Pedigree fun facts: 2022 Iroquois Stakes

Connections to the late Queen Elizabeth II and Hall of Famer Zenyatta are among the pedigree fun facts to be discovered in Saturday’s Road to the Kentucky Derby kickoff, the Iroquois (G3) at Churchill Downs.

Damon’s Mound is a direct matrilineal descendant of *Carrozza, who won the 1957 Epsom Oaks for the Queen. *Carrozza, the ninth dam in his female line, was herself out of a full sister to Sun Chariot, winner of the British Fillies’ Triple Crown in 1942. Sun Chariot raced in the colors of King George VI, Elizabeth II’s father. 

On his sire’s side, Damon’s Mound descends from the Storm Cat tribe. He is a star from the first crop of Girvin, hero of the 2017 Haskell (G1) after capturing the Risen Star (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2). Girvin is himself a half-brother to 2015 Iroquois winner Cocked and Loaded and the runner-up in the 2020 Iroquois, Midnight Bourbon.

Confidence Game’s dam, Eblouissante, is a half-sister to the great Zenyatta. Unbeaten through her first 19 starts, Zenyatta suffered her lone loss in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) at Churchill. Eblouissante’s sire, champion Bernardini, also had a winning streak snapped in the 2006 edition of the same race at Churchill. 

Confidence Game is by undefeated Candy Ride, a champion in his native Argentina who set a track record in Del Mar’s Pacific Classic (G1) in 2003. He is the only sire in this field with an Iroquois winner already, Capt. Candyman Can (2008) when it was held at a mile.

Candy Ride’s best son, 2017 Horse of the Year and outstanding young sire Gun Runner, has 2-1 morning-line favorite Echo Again. Steve Asmussen has trained both Gun Runner and Echo Again. Gun Runner, who himself turned the Risen Star/Louisiana Derby double, was third in Nyquist’s Kentucky Derby (2016). Developing into a champion as an older horse, Gun Runner reeled off a series of career-defining victories topped by the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 

Echo Again hails from an illustrious Winchell Thoroughbreds family, a number likewise conditioned by Asmussen. He is a half-brother to stakes scorer Pneumatic, who was third here in the 2020 Matt Winn (G3) and fourth in the pandemic-adjusted Belmont (G1). Their dam Teardrop, by top sire Tapit, is a three-quarter sister to Grade 1 victor Pyro, winner of the 2008 Louisiana Derby and Risen Star en route to an eighth in Big Brown’s Kentucky Derby. This female line is also responsible for champion Untapable, whose marquee wins include the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1), and fellow Grade 1 scorers Paddy O’Prado (third in the 2010 Kentucky Derby), Olympio, Cuvee, and Tapizar (sire of champion Monomoy Girl).

Jace’s Road is by Quality Road, the 2014 Florida Derby (G1) hero and Kentucky Derby favorite before he was sidelined by foot problems. Quality Road added three more Grade 1 laurels in 2015, among them the storied Metropolitan H. (G1). Jace’s Road is out of a mare related to Hall of Famer Silverbulletday. His dam, multiple stakes-placed Out Post, is by the same sire as Silverbulletday, Silver Deputy, and from the same family.

Curly Jack is from the first crop of champion Good Magic, runner-up to Justify in the 2018 Kentucky Derby. A son of Hall of Famer Curlin, Good Magic famously broke his maiden in the 2017 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1). Curly Jack’s dam, Connie and Michael, finished eighth in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1) and placed second in the 2010 Mother Goose (G1). By 2005 Haskell winner Roman Ruler, fifth as the favorite in the 2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, Connie and Michael also produced Fannie and Freddie, who was runner-up in both the Untapable S. and Silverbulletday S. on the 2021-22 Road to the Kentucky Oaks. 

Curlin has another paternal grandson in the field in Hayes Strike. He’s by the Curlin stallion Connect, who edged Gun Runner in the 2016 Pennsylvania Derby (G2) and landed the Cigar Mile (G1). Hayes Strike is out of multiple stakes scorer Plaid, by 1997 Travers (G1) winner Deputy Commander. Plaid is also the dam of Senior Investment, who garnered the 2017 Lexington (G3) and placed third in the Preakness (G1) for Ken McPeek – the trainer of half-brother Hayes Strike. 

Jin Tong has a similar connection to his barn, as trainer Doug O’Neill also had his sire, Goldencents. From the stellar first crop of sire sensation Into Mischief, Goldencents was a prominent player on the 2013 Triple Crown trail when capturing the Santa Anita Derby (G1). He later found his niche as a sprinter/miler and won back-to-back runnings of the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) (2013-14). Jin Tong’s dam is a half-sister to 2010 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) victor Dangerous Midge, descending from Straight Deal, the champion handicap mare of 1967.

Zaici is by the Uncle Mo stallion Laoban, the same sire (and connections) as one-eyed 2022 Rebel (G2) upsetter Un Ojo. Zaici’s full brother, Dreamer’s Disease, finished sixth in the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and placed twice in turf stakes at Saratoga. From a turf-oriented family, they count as their third dam Fire the Groom, the 1991 Beverly D. (G1) heroine who produced brilliant European sprinter Stravinsky. 

Honed is from the first crop of Sharp Azteca, the 2017 Cigar Mile winner. Sharp Azteca’s sire, Freud, is himself a full brother to “Iron Horse” Giant’s Causeway. Honed is out of a mare by City Zip, Hall of Famer Ghostzapper’s half-brother. City Zip dead-heated for the win in the 2000 Hopeful (G1) to sweep Saratoga’s graded stakes treble for two-year-olds, but stamina limitations surfaced when he was seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.