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- 2 YEAR OLD COLT ON DIRT
- 2 YEAR OLD FILLY ON DIRT
- 2 YEAR OLD COLT ON TURF
- 2 YEAR OLD FILLY ON TURF
- 3 YEAR OLD COLT ON DIRT
- 3 YEAR OLD FILLY ON DIRT
- 3 YEAR OLD COLT ON TURF
- 3 YEAR OLD FILLY ON TURF
- OLDER HORSE ON DIRT
- OLDER MARE ON DIRT
- OLDER HORSE ON TURF
- OLDER MARE ON TURF
- SPRINTER ON DIRT
- SPRINTER ON TURF
- TRAINER OF THE YEAR
- HORSE OF THE YEAR
Champion 2yo Turf Filly
MINESH
2yo filly - Cryptoclearance x Mineshaft x Giant's Causeway
OWNER/TRAINER – Wispa3 (Willowisp)
RECORD: 2009: 6 / 5-0-1
LIFETIME EARNINGS: $956,240
2009 Stakes:
WON: Breeders Bowl Filly Juvy Turf (G1), The Boones Farm (G2), The Palms Outward (G3), The Swordstown
From "Something A Bit Special" to Champion in Eight Months
By- Pazjazz
It was a cool Spring day back in the first weekend of May. There is a huge horse race that weekend in Kentucky but this was at the track in Belgium. It was the third race on the card that day and HAACK'S AFFAIR went off as the 2/1 favorite. In the second spot from post number eleven was a pretty chestnut filly who sat on the shoulder of the leader and swept past to win going away by more than a length. That unassuming race was the beginning of an award winning year for MINESH Trainer Wispa3 and the Willow Stables couldn't have even allowed themselves to dream that this Kentucky bred lady would go on to have the tremendous year that she did. The Stables are housed in the EAAA Residency and this filly's awards will be a feather in their hat as well.
From trainer Wispa3:
I was rather hoping for something a bit special when breeding her, although I wasn't sure which surface would be dominant in her bloodlines! When she arrived at the yard, the first week she came Sharp, I decided to see how she would go on the lawn as my ambition has always to own an English Classics winner. She didn't disappoint with a comfortable dash to the line in a moderate MSW in Belgium.
A scratch bred by one of my favorite sires, CRYPTOCLEARANCE, the FAPPIANO offspring was crossed with A.P.INDY son MINESHAFT and GIANT'S CAUSEWAY for plenty of endurance on the grass. MINESH may have had an unheralded start but she would show her talent right away.
I was lucky enough to be at her second race as one of my horses was running against her in the Swordstown Stakes. She jumped out to the early lead and handily beat future Graded winner AWAY IN A MAN(GER) by nearly two lengths. "AWAY" tried to stay with MINESH throughout the race but was unable to fend off the filly's speed.
Wispa3's thoughts:
Her 73 figure in her first race looked pretty solid and I decided to go straight for Stakes racing next time out. The gung-ho entry just 4 weeks later saw her beat some nice looking types and the form was held up to scrutiny later when the runner-up went on to win in graded company.
Her next race was unique in that it was the only race all year that she didn't win. In her first try at a mile in the restricted Tag Team Stakes, she was caught in the stretch by another Graded winner, AHEAD AND ZILLION and she finished third behind two colts. She would beat the colts in her next race though.
Wispa3 said:
At the time, the next big decision was where to send her and I decided to push her a little bit further - and pitch her against the boys in the excellent Tag-team event. This meant shipping her over to Iowa to face her strongest field yet and it proved to be a step too far as a couple of the clots grabbed her in the straight to drop her into 3rd. This was still a decent performance and my main concern then was if she would ever get a mile.
That race was her first Graded outing in the Boone's Farm G2 at the Surrey, England track.
