As someone born in England in the post-WWII generation and living abroad, I'm very familiar with the expression 'blitey.' The expression 'blitey' or 'blighty' was originally used in Colonial Indian to designate a foreigner, usually English/British. It then evolved into a term for England as the homeland, and particularly so through WWI and WWII. It was particularly used in the sense of getting a wound, not fatal or maiming, but serious enough to be sent home a 'blitey wound.'
That being so, I always thought it was interesting that there was a prominent U.S. runner and producer called Blitey , though I had no idea of the derivation of her name. What I hadn't realized was that her sire, Riva Ridge, did have a WWII connection, as he was named for a decisive battle in WWII's Italian campaign in 1945.
Members of the 10th Mountain Brigade that fought in that battle founded the Vail Colorado Ski resort, naming one run, Riva Riva. The equine Riva Ridge was bred and campaigned by the Meadow Stable of Penny Tweedy (Chenery), whose husband had trained with the 10th Mountain Brigade, the Riva Ridge ski run being their favorite.
Although overshadowed by his year younger stablemate and fellow Meadow Stable's campaigner, Secretariat, Riva Ridge was an outstanding runner in his own—champion at 2- and 4-years-old, and successful in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes at 3—but turned out to be a disappointing sire. Blitey's dam Lady Pitt earned a title as champion 3-year-old filly in 1966 and was by 1959 champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year Sword Dancer and out of a stakes-winning daughter in Rock Drill, by 1941 Triple Crown victor, Whirlaway.
The female line came to the U.S. with the importation of the Rothschild-bred filly, Filante, in 1917 as a yearling. She became a notable producer, including as dam of Fenelon, whose successes included the Jockey Club Gold Cup and Travers Stakes both in 1940, and that horse's full stakes sister, Flying Gal, dam of the English St. Leger winner of 1936 and Eclipse Stakes scorer in 1937, Boswell.
She also appears in the tail female line of War Emblem, who took the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) in 2002. It's possible that Lady Pitt gave the British slant to the name, Blitey, as Hester Pitt, Countess of Chatham, is one of only two women to be both wife and mother to a Prime Minster of Great Britain (William Pitt the Elder, and William Pitt the Younger, both war-time leaders, although a much earlier era).
Whatever the derivation of her name, Blitey had the distinction of being the best filly among the 10 graded scorers to represent Riva Riva. She won the 1979 Test Stakes (G2), Ballerina Stakes, Maskette Stakes (G2), Imp Stakes, and Twilight Tear Stakes (both of the latter in 1980). Among her five graded-placings was a second in the 1979 Ruffian Handicap (G1) and third-best in both the Delaware Handicap (G1) and Top Flight Handicap (G1) of 1980.
As good as she was as a runner, Blitey is far more notable as a producer and foundation mare. In fact, although her first foal was only born in 1982, she is already the ancestress of almost 50 stakes winners, 32 of them graded, and no less than 15 of them grade 1 status.
Four of Blitey's own offspring captured stakes events. Her 1985 Nijinsky II colt, Dancing Spree, won the 1989 Suburban Handicap (G1) and Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1) and the 1990 Carter Handicap (G1). The 1984 model, Dancing All Night, a full sister to Dancing Spree, was a complete opposite in terms of aptitude, gaining a graded score in the Long Island Handicap (G2T) of 1988, going long on the turf. The Mr. Prospector daughter, Fantastic Find, foaled the year after Dancing Spree, captured the 1990 Hempstead Handicap (G1), and her penultimate female offspring of 1994, Furlough (by Easy Goer), took the Ballerina Handicap (G1) in 1999.
Whether they could run or not, Blitey's daughters all seemed to breed on too. Her first female offspring, Home Leave, a winning Alydar daughter, produced multiple stakes winner Extend, and is an ancestress of four graded winners, including Chilean classic winners and champions We Can Seek and Wapi (whose 2018 colt, Conquer the World, by Curlin , was the co-top-priced lot at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale in 2019, realizing $1.5 million).
