Broodmare of the Week – Taste the Passion sponsored by
Sizzla
No, not Sizzler:
but Sizzla.
You see every time a jockey wins a race at Emerald Downs their
theme song is played in the Winner’s Circle after the race. Well, Rocco Bowen happens to be winning a ton
of races so I have been hearing this song by Sizzla a lot lately:
And now I can’t get the song out of my head. So all 5'3" of me rolls around Ravenna singing reggae.
This also happened two years ago. I am no country music fan (which may get me shot at Emerald Downs in the future) but that Gallynn Mitchell song got stuck in my head a few years ago:
No person with a fledgling rap career with his dog should be
caught singing this.
Sizzla sponsors Broodmare of the Week because Rocco Bowen
won the Hastings Handicap on May 11th riding the OUTSTANDING Stopshoppingdebbie whose dam is Taste the Passion. This what I wrote 2 weeks
ago in my rankings of the older fillies and mares division:
(1) Stopshoppingdebbie
– The Queen reigns over her Emerald Castle until defeated. With EZ Kitty
no longer in the division, it is hers for the taking. Her mom’s maiden victory
in 1999 was one of the better first-out performances I have ever seen at
Emerald (I watched it live). Debbie went 6 Furlongs in 1:10.20 Handily from the
gate on May 3rd. Enough said. She will be the best athlete playing sports in
Seattle on Sunday.
I have been wanting to write this post for a long time for
one reason: Taste the Passion’s
Maiden Special Weight victory on July 5, 1999, was the most memorable maiden win
I have seen at Emerald Downs. (At Longacres, my most memorable win was on June
14, 1992 when Staff Rider broke his
maiden.). Memorable because I had just become enamored with 2-year-old racing
and was spending a lot of time on pedigree research and workouts. Also, I was
beginning to figure out how much the connections (owner, trainer and jockey)
mattered. Taste the Passion was from the powerhouse
that is Northwest Farms.
What I remembered most about that day was that when I got to
Emerald before the first race, there was hardly anybody in the crowd (probably
hung over from July 4th). However, the true fireworks were going to
be in the first race rather than the night before. When I opened the racing
form that day, the only other competitor for Taste the Passion was a horse
named Lovely Echo. However, I was confidant that Taste the Passion was going to
win:
Thanks to Joe Withee and Cy Labar at Emerald Downs for
finding this video and sending it to me. It took plenty of time for them to
find it and for me to compress so you better watch the damn thing.
Now look at Stopshoppingdebbie’s win in the Hastings Stakes:
Who does Debbie remind you of?
Back to Taste the Passion. Passion would get the best of Lovely Echo again 6
days later in the Mona Lisa Handicap. By the time she was retired in 2001, Taste
the Passion had amassed over $142,000 and won 2 stakes races:
Although Taste the Passsion had a successful racing career, her
broodmare career has been nothing short of outstanding. Her second foal, by Gulch, was named Shampoo. Shampoo won over $213,000 and won 5 stakes races at
Emerald Downs. In addition, to a successful racing career, Shampoo, just like
mom, has had a good start to her broodmare career. Remember the Hastings
Handicap you reviewed above? The horse that finished third, Blueberry Smoothie, is Shampoo’s first
foal. Blueberry Smoothie is by Coolmore’s Giant’s
Causeway. Most importantly, Blueberry Smoothie is a very cool horse. I used
to have a horse right next door to her and Ever Ready Carrie, so they both got
some extra love from me. Shampoo’s
second foal is by Medaglia d’Oro and
sold at the Keeneland September sale for $360,000 (Bling! Bling!).
Taste the Passion’s third foul was none other than Smarty Deb by Smart Strike (remember Smart Strike, we will get back to that
momentarily). Smarty Deb won over $170,000 in her career, but most importantly
she represented Washington well in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies at
Monmouth Park by finishing a good fifth after having some trouble on the first turn:
The BC Juvenile Fillies was her last start. However, Smarty Deb followed in Shampoo’s
footsteps in making mom proud by beginning her broodmare career in a positive
way. Her first foal is Finallygotabentley,
by Bernardini, is a stakes winner
already and I believe is poised to have a breakout season this year (as long as
he comes off the pace instead of going to the lead). After Bentley, Smarty Deb
had a Tapit colt that sold for
$270,000 at the 2013 Keeneland September sale. She has a yearling by Eskendereya and a foal by Bodemeister born on March 30th.
Taste the Passion’s 2006 foal, by Pulpit, sold for $410,000 at the Keeneland yearling sale. Her 2007
foal by Mineshaft sold for $160,000
at Keeneland. Named Mine Train, he
went on to win over $175,000. Her 2008 foal was Seattle Sniper, by Strong Hope, who won over $127,000 in his 4-year
career. He was also Multiple Stakes
Placed.
Passion’s next foal was Stopshoppingdebbie,
who I dare say is Passion’s best offspring so far. Debbie is 6 for 6 and has
won over $150,000 and is the best horse in training at Emerald Downs.
Stopshoppingdebbie is by Curlin (who
is by Smart Strike) making her a ¾
sister to Smarty Deb (who is by Smart Strike).
Taste the Passion’s 2011 foal was by Elusive Quality. Named Mr. Passion, he was a $105,000 RNA at Keeneland. I have no further
information about the horse.
Going back to what clearly works, Taste the Passion’s 2012
filly is by Smart Strike making her a full to Smarty Deb and, again, a ¾ sister
to Stopshoppingdebbie. Named Our Deb on
Air, she is already working at Emerald. Should be fun to see her run over the next few years.
Taste the Passion has a yearling colt by Tapit and was bred back to that sire.
Simply put, more awesomeness is on the way.
I often hear grumblings/complaining about having horses like
Stopshoppingdebbie, Blueberry Smoothie and Gointothewindow
at Emerald Downs. People say it makes it
impossible for people to win stakes and they wont buy horses because they can’t
compete. Blah, blah, blah. I say stop complaining. It is a treat to see the
caliber of breeding and athletes at Emerald Downs like we get to see in the
older filly and mare division. We should treasure and savor every moment and be
happy that Northwest Farms runs these horses here.
There is probably a 15 year old kid who is going to latch on
to Stopshoppingdebbie or Blueberry Smoothie, start a blog 24 years later, and
ask for the video tape of her maiden win so they can write a story about her and
about their “Passion” in life. We need horses like this to inspire us and the
next generations.
I love watching these horses run and hope that one day I can
have a broodmare from the family of Taste the Passion.
Always Love Good Race Horses and Always Love Your Animals,
Will
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