Dublin
Graded Earnings: $273,208
Race Record: 7-2-1-1
Trainer - D. Wayne Lukas
Jockey - Terry Thompson
Owner - William Mack and Robert Baker
Breeder - Peter E. Blum & Gerry Dilger
Pedigree
- From the first crop of champion Afleet Alex, who was a close third in the 2005 Kentucky Derby (G1) before romping impressively in the Preakness S. (G1) and Belmont S. (G1)
- Too soon to judge how much stamina he is passing on to his progeny, but his three-year-olds Afleet Again and Quick Ride have both placed in 1 1/16-mile stakes
- Dublin is far and away the best runner produced by Grade 1-winning sprinter Classy Mirage, heroine of the seven-furlong Ballerina H. (G1) in 1995
- She has produced mostly sprinters so far, but one of her winners, a gelded son of Saint Ballado named Thought Leader, won at up to 1 1/4 miles
- Classy Mirage is a daughter of the profoundly influential stallion Storm Bird, an English and Irish champion juvenile
- Storm Bird’s top progeny include Grade 1 star and supersire Storm Cat; Preakness hero Summer Squall, runner-up in the 1990 Kentucky Derby; and Irish highweight Balanchine, who defeated males in the Irish Derby (Ire-G1)
- Interestingly, two of Storm Bird’s best runners -- English/French/Irish champion mare Indian Skimmer and Irish champion sprinter Bluebird -- come from the same female family as Dublin and are therefore related to Classy Mirage
- Other daughters of Storm Bird are responsible for such outstanding performers as champion Thunder Gulch, who captured the 1995 Kentucky Derby, Belmont and Travers S. (G1); Birdstone, the 2004 Belmont and Travers winner; champion and Kentucky Oaks (G1) queen Bird Town; and champion juvenile filly Flanders
- Classy Mirage is out of First Mirage, an unraced daughter of two-time champion Riva Ridge, winner of the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Belmont
- First Mirage is also the dam of multiple Grade 1 queen Missy’s Mirage, who was primarily a sprinter, but wired the 1 1/8-mile Hempstead H. (G1)
- This female line has produced a number of high-class horses over the years; besides the aforementioned Indian Skimmer and Bluebird, Hall of Famer Dark Mirage, champion Silent Screen and Travers star Java Gold also hail from the family
- Judging by Afleet Alex’s boundless stamina, and the strength deep within the female line, Dublin should be able to handle the Derby distance, despite the fact that his dam was a sprinter
