Pedigree Insights
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Andrew Caulfield, October 30, 2007–War Pass P EDIGREE INSIGHTS But will the latest Juvenile winner, the admirable War Pass, prove another exception to the rule? His BY ANDREW CAULFIELD connections clearly think he's capable of following in Street Sense's footsteps, as the unbeaten colt is apparently heading to Florida to prepare for the Triple Saturday, Monmouth Park Crown races. But what does his pedigree tell us? BESSEMER TRUST BREEDERS' CUP JUVENILE-GI, The first relevant aspect of his pedigree is that he's $1,832,000, MTH, 10-27, 2yo, c/g, 1 1/16m, by Cherokee Run, winner of the GI 1:42 3/5, sy. Breeders' Cup Sprint as a four-year-old 1--WAR PASS, 122, c, 2, by Cherokee Run in 1994. This alone could set the 1st Dam: Vue (MSP), by Mr. Prospector alarm bells ringing about War Pass's 2nd Dam: Harbor Flag, by Hoist the Flag prospects of staying a fast-run mile 3rd Dam: Bayou Blue, by Bold Ruler and a quarter, but nothing is ever ($180,000 yrl '06 KEESEP). O-Robert V LaPenta; quite straightforward in Thoroughbred B-Cherry Valley Farm LLC (KY); T-Nicholas P Zito; racing. A few other stallions which J-Cornelio H Velasquez; $1,080,000. Lifetime featured in the GI BC Sprint have Record: 4-4-0-0, $1,397,400. *1/2 to Oath (Known made an impact on the Triple Crown. Fact), GISW, $144,880; Vision of Beauty (Danzig), Smile, winner of the >86 Sprint after War Pass GSP, $190,844. finishing second a year earlier, ranks Equi-photo Click for the brisnet.com chart or the free brisnet.com as the broodmare sire of Smarty catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Jones, winner of the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Made. even though he was by another sprinter Elusive Quality. And Gulch, the 1988 winner, sired Thunder Gulch, hero Winners of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, of course, of the 1995 Kentucky Derby and Belmont. have a notoriously bad record in the Kentucky Derby. It could also be in War Pass's favor that Cherokee That is until Street Sense came along to show that it Run was no one-dimensional speedster. To my eye the isn't impossible for a colt to dominate his generation stallion isn't built like the conventional sprinter and he over 1 1/16 miles in the fall and over 1 1/4 miles a little wasn't bred like one either. over six months later. Caulfield cont. www.coolmore.com His sire Runaway Groom had won two legs of the Vue, to her credit, has matched Prospectors Delite's Canadian Triple Crown, both over 1 1/2 miles, before feat of producing a pair of Grade I winners, as her first heading south to take the GI Travers S. over 1 1/4 foal, the Known Fact filly Oath, landed the Spinaway S. miles, so Cherokee Run was clearly worth trying around in 1996. Unfortunately Oath doesn't tell us much about two turns. He justified the opportunity by being beaten War Pass's stamina potential as she raced only three only half a length in Prairie Bayou's GI Preakness S. and times after the age of two and failed to win again. he later won the GII Dwyer S. over nine furlongs. Incidentally, the fact that War Pass is out of a Mr. However, he also demonstrated that he possessed Prospector mare will also cause a ripple of unease plenty of speed as a three-year-old, notably equalling among his admirers. Another famous hoodoo, along Keeneland's seven-furlong record in the GIII Lafayette with the so-called Breeders' Cup Juvenile jinx, is that S. (18 days before he won the mile GIII Derby Trial). His no horse out of a Raise A Native line mare had connections must have concluded that there were succeeded in winning the Kentucky Derby until Barbaro- greater opportunities for Cherokee Run up to a mile, -the son of a Carson City mare--came along in 2006. rather than beyond, as he never tackled more than a That statistic owed a lot to the fact that the Kentucky mile in nine starts at four. He showed his appreciation Derby has been dominated by the Raise A Native male by gaining Grade I & II victories over six furlongs. line, especially the Mr. Prospector branch, and it With a background like this, I should be able to report wouldn't worry me if War Pass were by a more noted that Cherokee Run has proved similarly versatile as a sire of staying horses than Cherokee Run. stallion, with a wide mix of winners to his credit, but As it is, I need more convincing that War Pass will his strong suit has proved to be speed--and precocious still be the leader of the Classic pack on the first speed at that. War Pass was his fifth challenger for Saturday next May. Breeders' Cup honors and the previous four all contested either the Juvenile or the Juvenile Fillies. He WAR PASS, c, 2005 came closest to success with Chilukki, runner-up to Red God Cash Run in the 1999 Fillies, and Kafwain, who chased Blushing Groom (Fr) Runaway Bride home Vindication in 2002. He was also represented by Runaway Groom (GB) Yonaguska, a disappointment in 2000. Call the Witness Yonnie Girl It is interesting to chart the future careers of these Cherokee Run Po’chile three. Chilukki's graded victories as a mature filly were Drone Silver Saber gained over a mile (in record time) and 1 1/16 miles, Happy Flirt Cherokee Dame whereas Kafwain gained his only graded win at three Francis S. Dame Francesca over seven furlongs. Yonaguska pursued a sprinting Maid to Rule career, notably winning the Fall Highweight H. over six Native Dancer Raise a Native furlongs. The Darley/Jonabell stallion is also responsible Raise You Mr. Prospector for such fast performers as Dream Run and Indian Flare. Nashua Vue Gold Digger Even Sir Cherokee, Cherokee Run's winner of the MSP Sequence Illinois Derby over 1 1/8 miles, later dropped back 10Fls, 2GISW Tom Rolfe Hoist the Flag below a mile to win the Ack Ack H. Zanjero has shown Harbor Flag Wavy Navy a measure of stamina, with the GIII West Virginia Derby 14Fls, 1GSW 2SW Bayou Blue Bold Ruler over 1 1/8 miles among his wins, but his stamina was 8Fls Bayou no doubt bolstered by having a GI Belmont S. winner, A.P. Indy, as his broodmare sire. So is there any staying blood in the bottom half of War Pass's pedigree to help him as the distances lengthen? The answer is probably not. His dam Vue was placed in a couple of stakes as a three-year-old, one over six furlongs, the other over a mile, and five of her six starts came in sprints. With Mr. Prospector as her sire and a Hoist The Flag mare as her dam, Vue has the distinction of being bred along the same lines as Prospectors Delite. This remarkable mare won the Ashland S. and Acorn S. at around a mile before developing into an exceptional broodmare. All five of Prospectors Delite's foals became stakes winners, with Mineshaft and Tomisue's Delight both becoming Grade I winners. Both these Grade I winners stayed 1 1/4 miles, but they too had their stamina boosted by having A.P. Indy as their sire..