Pedigree Handicapping

PEDIGREE HANDICAPPING

JANUARY 6, 2007

Maria's Mon

by Tim Holland

When Latent Heat impressively won the competitive Malibu S. (G1) at Santa

Anita on the day after Christmas, it was the icing on the cake of a banner year

for his sire, MARIA'S MON (Wavering Monarch). Indeed, this victory cemented the

stallion's fifth-place position in the Leading Sires list by money won and put

him just a few thousand dollars shy of Pleasant Tap, who held fourth place.

Additionally, this victory further validated Maria's Mon's 2007 stud fee, which

has risen to $60,000.

Bred in Kentucky by Morton Rosenthal, who raced him in partnership with Pin

Oak Stud, Maria's Mon is the leading offspring of the solid sire Wavering

Monarch and is out of a mare by Caro (Ire), who was best known as a turf sire

but is also the broodmare sire of main track Grade 1 winners such as Unbridled's

Song (Unbridled), Red Bullet (Unbridled) and Yankee Victor (Saint Ballado).

Trained throughout his racing career by Richard Schosberg, Maria's Mon made a

big impression in his debut when winning by 10 1/2 lengths at Belmont Park in

July of 1995 at the expense of Louis Quatorze and five others

as the 1.70-1 favorite. For his second start, the gray colt was dispatched at

even shorter odds in the Sanford S. (G3) and he did not disappoint when scoring

by 2 1/4 lengths over a field that included Editor's Note, who

would win the 1996 Belmont S. (G1). Maria's Mon's first attempt at the Grade 1

level came next in the Hopeful S. and on paper he was not disgraced when he

finished third. However, closer inspection reveals that the colt's effort was

much better than bare form suggested when one takes into account that he was

caught up in a speed duel early but still held third place behind Hennessy, who

would go on to finish second in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), and Louis Quatorze, the next year's Preakness S. (G1) winner.

For his fourth career start, in the Futurity S. (G1), different racing

tactics were used by jockey Robbie Davis when he rated Maria's Mon just off the

early pace. At the top of the stretch, he took over before drawing off to win by

2 3/4 lengths while exacting revenge on Louis Quatorze with 1996 Metropolitan H.

(G1) winner, Honour and Glory, back in third. Maria's Mon wrapped up

his champion two-year-old title when winning the Champagne S. (G1) in his next

race, where he came from off the pace to easily defeat a strong field that

included that year's Breeders' Cup Juvenile first and second-place finishers -- Unbridled's

Song and Hennessy -- as well as future Grade 1 winner Gold Fever.

Maria's Mon made just two unsuccessful starts as a three-year-old before

being retired with a record of four wins from seven starts and earnings of

$507,140. He never raced on Lasix and he proved himself superior to a better

than average two-year-old crop. However, when he entered stud in 1997, mostly

due to his unfashionable sire Wavering Monarch, he was not expected to be a

"commercial-type" stallion and his fee was set accordingly at $7,500. By

comparison, his peers Unbridled's Song and Hennessy would both stand for $30,000

in their initial seasons.

It did not take Maria's Mon long to dispel any doubts that there may have

been about his prospects as a sire since his first crop of 72 foals yielded no

fewer than nine stakes winners. The most famous of these, and his leading earner

to date, is the 2001 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner, Monarchos. Purchased for

$170,000, Monarchos was trained by John T. Ward Jr. for owner John Oxley, and

won the Florida Derby (G1) and finished second in the Wood Memorial (G1) prior

to his triumph at Churchill Downs.

Maria's Mon's second, third and fourth crops produced seven stakes winners,

including Canadian Grade 1 winner See How She Runs, who captured the 2002

Fantasy S. (G2). However, his next serious contender for the Triple Crown series

was from his fifth crop of foals in 2002, in the form of High Limit. Trained by

Bobby Frankel, High Limit took the Louisiana Derby (G2) in front-running style,

but disappointed in the Derby itself and for the rest of the year before making

amends in early 2006 as a four-year-old by winning the San Pasqual H. (G2) and

Strub S. (G2). Another top performer from his 2002 crop is Gaff, who most

recently won the off-the-turf Bonapaw S. at the Fair Grounds and who should

enjoy sprinting in 2007.

