Wandering Eyes

Grade 2 winner Untamed Domain will try to secure his first win of the season July 14, when he starts at Delaware Park for the first time in the $200,000 Kent Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/8-mile turf race that has attracted nine 3-year-olds. View the full article

Grade 2 winner Untamed Domain will try to secure his first win of the season July 14, when he starts at Delaware Park for the first time in the $200,000 Kent Stakes (G3T), a 1 1/8-mile turf race that has attracted nine 3-year-olds. View the full article

Team Valor International, Rodolphe Brisset and Stephen McKay’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Talk Veuve to Me (Violence), an ultra-impressive maiden-breaker who has acquitted herself very well in two subsequent graded stakes tries, will look for her first black-type triumph while traversing two turns for the first time in Saturday night’s GIII Indiana Oaks at Indiana Grand. Second in her debut last August at Ellis, the $20,000 Keeneland September graduate blew apart a field of Fair Grounds maidens Mar. 25 with an 11 1/4-length romp under wraps to earn her ‘Rising Star’ designation. Put into stakes waters in the GII Eight Belles S., the dark bay finished a strong second against the more seasoned Mia Mischief (Into Mischief), and she followed that up with another quality runner-up effort behind division leader Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the GI Acorn S. last out June 9 at Belmont. Certain to be a prohibitive favorite in this test, Talk Veuve to Me shows a trio of interim breezes at trainer Brisset’s Keeneland base, capped by a half-mile spin in :48 4/5 (6/30) July 8. A one-two punch from trainer Brad Cox appears to have the best chance to rattle the chalk. Qatar Racing, Hunter Valley Farm and Marc Detampel’s Figarella’s Queen (Medaglia d’Oro) was purchased privately from Grupo 7C Racing Stable after a game victory in the turfy Sanibel Island S. Mar. 31 at Gulfstream. Backing up to finish ninth after dueling on the lead in the GIII Edgewood S. May 4 at Churchill, the $250,000 KEESEP buy annexed a second-level allowance on the main track there June 3. Dawn and Ike Thrash’s Kelly’s Humor (Midnight Lute), winner of the Ellis Park Debutante S. last summer, has kept good company since then, running second in both the GII Pocahontas S. and GIII Beaumont S. Finishing eighth in the GI Kentucky Oaks, she most recently was second-best behind next-out GIII Victory Ride S. runner-up Classy Act (Into Mischief) in a Churchill allowance June 1. View the full article

Delaware Park will honor the rich history of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame by naming an overnight race in the Museum’s honor as part of its live racing card on Wednesday, July 18. Along with the race, Delaware Park will be promoting the Museum throughout the day with videos as part of its on-track and simulcast programs, as well as featuring the Museum in its print program. “Delaware Park has such a great history in the sport and we’re thrilled they are helping bring awareness to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame through their audience,” said Cathy Marino, the Museum director. “We are making it a priority to work with all the tracks throughout the country to promote our shared histories. We’re excited to work with Delaware Park and help promote their great track here at the Museum through our social media channels.” View the full article

