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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Express Kid, who sold for $2,000 at an Arizona auction last year, is now on the Kentucky Derby (G1) trail after a dominant upset victory in the $300,000 Remington Springboard Mile Stakes at Remington Park Dec. 20.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The top five betting choices were the first five home in Japan's G1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes on Sunday, with second choice Cavallerizzo closing to take the juvenile contest by three-quarters of a length. Diamond Knot (Bricks And Mortar), a 7-1 shot, was second, with the formerly undefeated favourite Admire Quads (Real Steel) gamely snatching third, a length behind. Sent off at 13-5, the son of Saturnalia raced content in midfield well off the fence, with the first quarter covered in :23.20. At the half-mile marker, Diamond Knot was firmly in charge, with the lathered Cavallerizzo in good order as the field rounded the bend. In need of running room at the head of the straight, a gap slammed shut on the eventual winner and Christian Demuro called an audible and steered back to the inside. Rolling under a full head of steam, Cavallerizzo exploded late to just pass a stubborn Diamond Knot four jumps from the wire. “After a normal start, I had a good position behind Yuga [Kawada],” said Cristian Demuro. “In the last corner I had a little bit of a trouble with another horse next to me but when I asked my horse to go inside, he had a good reaction, a good turn of foot. Christophe [Lemaire] was trying to escape but my horse was very strong in the end.” A five-length winner at first asking at Chukyo in August, Cavallerizzo finished just a head short of Admire Quads in the G2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes at Kyoto over this trip on November 15. Pedigree Notes G1 Satsuki Sho (Japanese 2000 Guineas) hero Saturnalia now counts six stakes winners among his progeny, five at the group level. Cavallerizzo is his first Group 1 winner worldwide. Like G3 Fantasy Stakes heroine Festival Hill, the colt is out of a Heart's Cry mare. The first foal for his dam who won thrice from three to five, the son of Saturnalia is followed by a yearling filly by Lord Kanaloa and a weanling filly by Leontes. Balladist was covered by Justin Milano last spring. Second dam Balada Sale (Not For Sale) was a champion three-year-old filly in Argentina and won a pair of Group 1 races there. Balada Sale also left the multiple group winner and G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) third Satono Flag (Deep Impact). The classy G1 Polla de Potrillos hero-turned-sire Le Blues (Roman Ruler) is a half-brother to Balada Sale. Sunday, Hanshin, Japan ASAHI HAI FUTURITY STAKES-G1, ¥135,480,000, Hanshin, 12-21, 2yo, c/f, 1600mT, 1:33.20, sf. 1–CAVALLERIZZO (JPN), 123, c, 2, by Saturnalia (Jpn) 1st Dam: Balladist (Jpn), by Heart's Cry (Jpn) 2nd Dam: Balada Sale (Arg), by Not for Sale (Arg) 3rd Dam: La Balada (Arg), by Confidential Talk 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN. 1ST GROUP WIN. 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Silk Racing; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); T-Tatsuya Yoshioka; J-Cristian Demuro; ¥71,036,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-1-0, ¥93,624,000. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Diamond Knot (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Bricks And Mortar–Endless Knot (Jpn), by Deep Impact (Jpn). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Makoto Kaneko Holdings; B-Bando Farm (Jpn); ¥28,296,000. 3–Admire Quads (Jpn), 123, c, 2, Real Steel (Jpn)–Date Line (Jpn), by Zoffany (Ire). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (¥66,000,000 Wlg '23 JRHAJUL). O-Junko Kondo; B-Northern Farm (Jpn); ¥18,148,000. Margins: 3/4, 1, HF. Odds: 2.60, 7.30, 2.10. Also Ran: Ecoro Alba (Jpn), Realize Sirius (Jpn), Good Piece (GB), White Orchid (Jpn), Tagano Aralia (Jpn), Storm Thunder (Jpn), Cosomo Red (Jpn), Corteo Soleil (Jpn), Kakuuchi (Jpn), Red Ligare (Jpn), Spe Luce (Jpn). Click for the JRA chart & video. The post Cavallerizzo Closes For Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes Tally appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
