Wandering Eyes

The Joseph O’Brien-trained Pedisnap (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) has been disqualified from a win at Gowran Park in August after returning a high level of cobalt in a post-race sample, according to Racing Post. Jumps trainer Mikey O’Connor also had a runner disqualified due to cobalt, bringing the number of such offences in Ireland this year to four. It was decided that Pedisnap’s elevated reading was due to exposure to a ‘salt lick’, and O’Brien’s €1,000 fine was waived. In the case of O’Connor’s horse, he was injected with a B12 supplement containing cobalt on raceday, but the trainer avoided suspension due to the fact officials were not satisfied that he was personally responsible. He was fined €1,000. View the full article

You’re supposed to be pretty smart to make it onto Jeopardy!, but three contestants Thursday night completely whiffed when asked to come up with the name of the 2018 Triple Crown winner (click here). In a question worth $600, host Alex Trebek, a horse owner in his own right, read the question: Bob Baffert trained two recent Triple Crown winning horses, American Pharoah in 2015 and this horse in 2018. The three contestants stood there expressionless for a few seconds and said nothing, before Trebek gave them the answer, Justify, and moved on to the next question. Were the three contestants just unusually ignorant about horse racing or does the Triple Crown resonate that little with the man on the street? Sounds like a panel for the next symposium at the University of Arizona. View the full article

GI Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Talismanic (Medaglia d’Oro) will debut at Darley Japan next year at a fee of ¥1.8-million (£12,810/€14,236). The former Andre Fabre charge will command the second-highest price on the roster, with popular local dirt sire Pyro at ¥2.5-million. They stand alongside American Grade I winner American Patriot (War Front) and Group 1 sires Discreet Cat and Admire Moon (Jpn) at ¥1.5-million; G1 Dubai World Cup winner Monterosso (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) at ¥1-million and popular winner-getter Furioso (Aus) at ¥500,000. Shotato Kajiya, Darley Japan nominations manager, said, “We are delighted to offer Japanese breeders a more powerful lineup of stallions than ever, with an exciting new addition in Breeders’ Cup winner Talismanic, who looks to be a fine fit for Japan. I am very happy that he is joining our stallion roster. “We have already had significant interest in our 2019 stallion roster, especially Pyro, Admire Moon, and Furioso, all of whom have enjoyed an excellent year on the racecourse. We appreciate the support of our breeders and look forward to another busy season at the stallion complex.” View the full article

3rd-GP, $57,000, Alw/OC ($75K), 2yo, 1m, post time: 1:00 p.m. FEDERAL CASE (Gemologist) makes his first start since being acquired by Robert and Lawana Low for $650,000 at Keeneland November–the most paid for a male horse of racing age at that auction. The bay was a $180,000 KEESEP yearling pick-up by WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing. Turned over to Rodolphe Brissett, he scored first up by a half-length going approximately seven furlongs in Lexington Oct. 19, earning a 77 Beyer Speed Figure for that effort. Federal Case is now conditioned by Todd Pletcher, who trained ‘TDN Rising Star’ Magnum Moon (Malibu Moon) to a victories in last year’s GII Rebel S. and GI Arkansas Derby for the Lows. TJCIS PPs View the full article

Members of the TDN staff reveal what TDN Rising Star they’re most excited to see race in 2019. Hawkish (Artie Schiller) showed a brilliant turn of foot to win his debut at Gulfstream shortly after the turn of the new year in January–a performance that stamped him as a no-brainer ‘TDN Rising Star’ and a force to be reckoned with in the 3-year-old turf division. After being forced to move wide and flattening out to finish fourth in the GIII Palm Beach S., he reeled off two thoroughly impressive performances when cut back to a mile–including the GIII Penn Mile S. in June. Hawkish was last seen finishing seventh in the 10-furlong GI Belmont Derby July 7, but that performance can be forgiven, as he was wide the whole way and asked to navigate the longest trip of his career. Hawkish clearly has had a few bumps in the road early in his career, but he appears to be an immensely talented miler, crafted in the mold of his GI Breeders’ Cup Mile-winning sire. Trainer Jimmy Toner provided a positive update on the gelding’s return to his barn in late November, and nobody should be surprised if he proves himself at the highest level with the benefit of more consistent training and maturity. –Ben Massam, News & Features Editor View the full article