NEWMARKET, UK—Horses of varying ages with a connection to the beleaguered South African businessman Markus Jooste dominated the first day of Tattersalls’ July Sale, at which the thrice-raced, regally-bred Award Winning (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) set the pace when sold for 350,000gns. The 3-year-old half-sister to Group winners Royal Bench (Ire) (Whipper), Mayhem (Ire) (Whipper) and Memphis Tennessee (Ire) (Hurricane Run {Ire}), offered as lot 221, was signed for by Blandford Bloodstock’s Tom Goff, who saw off underbidder Bertrand Le Metayer with his final offer on behalf of an Irish client who wished to remain anonymous. “She’s for a client who has been talking about buying a Dubawi mare for a long time,” Goff said. “It’s a wonderful outcross pedigree and considering what she made as a yearling we’re very pleased to get her. She’s a filly we’ve been watching for a while.” The last time Award Winning had been seen in the same ring was three years ago at the December Foal Sale when she was sold by co-breeder Knocktoran Stud for 720,000gns to the Mayfair Speculators. In her three starts, which included victory in a Wetherby novice stakes in April, she raced for the partnership of Sue Magnier, Derrick Smith, Michael Tabor and Markus Jooste. Just two lots earlier (219), Goff had picked up another well-bred filly from the Castlebridge Consignment for a different but also unnamed client, this one based in America. C’est Ca (Ire), the daughter of Galileo (Ire) and GI Frizette S. winner A Z Warrior (Bernardini) who raced once in France for the Mayfair Speculators and Michael Tabor, will now cross the Atlantic after being bought for 320,000gns. Her Book 1 yearling price was 750,000gns. “She has a lovely page and if you think how strong the December Sale is here then this is a great opportunity to buy fillies like this at this time of year,” Goff added. Earlier in the day the agent had also signed for lot 142, Baby Pink (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) at 160,000gns and she too will be heading towards the United States. The 3-year-old is out of the Group 3 winner Dress Rehearsal (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and from the family of treble Group 2-winning sprinter Muthmir (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}). “She’s a lovely broodmare prospect and has been bought for a US-based breeder,” Goff said. “We know the family well—I bought her half-brother Christophermarlowe (Ire) for $200,000 at Saratoga and he is all Galileo, just like her.” Last year’s record-breaking trade will be hard to emulate as the sale continues through the next two days. During the sale’s opener, there were 19 fewer lots offered than in the corresponding session last year and the aggregate dipped significantly, by 23%, to 5,407,000gns. The average of 25,995gns was down by 17% and the median of 9,000gns dropped by 10%. A clearance rate of 77% was attained for 208 horses sold from the 270 put through the ring on Wednesday. Early Yearling Stars While domestic fans waited for a good result for England in the World Cup, it was Italy and then Germany who scored first in the sales ring as the July Sale’s curio—three yearling fillies by champion sire Galileo (Ire)—sold to Federico Barberini and Ronald Rauscher. The German agent waited until the last of the trio was in the ring and went to 300,000gns in pursuit of lot 191, the late May foal out of Milanova (Ire) ((Danehill), a Group 3-winning half-sister to Holy Roman Emperor (Ire). Rauscher could not name his client but said, “We haven’t quite decided where she will go into training eventually but there’s plenty of time to think about that. I thought she was lovely for her birth date, she handled herself well and vetted well. She’s very typical of the family and there’s plenty that’s not even on the page, such as Night Shift and Encosta De Lago (Aus).” The filly is a great grand-daughter of Jean-Louis Lévesque’s champion racemare and producer Fanfreluche (Can) (Northern Dancer), whose offspring include the Canadian champions Medaille d’Or (Can), L’Enjoleur (Can) and La Voyageuse (Can). Rauscher added, “I have to admit I’m a bit biased towards the pedigree because it’s an old Jean-Louis Lévesque family and I worked at Windfields, but she has plenty of future paddock value.” Barberini, acting on behalf of Paul Dunkley’s Apple Tree Stud and standing in the gangway with Robert Thornton, struck first to buy lot 189, the filly from Meon Valley Stud’s great foundation family of Reprocolor (GB), for 220,000gns. Having secured the good-moving daughter of Timbuktu (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) for under their budget, the duo acted quickly to ensure that the following lot (190) will also eventually make her home in the paddocks of the Gloucestershire-based Apple Tree Stud. The daughter of GI Garden City Breeders’ Cup S. winner Luas Line (Ire) (Danehill) brought the hammer down at 150,000gns. “It’s all about our broodmare band and we’re building it up slowly,” said Thornton, a former leading jump jockey who now manages Apple Tree Stud for Dunkley. “We’re taking our time doing things and these fillies will be raced and then come back to the farm for life. We had intended only to buy one but we’d had them all vetted and we decided you don’t get that many chances to buy fillies like this.” He added, “We have seven broodmares at the farm at present and some fillies in training, and we have another two yearlings to go into training with these two.” Teofilo Chips In When Galileo wasn’t dominating the days more expensive purchases, his son Teofilo (Ire) was also playing a leading role and featured as the sire of Crystal Diamond (GB) (lot 163), the 7-year-old French listed winner who was offered in foal to Pivotal (GB) from the Godolphin draft. Matt Houldsworth placed the final bid of 150,000gns on behalf of Coolmore Australia’s Michael Kirwan and said, “She is in-foal to Pivotal, who is a great stallion. She is a stakes winner and I thought she was a stand-out today.” Teofilo’s well-travelled son Arod (Ire) (lot 245) brought a bid of 145,000gns from Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock who confirmed that the 7-year-old will continue to be trained by David Simcock for a new syndicate. Raced initially by Qatar Bloodstock, Arod won the G3 Diomed S. and G2 Summer Mile at four for Peter Chapple-Hyam and later joined Simcock after a stint in Australia with Chris Waller. His most recent success came in the listed Foundation S. at Windsor on May 14. “This was almost a no-brainer,” said Brown. “We know him well, he retains his form, he can run in a lot of valuable races, he can travel and he is entered on Saturday in the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot, a race he has won before. If he goes home from the sales here and is healthy and David is happy with him, we will run.” Lot 220, the G3 Lodge Park S winner Czabo (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}), was a 340,000gns vendor buy-back in December and this time around the 5-year-old mare, offered in foal to Lope De Vega (Ire), was knocked down to Ross Doyle for 220,000gns. Trade continues at 9.30am today, with a post-racing session resuming at 5.30pm. View the full article

Belinda Stronach, the president and chairman of The Stronach Group, wrote a letter to congress in support of H.R. 2651, the Horseracing Integrity Act of 2017. Frank Stronach, founder and honorary chairman of The Stronach Group, previously expressed his support for the legislation in April 2017. H.R. 2651 would require that a uniform anti-doping and medication control program be developed and enforced by a private, non-profit, self-regulatory organization known as the Horseracing Anti-Doping and Medication Control Authority. On June 22, the subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, part of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, conducted a hearing on the bill. The bill currently has 126 cosponsors in the House of Representatives. With the addition of The Stronach Group’s support of H.R. 2651, track associations and organizations that support the bill now represent 59% of all pari-mutuel handle generated and 63% of all graded races run for Thoroughbreds in North America in 2017. This group includes Breeders’ Cup Ltd., Indiana Grand, Keeneland Association, and the New York Racing Association. “Our sport will benefit greatly from a level playing field, uniformity and federal oversight,” Belinda Stronach wrote. “Presently, there are 38 racing jurisdictions with different rules, regulations and penalties. These inefficiencies are both ineffective and costly and compromise the integrity of our sport.” Click here to read the letter in its entirety. View the full article

