There were a lot of great races at Belmont on Saturday, but Princess of Sylmar stole the show with her triumph over reigning distaff queen Royal Delta. Making her usual sweeping run around the far turn, the chestnut filly drew even with her older rival and kicked clear in mid-stretch, pulling away to win with a little bit of daylight behind her as well. Excuses for Royal Delta slowly tumbled in as the horses crossed the line - she stumbled, she wasn't feeling well, she hadn't ran her A race... Even so, Princess of Sylmar had handily defeated her in a fair race - a prestigious Grade 1, at that - and no one can take that away from her.
Besides Game On Dude, who has put together an impressive resume this year, Princess of Sylmar's 2013 campaign has been unmatched. Wintering at Aqueduct, she won a pair of stakes races before finishing second to Close Hatches in the Gazelle (G2). She came into the Kentucky Oaks (G1) completely overlooked in favor of others, but proved her naysayers wrong as she rolled home late to win. At 38-1, she was the second biggest winning longshot in Oaks history. Some thought her win at Churchill Downs was a mere fluke. Princess of Sylmar shipped to Saratoga for the summer and, just as she had done in the spring, silenced her critics with dominating wins in the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) and Alabama Stakes (G1). Until Saturday, she was merely a princess. Now, with a win over Royal Delta, Princess of Sylmar has blossomed into a queen.
Despite her royal stature in the racing world, her pedigree is a little modest. She is a daughter of Majestic Warrior, an impeccably bred son of A.P. Indy whose biggest triumph came in the Hopeful Stakes (G1) of 2007. After suffering a foot injury in the Champagne (G1), where he finished unplaced, the colt that won the Hopeful was no more. Derby dreams vanished as he made a handful of poor starts, and he was retired to Ashford Stud in October of 2008. However, a son of A.P. Indy from a Grade 1 family would be well received at stud, and he has done well with the chances given him. Besides Princess of Sylmar, he is the sire of Bay Shore (G3) winner Declan's Warrior and the good allowance horse Majestic Hussar.
Princess of Sylmar is the first foal out of Storm Dixie, a Catienus mare who was stakes-placed as a yearling. Catienus, a moderately successful son of Storm Cat, is best known as the sire of Precious Kitten, a multiple Grade 1-winning half-sister to leading sire Kitten's Joy. Through Majestic Warrior and Catienus, her pedigree is a combination of Storm Cat and A.P. Indy, arguably the two best sires of the last few decades.
Storm Dixie is out of Golden Wave Band (Dixieland Band), whose best foal is Rhythm Band (Cozzene), a Dubai Duty Free (G3) winner. Another half to Storm Dixie is Musical (El Gran Senor), who also is a stakes-placed winner. In total, Golden Wave Band, a winner herself, has produced five winners from seven to race. Interesting to me is the black-type under the second dam, Wind Talk (Drone). Her daughter, Talk and Talk (Linkage) is the dam of two stakes winners on the Nebraska racing circuit, which, as an Omaha native, I am pretty familiar with. There is stakes success to be found in this pedigree, but, with the exception of Rhythm Band, it is all mostly small scale. A very decent pedigree on its own, but as the family of a princess? A rags to riches story, indeed.
Despite the modesty up front, though, all Thoroughbreds are rooted in royalty somewhere down the line. If you trace Princess of Sylmar's female side, you'll eventually come to a mare in the late 19th century named Grand Duchess. Not only does she have a regal name, but Grand Duchess is also found in the tail-female line of the champion racehorse and sire Blushing Groom.
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