Each day of Kentucky Derby week, we'll take a look at the pedigrees of some Derby contenders and how those pedigrees might factor into their ability to succeed at 1 1/4 miles.
Storm the Court
Court Vision x My Tejana Storm, by Tejano Run
Court Vision had no trouble getting the distance over dirt or turf. On the main track, he took the G2 Remsen Stakes (1 1/8 miles) and the G3 Iroquois Stakes (1 1/16 miles). After finishing 13th in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, he was moved to the turf, where he finished the year with a win at 10 furlongs in the G1 Hollywood Derby and one at 1 1/8 miles in the G2 Jamaica Handicap. He then became a star turf miler, taking home Grade 1 wins in the Breeders' Cup Mile, Woodbine Mile Stakes, and Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes.
Storm the Court, the winner of last year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile and champion 2-year-old male, is one of two graded stakes winners by Court Vision. The other is Mr. Havercamp, who is a Grade 2 winner at 7 furlongs and 1 1/16 miles, as well as a Grade 3 winner at 1 mile, all on the turf. His runners also include Canadian champion King and His Court, who is a stakes winner at 9 furlongs over Woodbine's all-weather main track, and finished third in the third leg of Canada's Triple Crown, the 1 1/2-mile Breeders' Stakes.
Despite having several examples to prove he can sire a distance runner, Court Vision's average progeny winning distance of 6.89 furlongs puts him in the lower half among this year's Derby sires.
My Tejana Storm spent her entire career racing at Philadelphia Park, where she won three times around one turn, once on the turf and twice on dirt.
Save for the Eclipse Award winner, My Tejana Storm's most successful runner is the U S Ranger filly Belleoftheprairie, who earned six figures as a multi-surface runner, excelling at the 5 furlong distance. He's Great, by Greatness, is a five-time winner racing exclusively at Charles Town, where those wins came between 4 1/2 and 7 furlongs. What a Wicked Game, by Tizway, went unplaced in seven starts in New Mexico.
Attachment Rate
Hard Spun x Aristra, by Afleet Alex
Hard Spun finished second in his own Kentucky Derby try in 2007, but he proved himself to be a versatile runner, taking the G1 King's Bishop Stakes at 7 furlongs and the G2 Lane's End Stakes and Kentucky Cup Classic Stakes at 1 1/8 miles. He also finished second in the Breeders' Cup Classic at 1 1/4 miles.
His own foals post an average winning distance of 7.64 furlongs, which is near the top of the list for this year's Derby sires. His most notable runner on the classic stage is Wicked Strong, who won the G1 Wood Memorial Stakes 1 1/8 miles en route to finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
Aristra won one of six starts racing in New Mexico and Pennsylvania, graduating in a Penn National maiden claimer in her final start, going 1 mile 70 yards on the main track. She was claimed for $5,000 that day.
Attachment Rate is her lone six-figure earner, having run second in the Ellis Park Derby (1 1/8 miles) and Unbridled Stakes (1 1/16 miles), and third in the G3 Gotham Stakes (1 mile). Aristra's next-best runner is Talk Less, a son of Blame who is a three-time winner in Ohio, all at distances at or near a mile. Arkadag, by Union Rags, is a two-time claiming winner at Laurel Park at 7 furlongs and 1 1/16 miles, both on the dirt. Rounding out the group is Base Jumper, a son of Arch who won twice at Finger Lakes, both at 1 mile 70 yards.
How did a nickel claimer get into the books of such high-end stallions? Aristra is a half-sister to four graded stakes producers, including the dams of champion Caledonia Road, Grade 1 winners Hymn Book and Data Link, and Grade 3 winner Strike The Bell.
Sole Volante
Karakontie x Light Blow, by Kingmambo
Karakontie, a Japanese-born homebred for the Niarchos family's Flaxman Holdings Ltd., spent most of his career racing in Europe. At two, he took the French G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère and Prix La Rochette, both at 7 furlongs. He came back at three to win the French 2000 Guineas at 1 mile, and he finished that season with a victory in the Breeders' Cup Mile.
Sole Volante is a member of Karakontie's first crop of runners. However, the sire's average progeny winning distance of 7.34 furlongs is an excellent number for a rookie stallion at this point in the season.
Beyond Sole Volante, Karakonte's top runners include Kenzai Warrior, an English Group 3 winner at seven furlongs; multiple turf sprint stakes winner Karak; and Ketil, who is multiple Group 3-placed in France at 1 1/2 miles or longer.
Light Blow, also a Niarchos homebred, won once at an eye-popping 1 7/8 miles during a short racing career in England. She also ran second at about 1 1/4 miles on debut.
She has lived up to the lofty expectations of the Niarchos program as a broodmare. Sole Volante is her top earner, but she has already had an elite 3-year-old in Explode, a son of Trappe Shot who was a Sovereign Award finalist in 2019 off a campaign that featured wins in the G3 Canadian Derby at the classic distance. He went even further to finish third in the G3 BC Premier's Handicap at 1 3/8 miles.
Light Blow is also the dam of Light of Joy, by Kitten's Joy, who was stakes-placed in England at 1 1/2 miles.
The post Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: Storm The Court, Attachment Rate, And Sole Volante appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
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