Dual-surface Grade 1 winner CATHOLIC BOY has been busy welcoming his first foals over the last few weeks, kicking off with with Hope So delivering his first foal on January 8th.
Born in New York, the filly is owned by William Terrill and the first foal out of her winning dam. A Bodemeister mare, Hope So is out of Grade 2 winner Sweet and Ready and a half-sister to two stakes performers. In all, Hope So finds 11 stakes performers under her first two dams.
Hope So’s filly is bred on a similar cross to multiple Group 2-placed La Candonga, Group 3-placed Gotti, and stakes placed Bahama Halo.
A little over a week later, Roo’s Valentine gave CATHOLIC BOY his second filly when foaling on January 17.
The filly is the second foal for the Soviet Problems Stakes winner, who was also a multiple stakes placed runner as well. By Vronsky, Roo’s Valentine is one of three stakes horses for Black Valentine, a half-sister to dual Grade 1 winner Evening Jewel and Japanese stakes winner Deep Jewelry.
Black Valentine is one of three mares out of Jewel of the night to produce stakes performers with Evening Jewel the dam of stakes-placed Bernadiva and Maggie McGowan the dam of Grade 1 winner Denman’s Call and Grade 3-placed Torosay.
Danzig granddaughters have proved a strong cross with More Than Ready and his sons with the filly bred similarly to 24 stakes winners and 43 stakes horses led by six Grade 1 winners by More Than Ready. The stallion’s sons add another 13 stakes winners and 21 stakes performers to that tally, led by Australian champion Dissident.
On January 19, Zestina foaled a CATHOLIC BOY colt at Frankfort Park Farm in Kentucky.
The colt is the first from multiple stakes winner and Grade 3-placed Zestina, a daughter of Silent Name. This is also the family of Champion 3-Year-Old Filly Banshee Breeze, and graded stakes winners Tiz Windy and American Anthem in addition to stakes winner Unbridled Wind and Belmont Stakes (G1) third Patch.
This colt is bred on a similar cross to multiple successful racehorses, led by More Than Ready’s eight-time Group 1 winner More Joyous, who is out of a Sunday Silence mare.
Stakes winner Cuban Sunday is by a More Than Ready son out of a Sunday Silence mare while stakes winner Bring Me Speed and stakes performer Argentina are both bred on the same More Than Ready son x Sunday Silence grandson cross as this colt.
One of only three North American 3-year-old colts to win Grade 1s on both dirt and turf, CATHOLIC BOY stands for $25,000 this year.