The Dam of Distinction award for Pandorum was presented by AQHA Executive Committee member Jim Brinkman and accepted by Christine Sutton, manager for Bob Moore Farms.

© Emily Paulk, StallioneSearch

By StallioneSearch

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA–JANUARY 17, 2026– Pandorum was honored January 14 during the AQHA Racing Champions Ceremony at Heritage Place in Oklahoma City after earning the prestigious AQHA Dam of Distinction title, one of the highest recognitions awarded to broodmares in American Quarter Horse racing.

To qualify for the award, a mare must meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Produce two or more individual AQHA racing champions.
• Produce at least three individual Grade 1 stakes winners.
• Produce at least two foals ranked among the top 10 money earners of any given year (as of December 31), along with two Grade 1 stakes winners.
• Produce at least three foals that ranked among the top 10 money earners of any given year (as of December 31).

Bred by AQHA Hall of Fame member Joe Kirk Fulton and owned by Fulton Quien Sabe Ranch, Pandorum is a 2009 brown mare by Champion sire Tres Seis and out of Daring Diversion by Strawfly Special. A graded stakes winner herself, Pandorum won the Sam Houston Juvenile Challenge (G3), set a 350-yard track record with a 109 speed index, and retired with four wins from eight starts and earnings of $70,437.

Hott Temptation winning the Mildred N. Vessels Memorial Handicap (G1) at Los Alamitos. © William Zuazo

Her broodmare record elevated her into historic company following her daughter Hott Temptation’s victory in the Grade 1 Mildred N. Vessels Memorial Handicap in September, completing the requirements for the Dam of Distinction designation. Pandorum is the dam of three Grade 1 winners, led by two-time AQHA Champion Hotstepper SI 98, winner of the All American Derby (G1) and Texas Classic Derby (G1), who earned $1,336,359. She is also the dam of Hotsempting SI 99, winner of the Ruidoso Derby (G1) with earnings of $682,793, and Hott Temptation SI 98, a Grade 1 winner with $244,992 in earnings.

In addition to her top-level winners, Pandorum has produced multiple Grade 1 performers, including In Hott Pursuit SI 93, Hot Prodigy SI 95, and Caliente Caramelo SI 96. In total, she has produced eight starters, seven winners, and more than $2.8 million in progeny earnings.

Grade 1 stakes finalist Hot Prodigy now stands at Bob Moore Farms in Norman, OK. © Tammy Donnell

Two of her sons are now standing at stud, with Hot Prodigy, by Apollitical Jess, entering stud at Bob Moore Farms, and In Hott Pursuit, by One Famous Eagle, standing at Dunn Ranch. Her influence is also extending into the next generation, as her daughter In The Spotlyte is the dam of Los Alamitos Two Million Juvenile-placed Lytes Out and Oklahoma Juvenile-placed Right On Tyme.

AQHA Chief of Racing Janet VanBebber, speaking on behalf of the ownership, reflected on Joe Kirk Fulton’s legacy. “I watched his mare program since my youth, and the fact that Merle and Kurt and Tim have gone on and done so well with the legacy that he started, I know that they are very proud of this today, and I know that Joe Kirk is smiling down upon us,” VanBebber said.

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