Wandering Eyes

Harper, chief executive officer of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, will receive the Award of Merit at the 48th annual Eclipse Awards honoring the 2018 champions of Thoroughbred racing Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla. View the full article

Santa Anita’s opening-day card produced an all-sources pari-mutuel handle of $20,491,016 Wednesday–a 19% increase over last year and an all-time opening-day record. Wednesday’s opening-day crowd of 41,373 contributed to an on-track handle of $3,463,535, a 5% increase over last year’s $3.3 million. On-track attendance was up 3% over last year. “Yesterday’s attendance and handle numbers are the result of many factors, none greater than field size,” said Tim Ritvo, COO for The Stronach Group. “We would first of all like to thank our tremendous fans, not only here at Santa Anita, but around the country as well. They recognize a top-quality product that offers good value and they responded in-kind yesterday. We had tremendous racing and the horsemen obviously responded to the great opportunities our 10-race program offered.” View the full article

Two weeks ago, Ken Ramsey was sitting with family in his lower-level season seats at Rupp Arena, watching the Wildcats, when a cousin made a pitch about a 51-day cruise he was planning. “We got talking about it, and he just begged me to go on this cruise,” said Ramsey. “He brought the itinerary, showed me all the ports. I said, ‘Fifty one days! I can’t take that much time off!’ But I got home and started to think on it. And I came to a conclusion: my money’s making a slave of me.” That confirmed to Ramsey what he’d already been thinking, that it was way past time to drastically reduce the size of his stable and refocus his energies on enjoying life. Over the past five years alone, horses owned by Ken Ramsey and his wife Sarah have made 2,782 starts. Those starters won 601 races and banked $36.5 million. The Ramseys have four Eclipse Awards as the nation’s leading owner and two Eclipse Awards as the nation’s leading breeder. They’ve won four Breeders’ Cup races, placed in 11 others, and three times have led the country’s owners by earnings. They almost single-handedly turned Kitten’s Joy into America’s best turf sire and have raced six Grade I-winning homebreds by him. The operation, in short, has been a juggernaut. So it’s hard to imagine Ken Ramsey even talking about a racing stable of just 10 to 15 horses. But that is the goal, Ramsey said during a recent TDN interview at his Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville, Kentucky. In fact, Ramsey began cutting his numbers in earnest earlier this year. The stable is down by over a third and will continue to shrink, Ramsey said. His broodmare band will ultimately number around 50, he said. “Would you believe that at one point, a year or so ago, we had 747 horses?” Ramsey said. “Right now, as we speak, we are down to 478 horses. And we are selling another 11 broodmares out here at Keeneland [January] and Fasig-Tipton [February]. I’ve got 164 broodmares; 116 racehorses, including 2-year-olds; 77 yearlings; 116 weanlings, two stallions and three teasers. I’ve just got too many.” He added, “I don’t travel around as much as I did at one time. [My wife Sarah] doesn’t like to travel all that much, so it’s just getting it down to a more manageable number. I think we’ll both enjoy it more.” Ramsey has already sent a half-dozen 2-year-olds each to Eddie Woods and Woodford Thoroughbreds and will offer them at next year’s juvenile sales. He figures to lose some runners at the claim box, and will sell privately, as well. He also has floated the idea of conducting a dispersal at either Keeneland or Fasig-Tipton. Ramsey said he’d be active selling at yearling sales in 2019 and, at the bloodstock sales, would offer mares in foal to Kitten’s Joy, as well as a number of mares in foal to outside sires. “My farm manager Mark Partridge and I are working on it right now, trying to figure which stallions will be commercial come November,” said Ramsey. A Public Option… Ken Ramsey is still spry at 83. He speeds his red Lexus around Ramsey Farm’s many roads and knows every nook of the property. He proudly shows visitors the farm’s natural springs, including one that provides water to three nearby fields. On this visit, he ambles into the little shack that cover’s the spring’s source and, bending down, drinks directly from the water bubbling up from the limestone. “Try it,” he said. “That’s the best, purest water you’ll ever taste.” Near another of the springs on his farm is a small covered bridge he had built by Amish workers. “I told them to not nail down the floorboards, ’cause I like to hear them rattle when I drive over them,” he says. According to Ramsey, he’s the largest landowner in Jessamine Co., and in total owns some 2,600 acres in myriad locations. Ramsey has already made some major changes to his operation. For years, the Ramseys stood homebred champion Kitten’s Joy at Ramsey Farm, but last year sold a 50% interest in the stallion to Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms and relocated him there. “We decided to take a little money off the table,” said Ramsey. “You’ve got to stay in the black.” The Ramseys didn’t get entirely out of the stallion business. They still have We Miss Artie at Ramsey Farm, and the Grade I-winning son of Artie Schiller will be represented by first-crop runners in 2019. Though the Ramseys are scaling back, there are no plans to sell Ramsey Farm. In fact, Ramsey just bought adjecent acreage to the property that includes two houses, and, in the midst of estate planning, he says he expects the farm to one day be split among his children and grandchildren, many of whom have shown an interest in racing. That includes grandson Nolan Ramsey, who is currently an assistant to trainer Mike Maker. Ramsey also stresses that this isn’t a portent of him getting out of racing entirely. While he downsizes, he says he’ll put a renewed emphasis on two long-time goals: winning the Kentucky Derby and winning a stakes at Royal Ascot. To that end, he’ll begin breeding what mares he does retain to prominent dirt sires. “We bred to Gun Runner and Arrogate last year, so we’ve got those coming on,” he said. “I probably can’t afford Justify, but I’m real high on him. But I’m going to focus on getting a really good dirt horse and try to win the Kentucky Derby. And if I can’t win the roses, maybe I can at least start smelling ’em! And we’ll try to win a stakes race at Royal Ascot. That’s been on my bucket list for a long time.” Another of Ramsey’s aims, he says, it to figure out how to be utilize the land and facilities at Ramsey Farm. One option is to turn the farm public and open a boarding and sales-prep operation. “I’ve got all the infrastructure I need,” he said. “I’ve got what we call Kitten’s Spa, which is an underwater treadmill and a vibrating platform that’ll really help the yearlings. We’ve also got a training center out here, as well, and could have horses ready to roll for the races. I’ve got three exercise riders coming out here now.” He added, “If someone wants to come out here and lease a few hundred acres and use the facilities, we’d be tickled to death to talk with them about that.” Ramsey is also hoping to possibly attract an outside stallion to stand at the farm. “I’d be interested in partnering in up with someone to stand a stallion if they had one I thought had some promise,” he said. Other big changes are afoot for Ken Ramsey. On the first of the year, Ramsey is turning over all his non-racing businesses to his son Kelly. “I’ve got a lot of real estate holdings and rental properties, and we’re developing a subdivision and two industrial parks,” he said. “And I have six radio stations in the Midwest. I’ve been dabbling in all of it and not doing a good job in any of it.” On the farm, Ramsey says he’s turning the day-to-day operations over to his son Jeffrey, currently the director of publicity and marketing, and to Mark Partridge. “I’ll be dealing strictly with the horses and where to spot them,” said Ramsey. “I’m getting too old to put in 12 hours a day. Hell, my phone starts ringing every day at 6:30 a.m.” In 2019, one of the horses Ramsey will be spotting is Backyard Heaven (Tizway), impressive winner of the GII Alysheba S. in May. Backyard Heaven subsequently disappointed in the GI Stephen Foster and GI Whitney S. Tests revealed foot bruising and he was given time off. “There’s nothing wrong with him and he’s here on the farm,” said Ramsey. “We’ve had him in the spa here and we have a vibrating platform. So he’s been standing on that so his feet are toughened up, and we’ll send him to [trainer] Chad Brown down at Gulfstream in a few weeks.” In some ways, Backyard Heaven is symbolic of Ramsey Farm’s future. He’s a dirt horse from an operation known for its turf stars. And he’s named after the Ramseys’ vacation house in Saratoga, a lifestyle Ramsey is intent on embracing more. “I read Ecclesiastes the other day, and King Solomon says what you should do in life is eat, drink and be merry,” said Ramsey. “You’re not taking any of the money with you, and life’s too short. I’ve got a beautiful lake here on the farm with benches around it, and I drive past on my way to another meeting or whatever, and there are the farm employees out there fishing, enjoying themselves. And I don’t have time to do that. There’s something wrong with that picture, right? Anyway, the stark reality set in and I decided that, after all, I could be mortal. We need to kick back and take life a little easier.” View the full article

