Post by Anomaly on Jan 24, 2015 1:38:38 GMT -5
With the 2015 Triple Crown season fully upon us, Hawkstone Stables has been preparing for a new thrilling season of racing at Seeing Stars. We have a number of old pros staying in training, and even more promising youngsters looking to take their place among the greats of our sport. Before getting into that, however, I would like to formally announce the retirement of a few of our champions, who will all be turned out to enjoy their careers in the breeding shed (and possibly even try out some of the other disciplines we have here at SS).
Retirees
First, I'd like to announce the recent retirement of a true champion. Vermillion raced 100 times in her career that spanned over three years, going out with a bang on March 3rd with a track record-setting performance in the G2 Lord of Winter Stakes. The highlights of her career include four G2 wins, a victory in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, running 3rd in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and another 3rd-place effort in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Sprint. She was named champion female sprinter of 2014 after a dazzling season where she showed off her patented front-running style en route to four wins, including the aforementioned Breeders Cup. Vermillion has already found success in the breeding shed prior to her retirement, including G2-winning 2014 Breeders Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Duality and full siblings Danger Keep Away and Vendetta. Current plans are to breed for another foal in the next month or so; potential mates include our champion Sent by Ares and Caprido, a lovely son of Warranty (the sire of both Danger Keep Away and Vendetta). Vermillion retires with a record of 100: 13-8-24
In addition to the retirement of Vermillion, I'd also like to officially announce the retirement of her long-time running companion and frequent entrymate, Enigma. A 10-time winner and the victor of the 2014 Breeders Cup Sprint, Enigma raced 79 times, often against Vermillion. He proved himself against the best sprinters in the game time and time again, and is now looking to further a career in the breeding shed that has so far proven promising, with son Enigmatic Lament (out of Paris in Flames) racking up 7 victories from 35 lifetime starts to date, including 3 of his 5 starts this year.
2013 Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Paris in Flames will also leave the track this year. She may have one or two starts left in her, depending on how races fill, but for all intents and purposes, she's retiring. This brilliant turf mare competed in both the BC Mile and BC Filly and Mare Turf for three consecutive years, finishing second in the F&M Turf in both 2012 and 2014 and was denied a repeat win in the Mile by stablemate Skadar. A G2 winner in this February's Jinxing Me Stakes, Paris in Flames has a lifetime record of 66: 9-13-5 and has already shown herself to be quite the producer! Among her four offspring are two of Hawkstone's Kentucky Oaks prospects, Porcelain and the brilliant Athena Watchover.
Also officially retired are the star stallions Animosity and Warranty. Both have been retired for a while, but I wanted to officially recognize them both here. As two of my first Thoroughbreds, both are incredibly special to me. Both proved themselves on the racetrack and have already proven themselves in the breeding shed as well. 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic victor Animosity is already the sire of a Breeders' Cup placer in Duality as well as Lethal (who has won four of her last six races) and current Kentucky Oaks contender Avarice. Warranty ran in the Breeders' Cup in three consecutive years, with his best finish coming in 2011, where he was third in the BC Turf. He has been productive as a sire thus far, with the full siblings out of Vermillion already mentioned, as well as 4-time winner Caprido. Animosity's career record is 55: 9-7-13. Warranty's is 73: 5-9-7. Both are available for stud to select mares.
Hawkstone's only 2-time Breeders Cup victor, Skadar, is also retiring this year. This flashy stallion won the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint(a race in which he finished second in 2013 and 2014). He set a stakes record in the California Flag Handicap last year, en route to a win in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Mile. His daughter Boudacious (out of Gentiva) was third behind him in the 2014 Mile and has already posted a victory this year in the G3 Piltdown Sprint Stakes. His son Challenger Deep has recently debuted for us and we're hoping to see big things from the flashy colt out of our mare Marianas Trench.
Hawkstone's other imminent retirees for 2015 are Silver Swallow, Gucci and Chepzibah. These girls will be joining the Hawkstone broodmare band. Gucci and Chepzibah will race a handful of times to improve their stats before retiring in full.
