Retired Mare Series – Eclipse Award Mares
Last week, I paid homage to Dancer Prospector, who the sim voted to be the unofficial 2008 Broodmare of the Year. But there are many more retired mares that deserve to be recognized. The one caveat to this whole series, as you will be reminded again when the stats start to fly, is that the data is based solely on the 2008 racing season. Furthermore, it is limited to only horses that were active in the sim as of January 9, 2009. Any Fusaichi Pegasus-esque horses, ones who were retired to stud midway through the year after having a tremendous stretch of races, are missed by the analysis. Similarly, any horse that had a tremendous career prior to 2008 is also missed. Even with this stipulations though, 54,625 horses are returned by the search. With the Excel 2003 limit of approx. 65,000 rows, I was not given many more options (although I have now upgraded to Office 2007). What this all means is that I will not be able to provide glimpses at the mare careers of some of the sim’s best, if they occurred earlier.
What it also means is that I can devote that much more time and space to the best that 2008 had to offer. And 2008 had some great mares to offer.
While Dancer Prospector earned the most sim votes, the other big three nominees got trophies of their own; each one gave birth to a 2008 Sim Eclipse Award winner. The first of these is a mare with two children currently running around the sim – N. Portman.
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Like her namesake, N. Portman had a great career. Unlike her namesake, that career is now over, having been retired in mid-2007. With that retirement, owner and trainer nijinsky4 lost a horse that picked up 15 wins in 44 starts, including 10 stakes wins and 3 graded placings. Her glorious career came with nijinsky4’s retirement of Irish Beavis(FR), an Irish River(FR) x Secretariat horse that was given a sex-change and bred to super-sire Sadler’s Wells to kickstart 2002. However, she showed slow progression as a 2yo, and was put on the shelf until she turned three. Finally, on Jan. 4, 2003, she took to the track for the first time.
Nijinsky4 found a short 4 horse field for her debut in 2003, but it wasn’t a Maiden Special Weight like most start in. Instead, it was a NW1Y allowance that she was entered in. Running at North Dakota on the snowy but firm turf, N. Portman busted out of the gate to stay a nose behind the leader. She soon assumed the lead in the 8f race, but it proved to be a little too long for her. Another horse managed to pass her in the stretch, and N. Portman finished in 2nd, 1-1/2 behind. For her second race, she was entered in an Iowan 6.5f MSW on the dirt. This time against a full field of 3yo fillies, she fell to midpack before putting together a bit of a move. She gained on most horses, but one pulled away and she again finished 2nd. Entered in a NW1S allowance for her third race, and at 6f, she finally broke through, pulling away to win by 2-1/4. Seeing that she wanted more distance, nijinsky4 ran her in an 9.5f allowance, where she again demolished the field, winning by 4-1/2 under a hand ride and earning a 100 SP in her 4th start. Seeing she was good at the distance, nijinsky4 immediately jumped to Graded Stakes competition.
Finding a spot in the G2 Somethingroyal Stakes, with 8 horses entered, N. Portman managed to close ground and came on strong, but missed by 2-1/4 lengths and finished 4th. That finish, however, combined with some luck in the draw-in process, earned N. Portman a spot in the G1 Black Middle Flower Stakes. She finally bounced, however, finishing 12-1/2 lengths back. Entered into a stakes race in Dubai four weeks later, she picked up her first stakes win in impressive fashion, winning the 9f race under a hand-ride by 6-1/4. Her next race, in the G2 Wooly Mammoth BB Oaks at NJ, did not turn out as well, as she finished last and came out of the race with a mild injury.
Returning to the track in the G2 Fast Feline Stakes at 9f, N. Portman put up a tough fight and finished a game 2nd. A 4th in the G2 King Classic then led to her final race of 2003, the G1 Winterthur Stakes, at 12f. There, she put together the best race of her career speed-wise, earning a 113 SP and finishing 6 lengths ahead of the next opponent. Unfortunately, there was one ahead of her, and she 6 lengths behind $3.1M winner Sacrilege.
2004 was a short year for N. Portman. After an opening 2nd in the 11f G2 Disco Inferno Stakes, she ran in 3 more graded stakes, finishing off-the-board in each. She ended her year in August with a 2 length win (she was up by 10 at one point) in a stakes at Newmarket. Nijinsky4 then disappeared, taking N. Portman with him.
