Weekend Surprise (USA)
April 8, 1980 – March 13, 2001
Secretariat (USA) x Lassie Dear (USA), by Buckpasser (USA)
Family 3-l
"GENETIC GEM"
April 8, 1980 – March 13, 2001
Secretariat (USA) x Lassie Dear (USA), by Buckpasser (USA)
Family 3-l
"GENETIC GEM"
Weekend Surprise had the race record and breeding to be a top broodmare, but she exceeded expectations even for the elite of her breed. Named the 1992 Broodmare of the Year by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, she produced two Classic winners that both became important sires, along with several lesser sons that had some impact at stud and several stakes-winning or stakes-producing daughters.
Race record
31 starts, 7 wins, 5 seconds, 10 thirds, US$402,892
1982:
1983:
1984:
Assessments
Rated at 114 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American 2-year-olds of 1982, 7 pounds below Landaluce (the official champion 2-year-old filly) and Princess Rooney.
Rated at 112 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1984, 19 pounds below champion Princess Rooney.
As an individual
Weekend Surprise was an attractive, light-bodied, feminine bay mare with a good shoulder and hip. She was on the light-boned side with somewhat upright pasterns. She was also slightly back at the knee. She possessed excellent acceleration as a racehorse and did her best running when coming from well back. According to Mary Simon of Thoroughbred Times, she had "the heart of a tiger" in competition, but those familiar with her as a broodmare described her as easy to handle.
As a producer
A Reine-de-Course as designated by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Weekend Surprise produced 14 named foals, of which 12 have started and nine are winners. Her important foals are as follow:
Connections
Weekend Surprise was bred by William S. Farish III and William S. Kilroy. She was trained by Del Carroll, Jr., who took over for his father after the senior Carroll was killed in a training accident shortly after Weekend Surprise's maiden victory. Weekend Surprise died March 13, 2001, after foaling a Belong to Me filly later named Mystery Trip. She was buried at Lane's End Farm next to the grave of her dam, Lassie Dear.
Pedigree notes
Weekend Surprise is inbred 2x4 to Somethingroyal. She is a half sister to French and English Group 1 winner Wolfhound (by Nureyev), who was the highweighted older male in England in 1993 over 5 to 7 furlongs. She is also a half sister to multiple listed stakes winner Spectacular Spy (by Spectacular Bid); to Group 3-placed French listed stakes winner Foxhound (by Danzig); to Group 1-placed Al Mufti (by Roberto), a successful sire in South Africa; and to Charming Lassie (by Seattle Slew), dam of 2000 American champion older male Lemon Drop Kid (by Kingmambo), Grade 2 winner Brulay (by Rubiano) and Grade 3 winner Statue of Liberty (by Storm Cat). Another half-sibling to Weekend Surprise, Lassie's Lady (by Alydar), is the dam of Grade 2 winner Bite the Bullet (by Spectacular Bid) and English stakes winner Shuailaan (by Roberto) and is the second dam of 2008 European champion older male Duke of Marmalade, 2013 Derby Stakes (ENG-1) winner Ruler of the World, Australian Group 2 winner Annus Mirabilis, and Grade/Group 3 winners Madison's Charm and Norway.
Weekend Surprise and her siblings are out of 1976 Villager Stakes (USA-G3) winner Lassie Dear, one of four stakes winners produced from 1970 Ashland Stakes winner Gay Missile (by Sir Gaylord). Gay Missile, in turn, is one of six stakes winners produced by the My Babu mare Missy Baba, also the dam of 1991 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Toll Booth (by Buckpasser).
Books and media
Weekend Surprise is one of 50 Thoroughbreds profiled in Royal Blood: Fifty Years of Classic Thoroughbreds. Written by racing historian Jim Bolus with illustrations and commentary by noted equine artist Richard Stone Reeves, the book was released by The Blood-Horse, Inc., in 1994.
Last updated: August 23, 2024
Race record
31 starts, 7 wins, 5 seconds, 10 thirds, US$402,892
1982:
- Won Schuylerville Stakes (USA-G3, 6FD, Saratoga)
- Won Golden Rod Stakes (USA-G3, 8.5FD, Churchill Downs)
- Won Pocahontas Stakes (second division) (USA, 8FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Rosedale Stakes (USA, 5.5FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Frizette Stakes (USA-G1, 8FD, Belmont)
- 3rd Matron Stakes (USA-G1, 7FD, Belmont)
1983:
- 2nd Cumberland Handicap (USA-L, 10FD, Churchill Downs)
- 2nd Pleasant Hill Stakes (USA, 8.5FD, Churchill Downs)
- 3rd Black-Eyed Susan Stakes (USA-G2, 8.5FD, Pimlico)
- 3rd La Troienne Stakes (USA, 7FD, Churchill Downs)
1984:
- 2nd La Canada Stakes (USA-G1, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- 2nd El Encino Stakes (USA-G3, 8.5FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Delaware Handicap (USA-G1, 10FD, Delaware)
- 3rd Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap (USA-G1, 9FD, Santa Anita)
- 3rd Long Look Stakes (USA-G2, 9FD, The Meadowlands)
Assessments
Rated at 114 pounds on the Experimental Free Handicap for American 2-year-olds of 1982, 7 pounds below Landaluce (the official champion 2-year-old filly) and Princess Rooney.
Rated at 112 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for American older females of 1984, 19 pounds below champion Princess Rooney.
As an individual
Weekend Surprise was an attractive, light-bodied, feminine bay mare with a good shoulder and hip. She was on the light-boned side with somewhat upright pasterns. She was also slightly back at the knee. She possessed excellent acceleration as a racehorse and did her best running when coming from well back. According to Mary Simon of Thoroughbred Times, she had "the heart of a tiger" in competition, but those familiar with her as a broodmare described her as easy to handle.
