Wandering Eyes

Hip 291, a colt by War Front, was the first yearling to bring seven figures during Tuesday’s second session of the Keeneland September Sale, realizing from $1.2 million from Shadwell Estate Company, Ltd. The bay is the first foal out of the English, stakes-placed mare Pin Up (Ire) (Lookin At Lucky). His second dam is Irish champion All My Loving (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), third-place finisher in the G1 Darley Irish Oaks. This is the extended female family of champions Yesterday (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), Quarter Moon (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), et al. Hip 291, consigned by Dromoland Farm Inc. (Gerry Dilger), Agent XXVII, was bred in Kentucky by St. Elias Stables and Joseph Allen. View the full article

Due to heavy rain the past 48 hours and a forecast calling for even more precipitation, the Meadowlands Racetrack will forego its scheduled all-turf Thoroughbred opening card Friday, Sept. 14 and will start on Saturday, Sept. 15 instead. View the full article

Multiple highweight and MG1SW Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})–Another Storm, by Gone West) has been retired, Racing Post reported Tuesday afternoon. The 6-year-old entire was due to contest the G1 Irish St Leger on Sunday, but trainer Aidan O’Brien opted to call time on the three-time Group 1 winner’s career. “We’ve decided to retire Order of St George,” O’Brien told Racing Post. We did not want to be greedy and risk him on Sunday. It’s nothing serious, just age has caught up with him, and we thought it was the right thing to do for the horse.” Bred by Paget Bloodstock in Ireland and a $550,000 Keeneland September yearling, Order of St George raced initially for Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs. John Magnier, with G1 Melbourne Cup-winning owner Lloyd Williams buying in shortly before he started his 2016 season. Order of St George scored in two editions of the G1 Irish St Leger and once in the G1 Gold Cup. Highweighted in Europe at 14 furlongs and above from three to five, the Ballydoyle runner was also second in the 2016 Irish St Leger and third in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe behind stablemates Found (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). In 2017, the then 5-year-old played bridesmaid in the Gold Cup and claimed his second St Leger victory, with a fourth in the Arc prior to his 2017 finale, a win in the G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup. Once again Europe’s top stayer, with a highweight title in Ireland from 11-14 furlongs to boot, Order of St George landed the G3 Vintage Crop S. to kick off 2018 in April and won a listed race at Leopardstown in May before a dour fourth in the G1 Gold Cup. He earned $2,821,488 with a mark of 25-13-6-1. Added O’Brien, “Order of St George was a incredible horse. He was a big, strong animal who was always very clean-winded. He was an incredible stayer but had the class to be competitive in an Arc. He was versatile both in terms of ground and trip.” Order of St George is a half-brother to French Group 3 winner Asperity (War Chant), Swedish SW Sehoy (Menifee) and Grade III heroine Angel Terrace (Ghostzapper), as well as a full to the Australian Group 3 placed Kellstorm (Ire). His second dam is U.S. champion juvenile filly Storm Song (Summer Squall), who was also a two-time Grade I winner, including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. Stud plans will be announced later. View the full article

Due to heavy rain that has drenched New Jersey in recent days, and a forecast calling for additional precipitation heading into the weekend, Monmouth Park’s first card of racing at Meadowlands Racetrack this Friday has been cancelled, it was announced Tuesday. The “Monmouth at the Meadowlands” all-turf meet will now consist of just five programs–the first of which is scheduled to be held Saturday. View the full article

Hagyard Equine Medical Institute will sponsor a fall racing preview at Tony’s of Lexington Wednesday, Oct. 3, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation announced Tuesday. The event will be hosted by Mike Penna and Jude Feld of Horse Racing Radio Network (HRRN). Tickets for the event, which will cover top races across the country during the coming weekend, are available for $50 each and include hors d’oeuvres and two drink tickets. All proceeds from the event will benefit Grayson. Due to space restraints, attendance will be capped at 50 people. “Grayson-funded research has played a significant role in equine medicine for decades, and we use treatments based on this research on a daily basis,” said Dr. Luke Fallon, Hagyard Equine Medical Institute. “We are happy to support a charity that helps us help our patients.” “We are thankful for Hagyard’s sponsorship of this event and to Mike and Jude of Horse Racing Radio Network for hosting,” said Jamie Haydon, vice president of Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. “Through the Fall Racing Preview presented by Hagyard, we will be able to continue to fund essential equine health initiatives to aid all horses.” Tickets can be purchased here. View the full article

MGSW and MGISP Frank Conversation (Quality Road-Rushen Heat, by Unusual Heat) will enter stud at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, New York, beginning in 2019. Winner of the GII Twilight Derby and GIII El Camino Real Derby, Frank Conversation added a third-place finish in the GI Hollywood Derby during his sophomore season in 2016. He retires with earnings of $520,965 and a record of 4-2-4 from 19 starts. Frank Conversation’s dam, Rushen Heat, is a full-sister to GISWs Unusual Suspect and Golden Doc A. Frank Conversation is currently located in Lexington and will be available for inspection throughout the duration of the Keeneland September Sale. For more information, contact Erin Robinson at 859-421-7531. View the full article

