WON: Breeders Bowl Juvenile Turf Filly(G1), Sim Equinics' Helsinki Hopeful(G2), The Prospector Bluffy Special

Mumbai - Undefeated on the Turf and in the Voting
*SimSports Eclipse Two Year Old Turf Filly 2004*

By- Winterheart

Kendra Chilcoat is not usually one of the trainers propped up on the chatroom bar after Saturday races either drowning her sorrows in her beer or extoling the virtues and graces of her winners. However, this is one trainer who literally could hold court in the chatroom talking about the success of her two year old filly Mumbai. The undefeated filly is the number one ranked turf filly in her age division and was the overwhelming choice for this year's Two Year Old Turf Filly Eclipse award.

It isn't often that a horse goes undefeated and at the level of racing Mumbai is at, it's nearly unheard of. A look at her bloodlines (Sadler's Wells x Kingmambo x Seattle Slew) tells us that she's impeccably bred, something you'd expect of a horse of this caliber. Kendra, a thorough breeder and trainer, did her homework when it came to sending her mare Sound and Fury to a stallion. Sound and Fury is a Grade E mare, sired by Kingmambo out of a Seattle Slew mare. Of forty-eight lifetime starts, Sound and Fury brought home a paycheck in half of them and won eight times. This mare won over $200,000 in turf sprints and seems to have passed those grass abilities to her daughter.

Kendra's decision to send Sound and Fury to Sadler's Wells was an easy one. Not only does this breeding cross some of the best lines in the sim, of the twelve Sadler's Wells x Kingmambo offspring in the sim, three have six digit earnings and two more have nearly $80,000 in earnings. Two of those three top earners are the same age and have identical breeding. Those two are Mumbai and King Snake. The other, Sadler Mambo, has a record on turf that would give any trainer ideas about a similar breeding.

One of the things Kendra was looking for when she bred Mumbai was a horse who was in it for the long haul. Even though Mumbai has had an exciting two year old career, Kendra is excited about her horse's three year old season. "She doesn't have the kind of pedigree that peaks at two, so I am so excited to see what the future holds for her. Right now, I'm gunning for the Oaks with her. We'll see how that goes."

The road to this point in Mumbai's career seems remarkably smooth. She began her racing career in a mid level 4.5 furlong MSW dirt sprint in New Jersey. She easily overpowered the field of ten to win with an SP of 76. Her next start was a 3L allowance in New York where Kendra Chilcoat switched her to turf. Even though the race conditions should have been a bit of a stretch for a second time out, the field was small and the distance the same. She won easily with a 74 SP. Then came the road to the Equinics and Mumbai's nomination to represent Vermont. This development made Kendra uneasy at first. "I was a little bit nervous when the good folks at Vermont tapped her to represent us at the Equinics, since she only had a MSW and allowance win under her belt, but she did us proud. That's when I first got an inkling of how good she might be." Mumbai won the Grade I six furlong turf stakes by besting sixteen two year olds and posting an incredible 94 SP!

Another easy placement followed the grueling Equinics run, a 6.5 furlong open stakes race in Taiwan with a small field of four. The distance was a bit longer but Mumbai easily won by 3 1/4 lengths with an 86 SP. The next stop for this filly was a doozy - The Breeders Bowl Juvenile Turf Filly. This was a distance Mumbai had not yet run, 8.5 furlongs. Mumbai shipped in to Texas and settled in next to the top two year olds in the sim. Kendra was nervous but confident at the same time. Mumbai was eager to race and had everything in her favor. But it was natural for Kendra to wonder when the other shoe would drop and Mumbai would lose. And this was a HUGE race over an unknown distance for the sleek brown filly.

Fourteen fillies lined up in the gate on Breeder's Bowl day. The bell clanged, the gates opened, and Mumbai broke well but not first. She stalked the leaders right up to the stretch. As they faded, she burst past and no one came up to challenge her. Mumbai won the Breeder's Bowl Juvenile Turf Filly Grade I Stakes by an impressive 4 lengths. Now Kendra was sure that her girl could handle classic distances as a three year old!

"What can I say about this filly? She's absolutely humbling. So far, knock wood, she's done everything I ask of her with such ease," says Kendra of Mumbai. The filly winning the Breeder's Bowl ended a sterling two year old career on the best note possible. But it was destined to get better.

When the Eclipse nominations came out, Kendra was honored to find Mumbai's name on the list. Even fellow contender Smackdown's trainer Brian, aka peeps5, was sure Mumbai would win. All most voters had to do was see three things to know who deserved this prestigious award: the Equinics win, the Breeder's Bowl win, and an undefeated record. It's just about a given that Kendra Chilcoat will be humble when she receives this award for Mumbai's accomplishments. When asked about her filly's incredible season she said, "She has to lose eventually, of course, but I'm sure enjoying this ride while it lasts!"

Well, Kendra, we hope you and Mumbai enjoy this award because you've earned it!