Cross Traffic Shines at Saratoga

Cross Traffic earns his Grade I credentials in the Whitney
Credit: Courtney Heeney, Courtesy NYRA/Coglianese

A week after the untimely death of super sire Unbridled's Song, his son, Cross Traffic, emerged as a shining star today, capturing the prestigious Whitney Handicap-G1 at Saratoga over a stellar field of older handicap horses.  It was the first stakes victory for the four-year-old steely gray colt, and in addition to his trophy and purse monies, Cross Traffic earned an automatic berth in November's Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita.

Cross Traffic grabbed the lead from multimillionaire Mucho Macho Man soon after the start, and seemed to just cruise along in first position until the far turn of the mile-and-an-eighth contest, when he was challenged in earnest by both Mucho Macho Man and last year's Whitney and Breeders' Cup Classic winner, Fort Larned.  Though Fort Larned couldn't sustain his bid, both Successful Dan and Mucho Macho Man appeared to be getting to Cross Traffic in the stretch.  Jockey Johnny Velasquez roused him, and he quickened, then swerved slightly, but it didn't matter.  There was no catching Cross Traffic today.

It wasn't that way in the colt's last two races, when he was narrowly bested after setting the pace in the one mile Westchester-G3 and Metropolitan-G1 at Belmont, grudgingly settling for second both times.  In spite of stretching out today, Cross Traffic didn't appear to be spent at the wire, galloping out with strength and confidence and the admiration of race fans hungry for a new hero.

Unraced at two and three, Cross Traffic broke his maiden in his initial outing at Gulfstream last January, then captured an allowance race at the same track before graduating to stakes company in New York.  Cross Traffic has now won or placed in all of his five starts, while amassing earnings of $681,300.

He was born to be great.  Cross Traffic is at least the 101st stakes winner and 16th grade I stakes winner by sire standout Unbridled's Song, a son of Brilliant-Intermediate Chef-de-Race Unbridled. His dam, the consistent and classy Cure the Blues mare, Stop Traffic, notched Grade I stakes on both coasts, including Saratoga's seven-furlong Ballerina, which she captured by seven widening lengths over Alabama victress Runup the Colors (by A. P. Indy), dam of this year's Louisiana Derby winner Revolutionary (by War Pass).

The sixth foal out of Stop Traffic, Cross Traffic was purchased for $300,000 by his current connections, GoldMark Farm, at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale.  He is a full brother to the stakes-placed filly, Bianco Tartufo, and a half-brother to three other winners, including stakes-placed Into My Soul (by Pleasantly Perfect).  Cross Traffic's victory in the Whitney is sure to fuel interest in his yearling half-brother by Medaglia D'Oro, who is slated to be sold as Hip #134 on Tuesday night at Fasig-Tipton's Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, across the street from the storied racetrack.

Orb's Class Shines Through

Orb after the Florida Derby
Photo courtesy of Coglianese/Gulfstream

The best horse doesn't always win the Kentucky Derby.  But yesterday, he did.

If you want to know what a superior equine athlete looks like, look no further than Orb, who relentlessly surged from the back of a muddy pack to capture the 139th Kentucky Derby with absolute authority.  It takes a really good horse to do that.

When the equine biomechanical experts at EQB evaluated Orb's cardiovascular system for owner-breeders Janney and Phipps, they deemed his heart scan results to be "elite."  That's no surprise, given his illustrious pedigree.  A grandson of Belmont winner and classic sire, A. P. Indy, out of a mare by Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled, Orb hails from a female family that has been flush with class for generations.  It's produced standouts Ruffian, Icecapade, Buckfinder, Private Terms, Coronado's Quest, and now, Orb.

Through his sire, Malibu Moon, and his maternal grandsire, Unbridled, Orb is inbred, 3 x 4, to the influential Mr. Prospector, bred on a similar cross to Tapit (by Pulpit, out of Tap Your Heels, by Unbridled).  Orb's second dam, the Cox's Ridge mare, Mesabi Maiden, won the Black-Eyed Susan-G2 at Pimlico for Janney and Phipps in 1996, narrowly defeating favored Cara Rafaela, who would later achieve Broodmare of the Year status as the dam of Champion Bernardini. 

