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Background Check: Personal Ensign

In this continuing series, we examine the past winners of significant filly/mare races by the lasting influence they've had on the breed. Up today is Saratoga's GI Personal Ensign S., renamed in 1998 to honor the undefeated Hall of Fame Phipps mare.

Originally known as the Firenze H. and then the John A. Morris H., the Personal Ensign dates to 1948. While members of the Phipps family have won six editions of the race which now holds one of the greatest names associated with the stable, Personal Ensign never actually ran in the contest.

In 1987, when the great mare was three, she had not yet returned to the races from a broken pastern bone in her left rear leg sustained as a juvenile. That year's race was run on Aug. 30; Personal Ensign would not come back until a week later in a Belmont allowance, her first start in nearly 11 months. The race would also miss the champion's dance card in 1988, but for a very different reason. She was fresh off a win over males in the GI Whitney S. just three weeks prior.

The transcendent mare's champion granddaughter, Storm Flag Flying (Storm Cat), did win the Personal Ensign S. in 2004. Like her legendary granddam, she was a Phipps homebred raised at Claiborne Farm and trained by Shug McGaughey.

Not only was Personal Ensign an unblemished champion on the racetrack, she also was named Broodmare of the Year in 1996. She produced one champion, three Grade I winners, and a dynasty through her daughters that is still churning out major winners today, including 2023's GISW Arabian Lion (Justify), who is set to run in Saturday's GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S., and GSW Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro).

Following are highlights of some of the most important Personal Ensign winners by what impact they've had on the sport through their sons and daughters.

Cavorting (2012, Bernardini–Promenade Girl, by Carson City), bred by Swettenham Stud: A mare this young with two stakes winners to her name wouldn't normally make a list of matriarchs, but one of her foals is Clairiere (Curlin), a four-time GISW and 5-2 morning-line second choice in this year's Personal Ensign.

Heavenly Prize (1991, Seeking the Gold–Oh What a Dance, by Nijinsky II), bred by Ogden Phipps: This Phipps homebred and Hall of Famer produced MGISW Good Reward (Storm Cat), as well as GSW and good sire Pure Prize (Storm Cat). Her descendants include GISW Persistently (Smoke Glacken), a 2010 Personal Ensign winner for Phipps Stable, as well as more recent GISWs Instilled Regard (Arch) and Queen Goddess (Empire Maker).

Number (1979, Nijinsky II–Special, by Forli {Arg}), bred by Claiborne Farm: Japanese champion and MG1SW Gold Dream (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}), Breeders' Cup and GI Met Mile winner Corinthian (Pulpit), French G1 winner and Japanese sire Jade Robbery (Mr. Prospector), and a 'number' of other graded performers trace to this incredibly well-bred mare from one of the most 'special' families in the stud book.

Relaxing (1976, Buckpasser–Marking Time, by To Market), bred by Ogden Phipps: How fitting that this mare's greatest son would be bred to Personal Ensign, resulting in that mare's greatest daughter, My Flag. This 1989 Broodmare of the Year produced champion and Classic winner Easy Goer (Alydar), as well as GI winners Cadillacing (Alydar) and Easy Now (Danzig). Her descendants include GISW Strolling Along (Danzig), MGSW Cat Cay (Pleasant Colony), and MGSW & MGISP Abaco (Giant's Causeway).

1980 winner Relaxing's son Easy Goer was the sire of Breeders' Cup winner My Flag (outside), a filly out of Personal Ensign who would produce 2004 Personal Ensign winner Storm Flag Flying | Horsephotos

Sugar Plum Time (1972, Bold Ruler–Plum Cake, by Ponder), bred by Calumet Farm: A number of big winners trace to this mare, who was the first Phipps mare to win the then-Firenze, although she wasn't a homebred. Among her descendants are GISWs Grand Slam (Gone West), Christmas Kid (Lemon Drop Kid), and Kudos (Kris S.); MGSW Christmas Gift (Green Desert); and MSW & MGISP Bright Candles (El Gran Senor).

