Revolutionary
lived up to his heroic name in the Withers
Stakes (G-3) this past Saturday at Aqueduct. Much has been
written about the wild trip the Todd
Pletcher trainee sustained so we'll skip the details. If you
haven't had a chance to see the race, read Matt Shifman's comments
and catch the Withers' video on his Horse Racing Nation blog, New
York State of Racing.
REVOLUTIONARY
(War Pass - Runup the Colors, by A.P. Indy) was a $250K 2012 OBS
March Two Year Old in Training purchase by WinStar
Farm after the colt zipped a furlong in :10.20 in the under-tack
show. Revolutionary needed four starts to win his maiden. He
placed in three previous starts and the light bulb came on in a huge
way last December, when he amazed racegoers with an 8 ½ length
victory traveling a mile in 1:36.52 over the Aqueduct track. His
final time was just a tick off of the track record of 1:35. 79 and
it's quite possible that he could have eclipsed it that day if asked.
To date, Revolutionary has compiled a 5-2-1-2 ($188,500) race record
and ten points in the Derby points system.
Sire:
The
well-bred colt is by 2007 Juvenile Champion War Pass, who sired only
two crops before his untimely death in 2010. War Pass was a brilliant
two year old who entered the Breeders' Cup Juvenile undefeated after
dominating front-running scores in his debut, an allowance race and
the Champagne Stakes. The son of Cherokee run splashed his way to a
4 ¾ length victory in the Juvenile. The following year, War Pass
continued his winning ways with a seven length victory in an
allowance test, but suffered a shocking defeat in the Tampa Bay Derby
after a rough trip. He took one more stab at the triple crown preps
in the Wood Memorial, winging it on the front end in his usual style,
but War Pass faltered in the stretch, finishing second by a ½ length
to Tale of Ekati, a colt he dominated as a two year old. War Pass
suffered a foreleg injury during the race and was retired.
War
Pass sired 65 foals in his initial crop and he was #13 on the
Freshman Sire list of 2012 in terms of earnings. The promising
stallion was represented by only 20 runners on the track, yet nine of
them won and five were repeat winners. His son Java's War became War
Pass' first stakes winner with a victory in the Sunday Silence Stakes
and earned graded stakes status in the Dixiana Breeders' Futurity
(G-1). War Pass' offspring have been successful over all surfaces,
primarily dirt. Revolutionary is his sire's first winner at 1 1/6
miles. War Pass stood only two years at stud, including a stint in
Australia, before his mysterious death right before the 2011 breeding
season.
It's
difficult to say how far War Pass' progeny will want to run. His sire
Cherokee Run was the Champion Sprinter of 1994. Cherokee Run's
offspring won stakes races up to 1 1/8 miles and two placed at 1 ¼
miles. His two most prominent sons at stud are Kafwain and
Yonaguska. Kafwain sired two stakes winners at 1 1/8 miles, Daisy
Devine and The Pamplemousse and one son Don't Forget Gil, placed at 1
¼ miles. The same for Yonaguska. His offspring win up to 1 1/8
miles. His best son, Musket Man finished third in the Kentucky Derby
and Preakness.
War
Pass' damsire Mr. Prospector is a Brilliant/Classic Chef-de-race and
the second damsire Hoist The Flag is a Brilliant/Intermediate
Chef-de-race, so it is not a stretch to say that If War Pass' babies
follow in his hoofprints and those of his sire Cherokee Run, they
will likely be distance challenged beyond
1
1/16 to 1 1/8 miles.
WAR
PASS (
Cherokee Run - Vue, by Mr. Prospector)
Race
Record: 7-5-1-0 ($1,583,400)
CAREER
HIGHLIGHTS:
1st
– Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G-1) 1 1/16 miles
1st
– Champagne Stakes (G-1) 1 mile
2nd
– Wood Memorial Stakes (G-1) 1 1/8 miles
Female
Family:
Revolutionary's
distaff line traces back to one of the best-producing mares in
history, La Troienne. Four
Kentucky Derby winners (Sea Hero, Go For Gin, Smarty Jones and Super
Saver) have descended from this mare, as did Belmont Stakes winner
Easy Goer.
Revolutionary's
dam Runup The Colors is a product of the Lanes End Farm breeding
program. Typical of the progeny of A.P. Indy, Runup The Colors
wasn't a precocious juvenile. She won her maiden in her fourth
attempt. A year later, she raced at the allowance level four four
months before jumping into stakes competition. She was up to the
challenge, winning the Delaware Oaks by 1 ½ lengths. Runup The
Colors faced a small but competitive group in the Alabama Stakes
(G-1), beating Ajina by 1 ¼ lengths and ironically, Runup The
Colors' close relative Tomisue's Delight. Unfortunately, that was
the last race Runup The Colors won, however, she did place in two
other stakes races.
Besides
Revolutionary, Runup The Colors bore six other foals to race, two of
whom own blacktype. Tafaseel (by Belong To Me) placed in the Jerome
Stakes (8F) and Ice Road (by Unbridled's Song) was third in the Ohio
Derby (G-3) (9F). Runup The Colors has an unnamed Quality Road
yearling and is in foal to English Channel.