After devoting the first two instalments of this series to young stallions whose reputation hitherto rests on the work of farm promoters, and the response of their clients, today we move onto those who have just received their first exposure to the chill winds of the marketplace. For the sires offering their first yearlings in 2019 have, of course, already processed some of them at auction as weanlings. But if they are no longer shadow-boxing, nor have they reached the definitive test of the prizefight. This phase is rather like sparring in a headguard. At the end of the day, we should still be interested in stallions more eligible to produce a good racehorse than their fee might allow—not panicking because a few agents may have leaped to conclusions about a minority of adolescent stock that has found its way under the gavel. Nonetheless these first skirmishes can have significant consequences. After all, the countless breeders interested only in producing a yearling, rather than a racehorse, have already dispatched their mares unapologetically to the next cycle of new sires. He who lives by the commercial sword, after all, can die by it too. Many farms, then, must reconcile themselves to trimming fees in the hope of avoiding too conspicuous a slowdown in the third book. The two Jonabell stallions who topped the weanling averages, however, have both been able to maintain their hire-rates accordingly. Frosted (Tapit) retired at the highest tag of the intake, at $50,000, and achieved an average of $181,500 in moving on 10 of 15 weanlings. He will need to improve that clearance rate with his yearlings, but there were some ambitious reserves—and understandably so, if you remember Frosted’s 123 Beyer in the GI Met, and his Grade II-winning dam by the great broodmare sire Deputy Minister. There’s no quibbling with a well-bred horse that can win the GII Remsen at two, and then tough out a gruelling sophomore programme before proving better than ever in stallion-making races at four. Nyquist (Uncle Mo), in contrast, ran himself into the ground through a championship campaign at two and a seamless resumption the following spring to land the Kentucky Derby for his sire’s first crop. He is just one of several recent Classic winners not to manage further success, but he’s out of a GSW half-sister to the dam of a Grade I winner and benefits from strong broodmare sire-lines through his first two dams (via Forestry and Seeking The Gold). Obviously Uncle Mo’s status as a sire of sires remains unproven, but out of just half a dozen foals offered (five sold) Nyquist came up with the top colt and filly of the intake at $600,000 and $260,000, respectively. It’s a tiny sample, relative to 153 mares in both his first two books, but certainly entitles him to hold his fee at $40,000. The first of the big guns to get a clip is California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), now available at $35,000 at Taylor Made after covering his first two books of 145 and 133 at $40,000. During his rise to stardom, the two-time Horse of the Year owed much of his following to parentage that seemed to give everyone a chance: by a $2,500 sire, out of the $8,000 dam Love The Chase (Not For Love). On the face of it, that back story might be somewhat less convenient when it comes to marketing a young stallion. But California Chrome challenges us to think more deeply about the glib assumptions of this business. If the whole premise is that talent results from selective breeding, then this horse’s make-up as one of the most accomplished Thoroughbreds of recent times must contain something that we should want to replicate. Maybe it’s the highly unusual fact that a mare as important as Numbered Account (Buckpasser) should be grand-dam of both Love The Chase’s parents. Maybe it’s the presence of the hard-knocking mare Lucky Spell (Lucky Mel) in exactly the same slot in California Chrome’s pedigree as in that of his rival Arrogate (Unbridled’s Song): both their sires are out of one of her daughters. Most probably, as ever, it all comes down to the elusive blend of many different genetic strands. So let’s not be lazily dogmatic about what they should be. As it is, California Chrome made a perfectly respectable sales debut, seven out of eight weanlings finding a new home at $116,714. If a small reduction in fee is designed to help him tread water, now could be just the time to keep the faith as he has every right to extend his amazing story further once his stock reaches the track. California Chrome was just denied third place in the weanling averages, behind Nyquist and Frosted, by the freaky fast Runhappy (Super Saver). Claiborne introduced him at $25,000 and that was always going to get speed-hungry breeders salivating. For all the notorious human elements on the periphery of his tale, there’s no arguing with a four-length margin and stakes-record time in a race like the GI King’s Bishop; or a track record in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint itself. True, the purist might object that he wasn’t really bred for the distinction of inheriting that storied first stall at Claiborne, which previously housed Secretariat and Bold Ruler. There’s a single Grade III placing under his second dam, albeit she is herself a half to a Grade II winner. But the bottom line anchors to a significant influence in fifth dam Queen Nasra, while it’s interesting that a relatively fragile sire-line should keep coming up with one really strong link to keep the chain going. Something very worthy must be coming through, after all, for him to do everything he did to rivals leaning on their Lasix. One way or another, Runhappy was able to move on 15 out of 17 weanlings at $148,666, and that’s a pretty instructive sample given that Claiborne are commendably conservative with their book sizes. Runhappy has had 123 and 128 partners in his first two seasons, and there are bound to be pinhookers eager to breeze his yearlings. Number five in the weanling averages was Exaggerator (Curlin), though only by dint of our peculiar habit of rewarding stallions for failing to sell. He is credited with an average of $116,333 but shifted only half of 18 weanlings offered and WinStar give him a precautionary clip to $25,000 from $30,000. Nonetheless it’s very early days for a sire favoured by 325 northern hemisphere covers to date, besides a working holiday in Chile, and he retains every right to pass on something of the class and splendid constitution he showed on the track. Exaggerator was one of those who stood in the dockyard and rolled up his sleeves, ready to take on all comers. After his busy and accomplished juvenile campaign—Grade II winner, Grade I runner-up—he won the GI Santa Anita Derby by six, chased home Nyquist in the big one and then picked him off in the Preakness. Perhaps most instructive is the way he shook himself down after his Belmont flop to win a third Grade I in the Haskell. He did all this with a pretty physique and a good Canadian family. Air Force Blue (War Front) is next in the averages at $84,119, and 16 sales out of 20 speaks of warm interest in a Coolmore stallion offered to the American market at $25,000 after his mystifying failure to train on back in Europe. Unusually enough he was trimmed to $20,000 for his second season, when his book diminished to 106 from 153. He was as accomplished a juvenile as the great Aidan O’Brien has trained since Johannesburg (Hennessy)—whose own sophomore campaign, funnily enough, was also disappointing. The question now is whether he can leave a legacy remotely comparable to the sire of Scat Daddy? Air Force Blue had the best possible grounding at Stone Farm, and his dam is out of a sister to champion Flanders (Seeking The Gold), herself dam of another champion in Surfside (Seattle Slew). As a triple Group 1 winner who looks the part, and standing at a fraction of the fee commanded by his sire, his appeal is as plain as the caveats some will feel about a turf sprinter who lost his way. It was all or nothing, during his racing days, and it feels as though the same might prove true of his second career. Feel free to guess, according to whether your glass is half full or half empty, but at least the fee appears to strike a sensible balance. It is hard to think of any doubts whatsoever that should have to be factored into Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}). Few horses in this intake were anything like as accomplished on the track as this five-time Grade/Group I winner of $9.5 million (also a dual Arc runner-up), and he looks crazy value down to $15,000 from an opening $20,000 at Hill ‘n’ Dale. The peerless Juddmonte programme has never produced a richer runner and, once he got onto a fast surface, Flintshire was able to show rare acceleration for a horse over Classic distances. (Try 44:56 for his final half-mile in the GI Manhattan.) His breeders have partnered with others who can send him proper mares and the chance to ride the wave, at that fee, looks an extraordinary bargain. It’s an unapologetically turf pedigree but one that genuinely qualifies him to produce elite horses on the world stage. He’s out of a Group 2-winning Classic runner-up, and by one of the world’s best-bred sires. This all played out in a superb temperament and outlook, and teak soundness. With 121 in his first book but 89 in his second, he can’t have been getting as much outside support as the ownership must have hoped. But they will have the last laugh, along with other far-sighted end-users. For now his fee stands as a rebuke to the paucity of imagination in too many horsemen, and likewise a humdrum average of $44,509 for 16 weanlings sold from 19 offered. Here is a horse amply qualified to succeed his studmate Kitten’s Joy (El Prado {Ire}) as a turf patriarch, but there are obviously a lot of flat-earthers out there who think you fall off the end of the world at the seven pole on the main track. In that context, the small books so far assembled by Tamarkuz (Speightstown) at Shadwell, of 38 and 42, are even more puzzling. Here, after all, is a dirt miler we last saw routing the next two Breeders’ Cup Classic winners. The four weanlings who came under the hammer sold well, for an average $82,500, an auspicious enough start relative to a $12,500 conception fee—never mind an attractive trim to $10,000 this time round. His page received an upgrade it could barely accommodate this year with the rapid rise of his half-brother Without Parole (Frankel), winner of the G1 St James’s Palace S. for their astute breeders at Glennwood. The dam is a half-sister to dual Grade I winner Stay Thirsty (Bernardini) and to another Belmont S. runner-up in Andromeda’s Hero (Fusaichi Pegasus), out of a five-time Grade I runner-up. And the bottom line just holds up all the way: sixth dam a sister to Triple Crown winner Assault, for instance, and ninth dam sister to Man o’ War himself. For those benighted enough to view such scrolls of parchment as irrelevant, the foreground shows us Tamarkuz signing off in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile with a daylight success from Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) and Accelerate (Lookin At Lucky). If neither had quite reached his peak, that is one hell of a podium from which to look back on four years of improvement. True, the span of his career implies that Tamarkuz might not be an overnight sensation at stud—but he looks highly eligible to get you a racehorse, and got very close to making the value