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16.2hh Gray Mare Priceless Forever - Rain Dancer, by Storm Cat Click here for SIM site Formerly owned by Ara Davies |
Cascade, a big gray daughter of Priceless Forever, was the first of many distinguished daughters of Rain Dancer both on the track and in the breeding shed. Her racing career, especially at the age of three and four, was a study in brilliance and durability.
At two, Cascade made six starts for owner and breeder Ara Davies. She began her career with a third and then a second place finish in five furlong maidens in California. One week after her second start, she broke her maiden at six furlongs, then travelled to Canada to take the Ontario Debutante Stakes. She was then sent to Kentucky for the Alcibiades, where she finished second to One for the Ages but defeated the great Surely Special in the process. She closed out her season with a fourth place finish in a full field in One for the Ages's Stewards' Cup Juvenile Fillies.
At three, Cascade came out firing with a victory over One for the Ages in the Ashland Stakes. A week later, she took the Arcadia Oaks over Surely Special, and then was second another week later to Forever Risk in the Louisville Oaks. Another week later found her trying a mile and a quarter for the first time and trouncing Really Excellent in the Mother Goose Stakes. Both Surely Special and One for the Ages fell to her in the Midsummer Oaks, and her first try against older fillies resulted in a win over Awesome Dancer (as well as One for the Ages) in the Spinster Stakes. The long campaign may have finally worn on her a little, as she closed out the year with a fifth place finish in the Stewards' Cup Distaff. To her credit, she was a member of a short but very distinguished field. The fillies that finished ahead of her were: Soldier Girl, Awesome Dancer, One for the Ages, and War Song.
The next year, Cascade only made four starts, winning her first two, the Santa Maria and Hempstead Handicaps, before finishing second to Battle's Baby Girl in the Go for Wand Handicap. In an odd move, she had five weeks off after that before entering the Steward's Cup Distaff (my assumption is that there was some sort of minor injury not recorded in her history that called for the layoff). There, she finished seventh in Salutations' year, again in a field that was packed with its own brand of greatness.
When all was said and done, Cascade retired with nine victories in 17 starts with four seconds and a third and $2,011,400 in earnings.
In the breeding shed, Cascade continued her record of brilliance, producing the gray Sports Jersey filly Kayak from her first mating. Kayak upset the Steward's Cup Juvenile Fillies at the age of two and won the Black Eyed Susan Stakes at three, as well as finishing second in the Oak Leaf and Nursery Stakes and third in the Alabama. The rest of her efforts were all fourth place finishes. In ten starts, Kayak won a total of three times, placed second twice, and third once while never finishing out of the money and earning $1,300,000.
Kayak herself is, of course, immortal in her own right, producing Triple Crown winner Jet Ski, who earned just shy of $7 million on the track, won twelve of his fifteen starts, was named Champion Three Year Old Colt and Horse of the Year, voted into the SIM Hall of Fame, and sired the great Fighter Jet whose sire line is a powerhouse in the dirt routing world. Jet Ski wasn't her only good son, either. Journey, by Raindrops On Roses, won his first nine in a row, all but one in major stakes events, and later in his career took the Inglewood Gold Cup and San Antonio Handicap. Tournament, by Contest, was also a grade one winning millionaire whose big victory came in the Arcadia Derby. In an interesting twist, he finished second to Jet Ski in the Gulfstream Park Handicap of year 14. Later in her career, she produced Cozumel (by Saga), the year 22 South American Champion Older Horse
Kayak's daughters include the grade one winners Yacht (by Canoe) and Boat (by Battle Cry).
Kayak's other millionaire half sibling was the gray Cadillac, a son of Symbol who won the Arcadia Derby, Futurity Stakes, Jim Dandy Stakes, and San Fernando Handicap. Unfortunately, he had a very limited stallion career that spanned three seasons in which he sired only a handful of foals.
Cascade's final daughter was the place where her influence really shined, however. Traumatize, a winner of five of 16 starts on the track and $571,000, is the dam of one of my personal favorite sires. Oh, and a two-time champion winner of over $4 million.
Traumatize's first big horse was Kamikaze, a diminutive dark bay son of Herkemayah. It took the colt some time to get going, as he only made one start at two (a second place finish in a maiden), and didn't win until his third start at three in week 7. However, with a distance of 1 3/16 miles and the addition of blinkers, Kamikaze's maiden win was a slam dunk, with a final time of 1:53.98 and a speed figure of 80. He went right on into grade one competition and won the Fall Derby, finished third in the Midsummer Classic, and traveled south to hand Cozumel a thumping in the Los Campeones Classic. At four, he was second to Sun Raider in the Desert World Cup, then won the final three starts of his career: the Priceless Forever Stakes by 6 1/4, the Long Island Gold Cup over Looking For Light, and the Steward's Cup Classic over Sun Raider. With six wins in twelve starts, five seconds and a third and $4,152,240 in earnings, it was off to the breeding shed.
Kamikaze is, to date, an inexplicably unpopular sire with a solid winners and stakes winners percentage and high average earnings per runner. He is the sire of the very talented Bow to No One, as well as grade one winner Fearless Soldier and graded stakes winner and grade one producer Sensual.
Traumatize's "other" son is the big gray Saga stallion Wow. Wow caught attention in his debut, winning a 1 1/16 mile maiden by eight lengths with a speed figure of 98, then subsequently winning the Inglewood Futurity and the End Result Stakes. After a loss in the Sunshine Park Derby to Liveinthemoment and a tenth place finish in Flames's Louisville Derby, Wow bounced back to take the Fall Derby in Panama, finish second in the Midsummer Classic, third in the Long Island Gold Cup, and second in the Japan Trophy Dirt. That's quite the second half of the year for a three-year-old, with plenty of frequent flyer miles.
Wow's four-year-old season got off to a shaky start with a second place finish in an allowance, then a win in a non-winners of five sponsored event, but he was right back on track with a power win in the Baby Blue Stakes in 1:59 flat. His aptitude for distance was displayed in his next two starts - both at 1 1/2 miles - where he won the Priceless Forever Stakes and Peru Jockey Club Stakes before finishing a very close second in Dont Hesitate's phenomenal Los Campeones Classic.
After winning an allowance and finishing third in the Inglewood Gold Cup, Wow would never start at less than 1 3/8 miles again. At five, he won the Fighting With Wit Stakes and California Freeway Stakes on the way to a second place finish in the Steward's Cup Marathon. Racing through his six-year-old year, he won the Peru Jockey Club Stakes and Nashville Marathon, finished second in the Gran Premio Hipodromo Chile, and retired off of a fifth place finish in the Steward's Cup Marathon. His final start has some excuses, as he was coming off a tough race in Peru only two weeks prior to the event, and he still ran a 73 speed figure.
All in all, Wow won fourteen of his 25 career races and finished second or third in nine more, earning $1,773,700. Despite not breaking through in the breeding shed yet, Wow is still one of my favorite sires to use. He hypomates very highly with all types of mares, and of the two actually good matings from mares in my barn, he has produced one fast wow.
Cascade's other foals include multiple stakes winner Gunboat, multiple grade one stakes place Cast Away, and multiple graded stakes placed Chandelier. Other minor branches of her female family have produced graded stakes winning sprinter Carbon and several other graded stakes performers.
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