Nashoba's Key
Encyclopedia
Nashoba's Key was a bay filly
thoroughbred
race horse by Silver Hawk (Roberto
) out of Nashoba (Caerleon
) who went undefeated in her first six starts in the Southern California racing circuit, before placing 4th in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
.
Bred and owned by 79-year-old Warren B. Williamson, and trained by Carla Gaines, Nashoba's Key went from an untested 4-year-old maiden to a Grade I winner in less than 6 months. With her first three starts on turf
with jockey Garrett Gomez aboard, she earned her first big win in the June 03, 2007, Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap
on Hollywood Park Racetrack's new synthetic Cushion Track. Seventeen-year-old jockey Joseph Talamo
was able to drive Nashoba's Key to a surprise victory against the Grade I winners Hystericalady and Balance in this race. A month later, on July 7th, 2007, Talamo was able to rally Nashoba's Key to take her first Grade I victory in the Vanity Handicap
, again defeating Balance and Hystericalady on Hollywood's All Weather Track.
On August 5th, 2007, the filly managed to triumph in the Grade II Clement L. Hirsch Handicap
on Del Mar Racetrack
's new Polytrack
. Nashoba's Key was bumped at the start of the race and was then boxed in on the stretch, but she was able to escape and outkick Balance for another impressive win. Owner-Breeder Warren B. Williamson commented on the race, "I don't know if you'd call it a conspiracy, but it looked like it. They tried everything to beat her and it didn't work. She was gone."
The 4-year-old returned to the turf for the GI Yellow Ribbon Stakes
at Santa Anita Park
's Oak Tree meet on Sept 29th,for a spectacular win against the slimly favored Citronnade. Nashoba's Key stalked the pace-setting Citronnade until the top of the stretch, where the pair dueled and Nashoba's Key was able to pull ahead by 3/4 of a length.
On Oct. 27, 2007, Nashoba's Key ran in the prestigious Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
at Monmouth Park, and received her first defeat. After a good break, the filly was forced to take an inward position along the rail amid a traffic jam of other horses on the rain soaked turf. Jockey Joseph Talamo
said "She was on the worst part of the turf the whole way around there. It was probably 6 inches deep along the rail." Nashoba's Key had gone off as the second favorite, but was unable to rally enough to catch the leaders along the stretch and finished a disappointing 4th, two lengths behind the surprise winner Lahudood. Nonetheless, Nashoba's Key was awarded California Horse of the Year
honors by the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, for the 2007 season.
Nashoba's Key made her 2008 racing debut on January 26th in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf
at Santa Anita Park
. Sent off as the 3-5 favorite with jockey Joseph Talamo
aboard, the 5-year-old mare was unable to catch the leader, Quite a Bride, down the stretch and finished 1 3/4 lengths behind, placing 2nd. On March 9, 2008, Nashoba's Key powered down the stretch in the GI Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap
at Santa Anita, winning by over four lengths under jockey Garrett Gomez, and pushed the filly's earnings past the $1 million mark.
On May 28, 2008, Nashoba's Key was euthanized after breaking her left hock in her stall at Hollywood Park. The 5-year-old was expected to be one of the favorites for that fall's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. She was known for her feisty demeanor, and that might have been her undoing, as she apparently kicked the stall, shattering her left tibia
. Visitors were often warned against getting too close to Nashoba's Key to avoid angering the Grade 1 winning filly. Trainer Carla Gaines issued a short statement in which she called it "a freak accident" and released a one-paragraph statement: "In a freak accident at 5:30 a.m. this morning at Hollywood Park, Nashoba’s Key kicked the wall of her pen and broke her hind leg. She was euthanized shortly thereafter. She brought a lot of joy to everyone’s lives that were lucky enough to be associated with her and we will all miss her very much."
Filly
A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....
thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
race horse by Silver Hawk (Roberto
Roberto (horse)
Roberto was an American-bred Thoroughbred Champion racehorse who competed in Ireland and England.-Background:Roberto was bred by Galbreath at his Darby Dan Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. The son of the successful sire Hail To Reason out of the dam Bramalea, Roberto's grandsire was Turn-To, a...
) out of Nashoba (Caerleon
Caerleon II
Caerleon was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who was a Champion runner in France and a two-time Champion sire in Great Britain & Ireland. Bred by Seth Hancock at his famous Claiborne Farm in Kentucky, he was out of the mare Foreseer, a daughter of U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, Round Table...
) who went undefeated in her first six starts in the Southern California racing circuit, before placing 4th in the 2007 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
.
