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By Wandering Eyes · Posted
As usual, we start our annual quest for value among Bluegrass sires by treating the rookies as a case apart. From here we'll work our way through fee tiers of those already at stud, starting with four-figure bargains and working our way up to the big guns. In this notoriously unpredictable environment, there's one certainty on which you can hang your hat. Almost all the horses we examine today are about to cover the biggest and best books of their careers–though charging a fee that few will ever command again. But we all understand how the system works nowadays. Commercial breeders, knowing that they can bank on customers for a new stallion, typically flit from one to the next. As a result, it has become necessary for the stud farms to pay for their stallions more or less in a single season. You can't blame the farms for setting “excessive” fees, then, any more than you can blame commercial breeders for anticipating the most reliable demand. Both camps need to put bread on their tables–plenty of which already have woodworm! The source of the problem is instead at ringside, where investors claim that the unproven sire gives them their one affordable chance of landing on an Into Mischief in the making. That would be a lot more credible if they didn't run away screaming from those same stallions when, though still unproven one way or the other, their fees and books start to plummet pending the appearance of their first runners. Admittedly there is a self-fulfilling element to the equation, in that the quality and quantity of mares sent to a new stallion will represent his best chance of producing a runner. But if farms could rely on solid support right through “the bubble,” then they would not have to launch these horses at such stiff fees. As it is, the stampede is concentrated precisely where investment is most likely to fail–at least in terms of producing a racehorse. I will never tire of reiterating that there should be nothing more commercial than to put a winner under your mare. But a lot of people today instead hope to have won their “Derby” the moment the hammer comes down. As a result, and as can be seen from the way breed-to-race programs are dominating so many big races, there can seldom have been a better time to be an end user. Yet today we'll play the game, attempt the same kind of guesswork as everybody else, and try to land on one or two of the very few that typically last the course. No less than anyone else, we will need to be lucky to do that. As always, this is a notoriously subjective exercise. First and foremost people need to find the right physical match for their mares, and for every Not This Time that I may have stumbled across, I will have recommended a dozen turkeys. Nonetheless… once more unto the breach, dear friends! Sierra Leone | Benoit OVERVIEW OF THE INTAKE The sporting decision by connections of Sierra Leone and Fierceness to continue their rivalry this year certainly paid off for the racing public, and now gives the incoming cohort a star quality somewhat lacking in the previous cycle. Conversely, those whose budget was best served last year, when eight of 23 stallions were introduced between $30,000 and a peak of $40,000, find themselves with a choice of two in that bracket this time round–while as many as four of the 18 newcomers will start at higher fees. SIERRA LEONE has somehow made himself well bought as a $2.3-million yearling, which tag measured his eligibility–in physique and pedigree–to convert any kind of athletic achievement into a stud career. He has filled out the missing element in the equation magnificently, and even contrived to upgrade his page when thwarted, in his GI Breeders' Cup Classic defense, by his own “cousin”! After that, I think most of us would have estimated his start-up fee just where it has ended up, at $75,000. If hardly an obvious type to give you a maiden winner at the Keeneland spring meet, this 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' is assured helpful material and plenty of it. With his length of build and stride, equally, he will surely help some very fast mares to stretch out their foals. Bottom line is that he has everything it takes to figure prominently among sons of Gun Runner aiming to complete his resume now as a sire of sires. LOCKED, a Grade I winner at two and four and fellow 'Rising Star', offers the same cross for $35,000 at Gainesway. The Santa Anita Handicap might not be the race it was, but you try and win it by eight and a half lengths, and tell me how you get on. Don't back off his European granddam, either: she additionally produced a GI Acorn Stakes winner. For bargain access to Gun Runner, meanwhile, you can catch up with IL MIRACOLO in TDN's recent visit to that exemplary farm, Crestwood. Fierceness -at-Ashford-Stud-2_Coolmore_print_Sara-Gordon.jpg" alt="" width="599" height="435" /> Fierceness | Sara Gordon Back at Ashford, Sierra Leone is joined by two champion juveniles. The relative precocity of his old rival FIERCENESS–who these days could probably have found a place at stud straight