Sport Page H. (gr. III)
(gr. III , 7f ,)
STORMIN FEVER
(DK B/ h,
120
lb) $50,115
Storm Cat —Pennant Fever , by
Seattle Slew
B—Edward P. Evans,
VA.;
O—Edward P. Evans;
T—Mark A. Hennig
Olympic Cat
(DK B/ g,
113
lb) $16,705
Storm Cat —Dream Team , by
Cox's Ridge
B—Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd.,
KY.;
O—Capecci, Bert and Kupferberg, Saul;
T—Anthony R. Margotta, Jr.
Adverse
(B h,
113
lb) $9,188
Capote —Tappity Tap , by
Mr. Prospector
B—Kinsman Farm,
KY.;
O—Anstu Stable, Kinsman Farm and Mack;
T—James A. Jerkens
Margins: 2½, 1¼, neck. Others: Say Florida Sandy 117($5,011) , Liberty Gold 114($2,506) , Holzmeister 114 , Hit the Roof 117 , Fenton Lane 113 , Gray Raider 114 . Winning Jockey, Richard Migliore.
Stormin Fever finally caught a break in the Sport Page Handicap (gr. III). The 4-year-old son of Storm Cat made five unsuccessful attempts at winning a graded stakes race this year before his start in the Sport Page. While his opponents in the race were quality runners in their own right, he had finished behind such rivals as Skip Away, Affirmed Success, and Wild Rush earlier in 1998. All three of those horses competed in Breeders’ Cup races at Churchill Downs while Stormin Fever captured the Sport Page at Aqueduct on Nov. 7.
Stormin Fever is a homebred son of Pennant Fever racing for Edward P. Evans. Evans owns Spring Hill Farm near Casanova, Va., where he keeps most of his stock. Pennant Fever, who is in foal to Deputy Minister, is at the farm, as is her weanling filly by Storm Cat. Also at Spring Hill is her 1996 colt, Ghost Fever. The colt fractured a cannon bone while in training and is recovering with hopes of him returning to the track by next March. The mare’s yearling filly by Red Ransom is in training with Ron Stevens in Aiken, S.C. Pennant Fever is booked to Storm Cat for 1999.
Evans has had success with his homebreds in 1998. Among the horses he bred that won stakes for him this year are Colonial Minstrel and Key Hunter. Colonial Minstrel is a daughter of Pleasant Colony, the Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner bred by Evans’ father, Thomas Mellon Evans. Colonial Minstrel has won the Shuvee (gr. II), Humana Distaff (gr. III), and Straight Deal Breeders’ Cup Handicaps this year. Mark Hennig trains both Stormin Fever and Colonial Minstrel.
Storm Cat is the sire of Stormin Fever and 60 other added-money winners. The stallion has been represented by 20 stakes winning sons and daughters this year, including three on Nov. 7. In addition to Stormin Fever, Catinca won the First Flight Handicap (gr. II) and Exploit won the Iroquois Stakes (gr. III) at Churchill Downs. Storm Cat is owned by W. T. Young’s Overbrook Farm and stands at that nursery near Lexington. The stallion’s 1998 fee of $150,000 is scheduled to be raised to $200,000 for 1999.—K. J. I.
