Wandering Eyes

A syndicate headed by Windsor Park Stud, Mapperley Stud & Lion Rock Bloodstock have secured Champion Three-Year-Old SAVAGLEE as he begins the next chapter of his career at stud. The son of 10-time champion sire Savabeel retires as one of the standout colts of his generation, combining precocity, brilliance and toughness throughout a career that produced seven wins from 900 metres to 1600 metres, along with elite-level performances on both sides of the Tasman. Prepared by trainer Pam Gerard, Savaglee first signalled his ability early in his two-year-old season winning on debut over 900 metres in the spring at Trentham before establishing himself among the leading juveniles of his crop. A Group One performer at two, Savaglee was successful in the Gr.3 Matamata Slipper at that age. https://bitofayarn.com Savaglee made significant improvement from two to three and went on to dominate his age group during his classic campaign. His winning sequence included the Gr.2 Hawke’s Bay Guineas, the Gr.2 James & Annie Sarten Memorial, the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas and the Gr.2 Levin Classic, confirming him as the leading three-year-old in the country. His defining performance came in the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas at Riccarton where he delivered a crushing victory against the best of his contemporaries. Travelling strongly throughout, Savaglee cruised into the race before accelerating clear to win by three lengths in the third-fastest time ever recorded in the time-honoured classic’s history. He later stepped up to weight-for-age company against older horses, finishing a meritorious third in the Gr.1 BCD Sprint. Savaglee then crossed the Tasman to contest the Gr.1 Australian Guineas at Flemington where he further enhanced his reputation with a courageous runner-up performance that underlined his ability at the highest level in Australia.https://bitofayarn.com Bred and sold by Waikato Stud, Savaglee is out of Glee, by Champion Broodmare Sire O’Reilly, and comes from a family that has produced multiple champions, including his sister in blood Orchestral together with Aegon and Daffodil. The family’s ongoing strength is further demonstrated by recent Gr.1 winners Atishu and Sepals. His quality was apparent from the moment he entered the sales ring at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock Book 1 Yearling Sale where he was purchased for $400,000 by The Oaks manager Rick Williams on behalf of stud principal Dick Karreman. A strong, correct and athletic individual, Savaglee stood out as a yearling and has developed into an imposing stallion prospect. Standing at 15.3½ hands, he is correctly made and beautifully balanced, possessing powerful hindquarters, with a great outlook – typical of the best horses by Savabeel. https://bitofayarn.com His commercial appeal was further highlighted when a sister in blood sold for $2.4 million at Karaka last year, emphasising the strength and demand for the family. Windsor Park Stud principal Rodney Schick said securing a horse of Savaglee’s quality represented a very exciting opportunity. “I am really appreciative that Dick Karreman and stud manager Rick Williams have been so good to deal with throughout the process of our negotiations”. “Dick has invested so much into NZ’s breeding and racing industry over a long period of time with so much success and Savaglee really is testament to that”. “We’re so thrilled to have secured a colt of Savaglee’s calibre and quality for stud,” Schick said. Mapperley Stud owner Simms Davison also concurred. https://bitofayarn.com “I’m really excited to again be involved with Windsor Park and Lion Rock in securing a superb stallion prospect”. “I loved him when we inspected him at The Oaks, he oozes quality and style and is a magnificent physical. Together with his race performance and pedigree he really is the total stud package”. Savaglee now offers breeders access to speed, class and one of the most powerful sire lines in the Southern Hemisphere and further details, including a service fee for the 2026 season, will be announced in the coming days.https://bitofayarn.com 0:00 /2:44 1× View the full article

After Disco Time suffered his first career defeat in the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1) Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park, his connections are hoping for a fresh start to his 4-year-old season March 7 in the Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs.View the full article

