Derby Dreamin'
Written by Alan Porter 1 | Dec 01, 2009 |
6 Comments
Tragically, Horse of the Year Saint Liam died after serving only a year at stud. The offspring of this late-developer where not expected to be precocious, but with his first crop two-year-olds of 2009 he has at least one horse who might extend his legacy.
This is Buddy’s Saint, who has stamped himself as a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I), by following a 12-length score in the Nashua Stakes (gr. II) with a 4 ¾ lengths romp in the Remsen Stakes (gr. II).
Buddy’s Saint is out of Tuzia, a Blushing John daughter who won the Nastique Stakes, and took second in the Personal Ensign Stakes (gr. I). She has something of a classic background, as in addition being by a winner of the French 2,000 Guineas (gr. I), she is half-sister to Midway Road, a multiple graded stakes winner who also took second in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I). Tuzia’s dam, Fleet Road, a stakes winning daughter of the Northern Dancer horse, Magesterial, was a stakes winner herself, and produced three other stakes winners. Her dam, Fleet Fashion, is half-sister to High View Fashion, the granddam of the excellent filly, Island Fashion. With Saint Liam winning a Breeders’ Cup Classic (gr. I) and finishing third in that event, and also winning a Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. I), allied to this stout family, the Derby trip should hold no terrors for Buddy’s Saint.
In general, the Halo/Blushing Groom cross has not been a productive one, but the specific version that produced Buddy’s Saint – Halo line stallions over Blushing John mares – yields an
A++ TrueNicks rating, having produced three stakes winners. Perhaps the key is that Blushing John is out of a mare by Prince John, a half-brother to the dam of Halo’s broodmare sire, Cosmic Bomb. We can also note that Saint Liam’s second dam is by a son of Northern Dancer out of a mare by Misty Flight, where Tuzia’s dam, Fleet Road, is by a son of Northern Dancer out of a mare by Bold Lad (dam a sister to Misty Flight).
Another colt who advanced his classic claims at the weekend was Super Saver, who captured the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) by five lengths. A son of Maria’s Mon, who also died way too soon, Super Saver also has a pedigree that suggests improvement with time and distance. His dam, Supercharger, a daughter of
A.P. Indy (
TrueNicks,
SRO), is a sister to graded stakes winners Daydreaming, Girolamo and Accelerator, and also to the dam of Kentucky Derby (gr. I) runner-up Bluegrass Cat. The second dam, Get Lucky, is a graded stakes winning sister to Champion Two-Year-Old and Travers Stakes (gr. I) winner, Rhythm. This is the Numbered Account branch of the La Troienne family. TrueNicks rated
A++ Super Saver follows Champion Wait A While as a product of the Maria’s Mon/A.P. Indy cross. At the top and bottom of the pedigree both Maria’s Mon’s sire, Wavering Monarch, and Get Lucky combine Raise a Native and Buckpasser.