With fewer of their number in a position to buy on spec these days, the old concept of a ‘trainers’ sale’ has lost its way somewhat, through there were signs of a revival at the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale. On the buyers’ list where one would normally see a proliferation of agents, there was also a wide range of trainers. The pedigrees may not be top-drawer but it will be surprising indeed if some decent individuals don’t arise from the sale having been bought at what will look to be bargain prices, especially when set against trade on the other side of the Atlantic this week. Compared to what we’ve seen so far in Europe this season, at its level the sale certainly held its own. The aggregate rose, as one would expect with a near 30% increase in the number of yearlings catalogued, and with 111 of the 153 yearlings sold for a marginally reduced clearance rate of 73%, the day’s takings came in at £1,096,000. The median of £7,000 remained the same as last year and the average improved by 7% to £9,874. The sale served its purpose, to offer an outlet for an increasing number of yearlings in search of a sales berth, but there’s no disguising the fact that those selling outside the top ten will mostly have been traded at a loss if being sold by their breeders. Alan King may be more synonymous with jump racing but he has an enviably good strike-rate with his Flat runners and has been more evident at breeze-up and yearling sales of late. The Barbury Castle-based trainer was persuaded to make the journey up the M4 to Ascot by his regular sales-ring ally, Anthony Bromley of Highflyer Bloodstock, who had done his homework and had his sights set on a colt he felt “walked for Ireland”. That distinction was because he was offered by Wexford’s Peter Nolan—like King and Bromley another face more commonly seen in jumping circles but who is increasing his Flat sales work—on behalf of his breeders Geoff and Sandra Turnbull of Elwick Stud. That the top and joint-second-top lots of the sale were by leading first-season sire No Nay Never was perhaps no surprise and the leading colt, lot 84, had also recently enjoyed a decent update courtesy of the victory of his 2-year-old half-sister Bandola (Ire) (Requinto {Ire}). After signing the sheet for £46,000 for the second foal of the four-time winner Duchess Of Gazeley (Ire) (Halling), Bromley said, “We’ve got Just In Time (GB) out of the second dam [Flying Finish] who has now won five races and is Cesarewitch-bound, and he’s rated 94. We’ve had good luck with the family and the mare’s first foal won a 2-year-old race the other day so that’s an interesting update.” The agent continued, “The dam was alright and No Nay Never can do no wrong. We thought he’d go close to topping the sale as basically he walks for Ireland. I rang Alan last night and said we’d have to dig a little bit for him. So it was a good price but the sire is absolutely flying and this is a really athletic horse. We’re really pleased to get him but we were at the end of the budget at that. He doesn’t necessarily have to be an early 2-year-old for Alan but he’ll be a Flat horse and we’ll see how he develops.” The only other No Nay Never yearling in the catalogue was lot 45, a filly out of G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas runner-up Amethyst (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells), herself a sister to 2,000 Guineas winner King Of Kings (Ire). Consigned by Jamie Railton, she brought the hammer down at £42,000 to a bid from Billy Jackson-Stops. “She’s strong, and obviously No Nay Never is really firing,” said the young agent, who was acting on behalf of Al Rabban Racing, which has two horses in training in Newmarket with Sir Michael Stoute and George Scott. “She’s from a good family. The mare’s a bit older but she’s produced some nice horses along the way and hopefully this sire can pick her back up again. This filly should be quick.” While the trainer is yet to be decided for the No Nay Never filly, Richard Hannon will take charge of the Dandy Man (Ire) filly (lot 102) who also sold for £42,000 via Trickledown Stud to Ross Doyle. “I thought she was the best physical in the sale,” Doyle said of the daughter of the treble winner and black-type earner in England and America, Hucking Hot (GB) (Desert Prince {Ire}). “The mare was a quick horse and she should be quick too. She’s a great walker and we’ve bought a Dark Angel filly from the family before. She’s been bought for Richard Hannon on spec so he’ll be looking for an owner for her.” Of the breeze-up pinhookers in operation at the sale, Thomond O’Mara of Knockanglass Stables went to £40,000 for lot 89, a colt Dutch Art (GB) out of the juvenile winner Expect (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). The mare’s half-brother Don’t Touch (GB) was a seven-time winner up to listed level and is also by the Cheveley Park Stud stallion. Jamie Osborne candidly admitted to “avoiding” the first crop of Bungle Inthejungle (GB), who now leads the freshman sires’ table by number of individual winners, and the trainer said with a grin, “That was a bit silly, wasn’t it?” But Osborne compensated for this oversight by bidding £36,000 with Federico Barberini for lot 121, a filly from the stallion’s second crop out of the dual juvenile winner Lucky Leigh (GB) (Piccolo {GB}). Having bought the half-sister to 10-time winner and listed-placed Something Lucky (Ire) (Clodovil {Ire}) on spec from the Rathasker Stud draft, he added, “She was probably one of the stand-out physicals of the day for me. We know all about the sire. The dam was quick and she’s bred a quick one, so she made a lot of sense.” The G1 Caulfield Guineas winner Shooting To Win (Aus) (Northern Meteor {Aus}) shuttled for just one season to Darley’s Kildangan Stud and a member of that solitary northern hemisphere crop (lot 46) provided one of the early highlights of the sale when selling to David and Nicola Barron of Harrowgate Bloodstock for £30,000. “We had an order for a racy 2-year-old type and we don’t know anything about Shooting To Win but this colt was just a really nice, strong horse,” said Nicola Barron, who is assistant trainer to her father David at his North Yorkshire stable. She added, “He seemed like he was very honest when we watched him walk round the ring.” Harrowgate Bloodstock was the sale’s leading buyer with three purchased for £69,000, including a colt by another Darley freshman shuttler Brazen Beau (Aus). Lot 127, a half-brother to treble winner Icart Point (GB) (Pooet’s Voice {GB}) and from the family of classy stayer The Geezer (GB), was sold by Owdeswell Stud for breeder Springfield Farm Partnership for £32,000. Reflecting on Ascot’s sole dedicated yearling sale, Sales Director Richard Pugh said, “We are very pleased with the progression of the Tattersalls Ascot Yearling Sale. Only in its second year, the sale has developed a reputation as a creditable choice for both selling and purchasing yearlings. This was evident from the vendors who chose the sale to offer their consignments along with the much increased number of trainers and agents who were present and active over the last two days. It is fair to acknowledge that the market remains selective and there has been plenty of demand for the choice lots.” He continued, “We would like to extend a sincere thank you to all our clients who have helped to develop a platform for this sale. As the focus continues on developing and progressing Tattersalls Ascot Sales, we now turn our attention to the Ascot November Sale along with the continued promotion of our Breeze-up Sale which has been enhanced by the £100,000 Royal Ascot Bonus.” View the full article

