Serena's Song and My Girls!

My girls are related to Serena's Song, the 1995 Eclipse Award winner for Champion 3-year-old filly of the Year! Her track record was 38: 18-11-3 and she earned $3,283,388 on the track. Among her wins, she took the Mother Goose, Haskell Invitational Handicap, Beldame Stakes, Hollywood Starlet Stakes, Santa Anita Oaks, Gazelle Handicap, Oak Leaf Stakes, Las Virgenes Stakes, Santa Monica Handicap, Santa Maria Handicap, Jim Beam Stakes, Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, and Landaluce Stakes. Her owners were Robert and Beverly Lewis, trainer Wayne Lukas, and jockey Gary Stevens. She was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 2002. She retired from the track to a life as a broodmare at Denali Stud near Paris, Kentucky. So far, she is the dam of 7 foals, 6 to race. She has had 5 winners so far. Her winning children include Grand Reward and Sophisticat sired by Storm Cat, Serena's Tune (a winning filly!) sired by Mr. Prospector, and Harlington sired by Unbridled. She is related to my girls in multiple ways, including Blushing Groom who is the sire's sire of Serena's Song. They also share (among others) Blue Larkspur, Sir Gallahad, Gainsborough, Teddy, Plucky Liege, Mahmoud, Hyperion, Man 'O War, Frillery, Broomstick, Nearco, Bulldog, Discovery, Whisk Broom, Sweep, and John P. Grier. Here's a photo of Serena's Song and one of her babies. You can read more about her and see more photos of her very beautiful children at the following links:

http://horseracing.about.com/library/weekly/aa022600a.htm

or

http://horseracing.about.com/library/pics/blserena1.htm

or

http://www.finalturngallery.com/Storm-Tides-album?page=1

or

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/stallion-directory/stallion.aspx?stallion_no=6091773

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http://www.hillndalefarms.com/stallions/grand-reward.shtml

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http://horseracing.about.com/library/weekly/aa090800a.htm

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http://www.denalistud.com/photoalbum.shtml

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http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=377

Whisk Broom and my Girls!

My girls are related to the famous Whisk Broom II, born in 1907 to Broomstick and Audience. Audience was sired by the 1888 Belmont Stakes winner, Sir Dixon, and her dam was sired by Hindoo, a major stakes winner and Kentucky Derby winner. Whisk Broom was born at the Kentucky Horse Park, then called Senorita Farms, and was sent to England to race. In Great Britain, he won the Prince of Wales Plate, the Trial Stakes, Select Stakes, Peril of the Peak, Victoria Cup, and came third in the 2,000 Guineas. When he came to the United States, he raced only three times, but won the most difficult Triple Crown of Racing, the New York Handicap Triple Crown -- the Metropolitan, Suburban Handicap and Brooklyn Handicap. Only Tom Fool and Fit to Fight ever duplicated this amazing feat of winning the Handicap Triple Crown! In his last race ever, he carried a staggering 139 lbs to the second place horse's 112 lbs and still set a scorching track record!!! His final race record was 26: 10-7-1 for total earnings of $47.931. He won the 1913 U.S. Horse of the Year Award and U.S. Champion Handicap Horse of the Year, and the U.S. Handicap Triple Crown. In retirement, he sired 163 foals with 23 stakes winners for a stakes percentage of 16%. He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1979. Among his children, he sired Upset, the only horse to deliver Man 'O War a defeat. He also foaled the Kentucky Derby winner, Whiskery, and Whiskaway, as well as the Preakness winner, Victorian, who was the damsire of Seabiscuit. You can visit him in his family cemetary at C.V. Whitney Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. He is related to both Hailee and Violet. An obvious connection for Hailee is in her Bim-a-Nick line, where Whisk Broom produced the sire John P. Grier. This is a pretty interesting line -- Whisk Broom and Fair Play were the sires of horses crossed to produce Algeria who was bred to Bubbling Over to produce Airegla to be bred to Bimelech to produce Sir Bim. For Violet, you can see Whisk Broom in her Boodle line where his son John P. Grier is crossed with the famous mare Elf to produce Boojum. You can read more about the fabulous, tough, world-travelling, Triple Crown winning sweetheart at the following links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whisk_Broom_II

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http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/Broomstick.html

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http://www.tbheritage.com/TurfHallmarks/Graves/cem/GraveMattersWhitney.html

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http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=160

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http://www.spiletta.com/UTHOF/whisk.html