Hamm, WinStar team up with trio in Jim Morgan Memorial Tah Dah Stakes
Trainer Tim Hamm, who breeds and owns horses as Blazing Meadows Farm, and WinStar Farm have had great success owning and breeding horses in partnership in Ohio. Mares are bred to Kentucky stallions, typically young stallions standing at WinStar, and then shipped back to Ohio to foal, with the resulting offspring trained by Hamm and eligible for statebred stakes.
Recent examples of their success with this model include Ohio’s reigning horse of the year Esplanande, a three-time stakes winner in her home state and Grade 1-placed at Saratoga.
WinStar and Hamm will have three of their hopefuls reaching for the next rungs on the ladder Friday at Belterra Park. Christmas, Pacific Coast, and Parfait, each coming off a debut win, run as a coupled entry in the $75,000 Jim Morgan Memorial Tah Dah Stakes for Ohio-bred 2-year-old fillies.
Christmas, by WinStar’s young classic sire Constitution, rolled by 4 1/4 lengths on May 31 at Thistledown in what proved to be a key race. Runner-up Candlelight Hours and third-place finisher Crossed Up both won their subsequent outing, and both return for the Tah Dah.
Christmas and Parfait are stretching out from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 furlongs. Pacific Coast is cutting back in distance after winning her maiden at six furlongs on July 1 at Thistledown. A daughter of Preakness Stakes winner and WinStar resident Exaggerator, Pacific Coast stalked the early pace and scored by three lengths. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 41, tied with Crossed Up for the best number in the field. Christmas is just behind them with a 40 Beyer.
Parfait, by Taylor Made Farm resident Midnight Storm, may relish the added distance. On June 5 at Belterra, the filly made up a significant amount of ground in the stretch and crossed the line second by a neck to Quality Bet after being bothered in the final sixteenth. Quality Bet was demoted to second for interference, giving Parfait her maiden win. Quality Bet emerged from that race to finish second to Candlelight Hours and returns here.
Mariposa Rapida is still a maiden after two starts. In her lone start on dirt, she was third in Parfait and Quality Bet’s maiden showdown. Debut starter Kenzielu completes the field.