Wandering Eyes

Santa Anita has been doused with 3 1/2 inches of rain since Monday. View the full article

They call him 'Wow.' Sure it's an acronym for his name, but it's also the first thought that came to mind when the connections of Lecomte Stakes (G3) contender of War of Will watched him train early on. View the full article

Skyler's Scramjet and Gold for the King, who have each won four times at the Big A, will duke it out against three foes in the Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct Jan. 19. View the full article

Skyler's Scramjet and Gold for the King, who have each won four times at the Big A, will duke it out against three foes in the Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct Jan. 19. View the full article

This week is a recap of Kona Gold's win over Big Jag in the Palos Verdes Handicap (G2) Jan. 29, 2000 at Santa Anita Park. The recap, written by Craig Harzmann, ran in the Feb. 5, 2000 magazine and carried the headline, "Solid Gold." View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost. Grant van Niekerk grabs a double and Danny Shum makes it three on the night as Star Of Joy runs down Powermax to take race seven: a deserved first win at start 21 – @HKJC_Racing With the next meeting of the Jockey Club’s licensing committee getting closer and closer, it’s time for some reckless speculation (think of this as if you were chatting... View the full article

18:55 Newcastle The penultimate race of the day at tonight’s evening meeting at Newcastle is the scene of our NAP. Seven-year-old Landing Night returns to a venue he’s been successful at, off his last all-weather winning mark and under a jockey he’s done exceedingly well with. A drop in class will also be a massive […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Thursday 17th January appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Trainer Tony Cruz will bypass the Classic Mile with his stayer Helene Leadingstar as he plots an alternative course to the BMW Hong Kong Derby in March. The Australian Group One winner will instead step up in trip on Sunday when he tackles the Class Two New Street Handicap (1,800m) as Cruz looks for more ground after not living up to his lofty reputation over 1,600m in his two previous Hong Kong starts. As a winner of last year’s Group One South Australian Derby over 2,500m, Cruz said his... View the full article

He was reduced to a mere bystander in Beauty Generation’s stunning Longines Hong Kong Mile win in December but Peter Ho Leung has ensured Fifty Fifty will not face the same fate as the pair return to Group One racing this Sunday. While the reigning Horse of the Year lines up in the Stewards’ Cup (1,600m), Ho is stepping Fifty Fifty back to the 1,200m of the Centenary Sprint Cup, and not only to dodge the all-conquering Beauty Generation. “He’s the best horse in Hong Kong... View the full article

As the favorite to be named champion male sprinter for a second straight year, Rockingham Ranch and David Bernsen's Roy H should soon enough be in pretty exclusive company. View the full article

After his most successful racing season, X Y Jet will make his 2019 debut at his favorite track and in a familiar race when Gulfstream Park hosts the Sunshine Millions Sprint Jan. 19. View the full article

