Feature Race | Auction | Breeding | General | Hall of Fame | Harness | Interviews | Mixed Breed | New Players | Racing | Site Updates | Steeplechasing | Steward's Cup | Triple Crown

Direwarning - A Forgotten Family

Original article written by Erin Sanderson posted 13 years 0 weeks ago

Born thirty-eight years ago was a little bay filly that would found a female family that spanned the ages of the SIM. And she’s done it quietly, garnering little recognition for her versatile and consistent descendants.

By Caveat out of the Northern Dancer mare, Mazurka, Direwarning was unremarkable, except for the fact that she produced real-life Kentucky Derby second place finisher Cavonnier. It was obvious, however, that there might have been something to her with her first daughter in Warn Me Not, a full sister to Cavonnier.

Warn Me Not was the first in a long line of successful daughters of Direwarning. Following her success in graded events on the track, her third foal was a daughter of Apremont named Tumultuous, who was victorious in such races as the Humana Distaff, La Brea Stakes, and Kentucky Cup Ladies Sprint, and finished second in the Steward’s Cup Filly & Mare Sprint behind Inspired Star. She, herself, was unremarkable as a broodmare, however, and there are very few of her particular line still alive today. Her half sister Blame Me Not, by Ready For Apremont, on the other hand, while not producing any big stakes horses herself, has founded a sprinting line that is rising to prominence.

Three years old this year is two-time stakes winner Surprisingly Fast, a daughter of the Lost Soldier mare On Borrowed Time, directly descended from Blame Me Not. Her older half sibling is also a six-figure earner, and her younger brother, Echo Through Time, is undefeated in three starts to date, having won the Aspire Stakes for New York-bred two-year-olds.

Warn Me Not’s granddaughter (through the Mischief Maker daughter Touch Me Not), Nowhere Close, by Walkover, is responsible for the line’s next six-figure earner. The very fast miler Mid Air Collision achieved his highest mark in winning the grade one Long Island Mile with a speed figure of 83. The eight-year-old son of Fighter Jet now stands at stud for owner/breeder Teri Lawrence after retiring with over $500,000 in earnings.

Gift Me Not, by Accio Firebolt, also had a particularly bland career in the breeding shed until she produced Sometimes I Wonder. The daughter of Tycoon only made one start before her retirement, a solid third in a maiden special weight event, but has already gotten a graded stakes winner from her first two foals to race in Sometimes I Try.

While that is the end of the line for Warn Me Not’s offspring to date (though there are plenty yet to be born), Direwarning was hardly done. Her next foal, Watch Out World, a daughter of Slewvescent, was the next big thing in classic fillies. Her first foal was Him I Love Best, a son of Loki Brilliance that earned almost $500,000 on the track. Her second was the powerful Heartstopper, a daughter of Fighting With Wit that became a multi-millionaire the hard way.

In fifteen starts, Heartstopper won ten times and finished second in four. She competed in only one Steward’s Cup event - the Juvenile Fillies - and finished fourth, and never made an appearance in the Triple Crown or Dubai or any other big-money races. Nonetheless, she amassed a resume that included wins in the Black Eyed Susan Stakes, Shuvee Handicap, Falls City Handicap, and the Beldame Handicap, as well as being a two-time winner of the Sun City Handicap.

Heartstopper produced only two daughters. Her only foal to race was Hearts On The Mend, a four-time graded stakes winner by Forty Niner. The $36,600 two-year-old purchase earned just shy of $1 million on the track, with five wins in sixteen starts and never finished off the board.

Her unraced half sister has far outshone her in the breeding shed. Heartstealer, a daughter of the powerful broodmare sire Sports Jersey, is the dam of Steward’s Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Eternally, a winner of seven of nine starts and $1.2 million. Eternally’s first foal by Epic is already a winner in his first start around two turns and has a bright future ahead of him. Her yearling filly by California is even faster as a yearling than he was.

Also among Heartstealer’s get is Heart Breaker, the dam of grade two winner The Force, and several other six figure earners. Her three-year-old, Applause, by Looking For Light, has already proven a powerful influence on the track, winning the grade one Puerto Rico Crown in fine fashion, as well as the Two Year Old Marathon and Desert Victory Stakes.

Heartstealer passed away this year after foaling a colt by Sun Tzu.

