Breeders’ Cup Runner-Up Jody’s Pride Takes Next Step on Oaks Trail

Steve Weston hoped to produce a nice turf horse when he sent his mare Jody's Song (Scat Daddy) to Coolmore's American Pharoah. Jody's Song had been undefeated in two starts on the grass in New York and American Pharoah had already shown his versatility as a sire when he produced several Grade I-winning turfers from his first few crops.

Everyone spoke highly of the resulting filly, whom he named Jody's Pride, throughout her early years, but when it came time for the dark bay to make her debut last August at Saratoga, the race got rained off the turf. Trainer Jorge Abreu opted to keep the filly entered anyways and to her connections' pleasant surprise, she sprinted away to win by over 10 lengths.

Again in her next start in the Matron S., the race was switched to the main track. Again, Jody's Pride won going away.

“So then we tried the grass for a third time in the Breeders' Cup,” recalled Weston. “But they said they didn't have room for us. So we said, 'Okay, we'll try the dirt. We don't know how she'll do. She's never gone two turns, but we'll see.'”

Sent off at 18-1 odds in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, Jody's Pride and jockey Flavien Prat trailed heavy favorite Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) along the rail before swinging out to close in on winner Just FYI (Justify) in the final strides and finish second by a neck.

A newborn Jody's Pride with dam Jody's Song | courtesy Ashford Stud

At that point it was a pretty easy decision that Jody's Pride would be sticking to dirt, at least for the time being, as she points toward the GI Kentucky Oaks.

“Believe me, I'm not complaining,” Weston said with a laugh. “It's very hard to be able to get a good dirt horse that can go two turns. I'm blessed right now to have one.”

Steve and Debbie Weston's Parkland Thoroughbreds has excelled at the top level of the sport in recent years by partnering up on the likes of Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio), who won the G3 Albany S. at Ascot last year, 2023 GII Appalachian S. victress Papilio (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}), and other graded stakes winners like Royal Charlotte (Cairo Prince) and Horologist (Gemologist). But Jody's Pride stands out as a rare homebred for their stable and she's the one that Weston said is “by far” the best he's ever bred.

Weston, who is based in Parkland, Florida but spends his summers in Saratoga, purchased the filly's dam as a yearling for $250,000 at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. The daughter of Scat Daddy was bred by Avanti Stable, whose owners Mario and Dawn Martinez lived just a few doors down from the Westons on Fifth Avenue. Named after Weston's sister who had recently passed away, Jody's Song showed talent early on and won on debut by three lengths, but injuries cut her career short.

Jody's Pride was only the mare's second foal, but sadly Jody's Song passed away from colic a week before Jody's Pride made her debut last year.

“It was a terrible loss,” Weston said. “She had two surgeries and she lived for about a month, but we just couldn't save her.”

Jody's Song produced three other foals including a 4-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo who broke her maiden last summer at Belmont and retired to Weston's broodmare band this year. She also has a 2-year-old colt by American Pharoah training in Ocala and another American Pharoah yearling colt.

Weston's boutique breeding program is strictly a breed-to-race operation. Along with a handful of mares in New York, he owns Sabrina's Angel (Scat Daddy), a half-sister to WinStar sire Audible.

Weston said that he considers breeding a filly like Jody's Pride to be one of the highlights of his time in the game.

“It's a different feeling,” he explained. “Not that I don't enjoy Porta Fortuna and the others because I do, but it's a different feeling when you breed one and you're racing it, especially at a high level.”

Jody's Pride as a yearling at Ashford | courtesy Ashford Stud

Weston co-owns Jody's Pride with his good friend Joe D'Agostino of Sportsmen Stable. The pair has been counting down the days until their star filly's 3-year-old debut.

Jody's Pride was originally pointing for the GII Davona Dale S., but after she put in two works at Gulfstream, Abreu decided to send her to the Busher S. at Aqueduct, where she has won once before.

“She's up there now and she's ready to go,” Weston reported. “It was different when we went into the Breeders' Cup because we were not expecting much. There wasn't much pressure and we were just happy to be there. Now I'm sorry to say that our hopes are so high that going into New York, sure we hope we win, but we expect to run really well.”

Weston has followed this same path to the Oaks before. In 2022 Venti Valentine (Firing Line), a filly Parkland Thoroughbreds co-owns with NY Final Furling Racing Stable, won the Busher and was second in the GII Gazelle S. before taking her connections to the Oaks. While the Abreu trainee finished well back in 14th that day, she has since proven to be a skilled New York-bred stakes filly for the group, most recently finishing second in the Broadway S. at Aqueduct on Feb. 17.

Weston has a lot to look forward to this spring as many of his top horses are set to return to the racetrack in the coming weeks.

Porta Fortuna, who ran second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, has returned to training for the partnership of Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Barry Fowler and will make her 3-year-old debut back in her home country of Ireland in early April.

Papilio, who is co-owned by DJ Stable, Medallion Racing and Barry Fowler, made her 4-year-old debut at Gulfstream this past weekend and finished a close second to MSW Sweet Dani Girl (Jess's Dream).

