UNIQUE BUT DOMINANT PERFORMANCE
DOMINANT SPECIES
3 Year Old Filly – (ELUSIVE QUALITY x SADLER’S WELLS x SEATTLE SLEW)
OWNER/TRAINER – seedlysub (SEEDLY Racing Stables)
RECORD: 2014: 9 / 6 – 1 – 1
CAREER EARNINGS: $2,390,525
2014 Stakes:
WON: Japanese Derby (G1), The Hogwarts (G2), The Great Vault (G2), The Penelope Cruz (G3), 2 x ungraded stakes
2nd:
3RD: 1 x ungraded stakes
By- ladomanor
If I told you that a filly bred with a mix of dirt and turf route influence would dominate the 3yo turf long filly Eclipse category with wins in ungraded stakes on dirt then step up to 12f turf and beat the boys at G1 level you would laugh. Well, what an incredible season this filly had. She broke her maiden status at 9.5f on dirt in ungraded stakes in just her second race after being well beaten in her maiden allowance in which she ran 3rd against the lads… She then ran 3rd in ungraded stakes to the lads on dirt.
In all three races she rallied home from a long way back so naturally she was given more ground – 10.5f. Now, most trainers would either run on the same surface whilst increasing distance or change surface but run at the same distance at the same grade – not seedlysub; and what a masterful move!
$150,000 G3 Penelope Cruz, 10.5f Turf, 3yo fillies
At least he stayed to racing fillies!! 3yo gun filly Equine Royalty arrived in great form and most expected her to run well with her mother a Sim Hall Of Fame inductee. Lawless Insomniac also also arrived with a good CV after a G3 and ungraded stakes win as well as running in the Breeders Bowl previous. Seedly was not deterred, saddling up the untried on turf and untried at 10f+ Dominant Species.
A full field of fourteen greeted the judge and as the barriers burst open she was immediately back into her usual pattern of running well off the pace in twelfth position. Worryingly, both Lawless Insomniac and Equine Royalty were up front taking a sit on the leader and getting a good run. At the second call, she had drifted to nine lengths off the leaders but still within her range – as long as she took to the tur and as long as she took to the 10f+…
By the third call she had started to move and looked dangerous. Lawless Insomniac burst to the lead with Equine Royalty appearing under pressure. In the stretch, Dominant Species answered class questions, distance questions and surface questions with a devastating display as she wore lawless Insomniac down to win her first graded race by just under a length – proving that she was special and that her trainer certainly had everything under control.
$250,000 G3 Hogwarts, 11f Turf, 3yo OPEN
Calling all challenges – including the colts! It was obvious to seedly that she loved turf and distance so the next stop was 11f turf and a step up to G2 – taking on colts! The Hogwarts is the first big prelude to any Derby prep and the field really lacked depth – a great move by seedly!
I could try to build this race as a battle but it would be futile. She was streets ahead of any challenger. At the 2nd call she was as far back as over fourteen lengths and some expected the filly to be unable to cover such a gap. Still eight lengths back at the third call, seedly was waiting for her to really accelerate and in the stretch she was simply brutal! Winning by almost three lengths, she had stamped herself as a serious horse able to beat colts on turf or dirt.
$3,250,000 G1 Japanese Derby, 12f Turf, 3yo OPEN
Sure she could beat colts but beating a Sydney Derby winner couldn’t happen…. could it?
She turned up in Japan as the only filly brave (or stupid) enough to take on the Sims best 2yo colts at route/long distance on turf. The deyoto trained Rapala had just won the 12f G1 Sydney Derby by two lengths with a 105 SP. On The Ridge had just won the 10f G1 Japanese Guineas by a length with a 103 SP over some serious opposition.
A run in the top 5 would be admirable, top 3 great whilst winning would just be a dream! As the barrier opened, Dominant Species dropped back fast! Rapala took up the running and had a comfortable lead. On The Ridge also dropped back and was just in front of her at the first call.
