By Stephanie Corum
Imagine your thrill when all four of your charges in a race have a chance to win a prestigious grade 1 race. That was the exact position Lynn Ashby was in when the horses turned for home in the $35,000 Buzz Brauninger Arabian Distaff H. (G1). Top Thess, owned by Philip Klaus, Royal Richess, owned by Ann Fostock, Our Princess, owned by Cre Run Enterprises LLC, and DC Willeys Song, owned by Jon Henningsgard, all had a shot for the win when favorite RB Burn Baby Burn didn’t have anything left at the top of the stretch.
Top Thess, at the rail, got to the lead with Royal Richess just to her outside. But in the middle of the track came 16-1 shot Our Princess. She had the most momentum and wore the others down in the stretch of the 1 1/8 mile race to win going away by 4 ½ lengths. Winning jockey Kirsten Swan was proclaimed the “Queen of the Arabian Riders” by Delaware Park’s track announcer. She and Ashby have combined to make a formidable duo so far this season. Second across the line was another longshot, Top Thess with DC Willeys Song in third. They were followed by Royal Richess, RB Burn Baby Burn, Dahmas Mischief MHF and Hesster. The final time was 2:07.83.
Our Princess is a lightly raced daughter of Nivour De Cardonne, who previously stood at the Kirshner’s Cre Run Farm before relocating to Mandolynn Hill Farm in Texas. She was winless in 4 starts as a three-year-old, but finished second in the Dr. Sam Harrison Memorial Arabian S. (G3). She broke her maiden on May 24 of this year and followed that up with her first grade 1 victory. Her lifetime record now stands at 2/6(2-2-1)1-2, $32,825. Our Princess is out of the winning Monarch AH daughter, Monarchs Princess, who is also the dam of stakes-placed winner King Pen (by Sam Tiki). Alan Kirshner and Deborah Mihaloff, owner and breeder of Our Princess, also bred Top Thess and Royal Richess.
Photo by HoofprintInc.com