Bloodlines: Six 2-year-old colts and fillies to watch
Juvenile colts and fillies are stockpiling points for the Kentucky Derby and Oaks. Let’s examine the pedigrees of six that will show up in next year’s classic prep races.
(Laoban - Inclination, by Victory Gallop)
Keepmeinmind showed talent at the graded stakes level, hitting the board in the Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity (G1) and Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before mowing down the field in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2). Owned by Cypress Creek LLC and Arnold Bennewith, the Robertino Diodoro trainee has a 4-1-2-2 record and earnings of $394,320. He owns 18 Kentucky Derby qualifying points.
Pedigree: Keepmeinmind has the pedigree and conformation to handle middle distances and possibly classic distances as he matures, although his female family is speed-oriented.
Uncle Mo’s son Laoban is ranked No. 33 on the First Crop sire list by earnings.
Keepmeinmind has a mix of stamina and speed in his distaff line. His damsire Victory Gallop nipped Real Quiet on the wire in the 1998 Belmont Stakes, ruining Real Quiet’s bid to become a Triple Crown winner. He’s the damsire of Golden Rod (G2) heroine Travel Column, plus Grade 1 winning turf router Tiz Flirtatious, multiple graded winning miler Liaison, multiple graded winning sprinter Finley’sluckycharm.
Keepmeinmind is the first stakes winner in his immediate family, although his half-brother, In Jack’s Memory (Bernardini), was third in the 2010 Amsterdam Stakes (G2). Their unraced dam Inclination is a half-sister to a couple of stakes winners; Mellow Fellow, a Grade-3 winning sprinter, and stakes-winning sprinter Zawzooth. That one’s descendants include this year’s Mint Julip Stakes heroine Secret Message, who is a multiple graded winner from a mile to nine furlongs over the lawn. She also finished third in this year’s E.P. Taylor (G1) at ten furlongs.
Keepmeinmind’s second dam Lady Blockbuster is a stakes-winning sprinter. Keepmeinmind’s second damsire is 1969 champion 2-year-old colt Silent Screen, a grandson of the great Princequillo. Silent Screen was a swift winner up to a mile yet showed clear distance limitations three times at nine furlongs.
(Wicked Strong - Riviera Chic, by Medaglia d’Oro)
A three-wide trip over a soupy Aqueduct track and being pushed out by runner-up Ten for Ten didn’t deter Brooklyn Strong from a determined victory in the 1 1/8-mile Remsen Stakes (G2). The New York-bred gelding previously captured the one-mile restricted Sleepy Hollow Stakes. Conditioned by Daniel Velazquez, Brooklyn Strong has a 4: 3-0-1 record and earnings of $195,000, plus 10 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. The son of Wicked Strong went through the auction ring four times, once as a weanling, twice as a yearling, and the final time as a 2-year-old, where he sold for just $5,000 in the OBS April Sale. He’s owned by Mark Schwartz and was bred by Cheryl Prudhomme & Dr. Michael Gallivan.
Pedigree: Brooklyn Strong obviously had no difficulty with a wide trip in the nine-furlong Remsen. He kept a straight line through the stretch, although he paddles with his left fore.
Wicked Strong, a son of Hard Spun, was third in the 2013 edition of the Remsen Stakes. The following year, he won the Wood Memorial (G1) and Jim Dandy (G2) and finished fourth in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont (G1). The Jim Dandy was the last time Wicked Strong visited the winner’s circle, but he finished in the money in the Travers (G1), plus four stakes as a 4-year-old, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) and Woodward (G2). Wicked Strong is currently #13 by earnings on the second-crop sire list. In addition, his other blacktype offspring are stakes-winning miler Evil Lyn and Wicked Runner, a multiple Grade 3 winner in Puerto Rico.
Brooklyn Strong is the first blacktype earner out of the stakes-placed turf miler Riviera Chic. She, in turn, owns the only blacktype in the second generation of the female family. There are two notable stakes winners in Brooklyn Strong’s third generation: Recoup the Cash, a veteran of 74 races, was a multiple graded handicap horse from a mile to 10 furlongs. Summer Applause is a multiple graded winner at eight and a half furlongs, and she placed in the Grade 1 Spinster at nine furlongs.
Medaglia d’Oro is the damsire of 18 graded/listed winners in North America. The majority are sprinter/milers; however, one each has been successful at nine and ten furlongs, including 2018 American Oaks heroine Competitionofideas.
(Frosted - Summer Vacation, by Eskendereya)
Ten for Ten set the pace in the Remsen Stakes and looked like a winner in the stretch, but couldn’t hold off the relentless Brooklyn Strong. The Claude R. McGaughey trainee bore out several paths in response to the left-handed whip and finished second by a neck. It was 8 3/4-lengths back to third-place finisher Known Agenda. Ten for Ten also set the pace in the Nashua Stakes (G3) and placed second. He has a 4: 1-3-0 ($99,050) record and earnings of $95,000, and 4 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. George Krikorian bred Ten for Ten. The pretty gray colt sold for $410,000 at the KEESEP sale to Courtlandt Farm.
Pedigree: Ten for Ten has a solid miler/middle distance pedigree.
Frosted is a multiple Grade 1 winner from a mile to nine furlongs. He hit the board in two of five attempts at longer distances. The son of Tapit is No. 5 on the first-crop sire list by earnings.