Racing String - "A" Ranks
This year's "heavy hitters" lineup is headed by reigning SS Horse of the Year Sent by Ares. After finishing third in the Classic last year behind longtime rival Seattle Slew - some may remember their thrilling exchange of blows in the 2013 Triple Crown, where Seattle Slew bested Ares in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes but was denied the Triple Crown as Sent by Ares stole the Preakness, - Ares is back for another go this year. He has started off the year well, with his three 2015 victories to date including Katann's featured Maxxam Stakes. Having surpassed 80 points in 9 of 10 stats, he is sure to be a force on the track once again this year with his trademark front-running style. At this point, his career record is 74: 14-10-17.
Our other major Classic contender is homebred colt Duality. The G2-winning son of Animosity and Vermillion was second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile last year, and we expect more great things from him in his third year of racing. His record currently stands at 69: 15-7-7, making him the winningest horse in the stable. We're incredibly excited to see him progress this year, where he will have to face off against Sent By Ares quite often in order to prove himself the champion his parents were.
Repose was third behind Animosity in the 2013 BC Classic but started only 5 times last year, his only victory a stakes record-setting performance in the Spectacular Bid Stakes. His 2015 debut was a third-place effort in the G2 Westminster Hullabaloo Stakes, and the goal is to get him a G2 victory before his retirement later this year. His offspring Low Key and Reprieve are sure be picking up the slack, though!
High Society started her career very slowly. She broke her maiden in her 5th career start on February 1st, 2013, but didn't win again until pulling a shocking upset in the Dr. Fager Memorial Stakes on August 16th, 2014. In the 45 starts between wins, she hit the board only 6 times. However, something clearly clicked with this filly after that Breeders' Cup prep victory. She's run 19 times since then, and while she's only won once, she has proven she belongs among the best horses in training, running 2nd in the G2 Kelso Handicap in her 2015 season debut. Proof that patience is a virtue in this game, we're looking forward to seeing how 2015 goes for High Society.
Siren's Soliloquy is one of the most fun horses I've ever owned. A pure router, she wants nothing to do with any races under 1 1/2 miles, and loves to make a last-to-first move for the win (except, of course, for that one time she sprinted out to the front and took a field wire to wire... hadn't happened before, hasn't happened since, but it did happen). Third in last year's Breeders Cup Turf, she was named the 2014 Champion Female Stayer. On February 4th this year, she lived up to her accolades with a 13 length victory in the G3 Meadow Stakes, a Seeing Stars record winning margin. The 2015 plan is to aim for the Breeders' Cup Marathon and Turf.
Muse of Fire is nothing if not FAST. A daughter of Siren's Soliloquy and 2014 Breeders' Cup Marathon winner Eclipse, she is the polar opposite of her dam when it comes to her running style. She has one way of running, and that is on the lead, as far in front of the other horses as possible. Her quick early foot makes her very dangerous at the 12-16 furlong distances she competes at, since such quickness is rare in stayers. Her career record currently stands at 25: 4-4-3, and includes a recent blowout victory in the G3 Long Haul Stakes, where she set a new Seeing Stars track record of 3:01.9 for 15 furlongs. With such brilliant early speed, the decision late last year to breed her to Sent by Ares just made sense, and their daughter Stargazer is a promising prospect for Hawkstone as well. Muse was 4th in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Marathon, and she's pointing for a repeat try in that race at the end of the year.
Lethal, a daughter of Animosity and 2012 Breeders' Cup Distaff AND Dirt Mile champion Ruffian, is another late blooming sort who found her best stride at the end of last year. It took her 14 races over the course of nine months to break her maiden, and at first it seemed as if she may not live up to her stellar breeding. She finished last in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Distaff, but then the light bulb went on in mid-November. She won the G3 Tudor Rose Distaff on November 15th, then flopped a week later in the Fall Back Handicap, before reeling off three straight victories in 2015. She was disappointing in her most recent start - the G3 Winter of Discontent Handicap on March 5th, but she's suddenly become the filly she was always intended to be, and could be a scary horse in the Distaff ranks.
