Stardom Bound (foaled in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

on April 9, 2006) is an American

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. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic ...

who won the 2008 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and the Eclipse Award for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly. Stardom Bound was sired by

Tapit Tapit (foaled February 27, 2001, in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won three of his six races, including the Wood Memorial Stakes, then a Grade I event. He was an immediate success after retiring to stud, becoming the leadin ...

(winner of the 2004

Wood Memorial Stakes The Wood Memorial Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held annually in April at Aqueduct Racetrack in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. It is run over a distance of 1 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) on dirt. The Wood Memorial ...

), a son of

Pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

by A.P. Indy by

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who became the tenth winner of the American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only two horses to have won the Triple Crown while being undefeated in ...

. She was from Tapit's first crop and helped propel him to the top of the 2008 Freshmen Sire List. Stardom Bound is out of My White Corvette, who won three of eleven starts. Stardom Bound was My White Corvette's first stakes winner. She was purchased by Charles Cono in March 2008 at the

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home t ...

Breeders' Sale's auction of 2-year-olds in training for $375,000. Due mainly to health issues (her original trainer, 52-year-old Christopher Paasch, beat a rare form of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

), Cono, then age 84, sold her in the November 2008

Fasig-Tipton The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an American auction house for Thoroughbred and Standardbred horses. Founded in 1898, it is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America. The company has offices in Lexington, Kentucky, Elkton, Maryla ...

Kentucky Selected Mix Sale. She was purchased for $5.7 million by IEAH Stables, headed by Michael Iavarone and Richard Schiavo. Her trainer became

Bobby Frankel Robert Julian Frankel (July 9, 1941 – November 16, 2009) was an American thoroughbred race horse trainer whom ESPN called "one of the most successful and respected trainers in the history of thoroughbred racing."Privman, Jay"Robert Frankel Dies ...

. In March 2009 as part of a deal for the three-year-old colt, I Want Revenge, David Lanzman, the colt's owner, received a twenty-five percent interest in Stardom Bound. In 2010, she was sold for an undisclosed price to Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm.

2008 racing season

In her brilliant 2-year-old season, Stardom Bound was compared to

Zenyatta Zenyatta (foaled April 1, 2004) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Breeders' Cup Classic and Breeders' Cup Distaff and 19 of her 20 starts. She was the 2010 American Horse of the Year, and Champion Older Female in 2 ...

; those around her called her "Baby Z" or "Zenyatta Junior". Usually breaking badly (once "in the air" and twice slowly), she ran from off the pace, yet had a great turn of foot that propelled her to the lead. She first attracted attention when winning the 2008 Del Mar Debutante on September 1, 2008. She had raced twice before but difficulties at the gate had hampered her chances each time. In the Debutante, Stardom Bound overcame yet another bad start by unleashing a "monstrous move" while racing seven wide. She would go on to win by over four lengths. Her next start was on September 27 in the

Oak Leaf Stakes The Chandelier Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually at the end of September at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California. It is restricted to two-year-old fillies. The Grade II race is contested at a distance of one and one-si ...

. Racing eight wide around the turn, she rallied from last place to win by lengths. This earned her an automatic berth in the

Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies The Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies is a -mile thoroughbred horse race on dirt (although the distance has varied, depending on the configuration of the host track) for two-year-old fillies run annually since 1984 at a different racetrack in the Uni ...

on October 24, where she went off as the favorite. She unleashed her run on the turn and won by lengths. Stardom Bound won the

Eclipse Award The Eclipse Award is an American Thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th-century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. An Eclipse Award Trophy is presented to the winner in each division that is made by a few small selected America ...

American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971. The award originated in 1936 when both ...

for 2008. Her jockey in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies,

Mike E. Smith Michael Earl Smith (born August 10, 1965) is an American jockey who has been one of the leading riders in U.S. Thoroughbred racing since the early 1990s, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 2003, and has won the m ...

, was asked how special Stardom Bound could be next year as a 3-year-old. He replied, "She's got a shot with the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gain ...

horses to tell you the truth."

2009 racing season

Stardom Bound started her three-year-old in the Las Virgenes Stakes at Santa Anita. She started well but found herself trapped on the rail. Finally finding a gap, she got clear to win by a length. In her next start in the Santa Anita Oaks, Stardom Bound again won, but this time by only a nose. Jockey Mike Smith said, "When I moved out with her turning for home, everybody else went out at the same time and we got caught really wide. From the sixteenth pole home, I thought we could grind ‘em down, but I was worried." It was her fifth consecutive grade 1 win and her last. On April 4, she raced outside of California for the first time in the

Ashland Stakes The Ashland Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in early April at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. It and the Ashland Oaks, the Kentucky Association racetrack's predecessor race, were named fo ...

Keeneland Keeneland Association, Inc. is an equine business based in Lexington, Kentucky. It includes two distinct divisions: the Keeneland Race Course, a Thoroughbred racing facility, and Keeneland Sales, a horse auction complex. It is also known for i ...

, a major prep for the

Kentucky Oaks The Kentucky Oaks is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies staged annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The race currently covers at Churchill Downs; the horses carry . The Kentucky Oaks is held on the Friday ...

. Longshot Hooh Why set a slow pace and Stardom Bound was unable to make up enough ground, finishing third. She was later withdrawn from the Kentucky Oaks. "She just dulled out; she hasn't trained forwardly at all since the Ashland", IEAH Co-President Michael Iavarone told Daily Racing Form. "It seems like we're at the point where she just needs a freshening. She was going to breeze unday but xercise riderMichelle

evin Evin is a neighbourhood in the north of Tehran. The district consists of an old section, filled with orchards and gardens of old houses, and a new section, with high rises and skyscrapers. It is adjacent to Shahid Beheshti University Shahid ...

told me she'd be afraid to breeze the filly." She finally returned to racing in November in the Gazelle Stakes at Aqueduct, but finished fifth.

Retirement

Stardom Bound was retired after failing to win in three starts in 2010 at age four. She was bred to Big Brown in 2010, and was sold while in foal for an undisclosed price to Northern Farm in Japan. The resulting colt was named Seaside Bound. She was bred to King Kamehameha in 2011, producing a colt named King Kanunu in 2012. She was then bred to Deep Impact, producing a filly named April Mist in 2014.

Race record

References

{{Reflist

External links

Stardom Bound's pedigree and stats
2006 racehorse births Thoroughbred family 3-c Racehorses bred in Kentucky Racehorses trained in the United States Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winners Eclipse Award winners