Saratoga Cat
Saratoga Cat (Sir Cat x Saratoga Sparkle) was purchased as a weanling by John Gunther in 1999. We were fortunate enough to RNA her as a yearling and so she entered the racing stable. In her 20 starts, Saratoga Cat's record was 5-3-3 with earnings of just over $186,000. If you extend her career record to include 4th place finishes (6 times) she was only out of the top four spots in 3 of her 20 starts. Although she never gained black type, she did try - a couple of these 4th place finishes were in Grade 3 events.
As demonstrated by her race record, Saratoga Cat was game and she instilled this heart in a number of her offspring, the most credentialed so far being MGSW LAST GUNFIGHTER (by First Samurai). Last Gunfighter won 9 of his 21 lifetime starts including seven stakes victories and accumulated earnings of over $1.2 million. His graded stakes victories include the G2 Hawthorne Gold Cup, the G3 Excelsior Handicap, the G3 Pimlico Special and the G3 Philip H. Iselin Handicap. His versatility was incredible; he won stakes races at five different racetracks and at five different distances. The race that exemplifies Last Gunfighter's tremendous character and heart best is his victory in the G2 Hawthorne Gold Cup. To come back with a decisive win in this race, running perhaps the best race of his career at the end of a year that encompassed a long campaign of dancing every dance against the top horses in the country, showed what a truly courageous horse he was. His immediately prior race was the G1 Breeder's Cup Classic where he finished a closing gutsy fifth, recovering from an inauspicious start from the inside post and being last of the field turning for home.
Saratoga Cat's daughter of 2012, TIGER MOTH (by Street Sense), won the Mari Hulman George S to kick off her stakes career. With a level of gutsiness similar to her big brother, Tiger Moth has added multiple graded stakes wins to her credentials including the G3 Groupie Doll and the G3 Sam Houston Ladies Classic. Additionally she has placed in the G2 Azeri, G2 Falls City H, G3 Locust Grove and racked up career earnings of over $650,000. Tiger Moth is named after the 1930s-designed bi-plane (the de Havilland Tiger Moth) following a great conversation that took place in the Juddmonte hospitality tent at the Tattersalls December sale. We couldn't have known it at the time but Tiger Moth would end up developing a running style that solidified the suitability of that name. Much like the dive bombing that smaller tactical planes like the Tiger Moth are capable of, Tiger Moth (the filly) typically flies along unhurried and toward the back of the pack in her races until she sees her target. She then unleashes her run with a determined swoop aimed at her front-running targets, often just getting up for victory in the final strides. Now a 6yo, this mare has grit. And she's not done yet.
Another of Saratoga Cat's babies, Take Your Guns (by Blame), just returned to the races with a seasonal debut score in March 2018. Although he had been off the radar for a few months following surgery to remove a minor chip incurred during his stakes debut in 2017, Take Your Guns showed he is back in good form and that, with a little luck, there may be more to come.
Saratoga Cat was a strong-willed character and full of presence, both in stature and personality. From a producing perspective, she was one of those few mares you can always count on. She produced 7 winners from 9 foals. One foal died in a paddock accident before reaching the racetrack so, excluding this foal, Saratoga Cat only produced one non-winner. Importantly, the three horses discussed above are all by different stallions representing different sire lines. It is the rare mare that can produce multiple graded stakes winners period, never mind from completely different pedigree crosses.
Sadly, Saratoga Cat passed away suddenly in 2016 carrying a Speightstown foal in utero. She was just weeks away from her due date at the time of passing. We lost a good one that day and she will not be forgotten. Although sorely missed by everyone at Glennwood, she has left a lasting legacy with her progeny
As demonstrated by her race record, Saratoga Cat was game and she instilled this heart in a number of her offspring, the most credentialed so far being MGSW LAST GUNFIGHTER (by First Samurai). Last Gunfighter won 9 of his 21 lifetime starts including seven stakes victories and accumulated earnings of over $1.2 million. His graded stakes victories include the G2 Hawthorne Gold Cup, the G3 Excelsior Handicap, the G3 Pimlico Special and the G3 Philip H. Iselin Handicap. His versatility was incredible; he won stakes races at five different racetracks and at five different distances. The race that exemplifies Last Gunfighter's tremendous character and heart best is his victory in the G2 Hawthorne Gold Cup. To come back with a decisive win in this race, running perhaps the best race of his career at the end of a year that encompassed a long campaign of dancing every dance against the top horses in the country, showed what a truly courageous horse he was. His immediately prior race was the G1 Breeder's Cup Classic where he finished a closing gutsy fifth, recovering from an inauspicious start from the inside post and being last of the field turning for home.
Saratoga Cat's daughter of 2012, TIGER MOTH (by Street Sense), won the Mari Hulman George S to kick off her stakes career. With a level of gutsiness similar to her big brother, Tiger Moth has added multiple graded stakes wins to her credentials including the G3 Groupie Doll and the G3 Sam Houston Ladies Classic. Additionally she has placed in the G2 Azeri, G2 Falls City H, G3 Locust Grove and racked up career earnings of over $650,000. Tiger Moth is named after the 1930s-designed bi-plane (the de Havilland Tiger Moth) following a great conversation that took place in the Juddmonte hospitality tent at the Tattersalls December sale. We couldn't have known it at the time but Tiger Moth would end up developing a running style that solidified the suitability of that name. Much like the dive bombing that smaller tactical planes like the Tiger Moth are capable of, Tiger Moth (the filly) typically flies along unhurried and toward the back of the pack in her races until she sees her target. She then unleashes her run with a determined swoop aimed at her front-running targets, often just getting up for victory in the final strides. Now a 6yo, this mare has grit. And she's not done yet.
Another of Saratoga Cat's babies, Take Your Guns (by Blame), just returned to the races with a seasonal debut score in March 2018. Although he had been off the radar for a few months following surgery to remove a minor chip incurred during his stakes debut in 2017, Take Your Guns showed he is back in good form and that, with a little luck, there may be more to come.
Saratoga Cat was a strong-willed character and full of presence, both in stature and personality. From a producing perspective, she was one of those few mares you can always count on. She produced 7 winners from 9 foals. One foal died in a paddock accident before reaching the racetrack so, excluding this foal, Saratoga Cat only produced one non-winner. Importantly, the three horses discussed above are all by different stallions representing different sire lines. It is the rare mare that can produce multiple graded stakes winners period, never mind from completely different pedigree crosses.
Sadly, Saratoga Cat passed away suddenly in 2016 carrying a Speightstown foal in utero. She was just weeks away from her due date at the time of passing. We lost a good one that day and she will not be forgotten. Although sorely missed by everyone at Glennwood, she has left a lasting legacy with her progeny