Diary of Dexter: Sunshine and Summertime

With Dexter
Photo by Terri Cage

Since returning home in April, Dexter has been better than ever. A joy to ride, Dexter has – for the most part – abandoned his old bad habits and has become even more enjoyable to ride than before. Now it is a rare occurrence for him to display his barn sourness or for him to pick up the incorrect lead. On average, he has been fantastic!

I have ridden my first OTTB as much as possible this summer, though soaring temperatures sometimes impede on riding time. However, when I have ridden him, Dexter has improved with nearly ever ride and I can almost always count on having a great ride.

Not only has Dexter been great for me to ride, but I recently gave three friends with less riding experience brief lessons aboard him. He was an angel for them, as he was on his best behavior while they rode him.

Now that Dexter shows few behavioral issues, I am focusing on teaching him more complicated maneuvers, which he is learning steadily. Our goal is Remember Me Rescue’s second annual All-Thoroughbred Horse Show (set for March 8^th and 9^th of 2014), which this time I will return to as an exhibitor rather than a judge. After all, as a Remember Me Rescue graduate, it would only be fitting that Dexter’s first horse show be one held by Remember Me.

Previous Diary of Dexter's:

Diary of Dexter: Reunited

Video Diary of Dexter: Dexter Loves Mud!

Diary of Dexter: Happy Birthday!

Diary of Dexter: Back to the Basics

Diary of Dexter: One Year Together

Diary of Dexter: A December Day

Video Diary of Dexter: Cantering

Diary of Dexter: Wet Paint

Diary of Dexter: A Beautiful Fall Day

Diary of Dexter: Best Friends

Diary of Dexter: On Top of the World

Diary of Dexter: An Afternoon Ride

Diary of Dexter: A Retired Racehorse

After the Auction: Milam

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. “After the Auctions” 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.”

UPDATE 2/22/14: Congratulations to Milam on her 8-length win in the Pica Slew Stakes!

As a yearling, Milam’s presence and athletic conformation caught my eye via a live feed during the 2012 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Appearing able-bodied, the filly joined my list of “eye-catchers” from the large auction’s fifth session, in which she sold for $95,000. Less than a year later, she debuted at Ellis Park, winning first time out.

For trainer Eddie Kenneally, Milam was sent off as the second choice in an eight-horse field of juvenile fillies going six furlongs at the Henderson, Kentucky track. Exiting the gate from the inside post, Milam charged forward along the rail to seize a clear lead, racing two lengths clear of her nearest rival – the favorite, J J Julep – down the backstretch. Taking a slight breather around the far turn, Milam allowed that competitor to collar her, even permitting J J Julep to earn a slight advantage over her.

But Milam’s turn of foot proved to be too much for J J Julep and as the two led the other fillies into the homestretch, Milam began to kick clear and under strong encouragement from Eclipse Award-winning jockey Brian Hernandez, Jr., she coasted away from her opponent, easily drawing off to a 3 ¾-length victory.

Pedigree Analysis

Milam is a daughter of champion Street Sense, 2007 Kentucky Derby (GI) victor. Since entering stud in 2008, Street Sense has proven to be a tremendous sire of fillies, siring the grade one-winning  filly Aubby K, the graded stakes-winning filly Unlimited Budget, and the additional stakes-winning females Ice Cream Silence, Sensible Lady, and Silverette. Street Sense is a son of the spectacular stallion Street Cry, who is perhaps best known for siring the great champion Zenyatta. Including Street Sense and Zenyatta, Street Cry has produced an astounding thirteen grade/group one winners.

Out of the Forestry mare Autumnal, Milam is provided with the same maternal grandsire as four-time grade one winner Turbulent Descent, as well as the graded stakes-winning Magical Feeling. Forestry is a son of the legendary sire Storm Cat, whose many successes included serving as the broodmare sire of a multitude of grade one winners, including Bodemeister, Close Hatches, Drill, In Lingerie, Lord Kanaloa, Love and Pride, Sidney’s Candy, and Speightstown.

Milam’s fourth dam, the stakes-placed Passing Look, was a terrific broodmare, producing the likes of the grade one-winning Trumpet’s Blare, the graded stakes-winning Passing Vice, the multiple stakes-winning In My Cap (Milam’s third dam), amd the Turkish stakes winner Past Master. Passing Look is also the fourth dam of recent Virginia Derby (GII) winner War Dancer and the third dam of the grade one-winning sire Albert the Great.

