My Dear Stakes · Woodbine, 2023HnR BredMSW
Living Magic
Chestnut Filly, 2021 · Justify out of Living the Life (IRE), by Footstepsinthesand
10
Starts
3
Wins
$222,917
Earnings
93
Top Figure
My Dear Stakes · Woodbine, 2023Living Magic was a multiple stakes winner at two for HnR Nothhaft Horse Racing, which bred her, raced her through all ten starts of her career, and retained her as a broodmare. She won on dirt, on all-weather, and on turf inside six months of her debut, and she was the first black-type winner produced by Living the Life.
She was foaled in Kentucky on January 22, 2021, by the 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, and she was the first female foal out of Living the Life, the Irish-bred daughter of Footstepsinthesand that HnR bought for less than $50,000 and campaigned to $1,028,394. That mare won two runnings of the Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (G2) and the All American Stakes (G3), and placed in the Santa Margarita Stakes (G1). Henry Nothhaft retained the filly to carry the female line forward. Phil Schoenthal trained her from first start to last.
She debuted at Parx Racing on May 1, 2023, at four and a half furlongs on the dirt in a maiden special weight contested entirely by first-time starters. Away sixth of seven and outrun through the opening quarter, she came three wide on the turn under Victor Carrasco, took over near the eighth pole, and held Troubled Dreams by half a length. Five weeks later she went to Belmont Park for the Astoria Stakes at five and a half furlongs. She was brushed by a rival just after the break and squeezed back between horses, raced two then three wide on the turn, came four wide into the stretch, and finished third behind Closing Act.
Blinkers went on for the My Dear Stakes at Woodbine on July 15. Schoenthal and Nothhaft chose the race on the strength of the dam’s record over synthetic surfaces, passing up the Schuylerville at Saratoga to do it. Racing over the Tapeta in a heavy summer rain under Rafael Hernandez, Living Magic took a narrow lead on the rail down the backside, put away the first challenger two furlongs from home, repelled a second bid from outside at the furlong marker, and held off Dancing Duchess at the wire to win by three-quarters of a length in 1:03.55. She paid $16.60. It was her third lifetime start.
At Presque Isle Downs on September 25, over the track where her dam had twice won the Masters, she carried 122 pounds against a field mostly weighted at 118 in the Presque Isle Debutante Stakes. She improved position two paths off the rail through the turn, came three wide into the stretch, got her head in front late, and was beaten half a length by Rosa.
Her best race came on October 27 at Aqueduct in the Chelsey Flower Stakes, at a mile and a sixteenth on turf, a distance and a surface she had not previously won over. Sent off at 16.90 to $1 under Ruben Silvera, she tracked just off the inside in closest pursuit of the leader, came under coaxing at the five-sixteenths, swung three wide into upper stretch, and took command seventy yards from home to beat the 2.35 favorite Ozara (IRE) by a length and a quarter. The winner’s share was $74,250, the largest purse of her career, and the win made her a multiple stakes winner in her sixth start.
She returned at three in the Cincinnati Trophy Stakes at Turfway Park on March 1, 2024, and finished third as the favorite. Her next start was the Appalachian Stakes (G2) at Keeneland, the only graded race she contested. She was sandwiched between rivals at the break, forced to steady entering the first turn, and blocked again entering the lane in a field of twelve. She recovered four positions through the stretch without clear racing room and finished seventh, running the fastest Equibase Speed Figure of her career, a 93. Three weeks later at Aqueduct, in the Memories Of Silver Stakes, she lunged at the start and was away a step slow, then closed between horses through the final furlong and was beaten a nose for third in a mile run in 1:35.79.
She retired from the track with ten starts, three wins, a second, and two thirds, and earnings of $222,917 and begins her career as a broodmare with a foal by Citizen Bull expected in 2027.
Living Magic is by the 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, unbeaten in six starts, out of the multiple graded stakes-winning Living the Life (IRE), by Footstepsinthesand (GB). Her dam won ten of 35 starts and $1,028,394 in Britain and North America, including two runnings of the Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (G2), the All American Stakes (G3), and the Camilla Urso Stakes, with placings in the Santa Margarita (G1), the Santa Maria (G2), and the Great Lady M (G2).
