This column highlights the performances of maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners.
Saratoga Race Course
Since becoming involved in horse ownership, Houston Astros All-Star Alex Bregman’s runners are batting at 26.6% win average since 2022. The popular third baseman bought into eight horses last year and from that small number has already taken his picture four times and even celebrated his first stakes victory with No Nay Mets in the Royal Palm Juvenile May 13 at Gulfstream Park.
#3 Kodiac Wintergreen closes late and gets up in time to win R6 at Saratoga for Rusty Arnold with @jose93_ortiz in the saddle! 🍀
🎥 #TwinSpiresReplay pic.twitter.com/ROSzkHym8F
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) July 20, 2023
A lifelong racing fan, it was thus no surprise to see a horse racing in Bregman’s colors at Saratoga Race Course. Although his Irish-bred Kodiac Wintergreen was second in her June debut, the filly slammed it out of the park July 20 in a 5 1/2-furlong turf maiden special weight to give Bregman his first-ever winner at the Spa.
While Kodiac Wintergreen has Irish roots, two of the filly’s siblings have registered black-type success on North American shores. Both of those siblings, Glorious Empire and Love Reigns , have had their pictures taken in the Saratoga winner’s circle as well.
Kodiac Wintergreen’s older half brother, Glorious Empire (Holy Roman Emperor), started out in England and then was sent to the United States at 5. The hard-hitting gelding competed from 6 to 8 for owner Matthew Schera and trainer Chuck Lawrence and accumulated a career bankroll of $977,227. A horse that flourished with time, Glorious Empire’s crowning moment came in 2017 during his 7-year-old campaign when he sailed to a front-running score in Saratoga’s Sword Dancer Stakes (G1T).
Despite the fact her brother did his best running over route distances, Kodiac Wintergreen’s pedigree suggests she could be a serious player in one-turn contests. Her sire Kodiac , a son of European speed influence Danehill and a six-furlong specialist himself, is responsible for such top-class sprinters as group 1 winners Campanelle , El Bodegon , and Good Guess . Furthermore, Kodiac Wintergreen’s 3-year-old half sister, Love Reigns, has proven to be a crack sprinter on the lawn for trainer Wesley Ward. The U S Navy Flag filly captured the 2022 Bolton Landing Stakes at the Spa, a race that could very well be in Kodiac Wintergreen’s future after her decisive maiden win.
Breaking a touch slowly from the gate, as she did in her debut, Kodiac Wintergreen raced near the back of the pack under jockey Jose Ortiz before mounting a three-wide bid turning for home. Picking off her rivals down the lane, she flashed by the pacesetter late for a three-quarters of a length tally.
Trained by Rusty Arnold, Kodiac Wintergreen stopped the clock in 1:03.40 on a turf course listed as firm.
The sprightly bay became the sixth winner for her dam, the Pivotal (GB) mare Humble And Proud. She was purchased overseas at the 2022 Goffs Orby Yearling Sale for US$153,486.
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