Page 116 - Speedhorse July 2018

Jerry Whittle aboard Lady Bug’s Moon as a yearling with Marvin Barnes at the bit. Lady Bug’s Moon
(Top Moon-FL Lady Bug, Sergeant), the sire of Jerry’s Bug, earned over $191,000 winning multiple stakes and finishing second in the 1966 All American Futurity. Lady Bug’s Moon is the sire of Champion
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Mr Master Bug & Rocket Jet Bug.
Every foal out of FL Lady Bug (pictured below) could run, although, “. . . no one recognized her real worth until she was an old lady.” Marvin Barnes trained her foals and Jerry Whittle broke them, including Lady Bug’s Moon and Top Ladybug.
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old and unbroken and in foal to Black Signal, Carl Mercer’s Thoroughbred horse. Jerry went ahead and broke her in foal. After she foaled, they took her and her baby to Stroud. Marvin milked her out and ran her in her first race, which she won by 4-lengths. He never ran her in any race where she won much money, but she did AAA and they knew she had speed.
She was a real good looking mare and proved to be a producer. Lady Lasan became the dam of Top Bug, the Champion 2-Year-Old Filly
in 1968. She was the dam of Top Bug Too and several horses that won over $50,000. In 1968, when Lady Bug’s Moon ran second in the All American Futurity, Top Bug ran third and Ralph’s Lady Bug ran fourth. Ralph’s Lady Bug is out of FL Lady Bug Leo and is the dam of Bugs Alive In ’75.
Marvin now had tried three foals out of FL Lady Bug, all by different horses, and they all could fly, so he wanted the old mare back. It cost him $4,500 this time, but she was home to stay. “Then, 1966 was Top Ladybug’s year,” Whittle continues. “Pete Winters had gotten us a breeding to Top Deck, and the 1964 foal was Top Ladybug, the AAAT mare who was named Champion Running 2-Year-Old Filly
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trained by Barnes, shown winning the 1967 Raton Derby.
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114
SPEEDHORSE, July 2018
LOOKING BACK - AN EXCERPT FROM JANUARY 1978 ISSUE