Racing String - G3 Ranks
Caprido is fairly lightly raced, but he started this season off strong with a victory in the G3 California Chrome Stakes. The son of Warranty and Ruffian was a Derby contender last year, winning the Fountain of Youth stakes but running a lackluster 5th in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. This year, the end goal is obviously the Breeders' Cup Classic. He'll have to step up a bit to prove he belongs, but I think he will be highly competitive this year.
Reggatta de Blanc is a bit of a tough read. She's won only three of her 34 races, and all three victories came in 2013. She showed an improved effort when running third in the Untapable Handicap in January, however, and her pedigree (by Secretariat and out of Zenyatta) makes her invaluable as a broodmare. Hopefully she will continue to improve this year. If she doesn't show much on the track, she'll probably retire once her stats are sufficient for breeding.
Marianas Trench is a versatile and consistent mare who doesn't win often but rarely runs a poor race. She's a solid G3 horse at this point and we're hoping she can snag a G2 victory before the year is out!
Deja Entendu is a fun little horse. He's a late-running sprinter who was originally part of a sale I held, but when nobody bought him, I decided to keep him for myself. He hasn't been spectacular on the track, with only two wins from 26 starts, but he's a cool colt that fills a niche that our stable will be lacking in with the retirement of Vermillion and Enigma.
The son of Enigma and Paris in Flames, Enigmatic Lament has been very useful in his career so far, his record currently at 35: 7-2-6. He has won three of his five starts in 2015, though was a lackluster fifth in his G3 debut last time out. That said, it's not unusual for a horse to need a few races in G3 company to catch up to the competition, and this well-bred turfer is targeting the Breeders Cup Mile as an end goal.
In the middle-distance ranks, we have a couple of horses who have been around for a while but are just now starting to find their best form. One such horse is The Final Apostle, a winner of only four of his 60 lifetime races but steadily improving over the past year. In 2015, he's raced 8 times already, winning twice and finishing third twice. His career highlight may be his surprise 4th-place effort in the 2013 Kentucky Derby or the 2014 Breeders Cup Sprint, where he achieved the same placing. We're keeping him running in races to the shorter end of his range, as it seems he's thrived since being shortened up. Hopefully he'll continue to improve.
Once upon a time, Perazim was one of Hawkstone's best horses. That time, however, was mid-2012, and since then he trailed off badly. However, he seems to be rounding back into form again, hitting the board in his last three races after a sparse 2014 campaign. The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is the ideal goal for him this year, but we'll have to see how he continues to race - November is a long time away!
Racing String - "Three-Year-Olds"
Hawkstone Stables has never been known for our fillies, really. Paris in Flames, Siren's Soliloquy and Vermillion are the best we have had, and none of them are classic types - Vermillion is a sprinter, Soliloquy is a router, and Paris is a turf horse. That may change with this year's Kentucky Oaks. Hawkstone's strong contingent is headed by Athena Watchover, last year's champion 2-year-old filly. She's a homebred daughter of Sent by Ares and Paris in Flames, and she knows she's royalty. Just like her sire, she goes to the front early and doesn't look back, and will fight to the end to hang on to that lead. Her race record is currently 43: 8-7-6, and she has been a monster so far in 2015. In 16 races, she has already won six times, not only including ALL THREE Kentucky Oaks preps that have been run so far, but also a victory in the Arkansas Derby against the colts. Needless to say, we're very excited about 2015 with Athena heading our 3-year-old crop.
Athena isn't the only talented filly Hawkstone has pointing for the Oaks this year, though. Avarice is a 3rd-gen filly by Animosity and out of G2 racer Royal Ransom, herself by Barbaro and out of one of Seeing Stars' all time greats, Bramble. Ava, as she's known around the barn, is consistently solid and continuing to improve with every race. She's recently graduated to G3 level and has an upset chance in the Oaks if she continues getting better.
Porcelain is a half-sister to Athena, actually, being out of Paris in Flames, but she is by Sent by Ares' rival Seattle Slew. She's won 3 of her 25 career races, and like Avarice she has recently begun challenging G3 company. She has a bit of catching up to do, but is bred for success and we expect her to find it this year.
Social Scene, by Amiguri and out of High Society, isn't competing in the Kentucky Oaks preps but since to me she belongs to the same "class" as the other 3yos, I'm including her here. She's much more tactical than her dam, who is a deep closer by nature, and though she's only 2-for-26, she's been performing more consistently as of late and once she gets acclimated to G3 company we expect to see her mature into a very nice middle-distance filly for us.
