Outlook: There is a lot of speed in the female family, but Papa Clem's best race came in the nine-furlong Arkansas Derby. Ten furlongs may be pushing it just a bit, but Papa Clem should be able to stay the course.
Sire: Smart Strike is a fantastic sire, but he was also a very underrated racehorse. He won six races in a row between April 28, 1995, and August 25 1996 at distances ranging from seven furlongs to 1 1/16 miles. He twice earned Beyer Speed Figures of 115 or greater, and he won the Grade 1 Philip H. Iselin Handicap at Monmouth.
Smart Strike is a half-sister to the wonderful Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Dance Smartly, and hails from a powerhouse female family.
Dam: Miss Houdini was a fleet and precocious juvenile, winning the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante at seven furlongs. She earned a career-best 97 Beyer Speed Figure going three-quarters of a mile in her three-year-old debut, but she finished last at 6-5 odds in her only start around two turns in the Torrey Pines Stakes at one mile.
Papa Clem's second dam, Magical Maiden, was a multiple Grade 1 winner between one mile and 1 1/16 miles. She earned a 107 Beyer Speed Figure when third to the great Paseana in the Grade 2 Chula Vista Handicap at 11/16 miles. The female family has produced Avies Copy, the third-place finisher in the 1987 Kentucky.