Mischievous Angel (Into Mischief) is a 4-year-old out of Weston's broodmare Sabrina's Angel. The gelding broke his maiden on debut last June and then finished sixth in the GII Hall of Fame S. While the Chad Brown trainee hasn't seen the starting gate since, Weston said he has been putting in solid works at Palm Meadows this year and is set to make his 4-year-old debut at Keeneland this spring.

“I have had a lot of lean years, but the last couple of years have really improved,” he said, and then grinned. “I think I'm actually almost breaking even.”

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Army Mule Represented By First Graded Winner in Herecomesthebride

NBS Stable and Elements Racing LLC's Danse Macabre (Army Mule) was making her seasonal debut at a juicy quote of 12-1 in Saturday's GIII Herecomesthebride S. at Gulfstream Park and fought her way to the wire to become the first graded winner for her successful young sire (by Friesan Fire) with a defeat of the U.S.-debuting Papilio (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}).

Stretching out to a route of ground for the first time and visiting the races for the first time since checking in third as the favorite in the GIII Matron S. at Aqueduct last Oct. 8, the $11,000 Keeneland January short yearling turned $55,000 OBS March breezer was eager early on, but not overly so, and settled well enough three wide and a bit more than a length off pacesetting Moonage Daydream (Candy Ride {Arg}). Put to a hard drive by Adam Beschizza while racing three deep at the three-eighths pole, Danse Macabre hit the front once heads were turned for home, but immediately had Papilio–four wide the trip–breathing down her neck. The latter drifted out in upper stretch, then came in at the furlong grounds and appeared to exchange bumps with Danse Macabre before just failing to finish her job. Cairo Consort (Cairo Prince), the odds-on pop off an amazing victory in the GIII Sweetest Chant S. last time, raced behind midfield in a race run at a modest tempo, and got home well on the grandstand side, but too late.

A debut second sprinting over the Churchill main track last June, Danse Macabre won her maiden with a 78 Beyer in a Colonial turf sprint the following month ahead of a runner-up effort in Saratoga's Bolton Landing S. Aug. 21. The chestnut filly struck from close range in the valuable Untapable S. at Kentucky Downs Sept. 13 before closing her season in the Matron.

“Numbers-wise, she fit in here really well,” said trainer Kelsey Danner, winning the first graded stakes of her young career. “The distance was the question. She's trained like she wanted to go farther. Her last couple races she wanted to probably go a little farther. I think Kentucky Downs probably plays like 7 1/2 [furlongs]. She's got a lot of heart. She's just a classy filly. She does her job every day.”

Pedigree Notes:

Danse Macabre is the first foal to the races from her dam, a winning half-sister to three-time graded winner Cambodia (War Front), whose two Grade I placings include a third to Wuheida (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the 2017 Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf over a mile and a quarter. The filly's stakes-winning third dam is responsible for three-time South African champion sprinter and two-time Grade 1 winner Overarching (Arch); GSW Temeraine (Arch); SW Dead Red (Out of Place); and the dam of GI Natalma S. winner Abscond (Blame).

Sylphide is also the dam of a 2-year-old Liam's Map filly that was bought back on a bid of $240,000 at KEESEP last fall and a yearling filly by Always Dreaming. She is due for a full-sibling to Danse Macabre this season.

Saturday, Gulfstream
HERECOMESTHEBRIDE S.-GIII, $200,000, Gulfstream, 3-4, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:37.27, fm.
1–DANSE MACABRE, 121, f, 3, by Army Mule
        1st Dam: Sylphide, by Blame
        2nd Dam: Sassifaction, by Smart Strike
        3rd Dam: Lonely Fact, by Known Fact
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($11,000 Ylg '21 KEEJAN; $27,000
RNA Ylg '21 FTKJUL; $55,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR). O-NBS Stable
and Elements Racing, LLC; B-St. Elias Stables, LLC (KY); T-Kelsey
Danner; J-Adam Beschizza. $117,800. Lifetime Record: 6-3-2-1,
$532,700. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style
pedigree.
2–Papilio (Ire), 121, f, 3, Starspangledbanner (Aus)–Glafyra (Fr),
by High Chaparral (Ire). 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. (€60,000
Ylg '21 ARAUG). O-D. J. Stable LLC, Medallion Racing, Barry
Fowler and Parkland Thoroughbreds; B-SCEA Marmion & Mr A.
Jathiere (Ire); T-Mark E. Casse. $38,000.
3–Cairo Consort, 123, f, 3, Cairo Prince–Absolutely Awesome,
by Street Cry (Ire). ($37,000 RNA Wlg '20 FTKNOV; $95,000 Ylg
'21 FTKOCT; $875,000 2yo '22 FTKNOV). O-Repole Stable and
Town and Country Racing, LLC; B-Frankfort Park Farm (KY);
T-Todd A. Pletcher. $19,000.
Margins: HD, NO, HF. Odds: 12.40, 7.60, 0.70.
Also Ran: Revalita (Fr), Riding Pretty, Moonage Daydream, Malleymoo, Blind Spot, Anna Karenine (Fr), Sweetlou'sgotaces. Scratched: American Rockette, Tituba.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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