Notes - Nov 12

- Film Maker goes off to her rendezvous with Storm Cat having won over $2 million in purses, and a record of 27-8-8-7 - note that's 23 out of 27 races in the money. And her last 20 races were graded stakes. She won a Grade 1, the Queen Elizabeth Cup at Keeneland in 2003, defeating Sheikh Maktoum's French filly Maiden Tower by a nose. She was never quite able to get another Grade 1 in seven subsequent tries, finishing second three times, third twice, and 4th twice.

- Arbuckle Bandit is another former claimer turned stakes winner; and a cheap one at that. Saturday's Commonwealth Turf winner had been claimed early this year by trainer Michael Stidham out of a $20,000 non-winners of two lifetime race. After two improved tries against better on the dirt, he was switched to the grass. He has two allowance wins, two close thirds in Grade 3's, and now an non-graded stakes win in five grass tries. This is a $3500 yearling by Service Stripe, a son of Deputy Minister who stands for $5000 at Crestwood Farm in Kentucky. Since a service stripe is a decoration of the United States military which is presented to enlisted members of the U.S. Military to denote length of service [Wikipedia], I suppose that some hunch players could have had his son on Veterans Day. (Another of his progeny, Tally Up, ran third in the High Alexander Stakes at Hawthorne on the same day.)