Groupie Doll

A pair of Grade 1 victories by Groupie Doll in the first half of 2012 earned her a bit of a vacation prior to serious preparation for the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint (Grade 1) for co-owner, co-breeder and trainer Buff Bradley and his father, Fred. Groupie Doll returned from the layoff in late summer 2012, winning the Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (G2) and Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes (G2) before rolling to a dominant win in the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint.

Groupie Doll repeated her win in the Filly and Mare Sprint the next year in a year that also saw her repeat in the Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes (G2). At the end of the year she repeated again as Champion Female Sprinter, an honor she had also received in 2012.

The Bradleys raced the filly in partnership with Carl Hurst and Brent Burns until she was sold at the 2013 Keeneland November sale for $3.1 million. She was purchased by Mandy Pope, an owner-breeder well-known for acquiring popular race mares for her broodmare band. Groupie Doll raced twice in the name of Pope's Whisper Hill Farm after the sale, finishing a troubled fourth in the Grade 1 Cigar Mile against the boys and winning the Grade 3 Hurricane Bertie Stakes in January 2014 before being bred to top sire Tapit.

Groupie Doll was foaled and raised on the Bradleys’ Indian Ridge Farm in Frankfort, Kentucky, and that’s where she spent her vacation time off the track. In her race just prior to her time off, Groupie Doll set a track record for seven furlongs at Churchill Downs when winning the Humana Distaff in 1:20.44 on Kentucky Derby day. Fred Bradley paid $25,000 for Deputy Doll as a yearling in 1997 and Groupie Doll is by far her most accomplished foal to date.

At Indian Ridge, Groupie Doll was able to romp with her paddock mate Brass Hat, the 11-year-old Prized gelding who retired in 2011 with ten victories and purse earnings of $2,173,561.

“I like to tell people. ‘Yeah, I’ve got a couple of Grade 1 winners running around the field,” Bradley said.

Bradley said he doesn’t remember every equine foaled at Indian Ridge but he remembers the birthday of Groupie Doll.

“I remember the day she foaled because she was such a beautiful red filly. I don’t remember them all, but she stood out from day one. It’s pretty cool to watch her now.”