Sky Beauty
Encyclopedia
Sky Beauty was a thoroughbred
horse who won the 1993 Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing
. As of 2009, she was the last filly
to win this title.
yearling sale from her breeders, Howard and Susan Kaskel of Sugar Maple Farm. The acquisition served as a sort of homecoming because Hofmann and her late husband, Philip, had bred Sky Beauty's dam, Maplejinsky (by Nijinsky II
). Maplejinsky was sold to the Kaskels for $750,000 and was then trained by Philip G. Johnson. She scored her biggest win in the 1988 Alabama Stakes
for Susan Kaskel. When she was bred to Blushing Groom
(a French
stallion
by Red God out of Runaway Bride), Maplejinsky produced Sky Beauty. The Hofmanns, who bought the daughter of the filly they had sold to the Kaskels, also bred and raced Maplejinsky's dam, homebred Gold Beauty, the 1982 winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Sprint Horse
.
. As a 2-year-old, she won the Grade I
Matron Stakes
and the Grade II Adirondack Stakes
. She finished first in the Grade I Spinaway Stakes
, but was disqualified and placed third. In 1993-94, the filly dominated the New York distaff scene as a 3- and 4-year-old. She won 10 graded stakes races, eight of which were Grade I events. She took the three Grade I races that made up the former Triple Tiara—the Acorn Stakes
and Mother Goose Stakes
and the Coaching Club American Oaks
. Additionally, she won the Grade I Alabama Stakes and the Grade II Rare Perfume Stakes. Sky Beauty seemed destined for a 3-year-old championship, but lost out to Hollywood Wildcat after that filly won the Breeders' Cup Distaff
at Santa Anita Racetrack.
Sky Beauty's 4-year-old season proved equally spectacular. She won the Go For Wand Handicap
, the Ruffian Handicap
, the Shuvee Handicap
, and Hempstead Handicap
(all Grade I races) plus the Grade III Vagrancy Handicap
. She failed to live up to expectations in the Breeders' Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs
, running unplaced, but accomplished enough to be voted the 1994 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Female Horse
.
At five, she again won the Vagrancy, and placed in the Shuvee.
) for $2,850,000 to John Magnier
of Coolmore Stud
at the 1999 Keeneland November breeding stock sale
.
Sky Beauty produced five named foals, three of which were winners. Her two youngest offspring, a yearling and a weanling, are unnamed colts by Storm Cat
. Three of Sky Beauty's offspring fetched high prices: two yearlings selling for $1.2 million and $500,000, and a weanling for $800,000.
Sky Beauty was euthanized at age fourteen on July 2 at Creekview Farm near Paris, Kentucky
due to complications from laminitis
. She initially suffered from founder after delivering her seventh foal (a colt by leading sire Storm Cat
) on May 28. Dermot Ryan, manager at Coolmore's Ashford Stud
near Versailles, Kentucky
, confirmed Sky Beauty's death on July 2, 2004.
Several times, Sky Beauty was nominated to the Racing Hall of Fame
, including in the year of her death. She was elected in 2011.
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...
horse who won the 1993 Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing
Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, formerly known as the Filly Triple Crown, is a set of three horse races in the United States which is open to three year old fillies...
. As of 2009, she was the last 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....
to win this title.
Background
Georgia E. Hofmann, who owned Wycombe House Stud, bought Sky Beauty for $355,000 at the 1991 SaratogaSaratoga 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...
yearling sale from her breeders, Howard and Susan Kaskel of Sugar Maple Farm. The acquisition served as a sort of homecoming because Hofmann and her late husband, Philip, had bred Sky Beauty's dam, Maplejinsky (by Nijinsky II
Nijinsky II
The racehorse Nijinsky was one of the greatest horses in Thoroughbred horse-racing history. He won the U.K. Triple Crown of racing. Retired to stud he became the Leading sire in Great Britain & Ireland and the Leading broodmare sire in North America.He was bred at E. P...
). Maplejinsky was sold to the Kaskels for $750,000 and was then trained by Philip G. Johnson. She scored her biggest win in the 1988 Alabama Stakes
Alabama Stakes
The Alabama Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race open to three-year-old fillies. Inaugurated in 1872, the Grade I race is run over a distance of one and one-quarter miles on the dirt track at Saratoga Race Course. Held in mid August, it currently offers a purse of $500,000...
for Susan Kaskel. When she was bred to Blushing Groom
Blushing Groom
Blushing Groom was a French Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by American businessman John McNamee Sullivan and was raced by HH Aga Khan IV. A descendant of Nearco, Blushing Groom was sired by Red God and out of the mare Runaway Bride....
(a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
stallion
Stallion (horse)
A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded .Stallions will follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" neck, as well as a somewhat more muscular physique as compared to...
by Red God out of Runaway Bride), Maplejinsky produced Sky Beauty. The Hofmanns, who bought the daughter of the filly they had sold to the Kaskels, also bred and raced Maplejinsky's dam, homebred Gold Beauty, the 1982 winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Sprint Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Sprint Horse
The American Champion Sprint Horse award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. Created in 1947, in 1971 it became part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually to the top horse in sprint races usually run at a distance of under one mile)....
.
Triple Tiara
Now owned by the breeders of her dam and her grand-dam, Sky Beauty was trained by the "Giant Killer," H. Allen JerkensH. Allen Jerkens
Harry Allen Jerkens is an American Thoroughbred race horse Hall of Fame trainer.Jerkens' father owned a riding academy on Long Island that led to his interest in horse racing and in 1950 he trained his first winner. Sometimes called the "Giant Killer", he is best known for his upsets...
