Myrtlewood's influence all over namesake stakes
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At the time of Myrtlewood’s retirement, Daily Racing Form wrote that the future Hall of Fame filly had “raced herself into the position of being one of the finest of her sex ever to sport silks.”
Myrtlewood is, thus, among Thoroughbreds honored with a race in their name – and it’s fitting that her namesake race is a $250,000 sprint for 2-year-old fillies on Friday at Keeneland. Not only was Myrtlewood fleet-footed, but she won three races during Keeneland’s inaugural 1936 fall racing meet of nine days.
Kingsolver and Woodstock haven’t been quite that busy this year. However, both fillies bring in more experience than the others in Friday’s field, and they are the only runners among the six entrants with prior stakes experience.
Kingsolver is by Omaha Beach, who stands at Spendthrift Farm, where Myrtlewood became a foundation broodmare. Kingsolver upset the Schuyerville Stakes at Saratoga in her second career start for Rodolphe Brisset, then was second in the Debutante at Ellis Park. Cutting back from the seven furlongs of that race to the six-furlong distance of the Schuylerville and Myrtlewood, she was an allowance winner at Keeneland on opening day, Oct. 3.
Woodstock is one of five stakes winners to date by Spendthrift’s current leading freshman sire, Yaupon. The filly won her debut for Mike Maker before a failed turf experiment. Moved back to dirt and going 6 1/2 furlongs, she rolled by 10 1/2 lengths in the E.L. Gaylord Memorial Stakes on Sept. 28 at Remington.
Despite their stakes experience, neither Kingsolver nor Woodstock stands out on speed figures, and this appears a well-matched group. Woodstock earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 76 for her Gaylord Memorial win. However, all five fillies in this six-horse field who have had Beyers assigned are coming off efforts in which they earned a 70 or higher.
A Fine Chardonnay and Counting Stars earned Beyers of 75 and 74, respectively, in their debut wins at Churchill Downs last month for Ian Wilkes and Mark Casse. Kingsolver has a last-out figure of 71.
On Time Girl has won her two starts, both at six furlongs, by a combined 6 1/2 lengths for Brad Cox. She is coming off an allowance effort at Churchill in which she posted a 70. Rounding out the field is Storm Cloud Rising, who made her only two career starts for Jesus Esquivel in April at Keeneland, at distances which Beyers were not assigned for the division.
Myrtlewood, whose foals included 1942 Kentucky Oaks winner Miss Dogwood and champion Durazna, built a legacy through her daughters, who were influential in the family of major sires. Via her first foal, Crepe Myrtle, Myrtlewood was the fifth dam of 1977 Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew. Among other branches of his sireline, Seattle Slew is responsible for the great A.P. Indy. Miss Dogwood was the great-granddam of Mr. Prospector, multiple times a leading sire and broodmare sire.
This influence is seen, among other places, in the lines of this year’s Myrtlewood entrants. Counting Stars is by Honor A. P., a grandson of A.P. Indy, while Mr. Prospector’s sireline is responsible for A Fine Chardonnay’s sire, Maclean’s Music. Mr. Prospector’s sireline is also responsible for Kingsolver’s broodmare sire Speightstown, while the A.P. Indy line is responsible for A Fine Chardonnay’s broodmare sire, Bernardini, and Storm Cloud Rising’s broodmare sire, First Dude.
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