Frosted’s Ice Dancing Takes On Baffert Trio in Santa Ynez

Richard Mandella's Ice Dancing (Frosted), the only filly in a scratched-down field of five with a graded-stakes placing already to her name, will seek her first win since breaking her maiden in Sunday's rescheduled Santa Ynez S. at 'The Great Race Place.' The Grade III event, which was originally scheduled for last Sunday's New Year's Eve program, carries Kentucky Oaks points to the tune of 20-8-6-4-2, which will go to the top five finishers that are not associated with Bob Baffert.

A homebred for Bass Stables LLC, the newly minted 3-year-old took four tries to earn her first win after three consecutive finishes behind GISW And Tell Me Nolies (Arrogoate), including a third in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. Fourth behind both that rival and the Santa Ynez's scratched morning-line favorite 'TDN Rising Star' Justique (Justify) in the GII Chandelier S., Ice Dancing rebounded in her fourth start to break her maiden ahead of Bob Baffert's Doinitthehardway (Street Sense) at Del Mar Nov. 25.

Speaking of the Baffert barn, he will enter a trio in a bid to win what would be his fourth Santa Ynez in a row. It appears that Huntingcoco (Practical Joke), Fast and Shiny (Bernardini) and Parody (Distorted Humor) have not flashed much in the way of speed under the California sun over the past few months, so a game effort is in order if one of them wants to keep their conditioner's streak alive.

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Bloodlines Presented By Caracaro: Under The Stars Further Solidifies A Proven Cross

Some things are too obvious to require heavy interpretation. The winner of the Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes, Under the Stars, illustrates one of these. Three of the four stakes horses out of the Storm Cat mare Untouched Talent are by Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker (by Unbridled), Empire Maker's best stallion son, Pioneerof the Nile, and his son, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah.

Untouched Talent's three stakes horses just mentioned are Grade 1 winner Bodemeister (Empire Maker), who won the Arkansas Derby, then finished second in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness; Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile), winner of the G2 Santa Ynez on Jan. 8; and Himiko, a $1-million weanling by American Pharoah, who ran third in the Iowa Distaff last year as a 4-year-old.

From the evidence of three quality black-type performers by sires from Mr. Prospector's Fappiano line out of 11 foals, Untouched Talent matches well with the aptitude and physical quality of this line, perhaps with Mr. Prospector sires overall. The mare's fourth stakes horse is Fascinating, a daughter of Mr. Prospector's very successful son Smart Strike, who ran second in the G1 Del Mar Debutante and third in the G1 Chandelier.

In addition to the quality that Untouched Talent is sharing with her offspring, the mare had plenty of talent herself. She won two of her four starts, including the G3 Sorrento Stakes at Del Mar, where she also placed second in the G1 Del Mar Debutante. Shipped across the country to Keeneland, Untouched Talent was second in the Alcibiades.

Untouched Talent is one of two stakes winners and several racers of ability from the A.P. Indy mare Parade Queen, winner of a pair of stakes at the Grade 3 level. She produced Grade 3 winner Untouched Talent; listed stakes winner King Gulch (Gulch); Top Billing (Curlin), third in the G2 Fountain of Youth; Kydd Gloves (Dubai Millennium), winner in two of three starts and dam of Grade 1 winner She's a Julie (Elusive Quality); and Obay (Kingmambo), who was a champion in Saudi Arabia.

Parade Queen was the only stakes winner from her dam, Spanish Parade, a stakes winner by English Derby winner Roberto. But Spanish Parade also foaled a full sister to Parade Queen, the A.P. Indy mare Post Parade, who produced four stakes winners, two here in the States and another pair in Japan.

From this material alone, this is clearly a very solid pedigree: wall to wall with quality sires, producers, and performers.

Generation after generation of the tabulated pedigree indicates that the genetic ancestry of excellence is proving out on the racecourse in athleticism and competitive ability. Ricked up like this in a five-cross or six-cross pedigree, we can see the volume of production and performance that results in true depth of family for a Thoroughbred.

Depth of family is the concept that superior racers are developed through repeated layerings of high-class sires onto dam lines of similar athleticism. The overarching principle is that if each generation has shown its ability to race effectively or produce stock that does, a breeder doesn't have to fill holes or compensate for weaknesses.

