Amsterdam S. (gr. II)
(gr. II , 6.5f ,)
QUALITY ROAD
(B h,
123
lb) $90,000
Elusive Quality —Kobla , by
Strawberry Road (AUS)
B—Edward P. Evans,
VA.;
O—Edward P. Evans;
T—Todd A. Pletcher
Capt. Candyman Can
(B g,
123
lb) $30,000
Candy Ride (ARG) —Stormy Way , by
Storm Creek
B—Lantern Hill Farm LLC, Joseph Rauch & David Zell,
KY.;
O—Rauch, Joseph and Zell, David;
T—Ian R. Wilkes
Captain Cherokee
(DK B/ h,
117
lb) $15,000
Sir Cherokee —Candytuft , by
Dehere
B—Marjac Farms,
KY.;
O—Stonestreet Stables LLC;
T—Steven M. Asmussen
Margins: 2¼, 4, 1. Others: Custom for Carlos 123($7,500) , Everyday Heroes 123($4,500) , Cabaret Cowboy 115($3,000) . Winning Jockey, John R. Velazquez.
A four-month hiatus did nothing to tarnish Quality RoadÕs luster as his record-setting performance in the Aug. 3 Amsterdam Stakes (gr. II) at Saragota proved. The once and future star, now from the barn of Todd Pletcher, readily dismissed a field of five other sophomores as jockey John Velazquez, with nothing more than animated hand urging, rode him to a 21Ú4-length win over Capt. Candyman Can in track-record time.
Owner/breeder Edward P. Evans has collected a nucleus of quality broodmares but will occasionally supplement this already stellar band as he did when he plucked the Strawberry Road mare Kobla from the Keeneland November mixed sale in 1999. KoblaÕs performance on the track might not have warranted the $1 million-plus purchase price, but her pedigree certainly did. She is a tail-female descendant of Frizeur, one of the greenest branches of the female family tree that traces back to FrizeurÕs dam Frizette, ancestress of two of the three top sire lines today: Mr. Prospector and Seattle Slew. Kobla is a full sister to 1997 champion 3-year-old filly Ajina and both her dam, Winglet, and granddam, Highest Trump, won grade II stakes and produced multiple stakes winners. In fact, every dam from Kobla to Frizette has either been a stakes winner or stakes producer and that includes two champions, Durazna and Myrtlewood. KoblaÕs third dam, Dear April, is a daughter of My Babu whose grandsire Tourbillon descends from yet another branch of the Frizette family, that of FrizetteÕs daughter Banshee, winner of the 1913 Poule dÕEssai des Pouliches (French One Thousand Guineas).
As a broodmare, Kobla had been a bit of a disappointment even though she had been bred to such noted sires as Kingmambo and Gone West. The choice to send her to Elusive Quality in 2005, however, would change all that. It provided one of those rare instances in which both both dam and sire descend from the same tail-female line. Elusive Quality descends from an equally productive offshoot of the 13-c family, the one tracing to FrizetteÕs daughter Princess Palatine. As with Kobla, Elusive QualityÕs direct lineage is filled with mares that were stakes winners and/or stakes producers, including a champion, Vagrancy, and a Kentucky Broodmare of the Year, Natashka. Elusive QualityÕs sire, Gone West, being a son of Mr. Prospector, re-introduces the Myrtlewood branch as well in the sire line. Four crosses of Frizette through three different but equally productive branches may just be the key to success for Quality Road.
The sire of 49 stakes winners, with 11 added-money winners in 2009, Elusive Quality stands at Darley near Lexington, Ky.ÑT.H.