Stargazer is a product of breeding speed on top of speed, and true to form, she has come out running in her career. By Sent by Ares and out of Muse of Fire, this filly is a lightning bolt on the track. She has already won twice times in 15 starts, with seven other 2nd or 3rd-place finishes. Due to a goof-up on my part that I can't quite explain the cause of, she was entered in the Arkansas Derby (hence becoming an acknowledged 3-year-old by SS standards). To our pleasant surprise, not only did she run in the race, but she was third behind fellow Sent by Ares daughter Athena Watchover. After such an impressive performance, we're setting our sights on seeing if we can qualify her for the Kentucky Oaks and/or Derby (it'll depend on where we end up going with Athena - no point in having two of our own fillies dueling each other into exhaustion).
Headlining our Kentucky Derby prospects this year is Derringer. He's only raced 17 times, but he has won three of those and placed in an additional seven. He started his career out strong with a debut win in early January, and finished second in the San Felipe Stakes, an important Derby prep. A highly talented son of Man O War and Pistol Perfect, he was a bit of an impulse adoption from Hard Tack, a choice that was certainly beneficial to us!
Danger Keep Away has a tendency to run huge or run nowhere at all, but when he does run, he has a lot of ability. A son of Warranty and Vendetta, he was actually not a planned foal, but when a full sibling to Vendetta was born we had no choice but to see if he had some talent. He responded with a resounding "yes" when winning his third career start. He's only won once since that maiden victory, and we're beginning to wonder if he might end up a bit short on conditioning for the Derby, but he deserves a chance to run and is sure to be a potential Breeders' Cup starter come summertime.
Low Key is a son of Repose and Gentiva, and has been quite competitive in his brief career. He's hit the board in 10 of his 18 races, including three wins and a 3rd-place effort in the San Felipe Stakes. He'll be following the Derby trail but may or may not be running for the roses on the first Saturday in May. The 1 1/4 mile distance of the Kentucky Derby is within his probable range, but he may be more suited to 9 furlongs, and if he were to win the Derby he would certainly be up against it in the 1 1/2 Belmont Stakes. He's more likely to skip the Derby and run in the Preakness Stakes on the third Saturday in May.
Racing String - "Two-Year-Olds"/Newbies
Please allow me to introduce you to the handsome Vegas, who we purchased from Appy at Ever Green Stables. We were immediately rewarded when he broke his maiden in his debut on March 2nd. While an impressive first start isn't necessarily indicative of a champion, I'm thinking we have a runner on our hands here. This turf specialist will probably be geared toward racing a mile on the turf. Maybe he'll be ready for the Breeders' Cup by the end of the year?
Vanity's Fair was a Christmas gift from Ava, and WOW is she stunning or what? She's definitely still a work in progress, with only one third place finish to her name in 21 races, but given some time I'm sure we'll see her true ability. She's a route specialist who has the versatility to run on dirt or turf.
Year's End was a Christmas present from Neco. This turf sprinter has yet to break her maiden, with only one runner-up effort in eleven starts to date, but again I'm not too concerned at this point. She's a 1st gen filly and therefore has to work a bit harder to build up her stats than the many bred horses we have in training at Hawkstone.
Reprieve is a strong, well-built son of Repose and Silver Swallow. He was third in his debut, but has been lackluster in his two races since. While a natural closer, he's flexible about the way he's ridden and can adapt to whatever race scenario he finds himself in. Expect to see him contending in next year's Triple Crown!
A son of Skadar, Challenger Deep is the first foal of our mare Marianas Trench. A colt with a good distance range who can run on any surface, Challenger finished last in his debut, but we're far from discouraged. This flashy red bay is sure to find his footing and improve with experience, and with his versatility he could be any kind of racehorse.