Trainer and horse reappeared in Feb. of 2005, in a turf stakes at Athens. Here, N. Portman showed that she did not have an affinity for turf, as she lost ground late and finished a well-beaten 3rd. The rest of the year, however, went very well. In 8 more races, 7 in stakes, she ripped off 5 wins, 2 2nds and a 3rd, all between 10 and 12f.
2006 went almost as well. After a dull 10th in the G2 Disco Inferno Stakes, she reeled off 3 wins and 4 seconds in her next seven races, all in stakes. After a 2 race trouble spot, N. Portman dropped back to an allowance to regain her winning ways, then went back to stakes company to pull off another.
As 2007 hit, it was clear that N. Portman was not as good as she once was. After starting the year with a win in an allowance, she went back to stakes company, but was unable to compete. One third place finish in her last 4 stakes was all that she was able to achieve. Rather than drop her down to allowance company, Nijinsky4 decided to send her out on a high note, and sent her and her Grade C career to top sire Pleasantly Perfect(KY). The result? 2008 3yo Turf Colt of the Year, Portman’s Perfect(KY).
Portman’s Perfect(KY) debuted on the dirt, as Nijinsky4 assumed that he would like the same track as his mother. The race was a dull fifth. This prompted a switch to the turf, where he flourished. However, it was not until his three year old season when he broke his maiden, finishing the 2007 year with 2 2nds in 8 and 8.5f turf MSWs.
For an in depth look at Portman’s Perfect(KY)’s 3yo season, check the Sim Hall Of Fame’s Eclipse Awards section. The summary, however, is this: 10:7-2-1. 4 G1 wins. 1 G1 place, and 1 G1 show. 1 MSW win. $4.7M earned. 299 BPs earned. 1 Eclipse Award.
Nijinsky4 then sent N. Portman to second-year sire Bandini in 2008 and produced a filly, Natalie P.(KY). 2008 was not a very good year for this horse, however. Her debut in October produced a mere 55 SP over 7.5f turf, and dirt was not much better. She finally earned BPs in her last race of the year, but very few, finishing 5th in an MSW. Her 3yo debut came in January, where she finished 2nd in a 6f race. But only time will tell if she is as good as her mother or brother have turned out to be.
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Fumascus was a scratch breeding by mikester2 back in 2003. Mixing Fusaichi Pegasus with a mare by Northern Dancer and Damascus, mikester2 put a lot of money into the breeding. Without having a record of the horse, I can only assume that it was so much, in fact, that he was left with little. In order to make it back, Fumascus was sold at auction. The winning bid went to the freeky stable. Freeky began her campaign as a 3yo in March of 2003, with an 8f MSW. There, she won by 1-1/4. It was such an impressive outing, in fact, that Fumascus was entered in the G2 Portland Oaks (fillies need preps too) Stakes in Oregon 3 weeks later. A massive move in the stretch saw the filly climb from 10-1/2 back to a mere 2-1/4. She ran just out of time and finished 3rd. In a bit of a surprise, freeky decided to send his filly back to a NW1x allowance, and even more surprisingly, she ran very poorly, showing no kick and finishing a dull 8th.
Worried that she might not like the weak company, freeky entered Fumascus into the G3 Leopard Stakes. Although she showed no kick, Fumascus stayed closer to the pace and managed to stay up for 3rd in the 8f race. Stretching longer, she was entered in the Nijinsky Special at 10f. Finally, her massive kick returned, and she flew from 10-1/4 back to narrowly miss by 1-1/4, finishing 2nd. Although her ideal distance seemed to be longer, freeky kept her in shorter (7-9f) races, as she soon entered the world of G1s. However, in her next 3 graded races, she ran 7th in each. After dropping back down to listed stakes, she hit the board twice, and following another drop to allowance level, she pulled off a 2nd and 2 wins, both at 8.5f.
Debuting at 8.5f in 2004, Fumascus started with back to back 2nds. The first was an allowance, while the 2nd was the G2 San Valenzuala Breeders Bowl Stakes, both of them showcasing her now signature kick, and both in which she ran out of time. Finally stretching out to 10.5f for a stakes in Alabama, she finally captured gold, winning by 1-1/4. Tired and running 2 weeks later in another 10f G2 stakes, Fumascus couldn’t put a kick together and finished a dull 10th. This was followed by a 7f G2 stakes and another 10th.