With NFL fans accustomed to hearing a brief explanation from officials if replay reverses a call on the field, Turfway Park and the stewards at the Northern Kentucky track are going to try a similar approach. View the full article

What could be that difficult about breeding? You select a stallion that suits the mare and your goals, breed your mare, then keep her fed and watered for 11 months until you’re rewarded with a healthy foal. If only it were that simple. There are many reasons a mare can prove difficult to get into foal, or to stay in foal. It could be as simple function of age. It could be results from a complicated delivery. Or, it could be a multitude of other reasons. Regardless, now is the time breeders should be paying special attention to preparing their breeding stock for the upcoming season, and for those with known issues there are added safeguards and steps breeders can take she gave themselves and their horses the best chance at a successful pregnancy. Issues that Can Impact Conception There are many reasons a horse may have issues getting impregnated, the most basic of which are her age, not breeding her at the appropriate time during her cycle, or poor reproductive health of the mare or stallion. A typical mare’s ovum, or egg, begins to lose viability within just five to six hours post-ovulation, and typically loses all viability within 24 hours. While a stallion’s semen typically remains viable for 48 hours, a reduced number and quality of a stallion’s semen can limit its viability to just a few hours. Age can negatively impact these timeframes for both sexes. The mare’s body condition can also play into her chances of becoming pregnant. Most veterinarians recommend mares to rank around a 5 or a 6 on the Henneke Body Condition Score (BCS). When a mare’s weight and overall health decline, so too does their reproductive efficiency. Outside of age and general health-related issues, endometritis is the most common reason for infertility in mares. This condition, which is an infection or inflammation of the lining of the uterus caused by foreign contaminants such as bacteria or spermatozoa, can either be acute as a result of breeding (both artificial and natural), reproductive examination or as a result of poor conformation. “There are simple, but important steps one can take to improve the chances of conception, including a physical examination of both the mare and the stallion, a careful and thorough reproductive exam of the mare prior to the breeding season and during the estrous cycle during which breeding is to occur and to optimize the overall health of the horse,” said Kristina Lu, VMD, an equine reproductive specialist with Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. Early vs. Late Term Pregnancy Loss Just as there are a number of reasons a mare can be difficult to impregnate, the same can hold true for keeping her in foal. Most pregnancy losses occur in the initial weeks and months of pregnancy. Again, age can play a role. As mares age, they may experience uterine fibrosis, which can lead to a placenta that is less-efficient in getting nutrition to the growing fetus. Other causes for early-term pregnancy loss can be unavoidable complications, such as genetic defects or embryonic abnormalities. They can also be due to uterine infections that may have been low-grade and undetectable at the time of breeding/conception but proliferate in the subsequent weeks and months. Late-term losses can have their own set of culprits. “Placentitis, umbilical cord torsion, systemic illness can all cause late, and in some cases mid-term abortion in mares,” said Lu. “Diseases such as leptospirosis, equine herpesvirus 1 or 4 and equine viral arteritis are threats to a healthy gestation as well, some of which can spread quickly through a herd and may not generate obvious clinical signs other than abortion.” Then there are also those mares that have little trouble carrying a foal to term, only to be prone to dystocias (difficulty giving birth), which can be caused by congenital abnormalities, such as contracted limbs that prevent the foal from properly fitting through the birth canal. This, in turn, can lead to oxygen deprivation in foals. Safeguards to Protect Both Mare and Foal While some complications are simply unavoidable, there are safeguards and protocols that can be implemented to support the gestation and delivery of a healthy foal. “Some simple things horsemen and women can do to protect their mares and future foals are to maintain good general health of a mare, conduct thorough reproductive examinations, monitor the mare’s reproductive tract before and after breeding, ensure regular core vaccinations, consider screening for placentitis if the mare has a previous history and consider vaccinating for herpes or leptospirosis if appropriate,” said Lu. “Breeding as close to ovulation as possible can also be of benefit. On the other hand, repeated breeding during an estrous cycle (average 21 days) may increase opportunity for endometritis in some mares.” Above all else, staying in regular communication with your veterinarian is one of the best forms of protection one can afford their mares. View the full article

Members of the TDN staff reveal what TDN Rising Star they’re most excited to see race in 2019. How can you not be excited about an undefeated juvenile colt, who is a three-time Grade I-winner, is soon-to-be a champion and is trained by Bob Baffert? Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) has done absolutely everything right and I’m not just referring to the fact he is a perfect four-for-four. The bay has been the consummate professional in each of his racetrack appearances, winning impressively and with ease every time. He has also displayed versatility and the ability to overcome adversity, two important qualities for both a good racehorse and a GI Kentucky Derby hopeful. Drawn in post nine in his six-panel debut at Del Mar Aug. 18, the $110,000 KEESEP buy forced the issue four-wide and blew them away in the lane to graduate by 5 3/4 lengths (video). Given another outside post in the GI Del Mar Futurity Sept. 3, Game Winner put away a strong field that included his more-fancied stablemate Roadster (Quality Road) with ease (video). Navigating two turns for the first time in the Sept. 29 GI American Pharoah S., he handled it with aplomb, shrugging off a talented runner in the stretch to win as he pleased (video). Facing his toughest test yet in the Nov. 2 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, held beneath the same Twin Spires the colt hopes to see on the First Saturday in May, Game Winner overcame another outside post, wide trip and bumping in late stretch to forge clear for a determined score (video). In each of his starts, Game Winner performed like a horse that would only get better with distance. He is bred to run all day being a son of Candy Ride out of an A.P. Indy mare, who is a daughter of MGISW Fleet Indian (Indian Charlie). The bay has the right connections for the job with owners Gary and Mary West and two-time Triple Crown-winner Baffert. Bred by Summer Wind Farm, the colt is one of three horses born at Jane Lyon’s facility to win at the highest level for Baffert this year with the other two being fellow ‘TDN Rising Stars’ McKinzie (Street Sense) and Chasing Yesterday (Tapit). –Christie DeBernardis, Associate Editor View the full article