When the calendar turned to 2018, West Point Thoroughbreds’ Untamed Domain (Animal Kingdom) looked for all the world to be a budding star in the sophomore turf division. Visually impressive in his ‘TDN Rising Star’-earning graduation last July at Saratoga, he captured the GII Summer S. two starts later and passed 11 horses with a wide run to be second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf after that. Now coming into the fifth start of his 3-year-old campaign, however, the bay colt is a virtual afterthought amongst his peers. He’ll try to change that, and mount a second-half charge, as the likely favorite in Saturday’s GIII Kent S. at Delaware. A heavily-favored third in the GIII Dania Beach S. Feb. 3 at Gulfstream, the $90,000 Keeneland September buy finished a well-beaten sixth when trying dirt in the GII Tampa Bay Derby Mar. 10. Rebounding with a dead-heat second next out in the GII American Turf S. May 5 at Churchill, he failed to make an impact when fourth in the GIII Pennine Ridge S. June 2 at Belmont. Given a 5-2 chance on the morning line, he shows a pair of easy drills in the interim at trainer Graham Motion’s Fair Hill base. Second choice on the morning line is Reddam Racing’s Blame the Rider (Jimmy Creed). The steadily-progressing bay upset the Singletary S. at 15-1 May 5 at Santa Anita and was second in the Rainbow S. there June 16. Donegal Racing’s undefeated Carrick (Giant’s Causeway) will look to go from claimer to graded stakes winner in just two starts. Debuting for a $40,000 tag May 12 at Belmont, the chestnut won off by 4 1/2 lengths at 15-1. Protected next out in a Big Sandy starter allowance June 21, Carrick scored a professional victory going this distance. Susan and Jim Hill’s lightly-raced Way Early (Tizway) hopes to build on a career-high effort last out. Runner-up in a New York-bred allowance Apr. 22 at Aqueduct, the gelding was aggressively spotted in the GII Penn Mile S. June 2 at Penn National and responded with a good second at over 20-1 despite running greenly in the stretch. The George Weaver trainee adds blinkers for this engagement. Woodford Racing’s Hot Springs (Uncle Mo) comes in off a pair of good-looking turf successes at Churchill. Earning his diploma by 4 1/4 lengths June 3, the $750,000 KEESEP pickup repeated in a first-level allowance under the Twin Spires June 29. Jump Sucker Stable’s Duc de Calas (Fr) (Dunkerque {Fr}) makes his North American debut for trainer Christophe Clement. The gray should have a stamina edge, with all six of his career outings coming at about ten furlongs, and he registered back-to-back successes over synthetic tracks Feb. 5 and 24 in France. View the full article

China Horse Club, Head of Plains Partners, Starlight Racing and WinStar Farm’s Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy), who was found to have filling in his left front ankle, will travel to trainer Bob Baffert’s summer base at Del Mar as his connections continue to monitor the condition, Baffert confirmed to the TDN Wednesday. As first reported by the Daily Racing Form, the setback will cause him to miss a potential start in the GI Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park July 29. “Two to three weeks,” Baffert told the TDN when asked how much time the star colt would be given until the next evaluation. With Justify limited to walking the shedrow as the Baffert crew takes a cautious approach with the undefeated ‘TDN Rising Star,’future racing plans remain up in the air. Baffert said the filling appeared last week, subsided soon after, but reemerged in recent days, prompting the decision to back off on his training. Justify’s rapid rise to the top of the game began with a maiden victory at Santa Anita Feb. 18 and saw him add four consecutive Grade I victories, culminating with a sweep of the Triple Crown in the GI Belmont S. June 9. “To go from a maiden winner in February to an undefeated Triple Crown winner in June has been an incredible ride,” WinStar Farm President/CEO and Racing Manager Elliott Walden said Tuesday. “He is too special to the owners, our team, and all the fans he has around the world to not be 100% healthy.” View the full article

An agreement has been reached between AmTote International, Inc. and Sportradar that enables the former to provide comprehensive sports betting services, including trading and risk management, across the U.S. marketplace. AmTote, which is wholly owned by The Stronach Group, is the North American racing industry’s wagering technology and services leader. Sportradar is the worldwide leader in B2B Managed Trading Services (MTS) and sports data delivery solutions. “We have long looked forward to the day that we could fully leverage our Spectrum wagering platform for our traditional customer market in the U.S., combining its extensive fixed-odds sports betting capabilities with our pari-mutuel products,” said AmTote’s president, Keith Johnson. “The addition of Sportradar to our solution provides a truly best-in-class turnkey product that will allow AmTote’s U.S. customers to implement sports betting in a manner that integrates seamlessly into their existing infrastructure and operations.” View the full article

The Jockeys’ Guild and the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association have reached an agreement to increase the losing mount fees for jockeys at the NYRA tracks, it was announced Wednesday. It is the first change in the losing mount fee schedule for NYRA’s riders since 2008. The new fee schedule, which lines up with the new NYRA purse distribution, will be launched for the Saratoga meet that opens July 20. NYRA purses are divided as follows: 55% for first, 20% for second, 12% for third, 6% for fourth, 4% for fifth and 3% divided from sixth through last. “Through what were highly constructive negotiations with the Guild, we were able to reach what we believe is an equitable arrangement for the NYRA riders,” NYTHA President Joe Appelbaum said. “We all know the risks that the riders face on a daily basis, and we are fortunate to have such an elite jockey colony in New York. “We are also pleased to announce that, as part of the deal, NYTHA will underscore our commitment to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund,” Appelbaum continued. “Since 2014, we have contributed $1 per mount, which has totaled around $17,000 a year. Going forward, we will guarantee a $20,000 annual donation to the PDJF.” New York’s horsemen also donate $5 per start to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance, and NYTHA contributes $300,000 a year to the TAKE2 and TAKE THE LEAD Thoroughbred retirement programs. Starting with the 2018 Saratoga Meet, NYRA’s riders will donate $1 per mount to the PDJF, and $1 per mount to TAKE THE LEAD. View the full article

Toast of New York is set to embark on another American adventure next month that could climax in another tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), the race he came so close to landing at Santa Anita Park in 2014. View the full article

Multiple grade 1 winner Elate will start her 2018 campaign at the track that kicked off her stellar second-half run last year when she faces eight challengers July 14 in the $750,000 Delaware Handicap (G2) at Delaware Park. View the full article

