Open Mind (USA)
March 8, 1986 – 1998
Deputy Minister (CAN) x Stage Luck (USA), by Stage Door Johnny (USA)
American Family 29
March 8, 1986 – 1998
Deputy Minister (CAN) x Stage Luck (USA), by Stage Door Johnny (USA)
American Family 29
Easily the best of a fairly average crop of American fillies, Open Mind was more workmanlike than spectacular in style while dominating her division at 2 and 3. Admirably consistent against her age-mates and a winner of New York's Triple Tiara series, she was not able to handle top older females in three tries and was never raced against males as a 3-year-old. She appeared to lose interest in racing as a 4-year-old and was retired after two lackluster efforts that year. She died at the regrettably early age of 12 after producing only two live foals.
Race record
19 starts, 12 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, US$1,844,372
1988:
1989:
Honors
Assessments
Highweighted at 123 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile fillies of 1988, 2 pounds above second-rated Some Romance.
Co-highweighted with Gorgeous at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American 3-year-old fillies of 1989, 3 pounds above Imaginary Lady.
As an individual
A feminine chestnut who stood 15.2 hands in the spring of her 3-year-old season, Open Mind was slightly built but had extremely powerful hindquarters. She had a strong closing rally when racing. She handled both fast and off tracks well. She was not an enthusiastic worker in the mornings but was professional in her demeanor when it actually came to racing.
As a producer
Open Mind produced two named foals, both by Easy Goer; both raced and won. Her daughter Easy Mind was considered a stakes winner by Japanese standards but not by international standards. As of 2020, no stakes winners have emerged from Easy Mind's descendants.
Connections
Foaled in New Jersey, Open Mind was bred by Due Process Stables. She was owned by Eugene Klein, who purchased the filly from the 1987 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale for US$150,000. She was trained by D. Wayne Lukas and was ridden for most of her career by Angel Cordero Jr. Following her 3-year-old season, she was sold as a horse of racing age at the 1989 Keeneland November sale in the dispersal of Klein's stock. She was bought by Japanese breeder Kazuo Nakamura, fetching US$4.6 million. She died in Japan in 1998.
Pedigree notes
Open Mind is inbred 5x4 to unbeaten Italian champion racehorse and two-time English champion sire Nearco and 5x5 to two-time American champion colt Bimelech. She is a half sister to Group 2-placed listed stakes winner Shaiba (by Alysheba) and to listed stakes winner Stage Door Avie (by Lord Avie). She is also a half sister to Scapa (by Forceten), dam of Irish Group 3 winner Caiseal Ros (by Roi Danzig) and Puerto Rican stakes winner Titilda (by Villamor).
Open Mind and her siblings are out of multiple stakes winner Stage Luck, a half sister to French Group 3 winner French Friend (by Herbager). She is also a half sister to Pin Oak Stud foundation mare Strike a Pose (by Iron Ruler), a stakes-placed runner who is the dam of listed stakes winner Wedding Picture (by Blushing Groom) and multiple juvenile stakes winner Tonka Wakhan (by Big Spruce) and the second dam of seven stakes winners including 1995 Canadian Horse of the Year Peaks and Valleys and Grade 3 winners Radical Riley and Winged Victory. Strike a Pose is also the third dam of 2008 American champion turf female Forever Together; 2019 $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic (USA-G1) winner Higher Power; Grade 2 winners Broken Vow (a good sire), Alternation, Eleusis, and I Thee Wed; and Grade 3 winners Cryptograph and Equality.
Returning to Stage Luck, she is also a half sister to Oath of Allegiance (by Olden Times), dam of multiple listed stakes winner Jake the Flake (by Gold Spring) and second dam of 1989 Heinz 57 Phoenix Stakes (IRE-G1) winner Pharaoh's Delight, and to Night Stand (by Fluorescent Light), dam of restricted stakes winner Northern Hilite (by Vice Regent) and third dam of 2016 Hong Kong Horse of the Year Werther, 2020 Australasian Oaks (AUS-G1) winner Toffee Tongue and New Zealand Group 3 winner Gobstopper. In addition, Stage Luck is a half sister to Grana (by Miswaki), dam of restricted stakes winner Ten Churros (by High Brite).