Revolutionary's
second dam is the blue hen, Up the Flagpole (Hoist The Flag - Garden
Club, by Herbager), heroine of the Delaware Oaks. Seven of the eleven
foals she bore owned blacktype. Two of the most notable are Flagbird
(by Nureyev), European highweight mare and the grand-dam of Ashland
Stakes (G-1) winner and Kentucky Oaks runner-up Little Belle. The
second noteworthy foal was Prospector's Delite (by Mr. Prospector),
who won the Acorn (G-1) and Ashland Stakes (G-1). Prospector's
Delite is also a blue hen and is better known as dam of Mineshaft,
(Horse of the Year and prominent sire), plus his full sister,
multiple Grade 1 winner Tomisue's Delight and full brother stakes
winner Rock Slide. A half brother, Monashee Mountain is a multiple
Group 3 winner in Ireland. Up the Flagpole also produced King's
Bishop hero and sire Top Account (by Private Account) and stakes
winners Fold the Flag (by Raja Babba), Allied Flag (by Danzig), Long
View (by Damascus) and Kyowa Je T'Aime (by Seattle Slew), a Japanese
stakes winner.
Revolutionary's
third dam Garden Club ( Herbager – Fashion Verdict, by Court
Martial) was also a blue hen. While Garden Club's other progeny were
successful producers, none approached the status of the branch
established by Up the Flagpole and her daughter Prospector's Delite.
Revolutionary's dam Runup The Colors is becoming another top producer
from this branch.
RUNUP
THE COLORS (A.P.
Indy - Up the Flagpole, by Hoist the Flag)
Race
Record: 18-6-3-4 ($555,024)Career
Highlights:
1st
– Alabama Stakes (G-1) 1 ¼ miles
1st
– Delaware Oaks 1 1/16 miles
2nd
– Ballerina Handicap (G-1) 7 Furlongs
2nd
– Spinster Stakes (G-1) 1 1/8 miles
Damsire:
A.P.
Indy, Revolutionary's damsire, has been designated an
Intermediate/Classic Chef-de-race, meaning that it is recognized that
he passes along stamina to his offspring. Now retired from stud
duty, A.P. Indy's status as a racehorse and major stallion is already
cemented in history. By a Triple Crown winner out of the daughter of
a Triple Crown winner, A.P. Indy earned Horse of the Year status with
victories in the Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic. He is
recognized worldwide as a sire of sires and his genes live on through
his recently deceased son Pulpit, Bernardini, Malibu Moon, Mineshaft,
Majestic Warrior, Jump Start and many more.
A.P.
Indy is no slouch as a broodmare sire, either, as he's been a top 20
leading broodmare sire for the last seven years. His daughters have
produced 160 stakes winners, including the Champion mares Royal Delta
and Wait A While, Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, and Kentucky
Oaks heroine Plum Pretty.
A.
P. INDY (Seattle
Slew - Weekend Surprise, by Secretariat)
Race
Record: 11-8-0-1 ($2,979,815)Career
Highlights:
1st
– Belmont Stakes (G-1) 1 ½ miles
1st
- Breeders' Cup Classic (G-1) 1 ¼ miles
1st
– Santa Anita Derby (G-1) 1 1/8 miles
1st
- Hollywood Futurity (G-1) 1 1/6 miles
1st
– Peter Pan Stakes (G-2) 1 1/8 miles
3rd
- Jockey Club Gold Cup (G-1) 1 ¼ miles
Going
back a generation, Revolutionary's second damsire was the
Brilliant/Intermediate Chef-de-race Hoist The Flag (Tom Rolfe –
Wavy Navy, by War Admiral). The speedy colt received Championship
Juvenile honors in 1970. He won all six starts, but was disqualified
in the Champagne Stakes. He was a leading sire and broodmare sire
during his time at stud.
War
Pass was bred to eight daughters of A.P. Indy. To date, Revolutionary
is the only starter and winner. There is precedent for this breeding
cross. Cherokee Run has 13 foals out of A.P. Indy mares. 11 have
started and nine of those are winners. Two, the full siblings Zanjero
and Acacia (Cherokee Run - Checkered Flag, by A.P. Indy) own
blacktype. Zanjero is a multiple graded stakes winner up to 1 1/8
miles, whose roster of victories includes the Kentucky Cup Classic
Stakes, Indiana Derby and West Virginia Derby.
Summary:
Revolutionary
has a bounding gait, with an excellent, far-reaching stride. The dark
brown colt appears to favor his sire in conformation and build. He
isn't overly muscular, but has a nicely slanted shoulder, short back
and well-shaped, hindquarters. Revolutionary has a classic speed
over stamina pedigree and is borderline for 1 ¼ miles. He's shown
tenacity and dogged determination to overcome trouble in a couple of
his starts, which bodes well should he make it to the bumper-car
field of the Kentucky Derby. He's certainly a colt to keep an eye on
in future outings. Revolutionary will spend time at Palm Meadows
resting up and training towards his next start, which is undecided.
