Gold Rush V
Saturday April 24, 2004

Gold Rush Draws Del Mar Grads

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (Apr. 17, 2004) -- Medical and breeding setbacks have hampered the thoroughbred operation at Cottonwood Ranch in Los Alamos in recent years.

But sunny skies could lie ahead.

At least that’s the belief of Charlotte Wrather, who with her husband Chris, owns the 400-acre facility 30 miles north of Santa Ynez. They acquired the property from Joseph Tevis in 1994.

One good sign is that perhaps no horse running in any of the 10 races in Gold Rush V for California-breds at Hollywood Park on April 24 will have a more pleasing name than Beau Soleil, bred by the Wrathers.

The name of the 4-year-old son of General Meeting-Triple Connection is pronounced Bo So-LAY, and means “Beautiful Sun” in French.

“But it means even more than that in Louisiana’s Cajun country,” said Charlotte, herself a native of the Pelican State. “When a Cajun friend of ours saw this flashy chestnut, he thought it would be a great name for him.”

The colt is one of 13 graduates of Del Mar’s annual yearling sale nominated to the 2004 Gold Rush events.

Too big and highstrung to race at two, Beau Soleil moved through the state-bred allowance ranks last year and has won two of three starts in open allowance company this year.

Trained by Jeff Mullins, he’ll make his stakes debut on Gold Rush Day with a record to date of 10-4-4-0 and earnings of $185,200.

Beau Soleil will run in the $150,000 Tiznow Stakes at 7 ½ furlongs on the main track.

The Wrathers breed primarily to race, but sold Beau Soleil for $28,000 to Robert Bone and Earle Mack at the 2001 Del Mar yearling sale.

“We’re not interested in standing any stallions,” Charlotte said. “And he might have been worth more than what we got for him. But we were concentrating on mares and he’s helping build Triple Connection’s status as a broodmare”

The 16-year-old Far North mare was a solid allowance runner during her racing days at tracks in Florida, Kentucky and New York.

“We bought her in foal to Marquetry,” Charlotte recalled. “What we didn’t know at the time was that she was carrying twins. Then that happened to her again a few years later. So we’ve really had a time with her.”

Triple Connection didn’t have a foal last year, but is currently carrying a son or daughter of Bertrando. Cheroot, her 3-year-old son by Smokester, is being prepared by trainer Susan Bump at San Luis Rey Downs to launch his racing career this summer.

Charlotte Wrather, who has been a member of the CTBA since 1995, is a graduate of the 1978 graduating class of the Yale Law School and practiced and taught corporate and securities law before growing tired of wearing business clothes to work.

“I probably should have been a vet,” she said. “I always loved horses and competed in three-day eventing. We have some trails on our property that we use to train some horses for eventing.”

Beau Soleil is one of three General Meeting graduates of the Del Mar yearling sale nominated to Gold Rush stakes. The others are Khaled candidate Blairs General, out of Crown of Jewels (by Half A Year) and Lady General, who is being pointed to the Magali Farms Stakes. Her dam is Leasears, a Lear Fan mare.

The most accomplished runner among the Del Mar sales grads is House of Fortune (Free House-So Fortunate), who won the Fantasy Stakes at Oaklawn Park in her last start.

She is nominated to the Melair Stakes, but her next start will come in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on April 30. Oneof her opponents there will be Santa Anita Oaks champion Silent Sighs, also a Cal-bred.

Miss Carrera, out of Rhondaling and one of three Memo offspring in the group of 13 Del Mar sales graduates nominated to the Gold Rush, was bought at the 2001 yearling sale for $150,000 by Frank Alesia, Michael Mellen and Greg Vela.

Her price was the fifth highest paid for a filly at the 2001 auction and fifth highest overall.

Del Mar Sales Grad List

Amiable Amy
Nominated to B. Thoughtful Stakes
4-year-old filly, Langfuhr-Quiet M. D.
Sold in 2001 for $40,000

Beau Soleil
Nominated to Tiznow Stakes and Khaled Stakes
4-year-old colt, General Meeting-Triple Connection
Sold in 2001 for $28,000

Bertrando’s Return
Nominated to Pepper Oaks Farm Stakes
3-year-old colt, Bertrando-Effusive Bounty
Sold in 2002 for $95,000

Blairs General
Nominated to Khaled Stakes
4-year-old colt, General Meeting-Crown of Jewels
Sold in 2001 for $25,000

Cinder Ron
Nominated to Golden Eagle Farm Stakes
3-year-old colt, Batonnier, Cinder Girl
Reserve not achieved in 2002

House of Fortune
Nominated to Melair Stakes
3-year-old filly, Free House-So Fortunate
Sold in 2002 for $40,000

Lady General
Nominated to Magali Farms Stakes
4-year-old filly, General Meeting-Leasears
Sold in 2001 for $8,000

Miss Carrera
Nominated to Warren’s Thoroughbreds Stakes
4-year-old filly, Memo-Rhondaling
Sold in 2001 for $150,000

Run Rebecca Run
Nominated to B. Thoughtful Stakes
4-year-old filly, Swiss Yodeler-Strawberry’s Best
Sold in 2001 for $85,000

Slewping
Nominated to Khaled Stakes
5-year-old horse, Twining-Super Slewp
Sold in 2000 for $60,000

Wild Girl
Nominated to B. Thoughtful Stakes
4-year-old filly, Wild Rush-Sarah’s Girl
Sold in 2001 for $60,000

Youaretheman
Nominated to Pepper Oaks Farm Stakes
3-year-old colt, Memo-Rio Tejo
Sold in 2002 for $50,000

Zoolu Nights
Nominated to Golden Eagle Farm Stakes
4-year-old gelding, Memo-Maui
Sold in 2001 for $39,000

--Larry Bortstein

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