Alabama Stakes

Tapit further solidified his status as a rising star in the ranks of the powerful group of 2nd crop stallions which include Medaglia D' Oro, Birdstone, Speightstown, Candy Ride, etc. with the victory of Careless Jewel in the G1 Alabama Stakes.

An interesting horse to watch is the Sword Dancer Invitational winner Telling who is by A P Indy-Well Chosen by Deputy Minister. Well Chosen has a racing index of 26.22 which puts her up near the championship index. Currently, Telling has a racing index of 11.83 less then 50% of his dams, but lets see if his index goes up. It is my contention that with but a few exceptions mares like Well Chosen breed down from their own indexes and therefore almost never breed champions. Let's see what happens to Telling during the remainder of the racing year. Another such mare is Tranquility Lake by Rahy who is the dam of Courageous Cat whose index is 1/3 of her own. Should be mentioned though that Tranquility Lake is also the dam of After Market whose index is 25.02

Alabama Stakes G1
Careless Jewel 38.22 Sweet and Careless Unr

Del Mar Oaks G1
Internallyflawless 14.30 Tapatina .24

Sword Dancer Invitational G1
Telling 11.83 Well Chosen 26.22

John C. Mabee Stakes G1
Magical Fantasy 28.15 Kissing Gate .20

Honorable Miss Handicap G2
Game Face 18.61 Galleon of Gold Unr

National Musecum Hall of Fame Stakes G2
Courageous Cat 9.32 Tranquility Lake 29.95

LaJolla Handicap G2
Meteore 5.63 Meteor Miracle 4.64

Adirondack Stakes G2
Worstcasescenario 20.00 Stacie's Halo 3.56

Lake Placid Stakes G2
Shared Interest 7.78 Silk n' Sapphire 4.34

Saratoga Special G2
D'Funnybone 12.15 Elbow 2.25

Arlington Million

Gio Ponte has established himself as the top grass runner in North America. He is out of Chipeta Springs by Alydar whose racing index is 3.78. It is important to note that Chipeta Springs placed 3rd in the Azalea Handicap. Since I've said that the dams of high indexed runners are usually minor stakes winners, stakes placed mares, and allowance and high priced claimers, then it is important to understand how these indexes correlate to this type of race. The speedy Zensational winner of the recent G1 Bing Crosby Handicap is out of Joke by Phone Trick whose 3.88 racing index is very similar to that of Chipeta Springs. Joke won the minor Vallejo Stakes and Fairfield Stakes. Another is The Hess Express the dam of Whitney Handicap winner Bullsbay. she has a 4.30 racing index and ran 2nd in the Bassinet Stakes, and 3rd in the Audubon Oaks.

Compare these dams to Vertigineux the dam of Zenyatta. She started 7 times with 2 wins and earnings of $60480. Her racing index of 3.96 is very similar although she is an allowance winner and never placed in a stakes. Another such mare is Stacie's Halo the dam of Adirondack Stakes G2 winner Worstcasescenario. Stacie;s Halo started 14 times with 5 wins while earning $94,950. Her racing index is 3.56

Here are last weeks winners

Amsterdam Stakes G2
Quality Road 44.23 Kobla .05

Beverly D Stakes G1
Dynaforce 58.12 Aletta Maria 2.77

Arlington Million G1
Gio Ponte 55.75 Chipeta Springs 3.78

Secretariat Stakes G1
Take the Points 14.95 Ginger Ginger 0

Bing Crosby Handicap G1
Zensational 21.94 Joke 3.88

Whitney Handicap G1
Bullsbay 19.34 The Hess Express 4.30

Test Stakes G1
Flashing 19.41 Morning Pride 9.50

Clement Hirsch Stakes G1
Zenyatta 81.91 Vertigineux 3.96

Best Pal Stakes G2
Lookin at Lucky 18.00 Private Feeling .97

Alfred G. Vanderbuilt Handicap G2
Fabulous Strike 22.35 Fabulous Find 3.33

Haskell Invitational G1

Rachel Alexandra proved herself to be one of the great ones as she destroyed some very good colts in the Haskell Invitational. It will be interesting to see where her connections will decide to run her next. Since their objective is Horse of the Year will she next appear in the Travers? Seems like a awful lot to ask of her, but a win in the Travers over the colts would probably be all she needs.



One thing to keep in mind when reading this blog is that the racing indexes of these major stakes winners are not updated after each race. For instance, Rachel Alexandra's index was shown as 62.79 after she won the Kentucky Oaks. Since then she has won the Preakness Stakes, Mother Goose Stakes and Haskell Invitational, tow of which have $1,000,000 purses and yet her index is stall shown as 62.79. Obviously by year end it will be much higher when upgraded. Remember, for our purposes we don't care if Rachel Alexandra's index is 63 or 126, it is her dam Lotta Kim's index of 12.71 that we are interested in. Once Rachel Alexandra showed herself to be a high indexed horse we then are interested in what sort of racemare produced her. Lotta Kim raced two years with 2 wins in 4 starts with earnings of $146,485. she won the Tiffany Lass Stakes and ran 2nd in the Golden Rod Stakes G2. Lotta Kim's racing index of 12.71 is near the top of the range of racing indexes most likely to produce high indexed runners.

Haskell Invitational G1
Rachel Alexandra 63.79 Lotta Kim 12.71

Diana Stakes G1
Forever Together 55.71 Constant Companion unr

West Virginia Derby G2
Soul Warrior 25.66 Urmia unr

Go For Wand Handicap G1
Seventh Street 30.82 Holiday Runner 5.54

Coaching Club American Oaks G1
Funny Moon 14.81 Fun Crowd unr

Sanford Stakes G2
Backtalk 17.16 Apasionata Sonata 7.66

San Clemente Handicap G2
Starlarks 6.68 Violet .68

Jim Dandy Stakes G2
Kensei 22.84 Private Feeling .97

San Diego Handicap G2
Informed 9.91 Cajun Two Step 1.99

Fourstardave Handicap G2
Justenuffhumor 13.32 Justenuffheart .65