Gamely and My Girls!

My girls are related to Gamely, a 1964 Claiborne filly out of Bold Ruler and Gambetta. Gambetta's parents are My Babu and Rough Shod which I think are tremendously cool names. Anyway, this young filly started racing at age 3 and raced for 3 years. Her total record was 41: 16-9-6, and she won the Princess Stakes, Test Stakes, Alabama Stakes, Santa Maria Handicap, Santa Margarita Handicap, Wilshire Handicap, Inglewood Handicap, Beldame Stakes (twice), Santa Monica Handicap, and the Diana Handicap. She even once came in second in the Californian to Dr. Fager.

Not surprisingly, she earned the 1967 Champion 3-year-old filly award, and the 1968 and 1969 Champion Handicap Mare! She was inducted in the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1980. She passed away at the age of 11 because of a ruptured stomach, after bearing two foals, both to Round Table.

My girls are related to this Claiborne filly through many relatives, including Nasrullah, Discovery, and Sweep.

Ben Brush and My Girls!

I am very proud that both my girls are related to Ben Brush, the first horse to win the Kentucky Derby at its current length of 1 1/4 miles. He won the 22nd Run for the Roses and was the first to wear a blanket of white and pink roses for his efforts. Though he was small, short-legged, and long-bodied (just like my beautiful Hailee), he was very famous for his precociousness, speed, and durability, and he was a popular and successful stud. He closed his career with a record of 40: 25, 5, 5. He was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1955. He has been so influential to modern thoroughbreds that 48 of the last 50 Derby winners trace to him, and every Derby winner since 1972 has a little Brush in their background!



He was born near Paris, Kentucky and has some sociologically relevant stories to his heritage! His sire was Bramble who was claimed to be "a breed as tough as pine nuts." He was bought at age 2 by Hall of Fame trainer, Ed Brown, and a partner. Ed Brown was an African American born in slavery and when he was 7, his owner sold him to the Woodburn Stud where he worked as a groom and displayed his talents for horsebreeding. He won the Belmont Stakes as a jockey, trained a Kentucky Derby winning horse, and owned many important race horses over his life, thus winning his spot in the Hall of Fame. Anyway, he decided to name Ben Brush after the superintendent of race tracks in New York City, which was a brilliant idea because of the scarce stall space. Conveniently, Ben Brush always had a stall available to him. When other owners and trainers complained, the human Ben Brush snapped, "Not a damn one of you fellows ever named a horse Ben Brush!"



He was sold to the famous gambler, Mike Dwyer, and then ridden to Derby victory by another Hall of Famer, the African-American Willie Simms. He still is the only African-American to win the Derby (twice), Preakness, and Belmont (twice). He is the only African-American to win all three jewels of the triple crown.



My girls are proud to claim him through his child, Sweep, and through the sires he generated, Broomstick and Whiskbroom!


You can read more about this sweet champion at the following links:
http://www.tbheritage.com/Portraits/BenBrush.html
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Brush
or
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=28
or
http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/bluegrass-ballads/bluegrass-ballads%20-%200120.htm
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_D._Brown
or
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Simms

Susan's Girl and My Girls!

Susan's Girl (1969-1988) is an amazing mare. She was voted #51 of the Top 100 racehorses of the 20th century. She raced and raced and raced for a career record of 63: 29-14-11. Before they had the grading system, she won 9 stakes in 1972 and earned Champion 3 year-old-filly. Then in the first year of the official grading system, 1973, she won 6 graded races, 4 at the very best level, Grade 1! By then she was close to being the first distaffer at $1 million, so her dad, Fred Hooper, wanted her to win it all. But she chipped a bone in her leg and needed surgery. She was sent to Hooper's Farm near Ocala, Florida, and after the surgical removal of the 3 chips, she spent 2 months being vanned to Lake Weir for a daily swim. So...after her surgery and recovery, she came back kicking it into gear!

Two fillies, Dahlia and Allez France, had already surpassed the $1 million mark in the meantime, but that was in Europe. So, very quickly, Susan's Girl passed the big mark for North America! She won a *ton* of races, including the Signature Stakes, Villager Stakes, Beldame Stakes (twice), Acorn Stakes, Cotillion, Kentucky Oaks, Santa Susana, Gazelle Handicap, Santa Ynez, Pasadena, La Troienne Stakes, Delaware Stakes, Santa Margarita Invititational, Santa Barbara Handicap, Susquehanna, Santa Maria Handicap, Spinster Stakes, Falls City Handicap, Matchmaker Stakes, Apple Blossom, and Long Beach Stakes.