Kittiwake (1968, Sea Bird {Fr}–Ole Liz, by Double Jay), bred by Martin Andersen: This bay Florida-bred produced French G1SW Kitwood (Nureyev), six-time GISW Miss Oceana (Alydar), and MGSW & GISP Larida (Northern Dancer). Among the top horses tracing to her are European champion and MG1SW Dawn Approach (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}), GISW Aruna (Mr. Greeley), and English G1SW Magic of Life (Seattle Slew).

Obeah (1965, Cyane–Book of Verse, by One Count), bred by Bertram N. Linder: There may not be a big placeholder for this mare in the breeding annals as her two best foals to make it to the breeding shed–MGSW/MGISP Dance Spell (Northern Dancer) and GSW/GISP Discorama (Northern Dancer)–weren't able to leave a significant mark. Regardless, this mare will forever command a special place in racing due to her beloved champion daughter Go for Wand (Deputy Minister), who was lost too soon.

Straight Deal (1962, Hail to Reason–No Fiddling, by King Cole), bred by Bieber-Jacobs Stable: Desiree (Raise a Native) was the sole Grade I winner produced by this champion, whose multi-year racing campaigns meant she didn't have her first foal until age 10. However, her daughters certainly gave her an assist, with descendants including MGISW Adored (Seattle Slew); Breeders' Cup winner Dangerous Midge (Lion Heart); GISWs Qualify (Danzig), Scorpion (Seattle Slew), and Alwajeeha (Dixieland Band); MGSW and good sire Belong to Me (Danzig); and popular MGSW and GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Eight Belles (Unbridled's Song).

Blue Banner (1952, War Admiral–Risque Blue, by Blue Larkspur), bred by Mrs. John D. Hertz: This lovely bay produced a Broodmare of the Year in Key Bridge (Princequillo {GB}), who in turn produced Horse of the Year Fort Marcy (Amerigo {GB}), champion and influential sire Key to the Mint (Graustark), additional GISW Key to Content (Forli {Arg}), and GSW Key to the Kingdom (Bold Ruler). Others tracing to the then-Firenze winner include European champion and MG1SW Silver Patriarch (Ire) (Saddlers' Hall {Ire}), English highweight and G1SW Papineau (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}), and Brazilian champion Mensageiro Alado (Brz) (Ghadeer {Fr}).

Rare Treat (1952, Stymie–Rare Perfume, by Eight Thirty), bred by Erdenheim Farms Co: Among her descendants are European champion and G1 Epsom Derby winner Golden Fleece (Nijinsky II); U.S. champion What a Treat (Tudor Minstrel {Ire}); French G1SWs Mandaean (GB) (Manduro {Ger}) and Wavering (Ire) (Refuse To Bend {Ire}); U.S. GISWs Victory Speech (Deputy Minister) and Ida Delta (Graustark); and European MGSW Be My Guest (Northern Dancer), England's leading sire in 1982.

Parlo (1951, Heliopolis {GB}–Fairy Palace, by Pilate), bred by William duPont, Jr.: Horse of the Year Arts and Letters (Ribot {GB}), champion Silverbulletday (Silver Deputy), MGISW Waquoit (Relaunch), and Chilean champion All Glory (Honour and Glory) are among the top horses that trace to this diminutive chestnut, who also produced Broodmare of the Year All Beautiful (Battlefield).

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‘Tapping’ into the Field for the 155th Belmont Stakes

ELMONT, NY – Breathe easy.

Following significant improvement in air quality conditions throughout New York State, the 155th GI Belmont Stakes–celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's performance of a lifetime in the final leg of the Triple Crown–will go on as scheduled Saturday evening.

If there's one sire's name that you want to see when handicapping the 1 1/2-mile Classic, it's Tapit.

