Bred by Jayeff B Stables, Great Notion not only has the same sire as Smarty Jones, but his dam, Evening Primrose (by Dayjur), is a half-sister to grade I winner Talinum. Second dam Water Lily is a graded stakes winner.Great Notion will begin at Northview for $3,500 live foal. The farm is owned by Allaire du Pont, Dr. Tom Bowman, and Richard Golden.
Stakes winner Great Notion, who nearly won last year's King Bishop Stakes (gr. I) at Saratoga, will enter stud at Northview Stallion Station near Chesapeake City, Md. The 4-year-old son of Elusive Quality was unbeaten as a juvenile and was first or second in five stakes at three.Facing some of the top 3-year-old sprinters in the country in the seven-furlong King's Bishop, Great Notion sprinted off to set the pace with fractions of :21.76, :43.79, and 1:08.67. He was passed near the end by Valid Video and finished a neck behind him, with Ghostzapper another neck back in third. Earlier in the year, Great Notion won the Southwest Stakes by nine lengths.Great Notion's other placings came in the Amsterdam (gr. II, at Saratoga), Rebel, and Turfway Prevue Stakes. The colt retired this summer with three wins and four seconds from a dozen starts and earnings of $194,608 for Tommy and Bonnie Hamilton's Silverton Hill in three years of racing.