She was ultimately the only filly in the 20th century to win a 3 year-old-championship (1972), and two champion older mare awards (1973, 1975). She was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1976. When she retired, she had 11 foals, several with her stablemate, Tri Jet, and even a foal named Florida Sunshine, with Alydar. She foaled a Grade 1 stakeswinner, Copelan, who was named after the physician who surgically removed her bone chips and oversaw her recovery and healing regimen. All of that, and I couldn't find a photo of her on the internet except on a person's Ebay site where they were selling her Thoroughbred Record front page photo showing her relaxed before her Spinster Stakes win!! Go figure! She is related to my girls in several ways, including Bull Lea, Mahmoud, Blue Larkspur, Sweep, Blenheim, Gainsborough, Hyperion, and La Troienne. The other picture is by my favorite horse artist, Frances Mabel Hollams! You can read more about Susan's Girl at the following link:

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=145

Two Lea and My Girls!

Here's a picture of Two Lea's victory cooler that she won in the 1952 Ramona Handicap. Two Lea was a Calumet filly who ultimately earned the #77 spot on the list of the top race horses of the 20th century. During her career, she raced hard with short stretches between races, and she competed while struggling with ringbone and soreness. She was sometimes raced 3X in a single month, like the time she raced for a third time in one month against Kentucky Derby winner Ponder and was beat by him only at the end. This match was in the Santa Maturity. Despite her ringbone, she earned a career record of 26: 15, 6, 3. In her third year, she shared championship honors with Wistful and later in her career earned Champion older mare as well as was inducted into the National Museum and Racing Hall of Fame in 1982. She once raced in the Santa Anita Handicap with Citation and Ponder, but all three were beaten by Noor. Later in her career, she was on extended break due to ringbone and when she returned to the track, she showed visible scarring and knots from her firing procedures. In her final season, she raced 11 times and won 6, with 5 of those wins occurring in stakes races. In fact, she won 2 of her last 3 starts. And in one very splashy race, Calumet Farms took 1-2-3 in the Vanity Handicap with Two Lea, Wistful and Jennie Lee! When she retired, she proved to be a truly amazing broodmare as well. She produced Tom Fool, who won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and came in 2nd in the Belmont. She also produced Hall of Fame horse, Tim Tam, and through a cross with Nasrullah, produced stakes winners Pied d'Or and On-and-On. She died in 1973 at the wise age of 27! My girls are closely related to Two Lea.. Her father is Bull Lea and she also has Sweep, Chicle, Friar Rock, Spearmint, and Ballot as some of their shared relatives! You can read more about this great champion and fighting mare at the following links:
http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=157
or
http://www.racehorseherbal.com/Memorabilia/Cooler/cooler.html

Street Sense wins 133rd Kentucky Derby!

Street Sense won this year's Kentucky Derby with Hard Spun, and Curlin, placing and showing. He broke 19th out of 20th and ran from behind for most of the race. His jockey, Calvin Borel, rode him tight on the rail until the final turn when four horses drifted off the rail and gave a window. Street Sense, covered in mud from the front runners, exploded through the opening, and swung fast and hard past the second and first horse. He just put tracks between him and the still strong, still fast-moving Hard Spun. He was a sight to behold and the master of the track that day! I am very happy for the Cajun jockey who won his first Derby on Street Sense. He was thrilled that he'd come that far from his Cajun bush track days! My girls are related to Street Sense in multiple ways, including the following: Nearctic, Nearco, Discovery, Whisk Broom, Teddy, Man 'O War, Sweep, Nasrullah, Count Fleet, Sir Gallahad, Blue Larkspur, Sun Princess, Hyperion, Princequillo, Wild Risk, Traffic Court, Bull Lea, War Glory, Eight Thirty, Gay Crusader, Case Ace, Rock Sand, and Hasty Road.

All Along and My Girls!!!