And finally, the most recent addition to Hawkstone Stables! Meet Monhroe! She's from Rafa's awesome breeding service, by the real life stallion Lonhro and out of the mare Balletto, one of my favorite horses back when she was racing. Monhroe will be raised naturally, which is absolute torture for me because I can't wait to see what she looks like all grown up!! But here she is as a foal, for now. I'll be posting more about her in the next week or so, I'm sure haha
Retirees
First, I'd like to announce the recent retirement of a true champion. Vermillion raced 100 times in her career that spanned over three years, going out with a bang on March 3rd with a track record-setting performance in the G2 Lord of Winter Stakes. The highlights of her career include four G2 wins, a victory in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, running 3rd in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, and another 3rd-place effort in the 2013 Breeders' Cup Sprint. She was named champion female sprinter of 2014 after a dazzling season where she showed off her patented front-running style en route to four wins, including the aforementioned Breeders Cup. Vermillion has already found success in the breeding shed prior to her retirement, including G2-winning 2014 Breeders Cup Dirt Mile runner-up Duality and full siblings Danger Keep Away and Vendetta. Current plans are to breed for another foal in the next month or so; potential mates include our champion Sent by Ares and Caprido, a lovely son of Warranty (the sire of both Danger Keep Away and Vendetta). Vermillion retires with a record of 100: 13-8-24
In addition to the retirement of Vermillion, I'd also like to officially announce the retirement of her long-time running companion and frequent entrymate, Enigma. A 10-time winner and the victor of the 2014 Breeders Cup Sprint, Enigma raced 79 times, often against Vermillion. He proved himself against the best sprinters in the game time and time again, and is now looking to further a career in the breeding shed that has so far proven promising, with son Enigmatic Lament (out of Paris in Flames) racking up 7 victories from 35 lifetime starts to date, including 3 of his 5 starts this year.
2013 Breeders' Cup Mile heroine Paris in Flames will also leave the track this year. She may have one or two starts left in her, depending on how races fill, but for all intents and purposes, she's retiring. This brilliant turf mare competed in both the BC Mile and BC Filly and Mare Turf for three consecutive years, finishing second in the F&M Turf in both 2012 and 2014 and was denied a repeat win in the Mile by stablemate Skadar. A G2 winner in this February's Jinxing Me Stakes, Paris in Flames has a lifetime record of 66: 9-13-5 and has already shown herself to be quite the producer! Among her four offspring are two of Hawkstone's Kentucky Oaks prospects, Porcelain and the brilliant Athena Watchover.
Also officially retired are the star stallions Animosity and Warranty. Both have been retired for a while, but I wanted to officially recognize them both here. As two of my first Thoroughbreds, both are incredibly special to me. Both proved themselves on the racetrack and have already proven themselves in the breeding shed as well. 2013 Breeders' Cup Classic victor Animosity is already the sire of a Breeders' Cup placer in Duality as well as Lethal (who has won four of her last six races) and current Kentucky Oaks contender Avarice. Warranty ran in the Breeders' Cup in three consecutive years, with his best finish coming in 2011, where he was third in the BC Turf. He has been productive as a sire thus far, with the full siblings out of Vermillion already mentioned, as well as 4-time winner Caprido. Animosity's career record is 55: 9-7-13. Warranty's is 73: 5-9-7. Both are available for stud to select mares.
Hawkstone's only 2-time Breeders Cup victor, Skadar, is also retiring this year. This flashy stallion won the 2012 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint(a race in which he finished second in 2013 and 2014). He set a stakes record in the California Flag Handicap last year, en route to a win in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Mile. His daughter Boudacious (out of Gentiva) was third behind him in the 2014 Mile and has already posted a victory this year in the G3 Piltdown Sprint Stakes. His son Challenger Deep has recently debuted for us and we're hoping to see big things from the flashy colt out of our mare Marianas Trench.
Hawkstone's other imminent retirees for 2015 are Silver Swallow, Gucci and Chepzibah. These girls will be joining the Hawkstone broodmare band. Gucci and Chepzibah will race a handful of times to improve their stats before retiring in full.
