LEA’s success with his largest and best-bred crop continued in October when 2-year-old Media Luna won the Clasico Dia de la Raza (PR-G2) in Puerto Rico.
Now four-from-four, the filly stumbled out of the gate early in the six furlong stakes race but quickly regained her feet and was after the leader. Nearly eight lengths behind the pacesetter at the first call, Media Luna made up that ground and more to win by 2 ¼ lengths at the line.
Bred by Hinkle Farms, the filly trained by Ramon Morales for Establo Ma-D-Co is one of three 2-year-old stakes performers for LEA this year. That puts him ahead of stallions such as Candy Ride (Arg), Quality Road, Street Sense, and Tapit in 2021.
LEA’s current juveniles are living up to their billing with his top runners coming on both dirt and turf. On the mainland, his juveniles include the multiple stakes placed turf runner Poppy Flower and Tremont Stakes second Kavod represents his dirt horses.
Media Luna is just the latest LEA stakes performer out of a mare from the A.P. Indy line. Of his nine stakes performers, four are out of mares by A.P. Indy sons or grandsons – including two of this year’s juvenile stakes performers.
The stakes winner is out of a mare by A.P. Indy’s son Malibu Moon, who is also the damsire of his Belmont Oaks (G1) fourth Setting The Moon. Meanwhile, Pulpit and his son Corinthian are responsible for LEA’s stakes winners Carlea’s Dream and Gibberish and the stakes-placed Kavod.
Media Luna also comes from a strong female family. The filly is out of a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Liam’s Dream and Grade 2-placed Holdontoyourdreams and her third dam is the Grade 2 winner and influential broodmare Danzig’s Beauty. Danzig’s Beauty is also the dam of champion sire Distorted Humor and granddam of Venezuelan champion One Way among others.
LEA’s juvenile crop continued to register success a week after Media Luna’s stakes victory when Florida Gator registered a Maiden Special Weight victory at Belmont Park on Thursday. That was followed on Friday by Goodluckwiththat winning a Maiden Special Weight in his second start as well.
A third crop sire, LEA has a higher percentage of stakes winners than nine other stallions in the top 15 of his generation.