Koh hoping for Solo hit on Sunday View the full article

Juglall stood down by order of Stewards this weekend View the full article

Early scratching January 20 View the full article

The Canadian Thoroughbred horse racing community is mourning the passing of Bill Graham, a larger than life figure in the industry as a prominent owner, breeder and builder in various capacities. He passed away Wednesday at 81-years-old following a battle with lung cancer. Graham, a burly individual who played three seasons as an offensive lineman in the Canadian Football League, had been involved in the business for almost 50 years. He was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2014 and was scheduled to receive the E.P. Taylor Award of Merit at this year’s Sovereign Awards along with fellow breeder/owner Gus Schickedanz for their lifelong dedication and commitment to Thoroughbred racing and breeding in Canada. Graham was a successful businessman in Graham Brothers Construction, which built highways, roads, bridges and industrial developments, including three race courses at Woodbine Racetrack and the surrounding area. In addition to breeding and racing, Graham contributed his time as a Vice-President of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association of Ontario, Director of the Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society, Commissioner of the Ontario Racing Commission, a Steward of the Jockey Club of Canada and a member of Woodbine’s Board of Directors. “I think we’ve lost one of the major, current founders of the breed (in Canada),” said Dermot Carty, Director of Sales at Adena Springs and Director of Sales of International Bloodstock Agency. “It’s a huge loss.” Trainer Mike Doyle, who had a long association with Graham and conditioned several horses for him for some 40 years, added, “He really, really enjoyed every aspect of the horse business because it was different than his other business. He worked hard on a regular basis. He did his own matings. He listened to his farm manager, he might have even talked to [others] about it at the races, maybe get a little input. He was a big, tough guy. He did what he was he going to do anyway.” Among Graham’s many accomplishments was breeding 2012 Canadian Horse of the Year Uncaptured (Lion Heart), who won six of seven races as a 2-year-old and more than $500,000. A multiple graded stakes winner for owner John C. Oxley, who bought him as a yearling for $290,000, Uncaptured won more than $1 million in lifetime earnings. His many victories included the 2013 Princes of Wales S., one of Canada’s Triple Crown races. Graham, who could be tough on the outside, but was considered a gentle soul by those who knew him, operated under the name Windhaven Farms in prominent pink and blue silks and had properties in Ontario and Kentucky. Carty said that whatever Graham did, he put his mind into it, including horse racing. “He surrounded himself with some pretty sharp individuals,” Carty said, noting Bob Hancock, who managed his farm in Ontario for about 35 years, and Tim Beeston, who managed his Kentucky operation for almost 25 years. “Between those two and himself he managed to develop not only an eye for great broodmares, but also to breed horses that could run,” Carty said. “He was a great guy, and once you got through the gruff [exterior], he was a lot of fun and he was decent. He turned out to be a great breeder and was always looking out to improve on whatever he had. He had another 150 acres added to his farm in Kentucky to make it better. He always did things top class.” He continued, “He put his heart and soul into it and got results. He didn’t do things halfway. He was always looking for value in his mares. He bought a mare off of us in foal to Ghostzapper (Awesome Again) for $85,000 and sold the baby as a weanling for about $500,000.” Peter Berringer, President of the Ontario Division of the CTHS, said, “Bill Graham’s participation and enthusiasm for the horse racing industry was inspiration for everyone. He will be remembered as one of the most influential builders, breeders and owners and will be sorely missed. Our condolences to his family and friends.” Graham bred and raced a top 2-year-old filly, Tiz Breathtaking (Tiznow), a winner last year of three of five races, including the GIII Mazarine S., before suffering a leg injury. Ken Richardson, Graham Brothers’ Secretary and Vice-President of Administration, said Graham was successful in the construction business because of his commitment to do well, his commitment to his fellow employees and his attention to the details of a project. He said Graham was equally diligent in his involvement in horse racing. “It certainly wasn’t a hobby when you have 50 horses,” Richardson said. “It started out that way, I know that. He enjoyed the competitiveness of the horse racing industry because Bill was a very competitive person himself. He loved to be around the horse racing industry. I can recall Bill being up extra early every morning going to watch his horses work out before he’d come to work in the construction industry. He was into all aspects of it. He just took a great interest in it.” Graham had a particularly strong impact raising and racing fillies, winning many of the premier distaff stakes races in Canada, beginning with Sugar Raiser (Flag Raiser), who won the Boniface S. in 1973. One of his more popular winners was Blondeinamotel (Bates Motel), a winner of the 1989 Canadian Oaks. In 2012, he won his first Sovereign Award as Breeder of the Year with just 32 starters that won 20 races, including six stakes. In 2013, he bred 20 winners from 29 starters that earned $2.2 million. Captivating (Kris S.), dam of Uncaptured, was named the 2013 Sovereign Award for Broodmare of the Year. “When I got into the breeding business I was the new pup on” the block,” Graham said several years ago. “The big guys were Windfields, Stafford, Kinghaven, Sam-Son and [Frank] Stronach.” He won his first Sovereign Award as an owner with Wavering Girl (Wavering Monarch), voted Canada’s top 3-year-old filly in 1989. He also won the Sovereign Award for 1998 champion 2-year-old filly Fantasy Lake. In 1997, he won the Sovereign Award for champion 3-year-old filly Cotton Carnival (Dixieland Band). Majestic Kahala (Majestic Prince), trained by Mort Hardy, was Graham’s first major filly winner. She was victorious in several stakes, including the E.P. Taylor in 1977, and was later sold for $2.5 million. Graham sold one of her offspring, Malaak (Dream Ahead), for $650,000 at Keeneland and she became a major stakes winner in England. Graham is survived by his two daughters, Valerie and Jackie. Funeral arrangements are pending. View the full article