After the Auction: Jimmy Connors

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. “After the Auctions” 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.”

Jimmy Connors – the human – won eight Grand Slam singles titles and two Grand Slam doubles titles. Jimmy Connors – the horse – has won a Monmouth Park maiden special weight. But he, too, possesses immense talent.

A two-year-old chestnut colt by Yes It’s True, Jimmy Connors was one of my selections at last year’s Fasig-Tipton July Sale, selling for just $20,000. He debuted at Monmouth Park on July 27, going five and one-half furlongs on the dirt. After tracking the pace from third, he was guided to the outside around the far turn as he aimed for the lead. Finding his best stride, Jimmy Connors coasted past the leaders in mid-stretch, drawing away to a 4 ¼-length victory.

Bred for precocity, Jimmy Connors displayed just that in his debut. The opportunities are endless for the colt and although he likely won’t reach the same level of brilliance in racing that the tennis player attained in his own sport, he could easily garner accomplishments of his own.

Pedigree Analysis

Jimmy Connors is among the talented army of Yes It’s True juveniles that have accumulated a large amount of wins this year, leaving him as the international leading sire of two-year-olds. Jimmy Connors shares his sire with the graded stakes winners Actin Good, Aikenite, Chantrue, Off Duty, Nordic Truce, Proud Accolade, Yesbyjimminy, and Yes He’s the Man.

The pedigree of Yes It’s True is rather understated, but also lined with indicators that he would become the successful sire he is. His sire, Is It True, only produced a pair of grade one winners – including Yes It’s True himself – but is by Raja Baba, the leading North American sire of 1980. Raja Baba was a fairly productive sire of sires, producing not only Is It True, but Royal Ski and Well Decorated.

The dam of Yes It’s True, Clever Monique, was a profitable producer, also yielding the multiple stakes-winning Honest Deceiver. Intriguingly, Yes It’s True’s seventh dam is Dancing Date, the dam of Terrang, who captured a record ten stakes events at Santa Anita. Yes It’s True is a descendant of American family one, the same female family that has yielded the grade one victors Gato Del Sol, Germany, and Tizway.

Yes It’s True’s broodmare sire is Clever Trick, who was also the damsire of such grade one winners as Came Home, Elegant Fashion, Nothingtolose, and Victors Cry. Clever Trick’s sire is Icecapade, a half-brother to the great Ruffian. Interestingly, Yes It’s True only has one trace of Native Dancer in his pedigree, which comes through Shenanigans – the dam of Icecapade and Ruffian.

Jimmy Connors’ dam has also produced the black-type-placed Elle Tish Slew. She is a half-sister to the graded stakes winners Canadian Frontier and Seeking Slew, as well as the multiple black-type-winning and graded stakes-placed Slewfoundmoney. Jimmy Connors comes from a prosperous dam line and has Bertrando as his broodmare sire, providing him with the same damsire as champion Unrivaled Belle. This Yes It’s True/Relaunch cross is the same that produced the graded stakes-winning Off Duty.

After the Auction: Cadron

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. “After the Auctions” 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.”

Each year, Bob Baffert unveils a contingent of gifted two-year-olds “where the turf meets the surf, down at old Del Mar.” With the names of grade one winners like Behaving Badly, Bob and John, Congaree, Indian Charlie, Midnight Lute, Midshipman, Point Given, Power Broker, Rolling Fog, Silver Charm, and Vindication on that list, one better take notice when a Baffert trainee debuts at Del Mar.

Among Baffert’s first-time starters this year at the seaside track is Cadron – a filly that sold at the OBS March Sale earlier this year as one of my selections for $370,000. A half-sister to one of my Keeneland April Sale selections from last year, Brown Eyes Blue, Cadron was sent off as the heavy favorite in a seven-horse field in maiden special weight going five furlongs over Del Mar’s synthetic track.

Setting a brisk pace while being pressured by the second betting choice, Cadron began to draw clear around the far turn and carried that lead into the stretch. Although her final winning margin was cut short to a neck after the closing finish of a longshot, Cadron displayed professionalism in just her first start, suggesting their is plentiful room for improvement.