We’re now 128 days out from the 145th GI Kentucky Derby, and the pecking order is hazily taking shape. The initial Top 12 rankings are largely based on 2-year-old form, but there’s a speculative, forward-thinking element (read: guesswork) built into the equation, with the goal of projecting how these still-developing horses will blossom over the next four months. Get tied on and enjoy the ride. 1) GAME WINNER (c, Candy Ride {Arg}—Indyan Giving, by A.P. Indy) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Gary & Mary West. B-Summer Wind Equine (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $110,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 4-4-0-0, $1,496,000. Last Start: 1st, GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile , CD, Nov. 2 Accomplishments Include: 1st, GI American Pharoah S., SA, Sept. 29; 1st, GI Del Mar Futurity, DMR, Sept. 3 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 30. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Game Winner is the undefeated victor of the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and appears to be a lock to earn the divisional championship at the Eclipse Awards. You have to respect those impeccable credentials while also realizing there is active debate as to whether he will turn out to be the best long-range Derby candidate within trainer Bob Baffert’s deeply stocked stable. I assembled this season’s debut Top 12 with him on top only after strongly considering other combinations that involved this week’s 1-2-3 kingpins. This $110,000 KEESEP Candy Ride (Arg) colt bulled his way to an impressive open-length debut win at Del Mar prior to asserting himself in back-to-back, short-field Grade I stakes on the SoCal circuit. Then he roared home with authority as the even-money Juvenile fave despite being bumped at the break and giving up four paths of real estate on both turns. Strongly in his favor is Baffert’s been-there-done-that success in Triple Crown races. But since the advent of the Breeders’ Cup, Juvenile winners are a collective 2-for-34 in the Derby (Nyquist and Street Sense). Game Winner is currently in light training at Santa Anita. 2) SIGNALMAN (c, General Quarters–Trip South, by Trippi) O-Tommie M. Lewis, David A. Bernsen, LLC & Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek). B-Monticule (KY). T-Kenneth G McPeek. Sales History: $32,000 Ylg ’17 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: GSW & MGISP, 5-2-2-1, $448,990. Last Start: 1st, GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., CD, Nov. 24 Accomplishments Include: 3rd, GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, CD, Nov. 2; 2nd, GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, KEE, Oct. 6 Next Start: Aiming for GII Fountain of Youth S., GP, Mar. 2 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 18. While Signalman can’t match the four-for-four and three Grade I stakes wins of the only horse ranked above him in this week’s Top 12, he does have an edge in that he’s broadened his foundation beyond a third-place try in the Juvenile by coming back three weeks later to smartly annex the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. That Nov. 24 neck win resonates as a positive “how he did it” sign of advancement, because this $32,000 FTKOCT General Quarters colt exhibited a high level of comfort while covered up on the inside of a sloppy Churchill Downs surface. He also gets style points for launching a prolonged, confident march five furlongs out that he accentuated with a strong, willing finish, repulsing several potential winning bids before galloping out nicely. Trainer Ken McPeek picked out this relative bargain himself, telling TDN earlier this month that he “put a lot more emphasis on the conformation than the pedigree.” Having accomplished so much at the tail end of his 2-year-old campaign, Signalman is being freshened for the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 2. 3) IMPROBABLE (c, City Zip—Rare Event, by A.P. Indy) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International Ltd. & Starlight Racing. B-St. George Farm LLC & G. Watts Humphrey Jr. (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $110,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $200,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISW, 3-3-0-0, $269,520. Last Start: 1st, GI Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity, LRC, Dec. 8 Accomplishments Include: 1st, Street Sense S., CD, Nov. 2; Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. Caulfield on Improbable. KY Derby Points: 10. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Improbable’s 1-5 favored win in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity marks him as an aggressive, confident stalker who responds well to rousing while using his energy efficiently. He was hard held to the backstretch (avoiding trouble that affected others on the turn), then picked off dueling pacemakers at will while being driven from the quarter to the eighth pole. He was kept to task while widening by five lengths to the wire, finishing like he had not scraped the bottom of his stamina reserve. Trainer Baffert noted post-win that the three-for-three Improbable “has a long stride like Justify (Scat Daddy). He’s just a smaller version. I’m not saying he’s at Justify’s level yet, but he’s a really good horse.” Baffert has now won the last five Los Al Futurities. The only two of those winners to go on and start in the Kentucky Derby—Dortmund (Big Brown) and Mor Spirit (Eskendereya)—both won Santa Anita’s GIII Robert B. Lewis S. in their next starts. 4) CODE OF HONOR (c, Noble Mission {GB}–Reunited, by Dixie Union) O/B-W. S. Farish (KY). T-Shug McGaughey. Sales History: $70,000 RNA Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISP, 2-1-1-0, $146,750. Last Start: 2nd, GI Champagne S., BEL, Oct. 6 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 4. Based on his 14-1 adversity-overcoming second in the GI Champagne S. at Belmont Park (lost footing and pitched forward at break; nice five-wide run off turn) Code of Honor appeared poised to enter the Breeders’ Cup as the “wiseguy” horse for the Juvenile. But he spiked a temperature and scratched the night before the race, then trainer Shug McGuaghey kept him out of a planned next start in the GII Remsen S. because he was not totally satisfied with the energy level of this homebred Noble Mission (GB) colt. Code of Honor is now breezing at Payson Park, with an aim on a 2019 Gulfstream return. A fairly late foal (May 23) out of a Dixie Union mare, Code of Honor won on debut at Saratoga, wiring a six-furlong MSW at 6-1. Based on the disparate running styles of his only two races, it will be interesting to see whether he evolves as a pace presence or a stalker/closer. There are more accomplished stakes winners ranked behind him on this list. But the bet here is that Code of Honor will outperform them in the not-too-distant future. 5) COLISEUM (c, Tapit–Game Face, by Menifee) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Godolphin LLC. B-Godolphin (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $31,800. Last Start: 1st, Maiden Special Weight, DMR, Nov. 17 Next Start: Aiming for GIII Sham S., SA, Jan. 5 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. A horse needs a “Wow!” effort to crack the Derby Top 12 off a maiden win alone, and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Coliseum delivered with a flourish at first asking when unveiled at 1-2 odds in a seven-furlong MSW at Del Mar Nov. 17. Godolphin’s well-meant homebred made all the running with devastating ease, widening under a light hold entering the turn before deftly clicking into a secondary stretch gear—hardly his last—when nudged home by jockey Joe Talamo before being taken in hand 6 3/4 lengths clear of the competition at the wire. Prior to his debut, Baffert told TDN‘s Bill Finley that Coliseum can be a bit of a problem child to train. “He’s a nice horse, but he’s a Tapit and has a lot of typical Tapit issues,” Baffert said. “He can be a head case. In the middle of his works he just wants to take off.” 6) ROADSTER (c, Quality Road–Ghost Dancing, by Silver Ghost) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Speedway Stable LLC. B-Stone Farm (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $525,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISP, 2-1-0-1, $72,000. Last Start: 3rd, GI Del Mar Futurity, DMR, Sept. 3 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. For a while last summer, Roadster was the “now” juvenile within the potent Baffert barn. He broke his maiden on debut by an easy 4 1/4 lengths at 4-5 odds at Del Mar July 29, then was bet down to 7-10 favoritism in the GI Del Mar Futurity. This $525,000 KEESEP Quality Road colt managed third but never showed any true pop or spark while finishing behind stablemate Game Winner, and it was later reported he had displaced his soft palate and required surgery to correct it. Roadster has been working steadily at Santa Anita since Nov. 28, and he enters 2019 as a 32-1 shot in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. 