Once again going long, Fumascus missed the G3 Last Jump Handicap at 9f by a mere head, finishing 2nd. This was followed by 4 straight off-the-board finishes, 3 in Graded Stakes and one in a 16f listed stakes. But her big moment came at 8.5f in New Jersey, in the G2 Beer Pitcher Handicap. She stayed fairly close, falling only 6 lengths back at her farthest point, and put together her signature kick at the end. Blowing past the competition, she cruised to a 3-3/4 length win at 16/1 odds.
Once again giving her a rest in an Allowance, freeky sent Fumascus to Vermont for an 8f race. There, against weaker competition, she again seemed uninterested and had no kick, finishing a poor 6th. This was a prep for the 2004 Equinics at 8f, where Fumascus was entered for her final race. She finished 7th, nearly 13 lengths behind. Freeky then decided that it was time to push the envelope. Even though she was only four, she was sent to the breeding shed with Tabasco Cat. The result was a horse named Tabascus.
Tabascus was never anything special on the track. In 15 races, he only had 2 wins, one on turf and one on dirt. His one major highlight was a 2nd place finish in a 4 horse stakes at 11f on the turf, where he ran the second fastest speed of his career and closed to finish 2-1/4 behind the winner. For his career, he had earned $62,670. He was retired in 2006 after back-to-back off-the-board finishes in NW3L allowances.
In 2005, freeky sent Fumascus to mega-sire Giant’s Causeway(IRE), in an attempt to get something better than the previous try. And better he received. The filly, Fu Fu Mascus(IRE), showed immediate speed. After finishing 3rd in her first race, she broke her maiden in her second try, and picked up her first stakes win, against the boys, in her third. She was then catapulted into the G3 Butterfly Futurity at 6f for F-2yos, where she stalked the pace and made a move at the end, finishing 1-1/4 back in 2nd. This led her to the biggest stage of her career, the DelPenn vs. GR Simsters Smackdown Series.
Entered in the 7f 2yo filly race in Delaware, Fu Fu Mascus(IRE) stalked the pace early on, staying a close 2 lengths back until she got the urge from jockey B Ironside. Soon he felt what he had underneath him, as Fu Fu Mascus(IRE) set forth a move that 2yos are not expected to have. She shot to the front of the pack and crossed the wire 1 length in front, pulling down her second stakes win. The win and the run led freeky to up the stakes, entering her in her first route, the 8f G1 Fast Filly Stakes. Unfortunately, this race showed that the filly had a slight distance limitation. She managed to hold her ground, never falling more than 4 back, but had nothing to finish with. She ended in 7th. Stretching her out farther, to the G1 Frickazee Stakes at 8.5f, Fu Fu Mascus(IRE) showed that the previous was not a fluke. Here, she tired at the end and lost ground for the first time in her young career, as she finished 6 lengths back in 5th. Picking up on the trend, freeky decided to shrink the distance back to 7.5f for a stakes to close her 2yo campaign. There, she excelled once again, blowing away the competition to win by 5.
Her three-year-old season started with another sprint stakes win before heading to the 6f 3yo filly Equinics. There, and up against the toughest sprint competition of her career, Fu Fu Mascus(IRE) faltered, finishing a beaten 7th. One more attempt at a Kentucky Oaks prep, followed by her first try on the turf, also failed. So did her return to sprinting. Finally, after 5 consecutive out-of-the-money runs, freeky brought Fu Fu Mascus(IRE) back to allowance company. There she regained herself, winning 2 in a row, leading to a try in the 7f G3 Blueberry Stakes. She ran the best race of her early career that day on the Ontario dirt. Unfortunately, others stayed just ahead of her late charge and she finished 4th, 1 length behind the winner. A 3rd place stakes run ended her 3yo season.
Fu Fu Mascus(IRE)’s four-year-old season in 2007 was faster, but her competition was as well, and the result was not as good. She broke a 100 SP five times during the year. One was a stakes race, in which she finished 3rd. The other four were allowances which she won. However, in the 6 races she did not break the 100 SP mark, she also missed out on the top 3 spots, finishing 4th at her best and 9th at her worst. Her 5yo campaign in 2008, which had 1 stakes race littered among 11 allowance races, had a similar feel. In the 6 races she broke the 100 SP mark, she finished 6:3-2-1. In the 6 she missed, including the one stakes run, she went 6:0-1-0, with 2 10th place finishes and 1 12th. She was retired at the end of the 2008 season, and sent to Mineshaft.
