Late-Blooming Three-Year-Olds

Every year, we see several impressive sophomores emerge in late winter or early spring. Often, they are too late for the Kentucky Derby (GI), but they are frequently seen in the Preakness Stakes (GI) or even the Belmont Stakes (GI). If they are not ready for the spring classics, we sometimes see them at prestigious summer or fall meets such as Saratoga and Del Mar.

We have already seen numerous talented three-year-olds that may not make it to the Derby or other Triple Crown races, but look to be forces in later races. Here are some late-blooming three-year-olds:

Cigar Street: If you want a colt with incredible bloodlines, you want a colt like Cigar Street. He is by the 2007 Kentucky Derby (GI) winner, Street Sense, and out of a half-sister to the Hall of Famer and second richest racehorse of all-time, Cigar. The colt’s dam, Arcadiana, is by the incredible broodmare sire, Deputy Minister, who ironically is the broodmare sire of the richest racehorse of all-time, Curlin. The dam of Arcadiana is of course Solar Slew, who was sold for a total of $4,945,000 in her four purchases at major sales. In addition to producing the great Cigar, Solar Slew also produced Mulca, the multiple group-winning South American champion. Through this female family, Cigar Street traces back to the Burton Barb Mare (female family two), the same mare that produced the families of the ill-fated multiple grade one-winning champion Go For Wand, the Kentucky Derby- and Preakness Stakes-winning Northern Dancer, the Australian legend Phar Lap, the Canadian Triple Crown winner With Approval, and possibly the greatest horse to ever look through a bridle in the Triple Crown-winning Secretariat.

In his debut, Cigar Street finished a troubled fifth in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Fair Grounds racecourse in early February. On March 10, the colt avenged his loss in style by winning his second start by a dazzling 13 ¾ lengths. He finished the mile and one-sixteenth maiden special weight in a final time of 1:43.75 after leading from start to finish. Surely he gave his connections – owner Jake Ballis and trainer Steve Margolis – much hope for success in bigger races down the road.

Closerwalk: This colt is also by Street Sense, who is making a name for himself as a sire. In fact, the 2007 Derby winner is currently the second-leading second crop sire. Closerwalk’s dam, Cool Pussycat, is by Tabasco Cat, the Preakness- and Belmont-winning son of Storm Cat. The cross on which Closerwalk is bred is similar to the cross that produced the multiple group stakes-winning Desert Party and the grade three-winning 2012 Derby contender Castaway. Cool Pussycat is out of a Raise a Native mare who also produced the graded stakes-winning horses Chilly Rooster and Rotsaluck, as well as the stakes-placed Cold Awakening. This is female family one, which is one of the most prolific Thoroughbred families. Horses that descend from family one include the multiple group one-winning champions High Chaparral and Snow Fairy, as well as the Hall of Famers Buckpasser, Genuine Risk, and Sword Dancer.

Following two runner-up finishes in maiden special weights at Gulfstream – one of which was against state-bred company and the other which was against open company – Closerwalk broke his maiden in his third lifetime start. Racing against Florida-breds for the second time, Closerwalk led from gate to wire to score by 2 ¾ lengths while being pursued by the drifting out Saint of Saints. He completed the seven furlongs in 1:22.67. He has already ran second against open company, so surely he will be competitive against it again in future starts.

Ender Knievel: By the leading sire of 2011 in Distorted Humor and out of an A.P. Indy mare, Ender Knievel’s pedigree is already impressive at first glance. It gets even more remarkable the more you study it. The cross of Distorted Humor with A.P. Indy mares has produced several top-class racehorses, including the grade one-winning Any Given Saturday and the grade three-winning horses Brethren, Endorsement, and Z Humor. Ender Knievel’s dam, Ender’s Sister, won three stakes and placed in five graded stakes races, including a second-place finish behind champion Ashado in the Cotillion Handicap (GII). The dam of Ender’s Sister is Gold Rush Queen, a Seeking the Gold mare who also produced the stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed Ender’s Shadow. Ender Knievel hails from female family fourteen, the same family that produced the Epsom Derby (GI)- and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (GI)-winning Workforce, the champion and prominent sire Polynesian, the Kentucky Derby-winning Foolish Pleasure, the multiple grade one-winning Hall of Famer Skip Away, and the multiple grade one-winning Horse of the Year Invasor.