7) INSTAGRAND (c, Into Mischief—Assets of War, by Lawyer Ron) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-OXO Equine LLC. B-Stoneway Farm (KY). T-Jerry Hollendorfer. Sales History: $190,000 Ylg ’17 FTKJUL; $1,200,000 2yo ’18 FTFMAR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $144,000. Last Start: 1st, GII Best Pal S., DMR, Aug. 11 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. To steal a line from Winston Churchill, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Instagrand debuts on the Top 12 list as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” That’s because this $1.2-million FTFMAR co-sales-topping son of Into Mischief won his first two starts by a combined 20 lengths and figured to be the slam-dunk favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before owner Larry Best cut short his reportedly healthy 2-year-old campaign with the aim of having a fresher, sturdier sophomore for 2019. Will the unorthodox game plan work? If Instagrand proves to be a major force on the Triple Crown trail, we might expect other owners and trainers to employ similar sit-it-out strategies in the future. If this highly hyped colt doesn’t deliver (or can’t replicate his form at longer distances), questions will abound over whether his aborted early-career arc cost him a shot at the Classics. 8) VEKOMA (c, Candy Ride {Arg}—Mona de Momma, by Speightstown) O-R. A. Hill Stable & Gatsas Stables. B-Alpha Delta Stables, LLC (KY). T-George Weaver. Sales History: $135,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $151,250. Last Start: 1st GIII Nashua S., AQU, Nov. 4 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. Vekoma shares a name with a roller coaster manufacturer, but this undefeated $135,000 KEESEP Candy Ride (Arg) colt is still climbing his steep, initial upward arc without yet experiencing a dizzying descent. He was a pace-pressing (but slightly green) winner at first asking in a Belmont Park sprint, then pounced to victory again with a stalking attack off the turn (head cocked to the grandstand and on the wrong lead) in the one-turn mile GIII Nashua S. His trainer, George Weaver, told Daily Racing Form that because Vekoma is a May 22 foal, he “still has some maturing to do” and is set to resume training at Palm Beach Downs after a 30-day break. A late January sophomore debut is a possibility. 9) KNICKS GO (c, Paynter—Kosmo’s Buddy, by Outflanker) O-KRA Stud Farm. B-Angie Moore (MD). T-Ben Colebrook. Sales History: $40,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $87,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-2-1-1, $672,515. Last Start: 11th GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., CD, Nov. 24 Accomplishments Include: 1st, GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, KEE, Oct. 6; 2nd, GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, CD, Nov. 2; 3rd, Listed Arlington Washington Futurity, AP, Sept. 8 Next Start: Possible for GIII Sam F. Davis S., TAM, Feb. 9 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 18. This $87,000 KEESEP yearling (the first graded stakes winner for Paynter) earned the honor of being a hard-trying overachiever with an improbable bomb of a win at in the GI Breeders’ Futurity S., yet several things not directly related to Knicks Go went right in order for him to pull off that 70-1 wire job (morning line fave scratched due to illness; starting fave got clobbered out of the gate). But certainly more than luck contributed to his next-out, 40-1 second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when he hopped at the start, rushed to take the lead, then held on for as long as he could into deep stretch against the presumptive Eclipse Award winner. Knicks Go then faltered as the fave in the Nov. 24 Kentucky Jockey Club S., but I’m willing to chalk up that blah 11th to a sloppy track and three hard races in an eight-week span. He’s aiming for a Tampa return. 10) MAXIMUS MISCHIEF (c, Into Mischief—Reina Maria, by Songandaprayer) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Cash is King LLC & LC Racing. B-Martha Jane Mullholland (KY). T-Robert E Reid, Jr. Sales History: $165,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $170,000 RNA ’17 FTNAUG; $245,000 RNA 2yo ’18 FTFMAR; $340,000 2yo ’18 FTIMAY. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-3-0-0, $192,100. Last Start: 1st GII Remsen S., AQU, Dec. 1 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 10. Big, strong, speed-centric ‘TDN Rising Star’ Maximus Mischief earned a trip to Florida for the winter by leaping from the Parx allowance sprint ranks to being a nine-furlong graded stakes winner in New York’s final top-level juvenile test of 2018. This $340,000 EASMAY Into Mischief colt (pinhooked for $165,000 then twice RNA’d at $170,000 and $245,000) accomplished his GII Remsen S. win by establishing a prime stalking spot, then dueling a pair of longshot pacemakers into defeat while vigorously shaken up for the stretch run to stay focused. His connections expressed encouragement that ‘Max’ learned how to relax in his two-turn debut while stepping up in class, and his up-close running style fits the traditional speed-friendly profile of Gulfstream Park, where he is likely to next race. 11) AVIE’S FLATTER (c, Flatter–Avie’s Empire, by Empire Maker) O-Ivan Dalos. B-Tall Oaks Farm (ON). T-Josie Carroll. Lifetime Record: MSW, 4-3-0-0, $251,834. Last Start: 1st Coronation Futurity, WO, Nov. 18 Accomplishments Include: 1st, Cup and Saucer S., WO, Oct. 7 Next Start: Aiming for GII Tampa Bay Derby, TAM, Mar. 9 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. Avie’s Flatter is a true outlier to be included on anyone’s Top 12 list. But his credentials aren’t that far-fetched. This Flatter homebred is the heavy favorite to win the Sovereign Award for 2-year-old champion colt in Canada, and although he’s unraced on dirt, Avie’s Flatter made it onto my watch list Sep. 16 with a game, much-better-than-it-looks fourth against a deep field in the GI Summer S.—an extremely ambitious assignment right off his maiden score. He then dismantled Canadian-breds on both dirt and Tapeta in a pair of stakes at Woodbine, and will resurface at Tampa Bay Downs later this winter. “I’ll try to go the same route that I did [in 2015] with Ami’s Flatter (Flatter), who came down to Florida and ended up running second in the [GII] Tampa Bay Derby and third in the [GI] Florida Derby,” owner/breeder Ivan Dalos told TDN earlier this month. 12) CAIRO CAT (c, Cairo Prince—La Belle Cat, by Tale of the Cat) O-Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC. B-Clifton Farm, LLC (KY). T-Kenneth G McPeek. Sales History: $130,000 Ylg ’17 FTKJUL. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-2-0-0, $133,750. Last Start: 1st GIII Iroquois S., CD, Sept. 15 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 10. Cairo Cat outran 18-1 odds winning career start number two going seven furlongs at Saratoga, then exceeded expectations again with a 17-1 first-time-Lasix score in the Sep. 15 Iroquois S. In that 1 1/16 miles Churchill stakes score, he dug in for a rail trip and angled out to nail an aggressively ridden favorite. This $130,000 FTKJUL colt has been unraced since, and is gearing back up for a 2019 campaign at Payson Park. No next-race plans have been confirmed, but his sire, Cairo Prince, was the favored winner of the 2014 GII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream. On the Bubble (in alphabetical order) Bankit (Central Banker): Bulled from last to get second and galloped out past stablemate winner of Springboard Mile S. Gray Attempt (Graydar): Could stretch out in Jan. 25 Smarty Jones S. off Dec. 22 Sugar Bowl S. wire job. Long Range Toddy (Take Charge Indy): Boxed and bottled off turn yet prevailed in Springboard Mile. Network Effect (Mark Valeski): Second in both Remsen and Nashua S. to close out 2018. Mihos (Cairo Prince): ‘TDN Rising Star’ could be aiming for one-turn-mile Mucho Macho Man S. on Jan. 5. Mind Control (Stay Thirsty): GI Hopeful winner missed Keeneland stakes start because of fever; training for comeback in Jan. 1 Jerome S. Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man): ‘TDN Rising Star’ likely to ship our of SA for next stakes start, per Baffert via DRF. War of Will (War Front): Nice turf stakes form while still a maiden, then won in Churchill Downs slop. Aiming for GIII LeComte S. @thorntontd View the full article

