Pedigree Profile: Burnham Square

The Blue Grass Stakes winner is the second G1 winner for his sire bred on this nick

Last week, Burnham Square secured his place at the top of the Kentucky Derby points leaderboard with a last-to-fire win in the G1 Blue Grass Stakes. Previously a winner of the Holy Bull Stakes and last seen finishing fourth as the favorite in the Fountain of Youth, Burnham Square successfully employed his signature closing style to win the Blue Grass by a nose over a game East Avenue.

A homebred for Whitham Thoroughbreds and trained by Ian Wilkes, Burnham Square is a gelded son of Liam’s Map and out of the graded stakes winning Scat Daddy mare Linda. He is the fourth winner in as many foals to race out of his dam, who was herself a turf runner but whose foals have found their wins on dirt and synthetic. Burnham Square is by far the most accomplished foal out of his dam, whose other foals have won 15 combined races, but all under claiming or starter conditions.

Linda was also the best runner out of her dam, the graded stakes winning Sunny’s Halo mare Beautiful Noise, who produced six winners from eight starters. Beautiful Noise was a half-sister to multiple G1 winner Listening and multiple G1 placed runner Solar Echo. This branch of Lowe family 19b tracing to his fourth dam Margaret’s Number is also responsible for G1 winners Lost in the Fog, La Coronel, and Bonapaw.

Burnham Square is the second G1 winner by his sire out of a mare carrying Scat Daddy’s sire Johannesburg - G1 winner and freshman sire Basin is out of a Johannesburg mare. Liam’s Map is also the sire of stakes winner Camaro Z out of a Scat Daddy mare in 23 starters on the Liam’s Map/Johannesburg cross (13% stakes winners from starters).

Liam’s Map has stamped himself as one of the leading sons of Unbridled’s Song at stud. His current crop of two-year-olds will be his seventh since entering stud in 2016, and he has sired 27 black type winners to date (5.8% of starters). Burnham Square is his fifth lifetime G1 winner. His dam, the Trippi mare Miss Macy Sue, has been nothing short of brilliant as a producer, as the dam of three other stakes winners, including leading sire Not This Time. She is the product of inbreeding to her tail-female line, as her fourth dam Ta Wee is the dam of her broodmare sire, Great Above. Liam’s Map’s sire Unbridled’s Song introduces two additional crosses of Ta Wee’s dam Aspidistra, as his sire Unbridled is inbred 4x4 to that mare via his own tail-female line and his sire’s damsire Dr. Fager, a son of Aspidistra.

Liam’s Map never raced beyond nine furlongs but was a G1 winner of the Woodward Stakes at that distance. He is the sire of G1 winner Colonel Liam at the classic ten furlong distance, and is the sire of graded stakes winner Churn N Burn at twelve furlongs. While both of those wins came on turf, it’s evidence that he is capable of getting a true route runner, and there is enough stamina on the bottom of Burnham Square’s pedigree that I am not concerned about whether he will be able to get the Kentucky Derby distance.