Blush With Pride

Blush With Pride (June 5, 1979 – August 16, 2005) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. A winner of the

Background

Blush With Pride was a chestnut mare bred in Kentucky by Darrell and Lendy Brown.^[1] She is from the first crop of Blushing Groom, a French-bred stallion who won four French Group 1 races at age two and the Poule d'Essai des Poulains at age three. He was named the French champion 2-year-old male in 1976 and the French, English and European champion miler in 1977.^[2] Her dam, Best In Show, won the Comely Stakes at Aqueduct in 1968. As a broodmare, she also produced Sex Appeal, the dam of Try My Best and El Gran Senor; Irish champion 2-year-old male Malinowski; Minnie Hauk, the dam of Aviance; Monroe, the dam of Xaar; Gielgud, winner of the Champagne Stakes in England;^[3] and Nijinsky's Best, dam of Yagli. Due in part to Blush With Pride's success, Best In Show was named the 1982 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year.^[4]

As a yearling, Blush With Pride was purchased at the Keeneland July yearling sale by her eventual trainer D. Wayne Lukas for $650,000 on behalf of Leonard K. Firestone, the father of Lendy Brown.^[5]

Racing career

1981: two-year-old season

Blush With Pride made her first start on October 2, 1981, in a maiden special weight race at Santa Anita Park, where she finished sixth. She followed up with a third-place run in another Santa Anita maiden special weight on October 23, before breaking her maiden on November 7. From there, she ran second in the Turkish Trousers Stakes at Hollywood Park on December 16.^[1] Following her two-year-old season, she was bought back from Leonard K. Firestone by her breeders, Darrell and Lendy Brown, and subsequently raced in the name of their Stonereath Farm.^[5]

1982: three-year-old season

Blush With Pride began her three-year-old campaign with two allowance races at Santa Anita, finishing second on January 3 and first on January 28. She ran second in the

Blush With Pride was rated at 120 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's Free Handicap for three-year-old fillies, the third highest weight below champion Christmas Past and Cupecoy's Joy.^[7]

Retirement

As a broodmare, Blush With Pride changed ownership several times.^[5] She produced 15 foals. Of those 15 foals, 11 raced, 9 won, and 3 won graded stakes.^[8]

She did not produce a stakes winner until her seventh foal, Smolensk, foaled in 1992. Sired by Danzig, Smolensk was a Group II winner in France.^[7][8] Like her dam, she was more successful later in her broodmare career and produced Can the Man, winner of the 2014 Affirmed Stakes, and listed stakes winner Martha's Moon.^[9] She also produced the unraced stallion Sought After, sire of Masochistic.^[10]

Blush With Pride's 1996

In 1997, Blush With Pride was sold, in foal to Deputy Minister, and was sent to Ireland.[5] The foal she was carrying at the time, Turnberry Isle, became an Irish Group III winner.^[8][9]

In 1999, Blush With Pride produced Maryinsky, a Sadler's Wells filly who finished second in the 2001 Fillies' Mile.^[8] Maryinsky's first foal Peeping Fawn won the 2007 Irish Oaks and became the 2007 Cartier Champion Three-year-old Filly.^[7] Maryinsky is also the dam of Thewayyouare, a sire and winner of the 2007 Critérium Internationale.^[9]

Blush With Pride's 2000 foal by

Blush With Pride died in Ireland on August 16, 2005. She had been pensioned from broodmare duty following the birth of her 2003 foal, a Sadler's Wells colt named Poland.[5]

Pedigree

References