A filly bred and owned by Kevin Plank’s Sagamore Farm was chosen by trainer
Ken McPeek as grand champion of the 79th annual Maryland Horse Breeders
Association’s Maryland-bred yearling show held on Sunday at the Timonium
Fairgrounds horse show ring in Timonium. The gray daughter of Macho Uno-Dicey D
J (Milwaukee Brew), took the top prize over 64 other yearlings exhibited at this
year’s event.
The champion was the winner of Class IV, the largest of the day, for fillies
conceived in states other than Maryland. McPeek was impressed from the moment he
saw her.
“She’s a beauty,” McPeek said. “She had presence, she had size, she had
substance, she had reach. That’s a good filly, but there are a half-dozen or
more other ones in there that I would love to have in my barn.”
The unnamed filly, foaled on February 5, is the second offspring for her dam
Dicey D J, who was purchased privately by Sagamore Farm after capturing
Pimlico’s Hookedonthefeelin Stakes in 2008.
In accordance with show protocol, McPeek was only allowed to know the foaling
dates of the entered yearlings prior to judging.
“I prefer to look at the pedigrees because it lets me get an idea what I’m
looking at but that’s OK,” McPeek noted after the show. “It’s still about
bodies. You don’t need a page to see that. It was fun. I enjoyed it.”
This was the second year that Sagamore Farm, under Plank’s ownership, has
participated in the show, but during the Alfred G. Vanderbilt years, Sagamore
Farm was a major presence. Vanderbilt yearlings were named champion seven times
— the first in 1934 and the last in 1967 — the most of any owner in the show’s
history.
The reserve champion was the winner of Class I, for colts and geldings foaled
in Maryland by Maryland sires. Owned and handled by Marshall Silverman, the bay
Outflanker colt out of Sultry Rendevous (Sultry Song) was bred by Don and Taffy
Litz.
“I had no clue what to expect, but I love looking at yearlings and there were
a lot of nice yearlings here,” McPeek added.
The leading Maryland sire of the show was Outflanker, who took title to the
Northview Stallion Station Challenge Trophy by having the reserve champion as
well as two other ribbon winners.
Complete results are available on the
Maryland Horse Breeders’ Association website.