2011: The Year in Review

It’s a saying whose provenance is unclear: “The golden age is before us, not behind us.” Taking a glass-half-full attitude is sometimes hard to do when so many things appear to conspire against us, yet it doesn’t take an eternal optimist to acknowledge that we are in the midst of a golden age for horse racing’s fillies and mares. This blog previously highlighted their performances in 2009 and 2010, and once again in 2011, on every continent that horse racing is contested, a filly or mare won at the highest level against male competitors.

Still, American owners and trainers rarely contest these open company events, much to the detriment of racing and its fans. Thankfully, owner Rick Porter and trainer Larry Jones gave us Havre de Grace who thrilled with her battles against Blind Luck early in the year, before turning her attention to defeating males in the G1 Woodward. Although she could only manage a fourth-place finish in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Classic, Havre de Grace should rightly earn the 2011 Eclipse Award for U.S. Horse of the Year, following in the hoof prints of the great Zenyatta (2010) and Rachel Alexandra (2009).

Yet, internationally, fillies and mares clearly dominated 2011’s headlines, led by the Australian superstar Black Caviar, an undefeated phenomenon (16 straight victories) whose fame now has transcended her sport—and led to her own website. She’ll take on the world in 2012, beginning with Royal Ascot in June. Six times this year she defeated males in open company G1 races, including the prestigious Newmarket Handicap, first contested in 1874. 

March 12—Black Caviar, 4yo, AUS-G1 Newmarket H. (6f T)

Black Caviar wasn’t the only remarkable Aussie mare to capture a classic race. Pinker Pinker upset the Cox Plate, while Southern Speed took out the Caulfield Cup and Sacred Choice won the Doncaster. Promising 3-year-old Shamrocker pulled off the Australian Guineas-Australian Derby double. Other great winning open company performances were put in by Typhoon Tracy (Orr), More Joyous (Futurity), Beaded (Doomben 10,000), Secret Admirer (Epsom) and Ortensia (Winterbottom).

Staying in the Southern hemisphere, it’s notable that three of the four biggest G1 open company races on the South African calendar were captured by fillies: Mother Russia (J&B Met), Igugu (Vodacom Durban July) and Dancewiththedevil (International Summer Cup).

After winning the top German G1 races (Grosser Preis von Berlin and Grosser Preis von Baden), Danedream dominated the FR-G1 Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe—a race where the top three placings were fleshed out by fillies. The same kind of trifecta sweep happened in the 15.5 furlong Prix Royal-Oak, won by Be Fabulous. Margot Did gave jockey Hayley Turner her second career G1 win in the Nunthorpe, while juvenile La Collina defeated two subsequent G1-winning colts in the Phoenix Stakes. Maybe she wasn’t quite her glorious self this year, but Goldikova still won the Prix D’Ispahan, and finished behind upcoming filly Immortal Verse in the Prix Jacques Le Marois. 

In Canada, Inglorious captured the Queen’s Plate, while Sarah Lynx shocked the Canadian International.

All told, at least 463 times in 2011 fillies and mares won or placed in group/graded stakes races worldwide—that’s another huge increase over last year’s number (380). Of those, 151 were at the highest (G1) level, including 53 G1 victories, all of which are recorded in the spreadsheet found in this blog’s left-hand column.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some of the best performances of 2011:

January 8—Mother Russia, 5yo, SAF-G1 Queen’s Plate (8f T)

February 26—More Joyous, 4yo, AUS-G1 Futurity S. (7f T)

March 5—Shamrocker, 3yo, AUS-G1 Australian Guineas (8f T)

May 22—Goldikova, 6yo, FR-G1 Prix D’Ispahan (9f T)

 June 26—Sarafina, 4yo, FR-G1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud (12f T)

July 2—Igugu, 3yo, SAF-G1 Vodacom Durban July (11f T)

August 7—La Collina, 2yo, IRE-G1 Phoenix S. (6f T)

August 15—Immortal Verse, 3yo, FR-G1 Prix Jacques Le Marois (8f T)

September 3—Havre de Grace, 4yo, US-G1 Woodward (9f )

October 2—Danedream, 3yo, FR-G1 Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe (12f T)

October 15—Southern Speed, 4yo, AUS-G1 Caulfield Cup (12f T)

October 16—Sarah Lynx, 4yo, CAN-G1 Canadian International (12f T)

October 22—Pinker Pinker, 4yo, AUS-G1 Cox Plate (10f T)

October 23—Be Fabulous, 4yo, FR-G1 Prix Royal-Oak (15.5f T)

November 19—Ortensia, 6yo, AUS-G1 Burswood-Winterbottom (6f T)

 November 27—Buena Vista, 5yo, JPN-G1 Japan Cup (12f T)

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Just How Successful as Broodmares are BC Distaff Winners?, or Why $8.5 Million is a Helluva Risk

The monstrous $8.5 million recently paid for Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classic (Distaff) winner Royal Delta brings up an intriguing issue. Just how prolific are female Breeders’ Cup Distaff winners at producing quality horses at stud? Obviously a myriad of factors come into play—health issues and poor breeding choices chief among them, as well as the subsequent handling of a mare’s progeny. It’s an inexact science to be sure. However, if the Breeders’ Cup series is intended to not only highlight champion racehorses, but also promote these champions as viable future breeding stock, then an evaluation of how filly and mare champions have thus far fared as broodmares is a valid exercise.

The question that likely can’t be answer with authority regards those deemed “failures” as broodmares; namely, is it the result of their own pedigree limitations, or does, in fact, winning on the track contribute in some way to their capacity to genetically pass on their talent? Still, it’s intriguing what history tells us.

