Pedigree

Rasierra may find 1 1/8 miles to be a shade too far, if her pedigree is any indication. She is from the first crop of multiple Grade 2 hero Kafwain, who sustained a tendon injury early in his three-year-old season and was promptly retired. A son of champion sprinter Cherokee Run, Kafwain was a precocious two-year-old of 2002. He captured the 6 1/2-furlong Best Pal S. (G3), rallied for second in the seven-furlong Del Mar Futurity (G2), and just eked out a photo-finish victory in the 1 1/16-mile Norfolk S. (G2), his only two-turn success. Kafwain was a closing runner-up in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1), which was contested over 1 1/8 miles at Arlington Park, and was narrowly outdueled in the Hollywood Futurity (G1), only to be disqualified and placed fourth. His most impressive effort came in his sophomore debut, the seven-furlong San Vicente S. (G2), where he rumbled home by 4 1/2 lengths. In his final two outings going two turns, Kafwain was honest and workmanlike, but he did not have the same fire that he showed in the San Vicente. He crossed the wire in second in the Louisiana Derby (G2), but was disqualified and placed 10th, and finished third in the Santa Anita Derby (G1). The premature end to his career leaves some doubt about his ideal trip, but as a stallion, he has been siring sprinters so far. His leading son, Grade 3 hero and one-time Kentucky Derby (G1) hopeful Massive Drama, has not won past seven furlongs. Kafwain's multiple stakes winners Yonegwa and Kadira have likewise excelled in sprints.

The picture is not altered by Rasierra's dam, Sierras Kiara. Successful in five of 10 career starts, all in claiming company, she never raced farther than six furlongs. She has produced two winners in addition to Rasierra, but neither has won beyond 1 1/16 miles. Sierras Kiara is by Moscow Ballet, a well-bred son of Nijinsky II who garnered the six-furlong Railway S. (Ire-G3) as a juvenile in 1984. Moscow Ballet became a prominent sire in California, with his progeny recording an Average Winning Distance of 6.7 furlongs. His leading performers were fillies, including millionaire Moscow Burning, a Grade 2-winning turf marathoner, but her distance capacity was atypical. More representative were the likes of Dancing Edie, who barely held on in the 1 1/8-mile John C. Mabee H. (G1) on the turf; Grade 1 stars Golden Ballet and Dominant Dancer, who won at that elite level going 1 1/16 miles but dared to go no farther; and the brilliant speedster Soviet Problem, who finished a close second to Cherokee Run in the 1994 Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1). Moscow Ballet's daughters appear to be transmitting his speed. Notable runners out of Moscow Ballet mares include Leave Me Alone, queen of the seven-furlong Test S. (G1), and Stage Luck (Unbridled's Song), winner of the 1 1/16-mile Affectionately H. but soundly beaten in her attempts at longer distances.

Sierras Kiara hails from a speed-oriented family. Her dam, Joyful Air (Air Forbes Won), failed to win from 10 starts. She produced a total of seven winners, five of them sprinters and the other pair miler types. Joyful Air is herself out of the stakes-winning sprinter Evil Elaine (Medieval Man), making her a half-sister to Favorite Trick (Phone Trick), who was honored as Horse of the Year as a two-year-old in 1997. Favorite Trick's stamina limitations came into play the following season at three, when he was eighth in the Kentucky Derby, and as a four-year-old, he was campaigned as a turf miler. Rasierra's female line is not advancing her cause in the Kentucky Oaks, and it is a dicey proposition whether Kafwain will redress the balance sufficiently.