As a producer
A Reine-de-Course as designated by pedigree analyst Ellen Parker, Weekend Surprise produced 14 named foals, of which 12 have started and nine are winners. Her important foals are as follow:
- Summer Squall (1987, by Storm Bird) was generally considered the second-best colt of his crop at both 2 and 3 and won the 1989 Hopeful Stakes (USA-I) and 1990 Preakness Stakes (USA-G1). Hampered by his susceptibility to respiratory bleeding, he was nonetheless a good sire. The Jockey Club credits him with 35 stakes winners from 354 named foals, headed by 1999 American Horse of the Year Charismatic and 1996 American champion juvenile filly Storm Song.
- Honor Grades (1988, by Danzig) was multiple Grade 3-placed on the track. He proved a useful sire, getting 32 stakes winners including multiple Grade 1 winner Honor Glide and New Zealand Group 1 winner Honor Bound.
- A.P. Indy (1989, by Seattle Slew) won the 1991 Hollywood Futurity (USA-G1) and the 1992 Belmont Stakes (USA-G1) and Breeders' Cup Classic (USA-G1). The 1992 American champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year, he led the American general sire list in 2003 and 2006 and has become an important sire of broodmares.
- Amirati (1990, by Danzig) won one of her five starts. She is the second dam of the Grade 1-winning steeplechaser Surprising Soul, who took his top-level brackets in the 2019 Lonesone Glory Handicap, and the third dam of Australian Group 3 winner Honesty Prevails.
- Weekend Storm (1992, by Storm Bird) never raced but is the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Court Vision (by Gulch), Canadian Grade 3 winner Smart Surprise (by Smart Strike), Grade 1-placed listed stakes winner Lord Snowdon (by Seeking the Gold) and multiple Hong Kong stakes winner Garcia Marquez (by Gulch). She is also the dam of Kipling (by Gulch), whose son Kip Deville won the 2007 Breeders' Cup Mile (USA-G1) and three other Grade 1 turf races. In addition, Weekend Storm is the second dam of 2018 Canadian champion female sprinter Moonlit Promise and Irish Group 3 winner Sizzling.
- Weekend in Seattle (1993, by Seattle Slew) ran third in the 1996 Coaching Club American Oaks (USA-G1). She produced Grade 1-placed stakes winner Mambo in Seattle (by Kingmambo) and is the second dam of Grade 1-placed Grade 3 winner Sky Kingdom (by Empire Maker) and Japanese Group 3 winner Stay in Seattle.
- Tiger Ridge (1996, by Storm Cat) failed to win in five starts but has sired at least 30 stakes winners while standing in Florida and South Africa, headed by South African Group 1 winners Cherry on the Top, Kavanagh and Wagner and by Gallant Ruler, 2009 Horse of the Year in the Virgin Islands.
- Welcome Surprise (1997, by Seeking the Gold) won the 1990 Dogwood Stakes (USA-G3). She is the second dam of 2024 Personal Ensign Stakes (USA-G1) winner Raging Sea and Grade 3 winner Guest Suite.
- Lassie's Legacy (1999. by Deputy Minister) won one of her eight starts. She is the second dam of 2020 Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (USA-G1) winner Happy Saver.
- Eavesdropper (2000, by Kingmambo) won a listed stakes and is Grade 3-placed.
- Mystery Trip (2001, by Belong to Me) never raced but is the second dam of English Group 3 winner Chemical Charge.
Connections
Weekend Surprise was bred by William S. Farish III and William S. Kilroy. She was trained by Del Carroll, Jr., who took over for his father after the senior Carroll was killed in a training accident shortly after Weekend Surprise's maiden victory. Weekend Surprise died March 13, 2001, after foaling a Belong to Me filly later named Mystery Trip. She was buried at Lane's End Farm next to the grave of her dam, Lassie Dear.
Pedigree notes
Weekend Surprise is inbred 2x4 to Somethingroyal. She is a half sister to French and English Group 1 winner Wolfhound (by Nureyev), who was the highweighted older male in England in 1993 over 5 to 7 furlongs. She is also a half sister to multiple listed stakes winner Spectacular Spy (by Spectacular Bid); to Group 3-placed French listed stakes winner Foxhound (by Danzig); to Group 1-placed Al Mufti (by Roberto), a successful sire in South Africa; and to Charming Lassie (by Seattle Slew), dam of 2000 American champion older male Lemon Drop Kid (by Kingmambo), Grade 2 winner Brulay (by Rubiano) and Grade 3 winner Statue of Liberty (by Storm Cat). Another half-sibling to Weekend Surprise, Lassie's Lady (by Alydar), is the dam of Grade 2 winner Bite the Bullet (by Spectacular Bid) and English stakes winner Shuailaan (by Roberto) and is the second dam of 2008 European champion older male Duke of Marmalade, 2013 Derby Stakes (ENG-1) winner Ruler of the World, Australian Group 2 winner Annus Mirabilis, and Grade/Group 3 winners Madison's Charm and Norway.
Weekend Surprise and her siblings are out of 1976 Villager Stakes (USA-G3) winner Lassie Dear, one of four stakes winners produced from 1970 Ashland Stakes winner Gay Missile (by Sir Gaylord). Gay Missile, in turn, is one of six stakes winners produced by the My Babu mare Missy Baba, also the dam of 1991 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Toll Booth (by Buckpasser).
Books and media
Weekend Surprise is one of 50 Thoroughbreds profiled in Royal Blood: Fifty Years of Classic Thoroughbreds. Written by racing historian Jim Bolus with illustrations and commentary by noted equine artist Richard Stone Reeves, the book was released by The Blood-Horse, Inc., in 1994.
Last updated: August 23, 2024