Dancing All Night became the dam of three winners from eight starters, and although none of those won a black-type event, she figures as second dam of the United Nations Stakes (G1) scorer in 2017, Bigger Picture, and third of Argentine grade 1 winner Furia Azteca. Furlough produced a pair of stakes winners, including the 2006 Aqueduct Handicap (G3) winner Happy Hunting , and is granddam of Thoughtfully , successful in the 2020 Adirondack Stakes (G2), and Annual Report , who took the 2015 Futurity Stakes (G2). Furlough's year older sister, Loping Along, is granddam of 2020 South American graded scorer, Bahia Linda, and of Quiet Temper, who took the 2010 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) and Boyd Gaming's Delta Princess Stakes Powered by Youbet.com (G3) in 2009.
As successful as they have been, none of the above-mentioned daughters of Blitey have exerted the influence of her two most important producers, Oh What a Dance and Fantastic Find, a duo that was represented by graded stakes-winning descendants in successive races on Santa Anita Opening Day on Dec. 26.
Oh What a Dance, an unraced full sister to Dancing Spree and Dancing All Night, was notably the dam of the grade 1-winning Seeking the Gold sisters, Heavenly Prize , who scored no less than eight times at the highest level, and Oh What a Windfall. She is also ancestress of other grade 1 winners Good Reward , Dancing Forever , Persistently , and Instilled Regard .
The latest descendent of Oh What a Dance to annex a major race is Queen Goddess . A great-great-granddaughter of Heavenly Prize, Queen Goddess was making her dirt debut when taking the off-the-turf American Oaks (G2). A grade 1 event, the American Oaks was automatically downgraded after being switched to the main track, but has a good chance of being restored to grade 1 status this week. By Empire Maker , out of the stakes-placed Lemon Drop Kid mare Royal Story , Queen Goddess is bred on a similar cross to the graded stakes winner Sky Kingdom (by Empire Maker out of a mare by Lemon Drop Kid's sire, Kingmambo), it's also rather similar to 2017 Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) heroine, Forever Unbridled , who is by a son of Unbridled out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare.
The only one of Blitey's notable daughters we haven't yet considered is Fantastic Find . She produced only one stakes winner, but that one was the excellent Storm Cat sprinter/miler Finder's Fee, who earned victories in five black-type events, including the 2000 Acorn Stakes (G1) and 1999 Matron Stakes (G1). Finder's Fee never produced a stakes winner, but her black-type placed Dynaformer daughter, Receipt , got the family back on track as the dam of Feathered (by Indian Charlie), winner of the 2015 Edgewood Stakes (G3T), and runner-up in the 2015 American Oaks (G1T) and 2014 Starlet Stakes (G1).
It's Feathered's second foal, Flightline , who has become the 'now' horse of North American racing following his stunning display in the RUNHAPPY Malibu Stakes (G1), on Dec. 26. Despite being on apparent cruise control, Flightline took the Malibu by 11 1/2 lengths in a fast 1:21.37. Recording his third win in three starts, he earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 118 (following figures of 114 and 105 on his previous two starts) and his victories have been earned by a total winning margin of 37 1/2 lengths.
Flightline is one of two stakes winners from 11 starters by his veteran sire, Tapit , out of mares by Indian Charlie. In addition, Tapit's sons, Tapiture and Mohaymen , both have stakes winners out of Indian Charlie mares (2021 first crop graded-winning 2-year-old, Elm Drive , in the case of Mohaymen), and Tapit's son, Constitution , has the promising 2021 Iroquois Stakes (G3) winner, Major General , out of a mare by Uncle Mo (a product of the same Indian Charlie/Roberto cross as the dam of Flightline). We'll also note that five of Feathered's eight grandparents are from the I Achilli mitochondrial haplotype, suggesting that there is a good chance that she is homozygous for the nuclear DNA that combines well with that haplotype.