by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — She captured all four of her first race miles with devastating ease, but it took every bit of the stretch at Mohawk Racetrack for Put On A Show to outlast her competitors in the $745,476 She’s A Great Lady Final on Sept. 5 and remain a perfect five-for-five.

The daughter of 2005 Horse of the Year Rocknroll Hanover and the talented racemare Stienam’s Place is conditioned by Chris Ryder and owned by Richard Young and Craig Henderson. Put On A Show was purchased as a yearling for $75,000 at last fall’s Lexington Selected Sale and has earned $458,479, with a mark of 1:52s, which was established in her She’s A Great Lady victory.

The filly’s family tree is what enticed Young to bid on her. From 90 starters, freshman sire Rocknroll Hanover has 47 winners with progeny earnings of nearly $2 million, while Stienam’s Place, who collected more than $1.4 million in purse money, won the 1997 Matron, the 1997 Jugette, and the 1997 Breeders Crown 3-year-old Filly Pace Final. Put On A Show is a half sister to Donkeys Can Talk ($153,164, 1:51.1s) and Showherthemoney ($227,731, 1:50.4).

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Put On A Show has earned $458,479 in her brief career.

“Mr. Young had picked out three or four pedigrees he liked, so I looked at all of them,” explained the 53-year-old Ryder, whose barn consists of roughly 15 head. “She is the one we ended up with.”

As the filly trained down, her trainer realized she possessed potential, but she did have to battle through some problems.

“I try not to get too excited about them (young horses) more than I need to because different things can go wrong, but we did really like her most of the time,” Ryder said. “She had three or four weeks where she was making breaks and we couldn’t really explain why. That was the only period where we had any trouble with her and it’s behind her now. She always had plenty of pace and acted like she would be a pretty nice horse.”

Put On A Show debuted at the Meadowlands with a win in an $11,000 non-winners of one race on July 29. After shipping to Mohawk, she won a $17,480 conditioned pace on August 13, a $110,802 Eternal Camnation division on August 22, a $32,200 elimination for the She’s A Great Lady on August 29 and then the final.

She’s got the job done on the front and from off the pace, yet Ryder, whose trainees have banked nearly $24 million throughout his career, feels Put On A Show’s best performances have been when she is not on the lead.

“Her first four starts she won by open lengths and was dominant but the other night (She’s A Great Lady Final) she held on by a neck, so that just shows you they can all be beaten,” he said. “Her best miles have been from off cover when she has been second or third over. One night she was on the front end and I think she still won by two or so lengths but we weren’t really very happy with her. She didn’t look as sharp as she does when she comes off cover. I think that’s just baby stuff and as she gets older she will be okay on the front end, but we are going to stay off cover with her for now.”

The filly returned to Ryder’s shed row last Wednesday and will travel to the Red Mile on the 24th or 25th of this month.

“She is going to Lexington for races, I believe, on September 30 and October 7,” he said. “Then it’s on to the Breeders Crown and that’s the end of the year for her. We will bring her back as a 3-year-old.

“She’s a pleasure to be around, never causes any trouble and is an easy-keeping filly,” Ryder continued. “She’s a clean pacer and goes straight with a loose hopple. We’ve been blessed with her and hopefully she will continue to move forward.”