With the minor matter of preparing Europe’s best miler Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) for potentially her fifth Group 1 win in succession this Saturday in the Coolmore Fastnet Rock Matron S., one would think that prospect would be monopolising the thoughts of her trainer Jessica Harrington. Far from it, as her multitasking abilities also include hatching and rolling out an exciting racing investment opportunity ahead of the yearling sales at Goffs and Tattersalls. Harrington, in conjunction with her son-in-law Richie Galway, bloodstock agent Patrick Cooper and Elaine ‘Legs’ Lawlor are seeking investors to join them in acquiring a select team of yearlings to go to war with on the race course next year. The quartet, backed up by the trainer’s daughters Emma and Kate, rightly believe that the international re-sale market for horses that show a high level of form in Ireland is too strong and too lucrative to ignore. “We plan to buy approximately six yearlings with the aim of reselling them either during their 2-year-old year or if not by the end of their 3-year-old season,” Harrington explained to the TDN at her kitchen table in Commonstown recently, in company with Galway, Cooper and Lawlor. “We feel we have the team, the infrastructure and the track record in place to make this an attractive investment opportunity. Essentially we have always been a trading yard and that will continue to be the case. People know that horses are for sale here and at the moment it appears the best opportunity to trade horses is off the track. If someone has a 2 or 3-year old that can win or be placed in an Irish maiden there is a global market for that horse straight away,” she said. While Harrington as the designated trainer should fill would-be investors with confidence, having Patrick Cooper work closely with her in sourcing the yearlings should be no deterrent either. Cooper and his family have a long association with Harrington and her own family and while family associations are all well and good, agents must to be judged on the stock they have bought in the past and Cooper passes this test with honours. The BBA Ireland agent is certainly popular among the Irish wing of the ‘Its All About The Girls syndicate,’ set up by Legs Lawlor following the success of the syndicate of the same name in Australia, which Lawlor is also instrumental in running. Cooper purchased two yearling fillies for the Irish all-female syndicate last year, namely the Harrington-trained pair Chicas Amigas (Ire) (Dragon Pulse {Ire}) and Sparkle’n’joy (Ire) (Sepoy {Aus}) for a combined total of €65,000. The fillies have won three races between them and over €50,000 in prize-money this summer with Chicas Amigas recently sold to carry the silks of Qatar Racing for a multiple of her €25,000 purchase price. Meanwhile Sparkle’n’joy will line up in the opening listed race for fillies at Leopardstown on Saturday. “Patrick has proven his ability to find and purchase high-class horses that weren’t overly expensive,” offers Richie Galway, back full-time now with the home team following a long stint as racing manager at Punchestown Racecourse. Galway has an active role in the day-to-day running of Commonstown Stables and is no stranger to buying and selling bloodstock internationally himself through his association with former school pals David Cox and Ben McElroy. “It’s different, very different but I love it. I’m working for my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law and my wife, what could be better!” quipped Galway before adding; “Historically syndicates in Ireland tended to be about cheap horses owned by a large group of friends or colleagues to provide a fun day out. We’re certainly hopeful of maintaining the fun element in the new syndicate but also to bring a commercial aspect to it, something I think is definitely achievable with the plan we have in place and the people we have in place to implement it.” Goffs director Legs Lawlor spends half the year in Australia where she is chief communicator to the syndicate members that race multiple Group 1 winner Global Glamour (Aus) (Star Witness {Aus}) and she is keen to expose owners in Europe to the level of communication that is considered the norm Down Under. “The information flow to the syndicate members is very important, the Australians do that so well and I plan to implement that same high level of communication with the members of the new syndicate.” The spirit of ownership is also something Lawlor has noticed in everyday life in Australia where the syndicate model is so prevalent and successful. “For example I go into a butcher shop and I overhear people saying, ‘oh I’ve got a runner on Saturday,’ and they may only own 2% of the horse but as far as they are concerned they are an owner and it’s their horse,” she explained. “Australian trainers are so professional in their communication both with the media and their owners and that follows through then with syndicate managers. It makes everyone feel involved and that is the approach we intend to take with the new partnership.” For the next month or so Cooper and Harrington will embrace the yearling sales with open minds over the type of yearlings they plan to buy for the syndicate. Both colts and fillies will be considered along with precocious and later-maturing types. “Value is basically what we will be looking for and something that will ultimately have appeal to the international market. We think there will be gaps in the middle market this year that we can exploit to find some yearlings that Jessie and the team can add value to,” Cooper said. Finding people with a spare €50,000 and then persuading them to part with that cash for a high-risk investment is no easy task, especially when there are plenty of other syndicate models out there, but such is the belief the team have in their combined abilities that they are the first investors committed to the venture. “We’re looking at somewhere between 10 and 20 investors,” Galway explained. “We will also be putting up our own money; the BBA through Patrick, Jessie, Legs and [husband] Peter and myself. I think that is important and it shows we are committed to making this work. We’ve set the bar at €50,000 per investor, though that figure can then be diluted by each individual investor as they choose.” Galway continued, “We do have clients who ask Jessie to buy them a yearling with a budget of say €50,000 and that’s great and sole ownership suits some people better, but for the same outlay this venture offers the same amount of fun, excitement and involvement with the risk diluted among a number of horses. We’d hope that if we can acquire up to six yearlings for an average of approximately €100,000 each the chance of finding a proper horse is significantly higher. This isn’t a new concept and there are other syndicates out there that are doing a great job but based on what I’ve seen the team do here I’d be confident that this one will be successful. With Patrick selecting, Jessie training and Legs communicating, I think the formula is there.” A third of the juveniles Harrington has run so far this year have won and several are already accomplished stakes performers with others such as the G1 Moyglare Stud S. bound Trethias (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) promising to follow suit. Between the exploits of Alpha Centauri, the achievements of her flat string in general and the fact that she has also reached the pinnacle in the world of jump racing through G1 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Sizing John (GB) (Midnight Legend {GB}), Harrington’s stock has never been higher. And with at least 120 horses in training at any one time she is enjoying being a trainer now more than ever. “I don’t think we are doing anything much different,” she said. “Luckily this year we have some very good horses and that is how it has developed. Training has its ups and downs but we are enjoying a great period at the moment and long may it continue. While things are going well we have no intention of resting on our laurels at all. We want to continue to try and get better horses into the yard. We are an ambitious team and there is still a lot we want to achieve. For this new syndicate I want to foster a real sense of ownership, that each horse is theirs. We would love to attract some people who are new to racing or who have been involved in the past but for whatever reason have been out of the game for a while,” Harrington said. It is the rise and rise of the Jessica Harrington brand that Legs Lawlor feels will be the easiest sell when pitching for investors. “Jessie’s success has really captured the imagination across the world and to me she will be the unique selling point. She has become a global name in racing and I think people will want to become part of that success,” she said. Galway is in a unique position to chart the relentless rise in the stable’s powers and contributes a lot of the growth to overseas owners and breeders. “The growth I have seen in this place in the last five years is huge. We have a lot of international owners, people like the Niarchos family, Jon Kelly, Bob Edwards of e5 Racing, Ms Patino, Nick Brady, etc., and I would hope that we can attract more overseas people into the syndicate.” However it is Patrick Cooper who sums up the new venture the most simplistically as he said, “We need to get better horses, I mean they aren’t getting any slower down in Ballydoyle are they, so if we want to continue to compete with the best we have to improve the standard of horse here.” View the full article