And on we go, to a sector of the market that will have great appeal to the shrewd and smaller breeders (you can certainly be both), with the next part of our Value Sires series devoted to those standing in the bracket of £7,500 to £14,999 (approximately €8,500 to €17,000). There are always deals to be struck in the stallion market, and perhaps that is especially true within the lower price tiers, where your bartering power may also depend on your previous support of a particular stallion or stud, and the number of mares you have at your disposal. The fact that covering numbers have dropped off in recent years will mean that stallion owners will be conscious of the need to retain and incentivise the breeders who remain in operation. Proven prowess Being the sire of this year's Derby and Irish Derby winner entitles you to go first, so step forward Australia, who completed the same double himself, as indeed did his sire Galileo. We like this very much, but Australia proved himself to have more than one dimension this season thanks to the cheering victory of his daughter Cercene for Joe Murphy at Royal Ascot. It was but one of a number of feelgood results on racing's biggest stage and, in a year when Australia was advertised for only €10,000, should have served as a timely reminder of his talents. He's back up a wee bit this year to €15,000 but that still represents value for a sire who could get you a horse capable of mixing it in some of the world's biggest races. The name of his stud-mate Churchill lurks behind some decent performers too, without the dual Guineas winner ever really being given the credit he deserves. So let's right that wrong. Churchill is sneakily quite good: Classic winners Vadeni and Blue Rose Cen have already let the cat out of the bag on that front, and this year his daughter Survie went close to giving him another Prix de Diane winner before selling for 1.9m gns at Tattersalls. Ridari changed hands from the Aga Khan Studs to John Stewart's Resolute Racing for €950,000 at the Arc Sale before going on to win the G2 Prix Wildenstein and is a colt to follow in 2026. At €15,000, Churchill is at his lowest fee yet for 2026. We will get to some English sires in due course but also in Ireland stands one of the best-value sires in Europe: Awtaad. He graced our podium last year and is rightly back up there again, his fee having been only marginally adjusted upwards from €7,500 to €8,500. Post-race press conferences can sometimes be rather sober affairs despite the excitement of the occasion, but that was not the case for Willie Mullins, who swiftly downed two glasses of bourbon while gleefully recounting to journalists the thrill of securing his first win at the Breeders' Cup. The extraordinary Ethical Diamond was the horse who gave rise to what would have undoubtedly been a proper session later on. He had also been one of two winners for Awtaad at Royal Ascot along with Ascending. The Irish National Stud's Phoenix Of Spain has barged his way into contention, and he too has risen slightly to a previous fee of €12,500, but that still looks reasonable following a year in which he notched his first Group 1 winner, Caballo De Mar, along with three Group 3 winners in Europe and one in Australia. One of those, Lady Of Spain, has joined Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm after being sold for 900,000gns in December. Phoenix Of Spain's 5.83 per cent black-type winners to runners in 2025 puts him right up there among the best of his intake. It was an elite band of European stallions, numbering just 17, who sired two or more Group 1 winners this year and Ballylinch Stud's Make Believe was one of them. He is also a former podium poser and we have to put him back up there again this year after the exploits of Sajir in France and Royal Supremacy in Australia, while G2 Oaks d'Italia winner Klaynn ruled the three-year-old division in Italy. Any stallion who can get a horse as good as Mishriff in his first crop is surely no fluke, and thus Make Believe is proving, at a fee which is back up to €10,000 for 2026, having been €8,000 this year. At the £10,000 mark in Britain for the third year running is Overbury Stud's Golden Horn, a horse for the big occasion, whether you like the Flat or jumps. At the Cheltenham Festival his handful of runners included the Champion Hurdle and Triumph Hurdle winners Golden Ace and Poniros, while at Royal Ascot Trawlerman landed the week's most prestigious race, the Gold Cup, and was later named Cartier