Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: Winning Impression, Necker Island, And Money Moves

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.

Pedigree analysis for the rest of the Kentucky Derby field can be found below.

Winning Impression
Paynter x Unbridled Sonya, by Unbridled's Song
Paynter is best known for his dramatic comeback from a life-threatening illness, but he was also a decorated two-turn runner. His biggest win came in the G1 Haskell Invitational Stakes at 1 1/8 miles, and he finished second in the 2012 Belmont Stakes. At age four, he turned in runner-up efforts in the G1 Awesome Again Stakes (1 1/8 miles) and G2 San Diego Handicap (1 1/16 miles).

He has an average progeny winning distance of 6.95 furlongs, putting him in the lower-mid pack among this year's Derby sires. His star runner is Knicks Go, who won the G1 Breeders' Futurity and finished second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, both at 1 1/16 miles. Lazy Daisy took the G2 Pocahontas Stakes at the same distance. Ms Peintour has arguably done the most to boost her sire's distance credentials, notching a win in the G3 Astra Stakes going 1 1/2 miles over the turf.

Winning Impression would be Paynter's first Derby starter.

Unbridled Sonya went one-for-nine during her racing career, graduating in her second start, a Belmont Park maiden special weight going 7 furlongs on the turf.

She is also the dam of Queen Arella, a 2-year-old of 2020 who became the first winner for sire Speightster when she took a 5 furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park. Unbridled Sonya was sold to continue her broodmare career in Korea at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.

Necker Island
Hard Spun x Jenny's Rocket, by Mr. Greeley
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 at 1 1/8 miles en route to finishing fourth in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.

Stonestreet Farm homebred Jenny's Rocket went winless in four career starts in South Florida, but she was never worse than third in any of those efforts, all of them around one turn.

The two foals to race out of Jenny's Rocket are both winners. Joining Necker Island is the Super Saver colt In the Loop, who won on debut in a six-furlong Gulfstream Park maiden special weight, and later won a waiver claiming race at Belmont Park at the same distance.

Money Moves
Candy Ride x Citizen Advocate, by Proud Citizen
Candy Ride was a turf star in his native Argentina, taking a pair of Group 1 races at a mile. He then moved to Southern California where he proved his mettle on both surfaces, winning the G1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles on the dirt, and the G2 American Handicap at 1 1/8 miles on the grass.

Those looking for Candy Ride's classic credentials as a sire need look no further than 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner, who finished third in the Kentucky Derby, and went on to win six G1 races, including the Breeders' Cup Classic and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes. Champion Shared Belief was also a Pacific Classic winner at the same distance as his sire. Game Winner ran a solid fifth in last year's Derby.

Citizen Advocate rolled off a diverse four-race winning streak as a 2-year-old, breaking her maiden at six furlongs on the dirt, then taking the Catcharisingstar Stakes over five furlongs on the turf at Calder Race Course. She then won at 6 furlongs over the all-weather Tapeta at Presque Isle Downs before shipping to Delta Downs to win the My Trusty Cat Stakes over 7 furlongs.

She never won again, but she finished second or third in five additional stakes races in Florida and Louisiana, highlighted by a runner-up effort in the G3 Azalea Stakes at 6 furlongs. Her longest black-type earning effort came at 7 1/2 furlongs over the turf.

Money Moves is the second starter out of Citizen Advocate, joining Remarqued, a daughter of Arch who was a maiden special weight winner at Saratoga, going 1 mile on the turf.

The post Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: Winning Impression, Necker Island, And Money Moves appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: Max Player, Enforceable, Major Fed, And Mr. Big News

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.

Max Player
Honor Code x Fools In Love, by Not For Love
Honor Code has strong credentials around two turns, winning the 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Remsen Stakes at age two, then earning champion older male honors at age four with a campaign including a score in the G1 Whitney Stakes, also at 1 1/2 miles. Honor Code's championship season also included wins at 1 mile in the G1 Metropolitan Handicap and G1 Gulfstream Park Handicap. He is a son of A.P. Indy, who is one of the modern breed's bedrocks for distance runners.

Honor Code's runners post an average winning distance of 7.29 furlongs, which is a strong number for a sire with his first crop of 3-year-olds. He'll have two colts pointing toward this year's Kentucky Derby, with Honor A. P. having won the G1 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles and Max Player winning the G3 Withers Stakes at the same distance. Max Player is also placed at the Derby distance, having run third in the G1 Travers Stakes in August.

