On Saturday the name Dahlia
seemed to be everywhere. First, at Pimlico, there was the grassy 1-mile Dahlia
Stakes, won by recent $25k claimer 15-1 longshot Idle
Talk, a 6-year-old Olmodavor
mare making her first attempt at stakes company in 30 starts. The race itself
is named for the great champion Hall of Fame mare Dahlia who in the mid-1970s regularly trounced males at the highest
level—in France, in England, and in North America. Among her victories: the FR-G1
Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud; the ENG-G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth
Diamond Stakes at Ascot; the ENG-G1 Juddmonte International at York; the G1 Man
o’War at Belmont Park; and the G1 Washington DC International at Laurel.
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| Dahlia winning the 1973 Washington DC International |
Dahlia also excelled in the breeding shed, producing 4-time G1 winner Dahar (Lyphard) and 3-time G1 victor Rivlia (Riverman), as well as G1 winners
Delegant (Grey Dawn) and Dahlia’s Dreamer (Theatrical), not to
mention G1-placed Decadrachm (What a
Pleasure).
On the West Coast on Saturday, Dahlia’s
4-year-old granddaughter Capital Plan (Rock Hard Ten) captured
the 10-furlong G2 Santa Barbara Handicap at Santa Anita; her dam is the
unraced Strawberry Road mare Miss Dahlia. Across the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, 3-year-old Ice Follies (Stay Gold) finished second in the 10-furlong
JPN-G2 Sankei Sports Sho Flora Stakes; her second dam Begonia is an unplaced daughter of Dahlia once owned by Nelson Bunker Hunt. How nice it is to see great racing mares continue their prowess down through the generations.
What a fantastic racemare and broodmare. On the Tail Female she traces to Foundation Mare Frizette & the stallion Broomstick. Throw in the likes of Hyperion and Alibai on her broodmare sire line. Actually 3 crosses to Hyperion, 2 on the sire line. Her paternal female line traces to Phalaris, named Stallion of the 20th Century!!
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