After two fifth place finishes in maiden special weights in Kentucky, Ender Knievel closed out his two-year-old campaign with a runner-up finish behind the eventual graded stakes-winning Thunder Moccasin at Gulfstream. In his sophomore debut, Ender Knievel set the pace in a one-mile maiden special weight at the same Florida track before easily drawing away from the field by 7 ¾ lengths. He could make his next start in the Sunland Derby (GIII) on March 25, which could give him sufficient earnings for the Kentucky Derby.

Flashy Dresser: With the Stephen Foster (GI)-winning Flashy Bull as his sire and the Two Punch mare Saltnvinegar as his dam, Flashy Dresser’s pedigree does not suggest that he will appreciate very long distances. However, his bloodlines give plenty of reason to believe that he will be a successful sprinter or miler. His dam is a half-sister to the black-type-placed sprinter, Covert, and a full sister to the multiple black-type-placed sprinter, Creative Tension. He descends from a slightly nondescript female family in family seven. Though this family is not as prosperous as a family like female family one or four, it has produced some talented horses, including the champions American Flag, Coaltown, Ladysman, and Lando.

Flashy Dresser debuted on March 4 in a six-furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park, finding a position off the pace while advancing toward the leaders as the race progressed. He rocketed forward as the horses entered the homestretch, opening up nearly nine lengths on the field en route to victory. He certainly could have a bright future ahead of him.

Heavy Breathing: You can’t get much more attractive bloodlines than those of Heavy Breathing. He is by the prominent sire Giant’s Causeway and out the Gone West mare Takesmybreathaway, which makes Heavy Breathing a full brother to the grade one-winning Frost Giant and a half-brother to the stakes-winning Breathless Storm. Takesmybreathaway is a half-sister to the multiple stakes-winning Jet Around, the stakes-winning and group stakes-placed Mutakddim, and the grade one-placed Smooth Charmer. He is inbred to Northern Dancer and Secretariat through Storm Cat, which has produced horses such as the grade one winners Bluegrass Cat and D’Wildcat, as well as the grade three-winning Untouched Talent, who is the dam of the graded stakes-placed and 2012 Derby contender, Bodemeister. Heavy Breathing is a direct descendant of the great mare La Troienne, who is considered by many to be the most influential broodmare of all-time. Other direct descendants of La Troienne include the Kentucky Derby winners Go for Gin, Sea Hero, Smarty Jones, and Super Saver as well as the Hall of Famer Easy Goer and the multiple grade one-winning champions Mineshaft and Pleasant Tap. As if this isn’t impressive enough, he has the same third dam as Super Saver, which means from then on, he has the same dam line as the 2010 Derby winner.

Heavy Breathing made his first start on February 8, going seven and one-half furlongs over a dirt track at Gulfstream labeled ‘good.’ After settling off the pace, the chestnut colt struck to the lead at the top of the stretch before effortlessly drawing off to score by 7 ¾ lengths under Javier Castellano. He raced next in a nine-furlong allowance at Gulfstream – a distance that most three-year-olds have not covered yet. This time, he found a position closer to the lead, rating in second until the horses neared the end of the far turn. He took the lead and despite a threat from Big Screen, Heavy Breathing drew clear to a 4 ¼-length victory. He could make his next start in the Spiral Stakes (GIII) at Turfway Park on March 24, the same race that Animal Kingdom used as his final prep before his Derby triumph. Though Heavy Breathing is not Triple Crown-nominated, his connections still have a chance to nominate him for $6,000 on March 24. Hopefully they do so, as I would love to see him in the Triple Crown. After all, he is currently ranked eighth on my top ten list for the Kentucky Derby.

Paynter: Like Heavy Breathing, Paytner has an outstanding pedigree. If he was bred for one race in particular, it could very well be the Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI). His sire, Awesome Again, won the 1998 Classic and is the sire of several ten-furlong victors, including Awesome Gem (third-place finisher in the 2007 Classic), Game on Dude (runner-up in the 2011 Classic), Ghostzapper (winner of the 2004 Classic), and Ginger Punch (winner of the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Distaff). Paynter’s dam, Tizso, is a full sister to the only horse to ever win the Classic twice, Tiznow. The cross on which Paynter is bred is similar to the cross that produced the Horse of the Year Ghostzapper. He is also very similarly bred to the stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed Awesome Patriot, who is also by Awesome Again and is by a full sister to Tiznow and Tizso (Paynter’s dam). Tizso is also the dam of the graded stakes-winning Tiz West. Through Tizso, Paynter traces back to the Reine De Course mares Blue Canary and Papila, the latter of which is the dam of the champion Crimson Satan. This dam line stems from female family twenty-six, which has produced the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-winning Trempolino and the Australian Hall of Famer Gloaming.

