Baracca Wins on the Dirt for Oscar Performance

This column highlights the performances of 2-year-old maidens who have made no more than five starts and who either sold for more than $500,000 at public auction, have siblings that are graded/group winners, or have dams that are graded/group winners. BloodHorse research shows maiden winners, in particular, who meet these criteria are more likely to go on to be graded stakes winners. Churchill Downs Into his sixth season in the breeding shed, Oscar Performance has largely been perceived as a sire of turf horses, given the stallion's own stellar race record on the grass as well as the turf success of his grade 1-winning sons Trikari and World Beater. However, upon a deeper analysis, the son of Kitten's Joy boasts 16% winners from 465 starters on the dirt since his 2-year-olds first raced in April 2022. Foremost among the Mill Ridge stallion's top dirt performers are multiple graded stakes winners Red Carpet Ready and Tumbarumba. Oscar Performance landed another dirt winner last weekend at Churchill Downs when his 2-year-old daughter Baracca scored first time out in a six-furlong maiden special weight Sept. 13. Heider Family Stables' Baracca is the youngest foal out of the 23-year-old Wild Again mare Shop Again. The mare has produced ten six-figure yearlings, including Baracca, who sold for $500,000 to Cindy Heider at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Shining brightest among Shop Again's nine winners is the grade 1 winner Power Broker, a son of Pulpit that the mare produced earlier in her tenure as a broodmare. A $360,000 purchase for Gary and Mary West, Power Broker broke his maiden with a dazzling 6 1/2-length victory in the 2012 FrontRunner Stakes (now known as the American Pharoah Stakes)(G1) in his fourth career start at 2. Returning to training as a 3-year-old, Power Broker captured the Indiana Derby (G2) and Easy Goer Stakes in addition to a runner-up effort in the Haskell Invitational (G1). Trained by Brendan Walsh, Baracca was aggressive from the start in her debut. Away alertly under Tyler Gafflione, she prompted the pacesetter through a :22.52 opening quarter and :45.97 half-mile before putting away the frontrunner around the turn for home. With that rival gone, she faced a fresh set of challengers to her inside and outside, prevailing by three-quarters of a length in battle to the wire. Baracca stopped the timer in 1:10.55 on a fast main track.