Stage Luck and her siblings are out of the winning Amerigo mare Take a Stand, a half sister to 1967 Ashland Stakes winner Dun-Cee (by Dunce; dam of stakes winner Bold Dun-Cee, by Bold Commander) and to stakes winner Controlled Landing (by First Landing). The female line traces back to an American-bred daughter of 1780 Derby Stakes winner Diomed; according to Bloodlines.net, her dam is reported to have been a Thoroughbred mare owned by a Colonel Lyles of Maryland.
Books and media
Fun facts
Last updated: October 26, 2024
Race record
19 starts, 12 wins, 2 seconds, 2 thirds, US$1,844,372
1988:
- Won Demoiselle Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Aqueduct)
- Won Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies (USA-G1, 8.5FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won New Jersey Breeders' Stakes (USA-R, 6FD, Monmouth)
- 2nd Frizette Stakes (USA-G1, 8FD, Belmont)
- 2nd U.S.F. & G. Maryland Lassie Stakes (USA-R, 7FD, Laurel)
1989:
- Won Kentucky Oaks (USA-G1, 9FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Acorn Stakes (USA-G1, 8FD, Belmont)
- Won Mother Goose Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- Won Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1, 12FD, Belmont; by disqualification of Nite of Fun)
- Won Alabama Stakes (USA-G1, 10FD, Saratoga)
- Won Bonnie Miss Stakes (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Forward Gal Stakes (USA-G3, 7FD, Gulfstream Park)
- Won Pimlico Oaks (USA-L, 8.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd Ruffian Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Breeders' Cup Distaff (USA-G1, 9FD, Gulfstream Park)
Honors
- National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame (inducted in 2011)
- Eclipse Award, American champion 2-year-old filly (1988)
- Eclipse Award, American champion 3-year-old filly (1989)
Assessments
Highweighted at 123 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American juvenile fillies of 1988, 2 pounds above second-rated Some Romance.
Co-highweighted with Gorgeous at 126 pounds on the Daily Racing Form’s Free Handicap for American 3-year-old fillies of 1989, 3 pounds above Imaginary Lady.
As an individual
A feminine chestnut who stood 15.2 hands in the spring of her 3-year-old season, Open Mind was slightly built but had extremely powerful hindquarters. She had a strong closing rally when racing. She handled both fast and off tracks well. She was not an enthusiastic worker in the mornings but was professional in her demeanor when it actually came to racing.
As a producer
Open Mind produced two named foals, both by Easy Goer; both raced and won. Her daughter Easy Mind was considered a stakes winner by Japanese standards but not by international standards. As of 2020, no stakes winners have emerged from Easy Mind's descendants.
Connections
Foaled in New Jersey, Open Mind was bred by Due Process Stables. She was owned by Eugene Klein, who purchased the filly from the 1987 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale for US$150,000. She was trained by D. Wayne Lukas and was ridden for most of her career by Angel Cordero Jr. Following her 3-year-old season, she was sold as a horse of racing age at the 1989 Keeneland November sale in the dispersal of Klein's stock. She was bought by Japanese breeder Kazuo Nakamura, fetching US$4.6 million. She died in Japan in 1998.
Pedigree notes
Open Mind is inbred 5x4 to unbeaten Italian champion racehorse and two-time English champion sire Nearco and 5x5 to two-time American champion colt Bimelech. She is a half sister to Group 2-placed listed stakes winner Shaiba (by Alysheba) and to listed stakes winner Stage Door Avie (by Lord Avie). She is also a half sister to Scapa (by Forceten), dam of Irish Group 3 winner Caiseal Ros (by Roi Danzig) and Puerto Rican stakes winner Titilda (by Villamor).
