Few retired stallions with big boots to fill Mendelssohn . Not only has he been Scat Daddy – he himself is the top freshman Baron, and has proven to be the father of heroes with Europe’s top freshman No Nay Never – but he is also the half brother to the one who conquers all into naughty who recently won the title of Top Male God for the fourth year in a row.
Also half-brother to the great mare Beholder, his login helped Mendelssohn earn $3 million for MV Magnier’s bid at Keeneland 2016 September Yearling Sales. Sent to Ireland to train by Aidan O’Brien, Mendelssohn progressed steadily in his first season, finishing second, behind his steady companion. United States Navy Flag in the Dewhurst Stakes (G1) in his fourth start, then ended his first campaign with a lengthy win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), where the backers included Investec hero Derby (G1) the following year, Masar, and other subsequent group/grade 1 winners Catholic Boy and Sands Of Mali (FR).
On his debut at age 3, Mendelssohn won 32Red Patton Stakes over a mile in all weather at Dundalk, before heading to Dubai, where he won the UAE Derby (G2). Mendelssohn delivered a devastating victory, crossing the clear 18 1/2 length line.
The balance of Mendelssohn’s career saw him dramatically increase his mileage, as although he continues to train in Ireland, he will make his last six starts on dirt. Sloppy conditions made his final game at the Kentucky Derby (G1) unsuitable, and the distance at Dwyer Stakes (G3), where he finished second, was almost certainly a disproportionate gap at that period in Mendelssohn’s career. A much better attempt came in Travers Stakes (G1), where Mendelssohn set the pace until stretch and went on to take second place behind Catholic Boy, with backers including good magic and Vino Rosso . A good third place in the Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) after chasing extremely fast fractions, Mendelssohn returned to the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), where after setting an extremely demanding pace for the first mile First, he dropped to fifth, despite only being beaten by four lengths. In his last outing, Mendelssohn was only able to finish in fourth place as the Cigar Mile (G1) favorite, giving the strong impression that the impact of transatlantic journeys The Atlantic repeat combined with three grueling 10-mile tests took a toll. He retired to take on the 2019 spawning season at Ashford Stud, Versailles, Ky., for a fee of $35,000, unchanged until reduced to $25,000 for the current season.
Mendelssohn
Mendelssohn ends 2022 as a seventh-place freshman in terms of earnings Bolt d’Oro Good Magic, son of his colleague Scat Daddy, justification , army mule , girvin and Sharp Azteca with his total of 25 individual winners—fourth in that category—very respectable since he’s a late adult young adult and his best is 9 to 10 stretches at 3.
Those 25 winners include a pair of black goalscorers on the pitch — female winners of Jessamine Stakes (G2), Delight and Classical Cat, succeeded in Eddie Logan Stakes — and on January 14, Mendelssohn passed another milestone when his daughter Opus forty-two became his first black category winner on dirt track, taking the Gasparilla Stakes at Tampa . Bay. Opus Forty Two made her first two starts on the pitch, it’s no surprise that her dam, Laquesta, daughter of the Lemon Drop Kid, has claimed her only two wins, both of in a teammate position, on that surface. Opus Forty Two’s efforts on the green weren’t bad at all, bringing in seconds after five seconds at Racecourse Pimlico and 5 1/2 pieces stretched at laurel parkbut she didn’t take the lead until moving to the main track, where she scored in the six-stroke women’s special weight class in Tampa on December 22.
Laquesta’s dam, the Country Café, has never been in operation but has a strong lineage. As the daughter of Lion Heart, she is the sister of Heart Ashley, successful in Cicada Stakes (G3) and Miss Preakness Stakes (G3), and later as the smash hitter of Japanese scorer Fiano Romano, and grandmother of Ain’t Easy (of Into Mischief, half brother of Mendelssohn), winner of Chandelier Stakes (G2). She is also a half-sister to Ashley’s Kitty, who has participated in three black type events, headed by Railbird Stakes (G3) and Skipper Tale, and grandmother of Davona Dale Stakes (G3) and Gulfstream Park Oaks (G3) G3) last year) goalscorer, Kathleen O, with Ashley’s Kitty and Skipper Tale both children of Lion Heart, Tale of the Cat. Additionally, Country Café is a half-sister to Cupid, whose four ranked wins include the Santa Anita Gold Cup (G1) and Indianapolis, son of Medaglia d’Oro who succeeded in the San Pedro Stakes.
Country Café’s dam, Pretty ‘n Smart—by Beau Genius, the tough son of many of the top Canadian lords Bold Ruckus—was a speed runner and soon had four first starts including won by 6 3/4 in the debut, a third went to the Golden Ballet and Starrer in the Railbird Stakes (G2), and a third in the Manhattan Beach Stakes. A half-sister to Orchid Handicap (G3) and Glens Falls Handicap (G3), Hostess winner, Pretty ‘n Smart possesses an interesting pedigree as Beau Genius was knocked out by Horse of the House. year of Canada Viceregal, where Pretty ‘n Smart’s dam, Charge d’Affaires, is owned by Viceregal’s brother, Vice Regent, an accident and injury-prone jogger but an outstanding gentleman. The family moved back to Gallorette, the fourth dam of the Charge d’Affaires, a track and field athlete so successful that she was voted the outstanding North American woman of the first half of the 20th century.
Opus Forty Two’s pedigree is equally interesting as she was crossed with Storm Cat, although Johannesburg (by Storm Cat’s son Hennessy born to a daughter of a mare Yarn) and Tale of the Cat, who was born by Storm Cat from Yarn. This closely related duo also appears in the genealogy of Sanenus, the daughter of the mare Scat Daddy in Tale of the Cat, who won 1st grade in Chile and won La Canada Stakes ( G3) in North America. Of course, Mendelssohn’s Scat Daddy’s son, Justify, was crossed with Yarn and her sister, Preach.
