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PEDIGREE HANDICAPPING SEPTEMBER 26, 2009 Budding turf sire Eurosilver by Tim Holland Bred and raced by Buckram Oak Farm, Eurosilver began his career on the racetrack with Nick Zito and won the Breeders' Futurity (G2) at Keeneland. After capturing his first start as a three-year-old at Gulfstream, Eurosilver narrowly missed winning the Swale S. (G3), but his Triple Crown aspirations were thwarted by physical problems and the dark bay colt did not reappear until the fall of that year with new trainer Carl Nafzger. Eurosilver's finest performance came in the Stephen Foster H. (G1) when he finished second to that year's Horse of the Year, Saint Liam, with the consistent Grade 1 performer Perfect Drift back in third. However, Eurosilver made just one subsequent start, an unplaced effort in the Whitney H. (G1), before being retired to Dromoland Farm in Kentucky. Although he did not get the opportunity to race on grass, Eurosilver had the potential to succeed as a turf runner. Indeed, sire Unbridled's Song gets turf influences from being out of a mare by Caro (Ire), who has sired major grass winners such as With Approval, Cozzene and Golden Pheasant, and Unbridled's Song is responsible for Grade 1 turf winners Thorn Song and Magnificent Song. However, Eurosilver gets more turf influence from his dam, Russian Tango (Nijinsky II). The Unbridled's Song/ Nijinsky match has produced only four other foals, of which two were minor winners, but the Unbridled/Nijinsky nick has produced the stakes-winning Tap Your Heels and Broken Vow, who counts the 2001 Philip Iselin H. (G2) among his five stakes victories. Like Eurosilver, Broken Vow did not race on grass but, while best known as a sire of dirt runners, he has done well with his performers on the grass, winning at a 12 percent rate, including recent With Anticipation S. (G3) victor Interactif. From his first crop of 123 two-year-olds, Eurosilver has been represented by 37 starters, with seven winners. His first winner was the Herbert Miller-trained Judas, who broke his maiden in his fifth attempt at Calder over 4 1/2 furlongs on July 24. A week later, Sterling Outlook garnered a maiden special weight event at Del Mar. A $270,000 yearling purchase trained by Peter Miller, Sterling Outlook followed this wire-to-wire win with a solid fourth in the Del Mar Futurity (G1). Huasteco and Unclerichpeanuts were Eurosilver's next two scorers, and then came the sire's first turf winner, Shimmering Forest at Ellis Park. After showing promise in his first two starts, including a close third over 5 1/2 grassy furlongs, Shimmering Forest showed speed from the start and went on to win by a length when stretching out to a mile. While Eurosilver's first four winners all needed a few starts to find the winner's circle, Crossfirehurricane bucked this trend when she proved ready to win first time out over 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass at Saratoga on September 3. Despite being trained by Ronny Werner, who is known for his success with first-time starters, the bay filly was sent off at 42-1. Eurosilver's third consecutive winner on the grass came on September 20 when Avy Baby stalked the pace before drawing away to 4 3/4-length decision in a 1 1/16-mile affair at Arlington. Having shown very little in three starts while sprinting on the Polytrack, Avy Baby's form improved significantly when switching to the turf and stretching out in distance. To-date, Eurosilver's runners have three wins from just eight turf starts, and several others, including Grand Strategy and Green Bananas, have shown promise in their debuts on the dirt. Paying attention to his offspring when trying the grass looks like an angle worth following.
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