Paynter has only raced once, when he made his debut on February 18 in a five and one-half furlong maiden special weight at Santa Anita. After trailing the four-horse field, Paynter drew away in the stretch to win by 4 ¼ lengths, performing very professionally despite the fact that his forelock became unbraided and flew into his ear, causing him to shake his head. With any luck, Paynter will acquire sufficient graded stakes earnings in order to earn a position in the starting gate on the first Saturday of May. He is currently ranked ninth on my Derby list, after all.

Street Life: This is yet another colt by Street Sense, who is clearly becoming a very productive sire. Street Life’s dam, Stone Hope, is by the 1996 Kentucky Derby winner, Grindstone, and out of a mare who also produced Brilliant, a multiple graded stakes winner. The cross on which Street Life was produced is quite similar to the cross that produced the grade one winners Aruna, Deepak, and J.B.’s Thunder. Street Life hails from female family sixteen, a rich family that has produced the likes of the champions Authorized, Ginger Punch, Holy Bull, and Orientate, as well as the popular grade one winners Barbaro and Hard Spun.

Street Life’s debut was disappointing, as he finished eighth in a field of twelve in a six-furlong Gulfstream maiden special weight. After being shipped to Aqueduct to face easier company, the colt closed impressively to score by an easy 2 ½ lengths while drawing away in hand. He completed the mile and seventy yards in an unspectacular 1:45.20, but made a remarkable stretch run to score. His race record may not be breathtaking, but the way he covered ground in his second start was. This is a colt with talent and a pedigree to back him up.

Whinston: A colt I have followed since the beginning of his career, Stonestreet Stables’ Whinston is by Pomeroy, the multiple grade one-winning sire of successful horses such as the multiple graded stakes-winning horses Flashpoint and Pomeroys Pistol, the multiple stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed Positive Response, and the stakes-winning Mel Beach. A talented sprinter himself, Pomeroy has excelled at siring one-turn horses. Whinston’s dam, Leah’s Angel, has also produced the graded stakes-winning Expect an Angel and the multiple stakes-placed Tontine Too. Whinston descends from female family number five, the same family that produced the great champions Afleet Alex, Kona Gold, Hoist the Flag, Native Dancer, Nureyev, Pleasant Colony, Sadler’s Wells, and Seabiscuit.

Whinston was purchased as a juvenile in March of 2011 at the Barretts Equine Limited Sale of Selected Two-Year-Olds in Training as the sale-topper of $625,000. He was purchased by Stonestreet Stables of Curlin and Rachel Alexandra fame, who placed the colt in the hands of trainer Steve Asmussen. He made his racing debut in June at Churchill Downs, finishing fourth behind the impressive Brown Eyed Jozi. Defeated by Whinston in his debut was the eventual Remsen Stakes (GII) winner, O’Prado Again. Whinston started next in a five and one-half furlong maiden at Saratoga, finishing second behind the future stakes-placed horse Laurie’s Rocket. Crossing the wire behind Whinston was the eventual stakes-placed How Do I Win. Whinston was not seen again until March 10, when he made his sophomore debut at Oaklawn Park. After setting the pace, the bay colt effortlessly drew clear to win by an easy 2 ¼ lengths, completing the final eighth of the six-furlong race in 12.25 seconds. Whinston certainly has the potential to become a very profitable one-turn horse.

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Orfevre: A Horse of Hope

In a year that Japan faced extreme tragedy in the wake of natural disasters, horse racing brought great relief and hope. Fifteen days after the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, three horses brought optimism to Japan due to the results of two races. Two horses brought immediate positivity while the other horse was just beginning his road to building hope in Japan.

The two horses that caused immediate celebration were none other than Victoire Pisa and Transcend, who finished first and second respectively in the $10 million Dubai World Cup (GI). The horse that was on his way to increasing Japan’s optimism didn’t run in the richest horse race in the world that day. Rather, he raced in his home country in the Fuji TV Sho Spring Stakes (GII), finding the winner’s circle for the first time since his debut.

The horse was a three-year-old chestnut colt by the name of Orfevre, which means goldsmith in French. The Spring Stakes set him up for the first leg of the Japanese Triple Crown, the Satsuki Sho (Japanese Two Thousand Guineas) (GI), a month later. Finding his way through traffic, Orfevre struck to the lead in late stretch to capture the 2000-meter race by about three lengths.

