Jewel Princess Wins the Grade 2 La Canada at Santa Anita
BY BROCK SHERIDAN
1996 – Florida-bred Jewel Princess had to overcome trouble at the start but rallied from last of six with Alex Solis aboard to win the Grade 2 La Canada by two-and-a-half lengths at Santa Anita. Longshot Dixie Pearl was second with Privity third.
The victory in the $209,000 test was her second consecutive in a graded stakes after winning the Grade 2 El Encino in January and the two races launched a campaign that ended with Jewel Princess taking the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Woodbine.
Jewel Princess would be honored with an Eclipse Award as the 1996 Champion Older Mare having also won the Grade 1 Vanity Invitational at Hollywood Park in July and the Grade 2 Louisville Breeders’ Cup Handicap on the Kentucky Derby undercard in May at Churchill Downs. She finished the year with five wins in nine starts with three seconds and a third with earnings of $1,150,800.
Jewel Princess was trained by Wally Dollase, who had purchased Jewel Princess for owners Richard and Martha Stephen a year earlier after she had won two of her first three career races at Calder Race Course in South Florida.
Jewel Princess was by Key to the Mint out of Jewell Ridge, by Melyno (Ire) and was bred by Farnsworth Farms. She had career earnings of $1,904,060 from 13 wins in 29 starts with four seconds and seven thirds.
As a broodmare, Jewel Princess produced four winners from six starters including One Nice Cat, by Storm Cat, winner of the 2004 Polynesian at Colonial Downs. She also produced graded stakes-placed Maristar, by Giant’s Causeway; and graded stakes-placed Home Court, by Storm Cat.
During the 2000 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, Jewel Princess sold in foal to Storm Cat for $4.9 million to Coolmare Stud’s John Magnier. The resulting foal was Home Court.
