Yankee Doll was foaled on May 21st, 1974. She was bred by Jerry A. Rheudasil and Roy L. Marcom, Jr. in Texas. Yankee Doll was by Mito Paint, an exceptional Thoroughbred sire of Quarter Horses. Mito Paint. stood at the Phillips Ranch in Frisco, Texas. One of his first foals, Mito Wise Dancer, defeated two-time World Champion Dash for Cash to win the 1976 All American Derby. The success of Mito Wise Dancer sparked immediate interest in the Mito bloodline. His foals were recognized for their speed, substantial bone and good minds. His offspring earned $3,768,994 on the track and 1,195.5 points in the arena.
Crafty Yankee, the dam of Yankee Doll, was by Crafty Actor, sire of 156 Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses that earned $815,651 on the track. Crafty Yankee’s dam, Picks Girl, won nineteen races and earned $54,048 on the track. Picks Girl set a new track record at Lincoln Downs for 4 ½ furlongs in 0:55.2 seconds. She produced five race winners. Crafty Yankee won five races and earned $7,583 on Thoroughbred tracks. She was in four starts against Quarter Horse company. Crafty Yankee only produced two foals – an unraced Quarter Horse gelding named Just Plain Brown and Yankee Doll.
Yankee Doll remained under the ownership of Jerry A. Rheudasil and his wife Myrna Rheudasil. She was trained by Joe L. Richards. She made twelve starts, won three races, and earned $9,496 on the track, the equivalent of about $50,000 today. “Jerry and I have always known that there’s one quality nobody can measure in a horse just by looking at the bone structure, and it’s the desire, the heart, the elusive ingredient in some horses that won’t allow them to quit,” Myrna told Lyn Jank at Speedhorse Magazine. “Yankee Doll had it. Her best lick was the ⅝ mile, but she was overtaken after that, although she always fought hard not to be.”
Yankee Doll won some impressive races, but her main role in destiny lay beyond the wire. In 1980, Yankee Doll gave birth to her first foal, a brown filly by Windy Ryon. Her name was Yankee Win. She won the Valentine Futurity, TQHA Texas Futurity and Rainbow Futurity. Yankee Win also set a new track record for 330 yards at Trinity Meadows in Willow Park, Texas. She was recognized as the 1982 AQHA Racing Champion Two-Year-Old Filly for her accomplishments. In total, Yankee Win made twelve starts, won ten races, and earned $395,592 on the track.
“Yankee Win always wanted to win,” Myrna told Speedhorse. “When you gave her a fair run, she was gone. Nothing could discourage her. Because we owned her grandmother and her mother, because we knew and respected her sire, Windy Ryon, because of how we felt about Mito Paint, and most of all, because of the filly herself, she was purely a part of our family.” Unfortunately, Yankee Win died before she could produce any foals.
Yankee Doll’s second foal was the great On a High. The dark brown colt by Dash for Cash won nine races including the Gr. 1 All American Futurity. He also won the TQHA Texas Futurity, National and Stakes Invitational Championship Derby. On a High was the High Money Earning Horse in 1983. He earned a total of $1,167,234 on the track. After the success of Yankee Win and On a High, Yankee Doll was named the 1983 Broodmare of the Year.
As a sire, On a High secured his spot in the history books. He sired 964 Quarter Horse foals. They won 1,454 races and earned $9,920,030 on the track. His leading money earner, See Me Do It, won the Gr. 1 Rainbow Derby, Gr. 1 All American Derby, Gr. 1 Champion of Champions, Gr. 1 World’s Championship Classic and Gr. 1 All American Gold Cup. His offspring also earned money in the National Snaffle Bit Association and the Barrel Futurities of America. They earned 492.0 points in the arena. On a High is still ranked 25th on the list of All-Time Leading Broodmare Sires by Money Earned. Tailor Fit, the highest earning racehorse out of an On a High mare, was a two-time AQHA World Champion.
Yankee Doll produced three more foals by Dash for Cash – Yankee Dash, My Dashing Doll and Yankee Song. Yankee Dash placed third in the All American Derby and the Rainbow Derby. Her daughters Merry Yankee and Yankee Six were unplaced on the track. Merry Yankee produced race winners Flashproof, Merry Maverick, Prize Finder, Stolidoc and Yankee Debut. Yankee Six was exported to Argentina and produced at least nine foals. My Dashing Doll and Yankee Song were unraced.
Yankee Doll’s only foal by Streakin Six was named Hero. He won the 1987 Ruidoso 550 Championship. Hero did not sire any foals. Yankee Doll passed away sometime after she produced her last foal in 1985. She was recognized as an AQHA Dam of Distinction in 2006. Her accomplishments as a racehorse and broodmare are a direct reflection of the dedication the Rheudasils had to their program and their horses.
Sources: Equibase, Equineline, American Quarter Horse Association, Speedhorse Magazine, All Breed Database
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