After back-to-back blowout Grade I wins in the second half of her sophomore campaign, Claiborne Farm and Adele Dilschneider’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Elate (Medaglia d’Oro) appeared to have concocted a late championship bid, but a fourth-place effort as the chalk in the GI Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff soured that opportunity. Saturday, over eight months after that disappointment, the homebred will make her 4-year-old debut in the GII Delaware H. at Delaware Park. Breaking her maiden with devastating ease in November of 2016, Elate took some time to get back to that effort, but got in gear at this oval with an easy score in the Light Hearted S. last June. The dark bay followed that up with a narrow miss when second by a head in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks before truly arriving with a 5 1/2-length romp in the GI Alabama S. Aug. 19. Next came an 8 1/4-length drubbing of the GI Beldame Invitational field Sept. 30, which led to 2-1 favoritism at Del Mar, but the Bill Mott trainee never fired in an even effort. Attempting the rare feat of winning at ten furlongs off a long layoff, Elate shows a handful of stamina-building breezes on the Oklahoma training track at Saratoga, including a seven-furlong move in 1:26 2/5 (1/1) June 30. The lone other Grade I winner in the Del ‘Cap lineup is Red Oak Stable’s homebred millionaire Unbridled Mo (Uncle Mo). A winner in seven of 11 career outings, the bay scored a signature victory with an upset of champion Unique Bella (Tapit) in the GI Apple Blossom H. Apr. 13 at Oaklawn. The Todd Pletcher pupil couldn’t replicate that effort when finishing a distant third last out in the GI Ogden Phipps S. June 9 at Belmont. Reddam Racing’s Mopotism (Uncle Mo) rates an off-the-pace chance should Elate stumble. Capturing the GII La Canada S. Jan. 13 at Santa Anita, the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton March buy was then second to Unique Bella in the GII Santa Maria S. Feb. 10 and most recently checked in third in the GII Fleur de Lis H. June 16 at Churchill. The runner-up from that event also re-opposes in Coffeepot Stables’ Farrell (Malibu Moon), but the speedster figures to face a good deal of early pressure in this initial try beyond nine furlongs. View the full article

8th-BEL, $90K, Alw, 3/up, f/m, 1 1/4mT, post time: 5:18 p.m ET George Strawbridge homebred SMART TOGETHER (Smart Strike) is repatriated to continue her career after breaking her maiden at second asking while under the care of John Gosden at Haydock Park last May (video) before earning black-type when third in a listed event going this trip at Newbury the following month. The filly’s dam, Forever Together (Belong to Me), needs no introduction, as she tallied four Grade I events, including the 2008 GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf which secured her the Eclipse Award as this country’s top turf distaffer. Michael Matz also conditions Smart Together’s full-sister Truly Together, third in this year’s GIII Lambholm South Endeavour S. at Tampa. TJCIS PPs View the full article

Tabcorp and Inglis have extended their partnership until 2020, the wagering company and sales company announced on Wednesday. It has been 11 years since the partnership began. “Tabcorp is the biggest supporter of Thoroughbred racing in Australia,” said Tabcorp Managing Director Wagering and Media, Adam Rytenskild. “Our businesses return A$1 billion to the racing industry each year and our partnership with Inglis is yet another demonstration of our commitment to Australian racing.” Inglis’ Managing Director Mark Webster described the deal as exciting and reassuring and said, “We are the market leader in our field and have been for a long time. And TAB is market leader in its field and has been for a long time. We have had a fantastic relationship with the TAB team for more than a decade and I’m thrilled we have been able to come to terms to extend that again.” View the full article

Zac Purton took a massive step towards the jockeys’ championship on Wednesday night with a double that leaves Joao Moreira requiring a miraculous final day to win a fourth-straight title. Moreira opened the night at Happy Valley with a win on Letsgofree to close the gap to two at the top of the championship but Purton hit back with wins on Charity Wings and Saul’s Special to finish the meeting up by four. Given Purton has a massive edge in the tiebreak of number of seconds, that... View the full article

Toast of New York is set to embark on another American adventure next month that could climax in another tilt at the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), the race he came so close to landing at Santa Anita Park in 2014. View the full article

The delights on the Newmarket July meeting kick off on Thursday with a headline act of the Princess of Wales’s Stakes and we’ve got RaceBets ambassador and ITV and At The Races presenter Luke Harvey to mark you card. Listen below as Luke previews the 4 ITV races and provides his best bets for the day’s action! We’re also giving you some insurance on all the ITV races. If your horse finishes 2nd to the SP Fav we’ll give you your money back up to £25 as bonus cash! Check out the Newmarket cards here. Open to all customers from UK and IE. Subject to min 5 runners. Min stake £5. Max £/€25 total refund and bonus cash 3 x wagering at 1.5+. Win/win parts of each-way bets. 18+ BeGambleAware.org. The post Harvey’s Horses – Luke Harvey July Festival Day 1 Preview appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Denied the chance to join his high-class stablemate Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}) at Royal Ascot due to a minor setback, ‘TDN Rising Star’ Legends of War (Scat Daddy) is primed and ready for his first major test in Thursday’s G2 Arqana July S. at Newmarket. Qatar Racing’s four-length Yarmouth debut winner is up against proven pattern-race performers here, but John Gosden believes he is made of the right material to figure. “He got a temperature and a cough, and his blood was wrong which meant he missed the Coventry, so thank goodness we didn’t run him,” Gosden revealed. “He comes here fresh and is in good form. We’ll be looking to run a nice race and he’s got a good turn of foot so we’ll be looking to put it to best use.” Second to Calyx in the G2 Coventry S. at the Royal meeting on June 19, Phoenix Thoroughbred Limited’s Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) sets the standard on that form and trainer Martyn Meade is happy with his demeanour since that occasion. “He beat everything on his side in the Coventry, he just didn’t know anything about the horse on the other side,” Meade said. “Having said that, you can’t take anything away from Calyx, he looks very good. Nevertheless, it was a very good run from our horse and, thankfully, we’re not bumping into him this time. He’s got a favourite’s chance and the ground should be fine for him, not dissimilar to Ascot. I toyed with the idea of running him in the Superlative [S. over seven furlongs] on Saturday as he took a bit of time to get going in both his races, but we decided to stick to six [furlongs] for now.” Aidan O’Brien has opted to saddle the G2 Railway S. winner Van Beethoven (Scat Daddy) under a three-pound penalty for his success in that June 30 six-furlong contest, which came just a week after his fourth in Royal Ascot’s Listed Windsor Castle S. His backing-up of his juveniles at this time of year is unusual, but this is a colt that seems to be taking a busy schedule in his stride. Elsewhere on the card, the G2 Princess of Wales’s Arqana Racing Club S. features Mirage Dancer (GB) (Frankel {GB}) who showed last time that he needs this mile-and-a-half trip when fifth in Royal Ascot’s Listed Wolferton S. over 10 furlongs on June 19, but the otherwise progressive Juddmonte homebred has to give 12 pounds to China Horse Club International’s 3-year-old Raa Atoll (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), who was fourth last time in the G2 King Edward VII S. at this distance at Royal Ascot on June 22. In the G3 Bahrain Trophy, another of Khalid Abdullah’s bluebloods First Eleven (GB) (Frankel {GB}) comes out of handicap company for the first time and the half-brother to Kingman (GB) looked ready for this level when an unlucky third in Royal Ascot’s King George V H. on June 21. This is traditionally the meeting where the Classic juveniles start to appear and interestingly, in the 2-year-old fillies’ maiden Frankie Dettori dons the old maroon-and-white silks he dominated in during the nineties, with Sheikha Al Jalila Racing’s Handmaiden (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) one of the main contenders. View the full article