Orb's dam, Lady Liberty, though never finishing on the board in stakes company, was no slouch, either, amassing $202,045 in earnings.  She broke her maiden at Saratoga at three, at a mile and an eighth on the grass, and subsequently captured allowance tests at Gulfstream, Belmont, and Keeneland during three seasons of competition.  Throughout her career, in which she won from six and a half furlongs on the dirt to 12 furlongs on the turf, she demonstrated the same late kick that Orb has shown in each of his five victories. 

Orb's Derby conquest was no fluke.  He ran farther than most of his 18 competitors, and in the final quarter mile, when it counted, he ran fastest.  According to Trakus, whose technology digitally measures each horse's performance during a race, Orb was the only runner to have accomplished his final quarter mile in less than 26 seconds; Orb did it in 25.88.  Orb also covered 80 feet more ground--the equivalent of nine and half lengths--than runner-up Golden Soul, whose official losing margin was two and a half lengths. Thanks to Trakus's saddle-mounted GPS system, we know that Orb's performance was even more impressive than it seemed.

If all goes well, we'll see Orb in two weeks, at the Preakness.  His unflappable quality dares us to dream that he could be the first Triple Crown winner of the 21st century: the second since his great grandsire, Seattle Slew accomplished the feat in 1977.   Orb seems to be that good.

Clear Attempt burnishes the legacy of A. P. Indy and the Wygods

Clear Attempt wins the Poker-G3 at Belmont on July 4, 2012
Photo: Adam Coglianese, Courtesy of NYRA

Clear Attempt, a lightly raced son of A. P. Indy out of Santa Anita Oaks-G1 winner Silent Sighs (by Benchmark) was a facile winner of the eight-furlong grassy Poker Stakes-G3 at Belmont yesterday, defeating seven other rivals to notch his first stakes victory and his third trip to the winner's circle in 11 starts.

The four-year-old dark bay or brown colt, racing in the colors of his breeders, Martin and Pam Wygod, became at least the 80th graded stakes winner for his venerable sire, whose last foals are two-year-olds of 2012.

Patiently handled by trainer Bill Mott, Clear Attempt was unraced at two.  His initial two starts, in maiden special weight company over conventional dirt at Gulfstream early last year, were undistinguished, but when the colt was switched to the grass, he became a different kind of runner, narrowly losing turf contests at Gulfstream, and over yielding ground at Keeneland, before eking out his maiden victory at a mile and a quarter over good turf at Belmont last June.  He went on to place at Saratoga before capturing his second race, over allowance foes, at nine furlongs on firm turf at Churchill Downs last November.

In two prior outings this year, Clear Attempt placed in grassy allowance/optional claiming events at Gulfstream and at Belmont, where he was nosed out in a head bob on May 18th, a race that perfectly primed him for his winning effort in the Poker.  Clear Attempt has now won or placed in eight of 11 starts, amassing earnings of $197,902, a bankroll that seems certain to grow.

Clear Attempt is a product of the Wygods' breeding program, through and through.  They raced and bred Clear Attempt's first three dams, who trace back to the Chilean mare, Viga (by Schleswig), a winner of the 1000 Guineas in her native country before being imported to the U.S.

Clear Attempt is the third winner and first stakes winner from his dam, Silent Sighs, one of the classiest performers sired by Benchmark, a grade II stakes winner by Alydar who the Wygods campaigned in the name of their River Edge Farm.  His best-known runner is Brother Derek, winner of the Hollywood Futurity-G1 and Santa Anita Derby-G1, who now stands at Airdrie.  His first foals race this year.

Clear Attempt is one of several graded stakes winners produced by crossing A. P. Indy or his sons with mares by Alydar or one of his sons.  The others include the full siblings (by A. P. Indy out of Private Status, by Alydar) Secret Status, winner of the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose, and Alumni Hall, who captured the grade III Ben Ali and Fayette Stakes; A P Valentine (by A. P. Indy out of Twenty Eight Carat, by Alydar), who won the Champagne-G1 and placed in both the Preakness and the Belmont; Corinthian (by Pulpit out of Multiply, by Easy Goer), a top dirt miler who won both the Metropolitan-G1 and the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile; and CCA Oaks-G1 winner Funny Moon (by Malibu Moon out of Fun Crowd, by Easy Goer).  Interestingly, none of these runners showed a prowess for the grass, and of the graded-stakes caliber horses produced by the A. P. Indy/Alydar cross, Clear Attempt is preceded only by Fisher Pond (by A. P. Indy out of Chipeta Springs, by Alydar), a grade III-winning half-brother to two-time turf champion Gio Ponti, in his ability to score on the turf at an elite level.

