Friday, September 19, 2014

Pleasantly Perfect - Redux

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PLEASANTLY PERFECT
Taylor Made Farms

UPDATE 
Original post Dec. 5, 2012

September 18, 2014:  Pleasantly Perfect is in the news recently with one of his daughters putting in a maiden win at second asking, at Gulfstream Park, Sept. 18. Race 4:  Bella Collina, 9/18/14, Gulfstream, Race 4 - MSW - Result/Replay

One of my all-time favorite horses is Pleasantly Perfect (Pleasant Colony ex. Regal State x Affirmed), who by the way is an excellent example of a horse who was a late bloomer (biggest races weren't until he was 5 and 6).  He won the Breeders' Cup Classic as a 5 year old then went to Dubai as a 6 year old and won the World Cup, came back to U.S. that same year to win the Pacific Classic, and was 3rd defending in the BC Classic. 

He was part of the Richard Mandella amazing 2003 Breeders' Cup success story, where Mandella won the Classic, the Juvenile, the Turf, and the Juvenile Fillies, breaking D. Wayne Lukas' record of three Breeders Cup race wins in one day.  His most successful offspring has been Shared Account. 

Not quite fashionable for breeders/buyers who are looking for early maturers.  Just boggles the mind that a buyer wouldn't want the progeny of a horse who won $7.7 Million!!!!  Himself a Breeders Cup winner and a sire of a Breeders Cup G1 race.  Here is his stallion page at Taylor Made Farms:  Stallion profile- Taylor Made Farms - Pleasantly Perfect Be sure to watch the Taylor Made video of Pleasantly Perfect's big races, and those of two of his offspring, Cozi Rosie and Shared Account.  Will be interesting to see what Taylor Made sets his fee at for 2015.

B. 1998, Pleasantly Perfect didn't do much at all until he was 4 years old. It took him 4 tries to break his maiden, until at four, he did so and also winning a Grade 2. Then, at 5, he won the Breeders Cup Classic and the Goodwood, with a third in the San Antonio. At 6, he won the Dubai World Cup, the Pacific Classic and the San Antonio, ran second in the San Diego H., and a third in the Breeders Cup Classic. His bankroll when it was all said and done was a tidy sum of $7.8 Million!

He is the daddy of Nonios, Cozi Rosie, My Adonis, Rapid Redux, Setsuko, and his most successful offspring in the U.S. is a daughter, Shared Account, who earned $1.6 Million over two seasons. Retired at the end of 2011, she was booked to Bernardini.

Tough, durable, he is the son of Pleasant Colony who in 1981 won the KY Derby, the Preakness, the Wood, and the Woodward, all Grade 1 races, losing horse of the year honors to John Henry! (Yours truly was on hand for the 1981 Kentucky Derby. There is a slide show of my trip to see these two races and many of the photos on this blog header are from my trips.)

Who wouldn't want to have a foal from this family? His great grandaddy on his sire's side is the great Ribot; his dam's sire is none other than the last Triple Crown winner, Affirmed. He has no inbreeding through the fifth generation. And this lovely guy stood most recently at Lane's End for $5,000!  Moved recently to Taylor Made Farms, his fee for 2015 has not been disclosed.

I should have titled this piece, "I just don't get it," because I absolutely just do not get why any buyer would want a yearling or two year old with champagne glass legs, a career that might last 12 months, total, and bypass a chance at a horse that would bring you nothing but sheer fun and joy watching him grow and develop into a mature, race-winning machine!!! This just shows how short-sighted today's buyers are, looking only for the early-maturing, fragile, youngsters that might make it through one season, and then poof, off to the breeding shed to breed more of the same. If I win the lottery, the very first thing I want to do is try to buy one of PP's youngsters and send him/her to Mr. Patience, John Shirreffs! I think that would be nirvana for me!

Pedigree
Career Statistics:
Starts: 18   Firsts: 9    Seconds: 3    Thirds: 2
Earnings: $7,789,880
Highest Speed Figure:  122
Timeform rated 130
 
2003 BREEDERS CUP CLASSIC & 2004 WORLD CUP
Watch as Pleasantly Perfect comes from mid-pack to mow down the leaders, Medaglia d'Oro and Congaree, and win by daylight in the Classic, and then beats Medaglia d'Oro again in the World Cup! The duel between Medaglia d'Oro and Pleasantly Perfect in the Dubai World Cup is one of the most thrilling stretch runs ever!







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