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The Wertheimer family have been breeding and racing thoroughbreds for very nearly 100 years – the first winner to carry the now famous blue and white colors was in 1911. In recent times they have enjoyed success with long held families such as that of Glaneuse, fourth dam of last year’s Eclipse Award winner and World Champion Goldikova, and Green Valley, dam of classic winner and outstanding sire, Green Dancer, and Champion Okawango.
 
However, they have also carefully and selectively visited the market-place to purchase mares that are almost always from particularly strong foundation families – the most high-profile example being last year’s Keeneland November Sale topper Honest Pursuit, out of Honest Lady, a grade I winning and producing daughter of the super-producer Toussaud. This is a policy that has paid considerable dividends over the years. To give but one example, Soundings, by Mr. Prospector out of a three-parts-sister to Storm Bird, produce classic winner Green Tune and Champion Pas de Reponse. Moving to the current season year the policy has produced three talented three-year-old colts in Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) second Setsuko (becoming something of a “wise-guy” horse for the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) if he makes the line up on graded earnings), who is out of Dance With Grace, from an excellent John C. Mabee family; Interactif, one of the top U.S. turf two-year-olds last year, and a strong-closing runner-up to Sidney’s Candy in the San Felipe  S. (gr. II), who is out of Broad Pennant, a grand-daughter of Personal Ensign; and Exhi, who is out of Soldera, a whose second dam is Northern Dancer’s most important daughter, Fanfreluche.
 
Exhi has really come good since switching to all-weather surfaces, leading virtually throughout in both the Rushway Stakes, and at the weekend the Coolmore Lexington Stakes (gr. II). Exhi (TrueNicks A) is the second foal of the dam, a Polish Numbers mare who – in addition to being a grand-daughter of Fanfreluche – was an accomplished racemare, winning two listed races in England, and running third in the Windsor Forest Stakes (gr. II), and fourth in the Pretty Polly Stakes (gr. II). Maria’s Mon was selected as a mate for Soldera as he’d not only started to do well over Northern Dancer (including a stakes winner out of a mare by Danzig – he now has five stakes winners out of Danzig line mares), but more particularly because in the third generation there are two daughters of Buckpasser – Uncommitted and Numbered Account – who are inbred to La Troienne.
 
On the same card, Exhi’s victory was preceded by another black-type score for the Wertheimer colors, when West Ocean won the Giant’s Causeway Stakes over 5½ furlongs in a new stakes record. The four-year-old had broken a course record when winning a stakes at Fair Grounds last out. Rated TrueNicks A++, West Ocean is bred on a Pedigree Consultants recommended mating for client Sybon Racing Stable LLC, and is by Elusive Quality (TrueNicks,SRO) out of the multiple graded stakes winning Belong to Me (TrueNicks,SRO) mare, Ocean Drive, and is the third stakes winner by Gone West or a son out of a Belong to Me mare.