The one-day Goffs Champions Sale, scheduled for Leopardstown prior to racing on Sept. 15, gained three more winners to bring its catalogue to nine, the sales company announced on Tuesday. Meadowview Stables consigns Check My Pulse (Ire) (lot 7), who won at second asking over 6 1/2 furlongs at Listowel on Monday. The son of Dragon Pulse (Ire) is out of the placed mare Little Luxury (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) and is from the family of listed winner Super Coach (GB) (Lucky Story). The juvenile is joined by Dark Pursuit (GB) (Pastoral Pursuits {GB}) (lot 8) from the draft of M. D. O’Callaghan Racing. Out of the winning Ogre (Tale of the Cat), herself a daughter of MSW Soverign Lady (Aloha Prospector), the 2-year-old gelding scored in a seven-furlong maiden at Down Royal last Friday. Rounding out the threesome is 3-year-old colt, Shatharaat (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) (lot 9). A half-brother to G3 Sweet Solera S. heroine Nations Alexander (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and out of a half-sister to GSW & MG1SP Always Hopeful (GB) (Mind Games {GB}), the second out Sept. 10 Listowel maiden winner hails from the consignment of Stragrane House Stables. For the full catalogue, click here. View the full article

Kentucky Downs closes out its short 2018 meeting this week with racing Sept. 12 and 13 with a pair of stakes scheduled for each day. View the full article

Jockey Kendrick Carmouche, who went down in a spill when his mount clipped heels in the Sept. 8 Kentucky Downs Juvenile Turf Sprint, will be out four to six months with a fractured right femur that was more severe than initially thought. View the full article

Godolphin’s G1 King’s Stand S. winner Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) will bypass Sunday’s G1 Flying Five S. at The Curragh after scoping dirty. The 4-year-old ‘TDN Rising Star’, who was last seen finishing third in the G1 Nunthorpe S. on Aug. 24, will be rerouted to the G1 British Champions Sprint on Oct. 20. “He scoped dirty, which is unfortunate, but we look ahead now to British Champions Day at Ascot, where he has an entry in the Group 1 sprint over six furlongs,” said trainer Charlie Appleby. View the full article

It will be a case of good management rather than good luck if 13-time champion jockey Douglas Whyte is able to plot a winning course aboard well known “head case” Limitless on Wednesday night. Despite being a last-start winner, the enigmatic son of Lope De Vega has drawn the ire of punters after consistently showing potential but mixing it with poor racing manners. Whyte, who has ridden the horse in trackwork this season, said he could feel a change with the five-year-old appearing... View the full article

Most Beautiful created history last week when he became the first horse trained in Conghua to win in Hong Kong and the stable is hoping to strike again while the iron is hot. The Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained six-year-old came from last to salute at Happy Valley last Wednesday and he returns seven days later for the Class Three Community Chest Cup (1,000m). While the win was a milestone for the Jockey Club’s new HK$3.7 billion facility, it was also significant for Dylan Mo Hin-tung, his... View the full article

