Hard Spun was already the sire of 22 winners prior to the start of the 3rd ace at Aqueduct on November 18 but fast forward a little over an hour later to Monmouth Park and his first-crop winner’s tally increased by two.
Lady Clara, the first of the two fillies to win, was rated in fourth place through the first half-mile of the one-mile event in New York, but engaged the leaders at the top of the stretch and then battled her way to a hard-fought, neck victory. Hard Mystery followed a fairly similar route in the early part of the one mile and 70 yard maiden special race in New Jersey but was able to get by the field a little earlier in the stretch and after “a long drive” notched her first career victory.
Lady Clara was bred by Highfield Farm in Kentucky and is out of the Stakes-winning/G3-placed mare Victorica, she a half-sister to Stakes winner and G1-placed Noble Minstrel. Hard Mystery was bred by Alpha Delta Stables, LLC, in Kentucky, and was produced from the Stakes-winning Summer Squall mare Summer Rainbow.
Hard Spun is the sire of 22 other winners, including G2 winner Red Duke, Stakes winners Hard Not To Like and Yvete Sangalo as well as the Group-placed Glinda The Good and Questing. He was a leading freshman sire at the two-year-old with prices up to $675,000. Hard Spun also had a total of 11 first-crop yearlings top the $200,000 mark.