Although the $450,000 overall bonus scheme for breeders, owners, and trainers is unchanged from its 2018 level, the scheduling, number of races, and cumulative purses for the stakes that comprise the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships (MATCH) series will get a significant makeover for 2019. The chief changes for the points-based challenge series at Laurel Park (Apr. 20), Penn National (June 1), Delaware Park (July 13), Parx (Sept. 2) and Monmouth Park (Sept. 28) include: 1) Each participating track getting its own exclusive showcase day of MATCH stakes 2) The exclusion of both high-end graded stakes and below-par stakes in terms of purse value, which will be replaced by 20 stakes with $100,000 purses carded equally at each track 3) A streamlining of the number of horse divisions, from five to four 4) The doubling of marketing money put up by each track to promote the series. The MATCH series, which debuted in 1997 and ran for five years, was brought back in 2018 after a long hiatus. It is the brainchild of Alan Foreman, the chairman/chief executive officer of the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, and the goal of the series is to highlight regional racing while rewarding the connections of mid-Atlantic horses and providing a season-long focal point for fans and bettors. “Last year we got our feet wet with it. It was a success,” Foreman told TDN via phone Wednesday. “I saw somebody online this morning who said, ‘Well they’ve made an awful lot of changes to it. How can you call that a success?’ But we looked at what we accomplished in 2018, and now the thinking is, ‘How can we make it better?’ So that’s what we’re trying to do for 2019.” The basic MATCH concept remains the same. Horses competing in the series earn points based on participation and order of finish. The owners and trainers of the leading 1-2-3 point-earners in each division earn bonus money ($375,000 available). The overall points-earning owner ($50,000) and trainer ($25,000) for the entire series also earn bonuses. Like last year, this money is paid by various the horsemen’s groups and state breeding organizations in the mid-Atlantic. There are also separate Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware breeder bonuses ($40,000 available), with each state’s breeding organization fronting $5,000 payouts for the top point-earning horse of each sex that is certified in their respective programs. The altered format of the races will be the most noticeable shakeup to MATCH (see schedule here). Last year, the MATCH series began on GI Preakness S. weekend at Pimlico Race Course, then hopped around from track to track. An unequal number of races got carded at each venue. And some tracks opted to include graded stakes worth up to $250,000, while others carded $75,000 stakes. In hindsight, Foreman said, “We thought it was probably a mistake to open on Preakness weekend. And graded stakes races are great, but they’re not great for the series. You get a different caliber of horse, and those [graded stakes horses] are generally going to go elsewhere; they’re not necessarily going to continue on in the series. This year, we wanted a competition where the horses in the region are going to stay in the series and contest the series, and give us something that you don’t see elsewhere in the industry.” In fact, so few horses earned points in several of last year’s divisions that only $380,000 of the $450,000 in available bonus money got paid out because the rules state that a horse must participate in at least three races within its division to be eligible for a bonus. “They didn’t earn enough points to qualify, and that’s something that we were scratching our heads about,” Foreman said. “Some of it had to do with the divisions we ran last year, and it was also because of the competition from graded stakes horses. We think we’ve fixed it this year in a way that we shouldn’t have that problem. Remember, we had five divisions last year. We’ll only have four this year. It’s not that we’ve reduced the bonus pool. It’s just that we have one less division.” But the switch to standardization–four stakes of $100,000 apiece at each of the five participating tracks–means a reduction in both the number of races and overall purse money for the series. Last year, MATCH had 25 total races with $2.9 million in purses. “We tried to make it level for everyone. We said let’s do 20 races, $100,000 each for $2 million in total purses,” Foreman said. “They’re all $100,000 races, they’re all stakes, and we’ve left it to the tracks to name those races, and doing it in a way that they’re not interfering or competing with their own stakes schedules or stakes at other tracks within the region.” (Like in 2018, the 2019 stakes money comes from each track’s own purse account.) The four horse divisions have been streamlined as follows: 3YO & Up Sprint Dirt; 3YO & Up Sprint Turf; 3YO & Up Fillies and Mares Sprint Dirt; 3YO & Up Fillies and Mares Long Turf. Presque Isle Downs, which participated last year, won’t be included in the 2019 MATCH series. The Maryland Jockey Club will be represented by Laurel only, and not Pimlico. Foreman said one betting-related benefit of having four MATCH races at each track on a stand-alone showcase day will mean the likely addition of reduced-takeout Pick Fours on those respective cards. This is pending regulatory approval in each state, he added, but he believes such wagers are doable. “We’re going to do little things, and we’re going to make them work. We’ll keep trying to innovate,” Foreman said. “I can’t overstate enough the level of cooperation that is required and put forth by the tracks and the horsemen to really make this thing work. We had some very close to irreconcilable issues that we thought might prevent the series from going forward this year. This is not simple. When you move days and change days that some tracks covet, it affects everybody in the region. It is a really significant collaborative effort.” Foreman said one of the sticking points during 2019 negotiations was that having a “championship day” was “a condition of being in the series” for Monmouth. “And then, in doing the schedule for this year, we thought, ‘Well, why can’t everybody have a big event day, and why don’t we sequence the races so we move from track to track, sort of what NASCAR does?’ “We thought it would be a scheduling nightmare. And it was incredibly difficult–but it worked. Everybody liked the idea of each track having a special day just for MATCH, which does conclude at Monmouth with a championship day. We think it will enhance the series, and it will be good for the horsemen, because they’ll be able to move from track to track.” Foreman said another change is that last year, MATCH tracks paid for the series’s administration and advertising costs on a sliding scale that was not publicly disclosed. “This year, they’re all paying the same,” Foreman said. “They’ve increased their contributions this year–they’ve doubled their marketing contributions–which I just think shows the confidence that they have in the series.” In the spirit of recognizing that MATCH is an ongoing work in progress, Foreman said that its member organizations are already looking ahead to tweaks that might be implemented for 2020. “We have a new [regional] player this year in Colonial Downs,” Foreman said, referencing the Virginia track that will be back in action for the first time since 2013. “We actually talked with them–they’re not far enough along yet with [planning] their summer meet, and we were too far along to include them in MATCH. But I think that you’ll see them in the series in 2020, so we’ll probably expand. We also talked to New York. That brings along a whole host of other [issues], but at least we’re having a conversation with them.” View the full article