Stayer of the Year. Another four Group winners were added to Golden Horn's Flat tally in 2025, most notably the G2 Park Hill winner Santorini Star. Newsells Park Stud's Without Parole provided one of the best two-year-olds of the year in Zavateri, who took the G2 July Stakes, G2 Vintage Stakes and G1 National Stakes in quick succession, narrowly beating subsequent Cartier Two-Year-Old Colt Gstaad in the latter. With 52 and 43 foals from his first two crops, Without Parole has fewer representatives than some of his rivals in this year's second-crop sires' table, in which he is in sixth place. His fee has returned to £10,000, from £8,000 in his last two seasons. Ardad has been represented by 40 two-year-old winners, with five stakes winners among them in Europe this year, putting him top of the list of juvenile sires standing in Britain. Admittedly, he has had a lot of runners – 113 from his largest crop of 157 foals in 2023 after the exploits of his first crop encouraged more breeders to patronise him. In 2022 his fee rose sensibly to £12,500 on the back of that, but this year it has been cut to £7,500 which makes him a value proven option. A name worth noting among the young stallions in France is Victor Ludorum, who is the leading first-season sire in that country and has sired 17 winners across Europe, which puts him in eighth place by number of winners. He also has two black-type horses and is about to embark on his second season at Haras d'Etreham since Haras du Logis ceased standing stallions. After covering 102 mares this year, Victor Ludorum will be at his lowest fee of €10,000 (from €15,000) in 2026. His stud-mate City Light continues to be a consistent source of winners and is also at €10,000. Big year ahead As ever, there will be much interest paid to the runners of the first-season sires of 2026. Those who may take up the running early include Perfect Power, who was himself a prolific two-year-old, winning at Hamilton in June before landing the Norfolk, Prix Morny and Middle Park Stakes. This year and next, the fee for the son of Ardad is £7,500, half that which he opened for at Dalham Hall Stud, and he posted a yearling average of 61,000gns for 32 sold. Perfect Power also collected the following season's Commonwealth Cup and another of his ilk who was smart at two, winning the Gimcrack, but went on to land the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup at four is Minzaal, one of an increasing cohort of sons of Mehmas at stud. Minzaal also started at £15,000 at Derrinstown Stud and has been dropped to £12,500. His yearling average for 89 sold was 79,112gns. What a racehorse State Of Rest was. His Group 1 victories came in America, Australia, France and Britain, with his Prince of Wales's Stakes win at Royal Ascot crowning that superb quartet. He won first up at two himself, and we know that his sire Starspangledbanner can get a good two-year-old. We'll be hoping to see some of his first two-year-olds starting to make their mark towards the second half of the season. He had some promising looking yearlings which averaged 53,514gns for 49 sold, and State Of Rest may well surprise some people next year, when his fee will be €15,000, down from €25,000 in his first year. We're prepared to die on the hill that says Stradivarius can be a good Flat sire if given the right backing. He's been given enough support, with around 100 Flat mares for his first book, and though only 16 of the youngsters from those matings were offered as yearlings in Britain and Ireland, they found favour in the market, selling for an average of 48,357gns for the 14 that changed hands. Plenty more will be lurking on their breeders' farms, about to head into pre-training, hoping that they will run their way to one of the £25,000 bonuses offered by Stradivarius's owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen for his first ten juvenile winners. (And don't forget the £250,000 bonus for a Group 1 winner at two or three.) The National Stud resident has remained at his sensible starting fee of £10,000 throughout. It was as a four-year-old that Naval Crown came into his own when winning the G1 Platinum Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. The son of Dubawi joined Kildangan Stud the following year at €15,000 but dropped to €9,000 last year and remains at that price for 2026. He had some well-made yearlings, and 42 of them were sold for 