The Group 3 Bahrain Trophy opens proceedings at Newmarket’s July meeting on Thursday and is traditionally used as a stepping stone for aspiring St Leger horses. This 1m 5f contest has been won by the likes of Youmzain, Masked Marvel and Raheen House in recent times. John Gosden has a fantastic record in the race as he’s won four of the last seven renewals and he seems to hold a strong hand in this year’s race with First Eleven set to represent the dual champion trainer. First Eleven would seem to be a leading fancy, the lightly raced son of Frankel finished a close up third at Royal Ascot most recently and with the assistance of Frankie Dettori he’s sure to run a big race. Aidan O’Brien will be doubly represented but it’s Giuseppe Garibaldi that peaks my interest. The son of Galileo hasn’t finished out of the first three in six racecourse appearances including a runner-up placing behind stablemate Flag Of Honour in the Curragh Cup most recently. This represented another big run and continuation of his current good form and he looks like a colt with a big future. Others to note in the race include Charlie Appleby’s Loxley, Wells Farhh Go and recent novice stakes winner Caliburn. Selection: First Eleven The Group 2 Arqana July Stales is a six-furlong race for two-year-old colts and geldings. Richard Hannon junior and senior have farmed this race over the years with Richard junior winning two of the last four races. Surprisingly Hannon isn’t represented this year which leaves the race at the mercy of leading trainers including Richard Fahey, Aidan O’Brien, Clive Cox and John Gosden. Advertise has the strongest form in the race having finished second in the Coventry at the Royal meeting. Martyn Meade’s inmate has the assistance of Frankie in the saddle and will prove a tough nut to crack. Aidan O’Brien’s Van Beethoven who has a recent Group 2 winner at the Curragh when landing the Railway Stakes must be a danger to all in this. Ryan Moore has been on board the Scat Daddy on all five starts which may point to how highly he rates the colt The horse I like in the race, however, is the John Gosden trained Legends Of War, again the son of superstar stallion Scat Daddy was a scintillating winner of a Yarmouth maiden at the end of May. He showed wayward tenancies that day when hitting the front which would suggest there was more under the bonnet and he’s my idea of the winner. Others to note are Alan King’s Dunkerron, Konchek and the Richard Fahey trained Charming Kid. Selection: Legends Of War The Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes is the feature on the first day of the Newmarket July meeting where Sir Michael Stoute will be hoping he can continue the blistering from we witnessed at the Royal meeting. Mirage Dancer looks set to start favourite for this contest following a very credible run the Wolferton. The son of Frankel will be seeking to reverse a neck defeat at the hands of Roger Varian’s Barsanti earlier this season who re-opposes. This looks a really open race where in truth with the possible exception of Algometer any result wouldn’t surprise me. Selection: Mirage Dancer The post Newmarket July Meeting Preview – Day 1 appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Zac Purton might be biased when it comes to Beauty Generation but it is hard to argue with the leading jockey’s logic when he makes a case for the season’s only three-time Group One winner to be named Horse of the Year – ahead of wildly popular Pakistan Star. “Beauty Generation has not only won more Group Ones, won more Group races and won more races overall than Pakistan Star, but he has won more prize money as well,” Purton said. “When you look at the runs... View the full article

