Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
Confidence Game could be next star for Summer Wind
Summer Wind Farm, the Georgetown, Ky., breeding operation helmed by Jane Lyon, enjoyed a stellar 2022 season with unbeaten Horse of the Year Flightline. The champion, who was bred, raised, and co-owned by Summer Wind, has been retired and began his stud career this month at Lane’s End Farm, with several of Lyon’s top broodmares set to visit him.
Now, the farm is enjoying continued success on the track with a new rising star. Confidence Game, who Summer Wind bred and sold, established himself as a prominent Kentucky Derby candidate with a victory in the Grade 2, $1 million Rebel Stakes on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
“Another Summer Wind-bred big winner!” the farm posted on its social media outlets. “Carrots for the whole barn tonight!”
Lyon, whose operation has turned out champions Flightline and Game Winner and Grade 1 winners including Chasing Yesterday, McKinzie, Moonshine Memories, and Mozu Ascot, has bred two previous Kentucky Derby starters. Mission Impazible was ninth in 2010. Champion juvenile Game Winner crossed the line sixth in 2019 and was moved up to fifth in the official order after the disqualification of Maximum Security.
Like Game Winner, Confidence Game is by perennial leading sire Candy Ride. His dam, Eblouissante, is a winning half-sister to Hall of Fame racemare Zenyatta. Eblouissante, by Bernardini, was sent to Europe for the early part of her breeding career. Lyon traveled to the 2016 Tattersalls December mare sale in pursuit of her, purchasing her for just more than $1.4 million in U.S. funds.
Summer Wind, which consigns most of its yearlings via Lane’s End, sent the young Confidence Game to the Keeneland September yearling sale. There, trainer Keith Desormeaux selected him for Don’t Tell My Wife Stables, purchasing him for just $25,000.
“We salute Keith for his confidence in Confidence Game when others had questions about X-rays,” the farm wrote.
Under Desormeaux’s tutelage, Confidence Game is Eblouissante’s second winner from three starters, and her first stakes horse. The colt’s two wins prior to Saturday both came at Churchill Downs and include a November allowance/ optional-claiming race that has proven a key event, with Grade 3 Holy Bull winner Rocket Can finishing second and Grade 3 Withers winner Hit Show finishing fourth.
Confidence Game finished third in the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes in January at Fair Grounds before winning the Rebel on a sloppy, sealed track.
“I don’t know how many people buy into this, but as far as the pedigree was concerned, as far as propensity for the off track, he had the highest number,” Desormeaux said. “The off track probably helped us.”
Behind Confidence Game, Eblouissante has a 2-year-old More Than Ready colt who was a $375,000 Keeneland September purchase for Belladonna Racing and a yearling Speightstown colt foaled last April. She was bred to Maclean’s Music for this season.
Eblouissante and Zenyatta, the 2010 Horse of the Year, are both out of the winning Kris S. mare Vertigineux, also the dam of multiple Grade 1 winner Balance and stakes winner Where’s Bailey. Eblouissante is the mare’s fourth daughter to produce a stakes winner, as Where’s Bailey produced multiple Grade 2 winner She’s Not Here, Treasure Trail produced Group 3 winner and Grade 1-placed Long Island Sound, and Harley Rose produced stakes winner Belle of the North.
Zenyatta, who resides at Lane’s End, has not yet produced a winner, with two starters. The mare has a 3-yearold in this crop in unraced filly Zilkha, who is by Candy Ride. She has worked several times in California for trainer John Shirreffs, most recently in October. Zenyatta was bred to War Front for 2023.