Heartstopper’s dam, Watch Out World, was immediately bred back to Fighting With Wit and produced another multi-million dollar filly, this time named This One’s For You. A three-time grade one winner, none of This One’s For You’s earnings came from million dollar races, either. She crushed the field in the Mother Goose Stakes as a three-year-old, won stylishly in the Hempstead Handicap at four, and defeated Pageantry and Loki Miracle in the Personal Ensign Handicap in her last win. She also finished a closing third in the Jockey Club Gold Cup at the age of five.

This One’s For You has left a legacy that lies mostly in her champion daughter For Keeps, by Chesapeake Bay. Islands Champion Older Mare, For Keeps won her last six starts in succession, all in Puerto Rico, in races that included the grade one Clasico Prensa Hipica and House of Arms Cup. Earlier in her career, she was also a solid graded stakes performer in the United States. Her three-year-old, The Awakening, was a highly regarded contender on the Triple Crown trail this past season, especially after his smashing win over Career Maker and eventual Derby and Crown winner Believe The Hype.

For Keeps’s half sister, Rosemary, was a five-time stakes winner herself that earned $467,600 on the track in thirteen starts. She only finished once off the board going a mile and a half in the Long Island Acorn, but proved her prowess at a mile and a quarter when defeating Part Of The Dream in the Flamingo Marathon.

Also among the This One’s For You descendents is Mettle, out of Right For You by Braveheart. He debuted very impressively in his first out this past week, winning an eight and a half furlong maiden by almost four lengths and earning a speed figure of 82.

Major graded contender I’m Only Sleeping, winner of the Salute The Sky Stakes and Gold Star Stakes, also descends from this branch of the family.

Watch Out World’s next daughter, Watching From Afar, by Equation, earned just shy of $600,000 on the track. She was something of an anomaly to this particular branch of the family, winning one each of grades one, two, and three stakes events, all at a mile or under. While she placed second to her half sibling in the Hempstead Handicap, she was definitely more of a shorter distance performer. She produced the stakes-winning sprinter Mumbai, and founded a line that includes multiple stakes winning sprinter Adeste Fideles and stakes winning miler Meet Your Waterloo.

The $6 million yearling purchase Never Falter was the next in the dynasty of Watch Out World. A winner three times in eight starts, Never Falter was victorious in the Demoiselle Stakes and Blue Mountain Futurity as a two-year-old, and placed in the Turfway Breeders’ Cup Oaks (on the turf) and Davona Dale Stakes at three. Her foals’ earnings top $1 million to date, with graded stakes winning router Never Quit leading the way. This branch is simply knocking on the door of a superstar, and has a fast two-year-old filly by Sun Raider named Never Stop the Sun just waiting for a breakout performance.

Look Out World was Watch Out World’s final foal. The unraced daughter of Gaze Unwavering is represented on the track by multiple graded stakes winner Beware The Ledge and graded stakes winner Look Out Below.

Direwarning’s next big influence on the racing world came in the form of End of Time. The chestnut daughter of Gilded Time won such races as the Falls City Handicap and Santa Maria Handicap after showing an extreme distaste for going shorter than a mile in her first seven starts, and concluded her career running against such fillies as Awesome Dancer, War Song, and Speedyjetsdaughter in graded stakes.

End of Time’s second foal, Psychic Flame, was as versatile as her dam wasn’t. She broke her maiden going four and a half furlongs, finished second in a six furlong stake two starts later, then won at a mile and a sixteenth. She became a grade one winner in the Inglewood Oaks at nine furlongs and finished second to Her She Dances in the Ruffian Handicap. Later in her career, she was shortened up and won the Humana Distaff and a five furlong allowance over legendary broodmare P Cubed before her retirement. Her career in the breeding shed was short, as she only produced four foals. Among them was her daughter Fireball, a winner on both dirt and turf from five and a half to eight and a half furlongs.

Also worth mentioning is Five For Fighting, a granddaughter of End of Time through Flame Dancer. He earned $615,700 on the track, winning such races as the Lexington Stakes and Maryland Million Classic.

