|
|
|
A hard-knocking, versatile racemare who won 8 races and earned $191,027, Justgimmeakiss will meet a similarly tough, “blue collar” type in the breeding shed this spring, as we have chosen the Pennsylvania stalwart Weigelia as her first Housatonic Recommended Mating.
Whereas Justgimmeakiss finished in the top three in 29 of her 70 starts from 2YO through 8YO, Weigelia won 13 of 48 starts from 2YO through 7YO, including the Grade 3 Kenny Noe Jr. Handicap and the Grade 3 Carry Back Stakes plus an additional half-dozen dirt stakes races — not to mention setting new course records on the turf at both Belmont and Monmouth — and he placed in 20 more races. Justgimmeakiss was also a dual surface winner, so their foal will have every right to be hardy and versatile.
At stud, despite being the only stakes winner by a stallion who never achieved black-type, Weigelia has sired 7 stakes winners, and his starters have earned an average of more than $84,000. His 1.46 AEI compared to a 1.03 CI demonstrates that he is moving his mares way up, which makes him a perfect first choice for a young mare to get her off to a strong start to her producing career, and to get a handle on her ability as a producer.
Weigelia will also be a good fit for Justgimmeakiss on pedigree. He has sired 4 runners out of mares by sons of A.P. Indy like Justgimmeakiss’s sire Congrats, and three of those have won a race — one of them being the stakes winner Brenda’s Way. Meanwhile, Justgimmeakiss is a half-sister to the stakes-placed winner of $134k Counterparty by Exchange Rate, a son of Danzig, while Weigelia is by a son of Danzig — so the cross has worked from both sides.
Physically, Justgimmeakiss is a big, pretty, well-made mare with plenty of leg and length, which should suit the more wiry and compact Weigelia well, and hopefully produce a nice, solid first foal.
Weigelia wins the G3 Kenny Noe Jr. Handicap
Weigelia sets a new course record on Belmont’s turf
Weigelia wins the Jack Dudley Sprint Stakes
Weigelia wins the Ponche Handicap