Though Clear Attempt's female family seems also to be lacking in grassy credentials, the family of his maternal grandsire, Benchmark, has them aplenty.  Benchmark is a half-brother to the Wygods' top turf mare, Tranquility Lake (by Rahy), dam of the full brothers After Market and Courageous Cat (by Storm Cat), both of whom were grade I winners on the sod.  Clear Attempt's victory in the Poker gives the Wygods their second consecutive trophy for that race; Courageous Cat captured it in their colors in 2011.

A. P. Indy's influence dominates the pedigrees of Ladies' Classic runners

Malibu Moon's Ask the Moon winning the Ruffian at Saratoga
Photo: Adam Coglianese, NYRA

Look no further than the entries for the Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic for evidence of the extent to which Intermediate/Classic Chef-de-Race A. P. Indy has shaped the top echelons of American racing.  He appears in the second or third generations of no less than seven of the nine fillies and mares who will enter the starting gate of the mile-and-an-eighth world championship contest to be run at Churchill Downs on Friday, November 4th.

A. P. Indy's top son, Pulpit, is the sire of Pachattack (out of El Laoob, by Red Ransom), who captured the Grade III Arlington Matron in May and finished just a half-length behind Aruna in last month's Grade I Spinster at nine furlongs over Keeneland's synthetic surface.

Pulpit is also the grandsire of five-year-old Satans Quick Chick (by Sky Mesa, out of Dancing Devlette, by Devil's Bag), whose sole victory in graded stakes company came in the Grade II Raven Run at Keeneland two years ago.  Though she was third (by 14 lengths) in the Grade I Beldame last out, Satans Quick Chick 's ability to win at a mile and an eighth in this company remains in question.

The reigning Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks winner It's Tricky (out of Catboat, by Tale of the Cat) is by A. P. Indy's Champion son, Mineshaft, and is his leading money-winning daughter to-date.  Interestingly, though, she merits only a C+ rating from TrueNicks, based on the success of the cross between Mineshaft and Storm Cat and his sons, even though it also produced Grade I winner Dialed In (out of Miss Doolittle, by Storm Cat).

Six-year-old Santa Margarita-G1 winner Miss Match (Arg), a daughter of A. P. Indy's son, Indygo Shiner (out of Miss Simpatia, by Southern Halo), captured the Argentine Oaks-G1 in her native country, and most recently was a creditable fourth in Game On Dude's Goodwood Handicap at Santa Anita.  Indygo Shiner's dam, Navarra (by El Gran Senor) is a graded stakes-winning full sister to the great mare Toussaud, dam of Grade I winners Empire Maker, Chester House, and Honest Lady.

Six-year-old Ask the Moon (out of Always Asking, by Valid Appeal), a former claimer who ascended into greatness in the hands of trainer Marty Wolfson to capture this year's runnings of Saratoga's Grade I Ruffian and Personal Ensign, is by A. P. Indy's son, Malibu Moon, who has become best known for his exceptional fillies and mares.  His millionaire daughter, Life At Ten, achieved notoriety during last year's Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic when she failed to extend herself due to physical ailments that are still not fully understood.

Royal Delta works at Churchill Downs on October 30th
Photo:  Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs

Two of the highly regarded Ladies' Classic contenders, the three-year-olds Royal Delta (by Empire Maker) and Plum Pretty (by Medaglia d'Oro), are out of A. P. Indy mares.  With earnings of $1,296,700, Kentucky Oaks winner Plum Pretty is A. P. Indy's current leading money winner in his role as a broodmare sire.

Alabama winner Royal Delta boasts an A++ TrueNicks rating, based on the fact that Empire Maker has sired two other graded stakes winners (Soaring Empire and Charity Belle) out of A. P. Indy mares, though Royal Delta herself is by far the most accomplished offspring of this cross.

What makes Hot Summer so good?

Hot Summer bests Maple Forest in the Victory Ride
Photo:  Adam Coglianese, Courtesy of NYRA

With her victory in yesterday's six-furlong Victory Ride Stakes-G3 at Saratoga, Hot Summer proved that her previous triumph over eventual Grade I winner Her Smile in last spring's Comely was no fluke.  

The three-year-old Malibu Moon filly is fast cementing her credentials as a specialist at distances up to a mile, and a peak at her pedigree suggests why she was cut out to be a good one.  She has now won or placed in six of her seven career starts, and earned $245,700.

