Silent Sighs’ Sister in Del Mar Sale

DEL MAR, Calif. (July 29, 2004) -- Perhaps no individual in the 2004 Del Mar Yearling Sale on Aug. 16 will be examined and inspected as much as a dark bay or brown filly known as Hip 54.
By Benchmark, out of Quiet Romance, she is a full-sister to Grade I Santa Anita Oaks winner Silent Sighs and to Proposed, who finished third in the CTBA Graduation Stakes at Del Mar on July 23, her career debut

Born April 12, 2003, she’s the first member of her family to be offered at auction and the people at River Edge Farm, where she and her parents and young siblings reside, are optimistic that she will bring a good price.

“She’s a little immature right now, but she’s got all the right parts like her sisters do,” said Russell Drake, manager of the Buellton establishment owned by Marty and Pam Wygod. “We haven’t done a lot with her, but she looks like a good one.”

Quiet Romance never raced, but at the age of eight the daughter of River Edge stallion Bertrando already is making a mark among California broodmares. She dropped a Benchmark colt on April 5 and is currently back in-foal to this promising young stallion of River Edge’s.

“As young as she is, we feel she’s got some great breeding years ahead of her,” Drake said. “The foals she and Benchmark have had all seem to have nice temperaments and they stay sound.”

Silent Sighs recently had bone chips removed from both ankles and is recuperating at River Edge while the Wygods and trainer Julio Canani map out her return to racing.

Benchmark is the sire of three fillies and one colt scheduled to be sold at the Del Mar Yearling Sale. The 13-year-old stallion was bred to “between 50 and 60 outside mares, plus our own, so his book was full this year,” said Drake.

An earner of $636,707 on the track, Benchmark has come a long way in his breeding career since the Wygods offered his services at no cost in his first three years at stud.

“We had to do that,” Drake recalled, “because he was by Alydar, whose stud career had tailed off.” Benchmark now is standing for $7,500.
--By Larry Bortstein

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