podium. Another son of the same sire in this intake has been covering much bigger books. In fact, the 174 ladies entertained by Speightster (Speightstown) at WinStar last year made him the busiest of the rookies, and another 150 followed this time round. His fee has been held at $10,000 after 29 of 36 weanlings changed hands for an average $60,517. It must be said that the evidence is fairly precarious, with three wins from just four lifetime starts to confirm his natural speed. To impress in maiden, allowance and Grade III company is all very well, so far as it goes, but what makes the theory hang together is a dam (admittedly herself unable to race at all) who is sister to the outstanding runner and producer Dance Smartly (Danzig) and half-sister to Smart Strike (Mr Prospector). As always when a new sire is so heavily subscribed, you can’t expect each and every yearling to hit at the sales—but equally sheer numbers on the track should keep his name in lights. WinStar is also home to Tourist (Tiznow), who covered 134 and then 102 mares and gets a helpful trim to $10,000 from $12,500 after shifting nine of 11 weanlings at $49,000. He’s a likeable type, who in contrast got better the harder and longer he raced, winding up by shocking Tepin (Bernstein) in a race-record Breeders’ Cup Mile—his second Grade I win as a 5-year-old. His dam produced three stakes winners by lesser sires than the wonderful one who gave us Tourist. The same farm has been able to hold Outwork (Uncle Mo) at $15,000 after he seduced a remarkable first book of 168, followed by 137 last year. He found buyers for 20 of 26 weanlings at $52,400. So here’s another who can’t be expected to hit it out of the park every time at the sales but can keep himself in the game with a running population. It’s not hard to see why commercial breeders should be drawn to a big fast horse who was actually his sire’s first winner, over 4 1/2 furlongs at Keeneland in April. Outwork’s big coup was to cling on for the Wood Memorial the following spring, albeit you couldn’t pretend that it particularly reads like a Grade I race now and he disappeared after running down the field in the Kentucky Derby. The clincher for many will be that he’s out of a Grade I-placed Empire Maker half-sister to Airdrie’s buzzing young sire Cairo Prince (Pioneerof The Nile). My pick of this intake last year was Taylor Made’s Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway) at $15,000—a fee he holds after selling 18 of 24 weanlings at an average $76,833. In fairness, this is another who did not last the course, retired after finishing second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. But at least Not This Time established his elite calibre that day, not getting the rub of the green yet just failing to run down champion Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile). Injury condemned him to leave the matter there, but the winner and seven-length third Practical Joke (Into Mischief) were retired at $35,000 and $30,000 respectively. That leaves Not This Time looking great value as one of the last heirs—and probably the most precocious, having won the GIII Iroquois S. by 8 3/4 lengths from the subsequent Kentucky Derby runner-up—to his magnificent sire. His family drips quality. He shares a dam with Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song), himself now making his name at Lane’s End, and her mother was inbred 2×3 to Dr Fager’s champion half-sister Ta Wee. In fact Not This Time’s third dam is by Damascus out of a daughter of Secretariat and Ta Wee. Dismiss all that if you want to, but something lurking in their make-up made Liam’s Map an $800,000 yearling—and Not This Time a physical knockout too. His 274 mates to date include none other than Leslie’s Lady (Tricky Creek), dam of Into Mischief (Harlan’s Holiday), Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy). If Not This Time is good enough for her, I ain’t going to quit him any time soon. Taylor Made appears to be launching another of their young sires from a rather more slippery ramp, having given Mshawish (Medaglia d’Oro) another $5,000 cut to $10,000 (opened at $20,000) after his book slipped from 117 to 73. Let’s hope they get rewarded for grasping the nettle, because this is a horse with assets every breeder should covet: the class to take fourth in the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club in his Classic year, and the durability and versatility to win the Grade I races on turf and dirt at five and six. After all, isn’t a horse like this supposed to be the whole point of his stellar sire? The GI Donn H. was Mshawish’s seventh consecutive triple-figure Beyer, and his second dam is a Storm Cat half-sister to both a five-time GSW and the dam of champion Halfbridled (Unbridled). Maybe his starting fee reflected his achievements more closely than the peculiar tastes of the market, which nonetheless took up 10 of 11 weanlings at a respectable $60,100. (The pick were obviously nice for the grade, his top colt and filly respectively bringing $160,000 and $170,000.) Mshawish could easily turn things round for those with the patience to let his stock show their mettle on the track. Best market welcome for a $10,000 sire was reserved for Upstart (Flatter), who sold 15 of 22 at $64,733. That’s no surprise, given his own fine physique and record of two Grade I podiums through ages two, three and four. Perhaps his finest hour was thrashing Frosted 5 1/2 lengths in the GII Holy Bull S., and he’s in the same deft hands that gave Cairo Prince such a super start at Airdrie. His bottom line is propped up by some interesting broodmare sires: his dam by Deputy Minister’s son Touch Gold, and his third dam by Drone, a very potent distaff influence (witness two Kentucky Derby winners and European great Dancing Brave). The Albaugh Family Stable, who homebred Not This Time, also launched Brody’s Cause by the same sire at Spendthrift. Much like Not This Time, there are for-the-ages names along the bottom line: a fourth dam by Dr Fager out of a Bold Ruler half-sister to Secretariat’s dam Somethingroyal. Closer up, you’ve a Grade I runner-up as second dam; and Brody’s Cause himself won Grade I races at two and three, hit the board behind Nyquist in the Juvenile and finished well out of midfield in the Derby. Another career that didn’t last a year, but he proved himself among the best of his generation and a businesslike cut from $12,500 to $7,500 makes him a really attractive proposition. Certainly it’s a generous response to the sale of eight weanlings out of 13 at $41,687, just a fair toehold for books of 101 and 110. But Brody’s Cause remains a noble one. Hats off to the late Giant’s Causeway, and to the Albaugh Family for sending him mares representing such fine bloodlines: that gives them two out of three on the value podium. A notch down the Spendthrift roster appear a couple of $5,000 rolls of the dice. Hit It a Bomb (War Front) is his marquee sire’s first Breeders’ Cup winner, albeit he admittedly beat a plain enough field for the Juvenile Turf. He wasn’t able to build on that at three, but is a brother to another juvenile Group 1 winner from a classy turf family. Cinco Charlie (Indian Charlie) meanwhile won the GIII Bashford Manor S. on his second start, the first of seven black-type wins across three seasons. A brisk, hard-knocking type, he’s out of a half-sister to GSW by his sire in Bwana Charlie and My Pal Charlie. Calumet have given Big Blue Kitten (Kitten’s Joy) a helping hand, down to $10,000 from $15,000 after his book slipped from 93 to 68. You have to love the hardiness of an animal who was better than ever at seven, adding his third and fourth Grade Is and beaten only by a pair of Arc winners in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Unfortunately perseverance at eight did not pay off and it goes without saying that class, constitution and consistency for some reason have little play with the other “c” word: commerciality. Big Blue Kitten retains every right to breed you a runner, if that happens to be your game. The same farm keeps his old rival Slumber (GB) (Cacique {Ire}) at $5,000. This horse has a seriously good pedigree: second, third and fourth dams are either Grade I winners or Grade I producers, respectively by Seattle Slew, Northern Dancer and Buckpasser; while his sire is out of the Juddmonte blue hen Hasili (Ire) (Kahyasi {Ire}) and is only so little known because of fertility issues. On the track, Slumber followed much the same path as Big Blue Kitten—generally in his slipstream, except for when getting first run for his Grade I day in the sun in the Manhattan. With those genes, however, he could yet have the last word in their rivalry. Crestwood have quietly assembled an intriguing roster and Firing Line (Line of David) gives you performance and pedigree for just $5,000. Yes, pedigree: though hardly by a celebrated sire of sires, grandsire Lion Heart is making a name that way; while if his damsire Hold For Gold (Red Ransom) also lacks resonance, the fact is that the dam was Grade I-placed and traces directly to a champion and matriarch in Square Angel (Quadrangle). Only American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) could beat Firing Line in the Kentucky Derby, while he had previously won the GIII Sunland Derby by 14 lengths and been precocious enough to run Dortmund (Big Brown) to a head in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity. Texas Red (Afleet Alex) could also turn out to be plenty of horse for $7,500 at the same farm. The style of his GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile success is hard to forget, and was backed up by the time; and while he was restricted to a patchy sophomore campaign, he did manage to beat Frosted in the GII Jim Dandy. He’s certainly a pretty wild outcross option, not least thanks to a classy Chilean family. The venerable sire of Texas Red counts Anchor down (Tapit) among his younger neighbours at Gainesway. He has had a trim to $7,500 from $10,000 despite selling eight of 11 weanlings at $51,025. A half-brother to GI Test S. winner Sweet Lulu (Mr Greeley), his poster moment came in seeing off Tamarkuz in a very fast time for the GII Kelso H. Protonico (Giant’s Causeway) has now shown up at Castletown Lyons, his third home in three years, at $5,000 from $6,500; he was only beaten a half-length in the GI Clark and is another offering some spicy Chilean genes. Down to the same fee, from $7,500, is Ironicus (Distorted Humor) at Claiborne; he is one of five GSW out of his dam, and broke a track record on the Saratoga lawn. He finished with three strong finishes in the best of company, runner-up in the GI Manhattan and GI Shadwell Mile before weaving into fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile itself. A really admirable animal, he traces to an important mare in Admiring and let’s hope books of just 40-odd hold up long enough to give him a chance on the track. Finally V.E. Day (English Channel) has arrived at Buck Pond from New York at $6,500. Quite something to win a dirt race as prestigious as the GI Travers with that pedigree: by a turf-oriented sire, and second dam a sister to grass champion Sunshine Forever. But he’s out of a Deputy Minister mare and to get him that close up, nowadays, is nearly worth the tag on its own. CHRIS McGRATH’S VALUE PODIUM Gold: Flintshire $15,000, Hill ‘n’ Dale Silver: Not This Time $15,000, Taylor Made Bronze: Brody’s Cause $7,500, Spendthrift View the full article

