Forest Music, a cornerstone of the Stonestreet Farm racing and breeding program, has died at age 20, the operation announced Friday on social media.
The Unbridled's Song mare was a vanguard for Stonestreet, as the first graded stakes winner for an operation that is now a regular producer of graded success on the racetrack and the breeding shed.
Forest Music initially raced for owner Michael Gill, who campaigned her to a victory in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness Stakes, a pair of non-graded stakes scores, and third-place efforts in the G1 Prioress Stakes and G1 Test Stakes.
She was purchased privately by Stonestreet in the summer of her 4-year-old season and placed in the barn of trainer Steve Asmussen. Her first start under her new ownership came in the G2 Honorable Miss Handicap at Saratoga, and her two-length victory marked the first graded stakes win for Stonestreet Stables as an owner.
Forest Music raced two more times for Stonestreet Stables before retiring with six wins in 18 starts for earnings of $370,566.
The mare's impact was just as immediate for the Stonestreet operation once she entered the breeding shed. Her first foal was the Distorted Humor colt Maclean's Music, whose lone start was such an eye-popping triumph, it earned him a spot in the stallion barn at Hill 'n' Dale Farms in Kentucky. Maclean's Music sired Preakness Stakes winner Cloud Computing from his first crop at stud.
Other runners of note produced by Forest Music include Grade 3 winners Kentuckian (by Tiznow), Electric Forest (by Curlin), and Uncle Chuck (by Uncle Mo).
After the early success of Maclean's Music, Forest Music's foals became sought after in the auction ring. Sonoma County (by Street Cry) brought $1.2 million as a yearling in the months following Maclean's Music's maiden score. In 2015, Senor Jobim, a full-brother to Maclean's Music, brought $1,525,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Between those seven-figure horses, Kentuckian brought $610,000 as a yearling.
Forest Music had two surviving fillies. Electric Forest is currently a member of the Stonestreet broodmare band. Equineline reports show that Forest Music had her final foal, a filly by Bernardini, on Jan. 25 of this year.
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The post Forest Music, Dam Of Maclean’s Music, Dies At Age 20 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
