Alan Porter, August 9, 2006–Bluegrass Cat WEEKEND PEDIGREE Also successful in the GII Top Flight H. that year, Daydreaming added the GII Next Move H. at four. PERSPECTIVES Bluegrass Cat=s granddam, Get Lucky, won the GIII by Alan Porter Affectionately H. at three, and was a sister to Rhythm, a champion at two, and winner of the GI Travers S.-- Sunday, Monmouth Park the next likely target for Bluegrass Cat--at three. We HASKELL INVITATIONAL S.-GI, $1,030,000, MTH, 8-6, should also note that Get Lucky is a sister to the very 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:48 4/5, ft. successful Maryland-based sire, Not For Love, and 1--sBLUEGRASS CAT, 118, c, 3, by Storm Cat three-quarters related to Woodman, who is by Mr. 1st Dam: She's a Winner, by A.P. Indy Prospector out of a sister to Bluegrass Cat=s fourth 2nd Dam: Get Lucky, by Mr. Prospector dam, champion two-year-old filly Numbered Account. 3rd Dam: Dance Number, by Northern Dancer Bluegrass Cat=s third dam, Dance Number, won the GI O/B-WinStar Farm LLC (KY); T-Todd A Pletcher; Beldame S. and GII Shuvee H. J-J Velazquez; $600,000. Lifetime Record: 10-5-3-0, With his future stud career in mind, it=s interesting to $1,561,280. *1/2 to Lord of the Game (Saint note that Bluegrass Cat has pedigree similarities to two Ballado), MGSW, $539,920. hot young sires, Dixie Union and Johannesburg. Click for the brisnet.com chart or the free brisnet.com Bluegrass Cat is a Storm Cat (grandson of Northern catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Taylor Dancer) horse out of a mare by a son of Seattle Slew, Made. with a second dam by Mr. Prospector. The weekend showcased two Grade I events which promised to point up likely major Asecond-season@ BLUEGRASS CAT, c, 2003 contenders from the ranks of three-year-old colts and Nearctic older males. The two events, the GI Haskell Invitational Northern Dancer Natalma S. and GI Whitney S., were won in two very different Storm Bird New Providence styles, by two horses with very different types of South Ocean Shining Sun pedigrees. Storm Cat Bold Ruler Runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness Secretariat Somethingroyal S., Bluegrass Cat revealed a a new dimension in his Terlingua Crimson Satan abilities in the Haskell, producing a powerful finishing Crimson Saint kick to draw off and score by seven lengths from the Bolero Rose Bold Reasoning front-running Praying for Cash. A son of Storm Cat, Seattle Slew My Charmer Bluegrass Cat is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare A.P. Indy Secretariat She=s a Winner, previously dam of the two-time graded She’s a Winner Weekend Surprise stakes winner Lord of the Game. The cross of Storm Unraced Lassie Dear 5Fls, 1GISW, Get Lucky Raise a Native Cat over mares by A.P. Indy has always looked as if it 1GSW Mr. Prospector might work well--Storm Cat and his sons work well GSW, 11-5-4-1, Gold Digger $157,760 Dance Number Northern Dancer with Seattle Slew in general, and both Storm Cat and 10Fls, 2GSW, 1SW A.P. Indy are out of Secretariat mares--and the day 7Fls, 1Ch, 2GSW Numbered Account before the Haskell, the GIII Sorrento S. was won by Untouched Talent, a two-year-old filly who is also by Dixie Union is a Northern Dancer-line stallion out of a Storm Cat out of an A.P. Indy mare. mare by a son of Seattle Slew, and with a second dam As we mentioned, even though Bluegrass Cat took by Mr. Prospector, while Johannesburg is by a son of the GII Remsen S. and GIII Nashua S. at two, and was Storm Cat, and has a second dam by Mr. Prospector. runner-up in two Classics this year, the Haskell marked Inbreeding to Mr. Prospector is already found in six of a new performance high for him. We wonder if this is Dixie Union=s first 12 stakes winners, including graded something in line with the A.P. Indy influence: as we scorer High Cotton, who is out of a mare by A.P. Indy mentioned a few weeks ago with regard to Bernardini, and therefore also inbred to Seattle Slew. Meanwhile, the tendency for horses by that sire is to reach their Johannesburg=s first crop is headline by the GII Sanford peak after the Classics have passed. S. first and second, Scat Daddy and Teuflesberg, and We can certainly see something similar to Bluegrass the G2 Richmond S. winner Hamoody, all three inbred Cat=s pattern with Accelerator and Daydreaming, a to Mr. Prospector, with Scat Daddy being out of a mare talented brother and sister to the dam of Bluegrass Cat. by that