Stallion Promotions

No, I'm not writing to harp about my own two stallions, Berlioz and Phoenix Rise.

With all the creative stallion advertising going around, I thought it would be keen to examine some of the stallions who are being promoted in a unique way.

First we will take a look at Nitroglycerin, a horse whose race record and pedigree on its own should garner a fair number of mares -- and indeed, at the time of this writing he already has 66 foals and yearlings on the ground. Nitroglycerin is owned by Skippy Bowen, and is a product of Eric Nalbone's storied Dare to Dream Stud. The racy-looking black horse is a son of eight-for-thirteen Nitro, who himself captured the Malibu Stakes (gr. I), Esteemed Stakes (gr. I) and Two Year Old Sprint Championship (gr. I). Nitroglycerin flashed tremendous ability from the start, winning his first three outings as a juvenile before closing out the year with promising placings in the Excited Stakes (gr. I) and Steward's Cup Juvenile Sprint (gr. I). He would not lose in six starts at three, taking two stakes in the States before shipping to South America where he took three consecutive grade III's before capping the year with a strong victory over older horses in the Los Campeones Dirt Sprint (ARG-I). Nitroglycerin was nearly as untouchable at four, winning five of six starts in between Puerto Rico and Argentina including scores in the Bolt (PR-I), Kinghaven Glory Years (PR-I) and a repeat victory in the Los Campeones Dirt Sprint over Terrorist, the only horse to beat him since his juvenile season. For his consistency Nitroglycerin retired with an obscene seven --yes, seven-- Simmy Awards including Islands and South American Horse of the Year. If that isn't enough incentive to breed to him at $45,000, owner Bowen is offering to pay for a headshot (a 30,000 game point value) for any offspring that wins a Steward's Cup race, a SIMperior subscription (15,000 game point value) for the owners of the first grade I winners of the horse's first two crops, and a one-week issue of SIMperior for the owner of his first juvenile winner.

Offshore Excursion is still in training and in fact is scheduled to start in the upcoming Grand Tower Stakes (ENG-I) for owner-breeder Ashley Gibson. The solidly-built son of champion Fleet Afoot and grade II winner Mexican Wedding currently owns a very respectable record of eight wins in twelve starts. Offshore Excursion swept all four of his starts as a juvenile while racing throughout North America, including the Steward's Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT) over South Pacific champion James Madison and eventual grade I winner Fleetest of Foot. Last season at three the colt won two of five starts while running in the world's most competitive turf mile contests; capturing the Palace of Saints Stakes (ENG-I) and placing in the Irish 2,000 Guineas (IRE-I), English 2,000 Guineas (ENG-I), Prix Benjamin Franklin (FR-I) and Steward's Cup Turf Mile (gr. IT) to seven-time group I winner Menacing, four-time group I winners Trick of the Eye, Star Signs, Won't Back Down, etc. Offshore Season is two-for-two this year, with victories in the Dubliner Mile (IRE-II) and Prix Fleet Admiral (FR-III). Additionally, his half-sister by Test Your Strength is already a group I winner at three. With the strong race record and pedigree, there should be a fairly decent number of mares lined up for Offshore Excursion upon retirement later this season. Breeding to him also makes you eligible for the $50,000 bonus Gibson is offering for the breeder of the colt's first graded stakes winner.

I promised I wouldn't toot my own horn (i.e. promote my own stallions), but I do get profile my Berlioz's own son Kind Poet, who will be retiring to stud at the end of the year. A member of his sire's first crop, Kind Poet was bred by the Steward and is out of her Giant's Causeway mare Humane. Humane's three-year-old daughter is already a graded stakes winner and the two-year-old is a stakes-placed winner at press time. Kind Poet, a small bay colt not much bigger than his sire, flashed talent from the beginning when drawing away by 4-1/2 lengths in a maiden special in Canada in his debut. He finished the year with a good second in a stakes and a fourth behind future four-time Simmy Award winner Silent Partner and eventual grade II winner Pursuit in the Stratocaster Stakes (gr. IIIT). Kind Poet then shipped to Europe for his sophomore season where he triumphed in three of four starts --including the Stonehenge Stakes (ENG-III) and the Scandinavian Dash (SWE-III); the latter over older horses-- before tailing off in his final two outings of the year. Shipped to Hong Kong for a respite, the time off seemed to do the colt good and he opened this year with facile victory in the Hong Kong Premier Sprint before landing the major Tulip Sprint (HK-I) three weeks later. In the latter Kind Poet ran the six furlongs in 1:10 flat for an 82 speed figure, and in the process defeated old rival Silent Partner and group I winner Saint Nicholas. In his lone subsequent start Kind Poet was second by 1-1/2 lengths to 15-for-19 group I winner Creative License in the Shissou Cup (JPN-IIIT). Owner Melissa Mae, who snagged the colt for $100,000 at auction when he was a yearling, is offering a $10,000 bonus to the breeder of the colt's first grade I winner. The bonus itself is dwarfed next to the promotions mentioned above, but there still are plenty of reasons to breed to Kind Poet: He will be cheaper than his sire, is out of a young but very productive Steward-owned mare, and is proven at the highest level of racing.

