Ginger Punch
Encyclopedia
Ginger Punch is an American
Thoroughbred
filly
racehorse
. Owned and bred by operations belonging to automotive parts magnate, Frank Stronach
, she is out of the mare Nappelon and sired by the Canadian
-bred Awesome Again
, winner of his country's 1997 Queen's Plate
and the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic
and who, as a sire, has produced four Breeders' Cup
winners including the 2004 World Champion
, Ghostzapper
.
Trained by Bobby Frankel, Ginger Punch raced in Kentucky
in May 2006 at Churchill Downs
where she won her first race. She did not win again until October when she captured an allowance race at Keeneland Race Course.
surface at Keeneland Race Course and finished second to Ventura, the winner of the 2008 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
race under jockey Rafael Bejarano. In May she won an allowance race at Churchill Downs then on June 16 at Belmont Park
in New York
she had difficult positioning under jockey David Flores
but when she finally got clear made a strong late charge to finish second by a neck in the 1 1/16-mile Ogden Phipps Handicap
.
On July 8, 2007, under regular jockey Rafael Bejarano, Ginger Punch earned the first stakes
victory of her career when she won the 7 furlong First Flight Handicap
at Belmont Park by five lengths. Three weeks later at Saratoga Race Course
she got her first Grade I win, capturing the much longer (9 furlongs) Go For Wand Handicap
by again pulling away from the field at the top of the stretch and winning by six lengths. On September 30 in the Beldame Stakes
, Ginger Punch was sent off as the betting
favorite. As in the past, she made a strong move at the top of the stretch but was unable to hold on and finished third.
For the annual Breeders' Cup
, owner Frank Stronach usually nominates twenty to thirty percent of his large stable of foals but Ginger Puch had not been one of them. Despite her disturbing loss in the Beldame Stakes, trainer Bobby Frankel convinced Stronach to pay the $180,000 supplemental fee in order for her to run in late October's Breeders' Cup Distaff
at Monmouth Park. The decision to pay the fee so she could compete appeared to be headed for a disastrous result when heavy rains left the Monmouth track in a very muddy condition. Previously, the only time Ginger Punch had ever failed to finish in the top three was on a similarly sloppy track. However, in the race she put on a determined performance to win a muddy stretch duel with Hystericalady
plus held off a late charge from third-place finisher Octave
to capture the $2 Million Breeders' Cup Distaff. By that victory she earned the title of Champion Older Female in the 2007 Eclipse Awards.
. In the Grade I Apple Blossom Handicap
on April 5, she finished third to the undefeated and multiple Grade I winner, Zenyatta
. On June 14, 2008, she took the Grade I Ogden Phipps Handicap
by five or more lengths in a hand ride. On July 26, 2008 she took the Go For Wand Handicap
for the second consecutive time, battling for room to run until the very last moment when she split horses for the lead. On August 22, 2008, she fought Lemon Drop Mom hard to win the Grade I Personal Ensign Handicap
by a head bob. Trainer Frankel decided after the race to point his champion mare to the Grade I Beldame Stakes
and Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic to attempt to become the leading female purse winner in North America. However, on a sloppy track at Belmont Park
on September 27, Ginger Punch finished a neck behind Cocoa Beach
in the $600,000 Beldame Stakes. On October 24, in what might be the champion mare's last start, Ginger Punch was fifth in a strong field of eight Grade I
winners: Zenyatta
, Cocoa Beach, Music Note, Carriage Trail, and Hystericalady
(Carriage Trail and Hystericalady were in a dead heat
for 4th place) in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic.
Ginger Punch was a finalist for the Eclipse Award
's American Champion Older Female Horse for 2008 and retired to broodmare duties in 2009. She will be bred soon, probably to A.P. Indy
. Instead she was in turn bred to Bernardini, and was sold for $1 million while in foal, to Japan where she now resides.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
filly
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Owned and bred by operations belonging to automotive parts magnate, Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach
Frank Stronach, CM is an Austrian-Canadian businessman. He is the founder of Magna International, an international automotive parts company based in Aurora, Ontario, Canada, and Magna Entertainment Corp., which specializes in horse-racing entertainment...
, she is out of the mare Nappelon and sired by the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-bred Awesome Again
Awesome Again
Awesome Again is an Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by Frank Stronach of Newmarket, Ontario, Awesome Again was sired by Deputy Minister and out of the 2000 Broodmare of the Year Primal Force....
, winner of his country's 1997 Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
and the 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic
Breeders' Cup Classic
The Breeders' Cup Classic is a Grade I Weight for Age thoroughbred horse race for 3 year olds and older run at a distance of 1¼ miles on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships...
and who, as a sire, has produced four Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
winners including the 2004 World Champion
World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings
The World Thoroughbred Racehorse Rankings are compiled by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities , an organization established in 2003 with headquarters in Paris, France made up of members from around the world....