Well known Bugler writer Roxyken wrote about the filly before that race:
Minesh is the only entry in the field that has early speed. She's currently ranked 46th with two wins and a show in three starts. Her last race was in the restricted Tag Team Championship at a distance of a mile. She ran on the lead, against a field of 19, for most of the race before being beat out by a length, finishing third with a speed of 89. She takes a drop in distance of a furlong and shouldn't see any challenge for the lead. I normally don't go with the front runners, as I've seen too many of them tire in the last stages of the race. But Minesh will have no problem getting to the lead and won't have any serious challenges in the early going. She can keep enough in her reserves and I believe she will make it to the wire first.. How prophetic she was as the chestnut filly easily won with a wire to wire trip.
Wispa3 said about the race:
I decided that the best course of action would be to drop her back to 7f to see if this suited her better. On her next 'Sharp', there were no suitable races and I opted for shipping her back to Europe to run at the 'home' of the classics, Epsom Downs. There was one slight concern (apart from the journey) and that was the fact that she would again be facing the boys! But it was a comparatively short field and I was now looking to accumulate enough points to get me into the Breeders Bowl in a couple of months. With no recognised frontrunners in the field, top jockey R Whisper (it still feels good saying that of my 'own' jockey!) took her to a commanding lead and she won easing up. The G2 status of the race against the boys shot her up the rankings and things were looking good...until I realised that I really wanted her to race in the Turf Mile race! .
Trainer Wispa3 kept her at the Surrey track for her next race as well at the G3 Palms Outward Stakes. There she battled on the front end with two other horses but still had plenty left at the end to demolish the field by nearly three lengths.
With time running out before the Breeders Bowl, Wispa3's thoughts:
With just 7 weeks left to the big day, I decided that she should have enough points if she could grab another graded win and on just 3 weeks rest, she headed back to Epsom for the G3 Palms Outward. Again, R Whisper was on board and showed the benefits of a good jockey booking. There were a couple of confirmed frontrunners in the field and he held Minesh just off the pace until they entered the straight where he pushed her to the front to take a solid looking win.
With her pool of energy left in that race, trainer Wispa3 and the Willow Stables decided to give her another try at the mile distance and shipped her across the pond to California for the Breeders Bowl race where she would go up against two other Eclipse nominees, BOISCOOL and ETERNITY IN HELL
In that illustrious race, MINESH and BOISCOOL had a race for the ages. They went off as the second and third favorites in the race. BOISCOOL took the early lead and led by as much as two lengths over MINESH at the half and looked in good position to win the Breeders Bowl and possibly the Eclipse Award with it. MINESH never gave up and caught her adversary on the very last step by a mere neck.
Wispa3 on the Breeders Bowl:
And so onto the big day - there was still the question as to whether Minesh would actually get a mile; her only defeat had been at the route. She shipped overseas to the California track, but unfortunately R Whisper didn't make the journey. As most of the other top jockeys were at the meeting, the playing field was more or less level and it was all down to the horses. With the phenomenal Boiscool to lead out the field and deep closer Screamo the morning line favourite (along with 10 other Graded winners!), she was always going to be facing her toughest challenge but she ran the perfect race. Boiscool and Berantevilla disputed the lead and Minesh took her now familiar spot just off the pace and left them to it. Berantevilla was the first to crack but Boiscool had plenty left in the tank as they hit the straight. But with superb timing from jockey P Harzheim, Minesh leaned forward at the line to give her biggest smile for the camera and pinched it by a head. Both horses had broken the magic 100 with 101 recorded against both their names - faster than the boys' equivalent. She came back to the yard and was immediately assigned a comfy stable and given a well-deserved break from what turned out to be a hectic schedule. Her next race is likely to be representing the EAAA residency at the Equinics. Much of the credit for this horse goes to the EAAA residents who have helped guide me through the early learning stages of this wonderful game.
There were several good candidates when the Eclipse Horse of the Year balloting came out this year. Like I said, if there was one step difference in the Breeders Bowl, I might be writing about BOISCOOL here. I believe that the voters definitely got this right as MINESH showed in that race and throughout the year just how much heart she really has.
Congratulations to Wispa3 and the Willow Stables for a wonderful year with MINESH and a most deserved Eclipse Award and continued success for this tremendous filly. It is a privilege and an honor to write about such a great competitor and a year of outstanding accomplishments.