On February 13, one of the most regally bred 3-year-old fillies on the planet won her first stakes race in the Queen Cup (JPN-G3). Her name is Akaitorino Musume, and she is the product of a mating between two Triple Crown winners: Deep Impact, who won the Japanese Triple Crown in 2005, and Apapane, who won the Japanese Fillies' Triple Crown in 2010.
Deep Impact needs little introduction as a sire, having led the Japanese general sire list every year since 2012 according to the Japanese Bloodstock Information System. For as long as he lived (he died in July 2019), he was Apapane's only mate, and she had previously produced three winning colts by him, two of them Group 3-placed.
Most of Akaitorino Musume's story has yet to be written, but in her origins, she does have parallels in modern American breeding. The most obvious is Six Crowns, who was sired by 1973 American Triple Crown winner Secretariat out of 1974 New York Triple Tiara winner Chris Evert. A minor stakes winner during her own racing career, Six Crowns hit it big as a broodmare, producing 1984 American champion 2-year-old male Chief's Crown (by Danzig; a good sire) and multiple Grade 1 winner Classic Crown (by Mr. Prospector). Six Crowns is also the third dam of Giulia, a Group 1 winner in Uruguay; Grade/Group 2 winners Bourbon Courage and Reach the Crown; and Japanese Group 3 winner A Shin G Line.
While Six Crowns was probably the best known, she was not the only American filly produced by a mating of Triple Crown/Triple Tiara winners. She was. in fact, a full sister to Center Court Star, dam of South African Group 1 winner Lambent Light (by Capote) and one other stakes winner. She was also a half sister to two fillies sired by 1970 English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky II. The first, stakes-placed Tournament Star, is the second dam of Grade 3 winner Delay of Game. The second, Nijinsky Star, produced Grade 2 winner Revasser (by Riverman) and two other stakes winners and stands at the head of the strongest branch of Chris Evert's family with Grade/Group 1 winners Sightseek, Tates Creek, Etoile Montante, and Special Duty; Grade/Group 2 winners Bowman's Band, Bonny South, Pollard's Vision, and Starformer; and French Group 3 winner Glaswegian among her descendants.
Of the seven other fillies that have swept the Triple Tiara, two (Dark Mirage and Ruffian) died as a result of racetrack injuries and had no foals. The others had the following foals by Triple Crown winners:
Two other North American mares in the modern era, 1991 Canadian Triple Crown winner Dance Smartly and 2007 Canadian Triple Tiara winner Sealy Hill, could also have produced foals with six crowns between their parents, but neither ever visited the court of a Triple Crown winner although both were very good broodmares. Thus, the tally for North American members of the "Six Crowns Ciub" stands at seven, of which one was a stakes winner and three were stakes-placed. Perhaps significantly, all the ones of any importance as broodmares were daughters of Chris Evert, whose record as a "dam of dams" is all the more impressive when one considers that she only had five foals all told. (The only one who was not by a Triple Crown winner was minor stakes winner Wimbledon Star, who was sired by 1970 American champion 2-year-old male Hoist the Flag; the second dam of Chilean Group 2 winner Quiet Call, she is also the third dam of Peruvian champion Dr Action, Chilean Group 1 winner Querido Machito, and Grade 1 winner Dominican.)
For Akaitorino Musume, one hopes that the paddocks are not in her immediate future, given that the Japanese Classics are still to come. She is already a step ahead of her North American counterparts, having become a Group stakes winner, and it would be a pleasant thing to see her live up to her royal heritage both on the race course and, in due time, in the breeding shed.
Deep Impact needs little introduction as a sire, having led the Japanese general sire list every year since 2012 according to the Japanese Bloodstock Information System. For as long as he lived (he died in July 2019), he was Apapane's only mate, and she had previously produced three winning colts by him, two of them Group 3-placed.
Most of Akaitorino Musume's story has yet to be written, but in her origins, she does have parallels in modern American breeding. The most obvious is Six Crowns, who was sired by 1973 American Triple Crown winner Secretariat out of 1974 New York Triple Tiara winner Chris Evert. A minor stakes winner during her own racing career, Six Crowns hit it big as a broodmare, producing 1984 American champion 2-year-old male Chief's Crown (by Danzig; a good sire) and multiple Grade 1 winner Classic Crown (by Mr. Prospector). Six Crowns is also the third dam of Giulia, a Group 1 winner in Uruguay; Grade/Group 2 winners Bourbon Courage and Reach the Crown; and Japanese Group 3 winner A Shin G Line.
While Six Crowns was probably the best known, she was not the only American filly produced by a mating of Triple Crown/Triple Tiara winners. She was. in fact, a full sister to Center Court Star, dam of South African Group 1 winner Lambent Light (by Capote) and one other stakes winner. She was also a half sister to two fillies sired by 1970 English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky II. The first, stakes-placed Tournament Star, is the second dam of Grade 3 winner Delay of Game. The second, Nijinsky Star, produced Grade 2 winner Revasser (by Riverman) and two other stakes winners and stands at the head of the strongest branch of Chris Evert's family with Grade/Group 1 winners Sightseek, Tates Creek, Etoile Montante, and Special Duty; Grade/Group 2 winners Bowman's Band, Bonny South, Pollard's Vision, and Starformer; and French Group 3 winner Glaswegian among her descendants.
Of the seven other fillies that have swept the Triple Tiara, two (Dark Mirage and Ruffian) died as a result of racetrack injuries and had no foals. The others had the following foals by Triple Crown winners:
- Shuvee produced stakes-placed Vatza and the non-winner Virginia Princess to the cover of Nijinsky II. Neither were of significance as producers.
- Davona Dale produced 1989 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) third Le Voyageur, the stakes-placed colt Macau, and the unraced filly Mistletoe Time to the cover of 1977 American Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Mistletoe Time never produced a named foal and her brothers were not successful sires.
- Mom's Command was not bred to a Triple Crown winner during the course of her broodmare career.
- Open MInd produced only two foals, both by 1989 Belmont Stakes winner Easy Goer.
- Sky Beauty was not bred to a Triple Crown winner during the course of her broodmare career.
Two other North American mares in the modern era, 1991 Canadian Triple Crown winner Dance Smartly and 2007 Canadian Triple Tiara winner Sealy Hill, could also have produced foals with six crowns between their parents, but neither ever visited the court of a Triple Crown winner although both were very good broodmares. Thus, the tally for North American members of the "Six Crowns Ciub" stands at seven, of which one was a stakes winner and three were stakes-placed. Perhaps significantly, all the ones of any importance as broodmares were daughters of Chris Evert, whose record as a "dam of dams" is all the more impressive when one considers that she only had five foals all told. (The only one who was not by a Triple Crown winner was minor stakes winner Wimbledon Star, who was sired by 1970 American champion 2-year-old male Hoist the Flag; the second dam of Chilean Group 2 winner Quiet Call, she is also the third dam of Peruvian champion Dr Action, Chilean Group 1 winner Querido Machito, and Grade 1 winner Dominican.)
For Akaitorino Musume, one hopes that the paddocks are not in her immediate future, given that the Japanese Classics are still to come. She is already a step ahead of her North American counterparts, having become a Group stakes winner, and it would be a pleasant thing to see her live up to her royal heritage both on the race course and, in due time, in the breeding shed.
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