On Arlington Million day, Crestwood third crop stallion Get Stormy, who stands for a bargain $6500, had his first grade one winner when Got Stormy beat the boys in the Grade One Fourstardave H. on turf at Saratoga. While the racing world had eyes on Chicago, Got Stormy set a new course record of 1:32 flat, decimating the previous record by nearly a second, and putting her sire on the map.

Get Stormy was a serious race horse, who raced from two to six, earning over a million and a half dollars, starting 31 times, but he didn’t reach his peak until age five (though he did win the Fourstar- dave H. himself, at four, like his brilliant daughter, though it was only designated a Grade Two at the time). That’s when his Grade One status was affirmed, through wins in the Turf Classic S. and the Maker’s Mark Mile S., while finishing second in the Shadwell Turf Mile to Champion Turf Horse Gio Ponti and third in the Gulfstream Park Turf H. At six, he won the latter Grade One race, and finished second in the Fourstardave H.-G2 to the great Wise Dan.

A son of Stormy Atlantic, Get Stormy’s pedigree doesn’t attract immediate attention, as he was the only black type offspring of his dam, Foolish Gal, by Foolish Pleasure, and his next two dams are nearly devoid of black type. His fourth dam though, the Apalachee mare Amerigo’s Fancy, was a stakes winner and producer of much black type herself, and through her daughters, and one can assume that Get Stormy’s ability is inherited from her.

One look at Got Stormy’s pedigree reveals that she got her turf ability from dad, but her relentless speed from her dam, Super Phoebe, by Malabar Gold, an unheralded son of Unbridled who is closely related to Unbridled’s Song (and Storm Cat and his sons make race horses when bred to daughters of Unbridled’s Song). So she gets her brilliance through Fappiano/In Reality and Known Fact/In Reality, and the Tsunami Slew in her broodmare sire harkens to the Seattle Slew in Stormy Atlantic’s pedigree, through his great dam, Hail Atlantis (making this inbreeding on the zigzag). Though she is tail-female Tiy, through her best daughter Ahpo Hel, by Mr. Leader, this is mostly a case of lesser individuals combining perfectly to create this wonderful race mare. Inbreeding to Northern Dancer should also be noted, through Storm Bird, Far North and Vice Regent.

The Fourstardave H.-G1T was a “win and you’re in” race, so we will get to see Got Stormy racing against the boys yet again in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Mile. If she can pull off another performance like this one, expect Get Stormy, who stands at Crestwood Farm in the Bluegrass, to have a deserved raise in stud fee for 2020.

-- Roberta Smoodin