47,012gns. He might be a sneakily good bet for next year, and plenty of folks will be expecting much from the next Tally-Ho sire off the line, Persian Force, whose fee has returned to his starting fee of €10,000 (from €8,000), presumably following some encouraging yearling sale results, with 73 sold for an average of 45,849gns. In France, Sealiway, a winner of the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and later the Champion Stakes, will be bidding to put the fledgling operation of Haras de Beaumont on the map when his first runners step out next year. A son of Galiway, who has been a revelation at Haras de Colleville, starting at €3,000 and settling at €30,000 for the last four years, Sealiway was the busiest young stallion in France on his retirement in 2023, and he is now down to €10,000, having started at €12,000. First yearlings The risk of using a stallion in his third year at stud is of course that by the time a breeder might be wanting to sell a foal, the first runners will have come through and you can find yourself either in clover or in trouble. Stick to your guns if you like a horse, and there has been nothing but favourable comments about Shaquille since he retired to stud – both of his own physique and now in praise of his foals. He was of course a tiptop sprinter at three and the Ace Stud resident is now available for £10,000, having stood his first two seasons at £15,000. He has it all to prove, but that is true for all names mentioned in this section. The burly Native Trail was the champion two-year-old of his generation and is now at €16,000, while his fellow Darley sire Triple Time remains at £10,000, representing good value for a Group 1-winning son of Frankel over a mile. Another smart Frankel horse from this intake is Shadwell's Mostahdaf, winner of the Juddmonte International and Prince of Wales's Stakes at four, and who really does stand out at £9,000, down from his initial £15,000. There are Frankels from a range of distances in this intake and Onesto took the G1 Grand Prix de Paris over a mile and a half. His Juddmonte-bred dam Onshore (Sea The Stars) is out of a full-sister to Hasili, and we've all seen what that particular family can do. He stands for €10,000 in 2026. A Champagne Stakes winner at two and winner of the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes the following year, Bayside Boy represents a more affordable way into the New Bay line and is now €12,500 at Ballylinch Stud (from €15,000) After a false start, when injury prevented Mishriff from covering in his first season with Sumbe, we hope that the remainder of his stud career will be plain sailing. A stunning horse, he lived up to those good looks with a body of work which included the Prix du Jockey Club, Saudi Cup, Dubai Sheema Classic and Juddmonte International. From the family of Kodiac and Invincible Spirit, Mishriff is now available at £12,500, a fee which could look very reasonable in the years to come. Second-year stars Among those about to embark on their second covering seasons are the National Stud's Bradsell, who boasts a terrific race record for his £10,000; Coolmore's statuesque son of Dubawi, Henry Longfellow (€12,500); Group 1-winning miler Big Rock, who is at the rejuvenated Haras de Grandcamp for €12,000; fellow French Group 1-winning recruits Puchkine (€8,500, Haras de Beaumont) and Metropolitan (€12,000, Haras d'Etreham). The trio of Big Evs (€15,000, Tally-Ho Stud), Good Guess (€12,500, Tally-Ho Stud) and Mill Stream (€10,000, Yeomanstown Stud) covered 159, 210 and 170 mares respectively this year, and you can expect them to be well represented and well supported at next year's foal sales. New to stud In this price bracket the significant new recruits are Inisherin, a member of the final crop of Shamardal and a close relation to his fellow retiree Rosallion and to Triple Time. The G1 Commonwealth Cup winner joins the Dalham Hall roster at £12,500. Juddmonte's well-bred G1 Lockinge Stakes winner Lead Artist – another from the Hasili family -has been turning the heads of visitors to Banstead Manor Stud and is also at £12,500. The GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner Unquestionable is one of four sons of Wootton Bassett to join the Irish ranks this year and he will start at €10,000 at Rathbarry Stud, while the Irish National Stud has taken charge of Amo Racing's G1 Flying Five Stakes winner Arizona