Kensington Lane may have been 23-1 at the post for the Belmont Oaks Stakes (USA-G1), but she ran like an odds-on shot. Always prominently placed, the Athasi Stakes (IRE-G3) winner had the lead for good by the half-mile pole and was in control the rest of the way, throwing a final furlong in 0:11.32 at her competitors to seal the deal. She finished 1¾ lengths in front while gearing down, securing her first Grade/Group 1 win and boosting her lifetime earnings to US$411,281.
Appropriately for a major winner on America’s Independence Day, Kensington Lane is by Starspangledbanner, though, in spite of the name, Starspangledbanner is not an American horse. A four-time Group 1 winner in Australia and England and a champion sprinter in both Australia and Europe. Starspangledbanner was bred under the Union Jack, Southern Cross, and Commonwealth Star of the Australian flag from a mating between the brilliantly fast Choisir (a champion juvenile in Australia and a Group 1 winner in England) and the mare Gold Anthem, both also Australian-breds. Starspangledbanner now stands in Ireland, where he has ranked three times among the country’s top 10 sires.
In spite of her sprinting sire, there was good reason to think all along that Kensington Lane might want more distance than the seven furlongs of the Athasi or the flat mile of her most recent start before coming over to Saratoga, the Irish One Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1). Kensington Lane is the fifth foal and third winner produced from the unraced Galileo mare Almost Always, whose full sister, Amurmar, is the dam of 2024 Lonesome Glory Handicap (NSA-G1) winner Freddy Flintshire. Galileo, of course, is no unknown quantity as a source of stamina, and Ramruma, the dam of Almost Always, won an Oaks triple with the 1999 Vodafone Oaks (ENG-G1), Kildangan Stud Irish Oaks (IRE-G1), and Aston Upthorpe Yorkshire Oaks (ENG-G1), all contested at the European classic distance of 1½ miles.
Diesis, the sire of Ramruma, was an English champion at 2 but was no fluke as an Oaks sire, also getting Oaks Stakes winners Diminuendo (who completed the same triple as Ramruma in 1988) and Love Divine. Ramruma was produced from Princess of Man, who also foaled Ramruma’s listed-stakes-winning full siblings Ausherra and Royal Scimitar. Both liked a bit of ground to stretch their legs over, and Ausherra went on to produce another staying sort in listed stakes winner Yorkshire (by Generous), whose average winning distance was just over 14 furlongs. Princess of Man is also the dam of Zarara (by Manila), whose son All the Good (by Diesis) won the 2008 Caulfield Cup (AUS-G1) over 2400 meters.
This family is not devoid of speed, however, as Ausherra also produced Strategic Prince (by the good miler Dansili), a multiple Group 2 winner as a juvenile in England. 1971 English champion sprinter Green God (by the speed influence Red God), the sire of Princess of Man, provided an injection of high-quality speed to the lineage. Still, some degree of stoutness remained, as Princess of Man won the 1978 Musidora Stakes (ENG-G3) over a little more than 1¼ miles.
Breeding a top Thoroughbred is always a matter of balancing speed and stamina in a pedigree, as well as many other factors. Very few horses can “sprint with the sprinters and stay with the stayers,” as old-time breeders used to say, and Kensington Lane has already shown that although she has some talent at shorter distances, she lacks the foot to be really top-class over sprints or even a mile. The questions now are finding out how far she really wants to go and how much of the apparent facility of her Belmont Oaks win was due to getting control of the race tempo relatively early. Still, she is clearly a nice filly, and her female family suggests that we have not yet seen her limit as to how far she’ll go.
Appropriately for a major winner on America’s Independence Day, Kensington Lane is by Starspangledbanner, though, in spite of the name, Starspangledbanner is not an American horse. A four-time Group 1 winner in Australia and England and a champion sprinter in both Australia and Europe. Starspangledbanner was bred under the Union Jack, Southern Cross, and Commonwealth Star of the Australian flag from a mating between the brilliantly fast Choisir (a champion juvenile in Australia and a Group 1 winner in England) and the mare Gold Anthem, both also Australian-breds. Starspangledbanner now stands in Ireland, where he has ranked three times among the country’s top 10 sires.
In spite of her sprinting sire, there was good reason to think all along that Kensington Lane might want more distance than the seven furlongs of the Athasi or the flat mile of her most recent start before coming over to Saratoga, the Irish One Thousand Guineas (IRE-G1). Kensington Lane is the fifth foal and third winner produced from the unraced Galileo mare Almost Always, whose full sister, Amurmar, is the dam of 2024 Lonesome Glory Handicap (NSA-G1) winner Freddy Flintshire. Galileo, of course, is no unknown quantity as a source of stamina, and Ramruma, the dam of Almost Always, won an Oaks triple with the 1999 Vodafone Oaks (ENG-G1), Kildangan Stud Irish Oaks (IRE-G1), and Aston Upthorpe Yorkshire Oaks (ENG-G1), all contested at the European classic distance of 1½ miles.
Diesis, the sire of Ramruma, was an English champion at 2 but was no fluke as an Oaks sire, also getting Oaks Stakes winners Diminuendo (who completed the same triple as Ramruma in 1988) and Love Divine. Ramruma was produced from Princess of Man, who also foaled Ramruma’s listed-stakes-winning full siblings Ausherra and Royal Scimitar. Both liked a bit of ground to stretch their legs over, and Ausherra went on to produce another staying sort in listed stakes winner Yorkshire (by Generous), whose average winning distance was just over 14 furlongs. Princess of Man is also the dam of Zarara (by Manila), whose son All the Good (by Diesis) won the 2008 Caulfield Cup (AUS-G1) over 2400 meters.
This family is not devoid of speed, however, as Ausherra also produced Strategic Prince (by the good miler Dansili), a multiple Group 2 winner as a juvenile in England. 1971 English champion sprinter Green God (by the speed influence Red God), the sire of Princess of Man, provided an injection of high-quality speed to the lineage. Still, some degree of stoutness remained, as Princess of Man won the 1978 Musidora Stakes (ENG-G3) over a little more than 1¼ miles.
Breeding a top Thoroughbred is always a matter of balancing speed and stamina in a pedigree, as well as many other factors. Very few horses can “sprint with the sprinters and stay with the stayers,” as old-time breeders used to say, and Kensington Lane has already shown that although she has some talent at shorter distances, she lacks the foot to be really top-class over sprints or even a mile. The questions now are finding out how far she really wants to go and how much of the apparent facility of her Belmont Oaks win was due to getting control of the race tempo relatively early. Still, she is clearly a nice filly, and her female family suggests that we have not yet seen her limit as to how far she’ll go.
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