Top Ten Turf Females Twentieth Century
#9
De La Rose
(1980 - 1982)
De La Rose finished second by a nose in the 1981 Kentucky Oaks to Heavenly Cause. After that, the daughter of Nijinsky II raced almost exclusively on turf, winning seven of 15 starts including the 1982 Hollywood Derby against colts.
Photo: Aiken Hall of Fame
PEDIGREE
Bay F
OWNER
H. DeKwiatkowski
TRAINER
Woody Stephens
BREEDER
Smiser/West/Miller
Some Facts
- De La Rose was born in Kentucky in 1978 and was bred by R. Smiser and Kathryn West in partnership with future Hall of Fame trainer Mack Miller.
- She was purchased for $500,000 at the 1979 Saratoga Yearling Sales by Henry De Kwiatkowski, who raced his horses in the colors of his Kennelot Stable. Kennelot was the name of a filly that Mr. Kwiatkowski campaigned in the late 1970s. Though she didn’t do well on the racetrack, she had a good career at stud and eventually foaled Stephan’s Odyssey, which finished second in both the 1985 Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Mr. Kwiatkowski, who owned 1982 Horse of the Year Conquistador Cielo, would later gain fame when he purchased Calumet Farm.
- De La Rose was sired by Chef-de-Race Nijinsky, a son of 1964 Kentucky Derby winner Northern Dancer, and out of the good mare Flaming Page, a daughter of Bull Page (1947 by Bull Lea). Nijinsky, who was owned by Charles Englehard Jr., won the 1970 British Triple Crown and sired many really good horses during his twenty-one years at stud. His undefeated American-bred son Lammtarra won all four of his career starts, including the 1995 Epsom Derby, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes, and the Arc de la Triomphe. In America, Nijinsky sired the 1986 Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand, who was Horse of the Year in 1987, 1992 Turf Champion Sky Classic, and the unique Dancing Spree, one of only a handful of horses to win an open grade one race on dirt at both six furlongs and ten furlongs, which he did in 1989 when he won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint and the Suburban Handicap.
- De La Rose was foaled by Greentree Stud’s Rosetta Stone, a daughter of Round Table. Though only an allowance winner on the track, she was a good broodmare, also producing Lie Low (1971 by Dr. Fager), a winner of four graded stakes, and De La Rose’s full brother, Upper Nile, which won the 1978 G1 Suburban Handicap and the G3 Nassau County Handicap while establishing a stakes record with a time of 1:46 2/5 for the nine furlongs.
- De La Rose made twenty-six starts in her three-year career, with sixteen of them on turf, and finished with an overall record of 11-6-0 and earnings of $544,647. Of those, ten of her wins and three of her second-place finishes were on turf.
- De La Rose won her first start, a six-furlong MSW on July 11, 1980. Finishing seventh in her next start, the G3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga on July 30, her trainer, Woody Stephens, switched her to turf for her next two starts, a one-mile allowance race at Saratoga and the minor seven-furlong Evening Out Stakes at Belmont Park, both of which she won. Stephens then returned her to dirt for a pair of grade ones, the Matron and the Frizette, both at Belmont Park. She finished out of the money in them but came back to finish a close second in the listed Miss Grillo Stakes on turf before switching back to dirt once again. She wrapped up her two-year-old campaign by finishing second by a head in the G1 Demoiselle at Aqueduct to Canadian champion two-year-old filly Rainbow Connection.
- In the Experimental Free Handicap for two-year-olds, De La Rose was weighted with 113 pounds, which tied her for fifteenth place for two-year-old fillies behind Heavenly Cause (120) and Rainbow Connection (119).
- In her three-year-old campaign in 1981, De La Rose’s first four starts were on dirt, back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the Forward Gal and Bonnie Miss Stakes at Gulfstream Park, and another fourth-place finish in an allowance race at Keeneland, which she followed with a surprise second-place finish by a nose to Heavenly Cause in the Kentucky Oaks. After that, she would be put back on turf for thirteen of her final fourteen career races.
- De La Rose’s first three starts when she was switched back to turf were all against colts: a one-mile allowance victory over Explosive Bid in 1:33 1/5, a 6-1/2 length win in the G2 Saranac Handicap over Stage Door Key, both those races at Belmont Park, and an 8-1/2 length score over Century Banker in the G3 Long Branch Stakes at Monmouth. If there was a disappointment, it came in her next start, a sixth-place finish, twenty-seven lengths behind disqualified winner Wayward Lass in the Coaching Club of America Oaks, her final career start on dirt.
- Switching back to turf, De La Rose would show that she was exceptional on grass with wins in the G2 Diana Handicap over Rokeby Rose, the Lamb Chop Handicap over Andover Way, the G3 Athenia Handicap over Noble Dancer, and the G3 E.P. Taylor Stakes over Sangue. She also finished second in the G2 Flower Bowl to Rokeby Rose and the G2 Lexington Handicap against colts. In her final race, she was an authoritative winner of a division of the G1 Hollywood Derby against colts.
- De La Rose finished her career after three lackluster performances in Florida in the spring of 1963. Showing no desire to compete at the level she once was at, she was retired and entered stud. She produced seven foals, the best among them G1 winner Conquistarose (1984 by Conquistador Cielo), track record holder Planet Rose (1993 by Conquistador Cielo), and the filly De La Devil (1987 by Devil’s Bag), winner of the G3 Golden Rod Stakes.
- De La Rose won the Eclipse Award for top turf filly in 1981. She died on March 6, 2001.
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