by Kimberly French, USTA Web Newsroom Senior Correspondent

Kimberly French

Louisville, KY — Bruce Trogdon and Brian Brown did not anticipate Color’s A Virgin would take home the hardware in the 2014 edition of the Jugette, but both men hope to return to the Delaware County Fairgrounds winner’s circle on Wednesday (Sept. 23) after this year’s version with Serious Filly.

“It’s a tough group with a lot of nice fillies,” said Trogdon. “I don’t think she’s quite ready to beat the likes of JK She’salady, but I’m hoping Serious Filly will provide me with the opportunity to defend our Jugette crown.”

By Somebeachsomewhere and out of the Rocknroll Hanover mare Seriously, Serious Filly will continue her quest to be ranked in the upper echelon of her division when she leaves from post seven in her C$35,000 elimination of the Fan Hanover Stake on Saturday (June 13) at Mohawk Racetrack. Trace Tetrick will be holding the lines when the filly competes against reigning Horse of the Year JK She’slady, Better Be Steppin, The Show Returns and Bedroomconfessions.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Brian Brown will be starting Serious Filly in the Fan Hanover eliminations.

“We don’t have her quite where we want her yet,” Brown said. “We are trying some different things with her such as shoeing, because she gets a little rough and likes to toss in some steps during her miles. She has ability though and is like Color in that she is fine with coming first over.

“Although she did not win last week in her race at Hoosier Park, I was very encouraged by her performance (second against older females) and am looking forward to racing her in Canada. That race was exactly what I wanted to see before taking her there.”

Serious Filly is the first foal out of Seriously, who netted just under $280,000 during her racing career and was third in the 2010 Jugette.

Trogdon purchased Seriously’s dam, the Die Laughing mare Serious Smile, in 2002. Seriously is a half-sister to Artbitration (Artiscape p,4,1:52s, $727,129), Blissful Smile (Blissfull Hall p,5,1:50.2s, $$778,734) and Serious Damage (Allamerican Ingot p,1:52.2f, $160,654). Serious Smile is a daughter of the Tyler B mare So Cozy, who earned just under $900,000 on the racetrack and was the 1987 Dan Patch Award winner for 2-year-old pacing fillies. As a broodmare, So Cozy produced six $100,000 earners from 16 foals.

“I love this family,” Trogdon said. “Even if Serious Filly does not perform extremely well on the racetrack, she will definitely be an addition to the broodmare band. She really is bred to be any kind of horse. She is a very big filly and we only raced her four times last year because she was pretty rough gaited, so we quit with her in August to give her time to grow into herself.”

The filly collected two wins and $14,675 in purse money from her abbreviated freshman campaign, but has really come to hand this year while racing primarily in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes program. Serious Filly has compiled a record of 5-4-1-0 this year while amassing $80,522 and established her lifetime mark of 1:53.2f on May 2 in a PaSS race at The Meadows.

In her last race at Hoosier Park on June 5, she paced the fastest final panel of all seven horses in the field (:27.2) and stopped the timer in 1:51.4, two lengths behind Stable Eyes.

“I really liked how she finished up that race,” Brown said. “I told Trace to just take it easy with her and let her do her thing out there, just like he does with Color. This filly also doesn’t like to be rushed and can really take a lot of air, which is also similar to Color. I was pleased to see her coming at the end of the mile, but again she put in a step in the stretch. The competition in Canada certainly will be quite tough, but I think she will give a good account of herself.”

Although Trogdon and Brown are seasoned veterans and realize champions are rare rather than the norm, they do have high hopes for Serious Filly as the year continues.

“She is staked to everything and we think she is on the right path to becoming a very nice racehorse,” Trogdon said. “All we can do is provide her with the opportunity and keep working on straightening her gait out.”

“She is bred to be an extremely nice horse,” Brown said. “She has the speed and the right attitude, but she is still a little green and that could be why she is still putting steps in her races. I think as the year goes on, she will show she belongs with the best fillies in her group. Canada will be the first step in seeing exactly what we have. She has been able to win while still not being right on gait. She won’t be able to do that against these quality horses on Saturday night.”

Linscott Photography

Color’s A Virgin will be starting in the Roses Are Red eliminations on Saturday.

This filly is not the only horse Trogdon and Brown will be shipping north of the border, as Color’s A Virgin is entered in a C$35,000 elimination for the Roses Are Red final later in the evening. The champion mare captured her first two engagements of 2015 at Hoosier Park, before finishing seventh in her next two starts. She then was second on May 29 in a $21,000 Mares Invitational again at Hoosier Park, before returning to the winner’s circle in the same class at the same facility on June 5.

“We think she is 90 percent back to herself,” Brown said. “Trace was much happier with her last week than he has been, as he told me she did feel like the same horse as last year. When we took her up to Miami Valley (for the Chip Noble Memorial), she tied up and came out of the race dehydrated. We’ve been drenching her every day and pumping her full of fluids. She might not win up in Canada, but we think she is on the way back. We were not sure what the problem was, as she never did this last year, but we have a handle on it now.

“Candy (Candy’s A Virgin) was eligible for this race too and was doing really well, but she popped a gravel so she is taking some time off.”

Trogdon feels he might be to blame for Color’s A Virgin’s health situation.

“I turn her out and let her eat lots of grass at the farm (Emerald Highlands) between all her races,” he said. “This program worked really well for her last year and I’m thinking I did not give her enough time to do that before we raced her at Miami Valley and then back at Hoosier Park. From now on, I’ll make sure I don’t do that to her again.”

Despite his affinity for his female homebreds, Trogdon also has a vested interest in the North America Cup eliminations on the same card.

“We bred and raised Hurrikane Ali (Rocknroll Hanover-She’s The Greatest),” he said. “We sold him in Lexington as a yearling (2013, $63,000). Even though we do not own him, it would be terrific to see him win the North America Cup since we had him as a baby.”