Australia (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) is set to be represented by his first South African runner in the form of the 3-year-old filly Sleeping Single (GB) in Thursday’s second race at Kenilworth. Bred by David and Diane Nagle’s Barronstown Stud, the March foal, a €220,000 graduate of the 2017 Goffs Orby Sale, is out of Weekend Fling (Forest Wildcat), dam of Group 3 winner Craftsman (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) and GSP Royal Empress (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), and a half-sister to US Grade I winner Archarcharch (Arch), GSW Balance of Power (Silver Train) and SW Run Sully Run (Cherokee Run). The filly’s third dam is Pattern Step (Nureyev), winner of the 1988 GI Hollywood Oaks for the legendary conditioner Charlie Whittingham. Trained during her racing days by Mark Johnston, Weekend Fling has proved a commercial hit for the Nagles since they acquired the mare–then 10 years of age–for $425,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale via Blandford Bloodstock. The Arch colt she was carrying at the time of her purchase was a 90,000gns Tattersalls December foal before being purchased by the US-based Lothenbach Stables for $430,000 at Keeneland September in 2016. The mare’s foal of 2017, a colt by Muhaarar (GB), was knocked down to the BBA Ireland for €400,000 at last year’s Orby Sale. Australia was represented by 17 winners from his first crop to race in 2018, including G3 Prix du Calvaldos winner Beyond Reason (Ire) and Sydney Opera House (GB), runner-up in the G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. Sleeping Beauty is trained by Justin Snaith and will be ridden by Richard Fourie in the 1200-metre test. Post time for the day’s second event is 12.40pm local time (10.40 GMT). View the full article

Three leading local candidates for the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes for 3-year-olds Jan. 25 at Oaklawn Park had workouts over a fast track Jan. 14, including two for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen. View the full article

Agent Jay Fedor will represent perennial Arlington International Racecourse riding champion Jose Valdivia Jr. at the 2019 Oaklawn Park meeting that begins Jan. 25. View the full article

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued an initial 47 entries for its 2019 Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale supplemental catalogue, which can be viewed here. The sales company will continue to accept supplemental entries throughout the week. The new entries, catalogued as hips 430-476, include: Vicki T (Street Sense) (hip 444): This half-sister to GISW Zipessa (City Zip) is being offered by Ballysax Bloodstock as a broodmare prospect. Babybluesbdancing (Sky Mesa) (hip 466): The 5-year-old broodmare prospect is a multiple stakes winner and graded stakes-placed. She is consigned by James B. Keogh (Grovendale). Oops Times Two (Badge of Silver) (hip 470): The broodmare prospect consigned by Scott Mallory is a half-sister to MGISW young Coolmore sire Practical Joke (Into Mischief). Taking Aim (Trappe Shot) (hip 476): Consigned by Gainesway as a racing/broodmare prospect, the 4-year-old filly is a three-quarter sister to Grade I-winning sire Tapizar (Tapit). The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale will be held Feb. 4-5 with supplemental entries to be sold Feb. 5 following the end of the main catalogue. View the full article

