Stakes Winner/Producer Classy Women Dead

Classy Women, a graded stakes winner and dam of Irish champion Ad Valorem, was euthanized March 15 at Calumet Farm near Lexington. Owned by Calumet, the 18-year-old daughter of Relaunch suffered from chronic lameness. Her Forestry colt that she delivered in February is on a nurse mare.

Calumet bought Classy Women (in foal to Dayjur) at the 1993 Keeneland November breeding stock sale from Taylor Made Farm, agent for William J. Herrick, who raced the mare with his wife, Donna. Classy Women produced 10 named foals, all consecutively, six of which are winners. Ad Valorem, by Danzig, was Ireland's champion 2-year-old male of 2004 and an English group I winner that year. Three others were stakes-placed, with two of them, Designer and Petite Princess, being group-placed in Europe

Bred by Verne H. Winchell, Classy Women set a world-record mark on grass of 1:01 for 5 1/2 furlongs at Hollywood Park. She won the Hillsborough Handicap (gr. IIIT) and Sandy Blue Stakes on grass in California and placed in the Test Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga. Trained by Darrell Vienna, she retired with four wins from 10 starts and earnings of $154,708.

Classy Women, who is out of the Proud Clarion mare Aironlass, also is the dam of an unnamed Stravinsky yearling filly.