Oaks Contender: Midnight Lucky

Oaks Contenders feature the fillies I view as the best contenders leading up to the Kentucky Oaks. Each horse spotlighted in an Oaks Contender will join the 2013 PTG Oaks Contender roster, found on the right side of the blog. Horses will be listed in an order that corresponds to how highly I think of them, with the horse I think most highly of ranking at the top. A horse featured in an Oaks Contender may be taken off the roster if its performances after its article are published are not up to par or if that horse is taken off the Oaks trail, though those articles will remain on my blog.

Midnight Lute's pair of breathtaking Breeders' Cup Sprint (GI) triumphs are among the most impressive Breeders' Cup wins in recent years. But as there is with any new stallion, much doubt surrounded the beginning of Midnight Lute's stud career. Lucky for him, Midnight Lute has gotten off to a brilliant start, producing several horses that have made noise along the Triple Crown and Kentucky Oaks (GI) trails. Among those offspring is Midnight Lucky, a lightly raced but incredibly talented filly.

Unveiled to the racing world in mid-February of 2013, the gray filly was sent off as the heavy favorite for trainer Bob Baffert and owners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman – the same connections that had campaigned her sire, Midnight Lute. Breaking from the rail in the six and one-half-furlong maiden special weight over Santa Anita Park’s main track, Midnight Lucky was urged to press the pace by jockey Rafael Bejarano, racing just behind the leader.

The charcoal gray filly inched closer to the pacesetter down the backstretch, cutting into that adversary’s lead around the far turn. With ease, Midnight Lucky soared to the lead midway through the curve, maintaining an ample lead as she charged into the straightaway. Geared down in the final stages of the race, the three-year-old crossed the wire 7 ¼ lengths ahead.

Midnight Lucky traveled to New Mexico for the Sunland Park Oaks, a race her trainer had already captured four times. Each of Baffert trainees that had previously obtained a victory in the race had done so handily: Tough Tiz’s Sis had won it by 3 ¾ lengths in 2007, Gabby’s Golden Gal by 13 in 2009, Plum Pretty (who would go on to win the Kentucky Oaks) by 25 in 2011, and Princess Arabella by 8 last year. The story was no different for Midnight Lucky.

Just as she had been in her maiden, Midnight Lucky was guided to the front-running contingent by Bejarano, pressing the pace set by Majestic River. After allowing Majestic River a narrow lead around the clubhouse turn, Midnight Lucky allowed the pacesetter to gain a slightly wider advantage as a blistering pace was set. But as the field approached the final turn, Midnight Lucky seized the lead, only lengthening her advantage as she coasted to the wire to win by 8 lengths.

Though Midnight Lucky’s final time of 1:41.06 was a new track record, it was one of three set that day. This insinuates that the speedy times recorded at Sunland that day are unreliable, but one cannot doubt Midnight Lucky’s brilliance and visual impressiveness.

Midnight Lucky's pedigree
From pedigreequery.com

Despite the fact that her sire, Midnight Lute, was never victorious beyond seven furlongs, he did miss winning at a mile and one-sixteenth by just a nose and was less than two lengths away from winning at nine furlongs in his only try at that distance. Considering Midnight Lucky is a member of Midnight Lute’s first crop, not many statistics exist regarding the champion sprinter’s ability to sire routers. However, he has produced Govenor Charlie – winner of the nine-furlong Sunland Derby (GIII) – and Mylute – a close runner-up in the nine-furlong Louisiana Derby (GII).

Midnight Lute’s ability to sire distance horses is enhanced by his sire, Real Quiet. A horse who missed winning the 1998 Triple Crown by a scant margin, Real Quiet produced the likes of Wonder Lady Anne L – a grade one winner at ten furlongs that finished the fourth in the 2006 Kentucky Oaks (which is contested at nine furlongs); Norman Asbjornson – a stakes winner at nine furlongs; and Bull Ranch – a stakes winner at eleven furlongs.

The dam of Midnight Lucky, Citiview, never found the winner’s circle but in addition to producing Midnight Lucky, the mare has yielded Songofthecity, a multiple stakes-placed runner that never won beyond six furlongs. A daughter of the black-type-winning Prospective Joy, Citiview is a full sister to the grade one-winning Hookedonthefeelin.

Midnight Lucky’s broodmare sire, Citidancer, produced Urbane – a multiple grade one winner that won at ten furlongs twice and was second in the 1995 Kentucky Oaks. Citidancer, a son of Dixieland Band, is also the dam sire of the likes of Suave – a graded stakes winner at ten furlongs and Worldly – a stakes winner at ten furlongs. The Real Quiet/Citidancer cross on which Midnight Lucky is bred is the same one that produced the grade one-winning Pussycat Doll and the stakes-winning Norman Asbjornson.

Although Midnight Lucky’s pedigree does not scream stamina and she is rather unproven against top quality rivals, Midnight Lucky is clearly one of the most naturally talented sophomore fillies being prepared for this year’s Kentucky Oaks. She will have to contest against several brilliant fillies in the renowned race, but should her prowess be as great as it seems, Midnight Lucky could deliver a stellar performance on May 3.

