Dragoon Guard is an Arrogate son on the march
The Juddmonte colt runs in the same silks as his sire
By Frances J. Karon
In his early training for Brad Cox’s team at Keeneland in late spring and throughout summer last year, then-2-year-old Dragoon Guard showed a lot of ability. But much like his sire Arrogate—and other Arrogate sons, like 2023 champion 3-year-old male Arcangelo—Dragoon Guard’s success hasn’t been immediate.
Now that he’s a Grade 3 winner, Dragoon Guard is, however—in terms of accomplishments—a step ahead of where Arrogate was at this point in his 3-year-old season. Arrogate and Dragoon Guard each broke his maiden at three in his second career start: Arrogate in June of 2016 at Santa Anita, and Dragoon Guard (who ran second by a neck in his debut last fall) this past April at Keeneland. And both followed up with an easy allowance/optional claiming win in June. But Arrogate won another start in an allowance/optional claimer before winning his stakes debut in August—in the G1 Travers, no less—and Dragoon Guard instead went straight to stakes company for his fourth start, winning last Saturday’s G3 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis, leaving G1 Santa Anita Derby winner Stronghold (Ghostzapper) behind in second by 2 1/2 lengths.
It remains to be seen whether Dragoon Guard is up to the scintillating, Grade 1 whirlwind quality of Arrogate’s career that enabled the Juddmonte-owned, Bob Baffert-trained champion son of Unbridled’s Song to win the Breeders’ Cup Classic at three and the Pegasus World Cup Invitational and Dubai World Cup at four, or if he can string together a second-half campaign like Arcangelo—who won the G1 Belmont and G1 Travers—but at this stage, Dragoon Guard is certainly one to keep an eye on. A top-level win would likely guarantee a spot in the stallion barn at Juddmonte that once housed his sire.
Not only is Dragoon Guard bred to improve with time, but we’ve already seen what the much-lamented Arrogate is capable of as a sire, with Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath in his first crop, that Classic-winning champion Arcangelo (who just completed his first season at stud at Lane’s End) in his second crop, and this year’s Preakness winner Seize the Grey (who will stand at Gainesway)—among other Grade 1 winners—in his third and final crop.
DRAGOON GUARD (2021 Arrogate – Filimbi, by Mizzen Mast)
B: Juddmonte
O: Juddmonte
T: Brad Cox
Record: 4-3-1-0, $335,360
Highest achievement: Grade 3 winner
Last Auction Price: none
Dragoon Guard is the fifth foal out of Filimbi, a Juddmonte homebred who was a 2-year-old listed stakes winner in France for Criquette Head—who’d trained Filimbi’s sire Mizzen Mast to a Grade 3 win during the French part of his career, before he won a Grade 1 for Bobby Frankel in the U.S. Filimbi was a Grade 2 winner in the U.S., where she was Grade 1-placed four times, for Bill Mott.
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Filimbi is, in turn, the only stakes winner from 14 foals out of her Kentucky Oaks-winning dam Flute (Seattle Slew), whose four wins in eight starts also included the G1 Alabama at Saratoga. Flute may have been a disappointing producer, but she’s a fantastic producer of broodmares, as Filimbi now joins her half-sisters Crosswinds (Storm Cat), the dam of Grade 1 winner Weep No More (Mineshaft) and Grade 2 winner Current (Curlin); Entwine (Empire Maker), the dam of Group 3 winner Qabala (Scat Daddy); and Solo Piano (Empire Maker), the dam of listed winner Purser (Mizzen Mast), who is Group 3-placed.
Brad Cox’s stable is never short on talent and it’s anybody’s guess how the pecking order in the barn will shape up as the season progresses, but you’ve got to like Dragoon Guard’s chances to develop into a monster.
And it’s not hard to imagine at this rate that he could end up in the stallion barn at Juddmonte when he eventually retires to carry on the Arrogate legacy.