Hot Springs might be a fun place to spend the racing season, but trainer Jason Barkley probably couldn’t wait to get out of town when the meet ended last year. Just 28 and trying to make a name for himself, he went 0-for-16 at Oaklawn with one close second. Four months later, things had gone from bad to worse. Entering the beginning of August, his record on the year was 0-for-43. Barkley was finding out firsthand how difficult it is for a young trainer, particularly one who didn’t apprentice under a Todd Pletcher, Wayne Lukas or Chad Brown and didn’t have the backing of a major owner, to break into the business. While he didn’t have any winners, he did have a plan. He knew he was never going to be an overnight sensation, but he had to keep moving forward and build his stable, even if it was one very small step at a time. He had enough confidence in his abilities that he believed he would inevitably have a break through and that each break through would lead to another. It was just a “beaten” $16,000 claimer at Ellis Park, but when Katie’s Reward (Warrior’s Reward) won on Aug. 5 for the Barkley stable it was as if the cloud that had been hovering over his head instantly vanished. She began a streak that saw him go 11-for-38 through the rest of the year. Now, Barkley is returning to the same track, Oaklawn, that ate him up and spit him out, with a far better barn, momentum and confidence that this will be a meet where he will make some noise. “For me, this is a big meet,” he said. “Last year’s meet was a struggle for me. I came in with five [horses] and we were hitting the board, but weren’t winning any races. I’m coming in with more horses this year and much better stock. I don’t look at it as a ‘now-or-never’ meet. The idea is to just keep progressing. I had five here last year. Now I have 12. If I can leave here with 15, 18 that would be exactly the type of thing that would keep moving us forward.” Barkley is a third-generation trainer. His grandfather was trainer Paul Byers and his father is Jeff Barkley, who is still active. The younger Barkley knew early on what he wanted to with his life, and began preparing for his career at a very young age. “I walked my first horse when I was still in elementary school,” he said. “My grandfather and father were in same barn at Ellis Park when I was a kid. I’ve been in the barn since I was big enough to walk a horse.” He attended the University of Louisville, working summers for trainers Kelly Von Hemel, Steve Margolis and Paul McGee. After he graduated from Louisville’s equine program, he became a vagabond of sorts. He was not interested in going to work for one of the big barns and having to wait several years to move up what is essentially a corporate ladder. Instead, he purposely bounced around, hoping to learn different aspects of the sport from trainers who have different specialties. His first major job was as an assistant to Nick Zito. He also worked as an assistant to Joe Sharp before going to the Wesley Ward stable, his last stop before going out on his own in 2017. “I thought if I bounced around I could see different ways that people do things,” he said. “I got to be around higher-class horses with Zito. Joe had a little bit of everything, cheaper horses and better horses and he had moved on to becoming a trainer after a relatively short time with Mike Maker. I learned how he became so successful so fast. With Wesley, I wanted to learn about the 2-year-old game. The way I see it, everyone pays attention to 2 year-olds and stakes horses, and everything else is just filler.” He’s no threat to take home the Oaklawn training title, but it would be a surprise if Barkley didn’t win at least a handful of races at the meet. “The quality I have this year versus last year? It’s not even close,” he said. He’s hopeful that he can win his first career stakes race when he sends out Arch Avenue (Archarcharch), a recent allowance winner at Turfway and $5500 yearling bargain buy, in the Feb. 2 Martha Washington S. He is also excited about Highland Lass (Quality Road), who was picked up at the 2018 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale after starting her career in Southern California. “We also have some higher-end claimers and a maiden that I like a lot,” Barkley said. He’s progressed from the trainer who left Oaklawn last year after a humbling experience. But he knows he has a long way to go. Win four or five races at Oaklawn, keep getting his name out there on social media, pick up another client or two, claim a couple of solid horses at this meet, work hard. “I like to set goals,” he said. “What do we need to make happen to keep moving forward? We have checked some boxes lately.” At Oaklawn, he hopes to check a few more. View the full article

The Jockeys and Jeans Stallions Season Sale to benefit the Permanently Disable Jockeys Fund kicks off Wednesday at 8p.m. and runs through Friday at 8:05p.m. “Our sale is the only one in the entire racing industry whose entire proceeds goes to help humans; namely those Jockeys who have given so much of their lives beneath the horses we all know and love,” said Jockeys and Jeans President, Barry Pearl. “These brave men and women are no longer riding horses but wheelchairs.” The auction offers season from stallions such as Shackleford, Mucho Macho Man, Army Mule, First Dude, Alternation, Upstart, Wicked Strong, Trappe Shot, Gio Ponti and many more. View the full article

Sunday Racing's grade 1 winner Aerolithe arrived Jan. 16 at Gulfstream Park at approximately 3:15 a.m. to prepare for the $7 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1T) coming up Jan. 26 at the Florida track. View the full article