Of the 21 Distaff winners before 2006, only three can be considered smashing successes as broodmares: Personal Ensign (1988), Dance Smartly (1991) and Hollywood Wildcat (1993). Two of them have produced subsequent Breeders’ Cup winners: Hollywood Wildcat’s son War Chant won the 2000 BC Mile, while Personal Ensign’s daughter My Flag captured the 1995 BC Juvenile Fillies—and then produced 2002 BC Juvenile Fillies victress Storm Flag Flying, a rare three-generation achievement. Two of Dance Smartly’s progeny captured back-to-back editions of the prestigious Queen’s Plate in Canada: Scatter the Gold (2000) and Dancethruthedawn (2001).

Interestingly, two of these mares had extraordinary siblings: Personal Ensign was a full-sister to multiple G1-winner Personal Flag, while Dance Smartly was a half sister to G1 winner Smart Strike. On the other hand, Hollywood Wildcat had nothing significant on her damside.

Among the Distaff winners with modest success, Inside Information (1995) produced 2005 champion 3-year-old filly Smuggler, while long-forgotten Sacahuista (1987) gave us Italian Group 1 victor Ekraar and successful Chilean and Australian sire Hussonet. Both Beautiful Pleasure (1999) and Spain (2000) produced unexceptional G1-placed runners, Dr. Pleasure and Plan, respectively, while Life’s Magic (1985), Unbridled Elaine (2001) and Azeri (2002) each count a Grade 2 performer among their brood.

Still others have been devastating disappointments:  Princess Rooney, Lady’s Secret, Bayakoa, Paseana, and Ashado among them. Of those, several were high-priced broodmare purchases including Princess Rooney ($5.5 million) and Ashado ($9 million)—although only one of them had much in their damline to recommend them. Ashado’s full brothers were G1 winner Sunriver and G2-placed Saint Stephen, while her dam’s half sister Quite a Bride was multiple G2-placed.

What, if anything, does that means for the future success of Royal Delta? Uncertain, of course, but she too has a quality damline—her G3-winning dam Delta Princess is out of G2-winner Lyphard’s Delta who has also produced the very nice Italian Group 1 winner Biondetti, as well as G1 winner Indy Five Hundred. Given that she’s likely to return to the track as a 4-year-old, thankfully it’s a question we won’t have to worry about any time soon.

We'll take a look at other female Breeders' Cup winners as broodmares in future posts as we consider whether or not issues like surface, distance and precociousness also help determine future success in the breeding shed.

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Tough and Talented: Royal Heroine, BC Mile Winner

Four weeks from now, 6-year-old Goldikova will attempt to do something no horse—male or female—has ever accomplished: become a four-time Breeders’ Cup Mile winner. Coming in with a two-race losing streak obviously isn’t ideal, but the Anabaa mare loves the tighter turns of American turf courses like Churchill Downs, so it will be hard to discount her chances. 

Of all the Breeders’ Cup races, the turf Mile is probably my favorite open company affair, and since 1984, eight times it’s been won by a filly or mare. Before Goldikova, there was Six Perfections (2003), Ridgewood Pearl (1995), and two-time winner Miesque (1987, 1988), a brilliant racer and terrific broodmare who not only produced champion East of the Moon and dynamic sire Kingmambo, but a Breeders’ Cup Mile winner in (appropriately enough) Miesque’s Son.  

Photo: Blood-Horse Library

The first BC Mile winner Royal Heroine (1984) is one that perhaps has faded from people’s memories over the past two decades, but should not be forgotten—and not just because of her North American record-setting effort against a field that include Cozzene (who came back to win the race the following year). Her game effort in the G1 Arlington Million just before the Breeders’ Cup impresses me; after her jockey Fernando Toro made the unusual move of gunning her to the lead, the Lypheor filly led the boys on a merry chase until, in the final furlong she was passed by the legendary John Henry, making the 81st start of his illustrious career. 

Unfortunately, the only video available of her Breeders’ Cup victory is in terrible condition, but here it is:

What makes Royal Heroine’s performance that year truly miraculous is the fact that six months earlier, in the G1 Santa Ana Stakes at Santa Anita, she had been involved in a three-horse spill—one in which Sweet Diane died instantly after breaking her neck and High Haven was later euthanized due to her broken left front leg. Fortunately, Royal Heroine suffered only minor cuts and severe body soreness, but Fernando Toro (who would also ride her to BC victory) was thrown and then kicked in the face by Royal Heroine as she attempted to rise from her knees. His physical ailments—lacerations and a concession—didn’t match the emotional trauma felt by jockey Ray Sibille who, although riding High Haven, was the regular rider of Sweet Diane (she was ridden by Laffit Pincay that fatal day).

“2 Horses Die, Toro Injured in 3-Way Spill at Santa Anita” by Bill Christine, Los Angeles Times (March 19, 1984).

After a three-month break, Royal Heroine made her return for trainer John Gosden a winning one, capturing the open company G3 Inglewood Handicap, and followed that up with a victory in the G2 Beverly Hills Handicap in July. Next, in the race prior to the Million, she was disqualified from first to third in the G3 Palomar at Del Mar. In her final prep for the Breeders’ Cup, Royal Heroine was upset by Flag De Lune, but then she put in that world record-matching time in the Mile, a record that had been set back in 1949. The final race of her career was a mere 15 days after her BC win, when she captured the G1 Matriarch over Sabin. It was enough to make her the Eclipse-winning turf mare for 1984.

She may not have been a Miesque—let alone a Goldikova—but Royal Heroine was one tough cookie.

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