Coast
16.1hh Dark Bay Mare
Sports Jersey - Rain Dancer, by Storm Cat
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Owned by Ara Davies
No Headshot
Calais
15.1hh Bay Mare
Kingmambo - Rain Dancer, by Storm Cat
European Champion Older Mare
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Formerly owned by Ara Davies
In the twilight of her career, Rain Dancer produced two fillies whose race records were very good but whose descendants, while good, have not been quite as prolific as their sistersÂ’.
The first of these two was Coast, a dark bay daughter of Sports Jersey. Coast was a very nice juvenile, winning the Spinaway (G1) and Sorority Stakes (G2) and placing third in the Debutante Stakes (G2) and Two Year Old Marathon (G2). At three, she made only one start, finishing second in the Soldier Girl Stakes (G3). Returning at four, Coast made an incredible eight starts, but won only once in the Hempstead Handicap (G2). She was also second in the Matriarch Handicap (G1) and Shaconage Stakes (G2) on the turf and in the New River Stakes at two miles on the dirt. All in all, she retired with four wins in 14 starts and $643,450 in earnings.
In the breeding shed, CoastÂ’s only blacktype winner was the dirt and all weather router Confession, a gelded son of Midnightconfession. Confession won such races as the Good Weather Route at 2 1/2 miles on the all weather and the Pegasus Handicap (G2) and Chesapeake Bay Stakes on the dirt.
Coast's winning daughter Current, by Desert Warrior, produced the multiple graded stakes winning Known, a gelding by Notorious. Known garnered victories in the Mexican Crown (G2), Arkansas Handicap (G3), GWC Native Diver Stakes (G3) and 13 other races in his career, amassing earnings of $488,940.
Rain Dancer's final foal was Calais, a dainty bay daughter of the great turf Kingmambo. Calais pranced her way through her first three starts as a two-year-old, breaking her maiden and then winning the Whirl Charmant and Tenacity Stakes in quick succession. She placed second in the Queen Mary Stakes (G3) and Marygate Stakes, both still at sprint distances, before successfully moving up to a mile in the Cheveley Park Stakes (G2) to end her juvenile campaign.
At three, Calais finished second twice at a mile - in the Poetic Stakes (G2) by a nose and the 1,000 Guineas Stakes (G1) by 3/4 of a length - before trying her hand at route distances. A tall order for a first-time route starter, Calais entered the Epsom Oaks (G1) at a mile and a half and ran away with it by two lengths. Two weeks later, Early Morning, a filly she had defeated in London, turned the tables on her in the Irish Oaks (G1). Calais's first start against older fillies was also a success, as she won the Yorkshire Oaks (G1) by a head over Anguilla. In her final start of the year, she ran inexplicably poorly in the Hong Kong Vase (G1).
Despite that year-ending defeat, Calais was back and as good as ever at four. After finishing second to Seven Wonders in the one mile Laurent Perrier-Meile (G3), she then won the Prix Corrida (G3) and Rheinland-Pokal by open lengths. She was third in the Yorkshire Oaks (G1) behind Barcelona and Singsweetnitengale, but came back with an emphatic win in the Deutschland-Preis (G1) over Barb Wire to cap off a championship year.
Calais immediately got off to a nice start in the breeding shed. Her first daughter, Calypso, was a little bay by Acapulco that ran to seven victories in 18 starts and earned $612,150. Her victories included the Lord's Stakes (G3), Duchess Stakes (G3), Premio Di Distanza Delle Signore (G3 - twice), and Danish Oaks (G3). She was also second in the Steward's Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf (G1), losing by only a nose to Acappella.
Calypso has, herself, produced several stakes performers, including Conceals (Fleet Admiral), winner of the Premio Arco della Pace; Calif (All I Want to Tell), a four-time graded stakes winner; and Curtsey (All I Want to Tell), winner of last year's French 1,000 Guineas (G1).
A few years later, Calais was bred (in true Ara Davies fashion) to her "nephew", Colorado (who is a son of another pseudo-nephew Jet Ski, by Calais's half brother Canoe for anyone keeping track). The resulting foal, Bold, was a very neat little horse, indeed. The diminutive bay colt raced through his seven-year-old season at very high levels.
At two, Bold began his career sprinting on the all weather, winning his first two easily. He moved up to a mile on the fake stuff and ran away with Illegal Stakes, then switched to turf and won the London Futurity by three. His final start at two was a third place finish behind Jabaar in the Shatterproof Grand Criterium (G2).
After a tough third place finish in the Danish 2,000 Guineas (G3), Bold stretched out in distance and went on a tear that lasted until two-thirds of the way through his four-year-old year. He won the Nakayama Turf Stakes, Queen's Memorial Stakes (G3), Tokyo Trial Stakes (G3), Hong Kong Turf Cup (G1), Vernacular Stakes, Hong Kong Plate (G3), Patriarch Stakes (G3) and Hong Kong Champions Route (G1) in succession. In the Hong Kong Champions Route, he not only gained his second grade one victory, but finished in an impressive 2:26 flat and defeated the very talented Hurry Up and Wait. His win in the lesser regarded Hong Kong Plate should also be noted, as he defeated Gold Mile, who was then in his prime, by 7 1/2 lengths and ran a speed figure of 93, and stopped the clock in 1:48.80.
After a second place finish in the Japanese Fall Marathon (G1) snapped his streak, Bold was shipped to the States and finished nowhere in July's Steward's Cup Turf. Brought back at five, the little bay warrior continued his winning ways, however, taking an allowance and shortly following that the Grand Prix de Notre Dame (G3) at two miles. Second place finishes in the Wicklow Cup (G3) and then the Prix Atlantis (G1) brought Bold's year to an end early. He was freshened and popped up in the opposite hemisphere at the age of six, where he won Brazil's Crew Stakes with ease before stealing the Arcadia Marathon (G1). He dropped back in distance to win the Wild Island Twist Stakes (G2), but then ran into Precipice in two straight, finishing second in the Everest Stakes (G1) and fourth in the Chicago Million (G1). Bold's final start of the year was a victory in the Inglewood Turf Championship (G2).
At seven, Bold wasn't quite the same horse, though he did have one very impressive victory to add to his tally. The road warrior won the Louisville Turf Classic in the middle of the year, defeating Never Back Down and running a speed figure of 81. He was also a very close second to Heroes in the Kentucky Crown Turf (G2), and finished second in the SIMHorseRacing Route (G2) and All American Handicap (G3). His final start was a strange performance in the All Weather Championship (G1) - his first start on synthetic in five years - in which he ran poorly.
As a sire, no one seems to know quite what to do with Bold. He has a stakes winner at a mile on the turf named Boldly Go Where but not much else. Is he a mile sire? Route? Turf? Synthetic? From what I see, Bold is definitely a turf route sire, and potentially a very neat one at that, but I've been wrong before.
Following Bold, Calais never produced anything more of note, unfortunately, however there does seem to be that magical "something" lurking just beneath the surface in several of her grandchildren - a certain class just waiting to be cultivated and shown to the world.
Thus ends our tale of Rain Dancer, yet even though she is gone, her tale is far from over as her descendants carry on an enduring legacy of excellence into the next generation.