Bred and owned by 79-year-old Warren B. Williamson, and trained by Carla Gaines, Nashoba's Key went from an untested 4-year-old maiden to a Grade I winner in less than 6 months. With her first three starts on turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
with jockey Garrett Gomez aboard, she earned her first big win in the June 03, 2007, Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap
Milady Breeders' Cup Handicap
The Milady Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the end of May Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California. The Grade II event is open to fillies and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on Cushion Track synthetic dirt and offers a...
on Hollywood Park Racetrack's new synthetic Cushion Track. Seventeen-year-old jockey Joseph Talamo
Joseph Talamo
Joseph Talamo is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Born and raised in Marrero on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, within the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area, Joe Talamo was influenced by a father who worked in horse racing as an assistant trainer...
was able to drive Nashoba's Key to a surprise victory against the Grade I winners Hystericalady and Balance in this race. A month later, on July 7th, 2007, Talamo was able to rally Nashoba's Key to take her first Grade I victory in the Vanity Handicap
Vanity Handicap
The Vanity Invitational Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in July at Hollywood Park Racetrack in Inglewood, California....
, again defeating Balance and Hystericalady on Hollywood's All Weather Track.
Clement L. Hirsch Handicap
The Clement L. Hirsch Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year at Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California. The race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on Polytrack synthetic dirt...
on Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack
Del Mar Racetrack is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego. Operated by the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, it is known for the slogan: "Where The Turf Meets The Surf." It was built by a partnership...
's new Polytrack
Polytrack
A synthetic racetrack surface is any kind of surface substance that replaces grass, dirt or sand as the racing surface on a horse racing track. Synthetic surfaces may be desirable over traditional surfaces for several reasons, most prominently the reduction of injuries and possible deaths to horses...
. Nashoba's Key was bumped at the start of the race and was then boxed in on the stretch, but she was able to escape and outkick Balance for another impressive win. Owner-Breeder Warren B. Williamson commented on the race, "I don't know if you'd call it a conspiracy, but it looked like it. They tried everything to beat her and it didn't work. She was gone."
The 4-year-old returned to the turf for the GI Yellow Ribbon Stakes
Yellow Ribbon Stakes
The Yellow Ribbon Stakes is a Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies and mares aged three-years-old and upwards. It is raced during the Oak Tree Racing Association meeting at Santa Anita Park in late September / early October. It is a major prep race for the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf and is...
at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
's Oak Tree meet on Sept 29th,for a spectacular win against the slimly favored Citronnade. Nashoba's Key stalked the pace-setting Citronnade until the top of the stretch, where the pair dueled and Nashoba's Key was able to pull ahead by 3/4 of a length.
Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf
The Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for fillies and mares, three years old and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....
at Monmouth Park, and received her first defeat. After a good break, the filly was forced to take an inward position along the rail amid a traffic jam of other horses on the rain soaked turf. Jockey Joseph Talamo
Joseph Talamo
Joseph Talamo is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Born and raised in Marrero on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, within the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area, Joe Talamo was influenced by a father who worked in horse racing as an assistant trainer...
said "She was on the worst part of the turf the whole way around there. It was probably 6 inches deep along the rail." Nashoba's Key had gone off as the second favorite, but was unable to rally enough to catch the leaders along the stretch and finished a disappointing 4th, two lengths behind the surprise winner Lahudood. Nonetheless, Nashoba's Key was awarded California Horse of the Year
California Horse of the Year
The California Horse of the Year is an American horse racing honor awarded annually since 1973 by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association to a Thoroughbred racehorse bred in the state of California.-Winners:...
honors by the California Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, for the 2007 season.
Nashoba's Key made her 2008 racing debut on January 26th in the Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf
Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf
The Sunshine Millions Filly & Mare Turf is a race for thoroughbred horses held in January at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California or at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida...
at Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park
Santa Anita Park is a thoroughbred racetrack in Arcadia, California, United States. It offers some of the prominent racing events in the United States during the winter and in spring. With its backdrop of the purple San Gabriel Mountains, it is considered by many as the world's most beautiful race...
. Sent off as the 3-5 favorite with jockey Joseph Talamo
Joseph Talamo
Joseph Talamo is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.Born and raised in Marrero on the West Bank of the Mississippi River, within the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area, Joe Talamo was influenced by a father who worked in horse racing as an assistant trainer...
aboard, the 5-year-old mare was unable to catch the leader, Quite a Bride, down the stretch and finished 1 3/4 lengths behind, placing 2nd. On March 9, 2008, Nashoba's Key powered down the stretch in the GI Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap
Santa Margarita Invitational Handicap
The Santa Margarita Invitational Handicapis an American Grade I Thoroughbred horse race run annually in early March at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California...
at Santa Anita, winning by over four lengths under jockey Garrett Gomez, and pushed the filly's earnings past the $1 million mark.
On May 28, 2008, Nashoba's Key was euthanized after breaking her left hock in her stall at Hollywood Park. The 5-year-old was expected to be one of the favorites for that fall's Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. She was known for her feisty demeanor, and that might have been her undoing, as she apparently kicked the stall, shattering her left tibia
Tibia
The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
. Visitors were often warned against getting too close to Nashoba's Key to avoid angering the Grade 1 winning filly. Trainer Carla Gaines issued a short statement in which she called it "a freak accident" and released a one-paragraph statement: "In a freak accident at 5:30 a.m. this morning at Hollywood Park, Nashoba’s Key kicked the wall of her pen and broke her hind leg. She was euthanized shortly thereafter. She brought a lot of joy to everyone’s lives that were lucky enough to be associated with her and we will all miss her very much."