The analysis below is Thoroughbred Intelligence’s, reproduced as written.
Justify is by Scat Daddy out of Stage Magic, by Ghostzapper. Unbeaten in six starts, he won the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes in 2018. His pedigree brings together the Johannesburg and Storm Cat branch through Scat Daddy with Ghostzapper, Awesome Again, Deputy Minister, Pulpit, and A.P. Indy through his dam.
Scat Daddy became an international influence whose progeny succeeded on dirt and turf. His branch contributes speed and early development, while Justify’s maternal family adds American dirt and middle-distance quality. Stage Magic was by Ghostzapper, whose pedigree combines Awesome Again and Deputy Minister with Relaunch through Baby Zip.
The available sire statistics credit Justify with 402 winners and 64 black-type winners from 634 starters. His progeny had earned more than $69.2 million and recorded an Average Earnings Index of 2.00. These figures reflect an international sire record represented by runners across multiple surfaces and distance ranges.
Living Magic belongs to Justify’s early crops and provided him with a multiple stakes winner at two. Her juvenile success is consistent with the speed contributed through Scat Daddy and Storm Cat, supported by the broader scope of Ghostzapper and A.P. Indy.
Living Magic is the first female foal out of Living The Life, an Irish-bred daughter of Footstepsinthesand. Living The Life won ten of 35 starts and earned $1,028,394 while competing in Britain and North America. Her principal victories included two editions of the Grade 2 Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes, the Grade 3 All American Stakes, and the Camilla Urso Stakes. She also placed in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Stakes, Grade 2 Santa Maria Stakes, and Grade 2 Great Lady M Stakes.
Living The Life’s racing record provides a direct source of durability and surface versatility. She won in England before developing into a multiple graded stakes winner in the United States, with major performances on synthetic and dirt surfaces. Living Magic followed a related pattern by succeeding on dirt, synthetic, and turf during her two-season career.
Living Magic has a full brother, Appeared, also by Justify. Appeared became a winner in Ireland, giving Living The Life two winners from the same mating and supporting the compatibility of Justify with this female family.
Footstepsinthesand, the broodmare sire, is by Giant’s Causeway out of Glatisant, by Rainbow Quest. Giant’s Causeway introduces Storm Cat and Mariah’s Storm, while Glatisant contributes Rainbow Quest, Green Dancer, and Nijinsky II. This branch supplies turf aptitude and middle-distance support behind Living Magic’s juvenile speed.
The second dam, Colour And Spice, is by Machiavellian, a son of Mr. Prospector out of Coup de Folie. The third dam, Looking Brill, is by Sadler’s Wells and produced stakes winner Step With Style. Step With Style later produced graded stakes-placed Firey Red and Group 3-placed juvenile Absolute Glee. The family also includes Kool Kompany, winner of the Group 2 Railway Stakes, Group 2 Prix Robert Papin, and Group 3 Craven Stakes, and runner-up in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes.
Living Magic is inbred 4 x 4 to Mr. Prospector. The sire-side occurrence comes through Love Style, the dam of Scat Daddy, while the dam-side occurrence comes through Machiavellian, the sire of Colour And Spice.
Storm Cat appears 5 x 4 through Hennessy on Justify’s side and Giant’s Causeway on the dam’s side. Raise a Native and Gold Digger, the parents of Mr. Prospector, are each duplicated 5 x 5. These concentrations bring established speed influences through separate branches in both halves of the pedigree.
Living Magic’s Dosage Profile is 2-6-14-2-0, with 24 dosage points, a Dosage Index of 1.67, and a Center of Distribution of +0.33. The largest concentration falls in the Classic category, supported by Intermediate and Solid influences. The profile is consistent with a runner possessing juvenile speed and sufficient balance to perform effectively through one mile.
The direct Justify and Footstepsinthesand cross consists of three foals of racing age from one mare. Two became starters, both became winners, and one became a black-type winner. The cross recorded earnings of $238,767 and an Average Earnings Index of 2.44.
Living Magic is the black-type winner responsible for the cross’s stakes success, while Appeared is its other winner.
Her name draws on her dam, Living the Life (IRE), and Stage Magic, the dam of her sire Justify.