Fu Fu Wells(IRE) was the result of sending Fumascus to Sadler’s Wells in 2006. Although the breeding was of high quality (and a little inbred), the filly that resulted was not. Debuting in a dirt sprint MSW, freeky, under the stable name illbred, watched his 2yo filly run 2nd in a slow race. This prompted a switch to the more suited turf, where she began with a 2nd place finish in a 6f MSW. Following that up by stretching out to 8f, Fu Fu Wells(IRE) led from the start and wired the field, breaking her maiden by 1-1/2 against the boys on the good turf of Arizona (the blistering heat melted some of the lawn, causing the off-track). The jump to allowance ranks proved to be a decent move, as Fu Fu Wells(IRE) landed a 2nd and a 4th in two 8f turf tries. Her final race in her 2yo season of 2006 was pulled off the turf at the last minute and ended poorly for her, as she showed nothing on the sloppy dirt and faded to a dull 6th of 7, 14 lengths back in the 9f race.
Her 3yo season in 2007 did not last very long. It began with a 3rd place run in a 5.5f turf allowance, and a best career speed figure of 82. It was followed by a 10f turf race, which proved to be too long. She did not have the stamina to keep up and faded to 10-3/4 back. The race did a number on the horse, who never seemed to get the stamina back in the barn. Therefore, illbred decided that it was time to retire his well-bred filly. Fu Fu Wells(IRE) was retired as a 3yo with only 8 career starts, and a record of 8:1-3-1.
In 2007, freeky decided to send his mare to 2001 Kentucky Derby winning sire Maria’s Mon. The resulting offspring was a filly named Otto Tribute(KY). Racing under the shadowclaw banner, Otto Tribute(KY) began her career on the dirt. She broke her maiden in her first race, a 5.5f MSW on June 16, 2007. That was followed by an 8f dirt allowance where she finished third. Opting to try one of everything, shadowclaw entered Otto Tribute(KY) in a 7f turf allowance. Here, she won her first turf race. This was followed by a GR Simsters restricted stakes race at 8.5f on the yielding turf, which she also won. To cap off the stellar season, shadowclaw entered a sim-wide stakes race at 8f in December. Again, Otto Tribute(KY) stalked the pace and came out on top, ending the season 3 for 3 on the turf.
This trend continued into her 3yo year. In fact, it went so far as to result in an Eclipse Award for 3yo Turf Filly of the Year. For more on the season, check the Sim Hall of Fame’s Eclipse Awards Section. The summary on the season was a record of 11:7-0-0, including 6 consecutive stakes wins (including a G3 and 2 G1s, one being The 1000 Guineas), as well as one additional G3 win. On the year, she earned $855,200 and 160 BPs. 2009 has not looked great, however, as she has 2 off-the-board finishes in 2 starts.
Trying to catch lightning in a bottle again, freeky sent Fumascus to super-stud A.P. Indy for a colt named Cool Indy(KY). Cool Indy(KY) debuted, like his half-sister, in a dirt sprint MSW, and like his half-sister, he easily won, taking the race by 1-3/4. Coming back the next month in a very similar race, although this time an allowance, he took the lead in the far turn and just missed holding on at the wire, getting beaten by a nose. Heading to a Smackdown race next, Cool Indy(KY) set the pace and was caught again at the end, finishing 2nd. Owner reacher decided to up the distance, taking Cool Indy(KY) to stakes company at 8f. There, he picked up his first stakes win, wiring the field and winning by 2. After a failed turf experiment, Cool Indy(KY) returned to the dirt and picked up where he left off, in 8f stakes races. After finishing 2nd in one, he ended his 2008 campaign with his 2nd stakes win and third overall, setting the pace again and taking it by 2. His 2009 season looks even more promising, as he kick-started that with a 103 SP and a close second in another 8f stakes, after having the lead by 8f at one point in the backstretch. He looks to be headed for a championship of his own in the future.