Pedigree Analysis

Cadron is sired by Broken Vow, a terrific sire of fillies who has yielded the likes of the grade one-winning females Cotton Blossom, Sassy Image, and Unbridled Belle. A son of Unbridled, Broken Vow shares his sire with numerous spectacular stallions, including Empire Maker and the late Unbridled’ Song.

The dam of Cadron is Golden Lips, a Live Oak Plantation homebred. Golden Lips is a half-sister to the multiple graded stakes-winning Hotstufanthensome, the graded stakes-winning Silver Charades, and the multiple black-type-winning Tacit Agreement. Through her dam, Cadron is a direct descendant of the Reine De Course mare Golden Trail, who produced several stakes performers, including the graded stakes-winning Java Moon.

Cadron’s broodmare sire is Silver Ghost, the sire of 49 stakes victors. Silver Ghost is also the damsire of the graded stakes-winning half-brothers Chelokee and Salute the Sarge. The Broken Vow/Mr. Prospector sire line on which Cadron is bred has produced a high percentage of winners, including the graded stakes winner Jimanator, as well as six additional stakes winners.

After the Auction: Our Amazing Rose

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. “After the Auctions” 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.”

Each year at Saratoga, Todd Pletcher unveils a multitude of brilliant two-year-olds – juveniles that display scintillating speed as they coast to dominant victories. This year has been no different, but perhaps his most impressive two-year-old maiden winner at the Spa this year is a filly named Our Amazing Rose.

One of my selections from this year’s OBS March Sale, the filly – consigned as hip 296 by Top Line Sales, LLC – was purchased by Repole Stables for $325,000, ranking her among the fifteen most expensive horses sold. Now, as an impressive debut winner at Saratoga for Mike Repole and Todd Pletcher, she has joined the likes of champion Uncle Mo and grade one winner Overanalyze.

Sent off as the heavy favorite in a five-furlong maiden special weight over Saratoga’s dirt oval, Our Amazing Rose raced in second as the only filly with racing experience, Zip On, took a clear, early lead. With that pair several lengths clear of the other runners, Our Amazing Rose overtook Zip On with ease around the far turn, galloping past that rival as if she was standing still. In a breathtakingly effortless manner, she coasted to the front, lengthening her advantage on the field as she turned for home. With great power and grace, she finished 7 ¾ lengths clear of the rest.

Our Amazing Rose will try to join a long, star-studded list of open-length maiden winners at Saratoga that have gone on to be elite athletes. Only time will tell if she can become the next Indian Blessing, but she has certainly looked the part thus far.

Pedigree Analysis

Yes It's True
Photo by Terri Cage

Our Amazing Rose is among the talented army of Yes It’s True juveniles that have accumulated a large amount of wins this year, leaving him as the leading sire of two-year-olds in North America and the second-leading sire of juveniles on an international scale. Our Amazing Rose shares her sire with the graded stakes winners Actin Good, Aikenite, Chantrue, Off Duty, Nordic Truce, Proud Accolade, Yesbyjimminy, and Yes He’s the Man.

The pedigree of Yes It’s True is rather understated, but also lined with indicators that he would become the successful sire he is. His sire, Is It True, only produced a pair of grade one winners – including Yes It’s True himself – but is by Raja Baba, the leading North American sire of 1980. Raja Baba was a fairly productive sire of sires, producing not only Is It True, but Royal Ski and Well Decorated.

The dam of Yes It’s True, Clever Monique, was a profitable producer, also yielding the multiple stakes-winning Honest Deceiver. Intriguingly, Yes It’s True’s seventh dam is Dancing Date, the dam of Terrang, who captured a record ten stakes events at Santa Anita. Yes It’s True is a descendant of American family one, the same female family that has yielded the grade one victors Gato Del Sol, Germany, and Tizway.

Yes It’s True’s broodmare sire is Clever Trick, who was also the damsire of such grade one winners as Came Home, Elegant Fashion, Nothingtolose, and Victors Cry. Clever Trick’s sire is Icecapade, a half-brother to the great Ruffian. Interestingly, Yes It’s True only has one trace of Native Dancer in his pedigree, which comes through Shenanigans – the dam of Icecapade and Ruffian.