Blaze and has put him in at €12,500. Bolstering the French ranks is the G1 Prix Morny winner Whistlejacket, who joins Big Rock at Grandcamp for €14,000. Value Sires Podium The first thought here is 'We're gonna need a bigger podium'. There are so many in this category worthy of highlighting, but since only gold, silver and bronze medals exist, the stewards had a very close look at the stud-mates Australia and Churchill and decided they wouldn't mind passing the silver medal back and forth across the yard. GOLD Awtaad, Derrinstown Stud, €8,500 You want to breed a racehorse, right? Well, look no further. SILVER Australia and Churchill, Coolmore, €15,000 Dual Classic winners, dual Classic producers, and now dual silver medal holders. A snip at this price. BRONZE Make Believe, Ballylinch Stud, €10,000 Can deliver sprinters through to those with Classic potential, and he remains terrific value. Click the links here if you missed Part I or Part II of our Value Sires series. The post Value Sires 2026 Part III: Affordable Options appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
A key member of the Elliott Bloodstock Services and Imperium Sales teams, Lucy Ryan lets us in on her background in the bloodstock business as the first person to be back in the TDN hot seat this winter. TDN: How did you become involved in bloodstock in the first place? LR: More by chance than design. I was lucky enough to be introduced to ponies at an early age, joining the local pony club, which led to a bit of eventing, hunting and point-to-pointing (very badly!). I met Mathilde Texier at a friend's barbecue and she offered me a job as her assistant so I paused my studies at Leeds University and never returned. I had a wonderful time with Mathilde (hopefully she thought the same); it was an amazing experience and she was a superb teacher. This then led to working for one of the top judges Amanda Skiffington; again a great education and I'm very grateful to the both of them who helped kickstart my career. TDN: What's your proudest moment to date? LR: It has to be the creation of Imperium Sales. It was a real challenge, and something completely different to my day to day. I'm very thankful to Nicola Short who answered all my questions and guided me throughout. We're very lucky to have the platform to do it, and I'm very grateful to clients of Elliott Bloodstock Services who entrusted Imperium Sales to present and offer their stock at the sales. TDN: What was your defining memory of 2025? LR: Probably selling Pintara at the mares' sale for 1.8 million gns to Resolute Bloodstock. Achieving another million-pound lot within only our third year of consigning at the Tattersalls December breeding stock sale was pretty special. I'm very proud of all the team, and more importantly very thankful to the connections of Pintara for allowing Imperium Sales to offer her. TDN: Tell us something people don't know about you… LR: I'm a devoted shopper — whether that's at the sales or during Black Friday. TDN: What keeps you awake at night? VAT returns and customs! TDN: Any regrets? LR: None worth mentioning. Things have naturally gone wrong, and we're all human. Of course I've made mistakes but it's best to focus on the present and what's ahead. There's no point dwelling in the past. TDN: What motivates you? LR: You Got To Me winning the Irish Oaks was a very proud moment for all of us, so we want to repeat this success by finding another Classic winner. TDN: Give us an underrated sire to keep onside next year… LR: Nathaniel. Perhaps not entirely underrated, but at his fee I think he represents huge value, providing breeders with nice returns within the sales ring and on the racetrack. Alex [Elliott] has had great success with him — notably through the 2024 Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me and dual Listed winner and Group-placed filly Understated, who was sourced from BBAG. TDN: Your favourite sale/place and why? LR: The BBAG September Yearling Sale in Baden-Baden. I love the vibe of the sale, it's very relaxed. The sale itself offers excellent quality and it has been a lucky hunting ground for Elliott Bloodstock Services over the years. The town itself is a beautiful spa town. You must visit the casino for a night of old-school glamour. Ladies, take a frock, and gentlemen, you'll need a blazer to enter. TDN: What's your go-to karaoke song? LR: Valerie by Amy Winehouse — and I can, and have, sung it with or without the music. TDN: Who is your inspiration? LR: Gosh, within our industry there are lots of inspiring people and you learn from each other all the time but, if I had to narrow it down, I would say probably my two prior bosses and my present one! Both Dr Mathilde Texier and bloodstock agent Amanda Skiffington are incredible women have carved out wonderful careers in a tough industry, and they are still very much at the top of their games. So if that's not inspiring, I'm not sure what is. Last but not least, my current boss Alex Elliott has achieved a lot of notable success in a relatively short career, so you could say he's only just getting started. The post In The Hot Seat: Lucy Ryan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Throughout its history, WinStar Farm's stallion program has been anchored by raw speed, with champion Speightstown and fellow sprinting specialist Distorted Humor among some of the first sires to define the farm's identity. As WinStar wraps up its 25th anniversary this year, the blueprint is much the same. Patch Adams, Mullikin and Straight No Chaser are the latest Grade I-winning sprinters set to join the roster. Two of the recruits carry the direct influence of the aforementioned cornerstone sires and the third is out of a mare by Congrats, another WinStar stalwart who has emerged as an influential broodmare sire. “Horses that have pure speed is something you can't fake,” said WinStar's Director of Bloodstock Services Liam O'Rourke. “It's a quality that we are always trying to inject into our breeding program and we're really excited to have three very fast horses coming to us in 2026.” PATCH ADAMS (Into Mischief — Well Humored, by Distorted Humor). Standing for $30,000 in 2026. Dual Grade I winner Patch Adams is a particularly meaningful addition to the WinStar roster as a third-generation homebred for the farm. WinStar purchased Patch Adams's third dam Well Dressed (Notebook) at the 2001 Keeneland November Sale. In the quarter-century since, the family has flourished with Grade I winners Well Armed (Tiznow), Cyberknife (Gun Runner) and Played Hard (Into Mischief). Patch Adams is out of the stakes-winning Distorted humor mare Well Humored, a half-sister to GISW American Patriot (War Front) and Parchment Party (Constitution), winner of this year's GIII Belmont Gold Cup Stakes. “Patch Adams is a horse that has been so rewarding for everyone here at WinStar,” said O'Rourke. “So many people in the WinStar family have had a hand in this horse's success. For him to return home and retire to our stallion barn is really coming full circle.” O'Rourke said the WinStar team had high hopes for Patch Adams from early on in his career. Trained by Brad Cox and campaigned in partnership with China Horse Club, the son of Into Mischief broke his maiden last November by 10 1/2 lengths, becoming a 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard.' Patch Adams as a foal at WinStar | courtesy WinStar Farm “He was a third of a second off Groupie Doll's track record under wraps as a 2-year-old,” recalled O'Rourke. “It was a 'wow' performance. He ran a 98 Beyer Speed Figure, which was the second-highest Beyer of any 2-year-old that year, so it really got us excited that he was going to be that special horse we thought he could be.” After testing the Kentucky Derby trail early this year, Patch Adams successfully cut back to one turn, defeating future stakes winner Big Truzz (Justify) on Kentucky Derby weekend. That victory launched a summer campaign in Saratoga where he reeled off back-to-back Grade I wins. “He was dominant in the Woody Stephens, going the fastest seven furlongs by a colt at Saratoga this summer,” said O'Rourke. “The Allen Jerkens was an elite sprinting performance, going in 1:21.61 which was faster than Book'em Danno (Bucchero) in the GI Forego that day and Hope Road (Quality Road) in the GI Ballerina. It wasn't an easy trip for him, so to gut that win out and run as fast as he did that day really solidified him as a special racehorse.” An injury sustained in training kept Patch Adams from making a trip to the Breeders' Cup before his retirement. Standing for $30,000 in his debut season, Patch Adams is bred on the same cross as fellow WinStar resident Life Is Good, who will see his first 2-year-olds on the track next year. O'Rourke reported a strong initial response from