After the Auction: She Sleeps

As an avid fan of sales with possible aspirations to become an adviser/bloodstock agent, auctions are one of my favorite topics to write about on Past the Grandstand. This is the sixth edition in a blog series called "After the Auction" that will feature horses I selected in sales that have found success after the sale. *Note: If an "After the Auction" features a two-year-old, it will also be listed as a "Juvenile Spotlight."

Two weeks before Delta Downs’ biggest race day of the year – and on racing’s biggest day of the year – She Sleeps redeemed herself with an easy victory. She received no national acclaim for her win, but put a smile upon my face by finding the winner’s circle. With her maiden victory, She Sleeps had become my sixth juvenile sales selection of 2012 to garner a win (maiden claiming victories acquired by a pair of my two-year-old auction picks, Blazing Graduate and Mistakingly, were not featured).

She Sleeps
Photo by Terri Cage

A member of Private Vow’s first crop, She Sleeps’ sire is a son of Broken Vow, the sire of such horses as the grade one winners Cotton Blossom, Sassy Image, and Unbridled Belle. By a son of the influential Unbridled and out of a Deputy Minister daughter, Private Vow certainly hails from parentage that insinuates that he will become a successful stallion.

She Sleeps is out of Shy Eda, an Argentinian mare who is a full sister to the stakes-winning Edil Tom and a half-sister to the group one-winning Cruzan Gold and the group stakes-placed Forty Editado. Shy Eda herself is the dam of the multiple group stakes-winning and group one-placed Duvets, the group stakes-winning Shy Legionario, and the group stakes-placed runners Saint George and South Stream.

By Shy Tom, Shy Eda’s grandsire is Blushing Groom, one of the finest sires and broodmare sires of the breed. A winner of several championship honors as both racehorse and sire, Blushing Groom was a tremendous sire and sire of sires, producing horses like Nashwan, Rahy, Rainbow Quest, and Runaway Groom that were successful on the track and in the breeding shed. But perhaps his greatest success came as a broodmare sire, as he is the damsire of such horses as the grade/group one winners Flute, Haafhd, Macho Uno, and Mezzo Soprano. Blushing Groom has also had success in siring productive damsires, such as Mt. Livermore, Rahy, Rainbow Quest, and Runaway Groom.

In her debut, which came at Louisiana Downs, She Sleeps finished a lackluster sixth. But she made amends for her loss next out, adding an extra furlong to the six furlongs she debuted at. Breaking sharply from the eighth gate in the maiden special weight for Louisiana-breds, She Sleeps raced wide just behind the front-running contingent as the horses galloped before the grandstand for the initial time.

Due to being forced wide around the sharp first turn, She Sleeps lost ground, but remained in fourth as the horses entered the backstretch. With urging from jockey Chris Rosier, She Sleeps loomed large on the outside as the field turned for home, accelerating imposingly as the far turn culminated. Displaying an impressive turn of foot, She Sleeps kicked clear from her rivals, galloping to a 4 ¼-length victory.

She Sleeps is likely to not appear on a list of future grade one winners, but she is certainly a filly with potential. It will be interesting to see what the future of this 2012 Fasig-Tipton Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale graduate holds.