Responsible for a co-record four Belmont winners, two second-place finishers and two third-place finishers, the 22-year-old Gainesway kingpin will be represented by potential race favorite Tapit Trice (Tapit) and the rail-drawn longshot Tapit Shoes (Tapit) in the field of nine as well as an additional four runners as a broodmare sire.

“Tapit's everywhere,” Gainesway's General Manager Brian Graves said. “He's a once-in-a-lifetime horse. We'll probably be quite content if we just have a few stallions half as good as him at Gainesway in the near future.”

The $1.3-million Keeneland September yearling graduate Tapit Trice, winner of the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. and seventh-place finisher in the GI Kentucky Derby, was bred by Gainesway and is campaigned in partnership by Antony Beck's operation along with Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm.

“We're hoping for our own selves that Tapit Trice can win this race and stand beside his dad at Gainesway,” Graves said. “We're very proud. We bred this horse and we have the mare on the farm. We bought her as a 2-year-old and raced her, so it's a family that we have created right here. There's a lot of excitement in the air hoping that Tapit Trice could be a special horse. We're all dreaming right now.”

Tapit Trice's Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher has won the Belmont four times himself, including with Tapit's Tapwrit following a sixth-place finish on the first Saturday in May, and will also saddle morning-line favorite and last year's champion 2-year-old colt Forte (Violence). The latter was forced to scratch on the morning of the Derby with a well-documented foot bruise.

The field for the Belmont also includes wire-to-wire GI Preakness S. winner National Treasure (Quality Road) and beaten Kentucky Derby favorite and third-place finisher Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), who adds blinkers for the first time.

Keeping it 100…

Commanding a stud fee of $185,000 in 2023, North America's three-time leading sire Tapit is responsible for 100 graded winners worldwide–31 at the highest level–including Belmont winners Essential Quality (2021), Tapwrit (2017), Creator (2016) and Tonalist (2014).

Tapit is the broodmare sire of 12 Grade I winners, including this year's GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), who returned with a thrilling victory in Friday's GI Acorn S., and Saturday's GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. 7-5 morning-line favorite and GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Cody's Wish (Curlin).

He'll have four chances to collect his first Belmont trophy as a broodmare sire with the lightly raced GIII Peter Pan S. winner Arcangelo (Arrogate); Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), a better-than-it-looked fifth in the Kentucky Derby after racing close to a hot pace; last out Gulfstream optional claiming winner Il Miracolo (Gun Runner); and Bath House Row winner and GI Preakness S. fourth Red Route One (Gun Runner).

Tapit's progeny will also be featured prominently on the absolutely stacked Belmont undercard via Charge It (Tapit) (GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H.); Highest Honors (Tapit) (GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S.); and Portos (Tapit) (GII Brooklyn S.).

Star Power…

There will be eight additional graded stakes races–five at the Grade I level–on the blockbuster Belmont undercard.

The aforementioned fan favorite Cody's Wish (Curlin) will put his five-race winning streak on the line in the stallion-making GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H.

Clairiere (Curlin) and Secret Oath (Arrogate) will meet for the third straight time in the GI Ogden Phipps S. The former defeated two-time champion Malathaat (Curlin) by a head in a thrilling renewal of the Phipps last year.

Last out GI Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic S. winner Up to the Mark (Not This Time) will take on nine rivals, including the Charlie Appleby-trained duo of Ottoman Fleet (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and Warren Point (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), in the GI Resorts World Casino Manhattan S.

A terrific field of 13 sophomores, including top two choices General Jim (Into Mischief) and Arabian Lion (Justify), will throw down in one of the best betting races on the day in the seven-furlong GI Woody Stephens S.

Last year's GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Caravel (Mizzen Mast) will face an overflow field of males, including two-time GI Jaipur S. winner Casa Creed (Jimmy Creed), in a very deep edition of the six-furlong turf sprint Saturday.

Streaking champion sprinter and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Elite Power (Curlin) looms large in the GII True North S.

