breeders’ cup 2010 is the only runner for her dam, the Dixieland Band mare, Dixie Slippers. That mare is a half-sister to the Federico Tesio Stakes (G3) scorer Woods Of Windsor and the only other graded stakes winner under the first four dams is Ethan, who is out of a half-sister to the dam of Dixie Slippers, and who was a champion miler in Peru. One has to go deep into the female line to find a top-class horse, back to the eighth dam Rosebloom in fact. Her daughter Fragrance is grand-dam of the Belmont Stakes winner Jaipur, and ancestress of a number of other good runners, including Be My Guest and Golden Fleece. Another branch of this family, tracing to Rosebloom’s half-sister Rare Bloom, produced Storm Cat and Royal Academy. Uncle Mo is the only stakes winner by Indian Charlie out of a Roberto line mare, although he’s previously done well out of mares descending from Roberto’s sire Hail To Reason through Halo. On the other hand, Indian Charlie’s sire
In Excess has sired a Grade 1 winner and a Grade 2 winner out of a mare by Prized, another son of Kris S. We can note that Indian Charlie’s broodmare sire Leo Castelli is a product of a Northern Dancer/Raise A Native cross, as is the dam of Arch.
Awesome Feather: class in her family
If we have to go back through many generations to find class in the family of Uncle Mo, the same is not true of Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly (G1) heroine Awesome Feather whose third dam Quill was a champion twoyear-old filly. What is remarkable, however, is that Quill’s championship was earned as long ago as 1958 – Awesome Feather’s grand-dam Last Feather was foaled when Quill was a 23-year-old, and she was herself 18 when she produced Awesome Feather’s dam, Precious Feather. Undefeated in six starts, Awesome Feather, had never tackled graded stakes competition before, but had dominated at Calder this
Awesome Feather: two days later was sold for $2,300,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale
summer and fall, sweeping the Florida Stallion Series of Desert Vixen, Susan’s Girl and My Dear Girl Stakes, having previously captured her first black-type win in the J J’s D ream Stakes. Awesome Feather’s sire, Awesome Of Course, is by Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winner Awesome Again (Deputy Minister), and, as we’ve mentioned, is from the family of this year’s Breeder’s Cup Turf (G1) laureate, Dangerous Midge. Awesome Of Course was a sprinter winning the Inaugural Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs at two, and the Western Borders and Heckofaralph Stakes at Calder at three. Awesome Of Course has sired just 30 foals in his first four crops of which just 20 have started, with Awesome Feather and multiple stakes scorer Honey Honey Honey being his only black-type winners. Having started in Florida, he then moved to Oklahoma, but will be back in the sunshine state for 2011 at Journeyman Stud. Awesome Feather’s dam Precious Feather, a daughter of Gone West, won four black-type races at Calder and was also graded stakes placed. She’s a three-parts sister to the English Listed two-year-old scorer Ruznama, and a half-sister to the the dam of black-type winner Elmutabaki. Granddam Last Feather was by Vaguely Noble and won the Musidora Stakes (G3) and took third in the Oaks (G1). She is a half-sister to champion US turf horse One For All, and Irish St. Leger (G1) winner Caucasus, also a Grade 1 winner in the U.S. Awesome Feather is the best runner sired so far by Deputy Minister or one of his sons out of a Gone West mare, but the cross has produced three other graded winners and a toal of six stakes winners.
A stakes winner for Essence Of Dubai
Two days after her Breeders’ Cup win, Awesome Feather found herself in the sales ring at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, where she was purchased for $2,300,000 by Adena Springs, who also raced her grandsire, Awesome Again. Another Breeders’ Cup-winning filly to go through the sale that night was Dubai Majesty, who fetched $1,100,000 to the bid of Katsumi Yoshida. The five-year-old mare earned her triumph in the Filly and Mare Sprint (G1). A Florida-bred, Dubai Majesty is by Essence Of Dubai, a son of Pulpit and champion two-year-old filly, Epitome.
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