Fools in Love was a stakes-level horse on the East Coast for most of her racing career, but her lone win in stakes competition came in the 7 furlong Orleans Stakes at Delta Downs. A versatile runner, Fools in Love won at distances ranging from 5 furlongs to 1 1/16 miles.

Her resume continued to be strong when she transitioned from the racetrack to the foaling barn, consistently producing black type runners. She is the dam of the Scat Daddy colt Seahenge, a British Group 2 winner at 7 furlongs who now stands at stud in France and Argentina.

Other runners of note out of Fools in Love include Urban Bourbon, a City Zip gelding who is Grade 3-placed at 7 1/2 furlongs over the turf and was a multiple winner at 1 1/16 miles on the same surface. Frank's Folly, by Mineshaft, is stakes-placed and a multiple winner at 1 1/16 miles, while the Exchange Rate gelding Exchequer was a multi-surface claiming winner beyond a mile.

Enforceable
Tapit x Justwhistledixie, by Dixie Union
Tapit won the G3 Laurel Futurity as a juvenile going 1 1/16 miles, then came back at three to take the G1 Wood Memorial Stakes at 1 1/8 miles before running in the 2004 Kentucky Derby.

After he retired to stud, Tapit ascended to become perennial leader on the North American sire lists, both in on-track earnings and auction returns. He has sired three Belmont Stakes winners – Tonalist, Creator, and Tapwrit – while classic-placed Frosted became a prominent figure in the handicap division. His average progeny winning distance of 7.65 furlongs is among the leaders for this year's class of Derby sires.

Justwhistledixie has been a versatile star, both on the racetrack and in her broodmare career. She won the G2 Bonnie Miss Stakes over 1 1/8 miles on the main track at Gulfstream Park, preceded by a one-mile score in the G2 Davona Dale Stakes at the same track. She was also a non-graded stakes winner at 6 and 7 furlongs.

Enforceable would be Justwhistledixie's second Derby starter, following in the footsteps of his full-brother Mohaymen. After bringing $2.2 million as a yearling, Mohaymen won his first five starts: a 6 furlong maiden special weight at Belmont Park; the G2 Nashua Stakes (one mile); the G2 Remsen Stakes (1 1/8 miles); the G2 Holy Bull Stakes (1 1/16 miles); and the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes (1 1/16 miles). He went on to finish fourth in the Kentucky Derby, and now stands at Shadwell Farm in Kentucky.

The Tapit/Justwhistledixie cross has also produced Kingly, who won the G3 La Jolla Handicap over 1 1/16 miles on the turf, and the non-graded California Derby at the same distance over the synthetic Tapeta Footings surface of Golden Gate Fields.

However, the biggest winner to date out of Justwhistledixie is New Year's Day, a son of Street Cry who took the 2013 Breeders' Cup Juvenile at 1 1/16 miles and went on to sire champion 3-year-old Maximum Security.

Major Fed
Ghostzapper x Bobby's Babe, by Smart Strike
Ghostzapper was a force of nature on the racetrack, earning a diverse catalog of wins at the highest level, from the G1 Vosburgh Stakes at 6 ½ furlongs to the 1 1/4-mile Breeders' Cup Classic. Between those two extremes, he won at 1 1/16 miles in the G1 Woodward Stakes and G3 Philip H. Iselin Breeders' Cup Handicap, at 1 mile in the Metropolitan Handicap, and at 7 furlongs in the G2 Tom Fool Handicap.

He's proven able to get high-caliber runners at either the sprint or route distance at stud, with his two-turn stars including Shaman Ghost, who is a Grade 1 winner at 1 1/4 miles, and Moreno, who won the G1 Whitney Handicap at 1 1/8 miles and ran second in the G1 Travers Stakes at the classic distance. On the shorter side of the equation, he has sired champion female sprinter Judy the Beauty; Paulassilverlining, who was a finalist in the same category. Guarana, a finalist for champion 3-year-old filly last year, is a Grade 1 winner at both 1 1/8 miles and 7 furlongs, with another one in between at a mile.

Ghostzapper's Kentucky Derby runners include Stately Victor, who won the G1 Blue Grass Stakes at 1 1/8 miles before running eighth in the 2010 Derby; and McCraken, who also ran eighth in 2017 and was a three-time graded stakes winner at 1 1/16 miles.

