Silver Max runs to his pedigree

Silver Max winning the Transylvania-G3 at Keeneland
Photo:  Coady Photography, Courtesy of Keeneland

Silver Max burst out of the gate in the Grade III grassy Transylvania yesterday, and never looked back until he cleared the finish line.  His six rivals seemed content to let the three-year-old Badge of Silver colt gallop loose on the lead in the early part of the mile-and-a-sixteenth contest, apparently believing either that they would catch him on the turn or that he’d falter in the stretch. 

By the time they figured out that Silver Max wouldn’t easily relinquish his advantage, there wasn’t enough time to reach him.  He won by five and a half lengths in 1:41.80 and earned $60,000 for the effort, capturing his first stakes race and the first added-money event of the Keeneland spring meet on a beautiful opening day.

Silver Max could have been claimed for $50,000 in his career debut: a five-and-a-half furlong maiden race on Saratoga’s main track last July, when he was piloted by Robby Albarado, the jockey who rode him to victory yesterday.  He finished second that day, as he did in his next four attempts in maiden special weight company at varying distances on the grass, finally breaking his maiden in a one-mile maiden special weight race over firm turf at Gulfstream Park in January. 

Two weeks later, Silver Max ambitiously encountered some of the best colts of his crop in the Grade III Holy Bull, where he finished a tiring fifth over a sloppy mile to Bernardini’s Algorithms, who decisively defeated last year’s Two-Year-Old Champion, Hansen. 

Trainer Dale Romans wisely regrouped and ran Silver Max back to his strength six weeks later in a grassy allowance/optional claimer at the Transylvania distance, and he ran as he did yesterday, winning in wire-to-wire style by three widening lengths at Gulfstream.  The bay colt has now won or placed in eight of his nine starts, and bankrolled $169,475.

That’s a nice return on the $20,000 that Dale Romans paid for him at the 2010 Fasig-Tipton July sale.  Silver Max is the fifth foal and third winner from the winning Kissin Kris mare, Kissin Rene, a half-sister to graded stakes-winning Prince of the Mt. and to the dams of Canadian Champion Kiss a Native and Grade I stakes winner and sire Yes It’s True.  Kissin Rene has also produced the stakes-winning filly, True Kiss, by Yes It’s True’s sire, Is It True. 

Silver Max’s female family had been a relatively quiet one until his third dam, the Colorado-bred Party Date (by the obscure Speedy Frank) was bred to Prince of Ascot, and then it exploded.  The resulting foal was Silver Max’s second dam, Monique Rene, a tough Louisiana-bred stakes-winning sprint specialist who notched 29 races in 45 starts while earning $456,250.  Her descendants appear to have inherited her speed, and perhaps, her distance limitations.

With his victory in the Transylvania, Silver Max became the second North American graded stakes winner for his sire, the fourth-crop Silver Deputy stallion Badge of Silver, a fast, versatile performer who was effective in elite company on both dirt and turf at middle distances up to nine furlongs, capturing the Grade II New Orleans (dirt) and San Gabriel (turf) Handicaps in the colors of Ken and Sarah Ramsey.  At four, and again at six, he placed in the Cigar Mile-G1, and in his penultimate start, he was third to Turf Champion Miesque’s Approval in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup Mile.    He stands at Airdrie for a published fee of $6,000.

Like Badge of Silver’s son, Fly Lexis Fly, a two-time Grade I winner in Peru who is currently being pointed to the Belmont, Silver Max is inbred to Classic Chef-de-Race Roberto, 4 x 4.  Badge of Silver’s dam, Silveroo, is a daughter of Roberto’s son, Silver Hawk, while Silver Max’s broodmare sire, Kissin Kris, is also by Roberto. 

True Nicks rates the match that produced Silver Max as an A++, and indeed, there is precedent for the cross.  Among the other stakes winners that have been bred on a similar pattern are the stakes-winning fillies Beso Grande (by Mass Media) and Devonspaintedlady (by Devon Deputy), both out of Kissin Kris mares.  When bred to daughters or granddaughters of Roberto, Deputy Minister’s son, Touch Gold, has sired stakes winners Sharp Susan (out of Winter’s Gone, by Dynaformer), Flaming Heart (out of Hot Lear, by Lear Fan), and Adobe Gold (out of Urus, by Kris S.).