LEXINGTON, Ky – The Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearlings Sale started off slowly, but gained momentum throughout the day before concluding with figures up across the board Tuesday in Lexington. Bloodstock agent David Ingordo, bidding on behalf of Al Rashid Stable, purchased the auction’s highest-priced offering when he signed the ticket at $520,000 for a colt by Flatter (hip 348). The second-last yearling to go through the ring, the bay was consigned by Lane’s End on behalf of Summer Wind Equine. “Overall, we’re very, very pleased with the results today,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “I think we saw a continuation of the marketplace we’ve seen in recent years. There was tremendous competition for quality offerings and fortunately we had plenty of quality offerings in the catalogue this year from start to finish.” In all, 196 yearlings sold Tuesday for $19,762,500. The average of $100,829 was up 7.7%, while the median increased 7.1% to $75,000. The buy-back rate was 30.5%. It was 29.5% last year when 172 horses grossed $16,107,000 for an average of $93,645 and a median of $75,000. “You’ve got to be thrilled when your gross is up by 23% and the average is up and the median is up and the RNA rate is the same,” Browning said. “The RNA rate is always a little higher in July than you would like because they’ve got opportunities. They have other options to go to October, whether it be here in Kentucky or in Timonium. But I thought the market adapted pretty quickly. The first page was a little rough in terms of the results, but there was pretty quick adaptation by both buyers and sellers alike.” In all 24 horses sold for $200,000 or more. A year ago 18 yearlings reached that level. The top 13 lots Tuesday were all purchased by unique buying interests. “On the upper-end horses, there was lots of competition,” Browning said. “It wasn’t just one or two people locked in. There was widespread competition throughout. So I would catagorize it as a very successful start to the 2018 yearling sales season. I think it’s going to continue to be very strong throughout at the upper end of the marketplace. The cautionary tale is if you have a horse who doesn’t meet most of the criteria, it’s still going to be difficult and you’re going to have to be cognizant and realistic about the horse that you’re presenting for sale.” Aron Wellman’s Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners got into the fray Tuesday, paying $275,000 for a filly by Palace Malice. Wellman agreed competition was stiff for the quality offerings. “The market is bullish,” Wellman said. “It is not slowing down. If you want to buy the horses you want to buy, you better be prepared to go in there guns blazing. Typically, the market tends to get stronger and stronger into Saratoga and into Keeneland September. We are not afraid to strike early because a filly of this quality could bring in excess of what we just paid for her here [at later sales].” Still consignors saw a drop-off in demand underneath those top-level horses. Pat Castello, whose Paramount Sales sold the day’s third-highest priced offering, a $370,000 son of Violence, said, “It is a little bit polarized. It is a little tough in the middle market.” Late Fireworks for Flatter Colt Fasig-Tipton saved the best for second to last during Tuesday’s July Selected Yearlings Sale with a Flatter colt (hip 348) earning the day’s top honors when selling to new owner Fahad Ibrahim Khalid Al-Rashid’s Al Rashid Stable for $520,000. “Anytime you give in that range, you are obviously stretching a little bit, but, for us, he was good value because I think in September it is going to be so competitive for this kind of horse,” said bloodstock agent David Ingordo, who is the exclusive buyer for Al Rashid Stable. “I think we got a pretty good buy, considering the pedigree, the looks, the breeder and what we knew about him. We were very happy.” Bred by Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Farm, the Jan. 29 foal, currently named Silvertonguedevil, is out of No Curfew (Curlin), a daughter of SW and GSP Misty Hour (Miswaki). Misty Hour also produced MGSW India (Hennessy), the dam of SW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Kareena (Medaglia d’Oro) and Japanese Group 1 winner Mozu Ascot (Frankel {GB}); and blue-hen and SW Pilfer (Deputy Minister), mother of Grade I-winning full-siblings To Honor and Serve (Bernardini) and Angela Renee. “We go around and spend a lot of time looking on the farms,” Ingordo said. “I had seen this colt going around with the Lane’s End team on their inspections, so I knew a lot about him. He was well raised. This is as good a colt as we are going to see this year. He just happened to be in the July sale and we thought we better try to get him.” Ingordo bought a few horses for Al-Rashid at the 2-year-old sales and this was their first foray into the yearling market. Their focus is on winning the Classics and major American dirt races. “It is a new entity from a prominent Kuwaiti businessman and real estate developer,” Ingordo said. “He is just getting involved in the United States. He and Al Rashid Group USA CEO Bill Klisli dipped a toe in the 2-year-old sales and he has a plan to buy some good athletes and good individuals with pedigrees that he can hopefully retire to be stallions one day or turn into broodmares. He is going to have several trainers, one on the East Coast, one on the West Coast and one in middle America.” The horseman continued, “Their goal is to establish one of the top racing stables in the United States and see where it goes from there. These guys are very astute businessmen. They understand the market. They have studied the game. They are new to it, but they have a plan.” —@CDeBernardisTDN Summer Wind Makes a Splash at Their First July Sale Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Farm usually sells their yearlings at Fasig Tipton’s Saratoga Sale or the Keeneland September Sale, but they decided to give Fasig’s July Sale a try this year and hit a home run with their lone offering, a Flatter colt who topped the sale at $520,000. “I am going to give [the late] Bill Graves a little shout out here because the first time Bill saw this horse, he said, ‘We need to sell this horse in July,” said an emotional Bobby Spalding, who became Summer Wind’s General Manager in December. “That is probably the only reason why we are here. And, of course, Jane was nice enough to enter because she has never [sold in the July sale] before. It is a good sale for a mature horse.” Spalding continued, “The pedigree speaks for itself and he is by Flatter, who, of course, has [champion] West Coast out there. He was a very clean-vetting horse, which helps, as you know. He was very, very popular. He was shown over 200 times. We hope he goes on.” Lyon was anxious as the horse entered the ring and bidding went on, but was the picture of a proud mother when the hammer fell. The hulking bay colt is out of her homebred Curlin mare No Curfew, a daughter of Misty Hour, who is a mare near and dear to the breeder’s heart. The now-retired mare has produced the likes of MGSW India and SW Pilfer, who have both gone on to be very productive broodmares. India still resides at Summer Wind. “We are so happy and very, very excited,” Lyon