Open Mind and her siblings are out of multiple stakes winner Stage Luck, a half sister to French Group 3 winner French Friend (by Herbager). She is also a half sister to Pin Oak Stud foundation mare Strike a Pose (by Iron Ruler), a stakes-placed runner who is the dam of listed stakes winner Wedding Picture (by Blushing Groom) and multiple juvenile stakes winner Tonka Wakhan (by Big Spruce) and the second dam of seven stakes winners including 1995 Canadian Horse of the Year Peaks and Valleys and Grade 3 winners Radical Riley and Winged Victory. Strike a Pose is also the third dam of 2008 American champion turf female Forever Together; 2019 $1 Million TVG Pacific Classic (USA-G1) winner Higher Power; Grade 2 winners Broken Vow (a good sire), Alternation, Eleusis, and I Thee Wed; and Grade 3 winners Cryptograph and Equality.
Returning to Stage Luck, she is also a half sister to Oath of Allegiance (by Olden Times), dam of multiple listed stakes winner Jake the Flake (by Gold Spring) and second dam of 1989 Heinz 57 Phoenix Stakes (IRE-G1) winner Pharaoh's Delight, and to Night Stand (by Fluorescent Light), dam of restricted stakes winner Northern Hilite (by Vice Regent) and third dam of 2016 Hong Kong Horse of the Year Werther, 2020 Australasian Oaks (AUS-G1) winner Toffee Tongue and New Zealand Group 3 winner Gobstopper. In addition, Stage Luck is a half sister to Grana (by Miswaki), dam of restricted stakes winner Ten Churros (by High Brite).
Stage Luck and her siblings are out of the winning Amerigo mare Take a Stand, a half sister to 1967 Ashland Stakes winner Dun-Cee (by Dunce; dam of stakes winner Bold Dun-Cee, by Bold Commander) and to stakes winner Controlled Landing (by First Landing). The female line traces back to an American-bred daughter of 1780 Derby Stakes winner Diomed; according to Bloodlines.net, her dam is reported to have been a Thoroughbred mare owned by a Colonel Lyles of Maryland.
Books and media
- Open Mind is profiled in Chapter 11 of Avalyn Hunter's American Classic Pedigrees 1914-2002 (2003, Eclipse Press).
- Footage of Open Mind's victory in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies can be accessed at the Breeders' Cup Hall of Champions (https://www.breederscup.com/history-tradition/hall-champions/open-mind).
Fun facts
- Open Mind got her name from D. Wayne Lukas' decision to buy her on Eugene Klein's behalf. While Lukas found her to be an above-average physical specimen, he had some doubts when his son and chief assistant Jeff Lukas pointed out that she was by Deputy Minister, then a relatively unheralded young stallion who was standing in New Jersey. Lukas later quoted himself as saying, “Well, we'll keep an open mind”—and when he was able to get the filly at what he considered a reasonable price, the name stuck.
- Open Mind made her first start against New Jersey-bred colts in a 6-furlong maiden event at Monmouth Park. Sent off at a shade under 11-1 odds (the highest ever placed against her during her career) she won easily. She beat males again in the restricted New Jersey Breeders' Stakes but was never tried against males in open company.
- Open Mind was the ninth filly to complete the Kentucky Oaks/Coaching Club American Oaks double, a feat previously accomplished by Princess Doreen (1924), Wistful (1949), How (1951), Real Delight (1952), Dark Mirage (1968), Davona Dale (1979), Bold 'n Determined (1980) and Goodbye Halo (1988). Since 1989, the double has been accomplished by Lite Light (1991), Ashado (2004) and Princess of Sylmar (2013).
- Open Mind was the seventh filly to sweep the original New York Triple Tiara series of the Acorn Stakes, the Mother Goose Stakes, and the Coaching Club American Oaks. The others were Dark Mirage (1968), Shuvee (1969), Chris Evert (1974), Ruffian (1975), Davona Dale (1979), Mom’s Command (1985), and Sky Beauty (1993).
- Beginning with the 1988 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Open Mind won 10 straight races. All were stakes events and seven were at the Grade 1 level.
- Open Mind led home a 1-2-3 sweep in the 1988 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies for Lukas, who also trained second-place Darby Shuffle and third-place Lea Lucinda.
- Open Mind became the namesake for a stakes race on the main track at Churchill Downs. It was most recently carded at 6 furlongs for fillies and mares 3 and older.
Last updated: October 26, 2024