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In addition to the spectacular victory of Quality Road in the Metropolitan Handicap (gr. I), there was considerable other Memorial Day Weekend action of note. There is no doubt that Quality Road heads the older males, but the weekend also saw another older runner advance her claims to divisional leadership. This was Tuscan Evening (TrueNicks A++) who took her record to the year to five-for-five, by defeating Forever Together – Champion Turf Mare of 2008 – to take her first grade I triumph in the Gamely Handicap (gr. I).

A 4,500 gns. purchase at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales, Tuscan Evening is the a member of the first crop of Oasis Dream, a stallion whose rise to the top has been every bit as dramatic, if somewhat more predictable, than that of Tuscan Evening. With three crops, three aged three-years-old or up, Oasis Dream has already been represented by 29 stakes winners – including two weekend scorers in England, both out of Selkirk mares – and 19 group or graded, with Tuscan Evening joining Midday, Aqlaam, Arcano, Querar, and Naaqoos as scorers at the highest level. Given that Oaisis Dream was a sprint specialist, it’s interesting to note that Midday, Tuscan Evening, and Querari have all scored at ten furlongs or more.

There is plenty of stamina in the pedigree of Tuscan Evenings’s dam, the Park Hill Stakes (gr. II) second The Faraway Tree, whose sire, Suave Dancer, and broodmare sire, Sassafras, both won the French Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. The Faraway Tree is herself a half sister to Prix d’Ispahan (gr. I) victor Sasuru; to Sally Rous, who took the Challenge Stakes (gr. II) and Jersey Stakes (gr. III); and to listed winners Sossus Vlei and Little Bean. Another half sister to The Faraway Tree, Krisalya, is dam of the French 1,000 Guineas (gr. I) victress Rose Gypsy, a daughter of Oasis Dream’s sire, Green Desert.

Storm Cat’s son Stormin Fever (TrueNicks,SRO), who started in Kentucky, but who is now at Golden Eagle Farm in California had smart three-year-old filly Biofuel win a stakes in Canada last weekend, and this weekend he was represented by Check the Label (TrueNicks A++), who took Sands Point Stakes (gr. II). She is out of a mare by Mazel Trick, and is the second stakes winner by Stormin Fever out of a Phone Trick line mare. There is an interesting background to this nick. Storm Cat did well with mares carrying Damsascus, who went back in male-line to Sun Again (by a son of Teddy, and tail-female to the mare The Apple). Stormin Fever doesn’t have Damascus, but does go back in tail-female line to Escutcheon, who is by a son of Teddy, and going back to The Apple through her dam, Affection (granddam of Sun Again). Enter Phone Trick, who is out of Last Wave, a mare by Finnegan (dam by Bull Lea, by a son of Teddy – Bull Dog, the brother to Sir Gallahad III, sire of Escutcheon – going back to The Apple) and who goes back to The Apple herself (she is 3 x 4 to The Apple’s granddaughter, Colonial). Finally, in Mazel Trick, we have Dewan, whose dam, Sunshine Nell, is by Sun Again (Teddy sire line, The Apple female line), and is half sister to the dam of Finnegan (back to The Apple again). For those who want to really find something out, dig back into the pedigree of Crimson Satan, and the mare Papalona. She has inbreeding to a stallion called St. Mirin (the great English jockey Fred Archer shot himself while in a fever caused by wasting down to the weight to ride him in the Cambridgeshire Handicap). Compare him to The Apple. Now contemplate why Storm Cat’s close relative, Royal Academy, sired a number of stakes winners with mares carrying Honeyway.

Back to less esoteric material, we can note that another Storm Cat line horse, Harlan's Holiday (TrueNicks,SRO), had a weekend stakes double. The speedy Riley Tucker (TrueNicks A++) has looked overdue for a stakes win, and he collected in the Aristides Stakes (gr. III). He has a pedigree that is a good nick from several aspects. His TrueNicks rating is based on Harlan/Bold Ruler, but he’s out of a Bold Ruckus mare, and that strain has been excellent with Storm Cat in general (another weekend stakes winner on the cross was Heart Ashley, by Lion Heart out of a Beau Genius mare). Bold Ruckus is by Boldnesian, who is from the same sire line and female line as Harlan’s Holiday’s granddam. The second dam is by Secretariat, from the family that also produced D’Accord, and there is a graded winner by Harlan’s Holiday’s sire, Harlan, out of a mare by D’Accord. Harlan’s Holiday’s other stakes winner was Choragus (TrueNick A++), out of a mare by Bet Big from the Never Bend line, who took the Wild Rose Stakes. Another Harlan son, Menifee, was represented by Just Jenda, who took the Monmouth Beach Stakes. She’s a parallel pattern horse as Harlan is Northern Dancer/Halo, as is her broodmare sire, Pine Bluff.