End of Time’s line is also responsible for one of the most interesting and endearing racehorses of this generation: Marmaduke. Through an odd series of one-time winning fillies by even odder sires (Black Ice and Onetogivemhope, for example), Marmaduke was foaled by Wishing For Wine. Sorely mismanaged for the first nine starts of his career, Marmaduke was picked out of the rough by current owner Brandon McClellan and promptly stamped himself as a future star with a maiden victory that earned him a speed figure of 99. He is now a millionaire, with five graded stakes wins to his credit. Since he turned his hand to routing on the dirt, the gelding has never been off the board, and has run monster speed figures almost every time out.

The female line seems to have an affinity for crosses with Duke, as another example is graded stakes winner Heroes Walk Alone, a grandson of Direwarning through Majestic (Majesty) and her daughter Belvedere (Fog City).

This same branch, through the Black Ice daughter Frozen In Time, has also thrown such horses as grade one winner Henry The Sixth, graded winners King of California and Excuses Excuses, stakes winner Hornet and multiple graded stakes placed Bold As I Am. Bold As I Am also has an almost insanely fast working two-year-old half sibling by the name of An Army Of One that recently made an impressive debut in Kentucky.

Following three unsuccessful foals, one of Direwarning’s progeny again displayed flashes of brilliance: Kawaii Pegasus. The Fusaichi Pegasus son was a winner from five to ten furlongs and began his career on the dirt. He placed in several graded events over that surface, but came alive when he found his way to the turf, winning the Texas Turf Challenge, Early Times Turf Classic, and Sky Classic Handicap, as well as finishing second to Give Applause in the Woodbine Mile and Early Times Turf Classic. He never entered the breeding shed.

Direwarning’s big influence in the turf world, just as in the dirt classics, would also come from an unexpected place. Her daughter, Kawaii Neko, a maiden winner on the dirt by Yokoa Cat, produced a maiden filly by Crystal Night named Kawaii Crystal. That filly’s very first foal was none other than Crystal Magic.

A son of Lokite Magic, Crystal Magic broke his maiden in his third start going six panels, then finished second to Shock And Awe in a grade two stakes in Barbados. At three, however, his career truly kicked off. He won the first four starts of his sophomore season, including the Banks Barbados Guineas by nine and a half lengths, as well as the Barbados Midsummer Creole Classic, Michael Parravicino Memorial, and Breeders’ Stakes and Trophy. He finished second at ten panels in the Barbados Derby, and travelled to Australia to finish third in the AJC Australian Derby behind Step Aside and The Wilding to close out the year. He was named Islands Champion Three Year Old and Horse of the Year.

After a disastrous attempt at routing again at four, as well as a poorly timed attempt at dirt, he got back on track with a victory in the grade three Sekiya Kinen at a mile on the grass. He then proceeded to rattle off six straight mile stakes victories, including the Doncaster Trophy, Hong Kong Champions Mile, Steward’s Cup, and Birthday Candles Stakes. His career finished out with a fourth place finish in the Steward’s Cup Turf Mile, where he was beaten just over a length by such greats as Test Your Strength, Benjamin Franklin, and Fleet Admiral.

In the shed, Crystal Magic has been a very successful sire, with 57.6% winners from his 224 runners and average earnings of just over $30,000 at the time of this writing.

Kawaii Crystal failed to reproduce that magic again, but did throw several other useful runners, including graded stakes winner Kawaii Magic, a full brother to her most successful runner.

Direwarning also foaled a full sibling to End of Time named Time Renewal. The maiden filly founded a line that produced several six figure earnings in the turf sprinting world, through her granddaughter Harmonia. That line includes grade one winner Imagine If, graded stakes winners Armani S and Camera, and stakes winners Object In Motion, Dior, Purple Martin and Undercover Hero.

The last major stakes winner from Direwarning was Widener Handicap winner Decorated, a gelded son of Sports Jersey. The little bay also placed behind Ichi Forever in the California Cup Classic and Finite Incantatem in the Hutcheson Stakes.

Direwarning’s final daughter was Chagrin, by Conduit. This branch of the family was largely unremarkable, but does include graded stakes winning steeplechaser Smash Into Me and the promising young And Then What.

Though Direwarning is long gone, the memories that she and her get have left behind are not. She has quietly made a mark in almost every niche of racing: from turf sprinters to steeplechasers to dirt classic horses. Her family is still surprising us, and despite the “streakiness” inherent in the line, it has proven a solid source of winners for decades.


Back to Breeding articles

Copyright © 2024 SIMHorseRacing.com | Legal