Got A Grip is the leading APHA racing broodmare,
first to reach $500,000 offspring earnings mark
Rival’s dam is second to reach $500,000 mark
FORT WORTH, Texas—The leading broodmare for American Paint Horse Association
racing is Got A Grip, who takes the lead in the lifetime standings list with
offspring earnings at $572,709 to date, and $121,020 for the current year. She
is the first dam to reach the $500,000 mark for offspring earnings.
|
|
Got A Grip is the leading APHA racing broodmare, with her offspring
earning more than $500,000 on the track. Photo courtesy: Larry Larson. |
Got A Grip is a 1995 bay solid Paint-bred mare by Super De Kas AQHA and out of
Mystic Sky Moon, who is sired by Sky Jet. She had a successful race career as a
two and three-year-old. She ran second in the New Mexico Paint Horse Association
Futurity and was named 1997 Champion Running Breeding Stock 2-Year-Old Filly.
She earned $23,454 on the track and ran a best speed index of 91. Got A Grip was
bred by Linda Fox of Maud, Oklahoma, and is currently owned by James and Wendy
Howard of Black Hawk, South Dakota, who purchased her in late 2008.
The offspring of Got A Grip have been exceptional racehorses, setting records
and putting the face of Paint racing on the map nationally. She has had six
foals, two sired by Royal Quick Flash and four sired by Country Quick Dash. Five
of the foals have earned money on the track, all of which have won a race, and
four of which are stakes winners or stakes-placed. Royal Grip, her 2004 foal by
Royal Quick Flash, earned the 2007 Champion Running Breeding Stock 3-Year-Old
Filly award. Her most notorious foal, Got Country Grip, has set the bar high for
the rest of her foals as well as the Paint racing industry in general. The
gelding has earned five consecutive World Champion solid Paint-bred racing
titles from 2005-2009, and out of 20 stakes race starts, he has 13 wins with six
stakes-placed finishes. He has earned $354,387 with a top speed index of 109.
Got Country Grip earned 16 straight wins starting with his first race in 2005
and ending with a heartbreaking second-place finish in the 2008 Grade 1 Lewis
Wartchow Memorial Stakes. By winning his 16th race, Got Country Grip tied the
North American record of races won held by Thoroughbred greats Cigar, Citation,
Hallowed Dreams and Mister Frisky. Got A Grip’s latest standout foal, Girls Got
Grip, recently won the 2010 Grade 1 Graham Paint Futurity, which put her over
the $500,000 mark.
Jimmy Maddux, Wendy and Jamie Howard, and Linda Fox are largely responsible for
the breeding and ownership of the family of Got A Grip’s offspring. 2006 and
2007 APHA Leading Breeder, Linda Fox, was the breeder on five of the offspring
and owner of the sixth. 2005 and 2006 APHA Leading Owner, Jimmy Maddux, owns Got
Country Grip, Royal Grip and the 2009 foal, Gotta Quick Grip, whom he purchased
from the Howards in 2009. The Howards own Money Makin Mama, Two Cents Worth, and
are members of a partnership which owns Girls Got Grip. All groups involved
communicate often and are proudly protective of the successful breeding
decisions that have been made over the years that have set them on top of the
leading lists.
As of May 30, one day after Got A Grip reached her $500,000 milestone, Treasured
Chick became the second dam to reach the $500,000 mark. Treasured Chick is a
1990 brown tobiano mare by Treasured and out of Judys Chick, sired by Walters
Chick. She was stakes-placed, earning $23,939 and has a 97 speed index. She was
bred by Chuck Bowlan of Shawnee, Oklahoma, and is currently owned by Sammy and
Nadine Hester of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Treasured Chick has 12 foals, 11 of which
raced, with lifetime earnings totalling $504,469, $48,701 current year earnings.
Her highest-earning foal, Chicks Lacerta was named the 2009 Champion Running
Solid Paint-Bred Aged Mare and earned $150,328. She has faced Got A Grip’s
leading money-earner in four stakes races. When Got Country Grip and Chicks
Lacerta faced off in the Dash For Colors Stakes at Will Rogers Downs, Chicks
Lacerta finished first, followed by Got Country Grip.. But in their next race
together, the Lewis Wartchow Memorial, Got Country Grip came out the winner.
They have faced each other since then, and we will continue to watch both top
runners vying for the win.
More about Paint Horse racing
Horse racing has long been one of America’s favorite spectator sports. With the
recent growth of the Paint Horse breed, it’s no wonder that Paints have become one
of the hottest tickets in the horse racing industry.
Since 1966, when APHA officially recognized the sport, Paint racing has made major
strides forward. In that inaugural year, 17 starters ran for $1,290 in just two
states—Texas and Oklahoma. In 2009, more than 540 starters competed in more than
530 APHA-recognized races for record purses totaling more than $4.7 million.
A total of 17 states now feature Paint racing, including Arizona, California, Colorado,
Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon,
South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Paint Horses also race in Canada.
"With a wealth of top performing Paint racehorses, dedicated owners and talented
trainers and jockeys, Paint Racing continues to remain a strong program in the horse
industry," said APHA Executive Director Lex Smurthwaite. "Paint Racing enthusiasts
recognized the amount of purse money available and have jumped in to take advantage
of the lucrative payouts."
For more information on Paint Horse racing, contact APHA’s racing department at
(817) 222-6444, email racing@apha.com, or visit
paintracing.com.