Bobby's Babe broke her maiden on debut at age three, going 6 furlongs over the Polytrack at Turfway Park. She never won again in her 11 career starts, but she finished second by a nose in a one-mile turf race at Kentucky Downs.

She has four earners of six figures under her produce record, led by May Lily, a turf sprint specialist by Broken Vow who won the Kentucky Downs Preview Ladies Sprint Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs. Zapperini, a full-brother to Major Fed, took it in the opposite direction, finishing second in last year's G3 John B. Connally Turf Cup Stakes going 1 1/2 miles. Clairenation, by Bernstein, went on a four-race winning streak of turf sprints between five and 5 1/2 furlongs.

Mr. Big News
Giant's Causeway x Unappeased, by Galileo
Giant's Causeway was one of the greatest runners of his generation on a global scale, earning Europe's Horse of the Year honors in 2000.

He was a Group 1 turf winner at distances ranging from 7 furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, racking up victories in the French G1 Prix de la Salamandre at seven panels, the English G1 St. James's Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes at 1 mile, and the G1 Coral-Eclipse Stakes and Irish Champion Stakes at 1 1/4 miles. Giant's Causeway stretched out even further to win the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes at 10 furlongs and 56 yards.

In his final start, Giant's Causeway showed elite class and distance ability on the dirt, finishing second by a neck to Tiznow in the 1 1/4-mile Breeders' Cup Classic at Churchill Downs.

Giant's Causeway was North America's leading sire in 2009, 2011, and 2012, with a broad cross-section of successful runners across distance, surface, and international borders. One of the few boxes left to check on his stallion resume is siring a U.S. classic winner, but he's gotten classic winners elsewhere with Footstepsinthesand in the English 2,000 Guineas, Shamardal in the French 2,000 Guineas, and Mike Fox Canada's Queen's Plate.

Giant's Causeway has sent eight runners to post in the Kentucky Derby, with his best finish being a fifth by Creative Cause in 2012. Other Giant's Causeway runners to start in the Derby include Destin (6th, 2016); Brody's Cause (7th, 2016); Carpe Diem (10th, 2015); Santiva (6th, 2011); Hold Me Back (12th, 2009); Cowboy Cal (9th, 2008); and Noble Causeway (14th, 2005).

Unappeased, by another all-world sire in Galileo, went winless in six career starts Japan. Her best performance was a runner-up effort going about 7 furlongs over a sloppy main track.

The mare comes from a strong extended family that includes Canadian Horse of the Year Glorious Song, U.S. champion juvenile Devil's Bag, and top global runner Sligo Bay.

Unappeased is the dam of two other runners including Lalibela, a full-sister to Mr. Big News who won on debut in a Gulfstream Park maiden special weight, going a mile and an eighth on the turf. Untouch, by Speightstown, raced just once, finishing out of the money in a Belmont Park maiden special weight at 1 1/16 miles on the grass.

The post Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: Max Player, Enforceable, Major Fed, And Mr. Big News appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: Storm The Court, Attachment Rate, And Sole Volante

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.

Source of original post

Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: King Guillermo, Thousand Words, And South Bend

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.

King Guillermo
Uncle Mo x Slow Sand, by Dixieland Band
Uncle Mo is one of two members in this year's class of Kentucky Derby sires to have already sired a Derby winner, with champion Nyquist taking the prize in 2016. Nyquist also reeled off wins in the G1 Florida Derby (1 1/8 miles) and Breeders' Cup Juvenile (1 1/16 miles) as the flagbearer of Uncle Mo's record-setting first crop.

That group also included Outwork, who won the G1 Wood Memorial Stakes at 1 1/8 miles en route to a Derby start. Mo Tom also ran in that year's Derby with a win in the G3 LeComte Stakes at 1 mile 70 yards under his belt. Uncle Mo's runners post an average winning distance of 7.41 furlongs, which is in the upper half of this year's Derby sires.

Uncle Mo was named champion 2-year-old male of 2010 with Grade 1 wins in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (1 1/16 miles) and Champagne Stakes (1 mile). He came back at three to win the G2 Kelso Handicap at 1 mile.

Slow Sand, a product of the globally-known Wertheimer and Frere breeding program, went unplaced in two career starts, one coming at 7 furlongs on the dirt and the other at 1 mile on the turf.

