2010 Sovereign Awards: Indian Apple IS

Claimed from his career debut in 1988, the horse took the Toronto family to the Queen’s Plate (he lost by a scant nose to With Approval) and to the winner’s circle of many important stakes races, including one in New York.

At stud, he is the horse that keeps on giving.

DiGiulio thanked Domasca Dan once again, when he accepted the Sovereign Award for Indian Apple Is, the champion female sprinter of 2010 and a granddaughter of the 25-year-old stallion.

Scroll to continue with content

“I wouldn’t be here tonight if it is wasn’t for him,” said DiGiulio Jr., who collected Sovereigns in 2001 when another “Dan” relative, Win City, was named Horse of the Year.

Trained by Robert Tiller, who has been conditioning the horses for the DiGiulio family since they started in the business, Indian Apple Is took her time to polish her skills but had a career season in 2010.

A daughter of top American sire Indian Charlie, Indian Apple Is was well regarded by her interests when she debuted on May 9, 2009. The dark bay did not have a sharp start out of the gate but got up to be third behind Careless Jewel, who went on to become a Grade I winner. Two weeks later, Indian Apple Is won her maiden with a speed style, which she would use to later win allowance races and then the Ruling Angel Stakes. In fact, the filly was so fast and so eager to go that one of those wins came after she broke through the starting gate a split second before her rivals. She was later deemed a nonstarter by the stewards.

Her championship season began in an allowance dash on Apr. 11 at 5 _ furlongs, which was a bit short for the sizy gal but she was a runner-up to fellow stakes winner Bent Attorney.

She won her next race, her first with Chantal Sutherland riding, and that combination proved to be a successful one for the remainder of the year.

Following an experimental outing at 1 1/16 miles, Indian Apple Is was quickly returned to sprinting for the July 1 Sweet Briar Too Stakes, which turned out to be a pivotal event for the Sovereign voters.

In that seven-furlong dash, Indian Apple Is and Sutherland angled out wide from off the pace and edged past the 2009 champion female sprinter Tribal Belle for the win. “Her strides are just so big,” said Sutherland.

“She makes up so much ground when she gets going.”

The pair finished second in the Grade III Seaway Stakes in September when the tough speedster Hooh Why secured the early lead and was too stubborn to get past. A victory in the Ontario Fashion, at six furlongs on Halloween, wrapped up the Sovereign for Indian Apple Is.

“It was a wonderful win,” said Tiller. “We weren’t really expecting to win. Three-quarters is a little short for her.”

While the season did not end on a high note for Indian Apple Is when she wandered home eighth in the Bessarabian Stakes in November, she wintered well according to DiGiulio and will race again in 2011.

“I owe a lot to Ron Clarkson, who did all the work raising Indian Apple Is for us,” said DiGiulio.

Domasca Bella is Indian Apple Is’s dam and she won the Royal North Stakes as a five-year-old in 1997. As a broodmare, Domasca Bella has had five runners and all are winners, In addition to Indian Apple Is, her 2004 foal, Yolie, a filly by Menifee, won over $300,000 in her career and produed her first foal this year, a filly by Milwaukee Brew. Domasca Bella has a 2010 filly by Bold Executive.