BLAME’S prowess as a broodmare sire is no secret with his daughters shooting at a 9.6% stakes winners to runners rate, but it was made even more clear on Saturday when his daughters produced the winners of two of the four Saratoga Grade 1s.
The pair of 3-year-old Grade 1 winners also made it clear how versatile BLAME is with World Beater’s win coming over 1 3/16 miles on the turf in the Saratoga Derby (G1) and Kilwin’s in the seven-furlong dirt Test S. (G1).
Since breaking his maiden in May at Churchill Downs, World Beater has been a force on the turf. He made his stakes debut one race later and won the Audubon S. to convince his connections to try Grade 1 company. That proved to pay off with the Oscar Performance colt missing the win by just 1 ¼ lengths in the Belmont Derby (G1) when second.
The Saratoga Derby (G1) was another chance for World Beater and he took it. Racing far off the pacesetter, it was all about World Beater in the final furlong as he motored to the front to win by half a length. He is the first stakes winner for BLAME’s daughter Dabinett, who is a three-quarter sister to Arch’s champion Pomology.
One race later, it was Kilwin’s turn to shine as she looked for her second consecutive stakes win.
Making her first dirt Grade 1 start, Kilwin stumbled out of the gate in the seven-furlong race and had to take up work as the back marker. The filly spotted the leader nearly 12 lengths at that point, but it set up for an exciting battle.
Not asked to truly run until the top of the stretch, she issued a challenge for the lead in the final furlong and secured the win by a neck.
It was the third stakes win for the filly, who didn’t make her first dirt start until her last out when she won the Leslie’s Lady Overnight. The Twirling Candy filly also won a stakes on the turf last term in the Untapable at Kentucky Downs.
Kilwin is the third stakes winner from four to race out of BLAME’s Spanish Star. A half-sister to Belmont S. (G1) winner Sir Winston, Spanish Star is out of Grade 3 winner and Grade 1-placed La Gran Bailadora.
These two were the fourth and fifth Grade 1 winners for BLAME as a broodmare sire with the versatility of his daughters on full display. Those Grade 1 winners include champion Forte, who was a force in the dirt route division, successful Australian sprinter Switzerland, and last year’s Natalma (G1) winner And One More Time.
In all, BLAME’S daughters have produced 30 stakes winners and 42 stakes performers from 314 runners with 12 of those winning or placing at the Grade 1 level.