As a broodmare, Slow Sand has visited a global variety of stallions, with the most successful outcome besides King Guillermo being Dorothy B, a Fastnet Rock filly who is stakes-placed in England over 6 furlongs. Northern Star, by Montjeu, was also a winner in England at 1 1/8 miles. Slow Sand's biggest distance standout is Snan, a son of High Chaparral who was a two-time English winner at 1 3/4 miles.

Thousand Words
Pioneerof the Nile x Pomeroy's Pistol, by Pomeroy
Pioneerof the Nile is the sire of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah, more than proving his ability to sire a horse capable of winning a classic.

The sire nearly gained another classic winner in 2017 when Classic Empire finished a narrow second in the Preakness Stakes. Prior to that race, Classic Empire took home champion 2-year-old male honors with Grade 1 two-turn wins in the Breeders' Futurity and Breeders' Cup Juvenile, then he came back at three to win the G1 Arkansas Derby at 1 1/8 miles. Pioneerof the Nile had another classic-placed runner in Social Inclusion, who finished third in the 2014 Preakness Stakes and was an allowance winner at 1 1/16 miles.

Pioneerof the Nile narrowly missed Kentucky Derby glory on his own right, having finished second to Mine That Bird in the 2009 edition. He entered the race on a four-race winning streak capped off by the G1 Santa Anita Derby at 1 1/8 miles. He also tallied wins at 1 1/16 miles in the G1 CashCall Futurity, and the G2 Robert B. Lewis Stakes and San Felipe Stakes.

Pomeroy's Pistol was a star sprinter, with three graded stakes wins between 6 and 7 furlongs. She stretched out to 1 mile to finish third in the G2 Davona Dale Stakes.

Thousand Words is by far the most successful of the two winners from three runners out of Pomeroys Pistol. The other winner is Moon Pistol, a Malibu Moon gelding who graduated in a Gulfstream Park West maiden claimer going 6 furlongs on the main track. Sweet Pistol, by Smart Strike, went unplaced in two career starts, one each on dirt and turf, both at 1 1/16 miles.

South Bend
Algorithms x Sandra's Rose, by Old Trieste
Algorithms went a perfect three-for-three in a racing career cut short by injury. He won on debut in a Belmont Park maiden special weight at 5 furlongs, then finished his juvenile season in the Gulfstream Park winner's circle, following a 6 1/2-furlong allowance optional claiming race. At three, he won the G3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream, going 1 mile.

His best runners at stud have typically been sprinters, as evidenced by his average progeny winning distance of 6.73 furlongs. However, his best runner to date, Math Wizard, took the G1 Pennsylvania Derby at 1 1/8 miles. As for his other graded stakes winners, Recruiting Ready took the G3 Gulfstream Park Sprint Stakes at 6 furlongs, while Rich Mommy won the G3 Sugar Swirl Stakes at the same distance.

Sandra's Rose was an imposing turf sprinter on the West Coast, notching a win in the 5 1/2-furlong Tulza Stakes, and hitting the board in the G3 Senator Ken Maddy Handicap and Las Cinegas Handicap, both at 6 ½ furlongs. Though her most notable efforts came around one turn, she also nosed out a maiden special weight victory at 1 1/8 miles over the Santa Anita turf.

A veteran broodmare, Sandra's Rose has produced one other six-figure earner in North America: He's the Reason, by The Factor. The gelding is a multiple stakes winner in British Columbia, going as far as 1 1/8 miles.

Rose Essence, by Speightstown, earned her lone victory in her 15th career start when she won a 6 1/2-furlong Charles Town maiden special weight. Baroness Rose, by Curlin, won twice on the turf, once at 1 mile and another at 7 1/2 furlongs. The Dixie Union gelding Rose Junction won on debut as a juvenile, taking a 5 furlong Belmont Park maiden special weight, while the Eskendereya filly Eskenforandreya earned her lone career victory over 1 mile on the all-weather Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields.

Though she'll have a Derby starter, the most successful runner to date out of Sandra's Rose might be Anichkov Most, a son of Awesome Again who became a top runner in Russia. His exploits include back-to-back wins in the G1 N.N. Nashibov Cup at the classic 1 1/4-mile distance, along with victories in the G3 Season Opening Stakes and Season Closing Stakes, both at 9 furlongs.

The post Kentucky Derby Pedigree Corner: King Guillermo, Thousand Words, And South Bend appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post