Havre de Grace (Saint Liam–Easter Bunnette, by Carson City), the 2011 Horse of the Calendar year and Eclipse Award-successful older mare who offered to Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm for $10 million at the 2012 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, passed absent in the early morning hrs of Apr. 30. Wayne Sweezey, who boarded Havre de Grace at his Timber Town Farm, confirmed that the 16-calendar year-outdated mare hemorrhaged multiple instances and died soon after manufacturing a colt by Into Mischief the afternoon of Apr. 28.
“She was just so smart, she fought all the way to the finish, so entire of grace, like her identify suggests,” an emotional Pope explained by way of telephone Sunday afternoon. “She was stoic proper to the finish. I am so grateful that I was in a position to be listed here, it would have been a fantastic offer far more hard if I hadn’t produced it up.”
Bred in Kentucky by Nancy S. Dillman, Havre de Grace was a $380,000 Keeneland September acquire by the late Rick Porter and raced in the shades of Fox Hill Farms, ending out of the top a few just once in her 16 vocation begins. A leading 3-calendar year-old of her era in 2010, Havre de Grace was 2nd to Blind Luck in that year’s GI Alabama S. prior to turning the tables in the GII Fitz Dixon Cotillion S. and ending third in the GI Breeders’ Cup Females Basic. She was an even far better filly at four, taking the GI Apple Blossom H. that April forward of a victory vs . the boys in the GI Woodward S. at Saratoga. A romping winner of the GI Beldame Invitational S., the bay was fourth in the GI Breeders’ Cup Vintage and closed her vocation victoriously in the 2012 New Orleans Women Classic. She bankrolled $2,586,175.
Having been named Horse of the Calendar year at the beginning of 2012, Havre de Grace was generally likely to be the pin-up horse at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, and so it proved, as Pope went to 8 figures for the then 5-year-aged from the Taylor Created draft.
“I will not know what to say,” Pope commented at the time. “She’s wonderful. You search at her and she’s all the things a racehorse really should be, she did anything a racehorse could do and she has a great mindset. She’s the epitome of what we’re all striving to breed. Ideally she’ll move that on to her foals.”
Underbidders were being documented to incorporate Frank Stronach, Besilu Stables’ Ben Leon and Coolmore.
Which includes the Into Mischief colt, Havre de Grace has manufactured 8 foals and 5 winners from as a lot of to the races. Pope’s affinity for Tapit is properly-acknowledged, and five of Havre de Grace’s very first 6 foals are by the Gainesway star. The very best of them is her filly of 2016, Swish Princess, who received the 2021 GIII Molly Pitcher S. and who is also represented by an Into Mischief colt for her first foal this period. People of Havre de Grace’s foals that have been available at public auction have been very well-obtained, as River Entrance (War Front) was bought back on a bid of $1.9 million at KEESEP in 2016, when Great Tutorial (Tapit) was bought for $550,000 at the similar auction two several years later on. The mare is also represented by a 2-year-old Justify colt in addition to her latest foal, who appears to be dealing with the activities of new days in stride.
“The Into Mischief colt is a major horse and seems to be like he inherited her smarts,” she said. “He understood she was in hassle. Right after wanting at her for a few of hrs, he required to lay down so we produced him a mattress of straw correct out wherever she could see him.
“She was this sort of a satisfaction to be all around, she was kind and helpful, but she did not want individuals doting all about her,” Pope ongoing. “I bear in mind looking at her a person day, there was a aircraft overhead and she just cocked her head and variety of took almost everything in, under no circumstances turned a hair.”
There is a good deal of Havre de Grace in her offspring, Pope explained.
“I imagine she handed on her individuality to her offspring and they are all sensible like she is. With any luck , she’ll be in the Corridor of Fame just one day.”
Havre de Grace was between the finalists for induction this August.
“Thanks to every person at Timber Town and the three vets that did everything that they could to help you save her. I want to give exclusive thanks to Dr. Charlie Scroggins and Dr. Laurie Metcalf.”
Sweezey mentioned that they have previously accessed a nurse mare and that the Into Mischief colt has acknowledged her.
Pope verified that Havre de Grace would be cremated, with some of her ashes to be unfold throughout Timber City joining America’s Pleasure (American Pharoah), the fifty percent-sister to Into Mischief, Beholder and Mendelssohn who unfortunately died in the summer months of 2021.
