Masteroffoxhounds takes out San Marcos Stakes

Claiborne Farm’s lynchpin stallion War Front (Danzig) sired his 96th stakes winner on Saturday as Masterffoxhounds (4 h ex Outstanding by Galileo) landed the San Marcos Stakes (Gr 2, 10f) at Santa Anita. 

The Richard Baltas-trained colt started his career with Aidan O’Brien in Ireland and was having his third start for Baltas, having added his first win stateside to his CV on his final start as a three-year-old at Del Mar in November. 

The colt kicked off his four-year-old career in perfect style when beating Acclimate (Acclamation) by a length and a quarter, while Starting Over (Liam’s Map) was another length and a half away in third. 

Masterffoxhounds is out of Listed-winning Grade 1-placed Galileo (Sadler’s Wells) mare Outstanding, meaning he is bred on the same cross as ten other stakes winners headed by elite level-winning trio Roly Poly, Fog Of War and US Navy Flag, who covered second book of mares at Valachi Downs in New Zealand in 2020. 

Outstanding herself is a daughter of Group 3-winning mare Absolutelyfabulous (Mozart) and she also produced dual top-flight winner Magician (Galileo) and Group 3 scorer Apple Betty (Galileo). 

Meanwhile, the entire’s fourth dam is Brigid (Irish River) and she produced Ascot Fillies’ Mile (Gr 1, 1m) winner Listen (Sadler’s Wells) and she in turn Japanese Grade 2 winner and Grade 1 winner Touching Speech (Deep Impact) and stakes winner Satono Lux (Deep Impact). 

Brigit is also the dam of Group 1 winner Sequoyah (Sadler’s Wells) - the multiple Group 1 winner Henrythenavigator (Kingmambo) as well as Group 3 scorer Queen Cleopatra (Kingmambo). 

Queen Cleopatra herself is the dam of Francis Of Assisi (Danehill Dancer) - who landed the VRC Queen Elizabeth Stakes (Gr 3, 2600m) and the Bendigo Cup (Gr 3, 2400m) in 2016. 

War Front has sired one stakes winner in Australia in the shape of Homesman, who landed the Underwood Stakes (Gr 1, 1800m) in 2018 and he is standing for a fee of US$150,000.