In Sharper Focus: Eighth Wonder

DONNA FREYER S., (NB) $76,000, PRX, 11-15, (C), 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:18.81, ft.

EIGHTH WONDER, f, 2, Pioneerof the Nile

1st Dam: Cheeksandpeanuts, by Pioneering

2nd Dam: Magestic Willowa, by Magesterial

3rd Dam: Willowa, by Son Ange

Click for the Equibase.com chart, VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton or the Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

Those who watched Eighth Wonder's romp Sunday in the restricted Donna Freyer S. at Parx will agree that the 2-year-old filly is, in fact, a wonder. In her three career starts–a special weight at Parx Sept. 19 (video), an allowance there Oct. 27 (video) and Sunday's restricted stake–the Gryphon Investments homebred has won by a combined 22 lengths. This line and Eighth Wonder's connections run deep. Gryphon Investments' Jeff Bowen bred and raced Cheeksandpeanuts and conditioner Dee Curry trained the dam and a number of her offspring, including Key Lime Baby (Champali), who was third in the 2009 GII Cotilion S. Eighth Wonder is by WinStar stallion Pioneerof the Nile and out of Pioneering mare Cheeksandpeanuts, who was similarly brilliant in her first three career starts with an 11 3/4 length debut win as a sophomore and victories in the restricted Wonder Delight and Foxy J.G. S. Cheeksandpeanuts was third in a Delaware optional claimer and retired after that start.

Bowen has had a lifelong interest in racing, which began when his uncle would take him to the now-shuttered Liberty Bell Racetrack in Northeast Philadelphia. Bowen, who is now a small business owner, said about 16 years ago he, “claimed a horse for $20,000 and she went on to win over $200,000 and I got the bug from that.” Bowen currently has three horses in training and a broodmare band of six, which he is looking to expand. Gryphon Investments breeds to race as well as sell. “I mainly breed to sell, but if there's a family I'm interested in, I like to keep the mares,” Bowen said of his operation.

Bowen said his decision to send the mare to Pioneerof the Nile was an easy one, having admired the horse during his racing career.

“I was a big fan of Pioneerof the Nile as a 2-year-old,” Bowen explained. “As a commercial breeder I recognize the importance of speed and precocity. I like the fact that he could carry his speed two turns. ”

Bowen was hopeful the breeding between Pioneerof the Nile and his already-established mare would produce something special.

“Everything that her dam has thrown has been a winner,” he said. “I wasn't too surprised, but I was pleasantly surprised, with how well she's done. ”

Curry is similarly pleased with the filly's performance and with how she exited the romp.

“She came out of the race perfect, she wasn't even tired,” Curry explained. “It didn't take much out of her at all, she seemed to have bounced out of that race in the best possible way.”

Curry, a native of Roswell, New Mexico, spent much of her youth in Europe where her great-uncle was a steeplechase rider. Curry worked her way up the backside ladder after returning to the States as a teenager and currently has 14 horses in her string at Parx. Bowen, who has three horses with Curry, was one of the trainer's first owners.

“He's just been phenomenal to stick by me from day one,” Curry said. “He's given me nothing but support and trusts all my decisions and we've done quite well together.”

Curry noted that she knew Eighth Wonder would be special from her early training with Dean Keller's stable in Summerton, South Carolina.

“When this one came along, Dean had told me this one would be special,” Curry said. “Her [4-year-old] full-brother [Cu Chulainn] was pretty special–we've actually given him some time off and he'll come back in the spring–but Dean had said to me, 'I've got the filly and she's better than him and she's got a little bit of a better training mind, let's get her started early because she's special.' I couldn't wait. The breeding alone with Pioneerof the Nile, I was just so excited to get her after American Pharoah–I couldn't wait, so I said, 'Let's bring her in early in case she is that special.' When she came in and did some galloping, you just knew she was the real deal. After Sunday's race, she really is everything I thought she was.”

As for what's next for Eighth Wonder, she'll get 60 days of rest on the farm before revving up for her sophomore campaign.

“We're taking it one day at a time,” Bowen said. “She looks like she's of the quality that can go on and run in some bigger races next year. We're going to rest her up for the short term and look at some of the bigger races in the spring.”