Alive in the Spirit a Colt filled with the Holy Spirit!
The Pennsylvania-bred colt has already outrun most of his immediate family in terms of class and distance. The 650,000 purchase by Bernard Schiappa and M. Petersen at 2015 Fasig-Tipton Florida sale of 2-year-olds in training.
Mor Spirit is out of the Dixie Union mare Im a Dixie Girl. She is the dam of five winners from six starters. Mor Spirit is her only stakes horse, and the average winning distance of her other four winners is 6.4 furlongs. Her only other winner beyond a mile is Sheikinator, by Curlin. Sure enough, Mor Spirit is out of Im A Dixie Girl, a precocious daughter of a precocious stallion. Im A Dixie Girl was a sprint stakes winner in August and September of her juvenile season, which also saw her finish second in the GIII Astarita S. Although her sire Dixie Union was by no means a one-dimensional 2-year-old, he won four of his six starts at that age.
It is well worth pointing out that Dixie Union’s broodmare daughters are having a very rewarding time with their 2015 2-year-olds, with their stakes winners also featuring the very promising GII Remsen S. winner Mohaymen and the fast British Group 2 winner Besharah. Im a Dixie Girl, out of the stakes-winning Allen’s Prospect mare Im Out First, is a half-sister to stakes winner First Ascent.
Im Out First is a half-sister to Evening Star, the dam of last year’s champion 3-year-old filly, Stellar Wind. Im Out First is also a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Zenith, the dam of Grade 1-winning juvenile Great Hunter, who also won the Grade 2 Robert B. Lewis.This is also the family of Curlin’s daughter Stellar Wind, winner of the GI Santa Anita Oaks and second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff.
His first two dams were sired by those Triple Crown stalwarts Seattle Slew and Alydar. Also, his third dam Stellar Odyssey had Kentucky Derby winners as her sire and half-brother, as she was by the 1964 winner Northern Dancer out of Queen Sucree, dam of the 1974 winner Cannonade. Stellar Odyssey was also a half-sister to Kennelot, dam of the 1985 Kentucky Derby runner-up Stephan’s Odyssey. With so much potential stamina in his pedigree, Eskendereya was likely to benefit from some speed in his mates.
Mor Spirit’s second dam, the Virginia-bred Im Out First, packed 10 starts into her first season, but proved durable, gaining her four stakes victories at the ages of four and five. She was very effective over 1 1/16 miles, so Mor Spirit has a fair chance of staying a mile and a quarter.
Mor Spirit’s fifth dam Indian Nurse established a thriving family, thanks mainly to her daughters Native Nurse (dam of the Grade I winners Love Sign and Melodist) and Hill Indian (ancestress of the Grade I winners Star of Cozzene and Matty G.).
Mor Spirit is sired by Eskendereya, Mor Spirit is from the Giant’s Causeway stallion’s second crop. Eskendereya’s only other graded stakes winner is Isabella Sings, the winner of the Grade 2 Mrs. Revere Stakes on turf. As a racehorse this son of Giant’s Causeway appeared to have the 2010 GI Kentucky Derby at his mercy, after he had won all three of his starts earlier in the year. He had been notably impressive in taking the GII Fountain of Youth S. by eight and a half lengths and the GI Wood Memorial by nine and a half. Unfortunately, just a week before the Derby, Eskendereya was found to have a slight filling in his left front leg, from the ankle to the knee.
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