A Closer Look at Juddmonte Mare Antonoe's Big Weekend

As one of the first group stakes winners for Juddmonte founder Khalid Abdullah, the success of the Kentucky-bred Super Concorde horse Over the Ocean would lead to one of the farm's most successful families. Inspired by the quality of the two-time group 3 winner Over the Ocean, Abdullah subsequently purchased his unraced dam, Lost Virtue. Foaled in 1977, she was by the relatively obscure sire Cloudy Dawn, a son of Grey Dawn II, who won the Dwyer Stakes and Arlington Park Handicap but sired just three stakes winners from 35 starters in a stud career that spanned 12 seasons. The distaff side of Lost Virtue's pedigree was rather more illustrious, however, as her dam, the multiple stakes-placed Aunt Tilt, was a half sister to the famed 'Horse of Steel' Damascus, champion 3-year-old colt and Horse of the Year in the U.S. in 1967. Four of Aunt Tilt's daughters became notable producers, two for Juddmonte. Stakes winner Full Virtue was never part of the Juddmonte broodmare band, but is the third dam of the 2011 Ballerina Stakes (G1) winner Hilda's Passion, herself dam of Woodward Stakes (G1) and Turf Classic Stakes (G1T) victor Yoshida (JPN). Quack a Doodledoo, foaled two years after Full Virtue, appears as ancestress of 13 stakes winners, headed by her granddaughter Banshee Breeze, champion 3-year-old filly in the U.S. in 1998. The Blushing Groom filly, Quandary, a black-type winner in England in the Juddmonte colors, was a stakes producer and is an ancestress of 16 stakes winners, including group 1 and grade 1 winners Twice Over, Passage of Time, Timepiece, and Viadera. The best of Lost Virtue's offspring was the Riverman filly, All At Sea. Closely related to Full Virtue, All At Sea at 3 defeated older males in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1), and she also won the Musidora Stakes (G3) and Pretty Polly Stakes, and took second in the International Stakes (G1), Epsom Oaks (G1), and Nassau Stakes (G2). All At Sea's Mr. Prospector daughter, Insinuate, won the Swinley Stakes at Ascot, and produced three stakes winners—two group stakes winners. Through her daughter, Indication, All At Sea is also granddam of two stakes winners, and third dam of Ombudsman, winner of this year's Juddmonte International (G1) and Prince of Wales's (G1) Stakes. All At Sea's Nureyev daughter, Imroz, won three races in England and took third in the City of York Stakes, then continued her career in the U.S., where the late Bobby Frankel saddled her to thirds in the Las Cienegas Handicap (G3T) and Linda Card Handicap. At stud, Imroz made her mark producing the black-type winning Lear Fan filly, Posteritas—subsequently dam of the Prix Jean Prat (G1) scorer Mutual Trust—and Elbe, the dam of Eclair, who captured the Golden Gate Debutante Stakes. Imroz's daughter Ixora—by another son of Roberto in Dynaformer—never ran, but remained within the Juddmonte broodmare band. There she proved her worth with the First Defence filly Antonoe, successful in the Prix d'Aumale (G3) in France and the Just a Game Stakes (G1T) on this side of the Atlantic. It's Antonoe that provided the Lost Virtue family with its latest major update after a remarkable Nov. 29-30 weekend, which saw her son, Salamis, take the Hollywood Derby (G1T) Saturday, and her daughter Segesta capture the Matriarch Stakes (G1T) Sunday. The Hollywood Derby was the first graded stakes success for Salamis, who only earned his maiden win at Saratoga Race Course in August on his fourth outing. He took the Gio Ponti Stakes at Aqueduct next time out, but his only other start was fifth, albeit only beaten two lengths after a wide trip in which he was reluctant to enter the gate, in the Bryan Station Stakes (G3T) at Keeneland. Salamis is the 27th grade 1 winner for the late Speightstown. A son of Gone West who earned honors as champion sprinter at age 6—his early career having been marked by a number of setbacks. By and large, his runners have tended to be later maturing, and they have frequently done well on turf. Salamis is the second stakes winner for a Gone West line stallion out of a First Defence mare, and it's a version of the Speightstown/Unbridled's Song cross that produced the three-time grade 1 winner Jack Christopher, by Speightstown son Munnings. The year-older Segesta has been knocking on the door of a grade 1 success. Last year, she took the Wonder Again Stakes (G2T) on her fourth start, and missed by three-quarters of a length in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T). This year, she captured the Matchmaker Stakes (G3T), and then ran second in the Ladies Turf Stakes (G3T) and First Lady Stakes (G1T), missing by a neck in the latter. Segesta is by another veteran stallion in Ghostzapper, champion older horse and Horse of the Year in 2004. Although he never ran on the turf, Ghostzapper has been a very effective sire of runners on that surface. Segesta is the third stakes winner by her sire from an Unbridled's Song line mare; the others include 2024 champion turf female Moira, who also earned Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old filly honors in Canada.