Jazz Club's appeal rising

Jazz Club, a multiple graded stakes winner of $417,687 who stands at Maryland Stallion Station, became the state's first freshman sire to get a winner this year when Maddy's Our Girl dominated a maiden race at Delaware Park on July 6.

Jazz Club, a 10-year-old son of Dixieland Band, has 38 foals of racing age. Maddy's Our Girl, bred and owned by William M. Rickman, was her sire's third starter.

Rickman has been the stallion's biggest supporter and bred 11 mares to him in 2002. Maddy's Our Girl, a May foal, is out of the stakes-placed Rollicking mare Hay Roll.

"I sold Hay Roll to Mr. Rickman a number of years ago," said Don Litz, who is founder and president of Maryland Stallion Station in addition to being a leading Maryland sales consignor under the banner of Litz Bloodstock Services.

Jazz Club's popularity has steadily risen since his first season at stud, and this year he covered 75 mares.

Small in stature, Jazz Club "is Northern Dancer through and through," said Litz, noting the bay's conformation, balance, and head. A grandson of Northern Dancer through Dixieland Band, Jazz Club is out of the Mr. Prospector mare Hidden Garden, a half-sister to three stakes winners. One of those runners, Delaware Oaks winner Up the Flagpole, turned out to be a stellar producer, her seven stakes winners including champion Flagbird, Alabama Stakes winner Runup the Colors, and most notably, Grade 1 stakes winner Prospectors Delite, the dam of Horse of the Year Mineshaft and Monashee Mountain, currently one of Europe's leading second-crop sires.

Jazz Club, the property of Lane's End Farm and Maryland Stallion Station, stood the 2005 season for $3,500 live foal.

Maryland's leading first-year sire by earnings is Mojave Moon of Bonita Farms, a multiple graded-stakes-placed son of Mr. Prospector whose eight runners are still maidens.

"The best is yet to come," said J. William Boniface, patriarch of the family that owns and operates Bonita Farm. "They look the part, but I think they want to go a little more ground."

Mojave Moon's pedigree is that of a miler, as he is from the classic family of the great racemare and producer Miesque (his second dam). Mojave Moon's dam is the French champion East of the Moon (by Private Account), a winner of three Group 1 races. East of the Moon is a half-sister to four stakes winners, including Kingmambo. Also a son of Mr. Prospector, leading sire Kingmambo is a three-quarter relative to Mojave Moon.

Mojave Moon, now 9, has 45 2-year-olds of racing age. But the most illustrious of his first-crop offspring is a colt yet to make a start. That is Funny Cide's little brother Homicide, who is out of the Slewacide mare Belle's Good Cide. Boniface noted that Homicide is an imposing individual and the most impressive 2-year-old in the barn. He has been breezing, but is about two months away from the races.

Mojave Moon's stud record has been subject to double takes when it was discovered that one of the mares covered by the stallion in 2002 foaled prematurely on Dec. 27. That colt, appropriately named Mr. Impatient, has started (a last-place finish on May 2 at Calder against 3-year-olds nearly a full year older), thus adding another crop to Mojave Moon's record. Sales catalogs and databases have picked up the lone foal, to the chagrin of Boniface.

"An early foal from his first breeding season should not keep Mojave Moon off the freshman sires lists," he said.