Purchased for $180,000 by current owner Harold Queen at the 2009 Keeneland September sale, Hot Summer is the third foal from the stakes-placed Quiet American mare, Summer Delight, who has also produced stakes-placed Southwest (by Cozzene).  The mare's yearling colt by Hard Spun will be offered for sale next month at Keeneland, and her two-year-old Lemon Drop Kid colt, Stirred Up, who brought $420,000 at last year's venue, is in training at Del Mar.

Hot Summer is the latest in a line of top-class fillies from A. P. Indy's son, Malibu Moon, who has established quite a reputation as a sire of good distaff runners, including Grade I winners Life At Ten, Devil May Care, Malibu Mint, Malibu Prayer, and Funny Moon.

Shortly after Hot Summer entered the winner's circle at Saratoga, Pedigree Consultants tweeted:  "Crazy good nick for Hot Summer--son of A. P. Indy over a Quiet American mare."   And indeed, the cross has produced Champion Bernardini (by A. P. Indy out of Quiet American's graded stakes-winning daughter, Cara Rafaela), Grade II winners A P Warrior and Astrology, and this year's Busanda winner, Dance Quietly.

A. P. Indy and his sons have actually done well not only with daughters of Quiet American, but also with mares by other sons of Fappiano, too.  This pattern has produced Wood Memorial winners Tapit (Pulpit/Unbridled) and I Want Revenge (Stephen Got Even/Roy), Grade I winner A. P. Adventure (A. P. Indy/Fappiano), Grade II winner Apart (Flatter/Unbridled), and the current graded stakes-placed two-year-old colt, Brigand (Flatter/Quiet American).

But in my opinion, it's not just this nick that makes Hot Summer's pedigree so noteworthy.  Rather, it's the fact that Hot Summer descends from the great foundation mare, Missy Baba, who is her fifth dam as well as the fourth dam of her grandsire, A. P. Indy.  To make it even more intriguing, Hot Summer carries two more crosses of this superior female family by virtue of the fact that she is inbred to Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise, the dam of both A. P. Indy and Summer Squall (sire of her second dam).  She beautifully embodies the "Rasmussen Factor," a pattern of female family inbreeding through different individuals that has consistently produced a higher-than-average percentage of graded stakes winners.

Interestingly, Hot Summer's breeders, Lazy Lane Farms, sought to replicate this pattern when they bred her dam, Summer Delight, to A. P. Indy's close relative, Lemon Drop Kid, a mating that produced the aforementioned two-year-old colt, Stirred Up.  By Kingmambo, Lemon Drop Kid is out of Weekend Surprise's half-sister, Charming Lassie (by Seattle Slew).  

Stirred Up is therefore inbred to Lassie Dear (dam of both Weekend Surprise and Charming Lassie), 3 x 5.  And as a result, Missy Baba appears as the fifth dam of both Lemon Drop Kid and Stirred Up, who seems to have the birthright to be as good as or better than his Victory Ride-winning half-sister.  

How much more can Indian Tale take?

Indian Tale wins a $75,000 claimer at Saratoga on August 11th
Photo:  Tod Marks
www.photoshelter.com/c/todmarks

I'm praying that it doesn't rain tomorrow.

If it does, and the Grade II Woodford Reserve Lake Placid Stakes is taken off the turf at Saratoga, trainer Richard Dutrow will send his recently claimed three-year-old filly, Indian Tale, to the starting gate for what will be her fifth race in 14 days.  What in the world is he thinking?

The controversial conditioner must not have been in the room at the Gideon Putnam last Sunday when the University of Glasgow's Tim Parkin delivered his compelling presentation on The Jockey Club's Equine Injury Database (EID), highlighting what are now becoming predictable causative factors leading to race-related catastrophic breakdowns.

Based on an analysis of 1.5 million starts between November, 2008 and October, 2010, EID researchers have been able to identify certain variables that put thoroughbred racehorses at greatest risk of fatal lower limb injuries.  Among these is the number of starts within one and six months prior to a particular race, with a positive correlation between a higher number of starts and a higher risk of injury.  Having made four starts within an 11-day period this month alone, Indian Tale seems to be moving rapidly into a high-risk category, and that's a shame.

