Andrew Caulfield, February 26, 2013-Orb PEDIGREE INSIGHTS B Y A N D R E W C A U L F I E L D Saturday, Gulfstream Park BESILU STABLES FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH S.-GII, $400,000, GPX, 2-23, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42 1/5, ft. 1--#@ORB, 116, c, 3, by Malibu Moon 1st Dam: Lady Liberty, by Unbridled 2nd Dam: Mesabi Maiden, by Cox's Ridge 3rd Dam: Steel Maiden, by Damascus O/B-Stuart S Janney III LLC & Phipps Stable (KY); T-Claude R McGaughey III; J-John R Velazquez. $240,000. Lifetime Record: 6-3-0-1, $321,050. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Top Cardio Scan for EQB client • www.EQB.com It was after its 2003 running that the Fountain of Youth S. lost its Grade I status, following a period when most of its winners failed to enjoy further highest-level glory. Since then, though, the roll of honor has featured colts of the quality of High Fly, First Samurai, Scat Daddy, Quality Road, Eskendereya and Union Rags, which raises the question of whether the race should be restored to the top echelon. Even taking into account the injury suffered by runner-up Violence (Medaglia d=Oro) (who was conceding six pounds), there is good reason for thinking that this year=s winner, Orb, will one day add to the Fountain of Youth=s reputation. After taking a little while to learn his craft, he has now won three straight and has shown he=s very amenable to restraint, which could be a valuable asset in a son of Malibu Moon. Orb=s emergence helps balance the books a little for a stallion who has so Orb Adam Coglianese far owed much of his success to his daughters. As I pointed out in my notes on More Chocolate a few weeks ago, Malibu Moon=s first 25 graded winners comprise 19 fillies, three colts and three geldings, with fillies accounting for as many as seven of his eight Grade I winners. The one exception is the gelded 2-year-old champion Declan=s Moon. Perhaps because of this predominance of fillies among his best winners, Malibu Moon=s name is often associated with speed. However, his first 25 graded winners feature three Grade I-winning fillies--Funny Moon, Life At Ten and Ask The Moon--which were graded winners over a mile and a quarter, a distance which also suited the Grade II scorer Malibu Pier. Orb=s amenability, together with his pedigree, suggests that he too could thrive beyond a mile and an eighth, the distance of his win at Gulfstream last month. Caulfield cont. In addition to siring a winner of each of the three Perhaps the most notable aspect of Orb=s pedigree is legs--thanks to Grindstone, Red Bullet and Empire that he represents the A.P. Indy/Fappiano cross which Maker--we have also seen Grindstone sire a Belmont is producing so many good performers. A.P. Indy led winner in Birdstone, himself sire of Mine That Bird and the way, siring the Grade I-winning A.P. Adventure Summer Bird. Then there=s Shackleford, the 2011 from a Fappiano mare, plus the likes of Bernardini, A.P. Preakness winner, who is another out of an Unbridled Warrior, Teammate and Astrology from granddaughters mare. of Fappiano. Although Cox=s Ridge was fast enough as a mature Much of this cross=s success has come with Quiet horse to win the Metropolitan H. and Tom Fool S., he American mares, but other sons of Fappiano, such as had thrived at around a mile and an eighth earlier in his Roy, Rubiano and Unbridled, have also gotten into the career. He sired some notable winners over a mile and a act. quarter or more, including Vanlandingham, Sultry Song, Only five days before the Fountain of Youth, we had Little Missouri and Life=s Magic. seen this cross strike again in the Southwest S. This As a Claiborne resident, Cox=s Ridge inevitably Grade III event fell to Super Ninety Nine, a colt sired by covered quite a few daughters of fellow Claiborne sire the 1997 Fountain of Youth winner Pulpit from a Damascus. His best result was arguably Out of Place, granddaughter of Unbridled. but Orb=s second dam Mesabi Maiden was also well It is interesting to narrow the sample to the A.P. Indy above average, as she showed in winning the stallion sons, such as Malibu Moon and Pulpit, which GII Black-Eyed Susan S. over a mile and an eighth. are out of daughters of Mr. Prospector. Mineshaft sired Any foal by Unbridled out of Mesabi Maiden was the 2008 Fountain of Youth winner Cool Coal Man from likely to stay pretty well. Sure enough, Orb=s dam Lady a Rubiano mare, while Malibu Moon=s speedy daughter Liberty won over a mile and a half at Keeneland. She Hot Summer has a dam by Quiet American. Now wasn=t without some speed, though, as she scored over Malibu Moon has sired Orb from an Unbridled mare. 6 1/2 furlongs as a 4-year-old. Despite retiring without Unbridled also appears as the broodmare sire of any black-type to her name, Lady Liberty took her Flatter=s GII Super Derby winner Apart and of Pulpit=s chance in several graded stakes, including the GI Ogden GI Wood Memorial winner Tapit. Phipps H., and earned more than $200,000. The mating which produced Orb took place in 2009, Her best Beyer figure of 92 fell just short of the 94 shortly after Tapit had got off to such an eye-catching achieved by Mesabi Maiden. start with the likes of Laragh and Stardom Bound. Orb=s fourth dam is Laughter, whose dam Of course, Tapit=s subsequent rise to being one of Shenanigans found fame by producing the brilliant America=s highest-priced stallions can only add to the Ruffian, the speedy Icecapade (sire of Wild Again) and hopes that the similarly bred Orb will continue to thrive. the smart Buckfinder. By American standards, there is no shortage of Laughter and her descendants enjoyed a profitable stamina in the bottom half of Orb=s pedigree. His first relationship with Damascus and his son Private three dams are daughters of Unbridled, Cox=s Ridge and Account. Laughter=s foal by Private Account was the Damascus Wood Memorial winner Private Terms, and her visits to Having the Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled in the Damascus resulted in Orb=s stakes-winning third dam pedigree of a potential Triple Crown contender can be Steel Maiden and Laughing Look, who became the dam no bad thing. of Coronado=s Quest (Haskell Invitational and Travers S.). ORB, c, 2010 The next mare in this distinguished line is Bold Irish, Seattle Slew Bold Reasoning whose descendants have already made their mark on A.P. Indy My Charmer the Triple Crown, thanks to Fusaichi Pegasus and Pine Weekend Surprise Secretariat Bluff. Malibu Moon Lassie Dear Mr. Prospector Raise a Native Macoumba Gold Digger Maximova (Fr) Green Dancer Baracala Fappiano Mr. Prospector Unbridled Killaloe Lady Liberty Le Fabuleux (Fr) 23-4-4-4, Gana Facil $202,045 Charedi Best Turn 4 Fls, 2 Wnrs, Mesabi Maiden Cox’s Ridge 1 GSW GSW, $240,314 Our Martha 7 Fls, 2 Wnrs Steel Maiden Damascus 12 Fls, 1 GSW Laughter.