Where are they now? – # 5
2002 saw the fourth set of Eclipse Awards go out to the horses which had dominated their various categories throughout the racing year. Tower Storm and Joe Cayenne collected their second Eclipse Trophies, and we dealt with their subsequent careers in Vol. 3 of this series. From this year’s group, Storm Dog became the first horse to take out three Eclipse Awards in a single year and she, along with Joe Cayenne and Western Groom were inductees into the sim Hall of Fame in the inaugural year of 2005. Barely That Auggie remains in serious contention for eventual
Below is a list of the 2002 group of Eclipse Award winners:
2yo Colt Eruption
2yo Filly Land Slam
2yo Turf Colt Epiphany Too
2yo Turf Filly Delaware Statue
3yo Colt Tower Storm
3yo Filly Storm Dog
Older Horse Western Groom
Older Mare George’s Burglars
Turf Horse Joe Cayenne
Turf Mare Storm Dog
Sprinter Barely That Auggie
Trainer of Year Racelord
Horse of Year Storm Dog
Let’s see what became of them:
Eruption (Miswaki / Deputy Minister) – He failed to maintain the superb form which saw him win five of six as a juvenile, but his three year old season was still full of merit. He had two nice patches in 2003, winning three from four mid-program, including wins at Grade 2 and Grade 3 level. His form slipped a tad before her finished the year in style, taking out the G1-Delaware Mile. He won four from fourteen at three. He mixed his form at four, running a solid second in the G1-G.S.R. Mile, but tasting victory just once in his final season, beating nineteen opponents in an owner restricted stakes. With just the one win from eleven in 2004, he faced the starter for the last time in November of that year. He left racing with a legacy of 10 wins from 31 starts, five Graded wins including three at Grade 1 level. All bar one of his fifteen podium finishes were in black type races and he banked in excess of $2.6 million.
Mated with
The Extremist (
Screaminginthenite (Bernardini) – 2008 filly – unplaced first two starts
Land Slam (Grand Slam / Dixieland Band) – A filly who thrived on racing, she went on to face the starter on twenty occasions as a three year old. Beginning the year in a similar vein to her all conquering juvenile season, she started with a second in a Grade 2, before taking the trophy in the G1-Sweet Nanette Stakes. That would prove to be the final top level win of her career, although she continued to race in great heart, and added a Grade 2 victory in September to already impressive record. Her four wins as a three year old came in two ungraded stakes races, plus the two aforementioned Graded efforts. A dozen starts in 2004 saw her fail to make the podium on any occasion, and she faced the starter for the final time in July. Her racing career saw her win 9 from 41. Two Grade 1 victories and two more ITM’s at that level secured her the coveted “A” broodmare ranking. She scored victories at both other Graded levels and in total she recorded seven black type wins and a further eight black type placings. She banked just over one and a half million dollars.
In the breeding shed, she’s gone on to justify that elusive “A” rating, with a very strong performance from matings with capable, but less expensive sires. Three of her five offspring have attained black type status. Her breeding record reads:
Shez A Slam (Southern Halo) – 2004 filly – Active – 1/20 – $10k – claimer
Charmeer (Silver Charm) – 2005 filly – Retired – SP – 6/55 – $139k – Dam of:
……Wolf’s Charm (French Deputy) – 2008 filly – 0/3
Land Champ (Golden Missile) – 2006 filly – Active – 1/27 – $27k – claimer
Wolf’s Slam (French Deputy) – 2007 colt – Active – GW (G2) – 8/26 – $251k
Epiphany Too (Fantastic Light / Crusader Sword) – The Grade 1 win which secured his eclipse Award was to become the highlight of his career. Despite never reaching those lofty heights again, he would still provide connections with plenty of enjoyment over a long career. Not many horses, at least not in these days, can boast victories in each of five consecutive years, but this runner is one who can. 2003 saw him collected an ungraded stakes victory. In 2004 he stood atop the podium three times, including once at Grade 3 level. 2005 saw him face the starter fourteen times, finishing top three in ten events, winning twice, including a restricted stakes. 2006 saw time catch up, but he landed another win, this time in allowance company. In 2007 he went to the track twice, the final time in March. Overall he faced the starter 59 times, taking home the winner’s share eleven times. One win at Grade 1 was the highlight, but he also won three times at Grade 3 level. ITM nine times in Graded events, they included two in Grade 1’s, once at Grade 2 and two more at Grade 3. Overall he finished top three in fifteen races. He banked over $1.2 million.
On retirement he met with Sadler’s Wells to produce Have Faith. She hasn’t set the world on fire and now resides elsewhere, but with the blood she carries she’s sure to be in demand once she’s old enough to breed.
Delaware Statue (Delaware Township / Seattle Slew) – One of very few horses to be voted an Eclipse Award without winning at Grade 1 level, this filly would sort of fade into obscurity. She’s still officially listed as active, but has not raced since March 03. She won her first stakes appearance in that year, and had a further three starts without success before leaving the arena. Her record reads five wins from thirteen and less than $460k in earnings.