It’s been a successful New Zealand raid for the Gavin Bedggood-trained Kingswood, and the grey entire will be looking to end it on a high when he heads to Ellerslie on Saturday. The son of Roaring Lion won first-up in New Zealand on Boxing Day at Ellerslie in the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2000m) before finishing runner-up to Legarto in last month’s Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) at Te Rapa. The ledger is now one apiece between the pair, with Legarto running third in the Zabeel Classic, and Bedggood is hoping Kingswood can once again have the Ken and Bev Kelso-trained mare’s measure when they return to Ellerslie on Champions Day to contest the Gr.1 Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes (2000m). “I have got full respect for her and she beat us fair and square last start,” Bedggood said. “We are racing back right-handed, which I know is my horse’s advantage, and hopefully back on a track with a little bit more of a forgiving surface can help us.” Bedggood has been rapt with what has turned into a lucrative campaign and he said he would love to return to New Zealand in the future if the opportunity presented itself. “It’s been a well worthwhile trip, and we have been very well looked after,” he said. “Mike Rogers, who has accommodated us for the last 11 weeks at Pukekohe, has bent over backwards to help us. It has been good. “I was over there a week leading up to Christmas and I did 10 days after the sales and all my riders have done a two-week block each. It has been a little bit testing in that regard, but it has been a fruitful trip, and I would have no hesitation doing it again.” Kingswood is set to return to Australia following Saturday’s race and Bedggood is looking forward to tackling some elite-level targets on home soil with the six-year-old, but he has yet to lock down what they will be. “He will fly out on Sunday and head back to Victoria,” he said. “He will be nominated for the Australian Cup (Gr.1, 2000m) and a few different races in Sydney, but we might put him aside and prep him up for Brisbane.” While he will be chasing Group One glory and the lion’s share of the $1 million purse on offer in the Bonecrusher New Zealand Stakes, Bedggood will also have a couple of runners at Flemington on Saturday. Jennilala will be seeking to defend her crown in the Gr.3 Matron Stakes (1600m), while in form gelding Castellar will contest the Herald Sun Plate (1100m). “Jennilala won that race 12 months ago,” Bedggood said. “She is deep into her campaign whereas when she went into it last year she was first-up. I am hopeful more than confident of her winning, but she ran well a fortnight ago. “Castellar is in great form. He was gallant in defeat last start, he probably went a bit too quick. Although it is a step up in grade, he drops in weight, and he will be very competitive in that race.” View the full article