Under the Stars, for example, is by a sire of proven classic importance, and the succeeding sires include winners of the Belmont Stakes and English Derby, the American and the English Triple Crowns.

English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky is the sire of the Nijit, fourth dam of Under the Stars. On the racetrack, Nijit placed second in a couple of minor stakes and was third in the G2 Cotillion. Her full brother Beaudelaire did somewhat better, winning four of seven starts, including the G2 Prix Maurice de Gheest.

They are out of a mare named Bitty Girl, who showed herself one of the best juvenile fillies of 1973 in England, when she won the Queen Mary, Lowther, and Molecomb Stakes. Her successes helped to make her sire Habitat (Sir Gaylord) the leading freshman sire of 1973 in England, as well as the leading sire of juveniles overall. Habitat's son Habat was the highweighted colt of the crop; Bitty Girl was co-highweight among the fillies.

Sent to America and retired to stud, Bitty Girl was covered by Nijinsky and set this sequence of excellence in motion.

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Under The Stars Fends Off Awake At Midnyte To Win Santa Ynez

Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith's Under The Stars proved best in Saturday's Grade 2 Santa Ynez Stakes at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, Calif. The 3-year-old filly by Pioneerof The Nile was sharp out of the gate and fended off a stretch challenge from Awake At Midnyte (9-2) to score by three-quarters of a length as the 4-5 favorite. Ridden by Flavien Prat for trainer Bob Baffert, Under The Stars completed seven furlongs over the fast main track in 1:22.51.

Under The Stars wasn't the quickest out of the gate, but Prat allowed her to find her stride and she jumped up to take the lead through a first quarter in 22.26 seconds. Miss Mattie B took over in the middle of the track for a sixteenth of a mile, while Awake At Midnyte stalked those two on the outside of Big Shamrock.

Taking back her lead to mark a half-mile in :44.95, Under The Stars repelled the challenge of Miss Mattie B around the far turn. Awake At Midnyte moved up to take on the leader in the stretch run, and though appearing full of run was unable to pass Under The Stars.

Under The Stars pulled away in the final strides to win by three-quarters of a length. Awake At Midnyte finished second, while Miss Mattie B was third. The remaining order of finish was: Big Switch, Big Shamrock, and Mimajoon.

Bred in Kentucky by Eaton, Under The Stars is out of the G2-winning, G1-placed Storm Cat mare Untouched Talent. The sophomore filly is a half-sister to G1-winning millionaire Bodemeister, also trained by Baffert.

Under The Stars ran third in her debut at Santa Anita on Oct. 31, and returned to run third in the listed Desi Arnaz Stakes at Del Mar two weeks later. The filly broke her maiden at Los Alamitos on Dec. 11, and the Santa Ynez was her fourth career start. With two wins and two thirds, Under The Stars has earned over $170,000.

The Santa Ynez offers Kentucky Oaks points on the 10-4-2-1 scale, but the Baffert-trained winner is not eligible for the points due to Churchill Downs' two-year ban of the Hall of Fame trainer. The updated Updated Road to the Kentucky Derby/Oaks Leaderboard is available here.

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Baffert Blue Blood Stops Santa Ynez

Coolmore's royally bred Under the Stars (Pioneerof the Nile) looks to become the third black-type winner for her impressive dam Untouched Talent (Storm Cat) as the morning-line favorite in the GII Santa Ynez S. at Santa Anita Saturday. A half-brother to Classic-winning sire Bodemeister (Empire Maker), the Bob Baffert pupil was third on debut behind the re-opposing Awake At Midnyte (Nyquist) in Arcadia Oct. 31. She filled the same spot behind stablemate and eventual GI Starlet S. winner Eda (Munnings) in Del Mar's Desi Arnaz S. Nov. 13 and broke through next out with a decisive score at Los Alamitos Dec. 11.

Awake At Midnyte followed that narrow first-out graduation on Halloween with a nose second in the turf GIII Jimmy Durante S. at Del Mar Nov. 27.

George Krikorian homebred Big Switch (Mr. Big) hopes to remain undefeated as she faces open company for the first time. A debut winner against fellow Cal-breds at Del Mar Aug. 20, the dark bay captured the Golden State Juvenile Fillies S. there Nov. 5.

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