, Ghostzapper
Ghostzapper
Foaled in Kentucky on April 6 in the year 2000, the thoroughbred racehorse Ghostzapper won the Breeders' Cup Classic in 2004, outdistancing Roses in May by three lengths in a stakes record of 1:59.02...
.
Trained by Bobby Frankel, Ginger Punch raced in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
in May 2006 at Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs
Churchill Downs, located in Central Avenue in south Louisville, Kentucky, United States, is a Thoroughbred racetrack most famous for hosting the Kentucky Derby annually. It officially opened in 1875, and held the first Kentucky Derby and the first Kentucky Oaks in the same year. Churchill Downs...
where she won her first race. She did not win again until October when she captured an allowance race at Keeneland Race Course.
2007 racing season
Ginger Punch made her 2007 debut in April in the Grade II Madison Stakes on the PolytrackPolytrack
A synthetic racetrack surface is any kind of surface substance that replaces grass, dirt or sand as the racing surface on a horse racing track. Synthetic surfaces may be desirable over traditional surfaces for several reasons, most prominently the reduction of injuries and possible deaths to horses...
surface at Keeneland Race Course and finished second to Ventura, the winner of the 2008 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint
The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint is a 7-furlong Weight for Age stakes race for thoroughbred fillies and mares three years old and up. As its name implies, it is a part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships, the de facto year-end championship for North American thoroughbred racing,...
race under jockey Rafael Bejarano. In May she won an allowance race at Churchill Downs then on June 16 at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
in New York
Elmont, New York
Elmont is an unincorporated census-designated place located in the northwest corner of the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City...
she had difficult positioning under jockey David Flores
David R. Flores
David Romero Flores is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.His father was a jockey and an exercise rider in Southern California....
but when she finally got clear made a strong late charge to finish second by a neck in the 1 1/16-mile Ogden Phipps Handicap
Ogden Phipps Handicap
The Ogden Phipps Handicap is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for run annually in mid June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Contested on dirt at a distance of 11/16 miles , the race is open to fillies and mares, three years of age and up. Inaugurated in 1961 as the Hempstead...
.
On July 8, 2007, under regular jockey Rafael Bejarano, Ginger Punch earned the first stakes
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
victory of her career when she won the 7 furlong First Flight Handicap
First Flight Handicap
The First Flight Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in late June/early July at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. A Grade II event open to fillies and Mares, age three and older, it is contested on dirt over a distance of seven furlongs.The race is named in honor of...
at Belmont Park by five lengths. Three weeks later at Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course
Saratoga Race Course is a Thoroughbred horse racing track in Saratoga Springs, New York, United States. It opened on August 3, 1863, and is the oldest organized sporting venue of any kind in the United States. It is typically open for racing from late July through early September.-History:John...
she got her first Grade I win, capturing the much longer (9 furlongs) Go For Wand Handicap
Go For Wand Handicap
The Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced at the end of July/early August, it is a Grade II race on dirt at a distance of one and one-eighth miles .Inaugurated in 1954 at Belmont Park as the Maskette Stakes in...
by again pulling away from the field at the top of the stretch and winning by six lengths. On September 30 in the Beldame Stakes
Beldame Stakes
The Beldame Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960...
, Ginger Punch was sent off as the betting
Parimutuel betting
Parimutuel betting is a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool; taxes and the "house-take" or "vig" is removed, and payoff odds are calculated by sharing the pool among all winning bets...
favorite. As in the past, she made a strong move at the top of the stretch but was unable to hold on and finished third.
For the annual Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
, owner Frank Stronach usually nominates twenty to thirty percent of his large stable of foals but Ginger Puch had not been one of them. Despite her disturbing loss in the Beldame Stakes, trainer Bobby Frankel convinced Stronach to pay the $180,000 supplemental fee in order for her to run in late October's Breeders' Cup Distaff
Breeders' Cup Distaff
The Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares, 3 years old and up. Known as the Breeders' Cup Distaff from its inception in 1984 through 2007, it is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders'...
at Monmouth Park. The decision to pay the fee so she could compete appeared to be headed for a disastrous result when heavy rains left the Monmouth track in a very muddy condition. Previously, the only time Ginger Punch had ever failed to finish in the top three was on a similarly sloppy track. However, in the race she put on a determined performance to win a muddy stretch duel with Hystericalady
Hystericalady
Hystericalady , is a multiple stakes winning American Thoroughbred race horse. Bred in Kentucky by Abbott Properties, Hystericalady is the best daughter of the leading sire Distorted Humor, a half sister to dual Classic winner Funny Cide, and still racing at five. She’s a daughter of 1991 Chilean...
plus held off a late charge from third-place finisher Octave
Octave (horse)
Octave is an American thoroughbred filly racehorse. She was sired by Unbridled's Song, who in turn was a son of 1990 Kentucky Derby winner Unbridled out of the Dr...
to capture the $2 Million Breeders' Cup Distaff. By that victory she earned the title of Champion Older Female in the 2007 Eclipse Awards.