Chez Pierre (Fr) (Mehmas {Ire}), winner of the GI Maker's Mark Mile S. at Keeneland this spring, is the even-money, morning-line favorite for the GIII Poker S.

And a field of 11 stayers will be locked and loaded in front of the crowd at the Belmont distance of 1 1/2 miles in the GII Brooklyn S.

The legendary Tom Durkin will make his return out of retirement to the announcer's booth to call the Belmont S. as well as all the races aired during FOX's Belmont Day coverage scheduled for 4:00-7:30 p.m. ET.

Saturday's forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a delightful high of 77 degrees on Long Island.

First post for the 13-race program, featuring a trio of Breeders' Cup 'Win and You're In' events (Met Mile, Ogden Phipps and Jaipur), is 11:20 a.m. ET. Post time for the Belmont is 7:02 p.m.

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Taking Stock: The Phipps Influence

Last Thursday, I received an email out of the blue from someone I didn't know. Evidently Jason Brooks listens to me every Wednesday on Steve Byk's “At the Races” radio show where we discuss pedigrees among other things, and Brooks wanted to inform me that there were “21 graded stakes wins in the first half of 2022 for horses with Phipps pedigrees.”

According to Brooks, he does social media for Phipps Stable and operates the account @PhippsStableFan on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

Curious, I took a look at his Twitter account. He'd quoted something I'd said on Byk's show a day earlier: “Flightline is absolutely exceptional. He comes from a great Phipps family. It's really phenomenal. He's a massive talent. He's going to be one of the most desirable stallions when he goes to stud. – Sid Fernando.”

Then on Friday, I took a call from someone I did know very well, Canadian owner-breeder Chuck Fipke, a longtime client of ours at Werk Thoroughbred Consultants. Fipke had two homebreds in graded races Saturday, Canadian champion Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) in the GII Nassau S. at Woodbine and Title Ready (More Than Ready) in the GII Stephen Foster S. at Churchill.

Fipke wasn't too concerned about Lady Speightspeare, an attractive chestnut 4-year-old filly who'd already won a Grade I race at two and is destined to join his accomplished broodmare band as a valuable member. She ended up dead-heating for the win after being passed in the stretch, becoming trainer Roger Attfield's 2,000th winner in the process. It was fitting that Attfield attained the milestone with a Fipke runner. The two have enjoyed a long and fruitful relationship together, and Attfield also trains Fipke's 5-year-old horse Shirl's Speight (Speightstown), winner of the GI Maker's Mile S. at Keeneland in April.

Fipke wanted to primarily discuss Title Ready, a 7-year-old Grade III winner who is multiple Grade II placed, with earnings of more than $750,000. He'd like to stand the horse at stud next year and wants to bolster his resume and earnings, and as an involved owner he'd had a conference call with trainer Dallas Stewart and jockey Brian Hernandez on how best to ride the horse for maximum effect. The plan, Fipke said, was to drop him back, get him to the rail, save ground, and make a belated run on the inside as Sonny Leon had done with Rich Strike in the Derby. It didn't quite work out this time; Title Ready finished fifth, his closing kick blunted after staying closer to the leaders than anticipated and altering course in the stretch.

Undeterred, Fipke called again after the race to map out a plan for Title Ready for the remainder of the year. Why is he so interested in standing Title Ready? Because Title Ready is out of the unraced Monarchos mare Title Seeker, a Phipps-bred daughter of the great Personal Ensign. Fipke had purchased Title Seeker for $1.7 million in 2006 at Keeneland November, and he'd bred and raced her Seeking the Gold daughter Seeking the Title, a Grade III winner.

Seeking the Title in turn produced Fipke's Grade I winner of $3.4 million, Seeking the Soul, a son of the Fipke homebred Grade I winner and champion Perfect Soul (Ire). Like Title Ready and Seeking the Title, Seeking the Soul was trained by Dallas Stewart, and he raced as a 7-year-old as well. He now stands for Fipke at Ocala Stud.

