PROFILE
| Foaled: | March 12, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Breeder: | Caldara Farm Inc., Patrick Costello, David Whitford & Tom Zwiesler |
| Color/Sex: | Bay/Colt |
| Sire: | Cupid |
| Dam: | Tell the Duchess |
| Dam Sire: | Smart Strike |
| Trainer: | Josie Carroll |
HORSE OVERVIEW
A son of a Grade 1 winner and buzz-worthy freshman sire Cupid, this colt possesses a top-class pedigree, chock full of stakes winners.
MyRacehorse purchased this Canadian-bred colt for $85,000 from the Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale in Maryland after the colt powerfully worked an eighth of a mile in 10.2 seconds. Physically, the colt is very representative of the offspring we’ve seen of his stallion Cupid’s first crop; very good sized, leggy, and bigger framed. From the Tapit stallion line out of a Smart Strike mare we’d expect this colt to offer a lot of versatility. While he worked powerfully over the dirt surface at Timonium his pedigree suggests the ability to do it on all surfaces which is a huge bonus having the Woodbine turf and synthetic surfaces to run on.
The colt while bred to likely be more mature and excel with maturity looks like the type that could be a precocious two-year old as well. After taking some time to decompress from the sale, he’s been in Josie’s Woodbine barn for about a month now and is on track for a mid fall debut.
Breeding Insights
Sire Cupid, a gorgeous son of the renowned Tapit, is represented by his first crop of 2-year-olds in 2021. A half-brother to three stakes winners, including a pair of Grade 3 winners, Ashley’s Kitty and Heart Ashley, Cupid blazed on a trail on the racetrack and retired with earnings in excess of $1.7 million.
A horse who traveled and won just about everywhere he went, Cupid’s resume includes victories in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes; Grade 2 Rebel at Oaklawn Park; Grade 2 West Virginia Derby at Mountaineer Park; and Grade 2 Indiana Derby at Indiana Grand Race Course.
At stud, his offspring, who have yet to race, are quite popular in the sale’s ring, routinely bringing final bids in the six-figures. Cupid, himself, was a $900,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase.
This colt is the second foal out of Tell The Duchess, a daughter of the fabulous sire Smart Strike. His third dam Alleged Devotion is a half-sister to European champion Balanchine, with Alleged Devotion proving to be a strong producer herself.
Trainer Josie Carroll Bio
A mainstay in Canada for 37 years, trainer Josie Carroll was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in 2019, the first female to be bestowed with that honor.
Without any family ties to horse racing, Carroll became fascinated by horses well before she reached her teens. Later, with a desire to be around horses still burning bright, Carroll enrolled in an equine program at a college nearby Woodbine and from there found her way to the racetrack.
Known around the backstretch for her hard-working ways, Carroll has made her mark on Canada’s most prestigious race, the Queen’s Plate, by becoming the first woman to win the event in 2006 with Edenwold. She followed with two more Plate victories, Inglorious in 2011 and Mighty Heart in 2020.
South of the border, Carroll’s biggest victory came in 2009 at Saratoga Race Course with Careless in the prestigious Alabama Stakes. In 2017, she came tantalizingly close to winning her first Breeders’ Cup race with Ami’s Mesa, who was defeated a nose in the Filly & Mare Sprint.
Expected on track: Fall 2021
Duke of Love Update
Duke of Love was entered today for the allowance going 1 1/16 miles on Saturday, but unfortunately the race did not yield enough entrants to be carded, nor was it brought back on Saturday’s overnight. So, we will be going with plan B and entering in Saturday’s Grade 3 Marine Stakes. Trainer Josie Carroll was […]
Duke of Love Update
Duke of Love has been nominated to the Grade 3 Marine Stakes at Woodbine on July 2nd. The Marine Stakes, which is run at 1 1/16 miles on the Tapeta, fits into Josie Carroll’s plan of stretching the Duke out. In addition, Josie has also circled an allowance race on July 1st at the same […]
Duke of Love Update
Duke of Love exited Sunday’s Queenston Stakes in good order. He earned an 83 Beyer Speed Figure, with the race winner The Minkster earning an 86 BSF (a number the Duke ran last time out). Josie Carroll mentioned getting the Duke around two turns prior to the Plate Trial and at the moment, there is […]