CAIRO CAT (c, Cairo Prince—La Belle Cat, by Tale of the Cat) O-Walking L Thoroughbreds, LLC. B-Clifton Farm, LLC (KY). T-Kenneth G McPeek. Sales History: $130,000 Ylg ’17 FTKJUL. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-2-0-0, $133,750. Last Start: 1st GIII Iroquois S., CD, Sept. 15 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 10. Cairo Cat outran 18-1 odds winning career start number two going seven furlongs at Saratoga, then exceeded expectations again with a 17-1 first-time-Lasix score in the Sep. 15 Iroquois S. In that 1 1/16 miles Churchill stakes score, he dug in for a rail trip and angled out to nail an aggressively ridden favorite. This $130,000 FTKJUL colt has been unraced since, and is gearing back up for a 2019 campaign at Payson Park. No VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st GIII Iroquois S. 1st Maiden 8th Maiden View the full article

AVIE’S FLATTER (c, Flatter–Avie’s Empire, by Empire Maker) O-Ivan Dalos. B-Tall Oaks Farm (ON). T-Josie Carroll. Lifetime Record: MSW, 4-3-0-0, $251,834. Last Start: 1st Coronation Futurity, WO, Nov. 18 Accomplishments Include: 1st, Cup and Saucer S., WO, Oct. 7 Next Start: Aiming for GII Tampa Bay Derby, TAM, Mar. 9 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. Avie’s Flatter is a true outlier to be included on anyone’s Top 12 list. But his credentials aren’t that far-fetched. This Flatter homebred is the heavy favorite to win the Sovereign Award for 2-year-old champion colt in Canada, and although he’s unraced on dirt, Avie’s Flatter made it onto my watch list Sep. 16 with a game, much-better-than-it-looks fourth against a deep field in the GI Summer S.—an extremely ambitious assignment right off his maiden score. He then dismantled Canadian-breds on both dirt and Tapeta in a pair of stakes at Woodbine, and will resurface at Tampa Bay Downs later this winter. “I’ll try to go the same route that I did [in 2015] with Ami’s Flatter (Flatter), who came down to Florida and ended up running second in the [GII] Tampa Bay Derby and third in the [GI] Florida Derby,” owner/breeder Ivan Dalos told TDN earlier this month. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st Coronation S. 1st Cup and Saucer S. 4th GI Summer S. 1st Maiden View the full article

MAXIMUS MISCHIEF (c, Into Mischief—Reina Maria, by Songandaprayer) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Cash is King LLC & LC Racing. B-Martha Jane Mullholland (KY). T-Robert E Reid, Jr. Sales History: $165,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $170,000 RNA ’17 FTNAUG; $245,000 RNA 2yo ’18 FTFMAR; $340,000 2yo ’18 FTIMAY. Lifetime Record: GSW, 3-3-0-0, $192,100. Last Start: 1st GII Remsen S., AQU, Dec. 1 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 10. Big, strong, speed-centric ‘TDN Rising Star’ Maximus Mischief earned a trip to Florida for the winter by leaping from the Parx allowance sprint ranks to being a nine-furlong graded stakes winner in New York’s final top-level juvenile test of 2018. This $340,000 EASMAY Into Mischief colt (pinhooked for $165,000 then twice RNA’d at $170,000 and $245,000) accomplished his GII Remsen S. win by establishing a prime stalking spot, then dueling a pair of longshot pacemakers into defeat while vigorously shaken up for the stretch run to stay focused. His connections expressed encouragement that ‘Max’ learned how to relax in his two-turn debut while stepping up in class, and his up-close running style fits the traditional speed-friendly profile of Gulfstream Park, where he is likely to next race. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st GII Remsen S. 1st Allowance 1st Maiden View the full article

KNICKS GO (c, Paynter—Kosmo’s Buddy, by Outflanker) O-KRA Stud Farm. B-Angie Moore (MD). T-Ben Colebrook. Sales History: $40,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $87,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-2-1-1, $672,515. Last Start: 11th GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., CD, Nov. 24 Accomplishments Include: 1st, GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, KEE, Oct. 6; 2nd, GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, CD, Nov. 2; 3rd, Listed Arlington Washington Futurity, AP, Sept. 8 Next Start: Possible for GIII Sam F. Davis S., TAM, Feb. 9 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 18. This $87,000 KEESEP yearling (the first graded stakes winner for Paynter) earned the honor of being a hard-trying overachiever with an improbable bomb of a win at in the GI Breeders’ Futurity S., yet several things not directly related to Knicks Go went right in order for him to pull off that 70-1 wire job (morning line fave scratched due to illness; starting fave got clobbered out of the gate). But certainly more than luck contributed to his next-out, 40-1 second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile when he hopped at the start, rushed to take the lead, then held on for as long as he could into deep stretch against the presumptive Eclipse Award winner. Knicks Go then faltered as the fave in the Nov. 24 Kentucky Jockey Club S., but I’m willing to chalk up that blah 11th to a sloppy track and three hard races in an eight-week span. He’s aiming for a Tampa return. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 11th GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. 2nd GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile 1st GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity 5th GIII Sanford S. View the full article

