 |
15hh Bay Mare Gentlemen - Escena, by Strawberry Road Click here for SIM site Formerly owned by Jess Paquette |
Surely Special began her career in dirt sprint stakes, winning the Oceanside Debutante (G1) and finishing second in the Silverbulletday and Debutante Stakes (both G2). Stretching out for the remainder of her juvenile campaign, she was third in the one mile Alcibiades Stakes (G1) behind One for the Ages and Cascade, then second in the Frizette Stakes (G2) to Really Excellent. At the end of the year, she was fifth in a stacked Steward's Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1).
At three, Surely Special came out firing with an impressive win in the San Ysabel Stakes (G3), but again became a bridesmaid with four consecutive second place finishes: in the Arcadia Oaks, Acorn Stakes, Coaching Club American Oaks and Midsummer Oaks (all G1). She ended the year with a victory in the Tropical Oaks (G2) in Florida. At four, she made two starts in major stakes on the dirt, finishing fourth in the Santa Maria Handicap (G2) and second in the Santa Margarita Handicap (G1) before finally making her debut on the turf.
Surely Special made five more starts including her turf debut, winning four. After an initial allowance win, she took on males and defeated them in the Kentucky Turf Classic (G2), Eddie Read Handicap (G1) and Oak Tree Turf Championship (G2) in quick succession. Her final race came in the Steward's Cup Turf (G1) of year seven where she faced down the great Wild Island Twist and nearly defeated him, leaving in her wake such horses as War Song, Farewell Friend, and Phar and Free.
Surely Special was whisked off to the breeding shed with a record of seven wins in nineteen starts, nine second place finishes and one third, and earnings of $2,017,500.
Her first foal was a colt by Dubai Millennium, Mister Superstar, who finished second in the Epsom Derby and Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe during his career. The millionaire only won twice in ten starts, but was only once off the board. Regrettably, he sired only three foals, only one of which ever made it to the track but was never a winner.
The tale of Surely Special's influence really begins with her second foal, a daughter by Priceless Forever named In the Spotlight. Winner of five of ten races and $914,400, In the Spotlight took graded stakes races from five to nine furlongs, including the Matriarch Handicap (G1) at the age of three. She, herself, never produced any racers of note, but her three unraced daughters did.
Spot On, by Derby Dancer, was the first of this trio. She counts among her foals the great Acme, a son of Everest that was twice named South Pacific Horse of the Year, as well as South Pacific Champion Older Male and Champion Three Year Old Male. Acme won eight grade one stakes during his career, with a total of twelve wins in twenty starts, and $3,195,000. To date, he has sired fifty winners who account for over $3.6 million in earnings. These include the multimillionaire current terror of the South Pacific, Elysian Park.
The South African Champion Three Year Old Colt of year twenty was Sixagonal, another son of Spot On by Octagonal. Besides being an excellent racehorse with nine wins in 17 starts, Sixagonal also sired the winners of $3,669,910 to date. Spot On also has multiple grade one winner Spot Light (Super Light) and the recently retired multiple graded stakes winner Characterize (Lionize) to her credit.
The second of the trio was Setinthespotlight, a tiny dark bay daughter of Crystal Night who produced the top-notch miler King Of The Empire. King Of The Empire won nine of twelve and $1,342,500. He has produced two millionaires at stud, King of the People and Jaw Dropper, to date, and will surely have more before his career is over. Setinthespotlight had eleven other foals, only two of which failed to earn six figure sums, including Spotlight Shocker ($448,090), Spotlight On Love ($414,000), Set On the Shel ($345,810) and La Dolce Vita ($344,880).
The third of the trio is the least accomplished of the three, but certainly has plenty of time to catch up. On the Stage, by Sadler's Wells, has three stakes winners to her credit, including the four-year-old The Stagehand who is a shorter distance specialist that seems to be coming into his own.
On the Stage's eldest foal has exceeded her dam already. The daughter of Black Condor, named Black Bird, has produced the three-time grade one winning millionaire After I Sleep (Feature Attraction) and a wildly promising young sire in the champion Black Hawk (Streamer), as well as five other stakes winners.
Despite all of her progeny's (and their progeny's) accolades, In the Spotlight was far from the last great example of Surely Special's family. Only a year after she was born, Sentimental Moment came along. The daughter of Tilt A Whirl won eleven of her fourteen career starts and earned $2,894,000 and a championship as European Champion Older Mare.
She had a brief career in the breeding shed that resulted in three foals, two of which raced. The first of these was grade one winner Starlit Night, by Crystal Night, who finished his career just shy of a million in earnings. The second was his full sister Precious, a graded stakes winner whose production record includes multiple stakes winner and graded stakes placed Worth Every Penny (Monaachi).
The final of the Crystal Night x Sentimental Moment trio never raced. Gently In The Dark, however, has been nothing less than phenomenal in the breeding shed, and is still going strong after sixteen foals. To date, she has produced the earners of $9,387,260, including millionaires and champions Tracks In The Sand (Fish) and Light Of The World (Super Light), grade one winner Louder Than Words (Action This Day), multiple grade one winner Stones In The Sand (Fish) who could possibly be this year's Asian Champion Older Male, champion Done in the Dark (Dream In The Dark), multiple grade one winner and producer Pleasant Surprises (Feature Attraction), multiple grade one winner and graded stakes producer Whisper Inthe Dark (Acapulco), and multiple graded stakes winner Gently Go (Tejano Causeway).
There is one colt skipped over in that list simply because he deserves a little extra mention. The ten-year-old Shadow On the Wall, by Deep Impact, was a champion on the racetrack and is really beginning to show some quality as a sire. With sky high nicks, this up-until-recently-overlooked sire also has a very nice percentage of winners that include such horses as the very fast multiple graded stakes winner Hats. And, of course, the list of his accomplished siblings could very well become longer later.
Following Sentimental Moment, Surely Special produced two more very nice fillies in Versatile, by Tejano Causeway, and the champion Emotional Moment, by Notable Dancer. The former had only a brief career in the breeding shed and didn't get a chance to produce much, but Emotional Moment's branch is still alive and kicking in some places in the SIM world. She produced the millionaire Singsweetnitengale (yet another Crystal Night), who in turn has Bird Of Paradise (Black Condor), the champion dam of recently retired multiple graded stakes winner Scarlet Macaw (Legend).
Surely Special's next millionaire displayed more of the brilliant speed side of the family. Tilwemeetinheaven, a son of Gothic Dream, won such races as the Darley July Cup at six furlongs and the Fomento Equino Stakes at five furlongs (twice), as well as the one mile Commitisize Stakes (G2) and seven furlong Star Studded Stakes.
There have been many other graded stakes winners through later branches of Surely Special's female family, especially through her final daughter Surely Wonderful, by Sadler's Wells, and they are by far too many to list. Unfortunately none have yet emerged as great champions of their day, but more are surely to come.
Next part of "The Escena Empire" - Salutations >>>