Oaks Contender: Princess Arabella

The sun was setting on the year of 2011 as a chestnut filly paraded before the grandstand at Santa Anita Park in Peachtree Stable’s silks. In minutes, a maiden special weight for juvenile fillies, who the next day would be declared three-year-olds, would be run. It was their last chance to get a victory as a two-year-old. The chestnut filly carrying the purple colors of Peachtree was one of only two first-time starters in the field, but was certainly the most highly-regarded filly entered, as she went off at even-money.

After breaking slowly, Princess Arabella gained on the leaders with every stride, always growing closer to the lead. Under Martin Garcia, the Bob Baffert trainee swung wide on the far turn, floating effortlessly to a victory that resulted in a final winning margin of 3 ½ lengths. By the end of the six-furlong race, many people were talking about Princess Arabella. Lofty hopes and dreams were already pinned to her.

With the champion two-year-old filly of 2011, My Miss Aurelia, out of the picture with sore shins and arguably the best California juvenile filly, Weemissfrankie, also out with an injury, many Kentucky Oaks (GI) dreams found their way to Princess Arabella. She was just a maiden winner, but when she loaded into the starting gate on February 12, 2012 in an allowance race at Santa Anita, those dreams had a chance to expand.

Princess Arabella did not disappoint. The distance of her second start was just one furlong longer than her debut, so the chestnut filly would still only be racing around one turn. In a field of five, Princess Arabella found herself in third for most of the race before striking to the lead under light urging to gallop to another 3 ½-length victory.

Talk of the Kentucky Oaks regarding Princess Arabella heated up. Baffert pointed the filly to the Sunland Park Oaks, the same race that Plum Pretty won by 25 lengths in 2011 before triumphing in the Kentucky Oaks. Facing stakes company for the first time, Princess Arabella used a new tactic, breaking like a rocket from the starting gate to find the lead in her first try around two turns. She did not look back from there, going on to effortlessly win the mile and one-sixteenth race by 8 lengths.

With her remarkably easy win, Princess Arabella likely stamped herself as the current favorite for the Kentucky Oaks. There are still just less forty days until the prestigious race for sophomore fillies, but this filly, who I have followed since nearly the beginning of her career, has clearly declared herself to be one of the most talented three-year-old fillies in the nation. Princess Arabella has not yet faced very tough horses, but in winning the Sunland Park Oaks, she defeated the stakes-winning and graded stakes-placed Glinda the Good, the stakes-winning horses Take Me Away Today and Regal Betty, and the stakes-placed Ize in Trouble. By easily defeating Glinda the Good, she effortlessly conquered a filly who faced one of the top-rated sophomore fillies in the nation, On Fire Baby.

Her pedigree suggests that she will also have no trouble getting the nine-furlong distance of the Oaks. She is by Any Given Saturday, the winner of the 2007 Haskell Invitational (GI, 9F), the Brooklyn Handicap (GII, 9F), and the Dwyer Stakes (GII, 8.5F). Princess Arabella is a member of his first crop, which includes horses that have already been proven at races at one mile or longer. For instance, his daughter, Sunday’s Child, is a black-type winner at one mile on the grass, and his son, Saturday Launch, is an allowance optional claiming winner over one mile on the turf at Gulfstream. Any Given Saturday is by Distorted Humor, who can obviously produce distances horses. He is, of course, the sire of the Belmont Stakes (GI, 12F)- and Breeders’ Cup Classic (GI, 10F)-winning Drosselmeyer, the Clement L. Hirsch Turf Championship Stakes (GI, 10F)- and San Luis Rey (GII, 12F)-winning Fourty Niners Son, and the Kentucky Derby (GI, 10F)- and Preakness Stakes (GI, 9.5F)-winning Funny Cide.

Princess Arabella’s dam, Tortuga Lady, is by the 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes-winning Thunder Gulch and out of a Conquistador Cielo (also a Belmont winner) mare. In addition to producing Princess Arabella, Tortuga Lady has produced the filly’s half-sister, Dyna’s Lassie, a stakes winner and multiple stakes-placed mare. Tortuga Lady is full sister to the late Invisible Ink, third-place finisher in the 2001 Florida Derby (GI) and runner-up in that year’s Kentucky Derby.

Princess Arabella descends from female family two, the same family that has produced the great champions Busted, Cigar, Go for Wand, Northern Dancer, Phar Lap, Secretariat, and With Approval. Recent family two stars include Dreaming of Anna, Giacomo, Gio Ponti, Kitten’s Joy, Point Given, and Shackleford.

This filly could certainly be on an ascent to stardom. With her sheer talent and promising pedigree, Princess Arabella packs undeniable potential to not only become a graded stakes winner or even the Kentucky Oaks winner, but a fan favorite. She has not yet been tested and is already beginning to capture the hearts of racing fans. This excitement is only aided by her flawless race record. Princess Arabella could very well go on to do great things and produce a huge fan base along the way.


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