VEKOMA (c, Candy Ride {Arg}—Mona de Momma, by Speightstown) O-R. A. Hill Stable & Gatsas Stables. B-Alpha Delta Stables, LLC (KY). T-George Weaver. Sales History: $135,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $151,250. Last Start: 1st GIII Nashua S., AQU, Nov. 4 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. Vekoma shares a name with a roller coaster manufacturer, but this undefeated $135,000 KEESEP Candy Ride (Arg) colt is still climbing his steep, initial upward arc without yet experiencing a dizzying descent. He was a pace-pressing (but slightly green) winner at first asking in a Belmont Park sprint, then pounced to victory again with a stalking attack off the turn (head cocked to the grandstand and on the wrong lead) in the one-turn mile GIII Nashua S. His trainer, George Weaver, told Daily Racing Form that because Vekoma is a May 22 foal, he “still has some maturing to do” and is set to resume training at Palm Beach Downs after a 30-day break. A late January sophomore debut is a possibility. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st GIII Nashua S. 1st Maiden View the full article

INSTAGRAND (c, Into Mischief—Assets of War, by Lawyer Ron) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-OXO Equine LLC. B-Stoneway Farm (KY). T-Jerry Hollendorfer. Sales History: $190,000 Ylg ’17 FTKJUL; $1,200,000 2yo ’18 FTFMAR. Lifetime Record: GSW, 2-2-0-0, $144,000. Last Start: 1st, GII Best Pal S., DMR, Aug. 11 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. To steal a line from Winston Churchill, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Instagrand debuts on the Top 12 list as “a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” That’s because this $1.2-million FTFMAR co-sales-topping son of Into Mischief won his first two starts by a combined 20 lengths and figured to be the slam-dunk favorite for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile before owner Larry Best cut short his reportedly healthy 2-year-old campaign with the aim of having a fresher, sturdier sophomore for 2019. Will the unorthodox game plan work? If Instagrand proves to be a major force on the Triple Crown trail, we might expect other owners and trainers to employ similar sit-it-out strategies in the future. If this highly hyped colt doesn’t deliver (or can’t replicate his form at longer distances), questions will abound over whether his aborted early-career arc cost him a shot at the Classics. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st GII Best Pal S. 1st Maiden View the full article

ROADSTER (c, Quality Road–Ghost Dancing, by Silver Ghost) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Speedway Stable LLC. B-Stone Farm (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $525,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISP, 2-1-0-1, $72,000. Last Start: 3rd, GI Del Mar Futurity, DMR, Sept. 3 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. For a while last summer, Roadster was the “now” juvenile within the potent Baffert barn. He broke his maiden on debut by an easy 4 1/4 lengths at 4-5 odds at Del Mar July 29, then was bet down to 7-10 favoritism in the GI Del Mar Futurity. This $525,000 KEESEP Quality Road colt managed third but never showed any true pop or spark while finishing behind stablemate Game Winner, and it was later reported he had displaced his soft palate and required surgery to correct it. Roadster has been working steadily at Santa Anita since Nov. 28, and he enters 2019 as a 32-1 shot in Pool 1 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 3rd GI Del Mar Futurity 1st Maiden View the full article

COLISEUM (c, Tapit–Game Face, by Menifee) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Godolphin LLC. B-Godolphin (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $31,800. Last Start: 1st, Maiden Special Weight, DMR, Nov. 17 Next Start: Aiming for GIII Sham S., SA, Jan. 5 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 0. A horse needs a “Wow!” effort to crack the Derby Top 12 off a maiden win alone, and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Coliseum delivered with a flourish at first asking when unveiled at 1-2 odds in a seven-furlong MSW at Del Mar Nov. 17. Godolphin’s well-meant homebred made all the running with devastating ease, widening under a light hold entering the turn before deftly clicking into a secondary stretch gear—hardly his last—when nudged home by jockey Joe Talamo before being taken in hand 6 3/4 lengths clear of the competition at the wire. Prior to his debut, Baffert told TDN‘s Bill Finley that Coliseum can be a bit of a problem child to train. “He’s a nice horse, but he’s a Tapit and has a lot of typical Tapit issues,” Baffert said. “He can be a head case. In the middle of his works he just wants to take off.” VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st Maiden View the full article

CODE OF HONOR (c, Noble Mission {GB}–Reunited, by Dixie Union) O/B-W. S. Farish (KY). T-Shug McGaughey. Sales History: $70,000 RNA Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISP, 2-1-1-0, $146,750. Last Start: 2nd, GI Champagne S., BEL, Oct. 6 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 4. Based on his 14-1 adversity-overcoming second in the GI Champagne S. at Belmont Park (lost footing and pitched forward at break; nice five-wide run off turn) Code of Honor appeared poised to enter the Breeders’ Cup as the “wiseguy” horse for the Juvenile. But he spiked a temperature and scratched the night before the race, then trainer Shug McGuaghey kept him out of a planned next start in the GII Remsen S. because he was not totally satisfied with the energy level of this homebred Noble Mission (GB) colt. Code of Honor is now breezing at Payson Park, with an aim on a 2019 Gulfstream return. A fairly late foal (May 23) out of a Dixie Union mare, Code of Honor won on debut at Saratoga, wiring a six-furlong MSW at 6-1. Based on the disparate running styles of his only two races, it will be interesting to see whether he evolves as a pace presence or a stalker/closer. There are more accomplished stakes winners ranked behind him on this list. But the bet here is that Code of Honor will outperform them in the not-too-distant future. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 2nd GI Champagne S. 1st Maiden View the full article

