2018 Kentucky Derby: Promises Fulfilled pedigree profile

Promises Fulfilled galloped away from nine other colts in the 1 1/16-mile Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park on Saturday and, in the process, the Dale Romans trainee earned 50 qualifying points toward a berth in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

Drawing widest of all, Irad Ortiz, Jr. gunned Promises Fulfilled to the lead and got the first quarter in 23.80. The colt earned a breather in the second half, slowing the pace slightly to 48.39. The pair repelled a challenge from Strike Power down the stretch and flashed under the finish line in 1:44.17, 2 1/4 lengths in front.

David Jacobs bred the flashy Chestnut colt, as well as the colt’s dam and Jacobs also owned Promises Fulfilled’s second dam. The flashy Chestnut cost only $37,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Dale Romans bought the colt for owner Robert Baron. Promises Fulfilled (Shackleford - Marquee Delivery, by Marquetry) has a 4-3-0-1 ($327,280) record. His only defeat came with a third-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) when he broke awkwardly and tired after bearing out, yet he was bested by only 2 1/2 lengths.

Sire

Shackleford (Forestry - Oatsee, by Unbridled) captured the hearts of fans with his competitive no-quit racing spirit and his off-track antics. The flashy Chestnut quashed the Triple Crown dreams of Animal Kingdom when Shackleford captured the Preakness Stakes.

Shackleford was a solid miler/middle distance horse. The colt’s competitive nature, large heart, and talent gave him the ability to perform in races past his optimum distance range. His record of 10-3-2-0  at 1 1/8 and further proves this theory.

The young stallion entered stud in 2013. He is the proud sire of four stakes winners, including last year’s Rebel Stakes winner Malagacy. None of his offspring have won a stakes race beyond 1 1/16 miles, although three are stakes placed at 1 1/8 miles. Shackleford is just getting started in his stud career. His offspring will likely follow in his hoofprints, best up to 1 1/8 miles, and he may get the occasional winner at longer distances, but they will be the anomaly, not the norm.

Female Family

Promises Fulfilled’s immediate distaff line is filled with hard-knocking, versatile milers. His immediate family is more accomplished than previous generations.  The Fountain of Youth hero is the fifth foal and third black type earner out of his stakes-placed dam.

Marquee Delivery (Marquetry - Fast Delivery, by Little Missouri) won over turf and Polytrack and placed on dirt and mud. The game mare started 23 times under the eye of trainer Phillip Sims. Seven furlongs to a mile was her sweet spot, but she placed at shorter and longer distances. Marquee Delivery placed in four stakes races from a mile to 1 1/8 miles, including the Arlington Oaks and Gardenia Stakes, both Grade 3 events.

Marquee Delivery is developing into an excellent broodmare. Her daughter Marquee Miss (Cowboy Cal) placed second in the Spring Fever Stakes at Oaklawn on the same day as her younger brother’s Grade 2 victory. Marquee Miss is a multiple listed stakes winner and earner of more than $300,000 as a sprinter/miler. Her full sister Marquee Cal Gal is a stakes placed sprinter. The full sisters completed the exacta in the 2016 Holiday Inaugural S. at Turfway Park.

Marquee Delivery bore an unnamed two-year-old filly by Gemologist, who will race in her breeder’s colors. Marquee Delivery has a yearling Tiznow colt who attracted $100,000 as a weanling at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The mare won’t have a 2018 foal, but she has a date with Shackleford this year.

Marquee Delivery is the only black type earner out of her dam, although a half-sibling Dynamic Scoring (Smoke Glacken) recently placed in a couple of handicaps at Portland Meadows as a dirt miler.   

True to the dependable, sturdy nature of the rest of the family, Promises Fulfilled’s second dam Fast Delivery (Little Missouri - Copelan's Girl, by Copelan) entered the starting gate 23 times and earned more than $250,000. The mare won three starts from a mile to 1 1/16 miles over the dirt and mud. She placed in a handful of other stakes and was third in the 1 1/18 mile Dade Turf Classic over the lawn. Fast Delivery is the only blacktype earner out of Copelan's Girl, who earned almost $47,000 the hard way in 45 starts.