Tower Storm (Storm Cat / Forty Niner) – We covered in # 3.
Storm Dog (Storm Cat / Fappiano) – Hall of Fame – The first horse to win three Eclipse Awards in the same year, being successful as Three Year Old Filly, Turf Mare and Horse Of The Year. One of the true greats of the sim, she would go on to have another stellar year in 2003, winning another four Grade 1 races, and earning her fourth and fifth Eclipse Awards. Highlights that year included The Ugly Breeders Bowl Distaff, The Queen Ascot Stakes, The Nashwan Mile and a second victory in The Breeders Bowl Mile. 2004 saw her career draw to a close. A poor year by her lofty standards, she ‘only’ managed two Grade 2 and two Grade 3 victories. In December of that year,
She’s been active in the breeding shed, steadily building an impressive dynasty. Although none of her offspring to date have approached her own talent, there’s plenty of potential, and lots to like in the third generation. The family tree consists of:
Storm Mouse (Gone West) – 2004 filly – Retired – 4/27 – $149k – dam of:
……Stormcreeper (Unbridled’s Song) – 2007 filly – Multiple SW – 6/15 – $284k
Storm Fox (Rahy) – 2005 colt – Retired – 4/36 – $109k – begat:
……Storm Wolves (Bernardini) – 2008 colt – placed from 2 starts.
Storm Setter (Smarty Jones) – 2006 filly – 7/25 – $116k.
Storm Puppy (Pivotal) – 2007 filly – SW – 8/15 – $214k
Stormfisher (El Prado) – 2008 colt – SP – 1/5 – $43k
Western Groom (Gone West / Blushing Groom) – Hall of Fame – He’d go on to be a regular at the tracks for quite some time, and the year subsequent to his Eclipse, 2003, would see him victorious twice more at the ultimate level, taking his Grade 1 tally to half a dozen and securing his place in the inaugural Hall Of Fame induction. 2004 would not be as kind, however, and he managed just one podium finish from sixteen appearances. April 2005 saw him face the starter for the final time and bow out with an unusual statistic, that being his final win coming at Grade 1 level almost two years previously. He left the track with twenty wins from seventy four starts. He won six Grade 1’s, four lower graded contests and a further eight Graded podium finishes. Overall he finished top three in thirty one black type races, and banked more than $4.6 million.
Sent to Sadler’s Wells upon retirement, he produced Re Western Groom, a 2005 filly. She retired this year, a triple stakes placed winner of 4 from 44 and $118k.
She, in turn, should extend and perpetuate the family line. Her first foal is the filly, Stoned Bride T, a daughter of Birdstone. At the time if writing, this third generation descendant of a champion had faced the starter five times without success.
George’s Burglars (Sky Classic / Coastal) – Her Eclipse year was the pinnacle of her career, although she did continue to race competitively for another thirteen months. 2003 would see her add a further four black type victories to her record, twice in Grade 3 events and twice at the unlisted level, with three of those wins coming on the turf, somewhat unusual considering her Eclipse winning efforts were all on dirt. Her final race came in January 2004. By the time she called it a day, she’d gone home the winner in 26 of her 66 starts. She’d snared four Grade 1 trophies, and another four in lower Graded contests. She’d also finished in the money in a further six Graded challenges. Overall, she finished on the podium in 40 of her 66 starts and took home more than three and a half million dollars.
She’s been busy in the breeding shed since she left the track, producing handy offspring, but nothing as yet to follow in her own esteemed footsteps. Her progeny are:
Burglar (Alysheba) – 2005 colt – Retired – 3/20 – $44k – begat:
……Penna Pasta (Arazi) – 2008 colt – 0/5
George’s Nap (Elusive Quality) – 2006 colt – 3/16 – $62k
George’s Gone (Gone West) – 2007 colt – 3/10 – $76k
Joe Cayenne (Night Shift / Roberto) – Hall of Fame – Covered in # 3.
Barely That Auggie (Mr. Prospector / Storm Cat) – Although he’d shown plenty of ability early in his career, his Eclipse Year was his fourth season on the tack, clear evidence that some runners take time to reach their peaks. 2003 would see his reputation enhanced even further, with the addition of yet another Grade 1 trophy, in the Sand Castle Golden Sprint. That victory would be his last against top quality opposition, and his last sixteen runs would add a solitary allowance win to his career tally. Overall he raced over a six year period, with his career highlights being reached in the fourth and fifth of those years. He faced the starter for the final time in May 2004. He left the arena, a winner of 17 of his 62 starts, and a better than 50% ITM score. He registered three wins at the top level, with six black type wins among eighteen placings in ‘stakes or better’. Connections banked over two million dollars.
The family lives on, although it took till the third generation to find the filly needed to establish a dynasty. Upon retirement, Barely That Augie was mated with Theatrical, producing Walk Off (2004), a winner of 7 from 48 and $145k.
He, in turn, went to Bernardini to produce the filly, Bottomofthetenth (2008), unplaced at her only start at the time of writing