Purchased for $65,000 by Flying Zee Stables at the 2010 Midlantic Two-Year-Old-In-Training Sale, Indian Tale had been slowly and carefully nurtured by her original trainer, Carlos Martin, who had her perfectly primed to win her debut:  a five-and-a-half furlong maiden special weight contest at Aqueduct last November.  She didn't race again until April of this year, when she finished a tiring seventh against $50,000 claiming foes at Gulfstream.

After that lackluster effort, Martin worked with the filly for three months before entering her again at Saratoga, in a five-and-a-half-furlong Allowance/Optional Claiming race on August 7th.  Indian Tale rewarded the trainer's patience with a sharp second place finish, but when she got back to the unsaddling area, she was led to Dutrow's barn, rather than to Martin's, having been haltered for $35,000.

Dutrow wheeled Indian Tale right back four days later in a $75,000 claimer at seven furlongs, and her new owner, J. W. Singer LLC (Jose Singer) collected the $33,000 winner's share of the purse after the filly demonstrated a strong closing kick and got up to win by more than three lengths.

Far from being content to have virtually broken even on Indian Tale's purchase price in a matter of days, the Singer/Dutrow team apparently figured that they could keep squeezing the lemon until the game filly ran dry.  So Dutrow waited only two days before he entered her again, this time in a one-mile contest originally carded for the turf.  And on August 15th, just four days after her second career victory, Indian Tale entered the starting gate again, in a seven-furlong allowance race that was switched to the dirt when the rains intervened.  Once again, she ran her heart out, and in spite of having been bumped at the break, she finished a willing second while contributing another $12,720 to the coffers of her connections.  But they wanted more.

As racing fans watched in disbelief, Indian Tale was led to the starting gate yet again just two days ago, on August 18th, in a one-mile grassy starter handicap.  This time, though, the filly had finally had enough.  After colliding with another horse soon after the start, she never got into the fray and was eased in the stretch, crossing the finish line some 40 lengths behind the winner.  The lemon had finally been squeezed dry, or so it appeared to everyone but the Singer/Dutrow camp.

Undeterred by the exhausted filly's performance, they've entered Indian Tale to run in tomorrow's Lake Placid, but she's listed as "main track only," and will only go if wet weather forces the race off the turf.

By Storm Cat's high-class son, Tale of the Cat, out of the A. P. Indy mare, Indy Power, Indian Tale was bred to be a good one.  Her third dam is a half-sister to influential sire, Clever Trick, and her fourth dam, Kankakee Miss, is the ancestress of Queen's Plate-G1 winner, Alydeed.

Though she may not have quite lived up to her lofty genetic heritage, Indian Tale has shown courage and heart and a modicum of talent, giving and giving until she had nothing more to offer.  She deserves better than to be run into the ground.

Nehro a threat in the Belmont

Nehro (inside) breezes 6f  in 1:12.20 at Churchill Downs
with stablemate Dominus on May 30, 2011
Reed Palmer Photography, Churchill Downs

Even though Nehro hasn't yet won a stakes race, the Mineshaft colt's running style and his near-misses in the Kentucky, Arkansas, and Louisiana Derbys point to him as a fast-improving horse who seems to have the credentials to spoil the bids of Animal Kingdom and Shackleford to add a second triple crown victory to their resumes.

In a tuneup for the June 11th Belmont-G1, Nehro breezed six furlongs over a fast track early this morning at Churchill Downs, in company with the Smart Strike colt, Dominus, another Steve Asmussen-trained three-year-old who placed in the Derby Trial-G3 at Churchill in his last start.  Working on the rail under exercise rider Carlos Rosas, Nehro was caught by the clockers in 1:12.20.  Even though he finished a length behind Dominus, assistant trainer Scott Blasi told Daily Racing Form, "I thought they went great."

Asmussen has indicated that Nehro will likely ship to Belmont in three days, on Thursday, June 2nd, where he'll train up to the mile-and-a-half classic at Belmont Park.

Nehro seems to be following in the footsteps of his late-maturing sire, Mineshaft, who didn't really blossom until his four-year-old season, when he became a true powerhouse, winning four Grade I handicaps, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup and the Suburban, both at a mile and a quarter at Belmont.  For his exploits that year, in which he won or placed in nine stakes and earned $2,209,686, Mineshaft was voted Champion Older Male and Horse of the Year.

