It has been a while coming, but 6-year-old Hibiscus Punch finally broke through with a Graded stakes win in the Runhappy Barbara Fritchie Stakes (USA-G3) on February 20. The lightly raced Into Mischief mare pulled a 40-1 shocker in just her eighth lifetime start, but she ran like an odds-on choice, blowing part her rivals coming out of the stretch turn in spite of trying to lug in. After taking until age 4 to get to the races, she now sports a lifetime record of 8-3-2-2 with earnings of $246,561.
Whatever physical or mental issues Hibiscus Punch may have, she does have talent. Obviously, Into Mischief has something to do with that, but her female line need not blush for its role in her makeup. The mare is a fifth-generation direct female descendant of High Voltage, the American champion 2-year-old filly of 1954 and a near-champion at 3, when she won five major stakes races including the Coaching Club American Oaks.
Sired by the successful French import Ambiorix from a family initially developed in the Whitney stud and nurtured for several generations in the Wheatley Stable breeding program, High Voltage proved a fine broodmare for Wheatley, producing 1966 American champion sprinter Impressive and stakes winners Bold Commander (the sire of 1970 Kentucky Derby winner Dust Commander) and Great Power. High Voltage also produced several stakes-producing daughters, among them Irradiate. A daughter of the staying Ribot, Irradiate became the dam of Majestic Light (by Majestic Prince), a horse that won Grade 1 races on both dirt and turf at distances up to 12 furlongs and later became a good sire. She also produced multiple Grade 2 winner Fluorescent Light (by Herbager) and Grade 3 winner Celestial Lights (by Bold Ruler).
Overpowering was the second best among High Voltage's daughters as a producer. Sired by Bold Ruler and so a full sister to both Bold Commander and Great Power, she was bred repeatedly to Graustark, a son of Ribot but one that had a powerful, muscular build not dissimilar to that of Majestic Prince. The results were good, as Overpowering's Graustark foals included multiple Grade 3 winner Proctor, multiple French stakes winner Al Rahib, and Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Over Your Shoulder.
A distance-loving mare who took until age 4 to get good, Overpowering spent most of her broodmare career being put to sires with more speed in their backgrounds and stud histories. The results were fairly good. Bred to the champion European sprinter Dayjur, she produced Japanese stakes winner Shinko Splendor. Bred to Dayjur's sire Danzig---a far better stallion who led the American general sire list three times---she produced Harbour Club, who won the listed Marion H. Van Berg Memorial Stakes as a 5-year-old in 1992 and ran second in three Grade 1 stakes that year at distances from 7 to 9 furlongs.
Bred to Woodman (a son of Mr. Prospector and a juvenile champion in Ireland), Harbour Club produced multiple listed stakes winner Holzmeister, who showed his sire's influence by winning two stakes events as a juvenile and placing in Grade 3 races at both 2 and 3. Harbour Club also produced Galleon of Gold to the cover of another Mr. Prospector son, 1987 Dwyer Stakes (USA-G1) winner Gone West. Galleon of Gold never raced, but bred to 1999 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) and Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up Menifee (a two-time Grade 1 winner over 9 furlongs in spite of being a son of sprint Grade 1 winner Harlan), the result was Game Face, whose race record leaned more toward the sprinter-miler elements in her pedigree. Game Face won six graded races at 3 and 4 including the 2009 Princess Rooney Handicap (USA-G1) on the "Summit of Speed" card at Calder.
Harbour Club is also the dam of True Legacy, whose sire A.P. Indy was a different kettle of fish to the Mr. Prospector tribe as he won the 1992 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1). True Legacy did not race, but put to the miler Rahy, she produced 2008 Selene Stakes (CAN-G3) Verdana Bold, whose big success came at 8.5 furlongs. Verdana Bold, in turn, is the dam of 2017 Sunland Park Oaks (USA-L) winner Ghalia (by Medaglia d'Oro) and multiple stakes winner Lucrezia (by Into Mischief).
Hibiscus Punch is the first stakes winner produced by Harbour Club's last foal, Bellini Sunrise, who was sired by 1989 French champion 2-year-old male Machiavellian (like Woodman and Gone West, a son of Mr. Prospector). The winner of one of her seven starts, the mare has also produced Hibiscus Punch's 3-year-old full brother Into the Sunrise, who was stakes-placed in a listed event at Woodbine as a 2-year-old. The dam of six other winners, Bellini Sunrise has a 2-year-old filly, Flirtini, by Kantharos and produced a colt by Into Mischief's son Goldencents in 2020. She was bred to Omaha Beach for 2021.
