There seems to be no stopping the Frankel express. On June 25, his son Westover, a last-out third in the Cazoo Derby Stakes (ENG-G1) after a troubled trip, powered home by seven lengths in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (IRE-G1) to become Frankel's fourth Group 1 winner and third Classic winner of 2022.
While Westover obviously owes more than a little of his talent to his sire, some consideration can be given to his broodmare sire, the fine miler and sire Lear Fan, and to his female family. The colt is a sixth-generation descendant of Juliets Nurse, the 1966 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, whose family has been plugging along at a respectable if not stellar level for the last half-century until recently.
A daughter of 1943 American Triple Crown winner Count Fleet out of a mare by Belmont Stakes winner Luke McLuke, Juliets Nurse had no taste whatsoever for distances belong six furlongs. Instead, she took after the speedy and precocious elements of her pedigree. A headlong sprinter, she won four stakes races at distances from 2 to 6 furlongs and set a track record for about 4 furlongs at Keeneland. She passed those proclivities on to her best son, Gallant Romeo, who pretty well ignored the fact that he had another Belmont Stakes winner as a sire in Gallant Man and showed near-championship form over shorter trips, culminating in a defeat of 1966 American champion sprinter Impressive in that year's Vosburgh Handicap over 7 furlongs. Gallant Romeo later became a good sire whose 42 stakes winners from 426 named foals included American champion sprinters Gallant Bob and My Juliet as well as 1976 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Elocutionist.
In spite of serious unsoundness that plagued his racing career and prevented his being trained steadily for longer-distance events, Gallant Romeo did win the 1965 Ben Ali Handicap over 8.5 furlongs, so it seems possible that he might have stayed further had he been sound enough to withstand more intensive conditioning. His half brother Run for Nurse (by Hasty Road), a much sounder specimen, stayed intermediate distances well and set a 9-furlong track record at Detroit in one of his five stakes wins in spite of being by a more precocious and speedier sire.
Juliets Nurse also had two stakes-winning daughters by Hail to Reason, who showed enough form at 2 to be the 1958 American champion juvenile male but who was more a source of classic stamina at stud. Both were stakes winners at 2 but were manifestly of different types. Dutiful was the more precocious and speed-oriented, winning the 1970 Adirondack Stakes; unfortunately, she produced only one foal, a minor winner. Woozem was a different kettle of fish. While quick enough to break her maiden with a 10-length victory over 5 furlongs, Woozem liked to run a bit longer than her sister and scored her signature win in the one-mile Demoiselle Stakes, dancing home by eight lengths in a smart 1:35-3/5.
Woozem was a disappointment at 3 and 4, probably due to injury as she started off well in 1967 with a couple of sprint stakes wins before running third in the Ashland Stakes at the Keeneland spring meeting and then disappearing from the scene. She was not the same at 4 and won only once from eight starts. She also proved a thoroughly disappointing broodmare, producing just four minor winners from 10 foals, and would have disappeared from memory as just another promising runner that fizzled out were it not for her second foal, the Round Table filly Gangster of Love.
The best of Woozem's foals on the race track, Gangster of Love won four of 12 starts and was a decent allowance filly. As a broodmare, she produced six winners from seven foals including Raft (by Nodouble), who won the 1984 Prix de la Cote Normandie (FR-G2) and ran third in that year's Dubai Champion Stakes (ENG-G1). She also produced Loveskate (by Overskate), whose son Missed Flight (by Dominion) was a Group 2 winner in both England and France and whose daughter Life at Night (by Night Shift) produced 2013 Premio Chiusura (ITY-G3) winner Regarde Moi.
Gangster of Love is also the dam of the Nijinsky II mare Sky Love, dam of 1994 Prix de Malleret (FR-G2) winner Bonash (by Rainbow Quest) and 1997 Buena Vista Handicap (USA-G2) winner Media Nox (by Lycius). Bonash, in turn, is the dam of multiple English Group 3 winner Day Flight (by Sadler's Wells) and 2007 Prestige Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Sense of Joy (by Dansili) and is the second dam of 2008 Earl of Sefton Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Phoenix Tower (by Chester House). Her full sister Love the Rain has also contributed to the family, as her listed stakes-winning daughter Quenched (by Dansili) is the dam of multiple Australian Group 3 winner Excess Knowledge (by Monsun).
Media Nox has proven the breakthrough for the family of Juliets Nurse to the top level. She has three graded or Group stakes winners to her credit, kicking off with 2002 Prix Eugene Adam (FR-G2) winner Burning Sun (by Danzig) and continuing with Nebraska Tornado (by Storm Cat), winner of the 2003 Prix de Diane Hermes (French Oaks, FR-G1) and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (FR-G1). Nebraska Tornado, in turn, is the second dam of Australian Group 3 winner Mallory (by Not a Single Doubt), and her half sister Imprecation (by First Defence) is the dam of 2021 San Gabriel Handicap (USA-G2) winner Anothertwistafate (by Scat Daddy).
The third of Media Nox's stakes winners is Mirabilis (by Lear Fan), who won the 2006 Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile Stakes (USA-G3) before entering the broodmare ranks. There, she has produced not only Westover but his older full brother Monarchs Glen, winner of the 2017 Darley Club Stakes (ENG-G3). Since Westover, Mirabilis has produced a 2020 filly by Expert Eye, Jalapa, and Westover has several half sisters who are still in production.
Juliets Nurse had several other daughters that were the dams of stakes winners or the ancestresses of Group winners, but the branch of the family descended through Gangster of Love is by far the most prominent and prolific when it comes to turning out good runners. This is probably in no small part due to the family's association with Juddmonte Farms, which has guaranteed both access to high-class stallions and careful consideration of matings. Juddmonte's stewardship of this family has now resulted in a second Classic winner for its breeding program, and with a bit of luck, the line of Juliets Nurse will continue to produce fine horses for some time to come.