Burgeoning thoroughbred giant Yulong Investments has made a splash in New Zealand this season, buying up the nation’s top three-year-olds, and while they have already been rewarded with instant success, they are favoured to have plenty more on Champions Day at Ellerslie on Saturday. Zhang Yuesheng’s Victoria-based operation has purchased a quartet of Kiwi three-year-olds in the last six months, and they have tasted topline success courtesy of Well Written (Written Tycoon) in the Gr.1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas (1600m) and Ohope Wins (NZ) (Ocean Park), who led home a Yulong quinella in the Gr.1 New Zealand Oaks (2400m) last month. While Ohope Wins has crossed the Tasman in a bid to add to her elite-level tally under leading Sydney trainer Chris Waller, New Zealand Oaks runner-up Autumn Glory (NZ) (Ocean Park) and Well Written have remained in New Zealand to contest the Gr.1 HKJC World Pool New Zealand Derby (2400m) and $4 million NZB Kiwi (1500m) respectively on Champions Day. Autumn Glory will be joined in the Derby by That’s Gold (Lucky Vega), who will carry Yulong’s silks for the first time after they purchased him following his dominant victory in last month’s Gr.2 Avondale Guineas (2100m). Well Written and That’s Gold have a particularly close connection with Yulong, with the pair being by resident stallions Written Tycoon and Lucky Vega respectively, while That’s Gold was bred by the farm, and Well Written was purchased by Yulong’s sales and nominations manager Harry King as a weanling in Australia on behalf of his brother Benji. She was subsequently on sold through Brighthill Farm’s 2024 New Zealand Bloodstock Online Yearling Sale on Gavelhouse Plus to trainer Stephen Marsh and Dylan Johnson Bloodstock, and the King brothers have been enjoying watching her meteoric rise as a three-year-old. Harry King had the pleasure of purchasing a share of her back, on behalf of his employer, ahead of her New Zealand 1000 Guineas success last November, and she continued on her upward trajectory, subsequently winning the Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1400m) and $1.5 million Karaka Millions 3YO (1600m), and capturing the attention of racing enthusiasts on both sides of the Tasman. She now heads into The NZB Kiwi on Saturday, representing TAB’s slot, as a dominant $1.20 favourite, and like many, King is hoping she can continue her winning ways this weekend. “It is a very exciting weekend for Benji and I and the whole team involved in selecting her,” King said. “Benji gave me a bit of a brief to find some nice foals, he was unable to make it to the sale (in Australia), and we were very fortunate to get her and bring her back to New Zealand. “She is the first Group One winner by Written Tycoon for Mr Zhang (Yulong principal). For me to be involved in purchasing her with Dylan Johnson and Stephen Marsh privately was extra exciting.” King said he took particular satisfaction from her Karaka Millions win where he was trackside to watch her triumph, with the bonus of Benji training a winner on the undercard. “I was speaking to Benji during the week and I think what has hit home is after the Karaka Millions I opened social media and saw Chris Waller, Peter Moody and Gai Waterhouse all commenting on Well Written,” he said. “That gave us a bit of excitement, seeing those people that we look up to all talking about a horse that we purchased.” While the brothers didn’t retain Well Written to race, she has helped raise the profile of Benji’s business, Foxhill Thoroughbreds, and given them the confidence to continue to invest in bloodstock. “The amount of business he has gotten out of it in terms of marketing and promotion is great,” Harry King said. “Even off this sale he has been sent two horses by David Digney, who bred Well Written. “We have purchased three or four horses over the past 12 months, two of those at Karaka that sold out straight away. We got a nice colt that we purchased out of Book 2 that we have put a lot of friends in, and he is a nice, sharp two-year-old looking horse and we will be expecting him to run in the Karaka Millions next year.” While King is particularly close to Well Written’s journey, he has also been watching Yulong’s other recent New Zealand purchases with interest, and he is pleased to see his employer investing heavily in his homeland. “As a proud Kiwi, and someone who works for Mr Zhang, I take great pride in seeing what he is doing over there,” King said. “Being brought up in New Zealand and a former employee of NZB (New Zealand Bloodstock), it makes me proud to see him going full force into New Zealand and supporting an array of trainers. We are not just supporting one trainer. “We have got That’s Gold (trainer Chris Wood) running now, who is a son of Lucky Vega, who looks like he is really in the market for the Derby ($5 second favourite) with Autumn Glory (trainers Roger James and Robert Wellwood) looking a strong chance ($4.20 favourite). “We have purchased Ohope Wins (formerly trained by Lance O’Sullivan and Andrew Scott) and brought her back to Australia and she is with Chris Waller.” King has also been buoyed by the strong interest Yulong’s purchases have garnered. “Between those four horses, they have really captured the New Zealand imagination,” he said. “The support that we have had from New Zealanders, and even Australians, they are really getting in behind them, particularly Ohope Wins and Well Written. “As a farm, we haven’t been going for generations, but for us to be involved and a part of that has really given everyone here a lot of satisfaction.” While King said he would love to be at Ellerslie for Champions Day, he has commitments at Flemington, with Yulong the naming sponsor of the Gr.1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m), but he will be keeping one eye on the television taking in the racing action from Ellerslie. “It is a massive day at Flemington and as a farm we like to sponsor and support race clubs,” he said. “We have still got jobs to do back here at Flemington, and that will take pole position, but we will have huge interest in what they are doing at Ellerslie. “I was there that day last year, we had our first ever runner in New Zealand in our silks in Vega For Luck (in the Gr.1 Sistema Stakes, 1200m), and a year later we now have some of the headline acts. “We feel very grateful to be playing our role in that day because it is just a superstar day for New Zealand racing.” View the full article

Eight-year-old mare Pride Of Jenni bids to become the first two-time winner of the All-Star Mile (G1) when she enters the gate March 7 at Flemington Racecourse.View the full article

At the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association conference, experts see a future where prediction markets could work for racing, but first the sport needs to protect its turf. View the full article

