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Jetinwith Kennedy
A Merited Ascent to the Top.

For the second year in a row; a solid produce record prevailed for California's Broodmare of the Year. Sixteen-year-old Jetinwith Kennedy, who was represented with three stakes winners from five runners, was the overwhelming winner over a trio of mares with one single, outstanding offspring.
Deceased Gilded Dancer, dam of two-time Sunshine Millions Distaff heroine Valentine Dancer, won the race for second spot over Mary's Dream, dam of grade I winner Dream of Summer, with Kiss for the Six, dam of grade I winner Alphabet Kisses, in fourth place.

	Jetinwith Kennedy - The 2004/2005 California Broodmare of the Year

Although she is now owned by Joan Rogers and resides at her Applebite Farms in French Camp, Calif, Jetinwith Kennedy was bred by Maxine Nazworthy and was a stakes winner herself. Now, she has passed along her special gifts to three stakes-winning offspring -2000 California Champion Jetin Excess, Jetinto Houston and Jet West -who represent the third generation of her family both bred and raced in the Golden State.

Nazworthy, who lent her name to Max Factor Cosmetics, raced horses in the name of Sledge Stable, named for the outstanding California-bred sprinter who was bred by her father, Sidney Faccor. The only horse who defeaced Native Diver as many as six times, Sledge also packed 133 pounds to a crack-record setting victory in the Jack R. Johnston Memorial Handicap over Spottsman's Park's five-furlong oval in 1964 and carried 129 pounds while establishing a new 6 1/2-furlong track record of 1:15 3/5 while winning Hawthorne's SNARO Handicap.

Maxine and her father also bred and raced a Blue Eyed Davy mare who happened to be the complece opposite of Sledge. Blue Jet Set's total racing career spanned just four races and included one win, but she became the dam of Jetinwith Kennedy. She was sent to Canadian Champion Kennedy Road, who was scanding at Ellwood Johnston's Old English Rancho. The filly who would become California's 2004/2005 Broodmare of the Year was foaled at Walnut Wood Farm on March 15, 1989.
Although she inherited her sire's heavy body and coarseness, Jetinwith Kennedy was also precocious enough to win her only start at two and nimble enough to negociate Pomona's bullring to score her first stakes win in the 1992 Las Ninas Stakes. She would also capture the Karendeb's Big Kat Handicap at Golden Gace Fields at four, place in two other stakes, and retire with four wins from 12 starts and $103,328 in earnings.
Jetinwith Kennedy demonstrated she was an extraordinary producer with her very first foal. Jetlaunch was a 1995 daughcer of the obscure Relaunch a Tune, but still managed to win seven races and $134,994 from 24 starts. She was next bred to Eclipse Champion Snow Chief and produced a colt, Jetinth' Snow, who never raced. The mare was barren in 1997, but dropped an attractive, robust In Excess (Ire) filly in 1998.

	Jetin Excess - Moccasin Stakes November 11, 2000

By this time, ill health forced Mrs. Nazworthy to cut back on her horse business. The In Excess filly, Jetin Excess, was purchased by Pico Perdomo, who had trained her mother, while Jetinwith Kennedy, in-foal to Apollo, was consigned to the 2000 Barretts January Mixed Sale at Fairplex Park. Rogers bought her for $17,000. "The purchase was recommended by Kathy Berkey, who was my agent at the time," Rogers said. "I bought her because she was a stakes winner, because she came from a solid California family -albeit without graded stakes performance, and because she had already thrown a good runner by a bad stallion. I bought her to support Western Fame."

By midsummer 2000, Jetin Excess was showing real promise. She was unleashed at Del Mar on Aug. 19 and broke her maiden at first asking by five lengths, following that up with an equally impressive tally in the Generous Portion Stakes 11 days later.
Sent out for the filly division of the California Sires Stakes on Oct. 5, Jetin Excess took command of the race around the far turn and coasted home by 5 1/2 lenghts. The easy win convinced her trainer she belonged in the Breeders' Cup.

	Jet West - Earlene McCabe Derby August 29, 2004

Unfortunately, though, there would be no trip to Louisville, Ky., for Jetin Excess in 2000. She sustained a minor foot injury while training at Santa Anita Park and Perdomo never sent her out. The trainer ran her in the Moccasin Stakes at Hollywood Park instead. Despite being undefeated in three starts, Jetin Excess went off as third choice. The race was over by the eighth pole, as Jetin Excess pulled away to a 2 1/2-length victory.
The filly concluded her 2000 campaign in The Hollywood Starlet Stakes, her first grade I test and first race around two tums. She had the lead until the final surge for the wire, losing by a neck to I Believe in You. Jetin Excess lost absolutely nothing in defeat, however, and her record of four wins from five starts and eamings of $281,950 gave her the vote as California's Champion Juvenile Filly of 2000.

Jetin Excess never raced again after the Hollywood Starlet, but waiting in the wings was her half-sister, Jetinto Houston. It took seven starts and surgery to correct a breathing problem before the Houston (Getaway Thoroughbred Farms Inc.) filly broke her maiden. By this time, Perdomo had announced he was quitting training, so Jetinto Houston was sold to Team Valor Stable and movie producer Gary Barber, whose Spyglass Entertainment was connected to the filming of ´Seabiscuit´.

In her final start for Perdomo, Jetinto Houston crushed an allowance field by 11 lengths at Golden Gate Fields, then defeated California-bred distaffers for her first stakes win in Santa Anita's Irish O'Brien Stakes in her next. She would later add a victory in the Charles H. Russell Handicap at Bay Meadows and also place in the grade III Desert Stormer Handicap at Hollywood for career earnings of $282,885.

	Jetinto Houston - Charles H. Russell Handicap September 26, 2004

Jetinwith Kennedy dropped a colt by Apollo in 2000 and was bred to Western Fame. Her Apollo colt, Shuttling, sold for $16,000 at the 2001 Barretts October Preferred Yearling Sale and won three races and $44,880 on the track. Her mating with Western Fame produced a colt who sold at the 2002 CTBA Sales' Del Mar Yearling Sale for $11,000, but was pinhooked back into the Barretts May Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training for $50,000. Purchased by trainer Art Sherman for a partnership and named Jet West, he became his dam's third stakes winner when he captured last year's Earlene McCabe Derby at Sacramento. He also ran third in Del Mar's Real Good Deal Stakes and has earned more than $120,000 to date.

Following the birth of another Western Fame colt in 2002, Berkey recommended that Jetinwith Kennedy be sent to California Champion Officer, who was standing his first season at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky. The resulting foal was a filly who was born at Applebite in 2004. Because Jetinwith Kennedy is getting on in years, Rogers plans to keep and race the Officer filly herself and then add her to the broodmare band. Jetinwith Kennedy is currently in foal to Applebite stallion Chullo (Arg).
"I decided not to breed her back to Westem Fame because that cross seemed to produce horses that were too heavy for their own good," she said. "Since the mare seems to get good runners no matter what kind of stallion she's bred to, it made good sense to send her to something more promising, like Officer. She's such a kind and conscientious mother. I'm sure she's proud of the success of her foals."

Note: The results of the 2004/2005 California Broodmare Of The Year ballot as voted by The CTBA membership through July 12, 2005, are: lst-Jetinwith Kennedy; 2nd-Gilded Dancer; 3rd-Mary's Dream; 4th-Kiss For Six; and 5th(joint)-Burning Desire and Chemolo.

By: Debra Ginsburg
Source: California Thoroughbred, August 2005.

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