said with a glowing smile. “This is a homebred mare, which makes this very special. There is nothing like it. I am sure most of you don’t have grandchildren, but if you do, it is the same feeling as having a colt like that. I have three daughters out of the mare Misty Hour, who was a Christmas gift to me by my husband [the late Frank Lyon] as a 2-year-old and now it ended up like this, so it is pretty exciting.” The Arkansas native continued, “I am glad he will go to a good place that is an end user and he will have every opportunity to do what he is capable of doing. That is all you can hope for. Hopefully he will be a stakes horse.” No Curfew’s first foal is the 3-year-old filly Night Owl, a $160,000 KEESEP buy, who races for Klaravich Stable and Chad Brown. She has won her last two starts, most recently capturing a Monmouth Park allowance May 28. The 8-year-old mare’s juvenile colt named Semoum (Bernardini), who was a $400,000 KEESEP purchase, broke his maiden at Ripon June 21 and is entered Friday in a nursery handicap at Ascot over six furlongs. “She just produces good foals,” Spalding said. “The mare has a really good Union Rags colt [born Jan. 31].” —@CDeBernardisTDN Lieblong Doubles Down on Strong Mandate Alex and JoAnn Lieblong, who have a high-priced juvenile son of Strong Mandate set to debut at the upcoming Saratoga meet, added another prospect by the young Three Chimneys stallion to the stable when going to $435,000 to secure hip 231, a daughter of Fly the Flag (Giant’s Causeway), Tuesday at Fasig-Tipton. “I really liked the Strong Mandate and I liked her family, out of a Giant’s Causeway mare,” Alex Lieblong said. “If she can do something, she’s going to have some pretty good value. She looked the part.” Lieblong purchased Justice of War (Strong Mandate) (hip 144) for $550,000 after the colt worked a furlong in :10 flat at this year’s OBS April sale. “He should start in Saratoga, fingers crossed,” Lieblong said of the juvenile. “He has been a very straightforward horse.” Strong Mandate captured the 2013 GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga and Lieblong acknowledged the stallion’s precociousness appealed to him. “For Strong Mandate to do what he did at Saratoga at an early age and being by Tiznow, that kind of caught me,” he said. “Usually a Tiznow will get a little bit better. We’ll see.” The filly was Lieblong’s first purchase of the July sale, but he wasted little time in acquiring another yearling at the one-day auction. He went to $200,000 to secure a filly (hip 233) by Shackleford from the Bluewater Sales consignment. “I wasn’t going to come [to the sale],” Lieblong said. “But there wasn’t anything going on today, so I said, ‘Well, we’ll come up here.'” Consigned to the July sale by Denali Stud, Hip 231 was bred by WinStar Farm, which purchased Fly the Flag with the filly in utero for $90,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. “We were just looking in November,” WinStar’s Elliott Walden said. “And we like young fillies with pedigree, so she kind of fit what we were trying to breed to some of our younger stallions.” Fly the Flag is out of multiple Grade I winner My Flag (Easy Goer) and is a half-sister to champion Storm Flag Flying (Storm Cat). “We actually bred [Fly the Flag] to Distorted Humor hoping to get a filly because it’s a good filly family,” Walden said. “And we got one, so she has a Distorted Humor filly on the ground.” Walden credited WinStar General Manager David Hanley with targeting the Strong Mandate filly at the July sale. “She was a lovely filly,” Walden said. “She was a big, strong filly from day one. David thought she’d stand out in this sale and he was right.” @JessMartiniTDN Colt Makes Sense for Godolphin Godolphin acquired a colt by Street Sense late in Tuesday’s Fasig-Tipton July sale, going to $350,000 to acquire the yearling from the consignment of Michael and Julia O’Quinn. The bay colt (hip 312), by a stallion who stands at Darley, is out of the mare Mahkama (Bernardini), who was purchased by Sheikh Mohammed’s operation for $270,000 as a Keeneland September yearling in 2010. The yearling is a close relative of Yulong Warrior (Street Cry {Ire}), the 11 1/2-length winner of the Listed Al Bastakiya S. at Meydan this past March. His dam, a daughter of Rahy Rose (Rahy), is a half to graded stakes winner Summer Raven (Summer Squall), who produced multiple graded stakes winner Lewis Bay (Bernardini), and graded stakes winners Misconnect (Unbridled’s Song) and Winslow Homer (Unbridled’s Song). “He is a good son of Street Sense with a great female family that we know well,” said Godolphin’s Dan Pride. “He fits in the group that we are trying to add to our racing stable, so we are excited. Sheikh Mohammed is supporting us with an opportunity to add a colt to the racing stable.” The yearling was the only horse consigned to the July sale by the husband-and-wife team of Michael and Julia O’Quinn. Based in Ocala, the couple purchased the colt for $140,000 at this year’s Fasig-Tipton February Sale. Young Strikes Early for Palace Malice Filly Bloodstock agent Steve Young, who closed out Monday night’s Horses of Racing Age Sale with a bang when purchasing Alter Moon (Alternation), the second to last hip through the ring for $675,000, made his presence felt early in Tuesday’s Yearling Sale, going to $250,000 for a filly from the first crop of GI Met Mile and GI Belmont S. winner Palace Malice (Curlin). “I have a lot of respect for Palace Malice as a racehorse,” said Young, who purchased the filly on behalf of an undisclosed client. “He was a sound, quick summer 2-year-old that had the quality to go on and win the Belmont. I don’t think there are a lot of horses in the modern day that go 5/8ths in :56 and go on to win the Belmont. I think he has the chance to be a very good sire.” Out of Passe (Dixie Union), Hip 9 is a half-sister to MSW and MGISP ‘TDN Rising Star’ Wonder Gal (Tiz Wonderful). She also hails from the family of GI Belmont Derby hero Force the Pass (Speightstown) and MGSW Social Queen (Dynaformer). “She is from a two-turn, pace, distance family,” Young said. “With no disrespect to other horses, I think she is the nicest filly in the sale. She is very special.” Consigned by Jim Perrone’s Perrone Sales, the bay filly was bred in New York by Bill and Jane Moriarty’s Apache Farm, who also bred MSW and MGSP Quezon (Tiz Wonderful). Click here for a feature on Apache Farm. “We are extremely happy,” Perrone said. “The folks that bred the horse at Apache Farm are just so good at what they do and so good to work for. We just enjoy the heck out of them. They get more pleasure out of it than anybody I’ve ever seen, which gives my wife Karen and I pleasure too. It is just so great.” —@CDeBernardisTDN Palace Malice Proves Popular at Fasig July Yearlings from the first crop of Classic winner Palace Malice (Curlin) proved quite popular at the Newtown Paddocks Tuesday, including a filly (hip 60) who brought $275,000 from Aron Wellman’s Eclipse Thoroughbreds. “She’s a gorgeous filly with so much presence,” said Wellman, who was seated behind bloodstock agent Jacob West as he did the bidding on Eclipse’s behalf. “She’s so smart, has a great walk and a ton of athleticism. She had a great scope. She was our filly of the sale hands down. We only