Hirschy is first stakes winner for Papa Clem
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Photo:
Eclipse Sportswire
Two-year old Hirschy
has quickly made life sweet for his group of owners. Much like Curlin’s lesser
known stakes winning filly Stopshoppingdebbie,
Hirschy is becoming a big fish in a little pond. While Stopshoppingdebbie is
the gem of the Pacific Northwest, Hirschy is well on his way to being the
diamond in the rough at the Northern California track Santa Rosa.
Hirschy (Papa Clem—Flashy, Wild Again) made his debut a
winning one on August 1 when he and jockey Russell Baze rallied up the middle of the track to cross the wire as the ¾ length
winner. Breaking from post 5 in a large field of 10, Hirschy was not asked for
speed early. Instead, Baze let the colt settle into a stalking position behind
the leaders. As the field turned for home, Baze eased Hirschy to the outside
and set down the Papa Clem colt for the stretch drive. Hirschy responded with a
strong surge to get up just in time, completing the 5 furlongs in 58:85.
Yesterday, just 10 short days after his debut, Hirschy again
came home a winner, this time in the Cavonnier Juvenile Stakes. Despite being one of the lesser experienced colts in the
field of six, Hirschy was sent off as the favorite, and rightfully so. At the
break, Hirschy was again slow into stride and was content to lope along at the
back of the field while Luck Lasts
and Tupelo Cush battled it out
through honest fractions on the front end. Like in his debut, Hirschy and Baze
swung to the outside to commence their stretch drive and together the pair determinedly
struck the front to win by ¾ length in a final time of 1.12:19 for the six
furlongs. Neither win margin was eye-popping, but that is to be expected with
his one-run racing style.
Trained by Jerry
Hollendorfer and owned in partnership by Hollendorfer, Peter Abruzzo,
Thomas W. Bachman (who bred the colt), and John Carver, Hirschy is bred on the
same emerging nick as Stopshoppingdebbie. Both are bred on the Smart Strike and
his sons over Wild Again mares nick. This particular cross has thus far
produced 11 winners from 12 starters, and 5 of those winners, including
Stopshoppingdebbie and Hirschy, are stakes winners. Other stakes winners
include 3 time stakes winner Smarty Deb,
dual graded stakes winner Strike Softly,
and Written in Stone.
So far Stopshoppingdebbie and Hirschy have not raced outside
their home tracks but that does nothing to diminish what they have already
accomplished. Both became stakes winners in their second career start, and both
are so far undefeated; Stopshoppingdebbie is a perfect 5-for-5, and Hirschy is
2-for-2. Such accomplishments will certainly help put their sires in the
spotlight, a place Curlin is well accustomed to and somewhere Papa Clem would
most certainly like to return.
Curlin and Papa Clem
might be new sires, but they both have much to be proud of. Curlin boasts
Belmont and Jim Dandy winner Palace Malice as well as Stopshoppingdebbie, who over the weekend became the first
horse to sweep the 3-year old filly stakes division at Emerald Downs. Hirschy
is so far Papa Clem’s first and only stakes winner, but only his first
crop has hit the track. Papa Clem was best known for winning the 2009 Arkansas
Derby, and though he only had 3 total career victories, his earnings exceeded
$1 million. Papa Clem stands at Legacy Ranch for a modest fee of $6,500 per
live foal.
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