Hugh's Legend

Pedigree Overview

Hugh's Legend is a Maryland-bred bay filly foaled February 15, 2024, by Great Notion out of the stakes-winning Silver Train mare Bawlmer Hon. Bred by Bowman & Higgins Stable, she was purchased by HnR Nothhaft Horse Racing for $75,000 at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling Sale. She is also Maryland Million certified.

Her pedigree brings together two established Mid-Atlantic influences. Great Notion became a long-standing leading sire in Maryland, while the female family has produced multiple stakes winners and durable regional performers across several generations. Bawlmer Hon was a stakes winner herself and has already produced stakes winner Super Accelerate and multiple winner Quistmer.

The pedigree is centered on speed and one-turn racing. Great Notion contributes the Gone West and Elusive Quality branch of Mr. Prospector, while Bawlmer Hon adds Silver Train, A.P. Indy, Not For Love, and a deeper Maryland family represented by Proud Owner and Owned by All.

Sire Line Analysis

Great Notion is by Elusive Quality out of Evening Primrose, by Dayjur. He won the Southwest Stakes and finished second in the Grade 1 King's Bishop Stakes and Grade 2 Amsterdam Stakes, establishing his racing profile around sprint and one-turn distances.

Elusive Quality was a son of Gone West, whose sire Mr. Prospector appears prominently throughout Hugh's Legend's pedigree. This branch has been associated with speed, early racing ability, and success on both dirt and turf. Great Notion's dam adds Dayjur, an elite international sprinter from the Danzig line, further concentrating the pedigree around acceleration and sprint performance.

Great Notion developed into a significant regional sire. The Equineline statistics credit him with 393 winners and 47 black-type winners from 495 starters, with progeny earnings exceeding $52.1 million and an Average Earnings Index of 1.46. His 78 percent starter rate and 62 percent winner rate from foals of racing age reflect sustained productivity across a long stud career.

His leading runners include multiple graded stakes winners Future Is Now and Havelock, graded stakes winner Coastal Mission, Ruby Notion, Anna's Bandit, Fille d'Esprit, and Witty. These runners represent the durability and surface versatility that characterized Great Notion's stud record, with significant performances in regional stakes, graded company, and the Maryland Million program.

Great Notion's sire record is particularly relevant to Hugh's Legend because his influence was built within the same Maryland racing environment for which she is eligible. His progeny repeatedly succeeded in Maryland-bred and Maryland Million races, giving the sire line a direct connection to the regional opportunities available to this filly.

For Hugh's Legend, Great Notion supplies proven sprint ability, juvenile potential, and a record of producing runners who remained effective through multiple seasons. His ability to sire winners from a broad range of mares also supports the combination with Bawlmer Hon's A.P. Indy and Not For Love background.

Female Family Analysis

Hugh's Legend is out of Bawlmer Hon, a daughter of Silver Train who won five races at three and four and earned $229,832. Her victories included the All Brandy Stakes, and she also finished second in the Maryland Racing Media Stakes and third in the Conniver Stakes. Her record establishes black-type performance immediately within Hugh's Legend's maternal line.

Bawlmer Hon has produced two winners from her first two runners. Super Accelerate, by Accelerate, won the Star de Naskra Stakes and placed in the Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial Stakes, earning $167,550. Quistmer, by Nyquist, won at three and four through 2025 and earned $37,498. This gives Hugh's Legend a stakes-winning half-brother and another winning half-brother close to the front of the pedigree.

Silver Train, the broodmare sire, was a Grade 1-winning sprinter by Old Trieste. Old Trieste was a son of A.P. Indy, bringing Seattle Slew and Weekend Surprise into the pedigree. This gives the female side a combination of sprint performance through Silver Train and classic dirt influence through A.P. Indy.

The second dam, Manhattan Madam, is by Not For Love, another major Maryland sire. She produced eight winners, including Bawlmer Hon, durable multiple winner Up Against It, and Old Bay. Up Against It won 16 races through age nine and earned $393,498, while Old Bay won four races from two through four and earned $200,207 through 2025.