Racing String - "A" Ranks
This year's "heavy hitters" lineup is headed by reigning SS Horse of the Year Sent by Ares. After finishing third in the Classic last year behind longtime rival Seattle Slew - some may remember their thrilling exchange of blows in the 2013 Triple Crown, where Seattle Slew bested Ares in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes but was denied the Triple Crown as Sent by Ares stole the Preakness, - Ares is back for another go this year. He has started off the year well, with his three 2015 victories to date including Katann's featured Maxxam Stakes. Having surpassed 80 points in 9 of 10 stats, he is sure to be a force on the track once again this year with his trademark front-running style. At this point, his career record is 74: 14-10-17.
Our other major Classic contender is homebred colt Duality. The G2-winning son of Animosity and Vermillion was second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile last year, and we expect more great things from him in his third year of racing. His record currently stands at 69: 15-7-7, making him the winningest horse in the stable. We're incredibly excited to see him progress this year, where he will have to face off against Sent By Ares quite often in order to prove himself the champion his parents were.
Repose was third behind Animosity in the 2013 BC Classic but started only 5 times last year, his only victory a stakes record-setting performance in the Spectacular Bid Stakes. His 2015 debut was a third-place effort in the G2 Westminster Hullabaloo Stakes, and the goal is to get him a G2 victory before his retirement later this year. His offspring Low Key and Reprieve are sure be picking up the slack, though!
High Society started her career very slowly. She broke her maiden in her 5th career start on February 1st, 2013, but didn't win again until pulling a shocking upset in the Dr. Fager Memorial Stakes on August 16th, 2014. In the 45 starts between wins, she hit the board only 6 times. However, something clearly clicked with this filly after that Breeders' Cup prep victory. She's run 19 times since then, and while she's only won once, she has proven she belongs among the best horses in training, running 2nd in the G2 Kelso Handicap in her 2015 season debut. Proof that patience is a virtue in this game, we're looking forward to seeing how 2015 goes for High Society.
Siren's Soliloquy is one of the most fun horses I've ever owned. A pure router, she wants nothing to do with any races under 1 1/2 miles, and loves to make a last-to-first move for the win (except, of course, for that one time she sprinted out to the front and took a field wire to wire... hadn't happened before, hasn't happened since, but it did happen). Third in last year's Breeders Cup Turf, she was named the 2014 Champion Female Stayer. On February 4th this year, she lived up to her accolades with a 13 length victory in the G3 Meadow Stakes, a Seeing Stars record winning margin. The 2015 plan is to aim for the Breeders' Cup Marathon and Turf.
Muse of Fire is nothing if not FAST. A daughter of Siren's Soliloquy and 2014 Breeders' Cup Marathon winner Eclipse, she is the polar opposite of her dam when it comes to her running style. She has one way of running, and that is on the lead, as far in front of the other horses as possible. Her quick early foot makes her very dangerous at the 12-16 furlong distances she competes at, since such quickness is rare in stayers. Her career record currently stands at 25: 4-4-3, and includes a recent blowout victory in the G3 Long Haul Stakes, where she set a new Seeing Stars track record of 3:01.9 for 15 furlongs. With such brilliant early speed, the decision late last year to breed her to Sent by Ares just made sense, and their daughter Stargazer is a promising prospect for Hawkstone as well. Muse was 4th in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Marathon, and she's pointing for a repeat try in that race at the end of the year.
Lethal, a daughter of Animosity and 2012 Breeders' Cup Distaff AND Dirt Mile champion Ruffian, is another late blooming sort who found her best stride at the end of last year. It took her 14 races over the course of nine months to break her maiden, and at first it seemed as if she may not live up to her stellar breeding. She finished last in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Distaff, but then the light bulb went on in mid-November. She won the G3 Tudor Rose Distaff on November 15th, then flopped a week later in the Fall Back Handicap, before reeling off three straight victories in 2015. She was disappointing in her most recent start - the G3 Winter of Discontent Handicap on March 5th, but she's suddenly become the filly she was always intended to be, and could be a scary horse in the Distaff ranks.
Racing String - G3 Ranks
Caprido is fairly lightly raced, but he started this season off strong with a victory in the G3 California Chrome Stakes. The son of Warranty and Ruffian was a Derby contender last year, winning the Fountain of Youth stakes but running a lackluster 5th in both the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. This year, the end goal is obviously the Breeders' Cup Classic. He'll have to step up a bit to prove he belongs, but I think he will be highly competitive this year.