Damsire

Marquetry (Conquistador Cielo - Regent's Walk, by Vice Regent) was his era’s version of Shackleford.  A powerful, flashy Chestnut, Marquetry earned close to $3 million dollars during his 36 race career. The versatile Chestnut raced at the highest levels, winning over dirt and turf. Conditioned by the late, great Bobby Frankel, Marquetry was a true middle-distance horse. He placed at seven furlongs and won once at 1 1/6 miles, but he captured five of 11 stakes at 1 1/8 miles and placed in the rest. Like Shackleford, Marquetry had the heart to win at 1 1/4 miles, but it wasn’t his best distance. Marquetry captured one of four stakes at the classic distance, the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1), in his usual front-running style, by a head over Farma Way.

Marquetry is the damsire of 37 stakes winners. The bulk are sprinter/middle distance winners and equally adept over dirt and turf. His most famous granddaughter is the sharp turf miler, Miss Temple City.

Three of Marquetry’s daughter’s offspring have won at 1 1/4 miles or farther, and all were by stamina-oriented sires. Marquetry’s well-known grandson, turf veteran Precious Passion, is a stakes winner from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/2 miles.  Marquetry’s English-bred granddaughter Arctic Cosmos could run all day and captured the 1 3/4 mile St. Leger Stakes. A second granddaughter, Bull Ranch, won the listed Premier's Handicap at 1 3/8 miles over the dirt at Hastings Racecourse in a glacier 2:18.25, setting the pace the entire way.

Promises Fulfilled’s second damsire Little Missouri (Cox's Ridge - Win Nona, by Jacinto) won two graded stakes and placed in a handful of others. George “Rusty” Arnold, sent the game Chestnut to the post 25 times. Little Missouri competed for four years in stakes races ranging from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/2 miles. He won the Stuyvesant Handicap (G2) at 1 1/8 miles and the 1 1/2 mile Brooklyn Handicap (G1) as a four-year-old.

Little Missouri wasn’t a top-shelf sire, or damsire, but did give us Champion Three-year-old Prairie Bayou.  As a damsire and second damsire, Little Missouri is represented by six stakes winners, none successful beyond 1 1/16 miles.

Expectations

Promises Fulfilled’s pedigree is solid up to 1 1/8 miles, although the colt could possibly carry his speed farther since other factors always come into play. The colt’s immediate family has “heart,” meaning that they are honest performers who give their best and like to win. Promises Fulfilled shows the same competitive nature.

Speaking of heart, Our Fountain of Youth hero may possess a dominant X-Factor (a/k/a large-heart) gene. The large heart gene can aid a horse in running faster and farther than his competitors, due to the increased capacity of a more powerful and efficient heart muscle.

An active large heart gene is passed from sire to daughter and from daughter to son. Additionally, a dam can pass a recessive version of the gene to her daughters. Promises Fulfilled’s dam may be passing the gene to her offspring, plus Marquetry likely had the large heart gene, received from his damsire Vice Regent. Marquetry’s second damsire Never Bend was a noted large-heart stallion and his third dam Honey Lake is a Rene-de-course (superior mare).  Promises Fulfilled’s second damsire Little Missouri received the large heart gene from his dam, and Little Missouri’s third and fourth dams are Rene-de-course mares. 

Only an EKG can prove it whether the Promises Fulfilled has a larger than average heart. However, the physical characteristic of “curly” ears is an outward sign that a horse has a dominant X-Factor gene. Recent competitors who carry a dominant large heart gene include American Pharoah, Zenyatta, and 2016 Derby Champ Nyquist, whose pedigree was borderline for 1 1/4 miles, but possibly was able to win in part due to a large heart gene.

Promises Fulfilled’s sire and damsire are powerful looking Chestnuts with white blazed faces. No surprise that the colt is the spitting image of them. The colt also shares in sire, dam and damsire’s traits of being pacesetter/pressers. Promises Fulfilled has a smooth gait, with decent leg extension and no excessive leg movement or paddling. The colt held a straight path throughout the stretch in the Fountain of Youth. Promises Fulfilled has wired the field in all his victories. However, the way he relaxed on the lead after being gunned to the front indicates that he may be able to rate in a press-pacing position.  

Promises Fulfilled may have only one other start, in the Florida Derby, before heading to Kentucky. This lovely Chestnut colt has plenty going for him, but his pedigree and running style indicate that he may not handle 1 1/4 miles. Plus, the colt will have only one additional start this year before the Kentucky Derby, and could be short on foundation. But there’s no accounting for heart.