Stakes-winning 2-year-old fillies trace to champion 2-year-old filly
British-bred Istria (Silly Season, by Tom Fool), the 1979 champion 2-year-old filly in Germany, was represented in the pedigrees of a pair of 2-year-old first-time stakes winners in the span of a week. Istria is the fourth dam of White Sands (Into Mischief), the July 6th Prairie Gold Juvenile winner; and fifth dam of Vodka With a Twist (Thousand Words), winner of the listed Debutante at Churchill on June 30th.
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Mrs. John Magnier and Mrs. Paul Shanahan’s homebred White Sands, one of 155 stakes winners by Into Mischief, is a speedy half-sister to champion Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music), who was a dual Grade 1 winner at two before earning champion sprinter honors at three in 2021. The filly, who defeated males by a geared-down 13 3/4 lengths in the Prairie Gold Juvenile at Prairie Meadows, had broken her maiden by 9 1/2 lengths at Belterra in May, a soft debut spot that was a reflection not of her talent but of her having only one eye, which also explains why she has never worn the signature Wesley Ward blinkers.
Unicorn Girl (A. P. Five Hundred)—the dam of White Sands and Jackie’s Warrior—won 19 races and $483,508, and she closed out her career with a win in a $16,000 claiming race, where she was claimed by J. & J. Stables, the breeder of Jackie’s Warrior. Later, Arthur Hoyeau signed the ticket for Unicorn Girl on behalf of the Coolmore partners at Keeneland November in 2020, and White Sands is the first foal she’s produced, followed by a Quality Road yearling colt and a Not This Time weanling filly, for her current owners.
Vodka With a Twist is the first stakes winner for freshman sire Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile), who stands at Spendthrift alongside White Sands’s sire Into Mischief and her half-brother Jackie’s Warrior (first foals this year). Vodka With a Twist won the Debutante by three lengths for trainer Phil D’Amato, who trains her for Medallion Racing, Omar Aldabbagh, and William Strauss—they’d purchased her privately from owner Deborah McCutchen and trainer Jason McCutchen after her maiden win at Churchill in May.
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Istria was imported to the U.S. at the start of her broodmare career and she has become influential as a female-line ancestor through multiple branches. She herself produced three stakes winners—Comic Blush (Blushing Groom), Dr. Adagio (Cure the Blues), and Starita (Star de Naskra). Through Starita, Istria was the second dam of Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Honky Tonk Tune (Cure the Blues), and through her winning Slew o’ Gold daughter Slewveau, second dam of Grade 1 winner Mayo On the Side (French Deputy), who was the dam of Grade 2 winner Midcourt (Midnight Lute). Mayo On the Side is the second dam of Mexican Triple Crown winner/horse of the year Kukulkan (Point Determined)—who was also a champion 2-year-old in Mexico, and was a multiple black-type winner in the U.S. for the same connections (St. George Stable and trainer Fausto Gutierrez) responsible for Eclipse champion older female Letruska (Super Saver)—and third dam of Vodka With a Twist.
Odds and ends: Hill ‘n’ Dale’s Maclean’s Music, the sire of Jackie’s Warrior, had a heckuva night on July 5th, when Magical Lute won the 1/16-mile Iowa Distaff S., Unsung Melody won the 6 fur. Saylorsville S., and Shezafunkydrummer won the 5.5 fur. Prairie Gold Lassie S. to win three of the four stakes races on the card. All three were first-time black-type winners, giving their sire his 34th, 35th, and 36th individual stakes winners. Shezafunkydrummer and Unsung Melody—who comes from the same female family as Hill ‘n’ Dale’s hot young stallion Good Magic (whose second dam Magical Flash is third dam of Unsung Melody)—are both inbred 4x4 to Unbridled through Empire Maker…Last year’s listed stakes winner Otto the Conqueror (Street Sense)—who defeated Dragoon Guard at Churchill by a neck when that colt made his debut last fall—was in action the week before Dragoon Guard won the Indiana Derby. Otto the Conqueror ran second in the Maxfield Overnight S…Dual champion Tepin, who beat Dragoon Guard’s dam Filimbi by a half-length in the G1 Just a Game at Belmont in 2015—one of six wins, including the Breeders’ Cup Mile and Royal Ascot’s Queen Anne S.