that the full impact of a stallion or mare on the Thoroughbred breed cannot truly be assessed until fifty years after the animal’s death, but with three fine stallion sons to her credit and two daughters who are the dams of multiple Group 1 winners, it is hard to believe that Mariah’s Storm will ever be remembered as anything but one of the great matriarchs of her breed. She may be gone now, but the fire in her blood is still storming on and seems likely to do so for the foreseeable future.
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