2008 racing season
Having finished either first or second in 18 of her 22 career starts, Ginger Punch continues to race at age five. She made her debut on January 26, 2008 with a 6 ¾ lengths win in the Sunshine Millions DistaffSunshine Millions Distaff
The Sunshine Millions Distaff is a race for thoroughbred horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida...
. In the Grade I Apple Blossom Handicap
Apple Blossom Handicap
The Apple Blossom Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year in early April during the Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Grade I race is open to Fillies and Mares, four years old and up...
on April 5, she finished third to the undefeated and multiple Grade I winner, Zenyatta
Zenyatta
Zenyatta is a retired American champion Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of 19 consecutive races in a 20-race career and American record-holder for consecutive victories without defeat in unrestricted races....
. On June 14, 2008, she took the Grade I Ogden Phipps Handicap
Ogden Phipps Handicap
The Ogden Phipps Handicap is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for run annually in mid June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Contested on dirt at a distance of 11/16 miles , the race is open to fillies and mares, three years of age and up. Inaugurated in 1961 as the Hempstead...
by five or more lengths in a hand ride. On July 26, 2008 she took the Go For Wand Handicap
Go For Wand Handicap
The Go For Wand Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race established in 1954 for fillies and mares age three and up. Raced at the end of July/early August, it is a Grade II race on dirt at a distance of one and one-eighth miles .Inaugurated in 1954 at Belmont Park as the Maskette Stakes in...
for the second consecutive time, battling for room to run until the very last moment when she split horses for the lead. On August 22, 2008, she fought Lemon Drop Mom hard to win the Grade I Personal Ensign Handicap
Personal Ensign Handicap
The Personal Ensign Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held annually during the third week of August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to fillies and Mares age three and older, it is contested at a distance of one and one-quarter miles on dirt .Since...
by a head bob. Trainer Frankel decided after the race to point his champion mare to the Grade I Beldame Stakes
Beldame Stakes
The Beldame Stakes is an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares three-years-old and up. Inaugurated in 1939, it was run as a handicap prior to 1960...
and Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic to attempt to become the leading female purse winner in North America. However, on a sloppy track at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
on September 27, Ginger Punch finished a neck behind Cocoa Beach
Cocoa Beach (horse)
Cocoa Beach is a notable Chilean bred Thoroughbred racehorse who won races in the United Arab Emirates, Chile and two Grade 1 races in the United States.Cocoa Beach was bred by Haras La Obra and owned by Godolphin Racing.-2008:...
in the $600,000 Beldame Stakes. On October 24, in what might be the champion mare's last start, Ginger Punch was fifth in a strong field of eight Grade I
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
winners: Zenyatta
Zenyatta
Zenyatta is a retired American champion Thoroughbred racehorse, winner of 19 consecutive races in a 20-race career and American record-holder for consecutive victories without defeat in unrestricted races....
, Cocoa Beach, Music Note, Carriage Trail, and Hystericalady
Hystericalady
Hystericalady , is a multiple stakes winning American Thoroughbred race horse. Bred in Kentucky by Abbott Properties, Hystericalady is the best daughter of the leading sire Distorted Humor, a half sister to dual Classic winner Funny Cide, and still racing at five. She’s a daughter of 1991 Chilean...
(Carriage Trail and Hystericalady were in a dead heat
Tie (draw)
To tie or draw is to finish a competition with identical or inconclusive results. The word "tie" is usually used in North America for sports such as American football. "Draw" is usually used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the Commonwealth of Nations and it is usually used for sports such as...
for 4th place) in the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic.
Ginger Punch was a finalist for the Eclipse Award
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
's American Champion Older Female Horse for 2008 and retired to broodmare duties in 2009. She will be bred soon, probably to A.P. Indy
A.P. Indy
A.P. Indy is a champion stallion Thoroughbred racehorse bred in Kentucky, USA, by William Farish III and William Kilroy. He is known for his ancestry, his own record, and his successful progeny. He was sired by Triple Crown winner Seattle Slew through mare Weekend Surprise, who herself was sired...
. Instead she was in turn bred to Bernardini, and was sold for $1 million while in foal, to Japan where she now resides.