3rd-GP, $60,000, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, post time: 1:00 p.m. ET Happy Alter paid $500,000 for Tapit’s Princess (Tapit), a daughter of GISW Lady of Fifty (After Market), after the grey showed off a big stride in a :10 1/5 breeze over the local strip during the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale this March. TJCIS PPs 2nd-FG, $41,000, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, post time: 1:58 p.m. ET DREAMS ARE MADE (Tapit), a $500,000 KEESEP yearling purchase by Breeze Easy, makes her debut for the Joe Sharp barn. She is a half to Grade I-placed ‘TDN Rising Star’ Luminance (Tale of the Cat), meaning her second dam is MGISW Versailles Treaty (Danzig). Versailles Treaty was responsible for GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner George Vancouver (Henrythenavigator) and GSW/GISP Saarland (Unbridled). TJCIS PPs 5th-FG, $41,000, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 3:24 p.m. ET Spendthrift Farm and Starlight Racing’s GOLDEN TIGER (Street Sense) is a full-sister to MGISW Wedding Toast. The $700,000 KEESEP yearling’s American Pharoah half-brother brought $550,000 at that marathon auction this season. Grade I-placed second dam Mari’s Sheba (Mari’s Book) is responsible for MGISW Congaree (Arazi) and SW/GISP Sangaree (Awesome Again). TJCIS PPs 13th-FG, $41,000, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 7:18 p.m. ET Gainesway homebred CORNACHIA (Tapit) is out of MGSW/MGISP Great Hot (Brz) (Orientate), who was a $400,000 Fasig-Tipton November acquisition of 2013. He was a $685,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga buyback, and his yearling half-brother by Empire Maker cost $600,000 at this year’s Keeneland September sale. Mr. Mike (Candy Ride {Arg}), bred on a version of the same cross as Horse of the Year Gun Runner, was a $230,000 Fasig-Tipton October yearling turned $390,000 OBSMAR juvenile after a :10 2/5 breeze. TJCIS PPs View the full article

