Phoenix Rising Emerges With a Flame
For a smalltime breeder in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Deborah Holmes is having a hard time believing that one horse she bred and sold is on the road to the GI Kentucky Derby and another is on the path to the Queen’s Plate.
The victory by John Oxley’s Flameaway (Scat Daddy) in Saturday’s GIII Sam F. Davis S. has thrust him into the Derby picture, even though he is not yet nominated to the American Triple Crown. He is, however, eligible for the Canadian Triple Crown.
Another horse Holmes sold, Silent Sting (Silent Name {Jpn}), had a strong freshman season in Canada for Stronach Stables, winning two of four races, including the Kingarvie S. in December, and is considered a strong prospect for the Plate.
Theoretically, Holmes–a part-time accountant whose breeding business is called Phoenix Rising Farms–could have two horses in the Plate. Not bad for a crop of six foals produced by her broodmare band three years ago. She bought two more mares last year.
“Six was a big crop for us and some are going to Classics?” she asked with amazement. “It’s beyond anything I could have imagined. How does that even happen?”
Flameaway was nicknamed Hercules as a foal, while Silent Sting was called Caesar. They were both born in Hillsburgh, Ontario at Gail Wood’s Woodlands Farm, and it was Wood who gave the colts their early monikers because of their size. Holmes credited her success to John Penn and George William Smith. Penn does her confirmation analysis and raises her U.S.-based horses at his family’s Pennland Farm in Paris, Kentucky. Smith, a Canadian pedigree expert, has a company called The Matchmaker.
“My plan in this business is to surround myself with experts,” Holmes said. “That’s why I’m with the Penns. That’s why I have George Smith advising me. That’s why I have Gail Wood. She has downsized farms and now I’m with Susan Foreman. I work with the best. I have John Penn look at every mare before I buy them and make sure I’m not missing something on the physical side, and I obviously couldn’t have bred sich good yearlings without my pedigree guy.
By Ritesh Jamkhedkar - ritesh.jamkhedkar@secretariatsworld.com