2014 Eclipse Winner- Filet of Skunk- 3 YO Turf Route
FILET OF SKUNK
2014 Record: 10 Races 5-0-1
Breeding: Redoute’s Choice x Kingmambo x Seattle Slew
Mare: Skunking Alishan
FILET OF SKUNK is the 2014 Eclipse Winner in the 3-Year Old Turf Female Route class. She is owned by Skunkbarn (aka Skunk).
Mother and Siblings
Skunking Alishan, the mother of this award winner, won a pair of G3 races which came in the Wynn Point and the Wilshire Boulevard. Overall, she won 10 of 25 starts.
Vote Independent is and older sister of Filet of Skunk, now retired and winner of a listed stakes race. Older brother Starring the Skunk is a G1 winner pocketing that honor in the 2013 running of the 2000 Guineas. Younger brother For The Most Part just started his career in 2014 and has been on the board in all 6 starts, looking destined to follow the footsteps of his siblings.
Background
Naming a horse sometimes has no special meaning. Sometimes, names are just offtakes of the names in the breeding lines. Other times, interesting stories are found. And such is a case with this lady. Skunk, the owner of this champion, explained the background to the naming of the filly. “In naming Filet of Skunk, I was actually inspired by Afc’s Tenderloin. The cut of meat of reference should be obvious but there was something else at work that no one knows about until now and that is it was a tribute to Afc’s Tenderloin. In the year that had just passed, Tenderloin lost what I hope was a close vote for 3yo Turf Filly of the Year to my horse Stash Your Gold. She had won the three 3yo 12F Classic races in a row and by today’s point system should have been the clear winner of an Eclipse award.”
Prior Season (2013)
As a two year old, Filet of Skunk showed improvement throughout the season. Her speeds improved with each race and in six starts, she stood in the winner’s circle three times and finished second in the other three starts. She ended the 2013 racing season racing a mile distance for the first time, firing off a seasonal best speed of 95 and winning the race with ease.
2014-The Championship Season
Filet of Skunk started the 2014 season a bit out of shape. After a two month layoff, she ran in an allowance race and finished third after cutting the first two quarterly fractions before giving up the lead.
But a month later, she was back on her game As the 1-2 favorite, she fired out to the lead, drawing out to five strides before coasting home to win by over two, with a recorded 96 speed.
She moved on in March to try 9 furlongs facing NW5L allowance group. The field was small with three other runners, two being paltry CPU owned fillers. As the heavy 1-10 favorite, there was no disappointment in the cards as she won easily by 4 strides and chartered her way to grade level competition.
Filet of Skunk’s first taste of grade level competition came in the G3 Irish 1000 Guineas Trial. She was sent off at 9-1 and was unable to get to the front, a spot that she is most accustomed to having. She ran third for most of the race before being passed late in the race and resolving into the fourth position at the conclusion of the event. However, she recorded a speed of 102 in the mile race, the first time she achieved a speed in the triple digits and losing to winner Subtle Notes, who she would face later in the season.
Skunk was not put off by this performance as he entered her into her first G1 race, the 1000 Guineas. Not at all favored by the bettors, Filet of Skunk would be sent off at mid-field odds of 10-1. Similar to her previous start, she would not get that early front spot. Falling back into fourth, she settled on stalking the leaders. Jockey J. Ledwith would ask her to run as the field passed the half mile pole, and Filet of Skunk responded. She would overtake Savydan, the leader throughout the race and crossed the wire a head in front of the late charging La Emperadora to win the race with a 105 speed.
Skunk would reflect back on this race as a personal achievement and a pivotal point in the horses season “Cross off one race from the bucket list with my first win in the coveted first jewel of the year as far as 3yo fillies go. I had been pointing for the 1000 Guineas since she was a 2yo but she never did seem to make that stride to where I had any confidence she could party with the big girls. She had improved enough while finishing fourth in her prep race to let me take a flyer with her. I was hoping if she was starting to grow into her legs a bit that she could throw a big race. The only question then was would she draw into the race? She was the last and final entry into the dance and I believe she went off at almost 11/1 odds.”