The dam of Our Amazing Rose, Just For You, is a daughter of Silver Deputy – a terrific broodmare sire. The son of Deputy Minister – a champion racehorse and broodmare sire – is the maternal grandsire of the likes of champion Groupie Doll, as well as the grade one-winning sires El Corredor and Roman Ruler and the additional graded stakes winners Miraculous Miss, Preachinatthebar, and Quiet Temper.

Just For You is a half-sister to the graded stakes-winning Minister’s Melody, who yielded the grade one-winning Bob and John. She is a granddaughter of the great broodmare Too Bald, a stakes-winning Reine De Course mare that was honored as Broodmare of the Year in 1986. Dam of five stakes winners, Too Bald’s most notable foals were the ill-fated, eleven-time grade/group one winner Exceller and champion Capote. Our Amazing Rose’s fourth and fifth dams – Hidden Talent and Dangerous Dame, respectively – are also Reine De Course mares.

Some paragraphs were drawn from my article "Stallion Feature: Yes It's True" from July 5, 2012

After the Auction: Ontology

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. “After the Auctions” 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.”

Few stallions in the Thoroughbred breeding industry have experienced recent success as immense as Tapit’s. The son of the late Pulpit has been tremendous as of late, siring a plethora of graded stakes winners and high-selling horses. Attracting many top mares, such as Havre de Grace and Zenyatta, he is among the most sought-after studs in the business.

Tapit
Photo by Terri Cage

To own an offspring of Tapit is to possess a jewel. Fortunately for Reddam Racing, LLC, they have a jewel in Ontology, a two-year-old son of Tapit. One of my selections at the OBS March Sale earlier this year due to the power he displayed in the breeze show, Ontology was privately purchased by Reddam Racing at that auction for the price of $210,000.

Ontology has raced twice and although he did not win either of those starts, he has proven himself as a talented individual, having already added black-type to his name. After a solid runner-up effort in his debut at Hollywood Park on June 22 behind Alpine Luck, Ontology returned three weeks later in the Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes, in which he faced six others. Tracking the pace from the inside, the chestnut colt remained along the rail, rallying well to miss victory by a half-length, finishing second to Alpine Luck yet again.

Although Ontology has yet to visit the winner’s circle, the colt has clearly displayed talent in the early stages of his career, already proving himself as a stakes-quality racehorse.

Pedigree Musings

Tapit was among the top five sires in North America in both 2011 and 2012 and has sired a multitude of grade one-winning millionaires, including Careless Jewel, Hansen, Joyful Victory, Stardom Bound, and Tapitsfly. Early on in his stud career, it seemed as if Tapit could only produce precocious juveniles and the occasional speedy sophomore rather than horses that could carry their brilliance beyond their three-year-old year. However, offspring like Joyful Victory, Tapitsfly, Tapizar, and Testa Matta – have disproved this theory, having captured grade/group ones at four years old or older.

Tapit is a son of the late Pulpit, a fantastic sire who has begat such grade one winners as Corinthian, Ice Box, Purge, Pyro, Rutherienne, Sky Mesa, Stroll, and Tapit himself. Pulpit is of course a son of the great A.P. Indy, the sire of nearly thirty grade one winners, including Bernardini, Flashing, Mineshaft, Little Belle, Music Note, and Rags to Riches. The A.P. Indy sire line from which Ontology descends has been highly successful, as A.P. Indy is also the sire of the additional productive studs Bernardini, Congrats, Malibu Moon, Mineshaft, and Stephen Got Even.

Ontology is the first foal out of the stakes-winning mare Shytoe Lafeet, who earned more than $330,000 on the track, to race. A daughter of 2000 Guineas (GI) champion King of Kings, Shytoe Lafeet allows Ontology to share his broodmare sire with the grade one-winning Regally Ready, as well as the additional graded/group stakes winners Alexandros, Channel Lady, and Shimraan. The Tapit/Northern Dancer sire line on which Ontology is bred is the same that has produced the grade one winners Laragh and Tapizar.

Through his dam, Ontology is a direct descendant of three Reine De Course mares: Up the Hill, Gentle Tryst, and Cinq a Sept. The latter, a winner of the Irish Oaks, also resides in the tail female line of the great Triple Crown champion Secretariat, in addition to the spectacular stallions Cure the Blues and Malibu Moon. The Up the Hill line is the same one that produced Preakness Stakes (GI) winner Elocutionist and two-time Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (GI) champion Alleged.