As a sequel to our recent exhaustive survey of Kentucky sires for 2019, it seems only fair to cast the net wider and seek some value in the regional market. In doing so, however, we exchange one problem of scale for another: the sheer volume of stallions concentrated in the Bluegrass creates a far more coherent marketplace than the one fragmented from one coast to the other. There is, of course, a degree of traffic between the two. Stallions who fail to find a sustainable niche in Kentucky often migrate to pastures new in state programs. Exceptionally, there will even be young stallions who make a sufficient impact in Florida or Maryland to move the other way, as did Kantharos and Malibu Moon. Yet there is little point comparing the fees of regional stalwarts with those commanded even by ordinary Kentucky stallions. Written into their respective values are the practical limitations of mare populations, shipping costs and so on. In states with incentive programs nourished by gaming revenues, it may be worth transporting a mare for a Kentucky cover before returning to foal, say, in New York. Generally speaking, however, local sires will maximise your eligibility for restricted prizes. So the challenge is to pick out one or two sires, within that context, who look eligible to punch above their fee. We’ll only look at the principal markets. There may be better value in Texas than living legend Too Much Bling (Rubiano), for instance, but at a lifetime 10.34 percentage of black-type winners to named foals, I’ll just have to take your word for it. (That would be just as true if he stood at Claiborne, alongside the $250,000 stallion who, uniquely in the nation’s top 100, could read that number and still look Too Much Bling in the eye.) Because even within the deeper pools, we’re just dipping a subjective line or two to hook some value. So no point recommending Undrafted (Lion Heart) in Florida, with his book already full; nor highlighting that Central Banker (Speightstown) made a bright start, when he stands for the same money as New York’s multiple champion sire Freud (Storm Cat). Value is always in the eye of the beholder, and will vary wildly between end-users and commercial breeders. Courageous Cat (Storm Cat), to take one lurid example, is plainly “value” slashed to $2,500 from $6,000 for 2019 by Questroyal North in New York: he’s an awful lot of horse for that fee, as a Grade I winner with a world-class pedigree, and entitled to get you any kind of runner for the equivalent of a few dozen bales of hay. But very small books in the last couple of years will give him limited opportunity to build commercial momentum on the four black-type winners who kept him in the top six New York sires in 2018. So it depends what you’re after. Each to their own. CALIFORNIA GRAZEN (Benchmark), $5,000 Tommy Town Thoroughbreds Wait, we’ll come to Grazen in a minute. But were there seriously only ten mares left for Ministers Wild Cat in 2018? A top ten Californian sire every year since 2012, he is one of the last available sons of the great Deputy Minster out of a Breeders’ Cup Distaff winner. He obviously didn’t show the same track ability as his half-brother War Chant (Danzig) but his 18 stakes winners have come at a perfectly respectable percentage for a horse standing at $4,000. And, just a hunch, but I’d bet that with that pedigree someday one of his daughters will foal a champion. Conversely, breeders have been slowly waking up to his younger studmate Grazen (Benchmark), who has only sired 88 named foals across six crops but has produced such striking dividends that he has entertained 101 and 68 mares over the past two years. Of just 62 starters, his 51 winners have included no fewer than seven at black-type level. These include Grade III winner Enola Gray, who also has a Grade I podium to her name. Grazen was a fast horse, who wired a Grade III field for a 103 Beyer, and if there is little immediate distinction in his family then there is no denying his own sire’s oomph. Benchmark, a son of Alydar, was also responsible for GI Santa Anita Derby winner Brother Derek and those blitzing Grade I winners Points Offthebench and Idiot Proof. Wherever it’s coming from, Grazen is earning his stripes and the foals conceived this year will be able to ride any success achieved by a book that more than trebled in 2017. Giants beware: this David’s sling is now loaded. SMILING TIGER (Hold That Tiger), $6,500 Harris Farms This guy has come a long way since his discovery as a yearling at the Washington Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association Sale, or indeed since throwing his jockey three times before his debut in a four-furlong maiden at Golden Gate Fields. He won by daylight that day, promptly added a stakes before sharing the podium with champion Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike) at both Grade II and Grade I level. With maturity he won three Grade I sprints–the Bing Crosby S., Ancient Title S. and Triple Bend H.; also beaten a nose in the Malibu S.–and twice made the frame in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, besides winning four other graded stakes. He also landed running at stud, as California’s leading first-crop sire in 2017, and last year his 32 winners included five at black-type level–a tally surpassed nationally, in his intake, only by the stellar Violence (Medaglia d’Oro). These were crowned, in the final days of the year, by a breakout Grade I winner in Spiced Perfection, who turned herself from a $6,500 yearling into a La Brea S. winner. Smiling Tiger’s dam Shandra Smiles (Cahill Road) produced another Grade I winner by a son of Storm Cat in She’s A Tiger (Tale Of The Cat), winner of the Del Mar Debutante and Eclipse champion despite her demotion in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies; and it’s a bottom line loaded with Florida speed, the second dam being by Ta Wee’s son Great Above (broodmare sire of Housebuster). So there’s both class and dash on the page; while Smiling Tiger was as terrifically sound and hardy as he was fast. All in all, the kind of commercial package many a Kentucky farm would be proud to offer. FLORIDA VALIANT MINISTER (Candy Ride), $3,000 Bridlewood This is plainly a roll of the dice–but one that looks warranted at the odds. Because, unlike most regional rookies, you really couldn’t say where he might end up if only he can get started. A $680,000 sale-record OBS June breezer, he won his only start at Santa Anita in a hand-ride for a 99 Beyer, and Baffert has openly billed him as a freak. Unfortunately the horse was then derailed by a stalls accident. We all know that there are 49 duds for every Maclean’s Music (Distorted Humor), but what makes Valiant Minister at least look a valid experiment is his pedigree. He’s out of a Deputy Minister mare, which gives him an automatic credit, and is a full brother to Grade I-placed Moe Candy; while the second dam is Grade I winner Lunar Spook. He’s a strapping lad, by an emerging sire of sires, and 78 mares in his debut book last year will give him a very secure toehold to show what he can do. You couldn’t be at all surprised if he came up with a six-figure breezer or two. And, with so little downside, you’re entitled to those Maclean’s Music daydreams. ADIOS CHARLIE (Indian Charlie), $3,000 Ocala Stud With the farm reporting Uncaptured full–and he certainly launched himself into the slipstream of another son of Lion Heart in Kantharos, since uprooted for Kentucky, with eight winners from 29 starters including three at black-type level–then how about rewarding this guy for his Grade I knockout with Cigar Mile winner Patternrecognition? It’s not as though Adios Charlie can’t do quantity as well, his 62% winners-to-starters in 2018 (67 of 108) outstanding among meaningful members of an intake headed by a rather more expensive son of the same sire in Uncle Mo (himself setting a 49% clip). Besides Patternrecognition (a $9,000 R.N.A. 2-year-old, who also won the GII Kelso H.), Adios Charlie had four other stakes winners last year and is plainly parlaying pedigree and performance into results despite a very modest fee: he is out of a sister to a dual Grade I winner (on turf, definitely an angle for breeders) and himself showed authentic calibre in a light career, winning the GII Jerome S decisively from good horses (namely Preakness third Astrology (A.P.Indy) and Grade I sprinter Justin Phillip (First Samurai)). Definitely time to say hello to Adios Charlie. At