Spotlight: Love As I Am

As we close out Week 4 the Steward has tentatively selected Bob Oliva's homebred Love As I Am. Here we will profile his breeding and accomplishments and examine why the Steward believes he is a star in the making.

A tall and stately dark bay colt, Love As I Am is quite an eyeful and turns heads on the racetrack, even when merely jogging in the mornings. He is a son of undefeated Triple Crown hero Awake As I Am, who won from distances ranging from seven furlongs to a mile and a half while running coast to coast. Already at six with his oldest progeny only three, he carries the robust statistic of over 10% stakes winners from runners. Somewhat surprisingly, Love As I Am isn't even in his sire's top six earnings-wise -- that list is headed by Talented As I Am, who himself will head to Louisville will plenty of supporters having annexed the Fountain of Gold (gr. II) and New York, New York Stakes (gr. I) in his last two outings.

Love As I Am is the fifth foal out of the Giacomo mare Ifyoulovesomeone, herself a mediocre racemare at best with just two wins out of twelve starts. She certainly seemed best going a route of ground, with those wins coming at 1-1/4 and 1-1/2 miles for her breeder Laura Ferguson. Aside from Love As I Am her record as a broodmare has been solid but certainly not extraordinary: From five foals to race she has produced four winners; two of those being stakes winners (Love As I Am and the retired mare Doyoubelieveingod). Love As I Am has an unraced full brother in training for Oliva, but his workouts have been significantly slower than his older sibling's.

Love As I Am flashed talent from the beginning, producing sizzling workouts of :58.21 before his debut at two. Going a flat mile over a muddy Futurity Park strip, Love As I Am broke sharply and never looked back when drawing away to win by 4-1/2 lengths. He earned a 78, a remarkable speed figure for a first-time starter. Love As I Am was wheeled back a fortnight later for the Graduation Year Stakes (gr. III) over the same track (again muddy) and came home victorious by 2-1/4 lengths, while showing a new dimension by rallying off the pace. Finishing second that day was the highly regarded Singed, a royally-bred Sun Raider from the formidable Eric Nalbone barn. Out of the late champion Spark, Singed is a half-brother to multiple grade I winner Anvil, grade II winner Stands With A Fist and leading sire and millionaire Boise. He too will start in the Louisville Derby off a fierce 4-1/2-length triumph in the Hot Springs Derby (gr. I).

Love As I Am would close out his juvenile season in the 1-1/16-mile Buckingham Stakes (gr. III), again over an off track at Futurity Park. In a gritty effort, the colt dueled all the way on the rail before settling for third, two lengths behind winner Thriller, a fellow Awake As I Am colt --also Louisville-bound-- who earned a monstrous 94 speed figure, and a head behind Cause to Burn (most recently second in the Sunshine Park Derby (gr. I)). Love As I Am was back in action early this year in the aforementioned Fountain of Gold in Week 2, in which Talented As I Am beat him by 1-3/4 lengths into third after a slow start by the former.

Love As I Am does head to Louisville off a win, accomplished in the 1-1/8-mile Albuquerque Derby (gr. III) in New Mexico. This time breaking quickly from the gate, he settled mid-pack before rallying to a facile 1-3/4-length triumph over the swiftly-working Noble Venture. Love As I Am earned a 76 speed figure in running the distance in 1:49.83.

Love As I Am is an intriguing selection by the Steward. While by a dynamic sire he comes from a relatively ordinary female family whose top offspring have done their best running at 1-1/8 miles. What he does have going for him is a crafty trainer who has chosen the past of least resistance to Louisville. Love As I Am enters the Triple Crown series extremely fresh and his speed figures are on the rise, signaling a big effort. Additionally, the versatile colt can settle off the pace and rally but has won wire-to-wire as well. Love As I Am is flying under the radar heading into Louisville --this may well change now with the Steward's endorsement-- but he is quite live and could very well be the best of his sire's freshman crop. Only time will tell.