Stellar Wind (horse)
| Stellar Wind | |
|---|---|
| Sire | Curlin |
| Grandsire | Smart Strike |
| Dam | Evening Star |
| Damsire | Mailbu Moon |
| Sex | Filly |
| Foaled | 13 February 2012[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Colour | Chestnut |
| Breeder | Keswick Stables & Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings |
| Owner | Hronis Racing |
| Trainer |
Donald Barr John W. Sadler |
| Record | 8: 5-1-1 |
| Earnings | $913,200 |
| Major wins | |
|
Santa Ysabel Stakes (2015) Santa Anita Oaks (2015) Summertime Oaks (2015) Torrey Pines Stakes (2015) | |
| Awards | |
| American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly (2015) | |
Stellar Wind (foaled 13 February 2012) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred in Virginia, she raced in Maryland as a juvenile, winning one minor race from two starts. As a three-year-old, racing mainly in California, she improved to become arguably the best filly of her generation in North America. In the spring of 2015 she won the Santa Ysabel Stakes and the Santa Anita Oaks before finishing fourth when favorite for the Kentucky Oaks. On her return to California she recorded further Graded victories in the Summertime Oaks and the Torrey Pines Stakes and then ended her season by finishing second in the Breeders' Cup Distaff. She was voted American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly for the 2015 season.
Background
Stellar Wind is a chestnut filly with a white blaze bred in Virginia by Keswick Stables & Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings. She is from the third crop of foals sired by Curlin winner of the 2007 Preakness Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic. Curlin's other offspring have included Palace Malice and Keen Ice.[2] Stellar Wind was the first foal of her dam Evening Star, who won two minor races as a four-year-old in 2010,[3] and was descended from the mare Omayya, who was the ancestor of many important winners including Tepin, Americain and the Irish Oaks winner Melodist.[4]
In August 2013, the filly was consigned by Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services to the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale and was sold for $40,000 to Vernan Lee Stables.[5] Less than two months later, the filly returned to the Fasig-Tipton auction ring and was bought for $88,000 by Barbara J. Houck.[6] The filly was initially sent into training with Donald Barr.
Racing career
2014: two-year-old season
Stellar Wind made her first appearance in a maiden race at Laurel Park Racecourse on November 20 2014 and finished third of the fourteen runners behind Spotted Heart and Gypsy Judy. Four weeks later at the same track she contested a similar event and recorded her first success as she drew away from her six rivals in the stretch to win by eight and three quarter lengths.
2015: three-year-old season
For the 2015 season Stellar Wind entered the ownership of Kostas Hronis' Hronis Racing and was sent into training with John W. Sadler.[7]
Stellar Wind began her second season with a step up in class as she contested the Grade III) Santa Ysabel Stakes over eight and a half furlongs at Santa Anita Park on February 25. Ridden for the first time by Victor Espinoza she started at odds of 7/1 in a seven-runner field headed by Light The City who had finished second in the Grade I Las Virgenes Stakes on her previous start. The filly started slowly but moved up on the outside on the final turn, took a narrow lead early in the stretch, and drew away in the final stages to win by two and three quarter lengths from Light The City. After the race Espinoza commented "I wanted to break and let her do whatever she wanted to do. I didn't want to irritate her, just make her happy. They slowed the pace down, so I had to move out a bit. They were walking up front, so I had to press the pace by the three-eighths pole. She was just waiting for me to command her".[8]
Over the same course and distance on April 5 Stellar Wind moved up to Grade I level for the first time and started the 6/5 favourite for the Santa Anita Oaks. Light The City was again in opposition, but her main opposition appearded to come from the Bob Baffert-trained Luminance. After being restrained by Espinoza at the rear of the seven-runner field, she moved up on the outside approaching the final turn, took the lead a furlong and a half out and won by five and a quarter lengths from Luminance, with Wild At Heart three lengths back in third.[9] Following his filly's success, Kosta Hronis said "I've been coming to this track my whole life to win that race. We've always attended this track growing up and to come to Derby Day and watch these special races and to be part of it was really amazing... I was in awe that we could be part of it... she's a really talented filly. She wasn't going to be caught today".[10]
On 1 May Stellar Wind started favourite in a fourteen-runner field for the Kentucky Oaks over nine furlongs at Churchill Downs. After racing towards the rear, she made progress on the wide outside on the final turn but never looked likely to win and finished fourth behind Lovely Maria, Shook Up and I'm A Chatterbox. In the Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita Stellar Wind started odds on favourite despite conceding five pounds to her opponents. She took the lead a quarter of a mile from the finish but was hard-pressed to maintain her advantage in the closing stages before prevailing by a nose from Tara's Tango.[11]
Stellar Wind's next appearance came in the Grade III Torrey Pines Stakes at Del Mar Racetrack on August 30. Starting odds-on favorite against five opponents, she took the lead three furlongs out and pulled clear in the straight to win by four and a quarter lengths from Big Book.[12] For her final race of the year, Stellar Wind was matched against older fillies and mares for the first time in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Keeneland on October 30. As in several of her previous starts, she was restrained by Espinoza before moving up on the outside on the final turn to challenge the leaders in the straight. In the closing stages she was bumped by the four-year-old Stopchargingmaria before finishing second by a neck to her older rival, with the pair finishing three and a half lengths clear of Curalina in third.
At the Eclipse Awards in January 2016 Stellar Wind was named American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly after taking 108 of the 261 votes, winning the award ahead of I'm A Chatterbox and Found.[7]
Pedigree
| Sire Curlin (USA) 2004 |
Smart Strike (CAN) 1992 |
Mr Prospector | Raise A Native |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold Digger | |||
| Classy 'n Smart | Smarten | ||
| No Class | |||
| Sheriff's Deputy (USA) 1994 |
Deputy Minister | Vice Regent | |
| Mint Copy | |||
| Barbarika | Bates Motel | ||
| War Exchange | |||
| Dam Evening Star (USA) 2006 |
Malibu Moon (USA) 1997 |
A P Indy | Seattle Slew |
| Weekend Surprise | |||
| Macoumba | Mr Prospector | ||
| Maximova | |||
| Sequins (USA) 1987 |
Northern Fashion | Northern Dancer | |
| Fashionable Trick | |||
| Brilliant Touch | Gleaming | ||
| Indian Nurse (Family: 1-n)[4] |
- Stellar Wind is inbred 3 × 4 to Mr Prospector, meaning that this stallion appears in both the third and fourth generation of her pedigree.
References
- 1 2 "Stellar Wind pedigree". equineline.com. Retrieved 2016-01-20.
- ↑ "Curlin - Stud Record". Racing Post.
- ↑ "Evening Star - Statistics".
- 1 2 "Chelandry - Family 1-n". Thoroughbred Bloodlines.
- ↑ "Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale". Racing Post.
- ↑ "Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2013 Eastern Fall Yearling". Racing Post.
- 1 2 Evan Hammonds (16 January 2016). "Eclipse Nod to Stellar Wind as Top 3YO Female". The Blood-Horse.
- ↑ Jeremy Balan (28 February 2015). "Stellar Wind Sails to Santa Ysabel Victory". The Blood-Horse.
- ↑ "Santa Anita Oaks result". Racing Post. 4 April 2015.
- ↑ Evan Hammonds (4 April 2015). "Stellar Wind Rolls in Santa Anita Oaks". The Blood-Horse.
- ↑ "Summertime Oaks result". Racing Post. 20 June 2015.
- ↑ "Torrey Pines Stakes result". Racing Post. 30 August 2015.