THE FACTOR'S PROGENY ARE ALL ABOUT VERSATILITY

By: Eric Mitchell

Stakes races across the country Feb. 15 provided one of the clearest examples of how versatile Lane's End Farm's The Factor has been as a sire. 

The 12-year-old son of War Front was represented by a graded stakes winner going two-turns on the grass at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and a dirt sprinter at Laurel Park. In addition, the sire had a winner in a one-mile, non-black-type stakes on the main track at Turf Paradise.

One could not divide any cleaner the performance records for The Factor's stakes winners by surface, distance, or sex. Through Feb. 16, the stallion has sired 15 black-type winners on dirt and 14 black-type winners on turf. By distance, his stakes winners worldwide have won 16 sprints, seven races at a mile, and 14 races in two-turn contests ranging from 1 1/16 miles to 1 1/2 miles. By sex, he's sired 15 male black-type winners and 13 female stakes winners.

Factor This, a 5-year-old gelding out of the Singspiel mare Capricious Miss, topped the racing action Feb. 15 when he captured his first graded stakes in the 1 1/8-mile Fair Grounds Stakes (G3T). Bred in Kentucky by Maccabee Farm, Factor This won his first black-type race back in August when he took the Kentucky Downs Preview Kentucky Turf Cup Stakes on the grass at Ellis Park. The gelding has shown his own degree of versatility for trainer Brad Cox, coming up third in the Dec. 21 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds .

Factor This has been owned by Gaining Ground Racing since August when they claimed the horse for $62,500 from Campbell Road Stable and Danny Chen. He has now won eight times out of 27 starts and placed in seven other races. He holds career earnings of $545,030 to date.

Dirt stakes honors among The Factor's runners Feb. 15 went to Naughty Thoughts, a 3-year-old filly out of the A.P. Indy mare Sweet Thoughts, that won her first stakes in the Feb. 15 Wide Country Stakes at Laurel Park. The filly, owned by Rafael Lopez and trained by Jonathan Maldonado, won in near gate-to-wire fashion by 4 3/4 lengths.

Bred in Maryland by Maryland Mare Venture, Naughty Thoughts had been knocking on the door of black-type victory, having placed third in two stakes at Laurel Park in December. The filly has now won or placed 13 times out of 15 starts and won $189,397.

The Adrie Factor, a 3-year-old filly out of the Proud Citizen daughter Proud and Charming, was another big performer on the same day for The Factor. Though black-type-placed so far, the filly is 2-for-2 this year and seems destined to find the winner's circle. She has already won two non-black-type stakes at Turf Paradise by a combined nine lengths. Most recently she took the Arizona Oaks by 3 1/4 lengths for owner Harley Kowalsky and trainer Jonathan Wong. 

Like Factor This, The Adrie Factor has been a versatile performer. Last October she finished second in the black-type Pike Place Dancer Stakes going one-mile on the grass at Golden Gate Fields. She made her 2020 debut in the Jeff and Jack Coady Sr. Stakes, a 7 1/2-furlong race on the grass at Turf Paradise, which she won by 5 3/4 lengths. Bred in Florida by CESA Farm, The Adrie Factor has now won four times and finished second twice out of eight starts. She has earned $91,743 so far.

The Factor has sired 28 lifetime black-type winners worldwide, which include eight graded stakes winners. His runners are averaging $35,547 per starters on dirt and $31,819 per starters on turf. He stands for $17,500.

Source: BloodHorse