Still with Storm Cat/Halo, South African sire Mogok (by Storm Cat out of Coup de Folie, a Halo daughter who is also dam of Machievellian), was represented by Gypsy’s Warning, a South African grade I winner who took the Eatontown Handicap (gr. III). The broodmare sire is Royal Chalice (from the European Relko line), but the second dam, Sara’s Warning, is U.S. bred, by Caveat, who is by Cannonade (granddam Cosmah a half sister to Halo and half sister to the dam of Northern Dancer, both in Mogok), out of a mare by Dancer’s Image (reverse Native Dancer/Nearco cross to Northern Dancer). Talking of Machiavellian, reminds us that his son, Street Cry (IRE) (TrueNicks,SRO) , also had a weekend grade I winner, the Shoemaker Mile (gr. I) victor, Victor’s Cry. He’s TrueNicks B+ and out of a Clever Trick mare from a Chilean family.

We’ve given a call to Mineshaft (TrueNicks,SRO) as a value-for-money sire a couple of times in this column, and he also had a weekend double. His son Redding Colliery – noted in this column as one to watch when running in Dubai last year – gained a first stakes win in the Lone Star Park Handicap (gr. II). He’s out of a mare by the Nureyev horse Zilzal and has the genetic relatives Raise a Native and Restless Native 4 x 3. Mineshaft’s other weekend black-type scorer was Bonnie Blue Flag (out of a Dixieland Band mare, with a second dam by Miswaki, and inbred 3 x 4 to Mr. Prospector) in the Cinemine Stakes.

Bred on the same A.P. Indy/Mr. Prospector cross as Mineshaft is Pulpit (TrueNicks,SRO). He had a weekend graded winner with Mr. Prospector inbreeding when Ailalea (TrueNicks A++), out of a mare by Woodman, won the Dogwood Stakes (gr. III). Pulpit’s son, Essence of Dubai, also scored with Dubai Majesty (TrueNicks A++, and out of a Great Above mare) in the Winning Colors Stakes (gr. III).

On the young stallion front, we can also note another new stakes winner for Empire Maker (TrueNicks,SRO), when four-year-old Country Flavor took the Hanshin Cup (gr. III). He’s the third graded winner from Empire Maker’s second crop, and he’s also had five at graded level from his first crop, with Acting Happy, being a graded winner from his third crop. Country Flavor (TrueNicks A+) is out of the talented Coronado’s Quest mare Allspice, and so is a Mr. Prospector/Northern Dancer parallel pattern. Speightstown (TrueNicks,SRO) who is a crop year behind Empire Maker, continues to rattle out the stakes winners. He was represented at the weekend by Mother Ruth, the twelfth stakes winner from his first crop (six graded, two grade I). The Valid Expectations Stakes winner is out of a mare by Colonial Affair, whose dam is by Nijinsky II out of a mare by Raise a Native, a reverse cross to Speightstown (Raise a Native/Storm Bird).

Two stallions with some pedigree similarities, King Cugat (by Kingmambo, by Mr. Prospector, out of a Majestic Light mare, who is a half sister to Seeking the Gold) and Petionville (TrueNicks,SRO) (by Seeking the Gold, a Mr. Prospector half brother to the dam of King Cugat, and out of a granddaughter of Majestic Light) both scored weekend graded winners. King Cugat’s Mambo Meister won the Memorial Day Handicap (gr. III) at Calder. He’s out of a mare by Desert Secret (by Sadler’s Wells) so represents another manifestation of the Kingmambo/Sadler’s Wells cross. Hour Glass, who won the Vagrancy Handicap (gr. II) is out of a mare by Tale of the Cat (so is inbred 3 x 4 to Mr. Prospector), and is the fourth stakes winner by Petionville out of a mare by Storm Cat or a son (two others out of mares by Storm Boot, the same Storm Cat/Mr. Prospector cross as Tale of the Cat).

Filed under: Recent Winners