Eclatante is Broodmare of the Week for two reasons: (1) The track-record-setting performance
by her 2-year-old gelding Trackattacker on
Sunday and (2) Eclatante’s yearling colt in this year’s WTBOA sale is by none other
than Lucky Pulpit, sire of California Chrome, who runs for history
on Saturday.
Why you ask is the Broodmare of the Week sponsored by Canopy World of Edmonds? Good question
with a good answer. Back in 2011, I bought a Toyota Tacoma. This was a car I
did not need, except I wanted to start taking the dog with me when I visited the
horses. After I bought the truck, I needed a canopy put on so I could safely put
the dog in the back (along with his bed, 2 blankets, 3 balls, 2 chew toys, water bowl, drinking goblet, and
Chuck-It). A friend referred me to
Canopy World in Edmonds, so I rolled into the place with my usual attire (I
believe it was a Point Given hat and
Team Valor jacket). The guys working there asked me if I was a racing
fan because Canopy World’s owners also owned racehorses. I replied: “What
horses?” They respond: “Have you ever heard of Atta Boy Roy.” I replied “What
the ____? The Schaefer’s own Canopy World?” (You can see I shouldn’t write
scripts or fiction). The Schaefers also own Trackattacker
hence the connection to our Broodmare of the Week. After they professionally installed my canopy I spent the
entire ride home wondering if I sold canopies and spent $4,500 could I get this:
The canopy has worked out great. The only problem is that my
wife is hell bent on ruining my truck. Last week she dropped a cement block on
the back of the truck:
Usually, I would get angry, but I have to remember that I have a wife that actually encourages me to buy broodmares. It is her best quality. I mean, besides being attractive,
kind to animals, sort of liking me, and grocery shopping.
Regardless, the whole point of this is a cheap ploy to either get a free
canopy or season to Atta Boy Roy.
What the hell is this blog post about again? Oh yes,
Eclatante.
Eclatante is owned by Duane and Sue Hopp of Castlegate
Farm fame. Eclatante was born in 2004. The Hopps current nickname for her is “Flash” because, according to Duane Hopp, Eclatante in French means “Flash of Brilliance.”
Will Brewer in French translates to “General Awesomeness”. "Flash" is by In Excess out of Almost Skint. Almost Skint was by Last Tycoon out of Rich Relation (Golden Act).
Almost Skint was a Stakes Winner and was Multiple Stakes Placed and earned over
$171,000 in her career.
Almost Skint's Race
record:
After her race career was over, Almost Skint was purchased
by the Hopps after she went through the ring at the 1999 Keeneland November
sale. Almost Skint produced several
horses for the Hopps:
In 2001, she produced a foal by King of Kings, which sold for $6,000, but was a winner. In 2002,
Almost Skint produced a foal by Southern
Halo that sold for $55,000. There was no 2003 foal.
In 2005, Almost Skint produced a filly by Aldebaran. That filly was sold at the
2006 Keeneland September yearling sale for $55,000 by the consignment of
Brookdale Farms for Castlegate Farm. The
Aldebaran filly, later named Champagne
Miss, was sold at the Barrett’s June 2-year-old in training sale for
$120,000. She was stakes-placed at Del
Mar in her short two-race career.
In 2006, Almost Skint produced a colt by Memo named Fox who did not race. In 2008, she produced the oft-seen-at-Emerald
Stephanie Plum. Stephanie Plum is the last foal out of Almost
Skint, who later died of laminitis after Stephanie Plum was weaned. Sold for $2,500 at the 2009 WTBOA sale,
Stephanie Plum has earned well over $62,000 and is still in training:
(All pictures by Terra Lee and used with Duane's permission, except the crappy Toyota Tacoma picture)
The Hopp’s ended up keeping Eclatante, Almost Skint’s 2004
foal by In Excess. The reason Eclatante was kept to race by the Hopp’s is best explained
by a quote from Duane Hopp himself:
"As a
yearling she was a fat bowling ball and Sue called her the Sausage and we
didn't think she would sell well and justify her stud fee of $15000 so we
didn't enter her in the sale but kept her to race."
However, she justified that stud fee in her racing career by being
Multiple Stakes Placed and winning over $83,000. Here is a link if you want to review
Eclatante’s entire career:
Duane explains her conformation, reason for her retirement, and how she is
as a mare:
"She has
great big feet and she ran on any surface. She retired sound after running
out of races to run in at Emerald (they weren't writing any allowance
races). She was an extremely good gate horse almost always breaking
first. Even now she won't walk into a stall, but always runs in. All
of her foals do that also.
Eclatante
is a tough mare to deal with. She bites and kicks. She hates the
farrier and Sue. She likes me because I feed her carrots. She is a
carrotoholic (as are all of her foals), which is the only thing that makes her
manageable."
Her foals seem easy to deal with and ready to run early. And
Sue, I like you. Not sure about the farrier because I don’t know who it is.
Eclatante has had four foals to date. Her first foal is Nancy Wake (and Bake). By Harbor the Gold, Nancy Wake has won
over $17,000 to date and is being trained by Robbie Baze:
(Nancy Wake as a baby with Eclatante)
If you have not seen it, watch the replay of Trackattacker's race here (it is race 2):
That was so fast you almost "canop" believe it. (Boom! I will be here all week.)
But wait, there is more. At this year’s WTBOA sale,
Eclatante will have her 2013 Lucky Pulpit colt
on the auction block (good timing, huh?). Looking forward to seeing that colt go through the ring.
Here is a picture of Eclatante with Nancy Wake and a picture of Nancy Wake as a baby.
Eclatante is being bred back to
Canadian sire Cause to Believe this year.
Finally, a picture of 2014 Atta Boy Roy (things come full circle) by Eclatante:
(Photo provided by Duane Hopp).
Always Love Your Animals and buy at Canopy World,
Will
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