Hall of Fame - Shetalkstoangels

Original article written by Gigi Gofaster posted 13 years 1 week ago

Every now and then, a horse comes along that captures your heart. They may be small, they may not stand out as a winner, but there is something about them that just catches your eye. The diminutive filly with the pretty face and the charming name, Shetalkstoangels, was just one such horse. Small, delicate, but astonishingly quick when the conditions were right, and never afraid of a challenge, this little mare is exactly what racing is all about.

She had it all right from the start. Her dam, Embrace, was the astonishing race mare by the sturdy old-school dirt sprinter Em’s Always Busy, and Embrace was never off the board in her fourteen starts. After romping away with her maiden start, Embrace enjoyed making us sweat; leaving it right to the wire to win – or lose - by inches. Stakes race after stakes race, until she confidently captured the Steward’s Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in Year 13. We can thank Embrace’s track performances for another inspired performer – her full brother Sic Transit Gloria was born five years after her, no doubt in the hopes of replicating Embrace’s lightning speed. Of course, he duly did.

So, when in year 13 this grand old mare went off to the shed, with over $1.5 million in her bank account, only the very best stallion would do. Now, Embrace came out like a bullet as a two year old, so a stallion that had potential to produce a precocious two year old would possibly produce an early star. Embrace’s habit of leaving it a bit close at the wire suggested a stallion with a real need to run away with a race might put a little daylight in the photo.

Looking around at the stars of year 13, one name stood out – Trust. From the first crop of champion sprinter Out of Focus, Trust had a tendency to get himself home and hosed before his rivals crossed the line, especially as a two year old – there simply were no other youngsters that could get anywhere near him. Trust never quite recovered that form in subsequent years, but he certainly stood out as a good source of power and early speed for Embrace. Embrace’s owner, Mallory Claire (then Geusnon) knew that the two of them would produce an unstoppable two year old.

And so it was that the little bay filly was born. At first glance, Shetalkstoangels had more in common with her sire than her dam. Small, but tough, her mother’s influence came out as soon as ‘Angel’ hit the track. Sure, she clinched a maiden win first time out, but she did it ‘Embrace style’, holding off the big filly She Flies by just a nose. Angel made up for this nail-biting start though, taking the Grade Two Nursery Stakes for fillies more confidently. She did not live up to the hopes for her two year old year after that; this was a very different horse from her parents. Angel was more delicate, needed a gentler campaign, and finished her two year old season with two second place finishes, knocked down by the the capable fillies Look Stars and Amor Vincit Vitae once the distance stretched to six furlongs.

Suspecting that Angel needed some time to mature, Mallory gave Angel an eight-week break before her debut as a three year old. The decision paid off, and Angel picked up a decent Stakes race in style. Gently campaigned after that with one race in mind – the Steward’s Cup Filly and Mare Sprint – Angel then went for a seven furlong opportunity, again finding the distance too tough and coming in second behind Treasured. Back to six furlongs three weeks later, Angle returned to form, and everything looked ready for the Steward’s Cup.

It would not be an easy race. She faced her two year old rivals, Look Start and Amor Vincitt Vitae, and her three year old victor Treasured. The impressive galloper No Matter What was also in the lineup. It would be a different race than her mother’s victory. Over a hand smaller, and with a more delicate disposition, would this rough and tough company wring Angle out and hang her up to dry? No chance. Angel ‘pulled an Embrace’, letting it come right down to the wire to take it from Treasured by a neck.

More time made an even bigger impact on the tiny Angel. Another long break – six weeks – and she was back out as a four year old. This time there were no doubts. Perhaps too fresh, she fought her rider throughout the Santa Monica Handicap to nearly lose it to returning No Matter What in the closing stages, with that crucial seventh furlong almost costing her victory. Next time out, she showed a spark of her daddy, putting seventh lengths between her and a strung out field in the Desert Golden Shaheen, showing she was quite capable of beating the big boys. A convincing win next time out, and Steward’s Cup week was upon her once again.

And so Angel lined up for the Steward’s Cup Sprint – hoping to go one better than her mom and show the boys how it’s done. And not just any boys either – Angel’s little half brother Villain was in the field, carrying Mallory’s colors too. Also tiny – Embrace’s size must have been recessive – he came in with a solid history. The little gray mare Era, winner of the two year old Sprint Championship, was there too, along with consistent Pincay and Runtoapremont, and the very impressive speedster Saturn. This would definitely be Angel’s toughest race.

And it was not to be her day. Outrun early, she rallied to try and catch the leaders and sweep up with Villain. She couldn’t stay the pace, and Villain, Era And Runtoapremont battled out at the line, pulling further away from the battling Pincay and Saturn, and three lengths further back to a gallant Shetalkstoangels. This was a rough race and rather than face these rivals again, Mallory decided to concentrate on Villain’s career, and send Angel off to the shed. Her little half sister, Happy Ending took a grade three by ten lengths to close her two year old year, so there would be enough from Embrace contesting the dirt sprints next year.

Let’s face it, Angel needed some stamina. An inch over six furlongs and this little filly would fade. Mallory opted for the Longacres Mile winner Icon for Angel’s first foal. Her Icon filly, Pretty Baby, was an impressive two year old, showing a little more strength and stamina than her mother, suggesting the miler influence was a good idea. Her second foal, Rubber Soul, from champion sprinter Lost in the Fog was consistent but not spectacular, so Mallory opted for her own miler Anthem to put that much needed strength and stamina back into the mix. The filly, As Promised, was anything but, and barren the year after and it must have looked to Mallory that Shetalkstoangels would be the end of the line for this line from Embrace.

Next time she went to top sprinter and one time track rival Saturn. The foal, the massive mare Feeling Good, was exactly what had been missing. Impressive at two, putting daylight between her and the rest on numerous Stakes occasions, she may not have been Steward’s Cup material like her mother and grandmother, but it put some hope back into Mallory’s plans. Her two year old performance led to a full sister Good Feeling, who was much the same – always impressive, and brilliant on her day. An American Baby filly in between, Blessed, was never off the board and cleaned up on the South American Circuit to pick up a Simmy award.

Only her second colt, Seraph, came along next, and although impressive at two – as would be expected - he didn’t make a much of a mark on the dirt, but he earned a Simmy for his one and only all-weather performance, putting nearly six lengths between him and the pack in a Grade One. He’s already got three stakes winners from his first crop of two year olds to race, and looks a good choice for early returns with good two year olds.

The next few foals showed none of the flash of their older siblings until Mallory looked for that successful Saturn cross again with his son Goodguywearsblack. The filly, big like the earlier Saturn fillies Good Feeling and Feeling Good, is already bringing Shetalkstoangels back on the books with some blistering two year old runs and consistent stakes performances- never off the boards – as an older horse; and she’s not done yet.

And the best may be yet to come. Two year old filly Shetalkstovillains (in honor of Angel’s little half-brother) by champion sprinter Ad Infinitum is, so far, unbeatable at two, with three very impressive wins already. The tiny Shegoeswithangels, but hot sprinter Nicholas, has turned in some impressive works as a yearling after bringing a whopping $5million through the Steward’s Select sale ring. A filly foal, She’s a Foxy Angel is the last we’ll see of Shetalkstoangels. This grand mare passed away in foaling. Thankfully it looks like these last three fillies may be her best foals yet, and may they live on to carry on the legacy of Shetalkstoangels – and the great mare Embrace – for many generations to come.

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