Not For Love was a son of Mr. Prospector out of Dance Number, by Northern Dancer. His presence in the second dam adds another proven Mid-Atlantic influence and reinforces the pedigree's concentration of Mr. Prospector and Northern Dancer.

The third dam, Proud Owner, won 11 races and earned $568,982. Her stakes victories included the Snow Goose Handicap, Hilltop Stakes, Lady Dean Stakes, Pearl Necklace Stakes, Grecian Flight Stakes, and Twin Lights Stakes. She also finished second in the Grade 3 Eatontown Stakes and several additional black-type events.

The fourth dam, Owned by All, won 15 races from two through six and earned $328,983. She won two editions of the Geisha Handicap and two editions of the Flocarline Handicap and finished second in the Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie Handicap. Her other notable runners included stakes winners Owned by Us and How About Becky.

This female family has repeatedly produced horses capable of sustained racing careers. The records of Owned by All, Proud Owner, Up Against It, Bawlmer Hon, and Super Accelerate provide a consistent pattern of winners and stakes performers within the Maryland program.

Linebreeding and Genetic Structure

Hugh's Legend is linebred to Mr. Prospector at 4 x 5 x 4. The two sire-side appearances come through Gone West and Gold Beauty, while the dam-side occurrence comes through Not For Love. This concentrates Mr. Prospector through three separate branches and places the influence in both halves of the pedigree.

Raise a Native and Gold Digger, the parents of Mr. Prospector, each appear at 5 x 5. Northern Dancer appears 5 x 5 x 5 through Hero's Honor, Danzig, and Dance Number. These repetitions combine important speed influences while using separate descendants.

The wider structure also includes Dayjur, A.P. Indy, Seattle Slew, His Majesty, Sir Ivor, Riverman, and Proud Truth. Great Notion contributes a concentrated speed pattern through Elusive Quality and Dayjur, while the dam supplies a dirt foundation through Silver Train, A.P. Indy, and Not For Love.

Hugh's Legend has a Dosage Profile of 6-5-11-0-0, with 22 dosage points, a Dosage Index of 3.00, and a Center of Distribution of +0.77. The largest concentration falls in the Classic category, supported by Brilliant and Intermediate influences. The figures indicate a speed-oriented profile with sufficient balance for distances beyond the shortest sprints.

Nick Ratings / Statistical Evaluation

Great Notion's sire statistics show 495 starters, 393 winners, and 47 black-type winners from 631 foals of racing age. His runners earned more than $52.1 million and produced an AEI of 1.46.

Silver Train's broodmare-sire record includes 126 winners and seven black-type winners from 195 starters, with progeny earnings exceeding $8.9 million. His average statistics as a broodmare sire are supported by the A.P. Indy and Old Trieste influences carried through his pedigree.

The exact Great Notion and Silver Train cross has only one foal of racing age in the available statistics, with no starter recorded at the time of the report. The direct sample is therefore too limited to provide a meaningful performance comparison. The broader pedigree can also be considered through Great Notion with Old Trieste-line mares and through Elusive Quality or Gone West with Silver Train and Old Trieste mares.

Commercial Implications

Hugh's Legend combines a proven Maryland sire with a stakes-winning dam and a female family deeply established in the Mid-Atlantic program. Her immediate family includes stakes winner Super Accelerate, winner Quistmer, durable winner Up Against It, and Old Bay, while the deeper line contains Proud Owner and Owned by All.

Her $75,000 yearling purchase price reflects the commercial appeal of a Maryland-bred filly by Great Notion from an active stakes family. Her Maryland Million certification provides access to a program in which Great Notion and the Not For Love family have been repeatedly represented.

For a stable profile, Hugh's Legend can be presented as a filly with a sprint-to-mile pedigree, immediate black-type family, and direct eligibility for Maryland-bred opportunities. Great Notion supplies regional sire strength and versatility, while Bawlmer Hon contributes stakes performance, proven production, and a female line noted for sustained racing careers.