Classy 'n Smart


Classy 'n Smart was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by Sam-Son Farm, she won five of nine career starts, including two legs of what would later be known as the Canadian Triple Tiara. Although she was voted the 1984 Canadian Champion 3-Year-Old Filly, her primary legacy is as a champion broodmare.

Background

Classy 'n Smart was bred by and raced for Ernie Samuel's Sam-Son Farm. She was trained by Jim Day, an Olympic gold medal winner in show jumping who became a Sovereign Award winning racehorse trainer.
Classy 'n Smart was sired by Smarten, a tough and consistent racehorse who became a leading regional sire in Maryland. She was produced by the misnamed mare No Class, by Nodouble. No Class was one of the foundation mares on which the success of Sam-Son Farm was built and was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1997. In addition to Classy 'n Smart, No Class was the dam of Canadian champions Grey Classic, Regal Classic and Sky Classic, the latter also the 1992 American champion male turf horse.

Racing career

Classy 'n Smart was unraced at age two, but won in her racing debut on May 24, 1984 at Woodbine Racetrack. She then stepped up in class to win the Fury Stakes on June 3 before finishing second in the Selene Stakes on June 17.
Classy 'n Smart's next start was on July 2 in the 9-furlong Canadian Oaks, the most prestigious race for Canadian-bred three-year-old fillies. Classy 'n Smart stamped herself as the best filly of her generation with a wire-to-wire victory. It was the first of five Oaks wins for Jim Day and the first of seven Oaks wins for Sam-Son Farm.
On August 4, Classy 'n Smart finished second in the 7-furlong Duchess Stakes. Two weeks later, she won the Bison City Stakes, now the second leg of the Canadian Triple Tiara, at Fort Erie Racetrack. On September 8, she followed up with a win in the Ontario Colleen Handicap, run over Woodbine's turf course. She then finished second when she tackled older fillies and mares in the Canadian Stakes on October 7.
Classy 'n Smart's final start was in the Grade I Spinster Stakes at Keeneland, where she finished sixth behind champion racemare Princess Rooney. She finished her career with a record of five wins and three second placed finishes from nine starts. She was named the Canadian Champion Three-Year-Old Filly of 1984.

Broodmare

For all her talent on the racecourse, Classy 'n Smart is best known as an outstanding producer, causing her to be given the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Broodmare in 1991. She produced nine foals, five of whom were winners. Her foals include:
Classy 'n Smart died at age eighteen on September 28, 1999 at Sam-Son Farm. Inaugurated in 1997, the Classy 'N Smart Stakes at Woodbine Racetrack was named in her honor. In 2004, she was inducted in the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

Pedigree