Reggatta de Blanc is a bit of a tough read. She's won only three of her 34 races, and all three victories came in 2013. She showed an improved effort when running third in the Untapable Handicap in January, however, and her pedigree (by Secretariat and out of Zenyatta) makes her invaluable as a broodmare. Hopefully she will continue to improve this year. If she doesn't show much on the track, she'll probably retire once her stats are sufficient for breeding.
Marianas Trench is a versatile and consistent mare who doesn't win often but rarely runs a poor race. She's a solid G3 horse at this point and we're hoping she can snag a G2 victory before the year is out!
Deja Entendu is a fun little horse. He's a late-running sprinter who was originally part of a sale I held, but when nobody bought him, I decided to keep him for myself. He hasn't been spectacular on the track, with only two wins from 26 starts, but he's a cool colt that fills a niche that our stable will be lacking in with the retirement of Vermillion and Enigma.
The son of Enigma and Paris in Flames, Enigmatic Lament has been very useful in his career so far, his record currently at 35: 7-2-6. He has won three of his five starts in 2015, though was a lackluster fifth in his G3 debut last time out. That said, it's not unusual for a horse to need a few races in G3 company to catch up to the competition, and this well-bred turfer is targeting the Breeders Cup Mile as an end goal.
In the middle-distance ranks, we have a couple of horses who have been around for a while but are just now starting to find their best form. One such horse is The Final Apostle, a winner of only four of his 60 lifetime races but steadily improving over the past year. In 2015, he's raced 8 times already, winning twice and finishing third twice. His career highlight may be his surprise 4th-place effort in the 2013 Kentucky Derby or the 2014 Breeders Cup Sprint, where he achieved the same placing. We're keeping him running in races to the shorter end of his range, as it seems he's thrived since being shortened up. Hopefully he'll continue to improve.
Once upon a time, Perazim was one of Hawkstone's best horses. That time, however, was mid-2012, and since then he trailed off badly. However, he seems to be rounding back into form again, hitting the board in his last three races after a sparse 2014 campaign. The Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile is the ideal goal for him this year, but we'll have to see how he continues to race - November is a long time away!
Racing String - "Three-Year-Olds"
Hawkstone Stables has never been known for our fillies, really. Paris in Flames, Siren's Soliloquy and Vermillion are the best we have had, and none of them are classic types - Vermillion is a sprinter, Soliloquy is a router, and Paris is a turf horse. That may change with this year's Kentucky Oaks. Hawkstone's strong contingent is headed by Athena Watchover, last year's champion 2-year-old filly. She's a homebred daughter of Sent by Ares and Paris in Flames, and she knows she's royalty. Just like her sire, she goes to the front early and doesn't look back, and will fight to the end to hang on to that lead. Her race record is currently 43: 8-7-6, and she has been a monster so far in 2015. In 16 races, she has already won six times, not only including ALL THREE Kentucky Oaks preps that have been run so far, but also a victory in the Arkansas Derby against the colts. Needless to say, we're very excited about 2015 with Athena heading our 3-year-old crop.
Athena isn't the only talented filly Hawkstone has pointing for the Oaks this year, though. Avarice is a 3rd-gen filly by Animosity and out of G2 racer Royal Ransom, herself by Barbaro and out of one of Seeing Stars' all time greats, Bramble. Ava, as she's known around the barn, is consistently solid and continuing to improve with every race. She's recently graduated to G3 level and has an upset chance in the Oaks if she continues getting better.
Porcelain is a half-sister to Athena, actually, being out of Paris in Flames, but she is by Sent by Ares' rival Seattle Slew. She's won 3 of her 25 career races, and like Avarice she has recently begun challenging G3 company. She has a bit of catching up to do, but is bred for success and we expect her to find it this year.
Social Scene, by Amiguri and out of High Society, isn't competing in the Kentucky Oaks preps but since to me she belongs to the same "class" as the other 3yos, I'm including her here. She's much more tactical than her dam, who is a deep closer by nature, and though she's only 2-for-26, she's been performing more consistently as of late and once she gets acclimated to G3 company we expect to see her mature into a very nice middle-distance filly for us.