Nehro preps for the Kentucky Derby at Churchill
on April 28, 2011
Photo:  Reed Palmer Photography, Churchill Downs

Mineshaft's sire, the Intermediate/Classic Chef-de-Race A. P. Indy, not only won the Belmont, but also sired Rags to Riches, who, when she outgamed Curlin to capture the Belmont in 2007, became only the third filly ever to win the prestigious race, and the first one to do so since 1905.

From his first five crops of racing age, Mineshaft has sired seven graded stakes winners, including classic contender Dialed In, who won this year's Florida Derby-G1, but who has not fared as well in the first two legs of the triple crown, finishing off the board in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Nehro didn't break his maiden until February of this year, when he won a mile maiden special weight race at Oaklawn in his third lifetime start.  Though he has now amassed earnings of $825,140, Nehro is still eligible for non-winners of two allowance conditions.  Even though he won't go postward in the Belmont as the bettors' favorite, he will certainly go into the starting gate with their respect.

Nehro is the eighth foal from stakes-winning The Administrator, by Canadian Champion and Horse of the Year, Afleet, a son of Mr. Prospector.  The Administrator has been a solid citizen in the breeding shed, having produced four other winners, including Grade III winner Saint Marden (by Saint Ballado) and the talented Kris S. filly, Sweet Lips, a stakes winner of $565,138.

Nehro's fifth dam, the Newstead Farm foundation mare, Legendra, is also the fifth dam of legendary Zenyatta.  In a blog post from April, 2010, noted pedigree analyst Frank Mitchell recounted how W. L. Brann, who bred and raced Legendra in the 1940s, summed up his breeding philosophy in an interview with Daily Racing Form's Charlie Hatton:  "I breed for the classics and try to emulate the best racehorses in England with my own bloodstock."

While Nehro's Dosage Index (4.33) suggests that he may not quite be able to get the Belmont's 12 furlongs, there is physiological evidence to indicate that he can.  When they measured him prior to the 2009 Keeneland September sale, EQB recognized Nehro's superior cardiovascular capabilities, and earmarked him as one of their "short-list" prospects.  Their client, Ahmed Zayat, subsequently signed the ticket for Nehro's $170,000 purchase price, and must be pleased with the returns on what now seems like a relatively modest investment.

Regardless of whether he wins the Belmont, or he doesn't, there's no doubt that in Nehro, Zayat Stable has got a talented colt in its arsenal, one who seems capable of becoming a star in his own right, with the genetic fortitude to keep going strong when other rivals fade in the stretch.

Look to Plum Pretty's Female Family for Clues to her Kentucky Oaks Win

Plum Pretty holds off St. John's River to win the Kentucky Oaks
Photo: Reed Palmer Photography/Churchill Downs

A daughter of Medaglia D'Oro captured the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs for the second time in three years earlier today, as Peachtree Stable's Plum Pretty eked out a front-running victory in the prestigious mile and an eighth filly classic, which is often a stepping stone to divisional honors.

In 2009, Medaglia D'Oro's eventual Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra had announced herself as something truly special when she trounced the Oaks field by more than 20 lengths, without ever being asked to really run.

It's too soon to tell whether Plum Pretty will follow in Rachel Alexandra's footsteps, but the Bob Baffert trainee has accomplished enough during the last two months to write her own name in the history books.  She came to the Oaks off a freakish 25-length tour-de-force performance in the mile and a sixteenth Sunland Park Oaks in late March, one which the betting public at Churchill mostly dismissed because Sunland Park isn't considered to be quite in the same league as the historic Louisville track.

Until today, the bay filly's bona fides weren't taken very seriously, in spite of her respectable third-place finishes in two graded stakes at Santa Anita:  the Grade II Santa Ynez, and the Grade I Las Virgenes, in which she lost to top three-year-old females Zazu and Turbulent Descent.  Zazu could do no better than third today, behind a furiously closing St. John's River, who, though still eligible for a "non-winners of two" condition race, almost caught Plum Pretty at the wire.

Plum Pretty has never been out of the money in her five career starts, and with her win in the Oaks, her earnings have soared to $761,200.  And her pedigree supplies ample evidence that she's no fluke.  Plum Pretty is just the latest in a string of top-notch fillies sired by El Prado (Ire)'s son, Medaglia D'Oro, whose daughters include Acorn-G1 winners Champagne D'Oro and Gabby's Golden Gal.  She is bred along the same cross (Medaglia D'Oro-Seattle Slew) as Al Khali (Capote), a multiple graded stakes-winning turf specialist who has earned over $500,000.