In the clamour to find the next hot commercial stallion, it’s easy to overlook those that have proven time and again that they can produce what we all really want to see–top flight racehorses. The focus here is on Europe as its season comes to a close. The 20 sires on our list are those that have so far produced the best elite racehorses from their Northern Hemisphere offspring. Our measure of greatness is how good their best 10 offspring are. After all, this should be the foremost metric that defines a top-class sire. And for good measure we have included a ‘pace’ figure to cope with the fact that the best 10 runners of any sire is to a large degree a function of how long the sire has been around. So a low top-10 Timeform average is not necessarily a bad thing for a younger sire. The pace figure compares how a stallion is doing compared to the best 10 sires in the past 25 years after year one, year two and so on. To be a top-10 sire after year one, his Timeform average needs to be in excess of 102. At the end of year two it climbs to 115 and is up to 117 by year three. You get the point. Finally we have also included a top-10 average Timeform rating for the past three seasons to highlight those sires with really good recent form. It’s also worth saying that there will be a few young proven sires not on our list simply because they have not been around long enough to generate a high enough top-10 average rating. One thing is clear: Galileo (Ire) has an astonishing record and one that is unlikely to be matched by any other sire that we currently know about. This year was his 14th with runners and his best 10 horses–headed by the great Frankel (147)–have an average Timeform rating of 132.3. Even without Frankel, Galileo’s score would be 130.5, well clear of his rivals. Moreover, his pace figure of 6.8 is the best of any sire. This means that his top 10 runners are on average 8.9lbs better than the average best 10 of our basket of top-class sires by year 14 of their careers. Mention of Frankel (GB) behooves me to say that he is doing just as well as a sire as he did on the racecourse. His 122.9 top-10 average score by the end of year three is outstanding. By some way the youngest sire in our ranking, Frankel is 5.5lbs ahead of the elite threshold and he has some quite exceptional crops in the pipeline. The Juddmonte stallion has set new standards in each of his first three years. His 104.3 in year one, 118.9 in year two and his 122.9 in year three are all the best ever achieved in the past 25 years. At the close of year three in their careers, Galileo had scored 122.6, Dubawi 122.4 and Sea The Stars 119.8. Another excellent Galileo stallion that often gets overlooked is Teofilo (Ire), who was the breakthrough star for his own sire back in 2006. Five years further down the line than Frankel, Teofilo–who sired horses as diverse as G1 Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter and Europe’s top-rated female sprinter Tantheem in 2018–has a best 10 score of 122.6, which places him just inside the elite level. Another son, New Approach (Ire), is also showing up well with a score 121.3. Galileo and his sons are clearly moving along nicely, but what about his Cape Cross (Ire) half-brother Sea The Stars (Ire)? Currently fourth on our overall ranking with 126.7, he’s second only to his older brother with a 5.7 pace figure. The winner of the 2000 Guineas, Derby and Arc enjoyed an excellent 2018, with Sea Of Class (Ire), Crystal Ocean (Ire), Cloth Of Stars (Ire) and Stradivarius (Ire) all running to an exceptional level. Of course Britain’s best-ever sire Dubawi (Ire) is second on our ranking. His best 10 score is on the move again, following the exploits of the 129-rated Benbatl (GB) in Australia, while he’s also sire of Too Darn Hot (GB) and Quorto (GB), the two highest-rated 2-year-old colts in Europe in 2018. Both have the potential to move the 130-rated pair Postponed (GB) and Makfi (GB) off top spot on his list of top-rated runners. Veteran stallion Invincible Spirit (Ire) meanwhile must be considered king of the speed sires at 125.9, and he had two new Group 1-winning juveniles in 2018, so his story may not yet be done. Although Oasis Dream (GB) runs Invincible Spirit close, the immediate future among speed sires ought to be dominated by Dark Angel (Ire), who completed his eighth year in 2018. This son of Acclamation (GB) will have runners from his best-ever mares running for him in the next few seasons, which ought to change the complexion of his top 10 runners. Mention must also go to Mastercraftsman (Ire) who may be struggling to keep pace with his old adversary Sea The Stars, just as he’d done on the racecourse. But the sire of the excellent Alpha Centauri (Ire) is one of only 11 on our list that is still ahead of the elite threshold. View the full article

IMPROBABLE (c, City Zip—Rare Event, by A.P. Indy) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-WinStar Farm LLC, China Horse Club International Ltd. & Starlight Racing. B-St. George Farm LLC & G. Watts Humphrey Jr. (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $110,000 Wlg ’16 KEENOV; $200,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISW, 3-3-0-0, $269,520. Last Start: 1st, GI Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity, LRC, Dec. 8 Accomplishments Include: 1st, Street Sense S., CD, Nov. 2; Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. Caulfield on Improbable. KY Derby Points: 10. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Improbable’s 1-5 favored win in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity marks him as an aggressive, confident stalker who responds well to rousing while using his energy efficiently. He was hard held to the backstretch (avoiding trouble that affected others on the turn), then picked off dueling pacemakers at will while being driven from the quarter to the eighth pole. He was kept to task while widening by five lengths to the wire, finishing like he had not scraped the bottom of his stamina reserve. Trainer Baffert noted post-win that the three-for-three Improbable “has a long stride like Justify (Scat Daddy). He’s just a smaller version. I’m not saying he’s at Justify’s level yet, but he’s a really good horse.” Baffert has now won the last five Los Al Futurities. The only two of those winners to go on and start in the Kentucky Derby—Dortmund (Big Brown) and Mor Spirit (Eskendereya)—both won Santa Anita’s GIII Robert B. Lewis S. in their next starts. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st GI Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity 1st Street Sense S. 1st Maiden View the full article

SIGNALMAN (c, General Quarters–Trip South, by Trippi) O-Tommie M. Lewis, David A. Bernsen, LLC & Magdalena Racing (Sherri McPeek). B-Monticule (KY). T-Kenneth G McPeek. Sales History: $32,000 Ylg ’17 FTKOCT. Lifetime Record: GSW & MGISP, 5-2-2-1, $448,990. Last Start: 1st, GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., CD, Nov. 24 Accomplishments Include: 3rd, GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, CD, Nov. 2; 2nd, GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity, KEE, Oct. 6 Next Start: Aiming for GII Fountain of Youth S., GP, Mar. 2 Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 18. While Signalman can’t match the four-for-four and three Grade I stakes wins of the only horse ranked above him in this week’s Top 12, he does have an edge in that he’s broadened his foundation beyond a third-place try in the Juvenile by coming back three weeks later to smartly annex the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. That Nov. 24 neck win resonates as a positive “how he did it” sign of advancement, because this $32,000 FTKOCT General Quarters colt exhibited a high level of comfort while covered up on the inside of a sloppy Churchill Downs surface. He also gets style points for launching a prolonged, confident march five furlongs out that he accentuated with a strong, willing finish, repulsing several potential winning bids before galloping out nicely. Trainer Ken McPeek picked out this relative bargain himself, telling TDN earlier this month that he “put a lot more emphasis on the conformation than the pedigree.” Having accomplished so much at the tail end of his 2-year-old campaign, Signalman is being freshened for the GII Fountain of Youth S. at Gulfstream Park Mar. 2. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. 3rd GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile 2nd GI Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity 1st Maiden 2nd Maiden View the full article