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Upper Crust was another 3yo scratch breeding, a creation of Fabman Farms. Fabman used his pseudonym guyinchlt to breed the horse, using the stud services of Seattle Slew to mate with a mare by Danzig and High Echelon. The resulting filly showed a lot of promise on the track. In her maiden race, she ran a 99 SP in a 6f dirt MSW and won by 2, after closing from nearly 7 back. Trying to take the horse 8f seemed to backfire for guyinchlt in her next race, as she showed no kick of the prior run and finished a well-beaten 10th. Shrinking back to 7.5f and one turn, however, turned out very well, as Upper Crust was able to burst free and take the allowance win by 4-1/2. Unfortunately, something went wrong with the race and Upper Crust came out hurt. Her 3yo season was done.
By the time Upper Crust was ready to return to racing in 2004, her stable had gotten into some trouble. Given a year suspension for some unknown reasoning, Upper Crust (and the rest of the stable) had to sit her 4yo season out on the sidelines. But when 2005 came around, she was raring to go. After shaking off the year-and-a-half rust in her first race, she put together back-to-back dirt sprint allowance winners for guyinchlt, followed by two more near-misses, finishing 3rd by 1 length and 2nd by ¼ length in two more allowances. Once again trying new things, guyinchlt entered Upper Crust in an 8f allowance. Although she ran well and closed, she was not able to keep up and finished 5th. This was followed by a failed attempt on the turf. Heading down to Mexico and back to dirt sprints, she finished out her season with a 5th place and a 2nd place finish.
Upper Crust’s 6yo season in 2006 started out even better than previous years. She began with two of her fastest races, opening with a 1-1/4 allowance win and a 101 SP, and following that up with a close 2nd place finish and a 100 SP in a stakes race in Missouri. However, that would be the final high-point of her career. Through six more allowance runs, all Upper Crust would be able to muster up was two 3rd place runs. Fabman decided then that it would be a good time to retire his Grade F mare. To do so, he sent Upper Crust to Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and near-Triple Crown winner Smarty Jones. And thus, on July 23, 2006, Basketball Jones(KY) made his arrival to the Sim.
Basketball Jones(KY)’s stellar career began the week after, on July 29. On that day, trainer guyinchlt entered him in a 5.5f MSW in Vermont. After falling back to midpack quickly, Basketball Jones(KY) rebounded and came charging for the leaders. By the end, he had pulled ahead and broken his maiden by ¾ lengths. That win propelled him to a 6.5f allowance run, which he also won by ¾ lengths. Jumping to sprint stakes races, Basketball Jones(KY) ran a couple of 3rd place finishes to end his 2yo season.
Beginning his 3yo season, guyinchlt entered his 3yo in the longest race of his career, a 7.5f dirt stakes. Here, he ran 6th. That prompted the switch to turf that would change the Sim. Basketball Jones(KY) rattled off 2 wins in turf sprints, 1 allowance and 1 stakes. Following that, he managed to pick up 3 stakes wins, 2 stakes places, and 2 stakes shows, one of which was the G2 Jockey Club Classic. This led to the 2008 season, which is covered in the Sim Hall of Fame’s Eclipse Award section in two different articles.
In summary, his season was dominant. In 10 races, he picked up 6 wins (along with 1 second and 1 third), including 5 G1 wins and 1 G2. For the year, he earned 247 BPs for guyinchlt and $3.1m.
Trying to catch lightning in a bottle again, fabman sent Upper Crust back to Smarty Jones in 2008 to produce the filly Legend of Jones(KY). This time debuting on the turf, Legend of Jones(KY) broke her maiden in her first race for stable fab36, taking a 6.5f MSW by 3. Stretching out in November, her second race was not as good, as she finished a well beaten 3rd in an allowance. Ending her season on the last week of December, Fabman switched her over to dirt, where she showed a closing kick that was previously missing. She sat mid-pack before making a move, and came up a mere 1-3/4 shy, ending up in 2nd. With 1 race in 2009 so far, she picked up a win in an 8f allowance. She appears to be on the way up to join her full brother.
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That was a look at 3 of the top mares, and three Eclipse Award winning mares, with their children. Next week will be a briefer look at a few mares that fellow simsters have mentioned. If you’ve got one you want to learn about, or one that you want to brag about, post on the message board or e-mail me at Bryan.Arsham@gmail.com. Comments are also welcome.
In two weeks, the statistics will begin to fly. So start building up those BPs, buy those credits, and get ready to do some retired mare breeding.