With the explosive victory of first-time starter,
Eblouissante, last week, her dam, Vertigineux, has been receiving accolades
left and right of late as the most prized broodmare in all the land. That honor
may be well deserved for the 2008 broodmare of the year, but on the other hand,
there may be another mare in the Bluegrass with even a bigger claim to fame.
This past week reminds me what a truly great producer the Unbridled mare Oatsee
has proven to be. The 15-year-old chestnut mare enjoyed yet another stakes win
yesterday when her five-year-old daughter, Afleeting Lady (Afleet Alex) romped
home to an easy win in the Grade 2 Falls City Handicap at Churchill Downs.
It marked the biggest win of her twenty race career,
but came as no surprise. Afleeting Lady is a mare on a roll, with three
authoritative stakes wins, at three different tracks, in her last three starts.
For her dam, Oatsee, (right) it was just business as usual. Six days earlier, her
promising three-year-old son, Stephanoatsee (A.P. Indy) may not have returned a
winner in Grade 3 Discovery, but his third place finish continued a trend
upwards for the colt who had become a stakes winner in his previous start at
Delaware Park. Not to be forgotten, of course, is her most recognizable
offspring, Shackleford (Forestry). Today’s Grade 1 Clark Handicap offers the
2011 Preakness and 2012 Met Mile winner one last chance to add to an already impressive
career. Whether or not Shackleford (above) can win today, Oatsee is having an even
better season than last year when she was named Broodmare of the Year.
Oatsee, out of the Lear Fan mare, With Every Wish, was
only a decent runner, but has produced far more talent than she ever
demonstrated on the racetrack. She finished her racing career 2-for-21, with
earnings of $106,945, and was stakes placed in three seasons of competition.
Purchased as a broodmare in January of 2006, Oatsee quickly paid dividends to
her owners.
Later that summer, her second foal, Baghdaria (Royal
Academy) won several stakes including the Indiana and Iowa Oaks, and her third
foal, Lady Joanne (Orientate) finished the year off with a grade 2 victory in
the Golden Rod Stakes. Lady Joanne would go on to become a grade 1 winner the
following year with a big win in the prestigious Alabama Stakes. In the span of
two years, the value of the young broodmare skyrocketed.
Oatsee was purchased by Leonard Reggio’s My Meadowview Farm for $1,550,000 at the 2008 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, and now
with the class displayed by her three current runners, that price tag would
seem to be a bargain. Look for more to come soon from the great broodmare,
Oatsee. She has an unraced juvenile colt by Johannesburg, named Dare Me,
currently residing in the Graham Motion barn, and has a weanling filly by
Indian Charlie.
No disrespect intended to Vertigineux, but it’s hard to
imagine a better broodmare in America right now than the Unbridled mare,
Oatsee.