A filly by Nyquist and colt by Yaupon realized the co-fastest eighth in :9 3/5 on Day 2 of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-year-old in Training Sale's under-tack show on Thursday. Offered as Hip 391, the day's fastest-working colt is out of unraced Stand Back (Giant's Causeway), the dam of Grade II winner Step Forward (Speightstown). The Florida-bred hails from the family of Grade I winners Cavorting (Bernardini) and Clairiere (Curlin). He is consigned by Raul and Martha Reyes' Kings Equine. “I expected something good, but we never was to say [they will go] in :9 3/5 or :9 4/5 because you don't want to jinx the poor horse,” said Raul Reyes. “I did expect him to go fast because he's been very quick the whole time. Also, being by Yaupon, I expect him to have natural speed.” A $110,000 buy by Scott and Evan Dilworth at Keeneland in November of 2024, the colt RNA'd for $235,000 when offered at that venue last September. Reyes explained, “One of the reasons the owner didn't sell the horse [as a yearling] was because he felt the horse had ability and he wanted to keep him for the 2-year-old sales.” Already in the 2-year-old sales' game for 25 years, Kings Equine recorded a first with Thursday's co-fastest eighth of a mile worker. “That was the first time I had a horse go in :9 3/5 in my life,” Reyes said. “I've had a lot of horses go in :9 4/5 but never that fast.” According to Reyes, the reason for that somewhat surprising fact is likely because the body under-tack appearance is as important as the listed breeze itself. “Right now, the majority of the bloodstock agents clock the horses galloping out,” he explained. “It's become pretty much a standard thing now. Going fast an eighth, that's pretty good. But it's better if you also have a good gallop out too.” Heading the fillies during Thursday's session, Hip 372 is out of Smooth and Savvy (Lucky Pulpit), a half-sister to Grade I winner Smooth Like Strait (Midnight Lute). This is the extended family of GISW Siphonic (Siphon (Brz) and Laragh (Tapit) in addition to Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan (Goldencents). A member of the Wavertree Stables consignment, the Mar. 26 foal was purchased for $300,000 at Keeneland September last year. Hip 284, a filly by Drain the Clock registers the fastest quarter at OBS on Day 2 | OBS| Photos by Z Leading the fray with the track-record equaling quarter mile in :20 1/5 was Hip 284, a Kentucky-bred filly by Drain the Clock. Out of the 9-year-old Queen of Aces (Street Boss), the Apr. 4 foal is from the extended family of Kentucky Oaks heroine Dispute (Danzig). “We knew she was fast,” said Jesse Hoppel. “We let her run and found she was faster than most of them here. She had a good day.” Represented by his first crop of juveniles in 2026, the Maclean's Music stallion stands for $10,000 LFSN at Gainesway. “I have a lot of Drain the Clocks right now, her and several others in training and to tell you the truth, I can't think of one I don't like,” he said.” I have another colt [Friday] that is going to breeze pretty good. I think all in all, the sire might be a pretty decent stallion. I haven't found one (Drain the Clock) I didn't like yet.” Asked why the decision was made to work a quarter rather than an eighth, Hoppel explained, “Some horses by themselves are self-motivated and they'll do it on their own. Those horses who want to do it by themselves and are naturally aggressive, they like doing it and those are the horses I try to send farther because they like it. If you like your job, you do it better.” Hoppel also was responsible for the second-fastest quarter-mile worker at OBS on Thursday, a colt by Mo Town (Hip 299) who completed the task in :20 2/5. A $40,000 Keeneland November purchase in 2024, the colt is out of the listed-producing mare Reckon (Into Mischief). “That horse has been unreal,” Hoppel said. “I bought him as a baby and was thinking I would call somebody and get a partner on the way home. And I ended not calling anybody and keeping him for myself. He just grew up and got better and better and better. You pull him out on the end of the shank, he's absolutely striking. Fellow consignors that I respect on the way up to the chute were asking 'Who's that?' He's just a physically imposing individual.” The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning each day at 8 a.m. The OBS March sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday. Bidding begins each day at 11 a.m. The post Yaupon, Nyquist Juveniles Work Co-Fastest Eighth, Drain the Clock Filly Posts Top Quarter on Day 2 of OBS Under Tack appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