Jockey J. Ledwith would again mount Filet of Skunk in the June running of the Cremation Stakes (G1). This time, she would get the front spot, but it did not come easily as Lucky’s Brides would put on the early pressure. After putting her away past the half, Filet of Skunk had a breather that would end in the stretch run as La Emperadora and Subtle Notes came charging after her. She held both off at the wire, winning by a quarter stride and all three horses were gaged with a 111 speed rating after the race.
The Dell Web Oaks would be next on the schedule, which came two months later. Filet of Skunk appeared to be out of form as she got a lead early, but sequestered it before the half way marker, and finished well back in the field.
Similar results came the her way in October with over a month off where she lead to the final turn and finished in the middle of the group, a race where she competed with older horses for the first time.
Sticking with the older gals, she raced in the G1-Empire Rose in early November, this time with K. Ledwith aboard. At 13-1, she would be one of the longshots in the field. Supporters would not be disappointed as she galloped out to a six stride lead and was able to comfortably deliver a win with a 110 speed, and a good 2 ½ strides ahead of the rest and earning her third G1 victory of the year.
She wrapped the season up in the Motherly Love Stakes (G1) and may ran second most of the way before being outrun in the final quarter by several other horses, again racing with a group of horses age 3 and up.
A competitive lady who undoubtedly will have something to say in 2014. Skunk was asked at what point in time did he think that Filet of Skunk had a shot of winning an Eclipse award. “When did I think she had a chance? About 60 seconds after she had won (the 1000 Guineas) and I sat back down after dancing a Skunk jig. When you win one of those big early G1s you MUST begin thinking that way. What made the year’s new quest more formidable was that Dalham Hall had already won the G1 Equinics and finished second in the Japanese Guineas. The newpoint system came clearly into view at that time. Three weeks later Dalham Hall won the G1 Irish Guineas so I was down a G1 win and G1 placing but it was here that I found my inspiration to push her. Dalham Hall is trained by a friend that I met not in chat but via SIM PM. Claudio had PM’d me a year or so earlier out of the blue without us ever having spoken in chat or any other circle and introduced himself and asked me for my thoughts on his horses, my horses, training in the SIM, etc etc. We had some terrific conversations and I’m not sure who benefited more from the exchange him or me. Now back to this year, Claudio wins his first SIM G1 with Dalham Hall in the Equinics! So now it’s a race for end of year honors with my friend provided our horses are up to the challenge. “
Skunk continued “When did I start believing she could win? When she ran back 7 weeks later and won the G1 Cremation Stakes. It’s hard enough to win G1 races period but when they win back to back that’s when you begin to wonder if you have that “special” horse.”
With that said, one has to wonder what is in store for Filet of Skunk in the future. Owner Skunk shared his ambitions and acknowledges that it may be an even tougher task to achieve. “Try to get her to the HOF of course! A pretty tall order but with only 16 lifetime races thus far it is possible although running in the turf mile division with the existing talent of older fillies and new 3yo fillies that develop each year it’s going to be a tall order. Once she’s done racing her first foal will find its way into one of the Titans of Turf Baby Brawl races I sponsored last year and hope to make those races an annual meeting place for first race foal’s of G1 winners.”
Some racing wisdom is seen in Skunk’s assessment of Filet of Skunk. Looking back at her racing, one can definitely agree with the racing desires of this filly. “She was a great horse last year and I learned a lot from her. The biggest being she needs races closer together and time to round back into form off a layoff. She’s one of the few oddballs in my stable that runs better on shorter intervals between races as opposed to longer ones. So she had a great year in spite of her trainer telling her what he thought was best for her!”
Congratulations on the Eclipse Award and who knows, maybe we will see this horse become a repeat Eclipse Award winner next year!