BRACING for an international invasion of unprecedented size, Racing Victoria’s Greg Carpenter concedes locally-trained horses face a difficult challenge to keep the Melbourne and Caulfield Cups in Australia. View the full article

HUMIDOR is topweight for both the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups. View the full article

by Jessica Martini, Brian DiDonato and Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY – A $2.2-million colt from the first crop of Horse of the Year American Pharoah garnered top billing during the first session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Monday. A total of 138 head changed hands for gross receipts of $48,620,000. The average was $352,319 and median was $260,000. The RNA rate was 34.91%. Last year’s super-select Book 1 took place over one day, while this year’s Book 1 has been spread out over four days with significantly more horses total. Therefore, session-to-session comparisons at this point of the sale would be inexact. “It’s hard to do some comparisons because of the format change,” acknowledged Keeneland’s vice president of racing and sales Bob Elliston. “Last year, we had a day one of 167ish horses and a three-day Book 2. This year ,we have effectively a blended Books 1 and 2. So if you try to do some comparisons, our thinking is what was the average and median after four days last year and what was the RNA rate? And in every one of those [categories today], they were dynamite. After four days last year, the average was $288,000. This year it is $352,000. That’s about 24% growth over that average. The median last year after four days was $200,000. It was $260,000 today. I think there was strength in the middle market; the $250,000-$500,000 horses were here in a big way. And then the RNA rate was literally right on top of what the clearance rate was for last year. We are very encouraged and optimistic that the sale got off like we wanted it to.” Godolphin landed the topper–offered by Peter O’Callaghan’s Woods Edge Farm as hip 91–after fending off a stern challenge from the Coolmore contingent. Godolphin’s principal Sheikh Mohammed was in attendance at the auction for the first time in a number of years, and his operation was leading buyer with nine acquisitions for a total of $7.28 million. “Every year, we have hopes [that Sheikh Mohammed will attend],” Elliston said. “It really is an honor when Sheikh Mohammed is able to clear his schedule to come here. I think it’s been about 10 years since he was last here. He’s been such a huge supporter of Keeneland and the Keeneland September sale, so to see him on the grounds and to see him step up and participate like he did today, is very rewarding for all of us here at Keeneland.” Book 1 will continue tomorrow starting at 1:00 p.m.–each session was pushed back from 11:00 a.m. due to wet weather over the weekend that interfered with inspections. “There are a lot of people that we usually see up front that aren’t on the list yet–I think they are going to be heard from still,” Elliston said of expectations for future sessions. “There is still a lot of money to be spent over the next few days and from all that we’ve heard from the buyers and our inspection team, there are still a lot of quality animals to come. I’ve heard speculation that tomorrow’s book is really good relative to today. I don’t know if that’s accurate, everyone has their own opinion, but if that is anywhere close, based on what we experienced today, I can’t wait to go home, get up and get here to work in the morning. It’s going to be a great day tomorrow, I think.” For complete results, visit www.keeneland.com. Godolphin, Coolmore Clash for American Pharoah Colt It’s been years since clashes between Godolphin and Coolmore truly dominated the top of the bloodstock market, but the two international powerhouses hooked up for old time’s sake at Keeneland Monday on hip 91, a colt by American Pharoah. With Sheikh Mohammed and his team bidding out back, Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier, Michael Tabor and Paul Shanahan positioned themselves in the pavilion. Once the dust had settled, Godolphin was left holding the ticket thanks to a winning bid of $2.2 million. The son of MSW/MGSP Kindle (Indian Charlie) was consigned by Peter O’Callaghan’s Woods Edge Farm. He had been acquired by O’Callaghan for $400,000 as a Keeneland November weanling. “He was the most I ever paid for a foal,” O’Callaghan noted. “He was a really special horse. I think he’s probably the best yearling we’ve ever had going on 17 years now… I’m very grateful to Sheikh Mohammed for buying him. I knew when he saw him today, his eyes just lit up. I just had a feeling he was going to try hard to buy him.” Of the dynamics that helped propel hip 91 to session-topping price, O’Callaghan said, “That’s the perfect scenario for any of us [sellers]–to have two of the great racing powers both get stuck on your horse and go at it. We were just lucky that it happened to us today.” He also acknowledged that the presence of Sheikh Mohammed himself likely helped fuel the fire: “It does everything for the sales; it changes the atmosphere. When Sheikh Mohammed sees the horse himself and gives the ok, it gives his team added confidence to go out and buy them.” Hip 91 is the second foal out of Kindle, who won sprint stakes out in California on both dirt and turf and who also won on two different synthetic surfaces. A $50,000 KEESEP yearling, she was campaigned by hip 91’s breeder, HnR Nothaft Horse Racing. Kindle has an unraced 2-year-old colt named Made in America (Tiznow) and a foal colt by American Pharoah’s sire Pioneerof the Nile. Her third dam is French champion 2-year-old filly Play it Safe (Ire) (Red Alert). “We paid an awful lot for him at the beginning, so he was exceptional the day we bought him, but he did just continue to get better and better,” said O’Callaghan of what made hip 91 special. “Everything that he should’ve done, he did for us. He’s a tremendous physical specimen, but his demeanor was almost his biggest selling point for me… Out in the field, he’s a true leader of the pack. If you knew nothing about horses and saw him, he’d make an impression on you.” Trainer John Gosden, part