A Grade 3 winner at 3, Our Flash Drive moved up another step on the class ladder in the Bessarabian Stakes (CAN-G2) on November 12. Like most horses sired by Ghostzapper, she has been improving with age, and that improvement was on full display Saturday when she motored away from her field within strides after being tipped to the outside at the top of the stretch. She finished first by 5¾ lengths in the smart time of 1:20.76 for the 7 furlongs over Woodbine's synthetic surface, 0.69 seconds off the track record set by Hollywood Hit in 2010.
Our Flash Drive is a fifth-generation descendant of Sweetly Scheming, whose granddam Conniver was the American champion handicap mare of 1948. Sired by 1966 Jersey Derby winner Creme Dela Creme from the good broodmare Double Agent (by Double Jay), Sweetly Scheming won four of 25 starts before becoming a fine producer in her own right, producing 1983 Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1) winner High Schemes (by High Echelon) and 1989 El Camino Real Derby (USA-G3) winner Double Quick (by To the Quick) among 13 named foals.
Never Scheme, Sweetly Scheming’s 1976 filly by 1962 American champion 2-year-old male Never Bend, never made it to the races but hit the jackpot with her fourth foal. Named Very Subtle, the filly by Hoist the Silver won three Grade 1 races including the 1987 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in an upset over American champion sprinter Groovy before going on to a more modest broodmare career in which her best runner was the Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Dianehill (by Danehill). Very Subtle later became the second dam of Grade/Group 3 winners Splash Point (by Street Cry) and Subtle Aly (by French Envoy) and the third dam of Grade 3 winner Subtle Indian (by Indian Charlie). Very Subtle’s older half sister Schematic (by Upper Nile) won three listed stakes races and produced multiple listed stakes winner Remember Ike (by Gulch), and another half sister, Subtle Raise (by Raise a Native), is the dam of 1996 Astarita Stakes (USA-G2) winner Broad Dynamite (by Broad Brush) and the second dam of 2014 Canadian Derby (CAN-G3) winner Edison (by Bernardini). A third half sister to Very Subtle, Designatoree (by Alysheba), is the dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Voice of Destiny (by Mane Minister) and the second dam of 2007 Pegasus Stakes (USA-G3) winner Actin Good (by Yes It’s True).
Never Scheme’s last foal was unraced Slew City Slicker, by multiple Grade 1 winner Slew City Slew, Bred to the good Mr. Prospector son Silver Deputy, she produced 2006 Ruffian Handicap (USA-G1) winner Pool Land, in turn the dam of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Old Chestnut (by Speightstown). To a cover by 1992 American champion older male Pleasant Tap, Slew City Slicker also produced Grade 2-placed My Chickadee, whose unraced daughter Dynamotor (by the noted stamina influence Dynaformer) produced Our Flash Drive as her second foal. Dynamotor’s most recent foals are a 2020 full sister to Our Flash Dive named Bell Witch and a 2021 filly by Omaha Beach that sold for US$200,000 at this year’s Keeneland September yearling sale.
Generally speaking, Sweetly Scheming’s family has been inclined to produce more speed than stamina, although it has shown the ability to produce good intermediate-distance runners when crossed to more stamina-oriented sires. With a solid family record behind her, combined with her own racing prowess, Our Flash Drive will undoubtedly be a welcome addition to the broodmare band at breeder-owner Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Stud when the time comes for her to leave racing.
Our Flash Drive is a fifth-generation descendant of Sweetly Scheming, whose granddam Conniver was the American champion handicap mare of 1948. Sired by 1966 Jersey Derby winner Creme Dela Creme from the good broodmare Double Agent (by Double Jay), Sweetly Scheming won four of 25 starts before becoming a fine producer in her own right, producing 1983 Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1) winner High Schemes (by High Echelon) and 1989 El Camino Real Derby (USA-G3) winner Double Quick (by To the Quick) among 13 named foals.
Never Scheme, Sweetly Scheming’s 1976 filly by 1962 American champion 2-year-old male Never Bend, never made it to the races but hit the jackpot with her fourth foal. Named Very Subtle, the filly by Hoist the Silver won three Grade 1 races including the 1987 Breeders’ Cup Sprint in an upset over American champion sprinter Groovy before going on to a more modest broodmare career in which her best runner was the Grade 2-placed listed stakes winner Dianehill (by Danehill). Very Subtle later became the second dam of Grade/Group 3 winners Splash Point (by Street Cry) and Subtle Aly (by French Envoy) and the third dam of Grade 3 winner Subtle Indian (by Indian Charlie). Very Subtle’s older half sister Schematic (by Upper Nile) won three listed stakes races and produced multiple listed stakes winner Remember Ike (by Gulch), and another half sister, Subtle Raise (by Raise a Native), is the dam of 1996 Astarita Stakes (USA-G2) winner Broad Dynamite (by Broad Brush) and the second dam of 2014 Canadian Derby (CAN-G3) winner Edison (by Bernardini). A third half sister to Very Subtle, Designatoree (by Alysheba), is the dam of multiple Grade 3 winner Voice of Destiny (by Mane Minister) and the second dam of 2007 Pegasus Stakes (USA-G3) winner Actin Good (by Yes It’s True).
Never Scheme’s last foal was unraced Slew City Slicker, by multiple Grade 1 winner Slew City Slew, Bred to the good Mr. Prospector son Silver Deputy, she produced 2006 Ruffian Handicap (USA-G1) winner Pool Land, in turn the dam of Grade 3-placed stakes winner Old Chestnut (by Speightstown). To a cover by 1992 American champion older male Pleasant Tap, Slew City Slicker also produced Grade 2-placed My Chickadee, whose unraced daughter Dynamotor (by the noted stamina influence Dynaformer) produced Our Flash Drive as her second foal. Dynamotor’s most recent foals are a 2020 full sister to Our Flash Dive named Bell Witch and a 2021 filly by Omaha Beach that sold for US$200,000 at this year’s Keeneland September yearling sale.
Generally speaking, Sweetly Scheming’s family has been inclined to produce more speed than stamina, although it has shown the ability to produce good intermediate-distance runners when crossed to more stamina-oriented sires. With a solid family record behind her, combined with her own racing prowess, Our Flash Drive will undoubtedly be a welcome addition to the broodmare band at breeder-owner Charlotte Weber’s Live Oak Stud when the time comes for her to leave racing.
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