Catching Up With Summerly

Summerly wins the 2005 Kentucky Oaks. (Photos by HorsePhotos)
Coming into the 2005 Kentucky Oaks, Summerly was an experienced filly with seven starts.
Before the Oaks, Summerly had four victories in those seven starts including two graded stakes wins early in her 3-year-old year. Summerly’s best running before the Oaks came when she was either on or near the pace, and this race was no different.
With jockey Jerry Bailey on her for the first time, Summerly went straight to the lead from the get-go, leading by a length or more until the field got to the far turn. At that point, race favorite Sis City tried to take Summerly on, getting within a head of the leader. But that challenge didn’t last long and by the final furlong, Summerly had a 1 ½ length lead again and pulled away to win by a good two lengths with In The Gold and Gallant Secret passing Sis City for the other two placings.
The win was the first for trainer Steve Asmussen and sole owner Winchell Thoroughbreds, the team that paired up nine years later to win the Oaks with eventual champion Untapable.
"Everyone who has touched [Summerly] has known she was fast," Asmussen told USA Today. "That's a good quality in a racehorse."
Summerly only had two more starts as a 3-year-old, finishing third in the Mother Goose nearly two months after the Kentucky Oaks before finishing second in the Coaching Club American Oaks. But as she was preparing for the Alabama Stakes, she suffered a season-ending injury.
It took over a year for Summerly to return to the races, and she did it in winning style at Saratoga that August. Returning in the ungraded Ashado Stakes, she led from start to finish to win by one length. Summerly ran two more times for Winchell Thoroughbreds, finishing off the board both times.
Summerly’s connections entered her in the Fasig-Tipton November sale at the end of the year where she brought a price of $3.3 million when selling to WinStar Farm, the second highest price of that year’s sale. WinStar ran Summerly one more time before sending her to the breeding shed and she finished fourth in the Falls City Handicap to end her career with $907,652 in earnings and six wins in 14 starts.
SUMMERLY SELLS AT FASIG-TIPTON

Today, Summerly is well-liked by the barn staff at WinStar who handle her daily and is enjoying life as a broodmare.
“[Summerly is] doing well. [She’s] healthy, in good spirits and loves being a momma. She’s 13 now and has had 6 foals,” said Kaitlin Christopherson, WinStar Farm’s Marketing Coordinator. “She’s a sweetheart. A very easy mare to get along with, the barn workers really enjoy her.”
Summerly was sent to Distorted Humor for her first three foals and had success right out of the gate.
Her first foal, a colt named Kentucky Reign was born in 2008 and earned a stakes placing as a 3-year-old in the Capital City Stakes. A winner so far of $100,556, Kentucky Reign is now owned by Midwest Thoroughbreds and still running, making his first start of 2015 in late February.
While her second foal didn’t do as well on the track, he made his dam’s mark in the auction ring when selling for $650,000 to Darley Stable’s bloodstock agent John Ferguson. The third full-brother from the Distorted Humor piring, named Graffitist, was sold as a 2-year-old and raced all over the east coast in 2013 and 2014.
Summerly visited Unbridled’s Song for her first time away from Distorted Humor and foaled her first, and only, filly. Sent to Brazil to race, Allez Marie won two of her four starts and was second in the Group 3 Presidente Roberto Alves de Almeida in 2014. Allez Marie was sent back to the United States after that stakes performance and has not raced since.
Summerly has a 3-year-old named State Line, by WinStar’s Tiznow, on the track right now. State Line has made three starts this year, finishing third in his latest start in the beginning of March and put in his first work since that race on March 25. Summerly has a Bernardini yearling colt and is bred to Paynter for a 2015 foal. Later this year, Summerly will meet up with another big winner at Churchill Downs when she is bred to 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver.
All of Summerly’s foals share her same temperament and WinStar barn staff see a lot of similarities between each of them.
“Summerly’s offspring have all been lovely horses to be around. They are extremely smart and intelligent but still have a calm and easy-going demeanor about them, similar to her,” Christopherson said.
This year is the 10 year anniversary of Summerly winning the Kentucky Oaks and fans haven’t forgotten about the front-running mare. Fans call to check up on Summerly and even send her cards and treats on occasion.
Summerly is due with her seventh foal soon and if all goes according to plan, her Paynter foal will try to follow in its dam’s hoofprints on the track.