Post by Kenren on Jul 19, 2015 12:15:16 GMT -5
Valkyrie's Sons of Tempered Passion
It cannot be disputed that sons of Tempered Passion seem to find their niche at Valkyrie Stables, especially in their three-year-old year.
It is an undisputed fact that Mourning Passion was an absolute gem his classic season, the most versatile horse of his age. The colt out of Requiem did his dam proud that year, winning a whopping ten races, including a leg of the Triple Crown in the Kentucky Derby (10f) and a leg of the Triple Sprinter Crown in the Speedway Stakes (7f). And all of this occurred despite owner changes for the summer, truly showing the resilience of his bloodline. Now, in Y15, Mourning Passion has found finding the winner's circle a bit more difficult - however, that's not surprising given that he has been running against top-notch competition throughout. With appearances in both the Summer and Autumn Dawn Treader Cups, as well eight other strong HOTY fields, Mourning Passion has been thrown in with the best and is holding his own. Trainer Cole Mavecci comments "It hasn't been easy seeing him struggle sometimes against horses and fields that he would have crushed last year. But he's an incredibly resilient and driven animal, and I don't see him staying second-best too much longer." Mourning Passion's last win was March Wk 3, when he won the Metropolitan Handicap*.
Moving on to this year's three-year-old crop, Valkyrie is seeing something very reminiscent happening in their other son of Tempered Passion, Passionate God. While the year started off rocky for the temperamental colt, it appears all he needed was a switch in surfaces to bring out his incredible talent. Since switching to dirt the first week of April, Passionate God has won six of seven races and hasn't finished worse than second. In doing so he has made a rapid climb to grade three status, joining stablemates Baciami, Phantasm Frost, and Spitterfly in that ranking. While he hasn't seen the HOTY fields that Mourning Passion did due to his surface mix-up, the colt has won more than he's lost this year and his trainer says "a black type race sometime soon isn't out of the question."
So, whatever his other foals might be doing, it is apparent that Tempered Passion blood and Valkyrie training hit some sort of sweet spot and it's sure to continue to impress as the year unfolds.
