Lane’s End Farm has
consistently proven to be among the best stud farms in not just the nation, but
the world. From the dynasty created by A.P. Indy to the exciting possibilities
of fresh, newer sires such as Curlin, Lane’s End stallions continue to have an
effect on the racing world, which can be evident at any track. Recently, these
following two fillies further endorsed that.
Dreaming of Julia
Stonestreet Stables has done it
again! As if the spectacular maiden victories by Kauai Katie and Teen Pauline
weren’t enough, Kauai Katie followed in the hoofprints of Stonestreet’s
champion My Miss Aurelia by winning the Adirondack Stakes (GII). But a few days before
the filly took the Adirondack, another Stonestreet filly broke her maiden in jaw-dropping style:
Dreaming of Julia.
Breaking from the seventh gate in a six and one-half-furlong maiden special weight event, Dreaming of Julia was pushed to the lead by John Velazquez and quickly overtook Bustle to take the lead as the two-year-old fillies raced down the backstretch. By the time she’d set a 22.03 first quarter, Dreaming of Julia had an approximate one-length lead on the others as she began to enter the far turn. Despite a rally from Form Fitting around the turn, Dreaming of Julia maintained her advantage on the field as she galloped into the stretch with a confident Velazquez aboard.
Dreaming of Julia quickly opened up on the field, drawing away with sufficient handling from Velazquez. Form Fitting remained as the clearly second best horse, but it was even more obvious who the best horse in the field was: Dreaming of Julia. With absolute ease, the bay filly crossed the wire an astounding 10 ½ lengths ahead of her rivals.
This filly possesses a pedigree I could praise all day. Not only is she sired by the stallion I most admire in modern-day bloodlines, but her pedigree is like an array of Thoroughbred royalty. There’s one aspect in Dreaming of Julia’s pedigree that many will likely overlook: the filly possesses both Hasty Matelda and Somethingroyal – the same mares that were the subject of Penny Chenery’s famous coin toss – in her pedigree. A daughter of A.P. Indy, Dreaming of Julia of course traces back to Somethingroyal through the mare’s greatest offspring, Secretariat, who is the broodmare sire of A.P. Indy. Interestingly, Dreaming of Julia is a direct descendant of Hasty Matelda, who is her seventh dam.
As mentioned, Dreaming of Julia is sired by A.P. Indy, one of the greatest horses to ever stand at stud. He has sired twenty-six grade one winners so far, including Bernardini, Flashing, Mineshaft, Little Belle, Music Note, and Rags to Riches. He is also a highly successful sire of sires – having produced such stallions as Bernardini, Congrats, Malibu Moon, Mineshaft, Pulpit, and Stephen Got Even – and broodmare sire – having sired the dams of such horses as Bluegrass Cat, Mr. Sidney, Plum Pretty, Royal Delta, Super Saver, and Wait a While.
The dam of Dreaming of Julia is the multiple grade one-winning Dream Rush. Though a successful sprinter, Dream Rush is a daughter of Wild Rush – who, though also successful at short distances, was capable of winning up to a mile and three-sixteenths. Wild Rush is of course a son of Wild Again, the winner of the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI). Wild Again is the broodmare sire of such grade one winners as Cheiron, Emma’s Encore, Macho Again, Mea Domina, Pyro, and Wild Spirit.
With a dam line full of black-type, Dreaming of Julia’s sixth dam is Gay Matelda, a winner of many important stakes races and the dam of the group stakes-winning Reine Mathilde, as well as the stakes-winning horses Not a Mistake and Shelter Half. Gay Matelda is of course a daughter of Hasty Matelda, who won the Matron Stakes.
Dreaming of Julia is a fine example of breeding speed to stamina and perhaps that cross will allow her to stretch out beyond sprinting distances. This is a very talented filly and though she joins multiple talented Stonestreet fillies, she has a grand chance to prove herself to be the best of them. Who knows what the future holds, other than the fact that I will gladly follow this filly throughout her career.
Stopshoppingdebbie
After his 2008 campaign, Curlin became the first horse since the great Cigar to garner back-to-back Horse of
the Year titles. A son of successful sire Smart Strike – who has also produced
such grade one winners as English Channel, Fabulous Strike, Lookin at Lucky, My
Miss Aurelia, Never Retreat, and Square Eddie –Curlin bred his first book of
mares in 2009. The foal crop produced from these mares was born in 2010 and
first hit the track this year. Curlin has had several winners already,
including Stopshoppingdebbie.
Emerald Downs does not garner the attention of tracks such as Del Mar or Saratoga, but nonetheless, a very gifted two-year-old filly surfaced there on August 12. That filly is none other than Stopshoppingdebbie. The heavy favorite in a small field of five, Stopshoppingdebbie led from start to finish, setting brisk fractions before making it obvious that she was the best filly in the field. With effortlessness, Stopshoppingdebbie swept to a seven-length victory in a final time of 1:02.97 for five and one-half furlongs.
No, Emerald Downs is not a well-known track. However, many of the names found in this filly’s pedigree are. As aforementioned, the topside of Stopshoppingdebbie’s pedigree is very strong. But the bottom side is quite solid as well.
Her dam is Taste the Passion, who won multiple stakes at Emerald Downs. Taste the Passion has also produced the multiple stakes-winning Shampoo, a fan favorite at Emerald. Other offspring of Taste the Passion include the stakes-winning Smarty Deb and the multiple stakes-placed Seattle Sniper. Stopshoppingdebbie’s broodmare sire is Wild Again, who as mentioned in Dreaming of Julia’s information, is the damsire of such grade one winners as Cheiron, Emma’s Encore, Macho Again, Mea Domina, Pyro, and Wild Spirit.
Like her siblings, Stopshoppingdebbie is likely destined to remain at Emerald Downs. However, she could very well become one of the best Washington-based horses and certainly a fan favorite. Whether she enters the big leagues or not, I believe she will be a fun filly to watch.
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