Also on Saturday, Brooks emailed me again to update his list. There'd been two more graded stakes wins, he said, upping the total to 23: Frosted Over (Frosted) won the GIII Dominion Day S. at Woodbine Friday, and the other race was the aforementioned one that Lady Speightspeare won Saturday.

Fipke had purchased Lady Speightspeare's second dam, Grade I winner Lady Shirl, for $485,000 in 2005 at Keeneland November when the mare was 18 and nearing the end of her breeding career. “You know, I looked at her closely before I bought her, and I noticed that she looked younger than she was–she didn't look her age at all. And, eh, she had a great Phipps family behind her tracing to La Troienne (Fr), and I wanted to get some fillies from her,” Fipke said by phone Monday.

Lady Shirl's third dam was the Phipps-bred (Wheatley Stable) Brilliantly, whose next four dams were Glamour/Striking/Baby League/La Troienne–the last named one of the most influential mares in the Stud Book, if not the most. The Phippses came into this branch of La Troienne by acquiring Baby League from E.R. Bradley's Idle Hour Stock Farm. In fact, they acquired several other Bradley-bred daughters of La Troienne as well.

Fipke got three foals, all fillies, from Lady Shirl. Two of them made it to the track under the guidance of Attfied. The first, Lady Shakespeare (Theatrical {Ire}), was a Grade II winner of $495,608, and she is the dam of Lady Speightspeare. The second, Perfect Shirl (Perfect Soul), won the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and earned $1,390,729. She is the dam of Shirl's Speight, who Fipke will also stand at stud at the end of his career.

It's an understatement to say that Fipke highly values the female families that have been cultivated by four generations of Phippses, starting in the mid-1920s with Gladys Mills Phipps (in the beginning with her brother Ogden Mills) through the famed Wheatley Stable, which bred and raced, among many others, the influential leading sire Bold Ruler, whose tail-male influence continues to this day through leading sire Tapit, the sire of Flightline.

The next generation was Gladys's son Ogden Phipps, who raced icons Personal Ensign, Easy Goer, and Buckpasser; and her daughter, Barbara Phipps Janney, who bred and raced the great filly Ruffian with her husband Stuart Janney Jr. After them came Ogden's son Ogden Mills “Dinny” Phipps, who bred and raced, among many other high class and influential colts and fillies, GI Kentucky Derby winner Orb, in partnership with cousin Stuart Janney lll; and Ogden's daughter Cynthia Phipps, who bred and raced champion Christmas Past. The present generation of Phipps Stable is headed by Dinny's daughter Daisy Phipps Pulito and son Ogden Phipps II.

Back in the 1990s when I was bloodstock editor of Daily Racing Form, I'd occasionally speak to Dinny Phipps about the female lines that he and his family had cultivated through the decades, and he always enjoyed discussing them. Four decades later, many of those families are still highly productive, and I'm sure he'd be especially pleased that one branch through the acquired Lady Pitt's daughter Blitey is responsible for Flightline, who is undefeated in four starts and two Grade I races and has yet to be asked for 100% effort though he's won by open lengths in each start.

Graded wins

Brooks sent me a list of the horses responsible for the 23 graded wins, but he'd included two who were from dams whose sires were bred by the Phippses, and I'm not including them in this tally. Only those horses descending from Phipps families or a dam bred by a Phipps are counted. He'd also mistaken–these things can easily happen with two horses sharing the same name–the pedigree of 2-year-old Adare Manor (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), who is from a Phipps family, for U.S. graded winner Adare Manor (Uncle Mo); therefore, she's out as well.

Through Saturday, there were 225 graded races contested in Canada and the United States. According to Brooks's research, the winners of 20, or almost 9%, descend from families developed or bred by the Phippses. That's significant influence. The Phippses emphasized quality over quantity and developed a limited number of deep families from mares they'd acquired, and through the years there have been many beneficiaries of Phipps breeding who got into these families as the principals culled them. These families have given past and present breeders a deep foundation on which to build upon and create their own top-class horses, and that is one of the important legacies of the Phippses.

