No one was surprised when a Chad Brown trainee won the Matriarch Stakes (USA-G1) on Sunday at Del Mar, given that the trainer had a four-horse entry (including 9-5 favorite Whitebeam) in his bid to win the race for the sixth time in seven years. If there was a surprise, it was that the least-experienced of his squad led a Brown sweep of the top four places. Squeezing through a narrow hole and literally scraping the paint off the inside rail, Surge Capacity got up to beat stablemate Fluffy Socks by a head. Her time for the one mile on firm turf was a solid 1:33.95, and the win—her first in a Grade 1 race—was her fourth in five starts, suggesting a bright future for the filly in next year’s female turf division.
The first Grade 1 winner for her sire, 2016 American champion turf male Flintshire, Surge Capacity is a fourth-generation descendant of Meringue Pie (by 1969 American champion 2-year-old male Silent Screen), a nice mare who won five stakes races in 1982-1983 but was a fair way removed from being a top-class runner. Her broodmare career paralleled her racing career in being quite solid but not stellar: the dam of 10 winners from 14 named foals, she numbered three stakes winners among her produce. The best of them was 1992 Cherry Hill Mile Stakes (USA-G3) winner Pie in Your Eye (by Spend a Buck), a hardy gelding who racked up 29 wins and 27 placings from 106 races over 10 seasons. Meringue Pie also produced English listed stakes winner Monsagem (by Nureyev), whose five Group placings included a third in the 1989 Prix Jean Prat (FR-G1), and two-time Prairie Express Stakes winner Pie’s Lil Brother (by Roar).
None of Meringue Pie’s daughters achieved distinction on the track, but three produced stakes winners, including Whipped Queen (by Kingmambo), dam of 2015 York Stakes (ENG-G2) winner Tullius (by Le Vie Dei Colori). Whipped Cream’s full sister Parfait also got in on the act, producing 2006 Prairie Rose Stakes winner G. G.’s Dolly (by multiple Grade 3 winner Comic Strip). G. G.’s Dolly, in turn, now has two daughters who have produced graded stakes winners: Loan Guarantee (by Malibu Moon), dam of 2022 Penn Mile Stakes (USA-G2) winner Wow Whata Summer (by Summer Front), and Strong Incentive (by Warrior’s Reward), winner of the 2015 Jammed Lovely Stakes (CAN-R) and dam of Surge Capacity as her third foal. Previously the dam of 2022 Monmouth Cup Stakes (USA-G3) winner Highly Motivated (by Into Mischief) and with 2023 Spinaway Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up Ways and Means (by Practical Joke) also to her credit, Strong Incentive sold for US$2.15 million at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale, in foal to Good Magic.
Surge Capacity seems to have found a home for herself as a turf miler, all three of her stakes wins having come at the distance, but there is a chance that she may stretch out further as she continues developing—after all, she is the daughter of a horse that twice won the Sword Dancer Stakes (USA-G1) at a mile and a half., Regardless, one can hope that her first taste of sweet success at the top level will not be her last.
The first Grade 1 winner for her sire, 2016 American champion turf male Flintshire, Surge Capacity is a fourth-generation descendant of Meringue Pie (by 1969 American champion 2-year-old male Silent Screen), a nice mare who won five stakes races in 1982-1983 but was a fair way removed from being a top-class runner. Her broodmare career paralleled her racing career in being quite solid but not stellar: the dam of 10 winners from 14 named foals, she numbered three stakes winners among her produce. The best of them was 1992 Cherry Hill Mile Stakes (USA-G3) winner Pie in Your Eye (by Spend a Buck), a hardy gelding who racked up 29 wins and 27 placings from 106 races over 10 seasons. Meringue Pie also produced English listed stakes winner Monsagem (by Nureyev), whose five Group placings included a third in the 1989 Prix Jean Prat (FR-G1), and two-time Prairie Express Stakes winner Pie’s Lil Brother (by Roar).
None of Meringue Pie’s daughters achieved distinction on the track, but three produced stakes winners, including Whipped Queen (by Kingmambo), dam of 2015 York Stakes (ENG-G2) winner Tullius (by Le Vie Dei Colori). Whipped Cream’s full sister Parfait also got in on the act, producing 2006 Prairie Rose Stakes winner G. G.’s Dolly (by multiple Grade 3 winner Comic Strip). G. G.’s Dolly, in turn, now has two daughters who have produced graded stakes winners: Loan Guarantee (by Malibu Moon), dam of 2022 Penn Mile Stakes (USA-G2) winner Wow Whata Summer (by Summer Front), and Strong Incentive (by Warrior’s Reward), winner of the 2015 Jammed Lovely Stakes (CAN-R) and dam of Surge Capacity as her third foal. Previously the dam of 2022 Monmouth Cup Stakes (USA-G3) winner Highly Motivated (by Into Mischief) and with 2023 Spinaway Stakes (USA-G1) runner-up Ways and Means (by Practical Joke) also to her credit, Strong Incentive sold for US$2.15 million at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale, in foal to Good Magic.
Surge Capacity seems to have found a home for herself as a turf miler, all three of her stakes wins having come at the distance, but there is a chance that she may stretch out further as she continues developing—after all, she is the daughter of a horse that twice won the Sword Dancer Stakes (USA-G1) at a mile and a half., Regardless, one can hope that her first taste of sweet success at the top level will not be her last.
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