Picks and musings for 032314 by harry watnik No other sport does such a poor job of promoting itself than does horse racing- (thoroughbred) - banished from most of the newspapers I look at- it is impossible to get a reminder of what is happening in the thoroughbred world unless one consults a program or satellite or web cast concerned with such- maybe if I hung out more often at OTB (the racetracks is out of the question- due to the rigors of dumb luck and the years piling up on me)- what I mean to say is that I had no idea the Spiral Stakes was been contested yesterday at Turfway park- even though I was staring at the Turfway past performances for at least five minutes- maybe stakes races need be printed on green pages to waken the clueless- so I missed a very exciting contest- The vaunted Ramsey’s of Kentucky, appear to have a Kentucky Derby colt in We Miss Artie, who outfought Harry’s Holiday, for the marbles- And from a distance We Miss Artie, has all the earmarks of a “classic” contender- his connections are impeccable= The brilliant Ramsey clan has entrusted their G1 winning colt to “agent” Pletcher, a man who is no stranger around a talented horse- the jockey John Velasquez, is heading for the hall of fame, if he’s not already in the rider wing of it- sometimes a good gauge of a first-class horse is a look at who it might have beaten- Harry’s Holiday, was ridden by Lady Napravnik, and the day is coming soon when a female rider captures the run for the roses- stemming from the outstanding 23-B female family Harry’s Holiday, is a son of Harlan’s Holiday x Daisy Mason x Orientate- and the broodmare sire array for “HH” is >Orientate>Tricky Creek, who is popping up in first-rate horses papers with astonishing frequency>Stop The Music, a courageous battler who faced off against mightiest Secretariat>One For All, a good horse, but a poison pill in a pedigree, just a bit less toxic than say, Youth- and I’m talking about a toxicity when it comes to winning the best races- The family female of Harry’s Holiday, is a hot one as his 6th dam is Patelin, ancestress of Kentucky derby hero, the banished I’ll Have Another- further back in turf time are Mahmoud, of the big heart and majestic Eight Thirty- this branch of 23-B is the one coursing thru Lou Lanier, rather than Correction, the latter a full sister to the black whirlwind Domino- Therefore, We Miss Artie triumphed over some substantial bloodstock in what appears to have been the most difficult and competitive of the triple crown preps thus far- what does We Miss Artie, have under the hood? We Miss Artie, by Artie Schiller x Athena’s Gift x Fusaichi Pegasus - thusly both sire and dam sire were group One winners- the dam Athena’s Gift, won 1 race , but was attractive enough to go under the auctioneer’s gavel for 75K -- the family is 3-J a group with little to write home about - although the Italian branch office of the group produced Feria, and her dam Feria de Rio. They both won the Italian Oaks!! But here in the states, I think most pedigree “wizards” would need to stand on their heads for a week to recall a 3-J superstar- but like Miss Crow says “I’m sure they are out there.”- The best representative of this 3-J bunch is Tom Fool, one of the best older horses to ever run around a track- he sired Buckpasser, and both father and son are in the racing Hall of Fame- Pompey, was another illustrious hoss from this family- and where do the paths of Tom Fool, and We Miss Artie, diverge? My research reveals their latest common female ancestor may have been Melody (1888) a daughter of Tyndale - the latter was inbred to famed brothers Whisker & Whalebone! Anyhow; Melody, had a daughter Harmony, who is the 10th dam of We Miss Artie = her half sister St. Cecelia, was the 4th dam of Tom Fool - as for Pompey, his 3rd dam was St. Cecelia- It is always possible for a family to awaken after a 60 year slumber, and last season Midnight Lute, made a sizable impression as a stud after winning a couple of Breeders Cup sprints for recovering trainer B. Baffert- interestingly Midnight Lute, stems from basically the same roots female as We Miss Artie- as his 11th dam is the aforementioned Harmony, and that daughter of St. Frusquin, had quite an impact on racing stock bred or raced in Italy- many families may hibernate for perhaps 100 years before a “outstanding” member of the corps get to show their stuff and awe an crowd- The Spiral Stakes is a 9 furlong event, and must have by now elevated its status, so that it should really be a G2 affair- after all Animal Kingdom, used the Spiral Stakes as his launching pad toward immortality- a workmanlike individual, with a blue collar racing record, can we trust We Miss Artie, to deliver the big package come Derby Day? His figures are dosage profile >9-6-9-2-0 with a dosage index : 3.00 and a GSV appraisal : 59.15 -his sire line is Sadler’s Wells potent division of team Northern Dancer, and horse of the world Sea-Bird, who many “experts” believe was the greatest winner of the English Derby, sired We Miss Artie’s 4th dam Sy’s Superstar, in 1970- and I wouldn’t be criticized to severely if I announced We Miss Artie, is easily the best descendent thus far of Sy’s Superstar. Los Alamitos 1-2 2-1 3-4 4-2 5-6 6-1 7-1 8-1 h.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 08:11:05 +0000
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