the same farm and fee, incidentally, Prospective (Malibu Moon) has made a good start. With a second crop entering the fray in 2018, he came up with 34 winners from 51 runners including three at black-type level. GONE ASTRAY (Dixie Union), $4,500 Northwest Stud Perhaps the best pedigree in the state and he has quietly made it tell, mustering black-type winners through his first four crops at a superior career clip to any of its other leading stallions. There were five more in 2018, surpassed only by Florida’s leading sire First Dude (Stephen Got Even)–who had a much larger running population and stands at over twice the fee. Gone Astray was a dual Grade II winner, in the Pennsylvania and Ohio Derbys, showing enough ability to qualify him as a legitimate conduit for a Phipps family that features numerous still more accomplished animals: he’s out of a Mr P half-sister to champion filly Smuggler, out of Hall of Famer Inside Information. He has the imposing physique to match and it would have made a big difference to his profile had his second-crop son Pretty Boy Flash managed to bridge that neck and nose to Practical Joke (Into Mischief) in the GI Hopeful S. As it is, his books have since held steady in the 70s and his pedigree and build together suggest that his stock could consolidate with maturity. Gone Astray could still hit the bull’s eye. BRETHREN (Distorted Humor), $7,500 Arindel Farm As a straw in the wind, a filly as zippy as Cookie Dough–who won a couple of Florida stakes by an aggregate 13 lengths before her late defection from the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies–is perhaps worth catching. She is from the second crop of a well-related young stallion who in 2018 had 30 winners and as many as eight black-type performers from 65 starters. Another of his three stakes winners, Old Time Revival, was second in the GIII Gotham S. Well related? No less than you would hope for a horse named Brethren. He was the next foal after Kentucky Derby winner (and $30k stallion) Super Saver (Maria’s Mon) delivered by Supercharger (A.P. Indy), herself sister to one Grade I winner and to the dam of another. This modern flowering of an old Phipps family potentially qualifies Brethren, an unbeaten 2-year-old who didn’t really go on after winning the Grade III Sam F Davis S., as one whose blood and looks together turn him into a good deal better stallion than he was a runner. MARYLAND FREEDOM CHILD (Malibu Moon), $2,500 Country Life Farm A 13-length success in the GII Peter Pan S. could have been a flash in the pan, given the sloppy track that day, but Freedom Child has certainly made an auspicious start to his new career. He could not be in better hands to do so, of course: the same farm launched his remarkable sire, and is now knocking the ball out of the park with Friesian Fire (A.P. Indy) from the same line. Having sent his second crop into battle last year, Freedom Child had 18 winners from just 28 runners including two at black-type level. He has a page you could take anywhere in Kentucky, being out of a Deputy Minister daughter of Grade I winner City Band (Carson City)–whose full sister is the granddam of champion juvenile Shanghai Bobby (Harlan’s Holiday). Though a May 18 foal, Freedom Child was able to command $350,000 at the big Saratoga sale–testament to his big, easy stride–and while he does have a couple of small books to ride out now, he deserves backing to do so. MADEFROMLUCKY (Lookin At Lucky), $5,000 Northview Stallion Station Here’s a young gun from the farm that brought you Great Notion (Elusive Quality)–a state champion who himself looks undiminished value, even as he turns 19, with eight of his 56 winners in 2018 scoring at black-type level. Whether Madefromlucky’s first foals, now hitting the ground, can propel him towards similar heights remains to be seen. But you have to say that many a Bluegrass farm would envy a millionaire out of an unraced full sister to none other than Tapit (Pulpit). Madefromlucky, from his perennially under-rated sire’s debut crop, held his form through four seasons as a dual Grade II winner at three who finished up winning a Grade III by a dozen lengths at five. Obviously his dam, as a sister to Tapit, shares the additional honour of being out of a half-sister to Rubiano. One way or the other, breeders will be turning up some pretty fertile soil here. NEW YORK BELLAMY ROAD (Concerto), $5,000 Irish Hill & Dutchess Views It should scarcely be necessary to highlight the credentials of a stallion eclipsed only by the gold standard of Freud (Giant’s Causeway) in the state earnings table in 2018. But even the emergence of a chip off the old block in Diversify, who carried his speed to a second Grade I success in the Whitney S., has not prevented a clip to Bellamy Road’s fee from $6,000–a gesture, no doubt, towards a mysteriously myopic drop in his book from 63 to just 35 last year. Given that he has yet to gain a full foothold in the restricted program, that level of business woefully underplays the eminence he has achieved in open company. Diversify is one of no fewer than 31 black-type winners for Bellamy Road, the memory of whose epoch-making 17-length GI Wood Memorial success–earning an eye-watering 120 Beyer–was cruelly dimmed by the crash into which he launched his first foals. It must be granted that he had a challenging sire and damsire, but there is real class deeper in the family. End-users, certainly, must be pinching themselves that such an accomplished animal should be available at $5,000–just a quarter of the fee he commanded when moved to WinStar after producing a Grade I winner in his first crop. That first season at WinStar yielded another elite winner (GI La Brea S. scorer Constellation) plus a Kentucky Oaks runner-up and Diversify himself. A horse built as massively as Bellamy Road is bound to produce an occasional slow-burner of that ilk, but that only augurs well for all his intervening stock as it matures. Bottom line: is there a sire in the Empire State more eligible to produce a Derby horse? BUSTIN STONES (City Zip), $5,000 Waldorf Farm Heirs to City Zip have come to seem ever more precious since his loss and this one offers a very persuasive package, by regional standards, as a Grade I winner who was never headed in six starts. A seven-length debut scorer, he then reeled off three stakes for state-breds before graduating to win the GII General George S. and then the GI Carter H. Bustin Stones will have a very small footprint of juveniles this year, but has moved his book back up to 40 mares in the last two years after seizing his limited early opportunities (doubling his fee in the process). No fewer than 123 of his 159 lifetime starters have won, seven at black-type level. He is built to sprint and exudes toughness, blue-collar qualities also evident in his stock. Here’s a horse rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done. PENNSYLVANIA FLASHBACK (Tapit), $3,500 Diamond B Farm He’s been evicted from Kentucky pretty hastily, his first runners in 2018 having acquitted themselves perfectly respectably. A dozen winners from 38 runners is on a par with several rivals being feted for a strong start, while only by Mucho Macho Man (Macho Uno) can match his two Graded stakes placings. Boujie Girl made the frame in both the GI Del Mar Debutante S. and GII Sorrento S., while Tripwire was beaten just half a length at Grade III level. In fairness, the Kentucky market is becoming pretty congested for young sons of Tapit, so it makes sense to try and relaunch him in a state program with bonuses to play for. Especially at a farm that can produce a left-field success like Uptowncharlybrown (Limehouse), whose startling early percentages doubled his book in 2018. In a brief but accomplished career, Flashback won the GII Robert B. Lewis S. by six lengths before chasing home Goldencents (Into Mischief) in the GI Santa Anita Derby. Those achievements are underpinned by a full-sister who won two Grade I races besides making the podium in the Kentucky Oaks, in Zazu. Their dam by Mr Greeley has also produced a smart juvenile in England, while the next two dams are by Pleasant Colony and Nijinsky, so there could be a wider turf angle than is generally associated with Tapit. Flashback is a striking animal, his coat dappled as though by silver leaves, and has covered 294 mares in three years since siring this debut crop. That’s quite a following wind for a young stallion set adrift so soon. View the full article