While Westover obviously owes more than a little of his talent to his sire, some consideration can be given to his broodmare sire, the fine miler and sire Lear Fan, and to his female family. The colt is a sixth-generation descendant of Juliets Nurse, the 1966 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, whose family has been plugging along at a respectable if not stellar level for the last half-century until recently.
A daughter of 1943 American Triple Crown winner Count Fleet out of a mare by Belmont Stakes winner Luke McLuke, Juliets Nurse had no taste whatsoever for distances belong six furlongs. Instead, she took after the speedy and precocious elements of her pedigree. A headlong sprinter, she won four stakes races at distances from 2 to 6 furlongs and set a track record for about 4 furlongs at Keeneland. She passed those proclivities on to her best son, Gallant Romeo, who pretty well ignored the fact that he had another Belmont Stakes winner as a sire in Gallant Man and showed near-championship form over shorter trips, culminating in a defeat of 1966 American champion sprinter Impressive in that year's Vosburgh Handicap over 7 furlongs. Gallant Romeo later became a good sire whose 42 stakes winners from 426 named foals included American champion sprinters Gallant Bob and My Juliet as well as 1976 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) winner Elocutionist.
In spite of serious unsoundness that plagued his racing career and prevented his being trained steadily for longer-distance events, Gallant Romeo did win the 1965 Ben Ali Handicap over 8.5 furlongs, so it seems possible that he might have stayed further had he been sound enough to withstand more intensive conditioning. His half brother Run for Nurse (by Hasty Road), a much sounder specimen, stayed intermediate distances well and set a 9-furlong track record at Detroit in one of his five stakes wins in spite of being by a more precocious and speedier sire.
Juliets Nurse also had two stakes-winning daughters by Hail to Reason, who showed enough form at 2 to be the 1958 American champion juvenile male but who was more a source of classic stamina at stud. Both were stakes winners at 2 but were manifestly of different types. Dutiful was the more precocious and speed-oriented, winning the 1970 Adirondack Stakes; unfortunately, she produced only one foal, a minor winner. Woozem was a different kettle of fish. While quick enough to break her maiden with a 10-length victory over 5 furlongs, Woozem liked to run a bit longer than her sister and scored her signature win in the one-mile Demoiselle Stakes, dancing home by eight lengths in a smart 1:35-3/5.
Woozem was a disappointment at 3 and 4, probably due to injury as she started off well in 1967 with a couple of sprint stakes wins before running third in the Ashland Stakes at the Keeneland spring meeting and then disappearing from the scene. She was not the same at 4 and won only once from eight starts. She also proved a thoroughly disappointing broodmare, producing just four minor winners from 10 foals, and would have disappeared from memory as just another promising runner that fizzled out were it not for her second foal, the Round Table filly Gangster of Love.
The best of Woozem's foals on the race track, Gangster of Love won four of 12 starts and was a decent allowance filly. As a broodmare, she produced six winners from seven foals including Raft (by Nodouble), who won the 1984 Prix de la Cote Normandie (FR-G2) and ran third in that year's Dubai Champion Stakes (ENG-G1). She also produced Loveskate (by Overskate), whose son Missed Flight (by Dominion) was a Group 2 winner in both England and France and whose daughter Life at Night (by Night Shift) produced 2013 Premio Chiusura (ITY-G3) winner Regarde Moi.
Gangster of Love is also the dam of the Nijinsky II mare Sky Love, dam of 1994 Prix de Malleret (FR-G2) winner Bonash (by Rainbow Quest) and 1997 Buena Vista Handicap (USA-G2) winner Media Nox (by Lycius). Bonash, in turn, is the dam of multiple English Group 3 winner Day Flight (by Sadler's Wells) and 2007 Prestige Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Sense of Joy (by Dansili) and is the second dam of 2008 Earl of Sefton Stakes (ENG-G3) winner Phoenix Tower (by Chester House). Her full sister Love the Rain has also contributed to the family, as her listed stakes-winning daughter Quenched (by Dansili) is the dam of multiple Australian Group 3 winner Excess Knowledge (by Monsun).
Media Nox has proven the breakthrough for the family of Juliets Nurse to the top level. She has three graded or Group stakes winners to her credit, kicking off with 2002 Prix Eugene Adam (FR-G2) winner Burning Sun (by Danzig) and continuing with Nebraska Tornado (by Storm Cat), winner of the 2003 Prix de Diane Hermes (French Oaks, FR-G1) and Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (FR-G1). Nebraska Tornado, in turn, is the second dam of Australian Group 3 winner Mallory (by Not a Single Doubt), and her half sister Imprecation (by First Defence) is the dam of 2021 San Gabriel Handicap (USA-G2) winner Anothertwistafate (by Scat Daddy).
The third of Media Nox's stakes winners is Mirabilis (by Lear Fan), who won the 2006 Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile Stakes (USA-G3) before entering the broodmare ranks. There, she has produced not only Westover but his older full brother Monarchs Glen, winner of the 2017 Darley Club Stakes (ENG-G3). Since Westover, Mirabilis has produced a 2020 filly by Expert Eye, Jalapa, and Westover has several half sisters who are still in production.
Juliets Nurse had several other daughters that were the dams of stakes winners or the ancestresses of Group winners, but the branch of the family descended through Gangster of Love is by far the most prominent and prolific when it comes to turning out good runners. This is probably in no small part due to the family's association with Juddmonte Farms, which has guaranteed both access to high-class stallions and careful consideration of matings. Juddmonte's stewardship of this family has now resulted in a second Classic winner for its breeding program, and with a bit of luck, the line of Juliets Nurse will continue to produce fine horses for some time to come.
RSS Feed