Friends Lake may have paid $76.80 for his Florida Derby (gr. I) victory, due perhaps to a two-month layoff and an uninspired third in the Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III). Certainly, his success should have come as no surprise when considering his pedigree.
Friends Lake is a son of
A.P. Indy, the leading sire in North America in 2003, and a positive distance influence. A.P. Indy, on his way to 1992 Horse of the Year honors, won both the Belmont Stakes (gr. I) at 12 furlongs and the Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I) at 10 panels. The paternal grandsire of Friends Lake, Seattle Slew, was the 1977 Triple Crown winner.
Antespend, by 1985 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) victor Spend a Buck, is the dam of Friends Lake. Antespend was a millionaire on the track, winning 10 of her 24 starts, and was a grade I winner on turf and dirt. Her best distance ranged between eight and nine furlongs. In fact, she never ran at a distance less than one mile. As a 2-year-old she annexed the Green River Stakes at Keeneland at 1 1/16 miles and the Miesque Stakes (gr. III) at Hollywood Park at one mile.
The following season she won the Santa Ysabel Stakes at Santa Anita Park at 1 1/16 miles, the Las Virgenes (gr. I) at one mile, the Santa Anita Oaks (gr. I) at 1 1/16 miles, the Honeymoon Handicap (gr. III) at 1 1/8 miles, and the Del Mar Invitational (gr. IT) over nine grassy furlongs.
Friends Lake is the only winner out of Antespend, who died while foaling a Seeking the Gold filly in 2002.
The second dam of Friends Lake is the Argentine mare Auspiciante, by Practicante. Racing in her native country and then in the United States, Auspiciante piled up nearly a half-million dollars in earnings. Following group wins in her native country in both her 3- and 4-year-old seasons, Auspiciante came to the United States in 1985. After a pair of grass allowance victories at one mile, she stepped up and took the Ramona Handicap (gr. IT) at Del Mar in 1986 at nine furlongs. Later that year she took honors in the Matriarch Stakes (gr. IT) at the same distance. The 1987 Beverly Hills Handicap (gr. IIT) was her last victory.
His first two dams certainly give Friends Lake the right to try two-turn grass races down the line if the Triple Crown trail doesn't pan out. Besides Antespend, Auspiciante also produced American Pace, a colt by
Quiet American who is a stakes winner of $181,970 currently standing in Nebraska.
Auxey, by Right of Way, is Friends Lake's third dam. She won stakes in her native Argentina as a 3- and 4-year-old at distances from five to eight furlongs. Seven years before she foaled Auspiciante, Auxey had a full brother to her named Auxiliante, who became a seven-time stakes winner in Italy and Argentina combined, including five group events. Another full brother, Actuante, who stands in Pennsylvania, won two stakes in Argentina in 1981. Yet another full brother, Aunante, was stakes placed in Brazil in 1983.
Sire: A.P. INDY, dkb/br, 1989. Raced 2 yrs, 11 sts, 8 wins, $2,979,815. Horse of the Year and champion 3yo colt. Won Belmont S (gr. I), Breeders' Cup Classic (gr. I), Santa Anita Derby (gr. I), Hollywood Futurity (gr. I), San Rafael S (gr. II), Peter Pan S (gr. II); 3rd Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I).
Lifetime: 8 crops, 546 foals, 399 rnrs (73%), 267 wnrs (49%), 85 2yo wnrs (16%), 62 sw (11%), 3.43 AEI, 4.47 CI, 210 sale yrlgs, avg $457,759, 9.4 TNA.
In 2004: 7 sw.
1st dam: ANTESPEND, b, 1993-2002. Bred by Elmendorf Farm (Ky.). Raced 3 yrs, 24 sts, 10 wins, $1,011,954. Won Del Mar Invitational Oaks (gr. IT), Santa Anita Oaks (gr. I), Las Virgenes S (gr. I), Miesque S (gr. IIIT), Honeymoon H (gr. IIIT), Santa Ysabel S, Green River S (T); 2nd Hollywood Oaks (gr. I), Fantasy S (gr. II), Ballston Spa Breeders' Cup H (gr. IIIT), Noble Damsel H (gr. IIIT); 3rd Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S (gr. IT), Diana H (gr. IIT). Dam of 4 named foals, 2 rnrs, 1 wnr, 1 sw. ($900,000, 1997 keeapr).
1999: Rainmaker, dkb/br c, by Storm Cat. Unraced.
2000: I Love New York, b f, by Deputy Minister. Raced 1 yr, 4 sts, 0 wins, $0.
2001:
FRIENDS LAKE, ch c, by A.P. Indy.
At 2: Won Sleepy Hollow S (R).
At 3: Won Florida Derby (gr. I); 3rd Holy Bull S (gr. III).
2002: Seeking the Ante, dkb/br f, by Seeking the Gold.
Broodmare sire: SPEND A BUCK, b, 1982-2002. Sire of 156 dams of 586 foals, 363 rnrs (62%), 256 wnrs (44%), 66 2yo wnrs (11%), 1.29 AEI, 1.62 CI; 21 sw.
2nd dam: AUSPICIANTE, b, 1981. Bred by Haras La Biznaga (Arg.). Raced 5 yrs in Arg and NA, 32 sts, 8 wins, $437,982. Won Matriarch Invitational S (gr. IT), Ramona H (gr. IT), Beverly Hills H (gr. IIT), Clasico Ramon Biaus (Arg-II), Clasico Apertura (Arg-III); 2nd Gran Premio Copa de Plata (Arg-I), Golden Harvest H (gr. IIT), San Gorgonio H (gr. IIT), Clasico Luis Maria Campos (Arg-II); 3rd Ramona H (gr. IT), Clasico Enrique Acebal (Arg-I), Gran Premio Eliseo Ramirez (Arg-I), Cotejo de Potrancas-Jorge Atucha (Arg-I), Hillsborough H (gr. IIIT). Dam of
AMERICAN PACE (c, Quiet American; $181,970, Won Coors Starter Allowance S; 2nd Coors Starter Allowance S).
