Day Dreaming about In Excess
As Always Dreaming powered his way home in the Kentucky Derby, my thoughts drifted back to the Whitney Handicap of 1991.
The winner of that Whitney was In Excess, a glistening bay colt like Always Dreaming.
And like the Derby winner, when In Excess took control of a race he kept it.
In Excess is the sire of Above Perfection, the mother of Always Dreaming.
Above Perfection is also the mother of Hot Dixie Chick, winner of the Spinaway Stakes at Saratoga in 2009.
It is mostly forgotten now, but when In Excess arrived at Saratoga that summer for the Whitney, he was the leading older horse in the United States, with Horse of the Year squarely in
his sights. In his previous two starts he had rolled to victory in a pair of New York’s most prestigious events, the Grade 1 Metropolitan and Grade 1 Suburban handicaps.
Finishing ninth in the Metropolitan, eleven lengths behind In Excess, was Black Tie Affair.
Favored at odds- on in the Whitney, In Excess cruised home by more than three lengths, accompanied by applause from those on hand at the Spa.
When he took down the Woodward at Belmont Park that fall, In Excess had won four coveted New York Grade 1 handicaps in succession, and was the leading can-
didate for Horse of the Year.
However, his connections chose the Breeders’ Cup Mile on turf for his final start and it backfired, with In Excess finishing ninth to Opening Verse.
Black Tie Affair, meanwhile, started a six-race win streak after his loss in the Metropolitan that ended with a win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Black Tie Affair earned Eclipse Awards as Horse of the Year and champion older male for 1991, while In Excess came up empty.
Still, he was a high class performer, and it was nice to see his genetic contribution to Always Dreaming surface in the Kentucky Derby.
MARYLOU WHITNEY VICTORY
Bird Song, bred and owned by the stable of Ma-
rylou Whitney and John Hendrickson, was an impressive winner of the $400,000 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day.
The consistent son of leading sire Unbridled’s Song, who won an allowance at Saratoga last summer, defeated a quality field in the Grade 2 race at 1 1/16 miles.
Among those in the Alysheba were multiple stakes winners International Star, Noble Bird and American Freedom.
Bird Song is out of Bird Town, a daughter of Cape Town who won the Kentucky Oaks for Marylou and John in 2003.
This female family is providing a 21st century reminder of the depth of Whitney blood when it comes to thoroughbred racing.
Bird Town is an older
half-sister to Birdstone, the winner of the Belmont and Travers in 2004 and himself a popular sire of classic winners Summer Bird and Mine That Bird.
Bird Town’s mother is Dear Birdie, whose own mother Hush Dear won the Long Island Handicap at 1 ½ miles on turf in 1982 and 1983.
Hush Dear also won the Diana Handicap in the same years at Saratoga, and defeated males in the Tidal Handicap in 1983.
I have a feeling that Marylou and John are permitting themselves to think about the Whitney Handicap with Bird Song at Saratoga this coming summer.