Below are the 15 horses and their Phipps families that have accounted for the 20 graded races through Saturday. Note that seven of them, like Lady Shakespeare, have won a Grade l race at some point in their career.

Grade I Winners

Flightline (Tapit) [Blitey branch of Lady Pitt]
Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) [Glamour/Striking branch of Baby League/La Troienne]
Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) [Busanda branch of Businesslike/La Troienne]
There Goes Harvard (Will Take Charge) [No Fiddling branch of Big Hurry/La Troienne]

Grade II Winners

Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) [My Boss Lady/Striking branch of Baby League/La Troienne]
Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot) [Clear Ceiling branch of Grey Flight]
Turnerloose (Nyquist) [High Voltage branch of Erin]
Lady Speightspeare (Speightstown) [Glamour/Striking branch of Baby League/La Troienne]

Grade III Winners

Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) [Second dam Cabbage Key co-bred by Ogden Phipps ll]
Glass Ceiling (Constitution) [Bases Full/Striking branch of Baby League/La Troienne]
Cellist (Big Blue Kitten) [Blitey branch of Lady Pitt]
Cody's Wish (Curlin) [Baby League/La Troienne]
Frosted Over (Frosted) [Allemande branch of Big Hurry/La Troienne]
Queen Goddess (Empire Maker) [Blitey branch of Lady Pitt]
Becca Taylor (Old Topper) [Glamour/Striking branch of Baby League/La Troienne]

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

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Clairiere Picks Up the Pieces in Ogden Phipps to Cap Curlin Exacta

Saturday's GI Ogden Phipps S. may have only attracted five horses, but it was the “right” five with champions Malathaat (Curlin) and Letruska (Super Saver), Grade I winners Clairiere (Curlin) and Search Results (Flatter) and MGSW Bonny South (Munnings). After a knock down, drag out fight on the front end between Letruska and Search Results, it was left to the two Stonestreet Stables-bred fillies, Clairiere and Malathaat, to decide it in the lane. In the end, it was Clairiere, carrying her breeders' famed gold and burgundy silks, who got her head on the line first.

Defending Ogden Phipps winner Letruska was hammered down to 3-5 favoritism to repeat here with Malathaat the 3-1 second-choice and Clairiere behind them at 9-2. Clairiere broke sharply, but was quickly out-footed by an over eager Search Results and the typically speedy Letruska. Search Results gained a narrow advantage with the chalk glued to her tail through a :22.75 opening quarter and over a dozen lengths back to the remaining three, led by Malathaat. Clairiere inched up to confront Malathaat as the top two, now on even terms, blazed through a :45.23 half-mile. Search Results overtook Letruska at the five-sixteenths pole as Clairiere and Malathaat began to wind up on the outside. That duo overtook a tiring Letruska in early stretch and set their sights on Search Results. That Chad Brown trainee put in a valiant effort, but the early pace caught up with her in late stretch. Malathaat seized command with Clairiere on her outside shoulder, but it was clear Clairiere had more momentum. She forged past a determined Malathaat in the final strides to secure a narrow victory.

“It was very special, especially with a field like this,” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen. “It was a wonderful experience. 1:41 for a mile and a sixteenth. Is that even possible? They were rolling. The separation they got from the three-eighths to the quarter-pole worried me a bit. The first half, you think, 'perfect'. But when those fillies continued to separate I became concerned. They flew home. 1:41 flat [1:41.10]. They didn't stagger. They had to run.”

He continued, “It was heart, soul and guts, absolutely. What can you say about her? She is racing royalty by Curlin out of Cavorting. I think she's even better this year. She was a wonderful filly last year, but as a 4-year-old, she's faster now than she was then. This is a tremendous stage to do it on. The head went our way this time. I think it is absolutely beautiful that she and Malathaat were that close together the entire race. They are great mares. Unbelievable mares. How proud Stonestreet should be that they bred both of them.”