of Godolphin’s buying team, later said of the colt: “He is a gorgeous horse. He was a very expensive foal. He’s by a phenomenal racehorse and he looked the part. He was strong and a great mover. The principal really liked him and he bought him. It was very much his decision.” Gosden said a decision hadn’t been made yet as to where hip 91 would be sent for training. The purchase of hip 91 marks the continued trend of Godolphin being more apt to purchase horses by Coolmore stallions–see Godolphin Goes for Scat Daddy from last year’s September sale. Members of Horse of the Year and Triple Crown winner American Pharoah’s first crop sold extremely well at the summer yearling sales, and his 12 youngsters to change hands Monday brought a combined $6,335,000 at an average of $527,917. Godolphin also bought a $200,000 colt (hip 69) by the former Bob Baffert trainee. “We were very impressed with an American Pharoah at [the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale] that we bid on and, in fact, I think we were close to underbidders on him; a lovely bay horse from Saratoga,” Gosden noted. “They are gorgeous horses, strong and well-proportioned and great movers.” —@BDiDonatoTDN Godolphin Leads All Buyers Monday Headlined by a pair of seven-figure yearlings, Godolphin was the leading buyer by gross during Monday’s first session of the Keeneland September sale. Sheikh Mohammed’s operation purchased 11 yearlings during the first session of the auction for a total of $7,280,000. During the entire 2017 September sale, Godolphin purchased 17 head for $8,065,000. Its most expensive purchase a year ago was an $800,000 colt by Scat Daddy. Sheikh Mohammed himself was making his first visit to the Keeneland September sale in eight years, helping to give the auction an extra buzz. “Everybody, obviously, the staff at the farm, we are so excited for him to come over here and have the opportunity to go through the farm and see the yearlings,” Darley America President Jimmy Bell said. “He just enjoys the horses so much and Keeneland, he loves the sales. It just makes for a great trip. We are delighted he is here. It makes it exciting for everybody.” Godolphin’s acquisitions at Keeneland Monday were led by the $2.2-million session-topping son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah (hip 91). Later in the session, the operation made its second seven-figure purchase when going to $1.3 million for a son of Medaglia d’Oro (hip 218). Godolphin also purchased a son of Into Mischief (hip 79) for $875,000; a colt by Medaglia d’Oro (hip 30) for $800,000; and a son of Kitten’s Joy (hip 185) for $600,000. The operation acquired another son of American Pharoah (hip 69) for $200,000 and a second colt by Into Mischief (hip 52) for $170,000. The 11 yearlings also include a pair of fillies: a daughter of Medaglia d’Oro (hip 201) for $475,000 and a daughter of War Front (hip 220) for $300,000. “Book 1 is a big book, but at the same time there are some very nice horses amongst them,” said trainer John Gosden, part of Godolphin’s buying team. “You just have work very hard to get through them.” A pair of yearlings were purchased in the name of Godolphin Japan: a colt by Kitten’s Joy (hip 35) was acquired for $210,000; and a colt by Giant’s Causeway (hip 182) for $150,000. “That would be Mr. [Harry] Sweeney [president of Godolphin in Japan] buying for horses to race in Japan,” Gosden explained. “He had a reduction of a number of mares and he is looking for some horses to race under the license in Japan.” Of his experience shopping at Keeneland, Gosden added, “I am impressed with the way horses are always presented in this country with all the full sets of X-rays. It makes a big difference to us. You get to know the farms and the consignors. And overall, I think it’s a great presentation of horses. They all look in great order, on the whole. And this is a sale that we like coming to and we have a lot of faith in.” @JessMartiniTDN Curlin Colt Adds to Banner Year for Summerfield A determined Larry Best came out on top of a prolonged bidding war to take home a Curlin colt out of Grade I winner Molly Morgan (Ghostzapper) for $1.8 million. “He is a very fancy horse and people really liked him,” said consignor Summerfield’s Francis Vanlangendonck. “Everyone is buying the quality like that and his mother was a great racehorse. These guys are really sharp. They know which ones they want. They have money and what they don’t have is a good horse, so they are buying horses.” Hip 211 added to a banner year for Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield, which sold a $1 million American Pharoah bred by longtime New York breeder Joanne Nielsen at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale last month. “It feels pretty good,” Vanlangendonck said of their recent success. “It’s pretty exciting for somebody like Summerfield to come up with these kinds of horses. It is only because people like the Nielsens and Stonestreet let us sell them. We can’t do it without them. They have been awful good to us.” In addition to her top-level success, Molly Morgan won three under graded events and earned $882,159 while under the care of trainer Dale Romans. Stonestreet Stables purchased her at the conclusion of her career for $1.35 million at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton November Sale and Hip 211 is her first foal. She traces her lineage back to graded winners Tricky Creek, Parade Ground and Parade Leader. “He is a perfect horse,” said Best. “He is the only colt in the first session that I really fell in love with. He has a good pedigree. I think he is flawless. Now the big question is can he run.” He added, “I will wait til after he gets through his early training with Eddie Woods and Eddie and I will decide where he should go.” —@CDeBernardisTDN Don Alberto Looking for the Next ‘Bella’ With their champion female sprinter and ‘TDN Rising Star‘ Unique Bella forced to retire last month, the Heller-Solari family’s Don Alberto Corp. was back in action at Keeneland Monday looking for their next superstar filly by Tapit. Unique Bella “only” cost $400,000 during Book 1 of the 2015 September sale, but Don Alberto had to go to $1.4 million for its latest