. As a 2-year-old, she won the 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...
Matron Stakes
Matron Stakes (USA)
The Matron Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race once held annually during the second week of September at Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island, New York, but is now a Spring/Summer event along with the Futurity Stakes. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is contested on dirt at a distance at...
and the Grade II Adirondack Stakes
Adirondack Stakes
The Adirondack Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race first run in 1901. Held in the middle of August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York, the Adirondack Stakes is open to two-year-old fillies willing to race six and a half furlongs on the dirt...
. She finished first in the Grade I Spinaway Stakes
Spinaway Stakes
The Spinaway Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old fillies, it is a Grade I event contested at a distance of seven furlongs on dirt...
, but was disqualified and placed third. In 1993-94, the filly dominated the New York distaff scene as a 3- and 4-year-old. She won 10 graded stakes races, eight of which were Grade I events. She took the three Grade I races that made up the former Triple Tiara—the Acorn Stakes
Acorn Stakes
The Acorn Stakes is an American Grade I race at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies. It is raced on dirt over a distance of one mile with a current purse of $250,000. It is the first leg of the US Triple Tiara and is followed by the Coaching Club American Oaks...
and Mother Goose Stakes
Mother Goose Stakes
The Mother Goose Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old fillies held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Raced on dirt, the Grade I race offers a purse of $250,000. Inaugurated in 1957 at a mile and a sixteenth, it was lengthened to a mile and an eighth in 1959...
and the Coaching Club American Oaks
Coaching Club American Oaks
The Coaching Club American Oaks is a race for thoroughbred three-year old fillies and the second leg of the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing. Originally run at Belmont Park, the Grade I $250,000 stakes race was moved to Saratoga Race Course in 2010....
. Additionally, she won the Grade I Alabama Stakes and the Grade II Rare Perfume Stakes. Sky Beauty seemed destined for a 3-year-old championship, but lost out to Hollywood Wildcat after that filly won the 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 Santa Anita Racetrack.
Sky Beauty's 4-year-old season proved equally spectacular. She won 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...
, the Ruffian Handicap
Ruffian Handicap
The Ruffian Handicap is an American thoroughbred horse race for fillies and mares ages three-years-old and up run annually on the first Sunday in August at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York; until 2009 it had been run at the beginning of September at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York...
, the Shuvee Handicap
Shuvee Handicap
The Shuvee Handicap is an American race Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Run in mid May, it is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, who are willing to race one mile on the dirt. A Grade II event, it offers a purse of $150,000...
, and Hempstead 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...
(all Grade I races) plus the Grade III Vagrancy Handicap
Vagrancy Handicap
The Vagrancy Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of May/early June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The event is open to fillies and mares, age three and older...
. She failed to live up to expectations in the Breeders' Cup Distaff 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...
, running unplaced, but accomplished enough to be voted the 1994 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Female Horse
Eclipse Award for Outstanding Older Female Horse
The Eclipse Award for Champion Older Female Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor. The Daily Racing Form began naming an annual champion in 1936. Starting in 1950, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations began naming its own champion. The following list provides the name of the horses...
.
At five, she again won the Vagrancy, and placed in the Shuvee.
As a broodmare
Sky Beauty was retired in 1995 with a record of 15 wins and earnings of $1,336,000. She produced her first three foals for Georgia Hofmann. Then, through Taylor Made Farms, she was sold (in foal to Gone WestGone West (horse)
Gone West is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred by Dr. William O. Reed, Gone West was a son of the very influential sire, Mr. Prospector, his dam, Secrettame, was a daughter of the legendary 1973 U.S...
) for $2,850,000 to John Magnier
John Magnier
John Magnier is Ireland's leading thoroughbred stud owner and has extensive business interests outside of the horse breeding industry....
of Coolmore Stud
Coolmore Stud
Coolmore Stud, in Fethard, South Tipperary in Ireland, is the world's largest breeding operation of thoroughbred racehorses. It was established in 1975....
at the 1999 Keeneland November breeding stock sale
Keeneland Sales
The Keeneland Sales is an American Thoroughbred auction house in Lexington, Kentucky founded in 1935 as a nonprofit racing/auction entity on 147 acres of farmland west of Lexington, which had been owned by Jack O. Keene...
.
Sky Beauty produced five named foals, three of which were winners. Her two youngest offspring, a yearling and a weanling, are unnamed colts by Storm Cat
Storm Cat
Storm Cat was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in the world. As such, he was one of the few horses with a 24-hour armed guard....
. Three of Sky Beauty's offspring fetched high prices: two yearlings selling for $1.2 million and $500,000, and a weanling for $800,000.
Sky Beauty was euthanized at age fourteen on July 2 at Creekview Farm near Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
due to complications from laminitis
Laminitis
Laminitis is a disease that affects the feet of ungulates. It is best known in horses and cattle. Symptoms include lameness, and increased temperature in the hooves...
. She initially suffered from founder after delivering her seventh foal (a colt by leading sire Storm Cat
Storm Cat
Storm Cat was an American Thoroughbred stallion whose breeding fee during the peak of his stud career was $500,000, the highest in the world. As such, he was one of the few horses with a 24-hour armed guard....
) on May 28. Dermot Ryan, manager at Coolmore's Ashford Stud
Ashford Stud
Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky is the American arm of the international commercial Thoroughbred horse breeding operation Coolmore Stud of County Tipperary in the Republic of Ireland.Twelve stallions will stand at Ashford Stud in 2011....
near Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
, confirmed Sky Beauty's death on July 2, 2004.
Several times, Sky Beauty was nominated to the Racing Hall of Fame
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
, including in the year of her death. She was elected in 2011.