His standing among the riding elite in the Midwest cemented by a banner 2018 season, Brian Hernandez Jr. has ventured to Gulfstream Park to test his abundant skills against the track's strong jockey colony during his first Championship Meet. View the full article

European Exports is a series where we catch up with people who have left their home countries to make a new life in the racing industry in America. Today, we speak with Olive Gallagher of Frankfort Park Farm. KR: Where are you from, and when did you come to Kentucky? OG: We came over here about eight years ago from Ireland. My husband, Brendan, and I had a bloodstock agency in Ireland called Emerald Bloodstock where we did a lot of work all over Europe. We sold Emerald Bloodstock in 2009. Prior to that, we bought Frankfort Park Farm. The idea was to quarantine yearlings going back to Europe; we were shipping a lot of yearlings from the sales here at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton. So that was really why we bought the farm. We sold the company in Ireland and then we bought some mares here. I don’t think we’d really planned to come but suddenly we were here and now we’re still here. KR: How has business been for you and Brendan in Kentucky? OG: I suppose Kentucky’s been lucky enough for us, particularly this year and in the last couple of years; we have been breeding a few good horses. We co-bred Monomoy Girl, who won the Breeders’ Cup [her fifth Grade I of the year] and we sold her dam at Fasig-Tipton for a small bit of money [$1.85-million]. We’ve had four other stakes winners this year, so things are going okay. KR: Is there anything you miss about Ireland? OG: Family and friends, for sure. And, maybe some of the food. I suppose brown bread was a big thing for me, I couldn’t make it in Ireland but now I’ve learned how to make it. I don’t make it a lot for others, but they actually had a small little competition or a bake off down in McCarthy’s in the fall about a year ago, and actually I was lucky enough to win that. A few people are looking for the brown bread, but I don’t make it often enough for others. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"European Exports With Olive Gallagher","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/303373995.sd.mp4?s=8ff29732e8e476bbde9151e9efa48673dadf6dac&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/304696854.sd.mp4?s=51ece19c70d60a977aeacf7e63b0cbc5065c07b8&profile_id=165","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} View the full article

A pair of sidelined ‘TDN Rising Stars’ from Hall of Famer Bill Mott’s barn are beginning to gear up at Payson Park for 2019. Two-time Grade I heroine Elate (Medaglia d’Oro), off since finishing a painful second to Abel Tasman (Quality Road) with a career-best 105 Beyer Speed Figure in a roughly run renewal of the GI Personal Ensign S. at Saratoga Aug. 25, will return for a 5-year-old campaign. The Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider homebred faced the starter only one other time in 2018, capturing the 1 1/4-mile GII Delaware H. in dominating fashion in July. Forced to miss the GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff after popping a splint in the Personal Ensign, Elate will likely target the GI Apple Blossom S. at Oaklawn Park Apr. 14, per Claiborne President Walker Hancock. “We always had hoped on running her through her 5-year-old year, and since she only ran twice as a 4-year-old, it became an easy decision to keep her in training this year,” Hancock said. “We are very excited to see her run in 2019. She improved a lot from three and four, and if she improves from four to five just a little bit, she will be a strong contender once again in the Distaff division.” Fellow Claiborne and Dilschneider product Mucho (Blame), a good second as the even-money favorite in the seven-furlong GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga Sept. 3, could return to action versus allowance company for his sophomore debut in late February. The bay earned his ‘Rising Star’ badge with a jaw-dropping 9 3/4-length maiden win under wraps at second asking at the Spa Aug. 4. He surged late to fall just 3/4 of a length short of Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) after bobbling at the start and making a menacing three-wide move on the far turn in the Hopeful. “Mucho actually came out of the Hopeful with an ankle issue,” Hancock said. “He was pretty sore the next day, but thankfully no surgery was required–just a little time off. He went to Fair Hill and Bruce Jackson rehabbed him there. He resumed training at Payson the first of November.” Could Mucho be headed down the Derby trail next spring? “Not sure about the Derby trail–we will let him tell us how far he wants to run and certainly will not push him in that direction,” Hancock said. “Thankfully, the Woody Stephens is now a Grade I in early June, so there is nice opportunity for colts to point towards that race if they don’t want to route.” View the full article