With a field size of just over 130, the Organization of Racing Investigators (ORI) meeting smashed their previous attendance record as they convened the 30th annual conference at Tampa Bay Downs on Sunday, Mar. 1. Over the course of the three-day event, members soaked up presentations centered on integrity issues for equine athletes, traded their craft with one another through fellowship and made new connections that will be essential once they return to their respective jurisdictions. A survey of the Tampa roll call reflects the organization's regional diversity that emanates from racing commissions to track security, plus there was a healthy international contingent. At this year's event conference goers hailed from Europe, South Africa, Canada and also East Asia–including Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea. Don Ahrens, one of the founders of the organization, said that ORI has really morphed over the past three decades which has led to better communication between groups like regulators, racetracks and horsemen. “The personal contact that was established by a mere 22 investigators who first met in Oregon when the idea of ORI took shape all those years ago is alive and well today,” Ahrens said. “We've steadily built something based in education and the affiliations we continue to make form a strong, cooperative network. This not only helps our members, but we spend significant amounts of time disseminating knowledge to other entities and that strengthens relationships across boundaries.” Presentations during the conference shift each year, but what remains constant is the program seeks to push the envelope when it comes to innovation. How to use data and AI to strengthen equine security, an investigator's role in aftercare and combating corrupt practices around the racetrack were just some of the themes covered during the sessions. “The annual ORI conference is one of my favorite meetings to attend,” said Dr. Angela Pelzel-McCluskey, an equine epidemiologist for the USDA. “It continues to be the best place for our top racing investigators in the country to share information, improve their skills and support each other in their combined goal to protect the health and welfare of the horse.” On the Tampa program, Dr. Pelzel-McCluskey provided an update in her talk about how Equine Infectious Anemia (EIA) in the national herd makes the racing sector a high-risk population and particularly susceptible to blood-borne disease transmission. Highlighted in her presentation were two outbreaks of EIA in 2024 and 2025. According to Dr. Pelzel-McCluskey, also of interest to investigators were eight EIA cases in Thoroughbreds involving contaminated blood, plasma or biologic products which were illegally imported from other countries. ORI conference chair Deanna Nicol of Tampa Bay Downs added that important topics like Dr. Pelzel-McCluskey's provide members with essential information for their own toolkits. “The dedication to safety, security and integrity that this group of individuals display and incorporate into their daily routines, and how hard everyone strives to work together is focused on creating a proactive environment for the sport,” Nicol said. “The camaraderie at the conference creates unique bonds among the group.” During the Monday evening program, which featured a keynote address by Florida Thoroughbred Breeders' & Owners' Association Administrative Vice President Steve Koch, ORI established a pair of new commendations–the Hanna Hagler Outstanding New Member Award and the Melvin Bell Distinguished Service Award. Hagler was a law enforcement agent with the Oklahoma Horse Racing Commission, who was diagnosed with cancer and passed away last year. The inaugural award was given to New Jersey Racing Commission investigator Kara Vesci. Bell, a former police officer in Dallas, was an investigator for 20 years with the Texas Racing Commission until his death in 2022. Keeneland's Billy Fryer, himself a retired Lexington police officer, was named as the recipient. ORI's highest honor, the John F. Wayne Lifetime Membership Award, was bestowed on Director of Enforcement for the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission Jason Klouser. During the conference, a raffle held for the attendees yielded over $3,000, which was donated to Thoroughbred aftercare. Next year's ORI meeting is set to be hosted by Santa Anita Park. The post 30th Investigator Conference At Tampa Fields Largest Attendance Ever appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

HB 904, co-sponsored by Thoroughbred farm owner Rep. Matt Koch, would also prohibit participation in "predictive markets" wagering by licensed racetracks and associations.View the full article

Dunshea's hiring news comes after this week's resignation of BHA chair Lord Allen.View the full article

Trainer Danny Gargan is confident in Talkin as he is set to run in the March 7 Tampa Bay Derby (G3). View the full article