breeders, noting that Patch Adams should fit a wide variety of mares. “He has a lot of the qualities of both Distorted Humor and Into Mischief,” he explained. “He's a great-moving horse with beautiful action to him. He's got strength and balance and he stands over a lot of ground. He's gone over extremely well with some great judges.” MULLIKIN (Violence — Tulira's Star, by Congrats). Standing for $10,000. Mullikin -paddock-schooling-07-17-2025-SA6_9166-PRINT-Sarah-Andrew.jpg" alt="" width="1155" height="840" /> Sarah Andrew Like Patch Adams, Mullikin shares a connection to the WinStar brand. He was named after the farm's longtime CFO Jack Mullikin, who retired in 2023. Bred by Fred Hertrich III and John Fielding, Mullikin was a $500,000 yearling at the Keeneland September Sale. The son of Violence placed in 12 of his 16 lifetime starts over a three-year career and earned over $1.1 million. As a 4-year-old last year, Mullikin reeled off four straight wins culminating in the GII John A. Nerud Stakes and GI Forego Stakes. “The Nerud was an especially important performance,” said O'Rourke. “To go as fast as he did in 1:20.54, he was half a second off Artax's record that has stood for 25 years. He came back in the Forego and put in a dominant performance, winning by 5 and three-quarter lengths. He ran a 105 Beyer Speed Figure over a very quality field that day.” Mullikin also placed third in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Sprint and was second behind Locked (Gun Runner) in the GII Cigar Mile Handicap. This year at five, the Rudolphe Brisset trainee's highlights included two runner-up performances behind Book'em Danno in the GIII True North Stakes and GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt Stakes. O'Rourke said that Mullikin is a natural fit for the WinStar roster as a son of Violence out of a Congrats mare. Congrats is the broodmare sire of GI Kentucky Oaks victress Shedaresthedevil (Daredevil), recently retired Grade I winner Johannes (Nyquist) and this year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel {Jpn}). “To have the speed that he had coming off that sireline is critical and really appealing to breeders,” said O'Rourke. “Some really excellent horses have come from the Congrats line and I think he's going to continue to be an important influence in pedigrees for years to come.” STRAIGHT NO CHASER (Speightster — Margarita Friday, by Johannesburg). Standing for $10,000. Straight No Chaser wins the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint | Horsephotos Straight No Chaser first came on WinStar's radar as a stallion prospect when he claimed in the 2023 GIII Maryland Sprint Stakes in a record time of 1:08.27, earning a 107 Beyer Speed Figure. The following year the MyRacehorse-campaigned colt claimed 2024 Champion Male Sprinter honors with back-to-back scores in the GII Santa Anita Sprint Championships Stakes and the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint. The Dan Blacker trainee added another win to his resume this year in the G2 Riyadh Dirt Sprint. “What was really impressive was the way he carried his race with him wherever he went, whether it was Del Mar, Santa Anita, Oaklawn or shipping east for Maryland's biggest day of racing,” said O'Rourke. “Especially as a sprinter, to come back year after year, have those unbelievable performances and run elite speed figures just speaks to his quality as a racehorse.” The $2.6 million earner is a half-sibling to two other stakes winners and is from the family of Hall of Famer Housebuster. O'Rourke said that the first time he got a look at Straight No Chaser, he immediately started looking forward to showing the horse off to breeders. “I was blown away by his physique, his scope and his general build,” he said. “I think he's well-priced and we've had a lot of great feedback from breeders.” Straight No Chaser follows his grandsire Speightstown, who passed away in 2023, as an Eclipse and Breeders' Cup-winning sprinter to stand at WinStar. “Speightstown was so important to WinStar's history and he continues to produce new Grade I winners,” said O'Rourke. “The parallels as champion sprinter from that beautiful Gone West sireline make us really excited about Straight No Chaser.” The post WinStar Farm Welcomes Speedy New Trio appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article
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