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My Generation Wins Irish Kentucky Derby Prep

Half sister to Crossfirehurricane earned European Road to the Kentucky Derby points.

My Generation wins the Patton Stakes at Dundalk

My Generation wins the Patton Stakes at Dundalk

RACINGFOTOS.COM/Healy Racing

While the HollywoodBets Patton Stakes is contested in Ireland, a Kentucky-bred filly owned by a native Nebraskan came charging late March 5 at Dundalk to win the one-mile test that awards qualifying points on the European Road to the Kentucky Derby.

But My Generation is more likely to aim for lofty goals like the Irish One Thousand Guineas (G1) than a return to her native country to take on the boys in the Run for the Roses, owner Scott Heider said Friday.

A Heider Family homebred, the daughter of Speightstown  entered the Patton a maiden after finishing third in her career debut at the same trip Feb. 19 for trainer Joseph Patrick O'Brien. She obviously benefited from that experience, surprising even her connections as she followed in the footsteps of her Kitten's Joy half brother Crossfirehurricane, who took the Patton last year.

"This young lady was entered earlier in the week, and we were looking at our options," Heider said. "She just debuted two weeks ago. Joseph called and said, 'I'd like to take a look at the Patton,' which is the same race her brother won last year.

"Honestly, the plan was to hope she would take a step forward, and we were just thinking if everything worked out we could get her stakes-placed, if we were fortunate. As we got closer to the race and entries were declared, it looked pretty competitive, so we thought, 'Well, she's going to have to take a pretty big step forward, and let's see if we get lucky.' "

After chasing the early lead Friday under jockey Shane Crosse, My Generation advanced out toward the middle of the Polytrack strip midway down the stretch and shifted to another gear to win by five lengths. Rocky Sky gained late to edge the favorite, Messidor, another O'Brien-trained filly, for third.

"In the turn before they came home, a couple horses came up around her, and it looked like she might have lost a little position, but then when Shane asked her for run, she looked like her brother," Heider said. "Joseph commented, 'Did you see how she puts her head down and sticks her neck out and really gets low?' That was her brother's good Galileo-like move. The Galileos put their heads down and low, and that's the determination in them."

Scott Heider. <br>
Scenes at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale  on Aug. 6, 2019 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Photo: Anne M. Eberhardt
Scott Heider in 2019 at The Saratoga Sale

My Generation earned 20 points on Churchill Downs' European Road to move into a tie for the lead with Godolphin's Highland Avenue, who won the Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes at Kempton Park in England two days earlier. The European series saw three earlier races run last fall on the turf and are less likely to impact any plans to send contenders to Louisville. The series concludes with the April 1 Cardinal Condition Stakes at Chelmsford City. That race awards 30 points to the winner.

My Generation was bred by Cindy and Courtney Heider out of the Maria's Mon mare Louvakhova, who will be getting a well-earned reward at Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa Farm, where she is boarded.

"I texted John Sikura at Hill 'n' Dale and told him to grab a bag of carrots and feed Louvakhova as many as she wants," Heider said.

At this point, any contribution from the European Road leaders to the actual field for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) would require further commitment—and cash. Neither My Generation nor Highland Avenue are among the early nominees to the Triple Crown. Original nominations, with a $600 price tag, closed Jan. 23. Late nominations, at $6,000 each, close March 29. After that, supplemental nominations are available to the individual races. For the Kentucky Derby, that supplemental nomination fee is $200,000.

"Where she runs next would be 100% up to young Joseph," Heider said. "I would say that being a filly, what would be just incredible for us as her breeder would be if she could get on that (Irish One Thousand) Guineas path. That's the deepest of the deep water over there, and that would be something I've always dreamt about since we started racing over there, to have that prospect. But as far as where she goes and what continent she ends up on, I'll leave that up to Joseph."

Heider called the victory "a really pleasant surprise" and said he was thrilled to see the filly step up to exceed expectations.

"Right when she hit the wire and I was talking to Joseph, I could tell he was in awe of what he saw, like I was. He said, 'Scott, I didn't expect that big of a step forward here,' " Heider said. "We're both letting that performance sink in.

"When she debuted two weeks ago she broke nicely, but like a horse that doesn't have any experience, she lost position going into the turn. In the last eighth of a mile, the penny dropped with her and her jockey got her to switch leads. She got within a length and a half of the winner that day, and we thought that was a nice last sixteenth of a mile.

"She's a nice filly. She was really good on the gallops and each work with her went from kind of average to average-plus to pretty nice works, so we were pretty confident before she debuted that she was going to at least be competitive in Ireland which is so difficult. It's so challenging over there because the depth of talent is so tough, but she has really taken some steps forward. 

"I love Speightstown, I've used him every year for seven or eight years in a row. I told Joseph, he'd never trained a Speightstown, and I said, 'They can run over there.' It's great to see his versatility."

Heider offered an update on Crossfirehurricane, who resumed his globetrotting ways and is back stateside to try his luck on the California circuit. After winning the Patton last year, the colt took the Coolmore Ten Sovereigns Gallinule Stakes (G3) in June but ran unplaced in the June 27 Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (G1) and the Sept. 25 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Diamond Stakes (G3).

"Crossfire we brought back in November to the states; he was at Margaux in Lexington for almost 60 days just getting pampered," Heider said. "He caught a plane about four weeks ago out to California and now he's under the tutelage of Michael McCarthy; he's training daily out there, and he's going to be a California boy. We looked at where to place him in the states and California looks like it will be a great place for him to be. I have tremendous respect for Michael, and I'm looking forward to seeing his first start in California."