Top Cape breeders Varsfontein Stud bred the high-class and well related Alexandra Rose.
The Caesour star produced the Team Valor bred and owned Gr1 winning Animal Kingdom daughter Oleksandra, who won the $250 000 Gr1 Jaipur Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday.
Facing seven male rivals, Oleksandra, rallied past them all, catching Kanthaka in the closing yards for a neck victory under Joel Rosario.
Oleksandra (Pic – Team Valor International)
Alexandra Rose was a high class racemare in South Africa, where the daughter of Caesour won four of only eight races including the Gr2 Golden Slipper Stakes.
Exported to Dubai, and then to North America, she went on to win the 2008 Gr3 Monrovia Handicap.
Alexandra Rose is out of the prolific Darshaan daughter Alexandra Bi –the dam of 8 winners, including the stakes winners Alexandra Rose, Pavlovich, Alexandra Palace and Alexa.
Saturday’s smart winner Oleksandra was one of the top female turf sprinters in North America last year, illustrated by victories in the Gr3 Buffalo Trace Franklin County Stakes at Keeneland and the Smart N Fancy Stakes at Saratoga Race Course.
Oleksandra stopped the clock in 1:06.80, just .06 off the course record.
“She is so much fun to watch race. She makes life very exciting,” Hall of Fame trainer Neil Drysdale told Bloodhorse.com
“I think my horse got a good trip and ran very good,” said Kanthaka’s jockey, Jose Ortiz. “The winner was very impressive. I knew she was going to come sooner or later, but I thought I had her. My horse never stopped running.”
Team Valor International owns Oleksandra, whose sire won the 2011 Gr1 Kentucky Derby for the partnership. Team Valor bred both.
Oleksandra became the 30th Gr1 winning horse owned by the partnership, according to Team Valor founder and CEO Barry Irwin.
“I think today was her day,” he said.
“She had a nice little run, had that great prep. She loves Belmont Park. They were smoking. We got Rosario on her again. It just had all the earmarks of her day.”
With the Jaipur part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series, the victory provided Oleksandra with a paid, automatic slot in the Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland in November.
“We’re looking forward to the Breeders’ Cup because she showed she really likes that Keeneland course,” Irwin said.
“That’ll be her last race.”