—at that level for Tepin, is also a first-time stakes producer after her third foal, 3-year-old Grateful (Galileo), won the G3 Stanerra S. at Fairyhouse in Ireland on Wednesday. Galileo has sired 378 stakes winners—or 12% of his foals—and he still has one small, final crop of 2-year-olds this year…Godolphin’s beautifully bred 5-year-old mare Loved (Medaglia d’Oro) became the 179th stakes winner for her sire when winning the Mari Hulman George Memorial H. at Indianapolis for trainer Brendan Walsh. She’s a half-sister to two-time grade 1 winner Maxfield (Street Sense)—who Walsh also trained before the colt retired to stud at Darley—from a daughter of Grade 3 winner Caress (Storm Cat), the dam of Grade 1 winner and sire Sky Mesa. Caress is a full sister to grade 3 winner Bernstein…
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Dragoon Guard was only the first of two new recent last-crop stakes winners for Arrogate. Trainer Ian Wilkes saddled Just Basking to a stakes-debut win in the Listed Iowa Oaks. She’s one of two Arrogate stakes winners from four foals out Blame mares. Just Basking it a half-sister to Grade 2 winner One Timer (Trappe Shot) whose dam is a half-sister to Belmont winner Sir Winston (Awesome Again), a Crestwood stallion with first foals in 2024…We have sung the praises in this space (here and here) about First Defence as a broodmare sire and mentioned that Batten Down (Tapit), a Juddmonte homebred full brother to Grade 2 winners Tacitus and Scylla, would be making his stakes debut in the G3 Ohio Derby on June 22nd. Of course, he won the Ohio Derby, becoming the 165th stakes winner for Tapit. (You can read a post on the this improving family here.) First Defence is now the damsire of 12 graded/group stakes winners from a total of 18 stakes winners out of his daughters. It certainly doesn’t hurt that First Defence sired fillies from deep Juddmonte families, but it nonetheless is to his credit how well they are doing as broodmares…Another topic we’ve written about previously is the Gun Runner/Tapit cross, which had a good showing on the big stakes card at Prairie Meadows on the 6th. Red Route One won the G3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. over stablemate Unload. Both are 4-year-old sons of Gun Runner out of full sisters by Tapit trained by Steve Asmussen for breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds. The Cornhusker was Red Route One’s fourth graded stakes win, and the stakes debut for Unload, who was in receipt of six pounds and was half a length back. Guntown, a Gun Runner out of Red Route One/Unload’s second dam Fun House (Prized), ran fifth in the Cornhusker. In the Listed Iowa Oaks on Cornhusker night, Asmussen/Winchell’s Deviletta, also by Gun Runner from a Tapit mare, ran third for her second line of black-type in four starts…If the name of the Listed Bashford Manor winner Politicallycorrect (Violence)—who’s 2-for-2 for Walmac Farm, Five Fillies Stable, and Ryan Ritt and trainer Chris Davis—sounds familiar, that’s because there was a pretty good Politicallycorrect not that long ago. The 2009 Politicallycorrect (Kitten’s Joy) won a pair of listed stakes races in 2012. The O.G. Politicallycorrect also placed in the 2012 Grade 3 Ohio Derby and the Grade 3 James Marvin at Saratoga the following year. The gelding earned $685,861, and his 14th career win came at the age of nine in 2018…Speaking of names, the second dam of Walkathon (Twirling Candy)—winner of the Anchorage Overnight S. at Churchill on June 30th—is U.S.-bred Arlucea (Broad Brush), whose dam is Argentine-bred U.S. champion Bayakoa (Consultant’s Bid). Bayakoa’s dam was an Argentine-bred mare also named Arlucea (Good Manners), so Walkathon’s second and fourth dams are both Arlucea…Sad news out of Delaware Park on July 3rd when Dale Ladner’s homebred (along with trainer Brett Brinkman) Grade 1 winner Alva Starr (Lord Nelson) was euthanized after sustaining a bad injury during a breeze. The 4-year-old had a record of 10-6-4-0 and had just gone over $1 million in earnings in her last start. She’s a horse who spent a lot of time at Keeneland last fall and this spring, and her face is very much missed.