Similar to when a horse wins the Kentucky Derby, hopes that Orfevre would capture the Triple Crown soared in Japan. Unlike the American Triple Crown, however, it had been only six years since a horse had won all three legs. Orfevre continued on to the Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) (GI) a month later with the goal of winning the second jewel of the Triple Crown. In deep stretch, Orfevre showed a breathtaking kick to take the near-twelve-furlong race by two lengths.

Also unlike the American Triple Crown, the dates of the Japanese Triple Crown are much more spread out. The first leg – the Satsuki Sho – is run in April, the second leg – the Tokyo Yushun – is run towards the end of May or early in June, and the final leg - the Kikuka Sho -is run in October. Orfevre took four months off after winning the Tokyo Yushun before winning the Kobe Shimbun Hai as his prep race for the Kikuka Sho.

On October 23, 2011, nearly 70,000 people flocked to Kyoto Racecourse with expectations of witnessing history. Their cheers and applause sounded through the air as the horses loaded into the gate for the start of the race, their eyes riveted by Orfevre. It had been seven months since tragedy had struck Japan; now was their chance to rejoice in the glory of a horse with rare brilliance.

The roar from the crowd gathered at Kyoto was deafening as eighteen three-year-olds leapt from the starting gate. Orfevre found his position in mid-pack, being restrained by Kenichi Ikezoe as the horses began their journey of 3000 meters (about 15 furlongs). The cheers from the crowd never let up. In fact, they only grew louder. The sound of the racing fans was thunderous as the horses swung around the final turn, as Orfevre loomed large on the outside.

As the dazzling chestnut colt flew down the homestretch, the Japanese celebrated loudly as the horse made their dreams reality. Thought it was a year that will always be remembered in Japan due to a great tragedy, it was also a year that will be hailed as one of the greatest in Japanese horse racing history. This was all because Orfevre dominantly galloped down the homestretch before a rejoicing crowd to capture the coveted title of Triple Crown winner.

After capping off 2011 with a victory in the Arima Kinen Grand Prix (GI), Orfevre was voted Japan’s Horse of the Year. Orfevre did not just accomplish more than any other Japanese racehorse in 2011, but he captured the hearts and imagination of racing fans and gave them more hope than any other horse. He was more than deserving of the prestigious title.

Not only did Orfevre give Japan great hope, but he also provides optimism for American racing. Horses that race in Japan are prohibited from racing on medication, unlike horses that compete in the United States. Orfevre achieved his stunning accomplishments without the assistance of any medication.

Nearly every racehorse in America runs on medication, though many feel as if we should halt that method. Orfevre was able to put together a Horse of the Year and Triple Crown-winning campaign without drugs. If horses in other nations can do this, so can horses in the United States. We need to rule out medication.

You have to go back to 1978 to find the most recent American Triple Crown winner. The pedigrees of the most current Triple Crown victors are outdated, as the three most recent champions were born in the 1970s and have since passed away. Perhaps we should look to the pedigrees of horses like Orfevre to discover one of the keys to producing a Triple Crown champion.

Though Orfevre was bred in Japan, he is a grandson of a near-American Triple Crown winner in Sunday Silence, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes before falling short to his rival, Easy Goer, in the Belmont Stakes. The last horse that won the Japanese Triple Crown before Orfevre, Deep Impact, was a son of Sunday Silence. Both Orfevre and Deep Impact trace back to Northern Dancer. There is not much of an American flair to either horses’ pedigree, especially considering Sunday Silence stood most of his stud career in Japan. However, Hat Trick and Silent Name – two talented studs of Sunday Silence – are standing in the United States. Yet these two are most well-known as milers.

Orfevre descends from female family number eight, the same family that has produced many distance runners: the winner of the Oaks Stakes (GI, 12F) and the Swettenham Stud Fillies’ Trial Stakes (GI, 10F) in Eswarah, the winner of the Epsom Derby (GI, 12F) and the Dante Stakes (GII, 10F) in Motivator, the 1975 Coaching Club American Oaks (GI, 12F) winner in Ruffian, the 1970 English Triple Crown winner in Nijinsky II, and the 1941 American Triple Crown winner in Whirlaway.

We can gather much hope from Orfevre. Not only did he give Japan faith in a time when they needed it most, but Orfevre has given us the momentum to determine what we need in a durable champion with the potential to become a Triple Crown winner. We have a lot to learn from horses like Orfevre, horses who provide great hope.

As for Orfevre, he is being pointed toward this year’s prestigious Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe. Should Orfevre continue his winning ways, he could go down in history as one of the greatest Japanese horses to ever set foot on a racetrack. No matter what happens in Orfevre’s future, he has left a lasting impression of hope on the racing world.

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