Queen's Plate pedigree analysis: Leavem in Malibu

Leavem in Malibu
(Malibu Moon–Leaveminthedust, by Danzig)

Leavem in Malibu could be considered a late bloomer since he didn’t make his racing debut until April 16. However, there is something to be said about peaking at the right time, and there are few better opportunities to do so than in the Queen’s Plate.

While his résumé may be light, with only three starts prior to his stakes debut in the Queen’s Plate, the North American classics are not uncharted territory for Leavem in Malibu’s family.

Leavem in Malibu is a son of Spendthrift Farm resident Malibu Moon, whose greatest son is 2013 Kentucky Derby winner Orb. Malibu Moon, a product of the prominent sire of sires A.P. Indy, has sired 14 crops of racing age, with 809 winners and progeny earnings of more than $87.1 million.

Other notable runners by Malibu Moon include champion juvenile Declan’s Moon and Grade 1 winners Life At Ten, Devil May Care, Malibu Mint, Ask the Moon, Carina Mia, Funny Moon, and Malibu Prayer. In Canada, Malibu Moon’s progeny is highlighted by Grey Stakes winner Prospective and Grade 3-placed Strike the Moon.

Leavem in Malibu is one of five winners from as many runners out of the placed Danzig mare Leaveminthedust. Her most successful runner was Danzig Moon, also a son of Malibu Moon who was a leading Queen’s Plate contender last year off a runner-up effort in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes and starts in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. However, he was euthanized after suffering a compound leg fracture during the Plate Trial.

Hailing from an extension of the prominent Phipps family breeding program, Leavem in Malibu’s extended family is highlighted by champions Inside Information and Smuggler; Grade 1 or Group 1 winners Quick as Lightning, Educated Risk, Evilasio, and Subsidy; and Grade 2 winner Gone Astray.

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