My girls are related to All Along, a very important filly with a number of major "firsts" to her credit. She was a French filly owned by Daniel Wildenstein, a renowned French art dealer and highly successful horseman. She won numerous prestigious races in France, England, and Japan, and was one of the top fillies of the last part of the 20th century. Her track record was 21: 9-4-2. She won the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1983 and was immediately shipped to Canada where she won the Rothman International, and two weeks later won the Turf Classic at Aqueduct in Jamaica, New York, followed shortly after by a win at the Washington D.C. International in Laurel, Maryland. She had four consecutive major wins in three different countries in just 41 days!!!! It's no wonder that she won the 1983 Eclipse Horse of the Year Award in America and the 1983 Horse of the Year Award in France too. That year, she also earned Older Grass Female. In fact, she was the first foreign-based horse to win the Eclipse Award as Horse of the Year!! As a 4-year-old, she became a world champion Eclipse Award for Outstanding Female Turf Horse. And she was the first filly since Regret in 1915 to win the Eclipse Horse of the Year! She won the Champion Older Female Runner in France twice. She earned $3,018,420 over her career in racing, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990. AND she was voted #68 top race horse of the twentieth century by Blood Horse magazine. She retired to Three Chimney Farms in Midway, Kentucky and bore 13 children, 11 of whom started, and 4 who were winners!!! She was pensioned in 2003 and then euthanized in 2005 at the ripe age of 26 due to infirmities from old injuries. The late Daniel Wildenstein's son, Alec Wildenstein, said of her passing, "She took us—my father, my brother and myself—on a joy ride like no other, culminating in an achievement we scarcely dared to dream about, which was Horse of the Year in America. Sad as it is to lose her, I am glad she had such a long and healthy life in return for all the happiness she gave us." Of course, my girls are related to this beautiful girl. They share many relatives including these champs: Princequillo, Nasrullah, Bull Lea, Hyperion, Gainsborough, Discovery, Man 'O War, Sweep, Teddy, Bend Or, and Phalaris. You can read more about this great racer and great broodmare and great family member at the following links:

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

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/news/nrm-news-view-story-detail.asp?varID=57

or

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/horses/2005-02-25-all-along-dies_x.htm

or

http://www.racingmuseum.org/hall/horse.asp?ID=5

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

or

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

or

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

or

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

or

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

Nobiz like Shobiz wins the Wood Memorial!

The Derby contenders are starting to sort themselves out. This past Saturday, Nobiz like Shobiz won the $750,000 Wood Memorial by half a length and became the odds-on-favorite. Street Sense is currently the number 2 favorite. Cornelio Valasquez is his jockey and Barclay Tagg is his trainer. Tagg says that he's a great horse, but that sometimes he can be dumb and goofy. He has won 4 out of his 6 starts, and for the Wood Memorial wore blinkers for the first time and had his ears stuffed with cotton. Of this win, Tagg said that his main job is to keep Nobiz healthy for Derby day and that "These horses have to win these races themselves. I never get overly confident about anything. So many things can happen in a race." Now, here's the cool thing -- he is highly, closely related to my sweet Violet and Hailee. Of the many relatives they share, they include the following: Princequillo, Count Fleet, Blue Larkspur, Gay Crusader, Discovery, Teddy, Nasrullah, Hail to Reason, Sir Gallahad, Man 'o War, Hyperion, Tuder Minstrel, Sweep, Bull Dog, Bimelech, Black Helen, Case Ace, Better Self, Bull Lea, Eight Thirty, Broomstick, War Admiral, and Bubbling Over. You can read more about Nobiz at the following links (and also at the Kentucky Derby link!):

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

or

http://www.ntra.com/stats_bios.aspx?id=20881

or

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0728237120070407?feedType=RSS

Sweep and My Girls!

Both my girls are related to Sweep, son of Ben Brush and Pink Domino. He was born in 1907 and won the 1910 Belmont Stakes. He is cross-listed with the AQHA. His final record was 13-9-2-2, and in 1909 he was Champion 2-year-old and 1910 Champion 3-year-old. He is noted as being a great broodmare sire. He had 3 daughters who produced Kentucky Derby winners. Beaming Beauty produced Hailee's Bubbling Over, Brushup produced Violet's War Admiral, and Dustwhirl produced Whirlaway. Sweep is recognized for passing the big heart gene to his daughters. His grandson, War Admiral, is one of the four largest heart lines in today's pedigrees, along with Princequillo, Blue Larkspur, and Mahmoud. Notice that Violet is related to all four of those big-heart lines! In the photos, you see Sweep and his son War Admiral winning the Preakness Stakes! Hailee also has Sweep through his son Eternal.