By any measure, Steve and Denise Smith's Mesingw Farm, which celebrated just its fifth anniversary in December, had a banner year in 2025. From the sales ring, where the operation sold its first seven-figure yearling, to the racetrack where it had a graded-stakes placed juvenile at Saratoga in August and a Breeders' Cup starter in November, Mesingw was hitting on all cylinders. The momentum has carried into the new year with the Mesingw-bred Explora (Blame) a leading choice for the GI Kentucky Oaks following her win in the GIII Honeybee Stakes last Sunday. The Smiths will be hoping the success continues in Ocala where they will offer a pair of fillies through Tom McCrocklin's consignment at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale next week. “Tough to beat,” Denise Smith said when asked to assess 2025. “It was a pretty darn good year. I don't think anybody in their right mind would be disappointed in how last year went.” Denise was a school district superintendent in Saratoga with no involvement in racing when she first started dating Steve, but she quickly joined in on his dream of breeding Thoroughbred racehorses. “As we started dating and the relationship got more serious, I said one of my dreams was to have a horse farm and breed Thoroughbreds and race them,” Steve recalled. “Long story short, we ended up coming to Kentucky. This is where it all happens. We are happy we did. We bought a small farm in Athens, not too far from Juddmonte. The idea was to have five or six select broodmares. We started with lower level broodmares because we didn't want to make mistakes with very expensive broodmares.” What started as a plan for five or six broodmares soon escalated and with a broodmare band that currently numbers some 30 head, Mesingw Farm needed a new home. “We have had good guidance with people we've associated ourselves with,” Steve said. “When were first introduced down here, it was actually Bayne Welker from Fasig-Tipton that we met and got to know and he's been a guiding person for us all along. He is the one, when we bought the first farm in Athens, who said where you want to be is between Versailles and Midway. We bought too many mares, we outgrew our first farm and we ended up purchasing Lane's End yearling division farm on Old Frankfurt Pike. They called it the Fort Blackburn Division. That's where our horses are stabled now.” Looking back at the farm's trajectory, Steve added, “There is no why. I just wanted to do it.” Meringue | Coady Media The Smiths say their operation is a mix of breed to race and to sell, as exemplified by their success at Saratoga last summer where their homebred Meringue (Frosted) finished second in the GIII Adirondack Stakes just days before they sold a colt by Good Magic for $1.6 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale. “That was my dream in the breeding business,” Denise said of the sale result. “To sell a million-dollar yearling. And hopefully at Saratoga, because that's my home town. That was beyond our wildest expectations.” As for Steve, he dreams of a victory on the First Friday in May. “I am filly guy,” he said. “A lot of people ask me if I want to have a Derby horse and I say I want an Oaks horse. I wouldn't turn down a Derby horse, for sure, but fillies are our thing.” He could soon check that box, too, if Explora continues on her path towards Churchill Downs. The Smiths purchased Collections Choice (Bernardini), with the future Honeybee winner in utero, for $75,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November sale. It was a productive sale for the couple, who also purchased Catbrier (Street Sense), with future 'TDN Rising Star presented by Hagyard' Meringue in utero, for $32,000 at that same auction. The Smiths sold Explora for $22,000 at the 2024 Keeneland September sale and watched as the filly returned the following year to sell to Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman for $350,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The filly won the GII Oak Leaf Stakes and was second in the GI Del Mar Debutante and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last year before cementing her position near the top of her division in the Honeybee. “We're proud of her,” Denise said of Explora. “We wouldn't be good breeders if we weren't producing graded stakes winners. That's the goal for all breeders, to be producing graded stakes winners.” Steve admitted to some complex emotions watching a horse he bred head towards the Kentucky Oaks carrying someone else's colors. “Probably a lot of mixed emotions,” he said. “Obviously, I will be so proud of her. And it will just drive me to try to get there again.” Explora | Coady Media The experience of selling Explora and watching her blossom into a graded-stakes winner with Classic ambitions, the Smiths have adjusted their program. When they thought they weren't getting the best price for their yearlings last fall, they weren't afraid to bring them home. “What we did this year was a direct result of Explora,” Steve said. “I should have kept her and got her breezing and evaluated her ability at that stage of the game, even if we would have sold her and stayed in for part. “So we kind of adjusted our