As for what's next, the Hall of Famer said, “The horse goes to Saratoga next, looking at the [GI] Personal Ensign. The [GI] Breeders' Cup Distaff is the main goal.”

“I always felt Clairiere was coming on strong and if she got a little bit of pace she would do it, and she did it,” said Stonestreet principal Barbara Banke. “She got pace and she did it. I was happy to see Malathaat right behind her. Those are two Stonestreet homebred Curlin fillies. You can't beat that.”

“She was tough to beat and for a second I thought she got me, but she really responded and we got lucky we got it,” said Joel Rosario. “I started by following Johnny [Velazquez aboard Malathaat] for a bit and turning for home it looked like I may never go by, but she did go by.”

As for the runner-up, trainer Todd Pletcher said, “Johnny said she kind of lost focus the last sixteenth of a mile. It's probably time to think about some blinkers, which we've had in the back of our minds for a while. It caught him off-guard because usually if she has a horse next to her, she'll stay focused, but the last 100 yards she saw something and kind of came off the bridle. It's a big effort.”

Clairiere announced herself last year with a win in the race named for her birthplace's most famous resident, the GII Rachel Alexandra S. She was ultra consistent in her next five starts, never finishing worst than fourth, including a second to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Malathaat in the GI Alabama S. last August. She got her well-deserved Grade I next out in the Sept. 25 GI Cotillion S. at Parx and rallied from well back to be fourth in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 6, one spot behind Malathaat. Kicking off 2022 with a dominant optional claimer score at Fair Grounds Mar. 16, the homebred came in second to another Eclipse winner in Letruska in Oaklawn's GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 23.

Pedigree Notes:

Clairiere is one of 18 Grade I winner by the mighty Curlin. She is the first foal out of MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Cavorting, who won this race in 2016 for the now-retired Kiaran McLaughlin. That Stonestreet colorbearer is one of 14 mares by the late Bernardini to produce a Grade I winner. Her second foal, the now-3-year-old filly La Crete (Medaglia d'Oro), won the Silverbulletday S., making that two black-type winners from two to race for the star mare. Cavorting's 2020 colt Judge Miller (Curlin) summoned $550,000 at KEESEP form Muir Hut Stables. She was barren when bred to Quality Road for 2021 and was bred back to Into Mischief, but has no live foal reported yet for this year. Out of GSW Promenade Girl, Cavorting is a half to GSW Moon Colony (Uncle Mo) and MGSP Thirstforlife (Stay Thirsty).

Saturday, Belmont Park
OGDEN PHIPPS S.-GI, $480,000, Belmont, 6-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:41.10, ft.
1–CLAIRIERE, 122, f, 4, by Curlin
1st Dam: Cavorting (MGISW, $2,063,000), by Bernardini
                2nd Dam: Promenade Girl, by Carson City
                3rd Dam: Promenade Colony, by Pleasant Colony
O/B-Stonestreet Stables LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 13-5-4-2, $1,799,592. *1/2 to La Crete (Medaglia d'Oro), SW, $159,460. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Malathaat, 124, f, 4, by Curlin
1st Dam: Dreaming of Julia (GISW, $874,500), by A.P. Indy
                2nd Dam: Dream Rush, by Wild Rush
                3rd Dam: Turbo Dream, by Unbridled
($1,050,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Shadwell Stable; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. $100,000.
3–Search Results, 122, f, 4, by Flatter
                1st Dam: Co Cola (GSP), by Candy Ride (Arg)
                2nd Dam: Yong Musician, by Yonaguska
                3rd Dam: Alljazz, by Stop the Music
($310,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $60,000.
Margins: HD, 2 1/4, 6 3/4. Odds: 4.80, 3.15, 5.30.
Also Ran: Bonny South, Letruska.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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