This year has been a landmark one for Dublin trainer Adrian ‘Ado’ McGuinness with a personal best of 27 Irish flat wins and just under €400,000 in prize-money. In fact, the last two seasons have seen a significant upturn in the fortunes of the McGuinness stable, and while the higher calibre of horse the trainer has at his disposal is no doubt a factor, so too is the organizational structure of the business. Two years ago, Godolphin Flying Start graduate Stephen Thorne–a second cousin and neighbour of McGuinness–joined the trainer as his assistant and it is clear the arrangement is working out well. “It’s been our best-ever 12 months and we’ve got an even better quality of horse for 2019 so hopefully we can progress again,” McGuinness told the TDN on a cold December morning at his Rush-based yard. McGuinness has indeed high hopes for 2019 and is planning a dual assault on two major early-season targets: the Irish and English Lincolns at Naas and Doncaster, respectively. The trainer came close to pulling off the Irish leg this year when bargain buy Aussie Valentine (Ire) (Aussie Rules) finished third at Naas in March and McGuinness and Thorne think they may have two new ideal candidates for the two races in three months’ time. Sirjack Thomas (Ire) (Fast Company {Ire}) and Saltonstall (GB) (Pivotal {GB}), two exciting additions to the yard via the autumn horses in training sales, will spearhead the challenge and McGuinness said he is hopeful the pair will be among the yard’s flagbearers throughout the year. “The level of prize-money is important in these premier handicaps. We’ve done very well in this type of race over the years and even to get placed in them is like winning an average race. These better quality horses that we have now were bought to target these valuable handicaps and they have a good chance of paying for themselves and their training fees if they win one.” The McGuinness yard has been operating successfully in the middle tier of Irish training establishments for the last 15 years– 21 winners in 2006 was a previous highlight–and while there have been a few lean years since, the last two seasons suggest the team is on the cusp of greater things. While Thorne is quick to deflect his contribution since coming on board this time two years ago by assuring that McGuinness is still very much the boss, the alliance is definitely proving successful. “It’s a massive team effort, but from riding out, to motivating the lads to continue to do their best, to going racing and attracting owners, I’d like to think that I have become an integral part of the operation since I came back,” Thorne said. After graduating from Godolphin Flying Start in 2014, Thorne set about furthering his training apprenticeship with one-year stints with Mike De Kock in South Africa and Ralph Beckett in England. “Training was always in the back of my mind during the Flying Start and I was very keen to utilize the course to build contacts within the industry. I learned plenty during my time with Mike De Kock and Ralph Beckett. They both adopt quite a tough training regime with their horses and doing so seems to allow their horses to take their racing better. I am a believer in that system and with the beach here nearby we can add that into the regime, which helps with recuperation and minor aches and pains. They would go in shoulder high a few times a week during the summer and it seems to help keep their minds fresh too,” he added. Reflecting further on his time in England and South Africa, Thorne continued, “Ralph is a master with fillies. He has a simple enough routine but it works. He has beautiful grass gallops and he just knows when to work horses and when to back off. My time in De Kock’s was different but no less impressive. He had 350 horses on the books when I was there, spread over different satellite yards so there was a lot going on. He has scaled it back quite a bit since but I got on well with him and have a lot of respect for him.” Thorne’s own leadership and motivational skills were also highlighted and rewarded when he was the recipient of the ‘Lead By Example’ award at the Godolphin Stud and Stable Staff Awards in May. One of his first objectives when joining forces with McGuinness was recruiting more horses and owners and from that objective Shamrock Thoroughbreds was born. The ownership syndicate has grown legs since its inception and among others, was represented by Georgian Bay (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}), a £10,000 purchase during the summer, who was rewarded for a string of placed efforts when getting off the mark for the team at Dundalk last week, the yard’s final winner of 2018. “Shamrock Thoroughbreds started out as a small syndicate of family and friends and a few local farmers but it has increased to 30 members now over three horses. There are 10 members in each syndicate and each member owns 10% of their horse and each horse runs for a 12-month contract,” Thorne explained. While 2018 has been a successful year for team McGuinness, like the majority of Irish trainers, similar success in 2019 is far from a given and expectations remain tempered in advance of a new year. “We’ve had and will continue to have plenty of low- grade horses and they’re the bread and butter and provide winners but they don’t put a massive amount of money in your pocket,” McGuinness said. “To survive here in racing you’ve got to be either winning big races or selling horses on, whether to America or Hong Kong or wherever. We’ve sold three or four to America the last few years and financially it’s been good to us but they’ve also gone on and been successful for their new connections,” he added. Two recognizable ex-McGuinness runners stateside are the fillies Roca Rojo (Ire) (Strategic Prince {GB}) and Beau Recall (Ire) (Sir Prancealot {Ire}). They are Grade II winners for Chad Brown and Simon Callaghan, respectively, and both were second in Grade I races at Del Mar in 2017, having won their maidens in Ireland. “The American market is important to us, we don’t have a Hong Kong type of horse as we can only really afford to buy fillies at the yearling sales. It’s very difficult to compete at the yearling sales. We’ve been successful with a few cheap yearlings that we bought but there is only so far those type of horses will bring you. You’d love to be able to get your hands on four or five nice, well-bred youngsters that you could go and compete against the bigger yards with.” McGuinness’s handling of this year’s three-time winning 2-year-old Beau Warrior (Ire) (Declaration Of War) is a prime example of what he can do with the right material. Getting hold of the right raw material is one of the reasons McGuinness and Thorne have focused on the horses in training sales as a means to upgrading the quality of horse in the yard. Take the ex-Godolphin owned Saltonstall, for example: a €44,000 recruit at Goffs in November. The gelding is rated 100 and went off a short price for this year’s Royal Hunt Cup and despite disappointing on his last few starts for Michael Halford it is hoped a different training regime will reignite him and see him fulfill that rating for his new owner, Manchester-based Bart O’Sullivan, who is also the new sponsor of the McGuinness yard. “At the moment any new owners we get in we tend to sway them towards a horse with form, something ready-made that they can get a bit of fun out of and has the potential to cover its costs and training fees,” McGuinness explained. “Hopefully then if they have a good experience with the ready-made horse they could go in again with a yearling. We find the ready-made horse is a good introduction to racehorse ownership for the majority of clients.” Ado McGuinness calls it as it is and is one of any number of highly capable horsemen in Ireland who are well adept at getting the best out of their horses, regardless of their ability level. The introduction of the all-weather track at Dundalk a decade ago was a lifeline for his training business, as it allowed him to operate 12 months of the year, a fairly critical criterion for most enterprises. Similar to many of his peers he also sees room for a second all-weather facility, especially with the curtailment of flat racing at a number of Irish venues in recent years. “We’ve lost flat racing at a number of the country tracks with several others scaling back so I definitely think we could do with another all-weather track,” he said. “However I do I think it has to be built around Dublin and I’m not just saying that because it would be handy for me. To generate an atmosphere and to have a population to go racing it needs to be near a big city. Ideally it would need proper public transport links to allow people to get there easily. You see in England the likes of Sandown, Ascot and Newbury, they all have a train station within walking distance and people from London can travel there easily. There is no reason we couldn’t have a similar setup in Ireland and I think the transport links are necessary nowadays to encourage people to go racing.” With the right mix of youth, experience, ambition and improved horse-power, Ado McGuinness Racing looks primed to build on the progress made in the last two years and heads into 2019 with a lot to look forward to. View the full article