horse. In the light of that it will be very Accelerator won an off the turf renewal of the GIII interesting to see how Bluegrass Cat does with Mr. Pilgrim S. at two, but was better at three, when he Prospector line mares, particularly those bred on a took runner-up spot in the GII Wood Memorial, and at parallel Mr. Prospector/Northern Dancer cross to four, when he was three times graded placed, including Bluegrass Cat=s granddam, Get Lucky. a third in the GI Metropolitan H. Daydreaming was third The day before the Haskell, the Whitney was in the GI Spinaway S. on her second start at two, but captured by Invasor, who fought off an early challenge didn=t get her first stakes win until taking the GIII from last year=s GI Breeders= Cup Classic runner-up Indiana Breeders= Cup Oaks in October of her three- Flower Alley, then dug in late to hold off a determined year-old season. Sun King. In doing so, he took his U.S. record to three-for-three, With his runners showing so much talent in North having previously won the GI Pimlico Special and GI America, Candy Stripes, was acquired to stand at Suburban H. In fact, Invasor has been perfect on the Taylor Made Farm in Kentucky. American continent, and he also captured all five of his Unfortunately, he didn=t hit it off anywhere near as starts in Uruguay, where he was a Triple Crown winner well with North American mares, and from his time in and Horse of the Year. His sole defeat came early this the U.S. sired only four stakes winners. Returned to year when fourth in the G2 UAE Derby. South America, however, Candy Stripes has continued Although he spent the formative part of his racing to shine. Not only has he sired numerous additional career in Uruguay, Invasor was bred in Argentina. He is high-class performers in Argentina and Brazil, but was a son of Candy Stripes, who, having been represented also represented by Leroidesanimaux, winner in the by champion turf horse Leroidesanimaux last year, may U.S. of the GI Citation H., GIII Inglewood H. and GIII end up with a champion on dirt this term if Invasor Morvich H., and Eventuail, captor in South Africa of the continues in similar form. Candy Stripes, who did all his G1 South African Guineas and G1 Turffontein Summer racing on turf, started only six times and never won a Cup. black-type event, but did finish third (promoted to second by the stewards), beaten two lengths, in the G1 INVASOR (ARG), c, 2002 French 2000 Guineas. Retired to stud in Argentina, *Nasrullah Candy Stripes made a sensational start to his career, Red God Spring Run which led to him being imported to stand in the U.S., Blushing Groom (Fr) Runaway Bride Wild Risk (Fr) first in Kentucky and then in Florida. Unfortunately, (GB) Aimee (GB) Candy Stripes seemed less well-suited to the mares he Candy Stripes Northern Dancer covered in the U.S., and from four crops sired here, his Lyphard Bubble Company Goofed only graded scorer was champion Canadian turf mare (Fr) Prominer (Ire) Prodice (Fr) Sweetest Thing. However, from South American mares, Euridice (Fr) which one suspects fit him better physically, Candy Good Manners Farnesio (Arg) Stripes has several other runners that have made their La Farnesina (Arg) Interprete (Arg) names in the U.S., these including, in addition to Liloy (Fr) Inaccessible (Arg) Leroidesanimaux and Invasor, the Grade I-winning Quendom (Arg) Iliada (Arg) Unraced Different, and graded scorers Lundy=s Liability, Victory Lacydon (GB) 1 GSW Cipayo (Arg) Stripes and Criollito. Incidentally, Different, Lundy=s Queen of Victory Tsarina (GB) (Arg) Liability, Victory Stripes and Criollito all scored major Crown Thy Good 2 GSW Twitch Crown (Arg) victories on dirt, so in this respect Candy Stripes is Twins (Arg) emulating his sire, Blushing Groom, a turf horse who was able to get Blushing John, Arazi and Sky Beauty, who all earned Eclipse Awards for the achievements on Two questions. One: what do Blushing John, Arazi, dirt--as well as other major dirt performers such as Sky Beauty, Eliza, Cherokee Run, Serena=s Song, You=d Be Surprised, Mt. Livermore and Rahy. Chilukki, Peaks and Valleys and Mt. Sassafras have in Invasor=s dam, Quendom (by the Nashua line stallion, common? Two: what is the point of that question? Interprete), never ran, but her immediate family had The answer to the first question is that all the horses already made it=s presence known in the U.S. prior to named above are by Blushing Groom or sons of the arrival of Invasor.