Top Ten Fillies & Mares Twentieth Century
#9
Bayakoa
(1986 - 1991)
Bayakoa was bred in Argentina. She was imported to the United States by Janice and Frank Witham and put in the care of trainer Ron McAnally. A winner of 11 grade one races in the USA, Bayakoa won the Breeders’ Cup Distaff in 1989 and 1990 and was voted champion handicap mare both those years.
Photo: Santa Anita Park
PEDIGREE
Bay Filly
OWNER
Frank & Janice Witham
TRAINER
Ron McAnally
BREEDER
Haras Principal
Some Facts
- Bayakoa was an Argentinian bred mare by the American bred and lightly raced sire Consultant’s Bid, a son of Bold Bidder out of the Fleet Nasrullah mare, Fleet Judy, who also foaled G1 winning mare Windy’s Daughter.
- Foaled by the Argentinian mare Arlucia, a stakes-winning daughter of American-bred stallion Good Manners, Bayakoa was born on October 10, 1984, at Haras Principal. She was sold to Juan Carlos Viano for an undisclosed sum and campaigned for him in Argentina as a three-year-old. She was then sold to Frank and Janis Witham for $300,000 and brought to America. She was trained by Ron McAnally, who discovered her.
- Bayakoa began her career in her native Argentina where she made eight starts. It was her last two that impressed McAnally. A three-year-old, she made her seventh career start against older males in the group one, one-mile Gran Premio San Isidro on turf and finished second by a length and one-half. She then ran in the prestigious group one, one mile Gran Premio Palermo on dirt, again against older males, and dominated, winning by twelve lengths.
- Bayakoa did not make her first start in the United States until May 11, 1988, when she won a one-mile allowance race on turf at Hollywood Park. That year she made seven starts, five on turf, and won only one other race, the one-mile restricted June Darling Stakes on dirt at Del Mar. She won it by ten lengths in 1:34.
- The following year, when she was five, Bayakoa made eleven starts, all on dirt, and won nine of them. Her victories leading up to the Breeders’ Cup Distaff included six grade ones: the San Margarita Invitation, Apple Blossom, Milady Handicap, Vanity Handicap, Ruffian Handicap, and the Spinster.
- The Spinster Stakes, held annually in the fall at Keeneland, has long been considered one of the most important races for fillies and mares. Bayakoa won it twice, in 1989 and 1990. Her 1989 victory was by a record 11 ½ lengths. She won her second Spinster in 1990 in 1:47, tied with Banshee Breeze and Keeper Hill for the fastest on the old Keeneland dirt surface. (Keeneland’s original dirt surface (old dirt surface) was replaced by the synthetic Polytrack in 2006, which was replaced by a new dirt surface in 2014.)
- Bayakoa’s seventh grade one victory in 1989 was in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, where she was the 3-5 favorite. She capped off her season winning the Eclipse Award as the American champion older filly or mare.
- In 1990, Bayakoa had another banner campaign. She went to the post ten times and won seven of them, including five grade ones: the San Maria Handicap, San Margarita Invitation, Milady Handicap, the Spinster, and her second Breeders’ Cup Distaff, though this time she was not the favorite, That honor went to Go For Wand, which tragically broke down during a heated stretch run with Bayakoa and had to be humanly destroyed. Once again, Bayakoa was honored with the Eclipse Award as the American champion older filly or mare.
- Bayakoa was the first mare to win back-to-back editions of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, a feat since accomplished by Royal Delta. Both Beholder and Monomoy Girl have won the Distaff twice, but not in consecutive years.
- Beginning on May 20, 1989, Bayakoa was the betting favorite in nineteen of her final twenty career starts, in all but two of them at odds-on. The only time she wasn’t the favorite was when she was second choice (at even money) to Go For Wand in the 1990 Distaff.
- How good was Bayakoa? Goodbye Halo won seven grade one races in her career: Demoiselle, Hollywood Starlet, Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose, Coaching Club of America Oaks, La Virgenes, and the La Canada; finished third by a half-length to Personal Ensign in the 1988 Distaff and earned $1.7M. She faced Bayakoa three straight times in 1989: the Santa Margarita, Apple Blossom, and the Hawthorne Handicap and was second in each, losing by a combined 10 ½ lengths.
- Though she was a bearcat against her own sex in America, Bayakoa did not fare well against males. In fact, she faced them only once. It was in the 1990 Santa Anita Handicap. She entered the race on a five-race winning streak, all in grade ones, and was sent off as the 9-5 favorite. She never fired that day and finished tenth by twenty-nine lengths to Ruhlmann, who edged out Criminal Type, the Lukas-trained son of Alydar who would be named Horse of the Year.
- Bayakoa would have only four foals. Her first, a filly named Trinity Place (1992 by Strawberry Road), produced multiple stake and grade one winner Affluent. Her second foal was a colt De Sarmiento (1993 by Seattle Slew), who sired just a single crop, one of which, a filly out of the mare Royralong named Bayakoa’s Image, won several restricted stakes in Oklahoma. Her third foal was the filly Morocha (1995 by Kris S), which won a group one stake in Argentina. Her fourth and final foal was the filly Arlucea II (1997 by Broad Brush), who was the dam of three-time group one winner Fort Larned, which won the Whitney, Stephan Foster, and the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Classic.
- Bayakoa died on June 14, 1997. She was euthanized after losing her battle with Laminitis.
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