acquisition (hip 203). The daughter of GSW Miss Macy Sue (Trippi) and half to MGISW Liam’s Map (Unbridled’s Song), GSW/GISP Not This Time (Giant’s Causeway) and GSP Taylor S (Medaglia d’Oro) was consigned to the sale by Taylor Made Sales Agency, Agent CLIX on behalf of Albaugh Family Stable. “We had a few fillies by Tapit that we looked at. We liked the others as well, but I think this one, with her pedigree being a half to Liam’s Map and Not This Time, was a great buy,” Don Alberto’s Fabricio Buffolo said. “Hopefully, with some luck, she’s the new Unique Bella.” As for Unique Bella, who was last seen third career Grade I in Del Mar’s Clement L. Hirsch S. July 29, Buffolo said, “She’s fantastic; she’s doing great. She’s very calm and relaxed, just enjoying her surroundings on the farm. By the end of the year, we’ll have a tough decision as to who she going to be bred to.” Albaugh Active on Both Sides of Market Miss Macy Sue, a $42,000 OBS June acquisition in 2005 early on in Iowa’s richest man Dennis Albaugh and his family’s racing endeavours, annexed the GIII Winning Colors S. two years later but has continued to reward her owners on the track and in the sales ring since then. The aforementioned Liam’s Map was an $800,000 KEESEP yearling who would go on to highest-level wins in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile and Woodward. The Albaughs kept Not This Time, and saw him annex the 2016 GIII Iroquois S. before just missing in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Miss Macy Sue’s first foal sold for $500,000 at KEENOV ’15 carrying this year’s GII Adirondack S. runner-up Virginia Eloise (Curlin). “We had mixed emotions all day,” said the stable’s general manager Jason Loutsch. “Any time you have a filly who looks like that, you want to sell her, but you don’t. Sometimes you have to make the economic decision to sell. We want to buy a lot of colts this sale, so we decided to sell her. It was a tough decision, but we’re happy she’s going to a great home. We couldn’t be more excited. It’s a great family, and that mare has done so much for us, so we couldn’t be more thankful.” Team Albaugh had already picked up a Ghostzapper colt (hip 40) for $325,000 earlier in the session, and wasted little time putting the proceeds from the sale of his 203 to use. They grabbed hip 214, a colt by Empire Maker out of GSW/MGISP More Chocolate (Malibu Moon) for $650,000; and another son of Ghostzapper (hip 240) out of a daughter of MGISW Pure Clan (Pure Prize) for $370,000. Albaugh Family Stable spent $2.57 million on six colts here 12 months ago. —@BDiDonatoTDN Godolphin Strikes for Medaglia d’Oro Colt Godolphin continued its busy day of shopping at Keeneland with the $1.3-million purchase of a colt by Medaglia d’Oro. The yearling (hip 218) is the first foal out of graded stakes winner Moulin de Mougin (Curlin) and was consigned by Lane’s End on behalf of breeder Ran Jan Racing. Jan Vandeboss’s Ran Jan Racing campaigned the yearling’s dam, who won the 2014 GII John C Mabee S., as well as his granddam Cambiocorsa (Avenue Flag). “The very good Medaglia d’Oros, they just show themselves,” said Jimmy Bell, president of Godolphin’s American division at Jonabell Farm, which also stands the stallion. “They step up every time. They have a great walk, great moving, a great presence and great behaviour–all the things you want to see. Sheikh Mohammed loved [hip 218] from the first time he saw him and followed him up here and is happy to have him.” @JessMartiniTDN Coolmore Wins Out On ‘Chrome’ Sibling A Tapit half-brother (Hip 141) to two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) proved quite popular Monday, becoming the second seven-figure horse of the session when selling to the Coolmore contingent for $1.1 million. “He is a very nice horse and when Michael Tabor saw him, he was really taken by him,” said Coolmore’s M.V. Magnier. “The mare is a good producer and he is a brother to a very good horse. He is going to stay here and go to Todd Pletcher. Let’s hope he is good.” He added, “It is a lot of money, but he probably deserved to make it. He has a lot of quality. He’s a scopey horse and great mover.” Coolore spent $900,000 on another son of Tapit at this auction back in 2014 and were handsomely rewarded. The colt became $1.7 million-earner Cupid, who won the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita, as well as, a trio of Grade II events. He covered his first mares at Ashford this year. “[Hip 141] is by a very good sire, obviously, in Tapit,” Magnier said. “It is remarkable the amount of mares Cupid got in his first season at stud, so if [this colt] is anything like him, hopefully it will work out.” Consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock, Hip 141 is out of Love the Chase (Not For Love), who was purchased by breeder SF Bloodstock with this colt in utero for $1.95 million at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. The California-bred mare was made famous by her superstar son California Chrome, who won the 2014 GI Kentucky Derby and GI Preakness S. en route to his first two championship titles as that year’s top 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year. He was named Horse of the Year again and champion older male in 2016 after a season highlighted by wins in the G1 Dubai World Cup, GI Pacific Classic and GI Awesome Again S. “We are very pleased with the sale and delighted with who bought the horse,” said SF’s Tom Ryan. “It is always great to have one under their management. He was a superstar colt from day one, as you see reflected in the price. She has been a wonderful mare. We have an amazing Pioneerof the Nile out of her and she is back in foal to a Coolmore stallion in Uncle Mo. We are very excited.” —@CDeBernardisTDN SF/Starlight Partnership Strikes for PON Colt The relatively new partnership between SF Racing anf Starlight West was quite active at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale last month and they made their presence known early in the opening session of Keeneland September, going to $950,000 for a Pioneerof the Nile colt. “We loved everything about this horse,” said SF’s Tom Ryan as bloodstock agent Donato Lanni signed the ticket on Hip 