Paschal & Donegal Moon

Paschal (Curlin out of Storm Cat mare)

This colt doesn't yet have the size of Keen Ice (also by Curlin), but he has the same powerful movement on the racetrack. 

A very smart colt, Paschal is likely to be another to the track on the early side. I expect him to ship out in June and race in August.

When his rider got off Paschal on Saturday he said only two words: "Yeah Baby!" The Storm Cat bloodline should make Paschal precocious. This dirt runner has the gene pool to get classic distances but Storm Cat produces a lot of short distance stakes runners as well.   

We get a lot of mail, email, etc. here at Donegal. There is no way we could pass it all along to you. But we thought this note from Josephine Locklair and her friend Christee (following our trip to Elloree) was very special and wanted you to see it: 
 

"Thank you for allowing Christee and I to share in this amazing, exciting and promising day. We enjoyed so much being a part of it. We are so excited that Paschal is with you, and I believe with all my heart that he will be a great champion for you. He has beat all the odds thus far and he will continue to do so. His dam, Royal Tigress, was a great mare, and I seek to honor her ever chance I get. She was strong and determined. She fought to give her foal life, and the chance to be the great champion that we know he will be. And God watched over him. She carried him to full term and he was born big and strong and he stood up and was walking around within 15 minutes of his birth. He lost his Mom which is so sad, but he gained 3 Moms to try and fill her shoes: his nurse mare who nourished him, and Christee and I who gave him plenty of love. He is very special. He has a special presense about him. And he will have a great story to tell when he becomes a champion. He also has a wonderful connection with the Irish even before he became a part of Donegal: his dam was trained by Aiden O'Brien and raced in Ireland and France; and Dermot Fagan, a true Irishman from the old country, bred and raised him. So, for sure, he is in the right place now, racing for Donegal. It could not be more perfect. Thank you again for a wonderful day, and letting us be a part of it. God's blessings upon Paschal and all you have planned for him. We will be looking forward with great anticipation to the days ahead. Oh, and did I mention that beside having Curlin for his sire, Royal Tigress is a Storm Cat mare out of Warm Mood? But, then, you knew that!!!!!! God bless." 

Donegal Moon (Malibu Moon out of Giant's Causeway mare)

Will he or won't he? Donegal Moon has the genetics, the size, the smoothness, the long stride and looks like a model of what you want a two year old to look like. So far he has been a little one paced on the racetrack and we hope to see him find additional gears in the months ahead. Given the bloodlines, my money says he will find plenty more gears when he gets to stretch out.

If you saw the Moon with his head bowed on Saturday you would think he was ready to go to the races today. I expect him to go in June and run in August. A pure dirt prospect with awesome stamina. 

When I look at the before and after pictures of these two above, I see the same thing: Colts that have gone from looking like carefully prepped and groomed sales prospects to looking more like athletes. More fit and racy looking. All eight of the colts we have shown you this week still have "winter coats" and aren't 

prepped to "look pretty". Yet. But when you see them at the racetrack they will look the part.

Bob Wenokur posed a question yesterday about Paddy O'Prodigy. He asked, "Why do we buy a colt that is a pure turf prospect if we are trying to win the Derby?" A great question. Two answers: Whenever we see a prospect that we think can be financially beneficial for Donegal to own, we will give it serious consideration. That is how we ended up with Puca. Also, Churchill Downs (the best racing surface in America, in my opinion) is always kind to turf runners. We never know when a turf runner will pop up and earn a chance to run in the Derby. Like Paddy O'Prado himself: a turfer who finished third in the Derby. So Bob, there's your answer and thanks for the question.