Plum Pretty is the fifth foal out of the unplaced A. P. Indy mare, Liszy, who was sold for $170,000 at the 2008 Keeneland January sale, carrying the future Oaks winner.  Liszy had previously produced fillies by More Than Ready in 2006 and 2007.

Initially offered at the 2009 Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, Plum Pretty attracted a bid of $100,000, but failed to meet her reserve.  She was eventually purchased for $130,000 by her current owner, John Fort, at last year's OBS March Two-Year-Olds-in-Training sale, and when she arrived at Bob Baffert's barn, the Hall of Fame trainer confessed that his first impulse was to nickname her, "Plum Ugly."  But no more.

Plum Pretty's second dam is the stakes-winning Private Account mare, Silent Account, who won the Alcibiades-G2 at Keeneland and produced the stakes winner and sire Gold Case.  She descends from the two-time Champion Filly, Alcibiades, who captured the Kentucky Oaks in 1930, and went on to exert her considerable influence in the breeding shed, too, producing Champion Two-Year-Old Menow (sire of Tom Fool).  This is also the family of Horse of the Year and Chef-de-Race Sir Ivor.

Interestingly, Plum Pretty was produced by what is often called the "Rasmussen Factor," a pattern of inbreeding to superior female families through different individuals.  Her distant crosses of Alcibiades come not only through her own female lineage, but through her grandsire, El Prado (Ire), who is out of Lady Capulet, by Sir Ivor, and whose second dam, Cap and Bells, is by Tom Fool.

Zenyatta to meet her match in Bernardini

Jerry and Ann Moss have announced that their grand mare, 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta (by Street Cry), will be bred to A. P. Indy's son, Bernardini, whose first foals distinguished themselves as two-year-olds last year, with victories in five graded stakes on both sides of the Atlantic.

According to Darley, at whose Lexington, Kentucky farm he stands for a fee of $75,000, Bernardini is the first freshman sire to produce juvenile Grade I winners on both dirt and turf.  They were the talented filly, A  Z Warrior (out of Carson Jen, by Mr. Prospector's son, Carson City), who captured the Frizette Stakes-G1, and Biondetti (out of Lyphard's Delta, by Lyphard), who won the Gran Criteriuim-G1 in Italy.

Bernardini's other promising offspring include the Derby hopeful, To Honor and Serve (out of Pilfer, by Deputy Minister), who won a pair of Grade II stakes (the Remsen and the Nashua) in New York, and Theyskens' Theory (out of Heat Lightning, by Summer Squall), who captured the Chicester Observer Prestige Stakes-G3 in England.

Voted Eclipse Champion Three-Year-Old Colt in his sole season of racing, Bernardini won six of his eight starts that year, including the Preakness (in which favored Barbaro was injured), the Travers, and the Jockey Club Gold Cup, defeating older horses with what track announcer Tom Durkin described as "nonchalant brilliance."  He was second to Invasor in the Breeders' Cup Classic, after which he was retired to stud, with earnings of $3,060,480.

The match between Bernardini and Zenyatta will replicate the oft successful nick between A. P. Indy and mares by Mr. Prospector and his sons.  These lines have previously combined to produce Horse of the Year Mineshaft; Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Tempera; Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Colt Eye of the Leopard (out of Eye of the Sphynx, by Smart Strike), and the Grade I stakes winners Tomisue's Delight, Little Belle, Sweet Symphony (out of Brandy Rose, by Distinctive Pro), Flashing (out of Morning Pride (Ire), by Zenyatta's grandsire, Machiavellian), Girolamo, A. P. Adventure (out of Nataliano, by Fappiano), and Jilbab (out of Headline (GB), by Machiavellian).

A foal by Bernardini out of Zenyatta will be inbred to Brilliant/Classic Chef-de-Race Mr. Prospector (5m x 4m), with a Dosage Profile heavily weighted toward classic influences:  3-6-13-0-0.  True Nicks rates the match as an A++, while the Werk Nick Rating is a bit lower, at B+.

In addition to the obvious genetic qualities that Bernardini brings to Zenyatta, it should be noted that he is also a beautifully balanced individual of good size (listed as 16.1-1/2 hands tall).  Zenyatta reportedly stands 17.2   Their foal will probably be a dark bay, like its parents, and will have the birthright to be a very good racehorse, indeed.