Going into the 2006 Triple Crown, Maria's Mon appeared to hold a stronger

hand than any stallion with three promising colts -- Strong Contender, Cause to

Believe and Latent Heat. Strong Contender put himself in the picture with an

easy win in a Gulfstream Park allowance, similar to Monarchos' victory five

years earlier for the same connections of Ward and Oxley, and Latent Heat showed

great promise when impressively winning a Santa Anita maiden in late January.

Cause to Believe was more seasoned having raced six times as a juvenile, winning

four, and captured the California Derby in mid-March. Unfortunately, just as

with High Limit 12 months earlier, these three failed to make any impact on the

Triple Crown races.

After finishing a disappointing third in Keeneland's Blue Grass S. (G1),

Strong Contender bypassed the Derby and Preakness and instead ran in the Peter

Pan S. (G2) at Belmont, where he again finished third. This was followed by a

victory in the Dwyer S. (G2) and then Strong Contender once again found two

better, this time in the Haskell Invitational (G1). In his last start of the

year, the chestnut earned his biggest paycheck when taking the Super Derby (G2),

beating Lawyer Ron (Langfuhr) in good style. That victory gives fans a reason to

look forward to an exciting year in 2007 from the chestnut, who is entered in

the Hal's Hope H. (G3) at Gulfstream Park on Saturday.

Latent Heat exited his third-place finish in the Santa Catalina S. (G2) in March

with an injury that put an

end to his Derby dreams, but he did secure four more wins in 2006, ending with

the aforementioned Malibu victory. Like Strong Contender, one can expect a

lot from him this year.

Maria's Mon's leading earner of last season was Wait a While, who was

undoubtedly the nation's best three-year-old filly on the turf for 2006. Having

broken her maiden on the grass as a two-year-old, Wait a While ran on the main

track for her next seven starts, including a third but placed fourth via

disqualification in the Kentucky Oaks (G1). However, she showed her best form

when returning to the turf for the American Oaks Invitational S. (G1), dominating

that field, and later in the year when she beat older fillies and mares in the

Yellow Ribbon S. (G1).

While Maria's Mon has proven his worth as a stallion to the breeders, he is

also one that handicappers should keep an eye out for. As a testament to his

consistency, in 2006 he was represented by 205 horses to race and of these 127,

or nearly 62 percent, won at least one race. That percentage is bettered by only

two other sires, Dance Brightly and Slew City Slew, that figured in the top 50

stallions by 2006 earnings. Additionally, the offspring of Maria's Mon are often

overlooked by the public and return handsomely at the betting windows.

While not known as a sire of two-year-old runners -- he checked in at 56th

place in that category by earnings last year -- Maria's Quest is an example of

why the Maria's Mon's progeny should not be ignored in any situation. Trained by

Sal Gonzalez, who generally wins with 10 percent of his first-time starters, she

made her debut at Hollywood Park in April of last year and the two-year-old miss

led wire-to-wire to win by 2 1/2 lengths, returning $61. A clue as to Maria's

Quest's ability and readiness may have been a sharp four-furlong work in :47 4/5

she had from the gate just a little more than two weeks prior to her debut, which was

the fifth fastest of 52 works at that distance for the day.

Other examples of sons and daughters of Maria's Mon escaping the public

eye last year were the Tim Yakteen-trained three-year-old Yessiremychickadee,

who was dispatched at nearly 30-1 in her debut Santa Anita victory and My

Favorite Tune, who returned $42 when she won in her second start at River Downs.

More seasoned longshot winners for the sire include Pawnee ($54.20 at Santa

Anita) and Jericho Plaza, whose odds were more than 30-1 when he won his second

start in a row at Calder.

Maria's Mon has proven he is an all-around type of sire. His offspring have

proven themselves at the top level sprinting, routing, on the turf and dirt, and

he has also made an excellent start with his runners on artificial surfaces.

With many top prospects to look forward to, breeders and horseplayers should pay attention to Maria's Mon in 2007.