At the third call Rapala had stamped his authority beating off all challenges. Dominant Species had dropped to over sixteen lengths out and looked gone. On The Ridge was still just in front of her and it was all but over. Rapala went on with it, increasing his lead to four lengths over his closest rival at the third call. As the field began to fade, she stood up and began to move – still eleven lengths down she moved into 7th ahead of On The Ridge. It became evident that there were no other challenges to Rapala as all before Dominant Species faltered. Trainer deyoto was celebrating his win with Rapala in the stretch as the unthinkable happened. Dominant Species came from almost ten lengths down to slay Rapala before the line and draw away from him by four lengths! She had taken on and beaten the best the Sim had to offer.
So, she has the Sim world at her feet. Deyoto calls me and says “can you believe this filly”? I say no…. Even more unbelievable is where she heads next. After a two month rest, and as if to make a mockery of Mike and the whole Sim community, trainer seedly sends her not to the Breeders Bowl Distaff or Breeders Bowl Turf but for a sprint hit out at 7f on turf in ungraded stakes. Craziness may well be the only words to describe it.
Seedly didn’t see it this way. The trainer had picked a field of fillies that were all out of form and lacking ability – the perfect opposition for a giant killing filly who dominates the Sims best at 12f turf. Again, she got a long way back and although one would be excused for thinking there is no way she could sprint home from a long way back with limited ground. She did…. Got them on the line by a head and left everyone in absolute awe.
Again, when most others would not dare, seedly did. Dominat Species went from an ungraded filly restricted turf sprint to a 3yo open 12f turf G2.
$250,000 G2 Great Vault, 12f Turf, 3yo OPEN
Obviously you wouldn’t expect a great result. 3yo colt Pleasant Walk had started the year with back to back G3 wins at 12f, was 2nd in the 10f G1 Japanese Guineas, 3rd in the 12f G1 Sydney Derby and was coming into this race off the back of two G1 12f wins in the English Derby and Irish Derby. His last run (Irish Derby win) saw him terminate the field by over two lengths and post a 109 SP which basically says that the only way he can lose is if he falls over….
Again, she would get back to the very back, over sixteen lengths down at the second call with Pleasant Walk more than six lengths in front of her and traveling well it looked grim. At the third call she was moving forward to slip into 5th position, still over twelve lengths off the leader Sweetsleep and in doing so moving to Pleasant Walk’s hind quarters to put pressure on him as if she had won all those back to back races. In the stretch Sweetsleep faded badly with Pleasant Walk looking beat as well. Sweetsleep stayed on the whole way however somehow, someway Dominant Species got there on the line, edging in front and breaking his heart with a margin of just a hand. She had done it!
Her last run of the year was the $250,000 G2 O’Neal at 12f on turf for 3yo colts and filies. Here she would unfortunately meet a colt who quite simply was beginning a run like no other. Cardiff Castle had devastated the field in the G2 Dante’s Inferno posting a 113 SP at 10.5f turf to win by four lengths. He then won the G1 Queens Dish posting a 111 SP before a bad run in the G1 Windy City Turf where he meet $5M winner Asterism and the $5M 2014 Eclipse winning and Hall Of Fame inductee Bustin Chops.
Dominant Species had probably had such a good run of races herself that it was time for a bad one, just like Cardiff Castle had the race before this. She was well below her best and finished a long way off Cardiff Castle who posted a 113 SP to win by almost four lengths, going on to win the G1 Coffeefeilds Cup against older horses then placing 2nd in the G1 Japan Classic behind 2014 3yo turf long colt of the year Maybe Not Today. This form line proves that although she was beaten, she certainly wasn’t disgraced.
This defeat probably signaled to het trainer that after such a phenomenal year a rest was in order. There was not much else to prove – a dirt win in ungraded stakes to break maiden status, a 12f turf G1 win against the colts and a ungraded sprint win all in the one season screamed versatility and I am sure that many will be looking to her 2015 campaign with high anticipation to see where seedly takes her next!