Is Dancethruthedawn the best bred horse ever? maybe not, but she's close. Is she the greatest Canadian horse ever? No, she hasn't quite eclipsed her mother Dance Smartly or her great grandfather Northern Dancer. Is she the greatest filly ever? No...well, maybe not yet. But she definitly is a filly to be dealt with. A horse you can not leave out of any equation.
In 1998, a small brown filly was foaled on Sam-Son Farms, one of Canada's greatest racing icons. Her mother, Dance Smartly was one of the greatest female runners in recent years, and the filly's father, Mr. Prospector, was one of the most influential stallions of our time. Dancethruthedawn was certainly born into racing royalty, and from the start, her future and destiny seemed bright. Just how bright, know one really knew, and perhaps the best is still yet to come.
Dawny (as I call her), began her career at Woodbine; where else. Only six weeks after her full brother Scatter the Gold had one the Queen's Plate and Prince of Whales Stakes (first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown), Dawny started in a 7 furlong maiden special weight. After a rather green run, Dawny finished almost 10 lengths behind the winner in fourth. She broke her maiden three weeks later leading wire to wire in a 6F race. Next, Dawny tried stakes company for the first time. On a rather wet track in September, she came from behind to grab third place in the Grade 1 Mazarine Breeders' Cup Stakes, just behind Woodbine star Salty You. In her fourth race and last start of the season, Dawny won the restricted Princess Elizabeth Stakes, beating out the eventual two year old champion filly Poetically. Dawny crossed the wire less than a length infront of Poetically; the two of them left the rest of the field almost 30 lengths behind them. The race was somewhat of a battle to prove the quality of the two fillies, representing two rival Canadian farms. Dancethruthedawn, daughter of Sam-Son's champion Dance Smartly, and Kinghaven Farms' Poetically, half sister to Canadian champion Primaly and stakes winner Whiskey Wisdom. The two farms have topped the owners and breeding list in Canada for years, and in some ways, that race proved that they could produce great horses. Sam-Son Farms was the victor that time.
After Woodbine's meet concludes in late November/ early December, Sam-Son always ships their first string of horses south for the winter. First to Fair Grounds and then to Kentucky's Keeneland. This is where Dawny would make her 3 year old bow. She won the seven furlong allownace race easily, and then Frostad set his eyes on something much bigger than perhaps Dawny was ready for. On May 4, 2001, Dawny took on the top fillies in the States in the Kentucky Oaks, but with only one race in preparation after a seven month lay off. Dancethruthedawn was hardly ready to take on such quality horses. She finished almost last, without giving much effort.However, the Kentucky Oaks was hardly the plan Frostad had made for Dancethruthedawn. He was just taking a stab at it. But what ever it was, it set Dawny up for some of her greatest races. |