In this new series we ask agents and others who book a lot of mares for their clients which sires might be flying slightly under the radar in this breeding season. Who might be getting overlooked in the rush for the new, hot thing? Read on. Barry Butzer MIDSHIPMAN, Darley America, $8,500 Midshipman has been a favorite at Sun Valley from day one, consistently supplying ourselves and our clients with progeny that make a significant impact on our bottom line. He is clearly our go-to stallion at this price point, and a horse that has given us four talented stakes horses earning right at $1 million. From Woodbine to Santa Anita, our Midshipmans are all game. It is easy to forget that this top-class juvenile champion handed defeat to top sires Pioneerof the Nile and Munnings in that year’s GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Midshipman’s body of work is built from smallish crops, and he has crossed a new threshold now with two Grade I-placed fillies. Breeders have gotten the message and his crops have doubled in the past four seasons. The commercial market has also taken note, our three Midshipmans offered last year averaged $87,000. Last weekend a chestnut filly had nowhere to go in the eighth at Gulfstream. However, Klaravich Stables and Chad Brown’s Connectivity exhibited a turn of foot not often seen, and burst through in the lane and drew off on debut. Yet another winner for Darley’s Midshipman. If you look elsewhere for a champion son of Unbridled’s Song for your mare this season, be prepared to ante up a cool $30,000 or $75,000. Midshipman should be utilized by breeders shopping with or without a budget View the full article