44 while standing alongside Bob Baffert. “He is a beautiful horse by a great stallion. He looks like the perfect horse to go to war with next year.” Ryan continued, “He is so mentally strong. He never turned a hair. He is fantastic in every way. He is balanced and he was like all the Pioneerof the Niles. He is a very athletic horse.” Breeder Stonestreet Stables purchased Hip 44’s dam, MGSP Inny Minnie (Hard Spun), for $350,000 att the 2013 Keeneland November sale. She is a half-sister to English GSW and G1SP Montgomery’s Arch (Arch) and juvenile stakes winner Welcome Inn (Orientate). “He’s very professional,” said consignor Denali Stud’s Conrad Bandoroff. “Every single show that he had, he just came out and showed himself with so much presence. He made you look. Even if you were in another show ring, you would always know where the Pioneerof the Nile–Inny Minnie was. Stonestreet raises a great horse and Robert Turner, their manager, does a great job. He said it best, the horse just walks like a panther and does everything right. It is nice when you have smart horses that come out and act like professionals.” SF and Starlight Racing were part of the group who owned undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) and have started a new partnership this year focused on buying two-turn dirt colts for Baffert to train with an eye on the Classics. The partnership also bought hip 199, a $200,000 Hard Spun colt of SP Miss Centerfold (Tiznow). —@CDeBernardisTDN Career Score for St George Archie St. George and Roger and Tony O’Callaghan of Tally-Ho Stud enjoyed a career high in their long-term pinhooking partnership when a colt by Into Mischief (hip 79) sold to Godolphin for $875,000 Monday at Keeneland. The group had purchased the bay colt for $320,000 at last year’s Keeneland November sale. He was consigned to the September auction by St. George Sales. “We obviously had high expectations, but we tried to keep them realistic,” St. George said. “He was a very nice horse. He had a lot of action from a lot of big players.” The yearling is out of the unraced Katherine’skadence (Mr. Greeley), a half-sister to group winner White Crown (Secreto) and Grade I placed Dr. Caton (Seattle Slew) and from the family of Group 1 winner Confidential Lady. “I love the stallion, like everyone,” St. George said of the youngster’s appeal last fall. “He is a phenomenal stallion. The weanling was a raw, good-looking horse with a great walk. His biggest thing was his action.” The youngster proved popular at the sales grounds this week. “He had a wonderful temperament,” St. George said. “He showed 200-plus times and every time he came out he showed the same at eight in the morning as five in the evening. He was just a cool horse. I wish Darley and Sheikh Mohammed and his whole team all the best. I can’t thank them enough and anyone who was interested in the horse. I hope we’ll see him down the road. That’s the most important thing.” St. George has been pinhooking with the O’Callaghans, who stand Kodiac at their Westmeath-based Tally-Ho Stud. “Roger and I were school friends and we’ve been pinhooking together for, I don’t know how long,” an obviously thrilled St. George said. “This is the most expensive yearling we’ve ever sold. I can’t describe it. It’s a real team effort. Roger and Michelle, my wife, do all the hard work. I just show up for the glory.” He concluded, “Especially when someone like Darley buys them, it’s what you dream about. You hope these days happen. You have to cherish them.” @JessMartiniTDN Medag Colt Heading Overseas A striking dark bay colt out of talented turfer Hungry Island (More Than Ready) will be heading to Europe after agent Anthony Stroud went to $800,000 to secure the son of Medaglia d’Oro for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin. The Feb. 1 foal was consigned to the sale by Gainesway, Agent XXV as hip 30 on behalf of breeder Emory Hamilton. Hip 30 is the second foal out of Hungry Island, who motored home to victories in the 2011 GII Lake Placid S. and 2012 GII Churchill Distaff Turf Mile. She also hit the board in three Grade I events en route to earnings of nearly $760,000. Hungry Island’s first foal, the unraced juvenile filly Hungry Kitten (Kitten’s Joy), most recently breezed on the turf at Saratoga Sept. 1. This is the deep female family of Grade I winners Chic Shirine, Somali Lemonade, Verrazano, et al. “He was a very good horse, out of a very good mare, from a very good farm,” said Stroud after exchanging pleasantries with Hamilton and her sister Helen Alexander. “He’ll go to Europe for Godolphin–that’s the plan at the moment.” Trainer John Gosden was close by during the bidding process, but Stroud said a trainer decision would be made at a later date. —@BDiDonatoTDN View the full article

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Godolphin remained busy during most of Monday’s action at Keeneland September, and continued to fire away late in the session, landing Hip 218, a colt by Medaglia d’Oro for $1.3 million. Out of Grade II-winning Moulin de Mougin (Curlin), the colt was consigned by Lane’s End, agent. The Feb. 10 foal was bred by Ran Jan Racing. View the full article

Late into Monday’s opening session of the Keeneland September sale, Hip 211 kept things rolling with a $1.8 million final bid from Larry Best’s OXO Equine. Out of Grade I winner Molly Morgan, who was secured by breeder Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings for $1.35 million at Fasig-Tipton November in 2015, the Jan. 25 colt was consigned by Summerfield (Francis & Barbara Vanlangendonck), acting on behalf of Stonestreet. View the full article

Continuing to be in high demand, Gainesway sire Tapit was represented by hip 203, a filly out of Grade III winning Miss Macy Sue, who brought $1.4 million at Keeneland’s initial session of the September sale. A half sibling to GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Liam’s Map and graded stakes winner and GISP Not This Time, the Feb. 6 foal was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, Agent CLIX. Purchased by Don Alberto, the filly was bred in Kentucky by the Albaugh Family. View the full article

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