Amidst all the holiday hullabaloo, and with just a few shopping days left til Christmas, horseplayers seeking to stuff stockings with extra cash are dealing with slim stakes pickings. View the full article

The following Letter to the Editor was submitted in response to Kevin Blake’s Dec. 13 Op/Ed on the foal sale market and potential solutions to the challenges at the bottom of the market. Should you wish to chime in, please send your thoughts to garyking@thetdn.com. A few points in response to Kevin Blake’s excellent piece on the foal sales results in 2018. The first is that I think he underestimates the cost of getting an animal from conception to foal sale. For our stud, the average cost of getting from conception to yearling sale is in excess of £25,000. While our calculations up to foal sale only are a little less well-quantified, I can’t see how they can be less than £10,000 fully loaded. Maybe we are high-cost relative to a farm who might breed ‘from the field,’ but I suspect we are, in fact, just realistic on cost. We find it helpful to keep our heads out of the sand on these matters. Secondly, whether Kevin’s equation on stallion fees is right or wrong is moot. With the median sale price of many stallions’ offspring being less than the stallion fee itself, a situation where more than 50% of one’s clients operate at a loss is surely indicative of a need to cut fees. What is clear, however, is that there is a distinct imbalance in the monetary risk borne by the breeder versus that shouldered by the stallion master. This could be corrected by stallion owners offering to charge a cover fee only if a certain price is achieved for an offspring but, on the upside, being enabled to share in profits at a certain level in return. This would certainly result in stallion farms closely scrutinising the mares they are prepared to receive. It also represents a fairer sharing of risk than exists currently. Lastly, I think the single most important factor driving the bottom of the market relates to how ‘wealthy’ the likely horse owner feels. For other than the very rich, this perception of personal ‘wealth’ rests very significantly on property prices where the average potential owner has much of their store of wealth these days. With property prices under pressure due to tax changes, Brexit and other factors, folks don’t feel so wealthy these days and, as such, a horse in training is a luxury too far. There are many small breeders who will produce stock no matter the loss involved and the tradition of Corinthian animal husbandry in this country is to be applauded. For those, let’s say, medium-sized breeders for whom losses on multiple foals or yearlings can build up to be significant amounts, some changes are required. There have been many such stud farms on the market in recent months which must tell a story . -Colin Bryce, Laundry Cottage Stud View the full article

Sunday’s G1 Arima Kinen at Nakayama–Japan’s Grand Prix–may be missing likely Horse of the Year and Filly Triple Crown winner Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}), but the field of 16 that will load the gate includes one of the race’s previous winners, a Tokyo Yushun hero, a Japan Cup scorer and a legendary 7-year-old entire who will try to carry his championship form over jumps onto the flat against the cream of the Japanese Thoroughbred crop. Rey de Oro (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) took out last year’s G1 Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and was runner-up to Cheval Grand (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in the G1 Japan Cup en route to championship 3-year-old honours. If he was slightly disappointing when fourth to Hawkbill (Kitten’s Joy) in the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March, he has been anything but since, with victories in the G2 All Comers’ S. (2200m) over this course Sept. 23 and a powerful tally in the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) (2000m) at Tokyo Oct. 28 (see below). Connections elected to pass a return trip to the Japan Cup in favour of having a fresh horse for the Arima. Kiseki (Jpn) (Rulership {Jpn}) was not beaten far when third in the Tenno Sho and most recently set a searching pace in the Nov. 24 Japan Cup before succumbing to the late rally of Almond Eye and settling for second. Last year’s G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger) victor will have to break alertly from gate 14, but if he has something left following his Japan Cup exertions, he will take plenty of catching. Satono Diamond (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), victorious in this event two years ago, is one of three in the race for his sire, who concluded his glorious career with a soft win in the 2006 Arima Kinen. Now five, the bay entire with the diamond-shaped snip on his forehead was snapping a six-race skid when winning the Oct. 8 G2 Kyoto Daishoten (2400m), but was no better than sixth last tine in the Japan Cup. Satono Diamond, who was third to Makahiki (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the 2016 Tokyo Yushun, will be the first Arima Kinen ride for Australian Brenton Avdulla. Oju Chosan (Jpn) (Stay Gold {Jpn}) has gained cult-hero status largely by his exploits over jumps. A three-time defending champion of the Nakayama Grand Jump–including a double-digit, track record-setting success this past April–he has won his last two races on the flat, including a 2400m prep at Tokyo Nov. 3. Mozu Katchan (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) is one of two females in the field and gets the services of Mirco Demuro. The dark bay was third to subsequent Tenno Sho runner-up Sungrazer (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G2 Sapporo Kinen (2000m) in August and was most recently third to Lys Gracieux (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in defence of her title in the G1 QE II Cup (2200m). The latter franked the form with a strong second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase Dec. 9. Blast Onepiece (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) is the lone 3-year-old in this year’s field and is not without a chance. A dual Group 3 winner this season, he was a close fifth in the Tokyo Yushun in May and exits a fourth in the Kikuka Sho, a race that may have stretched his stamina. The cutback in trip will suit and he is in receipt of two kilos from his older male rivals. WATCH: Rey de Oro wins the Tenno Sho (Autumn), Kiseki third View the full article

While John Ed Anthony's Shortleaf Stable has yet to reach the heights of its predecessor, Anthony's Loblolly Stable, it ranked 55th nationally this year ($1,519,759) and won 26 races, including four stakes, through Dec. 18. View the full article

Saturday Fin And Game Track: Haydock – 11:50 Jockey: Brian Hughes He his a nice horse but I am finding it hard to place him over fences at the moment, but he’s ready for a run so he will take his chance. I think he is fairly handicapped and although the ground may be an issue, I […] The post Donald McCain Blog – Saturday Runners appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Ascot My Pension Expert Handicap Chase The formidable partnership of Henderson and Jacob team up with the French import Janika. He was a four-time winner in his native country and now makes his British debut. He has been gelded since his last run and could just be anything. Paul Nicholls is responsible for another French […] The post Saturday Preview – Harry Hoping To Get His Head In Front Again appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