after his 11-length 'TDN Rising Star' debut success at Saratoga–will keep the door revolving at $50,000. He consolidated unequivocally with maturity, as a Grade I winner at three and four, and it is a stallion's page. Literally, in fact: dam a half-sister to Outwork, granddam a half-sister to Cairo Prince. The other champion 2-year-old entering this roster got very close to our Value Podium. But that already features one son of Into Mischief out of a Distorted Mare, with rather more margin for error in their respective fees. Nonetheless CITIZEN BULL would be my pick of the more expensive covers in this intake, and I feel confident that he will become big value should he end up taking the customary fee clips towards his “bubble.” A revival at the end of his career reiterated all the class he showed as a youngster, and his strength and balance guarantee the breadth of support that can generate its own momentum. With all that juvenile quality on his page–his dam is a half-sister to Moonshine Memories (Malibu Moon), a dual Grade I winner at two, out of a half-brother to Favorite Trick (Phone Trick)–he seems bound to be a player in the freshman title. The arrival of MINDFRAME at Claiborne feels like quite an event and he, like Fierceness, can be confident of astute support from his own camp. He, too, opens at $50,000. That's commensurate with the natural ability that got this 'Rising Star' within half a length of the GI Belmont Stakes (admittedly not a 'real' Belmont!) on only his third start, and the speed that subsequently won him a Grade I at just seven furlongs. On the same farm, JOHANNES combines Nyquist and elite turf performance in a fashion that looks modestly priced at just $10,000. He was beaten by a single horse, at the Breeders' Cup, across six starts in the best of company in 2024 and would certainly have been able to charge rather more had he packed up then. Lane's End are also walking the walk, when it comes to all the talk we hear nowadays about expanding opportunities on grass in North America, with 'TDN Rising Star' CARL SPACKLER (Ire) joining his old rival More Than Looks on the roster that has also lately launched Up to the Mark. At $15,000, Carl Spackler allows Bluegrass breeders to tap into elite European sire Lope De Vega (Ire); while his dam is a Grade II-winning half-sister to a Grade I winner. Carl Spackler | Coady Media He started out in Book I at Tattersalls, but his new buddy RAGING TORRENT–who opens on the same fee–has a very different profile, as a rags-to-riches son of Maximus Mischief with a ton of dirt dash crowned by a frontrunning defeat of Fierceness in the stallion-making GI Met Mile. Airdrie consistently works a great angle for breeders with its imaginative recruitment and both the farm's novices look extremely tempting. If MYSTIK DAN's career proved rather uneven, his Derby form is rock solid and don't forget that he broke his maiden as a 2-year-old by eight lengths over 5.5f at Churchill for a 96 Beyer. On his day he was unplayable, and his granddam is sister to Siphon (Brz). JONATHAN'S WAY also made an explosive start to his career in 'Rising Star' fashion but was then unluckily derailed, and this farm has shown its flair developing this kind of project with Beau Liam. At $8,500, he looks a legitimate roll of the dice from the family that produced Dynaformer and Monarchos. Another recommendation is ARTHUR'S RIDE at Taylor Made: capable of very smart form on his day, from a fine family and a very nice Tapit physically. He looks fairly priced at $12,500. VALUE PODIUM Gold: PATCH ADAMS Into Mischief–Well Humored by Distorted Humor WinStar $30,000 As noted above, this is the same cross as Citizen Bull–who may well end up the pick of the bunch, in the longer term. But this 'TDN Rising Star' is not starting at quite so tough a fee, and in his own right has a great deal to recommend him. First and foremost he received a warm endorsement from one of the best judges of our time, who praises the light, balanced gait with which he carries his brawn. His temperament, moreover, seems to be maintained with similar equilibrium. While Into Mischief has deployed his upgraded mares to turn himself into a legitimate Classic influence, Patch Adams was a throwback to the way he made his name. A 10-length juvenile maiden romp at the home of the Derby (just a tick off Groupie Doll's 7f track record, for a juvenile class high Beyer of 98) prompted an understandable experiment with a couple of the early trials, but while he did end up returning to Churchill on the first Saturday in May, it was in order to drop back to sprinting. That worked out so well that he was elevated to Grade I company at Saratoga for what proved to be his final two starts, winning both the Woody Stephens and the Allen Jerkens with big numbers. The same cross has launched another exciting stallion on this farm, in Life Is Good, and has worked out pretty well for Practical Joke in his second career. But that basic structure supports some solid genetic detail, as the first starter out of a stakes-winning half-sister to Grade I winner American Patriot. Their dam is a sister to G1 Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed (Tiznow), and half-sister to the granddam of Cyberknife (Gun Runner). This farm has loaded a ton of speed onto its roster, with MULLIKIN and STRAIGHT NO CHASER offering affordable access–both $10,000–to two of the fastest sprinters around. But WinStar has put three generations of work into this horse and will surely be giving him every chance to maximize his impact on a fourth. Chancer McPatrick | Sarah Andrew Silver: CHANCER MCPATRICK McKinzie–Bernadreamy by Bernardini Spendthrift $25,000 This is the solitary recruit to the hectic roster of a farm that has dominated the freshman table in recent years and looks a safe bet to thrive as the sole beneficiary of its knowhow this time round. His precocity and powerful build will surely go down well among those who routinely rely on Spendthrift to make the numbers work. He's all business, in every sense: a really purposeful way of going, at the walk, and a blatant commercial profile. A $725,000 juvenile purchase, he followed up his debut 'TDN Rising Star' success at Saratoga by pairing up the two New York juvenile Grade Is. He didn't really build from there, albeit bowing out with a highly creditable effort against the pace in the GI Dirt Mile; and it was a similar story for the best horse on his page, granddam Dream Empress (Bernstein), after emerging among the cream of her crop at two. But that won't trouble many of his clientele in the slightest! Those who do prioritize a second turn at three can find plenty of hope in the seeding of his family: first four dams by Bernardini, Bernstein, Nijinsky, The Axe. His sire remains something of a puzzle, but the good ones appear to be very good; and the damsire, of course, is as solid as they come. In a game of chance, he appeals as the very opposite of a mere Chancer. Bronze: FIRST MISSION Street Sense–Elude by Medaglia d'Oro $10,000 Darley This is a working man's fee for a 'Rising Star' with some fairly aristocratic traits. His orderly mechanics support very smooth motion, which he deployed through three campaigns that left him just shy of elite quality–as, for instance, when taking a step on the podium below Mindframe ($50,000) and Sierra Leone ($75,000) in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes, having won the GII Oaklawn Handicap on his previous start for a 109 Beyer. His pedigree combines two farm legends and taps into a seam of Argentinian gold through his granddam Forty Marchanta (Arg) (Roar), a triple Group 1 winner whose family is saturated with quality performers and/or producers. A lot of smaller breeders–also likely to appreciate the top-class genes and handicap performances of HIGHLAND FALLS at the same fee–will surely be grateful for another young stallion to build up the eventual legacy of Street Sense. Like his buddies Maxfield and Speaker's Corner, of course, he will also benefit from access to the home herd, with all that entails. The post Kentucky Value Sires For 2026–Part 1: New Stallions 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
TB-Ed, the educational platform of the Thoroughbred Breeders' Association, has launched a new 'Getting the Mare in Foal' programme – a series of online courses designed specifically for Thoroughbred breeders, stud farm managers and their employees, as well as anyone with an interest in equine reproduction. Caroline Turnbull, Industry Education and Retention Manager for the TBA, said, “We are really pleased to launch this new online course as part of the TB-Ed offering which now hosts 24 online courses and 81 resources on the site and which has become a vital tool to support the stud sector with over 1,000 registered users. “Each course within the programme is accredited by the British Horseracing Authority for continuing professional development and the flexible online format allows participants to learn at their own pace and in their own time, with expert-led content accessible from anywhere in the world and we hope it will be really well received.” The programme is now available and is free of charge to TBA members/ACCESS subscribers. Non-members can also access the full programme, with two of the four courses priced at £45 and the other two at £145. Further information about each of the individual courses can be found here. The post TB-Ed Launch New Online ‘Getting the Mare in Foal’ Programme 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
The 2026 live racing schedule at Parx Racing has been released and features 149 days of live racing throughout the year, highlighted by the $1 million Pennsylvania Derby (G1) on Sept. 19.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
Thoroughbreds are hitting the track early as Will Rogers Downs kicks off spring racing season on Jan. 12. The earlier start , nearly two months ahead of last year's March 3 opening, will conclude on Kentucky Derby Day, May 2.View the full article -
By Wandering Eyes · Posted
The New York Racing Association plans to run 196 racing days at Aqueduct Racetrack, Saratoga Race Course and the new Belmont Park in 2026. View the full article
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