GAME WINNER (c, Candy Ride {Arg}—Indyan Giving, by A.P. Indy) ‘TDN Rising Star’. O-Gary & Mary West. B-Summer Wind Equine (KY). T-Bob Baffert. Sales History: $110,000 Ylg ’17 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGISW, 4-4-0-0, $1,496,000. Last Start: 1st, GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile , CD, Nov. 2 Accomplishments Include: 1st, GI American Pharoah S., SA, Sept. 29; 1st, GI Del Mar Futurity, DMR, Sept. 3 Next Start: Uncommitted Equineline PPs. KY Derby Points: 30. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Game Winner is the undefeated victor of the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and appears to be a lock to earn the divisional championship at the Eclipse Awards. You have to respect those impeccable credentials while also realizing there is active debate as to whether he will turn out to be the best long-range Derby candidate within trainer Bob Baffert’s deeply stocked stable. I assembled this season’s debut Top 12 with him on top only after strongly considering other combinations that involved this week’s 1-2-3 kingpins. This $110,000 KEESEP Candy Ride (Arg) colt bulled his way to an impressive open-length debut win at Del Mar prior to asserting himself in back-to-back, short-field Grade I stakes on the SoCal circuit. Then he roared home with authority as the even-money Juvenile fave despite being bumped at the break and giving up four paths of real estate on both turns. Strongly in his favor is Baffert’s been-there-done-that success in Triple Crown races. But since the advent of the Breeders’ Cup, Juvenile winners are a collective 2-for-34 in the Derby (Nyquist and Street Sense). Game Winner is currently in light training at Santa Anita. VIDEO PPS FINISH RACE 1st GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile 1st GI American Pharoah S. 1st GI Del Mar Futurity 1st Maiden View the full article

There are those well-rounded fellows who appreciate both the pure adrenaline surge that comes with watching high-class Flat horses as well as the grit and courage displayed by the jumpers. For some, however, even the mere mention of National Hunt racing brings a wince and a sneer. As one who was introduced to racing through the jumping side, I’ll never be prised from my devotion to the winter game, but I’ve developed an equal love of Flat racing. In fact, a good many of the colts I’ve admired most on the Flat end up either standing as National Hunt stallions or providing high-class winners under both codes. That of course is because my blood isn’t really up until horses run 10 furlongs or farther, and there is no day I look forward to with greater anticipation than Derby day. As regards his potential impact on the breed, which is already significant but far from complete, we must view Galileo (Ire) as the greatest Derby winner of the modern era. The multiple champion stallion passed his own sire’s tally of Group 1 winners when Magical became his 74th to salute at the highest level back in October, and it should come as no surprise that he also supplies some decent jumpers, including dual Grade 1 winner Supasundae (Ire). Just as it has been on the Flat, the influence of Sadler’s Wells is widespread when it comes to National Hunt breeding. Galileo currently sits at number 21 in the jump sires’ table and ahead of him are no fewer than 10 sons or grandsons of Sadler’s Wells. Indeed, the two leading active stallions on the list, in Ireland and Britain respectively, are the St Leger winner Milan (GB) and dual Ascot Gold Cup winner Kayf Tara (GB), both bred in Britain by those high-class purveyors of Flat horses, Fittocks Stud and Meon Valley Stud. A direct contemporary of Galileo, Milan is the eldest of three St Leger winners on the 17-strong Coolmore National Hunt roster, which also includes the St Leger runner-up Mahler (Ire), as well as the dual Irish St Leger winner Order Of St George (Ire), who is a new recruit for 2019. These two are both sons of Galileo, as are another three of their roster companions–Soldier Of Fortune (Ire), Sans Frontieres (Ire) and Imperial Monarch (Ire)–while Montjeu (Ire) is represented by Walk In The Park (Ire), Leading Light (Ire) and Pour Moi (Ire). Last year, in the breeding season just before his son Wings Of Eagles (Fr) won the Derby, Pour Moi was switched from Coolmore Stud to stand under the National Hunt wing at Grange Stud. Such a move makes him no less capable of siring some more decent Flat horses, though the opportunity to do so will surely dwindle. In a twist, perhaps precipitated by the untimely demise of Champs Elysees (GB), Pour Moi has been joined on the National Hunt roster by Wings Of Eagles, who stood just one season in France at the stud of his birth, Haras de Montaigu, where he covered around 70 mares. This certainly should not be viewed as an insignificant tally, but at the top of the National Hunt game, the numbers covered by fashionable stallions can be eye-watering. Walk In The Park and Soldier Of Fortune were both moved to Ireland after eye-catching starts with their relatively small, early French crops, and they respectively covered 183 and 281 mares in 2018. The good-looking Wings Of Eagles surely won’t be overlooked. Champs Elysees was himself enjoying something of a renaissance following his move to Ireland from Juddmonte in 2017. In those two seasons at Castlehyde Stud he covered just over 400 mares, his support in Newmarket having dwindled to 54 in 2016. In 2018, of course, he sired the QIPCO 1000 Guineas winner Billesdon Brook (GB)–a timely reminder that being ‘demoted’ to the jump stallion ranks is nothing more than a label, though following the announcement of his death last week that is now a moot point in the case of Champs Elysees. With a thriving National Hunt industry in this part of the world, particularly in Ireland, there is at least an outlet for the stallions who will be declared uncommercial in a ruthlessly fickle Flat market, despite the fact that many of them are among the best-bred horses on the planet. Galileo is now the oldest active Derby winner and we are fortunate to have 13 of the more recent winners at stud in Europe. His successor at Epsom, High Chaparral (Ire), is sadly no longer with us but he is the sire of the top-rated jumper of the season, the breathtaking two-mile chaser Altior (Ire), while Authorized (Ire) provided the Grand National winner Tiger Roll (Ire)–one of the most admirable horses in training having won at three Cheltenham Festival, over hurdles, fences and cross-country, in a five-year period. Then of course there’s Presenting Percy (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}), currently favourite to add the Cheltenham Gold Cup to his victory in last season’s G1 RSA Novices’ Chase. Does the success of these geldings make their Derby-winning sires jumps stallions? The answer of course is that, as their own race records suggest, sent the right mare they are capable of producing high-calibre horses under both codes. As well as winning the Derby, the traits that link them are talent, soundness, and versatility. And these are surely three attributes high on the list of anyone who sets out to breed a racehorse, right? View the full article

Addressing your thoughts, questions and statements about Hong Kong racing. Have something to say? Send a tweet to @SCMPRacingPost Wrong silks worn for Winner Supreme in race four at Happy Valley – @ChareneWoo It would have taken an eagle-eyed observer (or someone reading the stewards’ report) to notice Wednesday night’s mix-up when Alexis Badel wore the silks of the fellow Choi Fong Hon-mei-owned Dashing Gainer instead of the slightly different ones of Winner Supreme. They... View the full article

Christmas Hurdle Apple’s Jade took this contest twelve months ago when proving half a length too good for Supasundae. She has looked better than ever this season with an eleven length romp in the Lismullen Hurdle followed by a twenty length demolition of Supasundae in the Hatton’s Grace. In truth, it’s hard to see anything other than […] The post Leopardstown Preview – 28th December appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

This week is a recap of Barbaro's victory in the 2006 Tropical Park Derby (G3T) Jan. 1 on the turf at Calder Race Course. The recap, written by Scott Davis, ran in the Jan. 7, 2006 magazine and carried the headline, "Derby Dreamin." View the full article

It may be difficult to top yesterday’s Boxing Day cards but today gives it a good go with the likes of Champion Chase king Altior, leading novice Kalashnikov and the Irish superstar Footpad all in action plus the big race, the Welsh National. The Big Race Preview 14:50 Chepstow – Welsh Grand National We […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Thursday 27th December appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article