Thiskyhasnotlimit guts out Texas Mile score

Cathy and Bob Zollars & Mark Wagner's Thiskyhasnolimit ran like a

7-5 favorite should in Saturday's $200,000 Grade 3

Texas

Mile at Lone Star Park, scoring by a half-length over the pacesetting

Gladding. The Steve Asmussen charge paid $4.80, $2.60 and

$2.40 for his victory under Justin Shepherd, stopping the clock in 1:37 1/5 on

the fast dirt.

Gladding set splits of :24 1/5 and :47 4/5 while pressed by Kate's Main Man

on the backstretch. After Kate's Main Man began backing up, Friesan

Fire moved up to take over pressing duties as Gladding flew through

six furlongs in 1:11 3/5. All the while, Thiskyhasnolimit was biding his time

stalking Friesan Fire in fourth.

The dark bay was caught five wide rounding the first turn, but settled into

fourth while tracking his rivals before putting in his rally. Once again caught

five wide on the turn, he moved up to challenge Gladding, who battled back down

on the inside. It was nip/tuck for much of the stretch, but Thiskyhasnolimit

finally managed to pull away to claim his first victory since taking the Smarty

Jones S. in early September.

Gladding was easily best of the rest while seven lengths clear of

Dreaminofthewin on the line. It was another neck back to Friesan Fire, with Kate's Main Man 1 3/4 lengths behind in last.

Thiskyhasnolimit now owns four stakes wins, having previously triumphed in

last year's Matt Winn S. and the 2009 Grade 3 Iroquois. The four-year-old also

boasts four graded placings, including a half-length second in the Grade 3 Razorback prior to this one. He's accumulated $706,532 in lifetime earnings and

improved his career mark to 16-5-4-1.

Bred in Kentucky by Stud TNT, Thiskyhasnolimit brought $120,000 as a

Keeneland September yearling. He is out of the Deputy Minister mare Lovely

Regina, who has also produced a juvenile filly named Satyana and an unnamed yearling colt by Smart Strike.

Lovely Regina is herself a daughter of Grade 1 victress Cara Rafaela, who was named 2006 Broodmare of the Year following the exploits of

her son and eventual leading sire Bernardini. That colt was honored

with an Eclipse as champion three-year-old for taking the Grade 1 Preakness,

Grade 1 Travers, Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup, Grade 2 Jim Dandy and Grade 3 Withers, with a second in the

Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Classic thrown in the mix. Lovely

Regina and Bernardini also count as a half-sibling Ile de France,

who was third in the 2002 Grade 1 Santa Anita Oaks.

Others of note in this family include three sires, multiple highweight and

Group 1 king Muhtathir, Grade 2 victor Hook and Ladder

and dual Grade 3 winner Abaginone.