Ten for Ten is the second foal and first blacktype earner out of the unraced Summer Vacation. The mare is a half-sister to three graded winners, who happen to be full siblings by Giant’s Causeway. Creative Cause captured a trio of graded stakes, the Norfolk (G1) Best Pal (G2), and San Felipe (G2), all at 1 1/16 miles. He was in the money twice at longer distances in the Santa Anita Derby (G1) and Preakness (G1). Destin is a multiple Grade 2 winner at 1 1/16 miles, but he won the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Marathon and missed victory by a nose in the 2016 Belmont Stakes (G1). Vexatious is multi-talented on dirt and turf and won between a mile to 1 1/2-miles. Her last victory was the Personal Ensign (G1) this August at Saratoga. Ten for Ten’s second dam is Grade 1 winner Dream of Summer, a stakes winner up to 1 1/16 miles, the mare placed three times at 1 1/8 miles.
Eskendereya is a stakes winner from a mile to nine furlongs. The young broodmare sire is represented by only one listed winner, the turf miler Bob and Jackie.
(Curlin - Dreaming of Julia, by A.P. Indy)
Malathaat stretched her record to three for three in the 1 1/8-mile Demoiselle Stakes (G2). Sent off as the favorite, Malathaat was stuck on the rail behind a wall of horses rounding the far turn. She clearly looked unhappy, but once in the clear, she found her stride and was up in the shadow of the wire to win by 3/4 length over Millefeuille. It was 4 1/2 lengths back to third-place finisher, Malibu Curl. The trio completed the trifecta for the sire Curlin.
The Todd Pletcher-conditioned Malathaat has earnings of $172,150 and 10 Kentucky Oaks points. Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings bred Malathaat. Shadwell Stable grabbed her out of the KEESEP auction for $1,050,000.
Pedigree: Malathaat has the pedigree and conformation to run all day.
No. 5 on the general sire list by earnings, Curlin is a proven sire with 65 graded/listed winners in North America. His offspring win on all surfaces and at all distances.
Malathaat is the first of three foals of racing age out of Dreaming of Julia’s to make it to the track. Dreaming of Julia, a Stonestreet homebred was trained by Todd Pletcher. She won half of her eight starts, earning $874,500, and was off the board only once, finishing fourth in the Kentucky Oaks. Successful between eight and nine furlongs, the precocious Dreaming of Julia won the Frizette (G1) as a 2-year-old and followed up with a third-place finish in the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1). At three, she captured the Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) and was second in the Mother Goose (G1). Dreaming of Julia’s half-sister Dream Pauline is a multiple Grade 3-winning sprinter, while half-brother Atreides is a multiple stakes-winning miler. Malathaat’s second dam is multiple Grade 1 winning sprinter Dream Rush, who won or placed in 13 of 16 starts and earned $779,364.
Malathaat is bred on the same Curlin/A.P. Indy cross as Woodward Handicap (G1) winner Global Campaign and the listed turf winners Standard Deviation and Dabster.
(Frosted - Swingit, by Victory Gallop)
Travel Column rebounded from a third-place finish in the Darley Alcibiades (G1) to capture the 1 1/16-mile Golden Rod (G2) by a length in a last-to-first move. The Brad Cox trainee was bred by Mr. & Mrs. Bayne Welker Jr. & Denali Stud. OXO Equine bought her for $850,000 at the FTSAUG sale. Travel Column has a 3: 2-0-1 ($209,184) record and 12 Kentucky Oaks points.
Pedigree: Travel Column has a middle distance pedigree and may go further with maturity. She’s the leading earner for her first crop sire Frosted.
Travel Column is the first stakes winner but second blacktype earner in her immediate family. Half-brother Neolithic is multiple graded placed, including a pair of third-place finishes in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G2) and Dubai World Cup (G1) in 2017. Their dam Swingit is a multiple stakes-winning turf miler who earned $345,353 in 19 starts.
(Distorted Humor - She’ll Be Right, by Sky Mesa)
Varda made a last-to-first move in the 1 1/6-mile Starlet (G1), earning her first stakes victory. Sadly, the race was marred by stablemate Princess Noor’s career-ending injury, although she will enjoy a career as a broodmare. The Bob Baffert trainee didn’t care for the kickback, and jockey Drayden Van Dyke wisely kept her four to five wide in the clear at the back of the pack. Once they turned for home, Varda wore down pacesetter Kalypso to win by 1 1/2 lengths. Varda has a 3: 2-1-0 ($254,500) record and 14 Kentucky Oaks points. Masters 2013 LLC & Distorted Humor Syndicate bred Varda and sold her for $700,000 at the OBSAPR sale to Baoma Corporation, who won last year’s Starlet with Bast.
Pedigree: Varda has a miler pedigree.
Distorted Humor is a multiple graded winning sprinter/miler who placed twice at nine furlongs. The established stallion has sired 106 graded/listed winners in North America, and his offspring, which include Belmont Stakes winner Drosselmeyer, handicap mare Hystericalady and turf router Boisterous, don’t have the distance limitations of their sire.
Varda is the first stakes winner and third blacktype earner in her immediate family. Her half-siblings Big Family and Getouttamyway are multiple stakes-placed sprinter/milers. Their dam, She’ll Be Right, visited the winner’s circle only once in 11 attempts. Her half-brother Storm Treasure is a multiple stakes-winning turf sprinter who stretched his speed to place at nine furlongs in the Blue Grass (G1) and Jefferson Cup Handicap (G1). This distaff line also produced Grade 1 winning miler Abscond and multiple graded winning turf mare Cambodia.
Sixteen graded/listed winners represent sky Mesa as a damsire. The majority are best up to nine furlongs, although a few turf routers, including Grade 1 winner Harmonize have won at classic distances.