Which Spinaway Winner Wants to Go Farther?

Which Spinaway Winner Wants to Go Farther? by Casey Laughter– Every year, horses come and go. Fillies, colts, older horses too. This year, two of the top two-year-old fillies in the country are Pretty City Dancer and Sweet Loretta. So, does anyone know what they have in common? No, it is not they both won the Grade One Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga.

Both of these impressive fillies are sired by Tapit, the top general sire of 2014 and 2015 while he currently leads the general sires list by over $5 million, with Uncle Mo in second place.

Tapit, as a stallion, has sired Breeders’ Cup winners, Kentucky Oaks winners, Belmont Stakes winners, and much more. Just this year, he has four Grade One winners, 12 Graded Stakes winners, and 112 winners total thus far this year.

As a racehorse, Tapit never truly lived up to what everyone thought he could be. While he won three of six starts, two of those being graded stakes events; Tapit was unable to win a classic race. He won the Grade Three Laurel Futurity and Grade One Wood Memorial. He finished 6th in the Florida Derby, 9th in both the Kentucky Derby and the Pennsylvania Derby. While he was sound, the connections believed it best to retire him. His first year stud fee was $15,000.

So which filly is the better bred to move on toward the 8.5 furlong Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and the 2017 Kentucky Oaks?

Pretty City Dancer is out of the Carson City mare, Pretty City. Only Pretty City Dancer and Lear’s Princess are graded stakes winners from the mare. There are ten offspring total from the mare, thus far, to race. Five have won. So far, Pretty City’s offspring seem to be running distances from five to ten furlongs. Lear’s Princess placed 2nd in the 2007 Alabama Stakes.

Pretty City Dancer appeared tired and was racing very greenly. This is to be forgiven, slightly, due to her being a juvenile. However, she appears to be bred to contest shorter distances. Carson City was a sprinter who was a major influence of speed, and still appears to be in current breeding patterns.

Sweet Loretta, on the other hand, appears to be more suited to move up with distance.

Sweet Loretta is out of the Bluegrass Cat mare, Ithinkisawapudycat. Ithinkisawapudycat raced mainly at sprints, but did hit the board at 1 mile 70 yards. She was bred to be competitive at distances, as her broodmare sire is Unbridled.

Bluegrass Cat won some highly coveted races during his time on the track. He won the Grade Three Nashua, Grade Two Remsen, and the Grade One Haskell Invitational. He also placed second in both the 2006 Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. Other than his maiden voyage, Bluegrass Cat only finished off the board one time, which was a 4th place finish in the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland.

Pedigree only weighs so much in the world of horse racing, but it is a glimpse into how far a horse will want to go. By comparison, Sweet Loretta looks like the filly that will want to go the furthest from the two Spinaway winners. If she can mature a bit and learn to be on the correct lead down the stretch, she could be a top contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and potentially the Kentucky Oaks next spring.