14:05 Southwell Mark Johnston’s progressive 3yo Matterhorn looks the one to beat here today. He could not have been more impressive when accounting easily for a decent field on handicap debut at Lingfield last time out by two lengths. The quick return out indicates there is plenty more to come and despite giving weight away […] The post Picks From The Paddock Best Bet – Friday 21st December appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

About 2,200 miles away from Gulfstream Park, only a short walk apart in the Santa Anita Park barn area, reside the two favorites for the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1). View the full article

Newly minted graded stakes winner Life in Shambles will look to close out his 2018 campaign on a strong note, headlining a field of six in the $100,000 Gravesend Stakes for 3-year-olds and upward going six furlongs Dec. 23 at Aqueduct Racetrack. View the full article

The scheduled Dec. 21 racing card and morning training at Tampa Bay Downs have been cancelled because of ongoing heavy rain and anticipation of high winds in the Tampa Bay, Fla. area. View the full article

The Minnesota Racing Commission has reached settlements to resolve three high-level positives found in recent equine post-race drug tests. View the full article

When Sunday’s 11th race at Gulfstream came off the turf after overnight rains, it lost a lot of its luster, as the field of lightly raced 2-year-old fillies scratched down significantly, leaving little proven dirt form. But the group was not devoid of talent, as one promising young filly showed when romping to a professional score at first asking. Point of Honor (Curlin) was a popular item when put through the ring as hip 123 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. After an intense round of bidding, the Siena Farms-bred chestnut topped out at $825,000. That wasn’t enough to reach her reserve, though the sum would’ve represented the second-highest lot for progeny of her sire at the marquee yearling auction had she sold. Instead, she was privately purchased by Donato Lanni of Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms and showed up Sunday in Hallandale in the relatively unfamiliar blue, lime green and white silks of Stetson Racing for trainer George Weaver. Comfortably settling in a stalking position as the narrow 19-10 race favorite, Point of Honor pounced on the pacesetters nearing the turn for home, switched leads without asking and drew off strongly to a sharp, six-length tally going 1 1/16 miles, always a demanding distance for a first-time starter (video). “We had kind of had some mixed signals; she had some good works on the dirt and the turf and she had come to the point where she was plenty fit enough,” Weaver said. “I chose to enter her in a turf race just to give her a run and see what she would do, but we did expect her to perform well and when they took it off the turf, I knew that she could handle the dirt very well. I definitely thought she had a decent chance to win and we were glad that not only did she win, but she did it pretty stylishly.” Weaver may not have exactly nailed down which surface his filly was cut out for prior to her debut, but the former assistant to Todd Pletcher purposefully looked for a two-turn race to open her account with, which made sense given her morning activity. “We liked her going in there, but she’s always been a filly that’s been workmanlike in her breezes,” he said. “She’s not the type of filly that’s going to break stopwatches and go in :46, but she always has acted like she’s had some class and quality to her. I didn’t want her to have to be chased after early in the race. I wanted her to have a chance to break and get in the bridle and not have to be hustling for the first quarter-mile, half-mile to keep up, because she’s just not a sprinter. It worked out very well and came together as I thought it would, so we’re very happy.” As for Point of Honor’s ownership, Stetson Racing is the brainchild of John Connelly, who made brief waves in the mid and late-2000s with trainer Bob Baffert under the name Stetson Land and Cattle, a California-based ranching company. The outfit’s crowning achievement came when capturing the 2007 GI Oak Leaf S. with Cry and Catch Me (Street Cry {Ire}), a Baffert trainee from the first crop of her Darley sire which also happened to feature a champion that year in GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile hero and eventual GI Kentucky Derby winner Street Sense. The dark bay was shelved for eight-plus months following her top-level tally and failed to recreate her peak form as a sophomore, but Connelly and Lanni took advantage of a significant update and realized a hefty profit when the former $150,000 Keeneland September buy and half-sister to 2012’s Cartier-winning Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Certify (Elusive Quality) hammered for $3.5 million to Live Oak Plantation at that term’s Fasig-Tipton November Sale. That, however, effectively marked the end of Stetson Land and Cattle’s involvement in racing, as it failed to win a race from just three starters afterward. “[Connelly] got out of the business and now he’s back in a little bit and I buy him horses,” Lanni said. “He’s in California and spreads his horses around. He’s a really good guy, real quiet. Hopefully we’ll see his name a lot more often.” Much of that may rely on the future of Point of Honor, who has impressed her conditioner with a temperament beyond her years thus far, particularly in Sunday’s unveiling. “It wasn’t a surprise when she went over there and performed the way she did and she really handled everything in the paddock and the post parade,” Weaver said. “She showed the class that she’s always been showing us in the morning.” Though Point of Honor earned a modest 71 Beyer for her performance, she’s bred to be precocious as a half-sister to juvenile SW Velvet Mood (Lonhro {Aus}) out of a half-sister to MGSP juvenile Capitano (Belong to Me), GSP juvenile Dilemma (Grand Slam) and Mr Freeze (To Honor and Serve), who flashed lofty talent as a 3-year-old this summer when crushing the GIII West Virginia Derby field by eight lengths. Weaver isn’t shy about having expectations for his filly, and he knows this is a good spot on the calendar to take your shots. “We’ll see how the filly’s doing, but she’s got a nice pedigree and we’ll definitely want to take advantage of any stakes opportunities that present themselves,” he said. “Gulfstream’s got a nice program, Tampa’s across the way there too. At this time of year, any time you have a 3-year-old that can handle going a distance of ground and can run well on the dirt, you’ve got to be thinking about those spots. We think she’s good enough to perform in them, so we’ll be looking at them.” View the full article

About 2,700 miles away from Gulfstream Park, only a short walk apart in the Santa Anita Park barn area, reside the two favorites for the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1). View the full article

About 3,700 miles away from Gulfstream Park, only a short walk apart in the Santa Anita Park barn area, reside the two favorites for the $9 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1). View the full article