Stargazer is a product of breeding speed on top of speed, and true to form, she has come out running in her career. By Sent by Ares and out of Muse of Fire, this filly is a lightning bolt on the track. She has already won twice times in 15 starts, with seven other 2nd or 3rd-place finishes. Due to a goof-up on my part that I can't quite explain the cause of, she was entered in the Arkansas Derby (hence becoming an acknowledged 3-year-old by SS standards). To our pleasant surprise, not only did she run in the race, but she was third behind fellow Sent by Ares daughter Athena Watchover. After such an impressive performance, we're setting our sights on seeing if we can qualify her for the Kentucky Oaks and/or Derby (it'll depend on where we end up going with Athena - no point in having two of our own fillies dueling each other into exhaustion).
Headlining our Kentucky Derby prospects this year is Derringer. He's only raced 17 times, but he has won three of those and placed in an additional seven. He started his career out strong with a debut win in early January, and finished second in the San Felipe Stakes, an important Derby prep. A highly talented son of Man O War and Pistol Perfect, he was a bit of an impulse adoption from Hard Tack, a choice that was certainly beneficial to us!
Danger Keep Away has a tendency to run huge or run nowhere at all, but when he does run, he has a lot of ability. A son of Warranty and Vendetta, he was actually not a planned foal, but when a full sibling to Vendetta was born we had no choice but to see if he had some talent. He responded with a resounding "yes" when winning his third career start. He's only won once since that maiden victory, and we're beginning to wonder if he might end up a bit short on conditioning for the Derby, but he deserves a chance to run and is sure to be a potential Breeders' Cup starter come summertime.
Low Key is a son of Repose and Gentiva, and has been quite competitive in his brief career. He's hit the board in 10 of his 18 races, including three wins and a 3rd-place effort in the San Felipe Stakes. He'll be following the Derby trail but may or may not be running for the roses on the first Saturday in May. The 1 1/4 mile distance of the Kentucky Derby is within his probable range, but he may be more suited to 9 furlongs, and if he were to win the Derby he would certainly be up against it in the 1 1/2 Belmont Stakes. He's more likely to skip the Derby and run in the Preakness Stakes on the third Saturday in May.
Racing String - "Two-Year-Olds"/Newbies
Please allow me to introduce you to the handsome Vegas, who we purchased from Appy at Ever Green Stables. We were immediately rewarded when he broke his maiden in his debut on March 2nd. While an impressive first start isn't necessarily indicative of a champion, I'm thinking we have a runner on our hands here. This turf specialist will probably be geared toward racing a mile on the turf. Maybe he'll be ready for the Breeders' Cup by the end of the year?
Vanity's Fair was a Christmas gift from Ava, and WOW is she stunning or what? She's definitely still a work in progress, with only one third place finish to her name in 21 races, but given some time I'm sure we'll see her true ability. She's a route specialist who has the versatility to run on dirt or turf.
Year's End was a Christmas present from Neco. This turf sprinter has yet to break her maiden, with only one runner-up effort in eleven starts to date, but again I'm not too concerned at this point. She's a 1st gen filly and therefore has to work a bit harder to build up her stats than the many bred horses we have in training at Hawkstone.
Reprieve is a strong, well-built son of Repose and Silver Swallow. He was third in his debut, but has been lackluster in his two races since. While a natural closer, he's flexible about the way he's ridden and can adapt to whatever race scenario he finds himself in. Expect to see him contending in next year's Triple Crown!
A son of Skadar, Challenger Deep is the first foal of our mare Marianas Trench. A colt with a good distance range who can run on any surface, Challenger finished last in his debut, but we're far from discouraged. This flashy red bay is sure to find his footing and improve with experience, and with his versatility he could be any kind of racehorse.
And finally, the most recent addition to Hawkstone Stables! Meet Monhroe! She's from Rafa's awesome breeding service, by the real life stallion Lonhro and out of the mare Balletto, one of my favorite horses back when she was racing. Monhroe will be raised naturally, which is absolute torture for me because I can't wait to see what she looks like all grown up!! But here she is as a foal, for now. I'll be posting more about her in the next week or so, I'm sure haha