Hibiscus Punch actually repeats some of the breeding patterns seen in Game Face, as Into Mischief is by Harlan's Holiday, by Harlan, and so comes from the same male line as Menifee. Whether she will stay sound long enough to see if she can step further up the class ladder remains to be seen, but Hibiscus Punch certainly looked good enough in winning the Barbara Fritchie to make one suspect that she has inherited at least a spark of the talent that made High Voltage a champion five generations ago.
Whatever physical or mental issues Hibiscus Punch may have, she does have talent. Obviously, Into Mischief has something to do with that, but her female line need not blush for its role in her makeup. The mare is a fifth-generation direct female descendant of High Voltage, the American champion 2-year-old filly of 1954 and a near-champion at 3, when she won five major stakes races including the Coaching Club American Oaks.
Sired by the successful French import Ambiorix from a family initially developed in the Whitney stud and nurtured for several generations in the Wheatley Stable breeding program, High Voltage proved a fine broodmare for Wheatley, producing 1966 American champion sprinter Impressive and stakes winners Bold Commander (the sire of 1970 Kentucky Derby winner Dust Commander) and Great Power. High Voltage also produced several stakes-producing daughters, among them Irradiate. A daughter of the staying Ribot, Irradiate became the dam of Majestic Light (by Majestic Prince), a horse that won Grade 1 races on both dirt and turf at distances up to 12 furlongs and later became a good sire. She also produced multiple Grade 2 winner Fluorescent Light (by Herbager) and Grade 3 winner Celestial Lights (by Bold Ruler).
Overpowering was the second best among High Voltage's daughters as a producer. Sired by Bold Ruler and so a full sister to both Bold Commander and Great Power, she was bred repeatedly to Graustark, a son of Ribot but one that had a powerful, muscular build not dissimilar to that of Majestic Prince. The results were good, as Overpowering's Graustark foals included multiple Grade 3 winner Proctor, multiple French stakes winner Al Rahib, and Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Over Your Shoulder.
A distance-loving mare who took until age 4 to get good, Overpowering spent most of her broodmare career being put to sires with more speed in their backgrounds and stud histories. The results were fairly good. Bred to the champion European sprinter Dayjur, she produced Japanese stakes winner Shinko Splendor. Bred to Dayjur's sire Danzig---a far better stallion who led the American general sire list three times---she produced Harbour Club, who won the listed Marion H. Van Berg Memorial Stakes as a 5-year-old in 1992 and ran second in three Grade 1 stakes that year at distances from 7 to 9 furlongs.
Bred to Woodman (a son of Mr. Prospector and a juvenile champion in Ireland), Harbour Club produced multiple listed stakes winner Holzmeister, who showed his sire's influence by winning two stakes events as a juvenile and placing in Grade 3 races at both 2 and 3. Harbour Club also produced Galleon of Gold to the cover of another Mr. Prospector son, 1987 Dwyer Stakes (USA-G1) winner Gone West. Galleon of Gold never raced, but bred to 1999 Kentucky Derby (USA-G1) and Preakness Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up Menifee (a two-time Grade 1 winner over 9 furlongs in spite of being a son of sprint Grade 1 winner Harlan), the result was Game Face, whose race record leaned more toward the sprinter-miler elements in her pedigree. Game Face won six graded races at 3 and 4 including the 2009 Princess Rooney Handicap (USA-G1) on the "Summit of Speed" card at Calder.
Harbour Club is also the dam of True Legacy, whose sire A.P. Indy was a different kettle of fish to the Mr. Prospector tribe as he won the 1992 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1). True Legacy did not race, but put to the miler Rahy, she produced 2008 Selene Stakes (CAN-G3) Verdana Bold, whose big success came at 8.5 furlongs. Verdana Bold, in turn, is the dam of 2017 Sunland Park Oaks (USA-L) winner Ghalia (by Medaglia d'Oro) and multiple stakes winner Lucrezia (by Into Mischief).
Hibiscus Punch is the first stakes winner produced by Harbour Club's last foal, Bellini Sunrise, who was sired by 1989 French champion 2-year-old male Machiavellian (like Woodman and Gone West, a son of Mr. Prospector). The winner of one of her seven starts, the mare has also produced Hibiscus Punch's 3-year-old full brother Into the Sunrise, who was stakes-placed in a listed event at Woodbine as a 2-year-old. The dam of six other winners, Bellini Sunrise has a 2-year-old filly, Flirtini, by Kantharos and produced a colt by Into Mischief's son Goldencents in 2020. She was bred to Omaha Beach for 2021.
Hibiscus Punch actually repeats some of the breeding patterns seen in Game Face, as Into Mischief is by Harlan's Holiday, by Harlan, and so comes from the same male line as Menifee. Whether she will stay sound long enough to see if she can step further up the class ladder remains to be seen, but Hibiscus Punch certainly looked good enough in winning the Barbara Fritchie to make one suspect that she has inherited at least a spark of the talent that made High Voltage a champion five generations ago.
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