model a bit. It all turns with the yearling market and what we think our yearlings are worth. We try not to be slanted, but we know what we have. We get a chance to see them race around the field, we know how they move. The yearlings we did not think the right number was there on the reserve, we just kept.” Denise adds, “A good example is Meringue's half-brother by Oscar Performance. He was in the Keeneland sale and when it came to the day of the sale, he only had four vettings. We were shocked. So we scratched him and sent him into training. He is a good horse and we are not going to devalue him in any way. We know what we have.” Predictably, the new approach has led to a larger class of newly turned 2-year-olds for the operation, which currently has 19 horses in training. Two of the juveniles who were taken home from the yearling sales last year will hit the track at OBS this week. Scheduled to work Friday is Candy Illusion, a filly by Twirling Candy (hip 453). She is out of Tizanillusion (Tizway), a daughter of graded-placed Hermione's Magic (Forest Wildcat), and RNA'd for $75,000 at Keeneland last September. “As soon as Tom McCrocklin realized she didn't sell, my phone rang right away,” Steve said of Candy Illusion. “He asked what we wanted for this filly. And I said, 'I am not sure, Tom. I think I am going to keep her, but I will send her to you.'” Expected to breeze Saturday is Flaming Martini (Flameway) (hip 728), a daughter of Eiswein (Klimt). The Smiths purchased the mare as a yearling and she raced in their Elements Racing colors. “She broke her maiden first time out and oddly enough, just never ran that race back,” Steve said Eiswein. “So we bred her. We sold the mare in foal last year, but we kept the filly just because we liked her physical.” For the Smiths, racing is a game of patience and it's the horses who always come first. “It took forever to get Stellify (Justify) to the races and we would start with her, have to stop, start with her, have to stop,” Steve says of the graded stakes winner who took them to the Breeders' Cup last year. “I can't give enough credit to Brad Cox. He was patient. And he would say the same about us. He would say we are the most patient owners in the world. Really, I am not, but if you don't have patience in this business, the horses will make you have patience. You just have to take that pill and swallow it and do the best thing for the horse from a physical standpoint.” That horse-comes-first philosophy starts right with the farm's name. “When we moved to Kentucky in December of 2020, we were trying to decide what to name the farm,” Denise said. “I researched the native American history in Central Kentucky and I was reading all of the legends. Mesingw is the spirit guardian of the forest and the animals. He basically tested the character of hunters and young braves who would go into the forest hoping to find him to have their character tested. If they were pure of heart and took good care of the animals and were respectful, then they would have a successful hunt and if they weren't, if they were greedy or let animals suffer unnecessarily, then he would make accidents happen to them. We kind of liked that. If you treat animals well, they will treat you well.” If 2025 was anything to go by, it would seem Mesingw is well-pleased with the Smiths. And with Stellify and Meringue still on the bench to resume racing this year, a graduate aiming for the Kentucky Oaks, and a host of racing and sales prospects just getting started, the best could be yet to come for Mesingw Farm. The post After ‘Tough to Beat’ 2025, Mesingw Farm Ready for More in 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Just a Touch will be heavily favored to win a depleted renewal of the Santa Anita Handicap (G1), but should Vodka Vodka prevail in the March 7 race, that story would make a poignant addition to the historic race's lore.View the full article

The popular "Ship and Win" program, now in its 16th consecutive year, has attracted more than 3,000 horses to Del Mar, helping the track continue its reputation as one of the nation's foremost "full field size" locations.View the full article

Michael “Daffer” Kelly, a longtime stallion man at the Irish National Stud, passed away peacefully on March 5. Kelly was synonymous with many of the Irish National Stud's stallions over the years and was particularly associated with the outstanding sire Invincible Spirit, whom he handled throughout the horse's distinguished stud career. A respected and familiar figure to breeders and visitors alike, Kelly was widely admired for his horsemanship and dedication. Having joined the Irish National Stud in 1988, Kelly devoted his career to the Kildare operation. Said Irish National Stud CEO Cathal Beale, “Daffer was one of a kind, a horseman through and through. He looked after so many of our stallions over the years, but we will always picture him hand in hand with Invincible Spirit, who he adored. He will be greatly missed by all of us at INS. May he rest in peace.” Funeral arrangements are available via RIP.ie. The post Michael “Daffer” Kelly, Longtime Irish National Stud Stallion Man, Dies appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article