After the Auction: Stars Over The Sea

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. “After the Auctions” 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.”

In 2009, Sea the Stars took the world by storm, going undefeated as he captured all six of his starts that year – all of which were group ones. With victories in some of Europe’s most prestigious races – the 2000 Guineas (GI), Epsom Derby (GI), Eclipse Stakes (GI), International Stakes (GI), Irish Champion Stakes (GI), and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe (GI) – and just one loss on his race record, Sea the Stars’ short but brilliant career left him heralded as one of the greatest racehorses of all-time.

Sea the Stars entered stud in 2010 at Gilltown Stud in Ireland, with his first crop reaching the races this year. On July 22 at Ayr Racecourse in Scotland, Stars Over The Sea became his first winner. Last fall, this colt was among my selections for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, selling for $55,000 in the fourth session of the renowned auction.

Following a solid fourth-place effort in his career debut at Leicester Racecourse, Stars Over The Sea reared at the start of his second start at Haydock, which erased any chance he had when he was left a dozen lengths behind, thus leaving him to finish sixth of seven.

But the colt proved himself in his third start, facing just two other horses in a seven-furlong maiden on good to firm going at Ayr. After tracking the leader, Stars Over The Sea edged clear with a quarter-mile left to run, maintaining his advantage on the pair behind him as he coasted to a 3-length victory.

Pedigree Musings

Just having Sea the Stars as the sire indicates that Stars Over The Sea is the member of a royal family. But his sire is not the only strong suit in this young colt’s pedigree.

Sea the Stars is a son of the group one-winning Cape Cross, who has produced several notable horses, such as the champions Ouija Board and Seachange. This is the Danzig sire line, which has produced several horses that excelled as both runners and sires, including Anabaa, Chief’s Crown, Danehill, Danewin, Desert King, Exceed and Excel, Fastnet Rock, Flying Spur, Langfuhr, Polish Navy, Redoute’s Choice, War Chant, and War Front.

Perhaps the best asset of Sea the Stars’ ancestry is his dam, the great Urban Sea. Highweight older mare in France, Urban Sea was a group one winner as a racehorse, capturing one of the world’s most prestigious races: the Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe (GI). She is one of the most remarkable broodmares the world has seen, producing the likes of not only Sea the Stars, but also champion racehorse and sire Galileo, champion Urban Ocean, multiple group one winner Black Sam Bellamy, grade one-winning millionaire My Typhoon, group stakes winner All Too Beautiful, stakes winner and group one-placed Born to Sea, stakes winner Melikah, and group stakes-placed Cherry Hinton. 2001 Broodmare of the Year in both England and Ireland, Urban Sea has been denoted as a Reine De Course mare.

Urban Sea is sired by Miswaki, a recurrently terrific broodmare sire who has produced the dams of the grade/group one winners Dalakhani, Daylami, Landseer, and The Factor. Like herself, Urban Sea’s dam, Allegretta, is a Reine De Course mare, having also foaled the group one-winning King’s Best, the group stakes-winning Allez Les Trois, and the stakes-placed Turbaine. Her siblings, too, have proven to be top producers, as her sisters have produced two group one winners and her classic-winning brother, King’s Best, has sired numerous top-class racehorses, including the group one winners Dubai Surprise, Eishin Flash, Proclamation, Royal Diamond, Sajjhaa, and Workforce. Urban Sea hails from a strong female line, tracing back to the likes of the German Derby winner Asterblüte – a daughter of the Reine De Course mare and tremendous racehorse Aster. This makes Urban Sea a direct descendant of four additional Reine De Course mares.

Stars Over The Sea clearly inherits much strength from the top side of his pedigree, but his dam’s side is rather impressive as well. His dam, Exciting Times, has produced the grade one-winning Gorella, the stakes-winning, group one-placed Porto Santo, and the stakes-placed Thanks Again. Stars Over The Sea’s fourth dam, Crepellana, was a group one-winning champion who produced a pair of group one-placed runners. Through this tail female line, Stars Over The Sea is a direct descendant of numerous Reine De Course mares, including Fairy Gold, the dam of the Hall of Fame racehorse and sire Fair Play, Belmont Stakes winner Friar Rock, Ascot Gold Vase victor Golden Measure, and numerous other spectacular stakes winners and producers.