Embur's Song makes the grade in the Doubledogdare at Keeneland

Embur's Song defeats Check the Label in Keeneland's Doubledogdare
Photo: Keeneland/Coady Photography

Returning to the scene of her 13-length maiden triumph last spring, synthetic specialist Embur's Song grabbed the lead at the start of the mile and a sixteenth Hillard Lyons Doubledogdare Stakes-G3 at Keeneland on Friday and never looked back, holding on to win--and in the process set new track and stakes records--even as stretch-running Check the Label breathed down her neck.

The victory was Embur's Song's first in graded stakes company, and the lightly raced four-year-old filly looks like she's getting better all the time.

The Todd Pletcher trainee, an Ontario-bred daughter of Unbridled's Song, has never been off the board on synthetic surfaces, and after her winning performance in the Doubledogdare, in which she stopped the timer in 1:41.62, she's now won three of her seven lifetime starts,and amassed earnings of $244,940.

The eighth foal out of the stakes-placed, stakes-producing Bold Ruckus mare, Embur Sunshine, Embur's Song was purchased for $170,000 by Fares Farm at the 2008 Keeneland September sale.  She is a half-sister to four Canadian winners, including stakes winner Ten Flat (by Meadowlake), who won the Silver Deputy at Woodbine.

Embur's Song became the 88th stakes winner for her sire, Unbridled's Song, sire also of last year's Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic-G1 heroine, Unrivaled Belle.  She is bred along the same pattern as Grade I winner First Defence (out of a mare by Seattle Slew), who won the Forego and now stands for $7500 at Juddmonte Farms.   Both are from Boldnesian-line mares.

Daughters of Embur's Song's maternal grandsire, Intermediate/Classic Chef-de-Race Bold Ruckus, have produced at least 70 stakes winners, including Canadian Three-Year-Old Champion Bolulight and Set Play, who won the Del Mar Debutante-G1.  According to Dr. Steven Roman's website, the average winning distance (AWD) of the open stakes races won by sons and daughters of Bold Ruckus mares is 6.95 furlongs.  With her tenacious victory in the Doubledogdare at 8.5 furlongs, Embur's Song demonstrated that she's a lot more than a one-run sprinter, and that makes her future seem bright, indeed.

Unbridled's Song colt makes an early arrival at Keeneland January sale

Highland Torree and her new Unbridled's Song colt
at Keeneland on January 9, 2011
Photo: Coady Photography/Keeneland

The Keeneland January sale isn't scheduled to start until tomorrow, but the excitement came a bit early, when one of the mares who had been listed as "pregnant" arrived at the sales grounds with her five-day-old Unbridled's Song colt in tow.  Both mare and foal are doing great.  


The robust bay colt is the first foal from the six-year-old Menifee mare, Highland Torree, a stakes winning earner of $205,922, who was bred to Unbridled's Song on February 17th, 2010.  She is catalogued as Hip 31 in the sale, and will be auctioned with her colt by her side, under the auspices of consignor Bedouin Bloodstock.

Highland Torree is a half-sister to six winners, including the good fillies Cape Town Lass (by Horse Chestnut (SAF)), who established the course record for a mile and a half on the turf at Keeneland (2:29.18) on April 9th, 2005, retiring with earnings of $215,142, and High Code (by Lost Code), a stakes-placed winner of $110,360.

Highland Torree's sire, Menifee, won or placed in 10 of his 11 starts, capturing the Grade I Haskell and Toyota Blue Grass, and placing in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Travers.  He stood at Stone Farm in Kentucky through the 2006 breeding season, when he was exported to Korea, where he currently stands as the property of the Korea Racing Authority.  Menifee has sired the graded stakes-winning fillies Game Face and Just Jenda, and is the broodmare sire of stakes winners William's Kitten (by Kitten's Joy) andDancinginherdreams (by Tapit), who is undefeated in two career starts, including last year's Pocahontas Stakes-G2 for two-year-old fillies at Churchill Downs.

The eighth leading active sire by worldwide earnings in 2010, Unbridled's Song is the sire of Unrivaled Belle, who captured last year's Breeders' Cup Ladies Classic-G1, 2008 Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Midshipman, who enters stud this year, and crack sprinter Zensational, whose first foals arrive this season.  Unbridled's Song stands at Taylor Made Stallions in Kentucky for a fee of $100,000.

Highland Torree had previously been catalogued for sale in foal to Unbridled's Song at the 2009 Keeneland November and 2010 Keeneland January sales, but she subsequently aborted the foal she was carrying then.  With that in mind, her new colt's healthy arrival is cause for celebration, indeed.