had eyes for her to start of the day. We were laser focused on this filly. She will definitely go to Todd Pletcher.” Trained by Pletcher, Palace Malice won the 2013 GI Belmont S. and the 2014 GI Met Mile, as well as four other graded events, for Dogwood Stables. He stands at Three Chimneys Farm for $25,000 and is represented by his first yearlings this term. Just 51 hips earlier in the sale, another daughter of Palace Malice (hip 9) summoned $250,000 from bloodstock agent Steve Young. “I really like what I see so far [from Palace Malice],” said Wellman. “I was very fortunate to be peripherally attached to his career, vicariously through our association with Dogwood Stable. He was very close to us without being principles in him. I am excited about his first crop of yearlings to come to market and we have really liked what we’ve seen. They seem to come in all shapes and sizes, but they look like sturdy individuals with a ton of athleticism and the ones I’ve seen seem to be very smart individuals.” Breeder Machmer Hall’s Carrie Brogden, who is also a partner in the filly’s consignor Select Sales, expressed similar sentiments about Palace Malice. “I was a huge fan of him as a racehorse and we breed our mares very carefully,” Brogden said. “We have two here in our consignment that are pretty nice. I felt he needed a pretty mare that was correct in the front–the same thing you would breed to his grandpa Smart Strike. We try to match our mares physically very carefully. We are very happy. He is throwing a lot of quality. He was just an incredible racehorse. We can’t wait to see what happens with her. She went to great people and I hope she runs like she looks.” The second foal out of the Dixie Union mare Southern Belle, Hip 60 hails from the family of MGSW Holy Helena (Ghostzapper) and GSW ‘TDN Rising Star’ Holy Boss (Street Boss). Purchased for just $10,500 at the 2014 Keeneland November Sale, Southern Belle has a 2-year-old filly named She’s With It (Justin Phillip), who brought $45,000 at Keeneland September, and a Dialed In filly born earlier this term. “She had 14 vets so I knew she was super popular,” Brogden said. “She was bought by dear friends and clients. Her reserve was $89,000. That was a homebred out of a mare we bought on a whim as a broodmare prospect, but I have always been a fan of Dixie Union. Everything worked out well. She vetted great and had a great mind. She didn’t get tired, didn’t turn a hair, showed great.” Palace Malice was represented by four sold from five through the ring for gross receipts of $750,000 (average $187,500) —@CDeBernardisTDN Into Mischief Colt Destined for Resale A colt by Into Mischief will be expected to make a return trip through the sales ring next spring after Scott and Evan Dilworth signed the ticket at $300,000 on the pinhooking prospect during Tuesday’s July sale. “He’s well balanced,” Scott Dilworth said of hip 273. “The Into Mischiefs are very popular, they run. We’re going to a 2-year-old sale with him and we think we’ll do well with him.” The colt, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, was bred by Gary Broad. He is out of stakes winner and Grade I placed Indian Gracey (Indian Ocean). The Dilworths have had notable success pinhooking pricey prospects, having purchased in partnership a War Front colt for $560,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale and reselling him for $1.1 million at last year’s Keeneland September sale. But Scott Dilworth said the July sale offered plenty of opportunities across the board. “I think you can buy a middle-priced horse out of this sale and do well with him,” Dilworth said. “There are good horses here at all price ranges.” @JessMartiniTDN Patience Pays off for McDonald When Reiley McDonald sent his homebred daughter of Morning Line through the sales ring at Keeneland this past January, he was content to take her home again after she failed to meet her reserve at $29,000. McDonald rerouted the filly to the Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale and she (hip 126) duly rewarded the decision when selling for $205,000 to Ken McPeek as agent for C&H Diamond Racing. “I liked her way too much to sell her then for what she was going to bring in January,” McDonald said. “She was really late in the sale. I think I had her in the wrong place in the sale and she fell through the cracks. She was big and kind of leggy and I knew she needed more time to grow into herself. So I took her home and she turned into as pretty a filly as was in the sale, I thought. She was extremely athletic with a beautiful head, neck and shoulder, and great depth of girth.” McDonald’s Athens Woods purchased Woodford County (Indian Charlie), with this Morning Line filly in utero, for $12,500 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. But that wasn’t his first introduction to the mare. “I bought the mare carrying this filly, but I had at one point bought the mare with a partner to pinhook as a yearling,” McDonald said. “So I knew her very well. She didn’t get to run. She blew a suspensory, but was a very, very fast filly who had the second fastest time of her year at the south Florida 2-year-old sale. It was a little inside information, but her mother was quite beautiful and this filly looked just like her.” Woodford County produced a colt by Maclean’s Music this year. Athens Woods has been represented by success on the racetrack this year with the 2-year-old Athens Queen (Majestic Warrior), who won the Astoria S. in McDonald’s colors in June. @JessMartiniTDN More Mischief for Crupi J.J. Crupi, bidding on behalf of Vinnie Viola’s St Elias, went to $300,000 to secure a colt by Into Mischief early in Tuesday’s Fasig-Tipton July Yearling Sale. Hip 52 is out of stakes placed Silverest (Congrats) and from the family of Peace Rules and Corfu. “We’ve had luck with Into Mischief,” Crupi said. “We sold Audible and Engage. So we’ve been very lucky with him. And we’re going to continue the luck.” Crupi purchased Audible for $175,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearling Sale in 2016 and pinhooked him for $500,000 at last year’s Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. The colt went on to win this year’s GI Florida Derby. Engage was a $200,000 purchase at the 2016 Keeneland September Yearling sale before bringing $550,000 at OBS March the following spring. He won last year’s GIII Futurity and was most recently second in the GII Woody Stephens S. This youngster was acquired to race, according to Crupi. “He’ll go to Todd Pletcher,” he said. The bay yearling, consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, was bred by Henley Farms and Jeff, Teresa and Marilyn Little. Jeff Little purchassed Silverest for $70,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale. Later in Tuesday’s auction, Crupi acquired a filly by Triple Crown winner American Pharoah for $200,000 privately after the yearling (hip 131) failed to sell through the ring. “It’s a hell of a horse sale,” Crupi said. “It’s competitive for the horses that are very, very correct. The pedigree might be a little light, but they’ll make their own pedigree if they can run. And when you get to Keeneland, you’re going to have to pay twice as much for them. I’ve been blown out of the water a couple of times.” @JessMartiniTDN Newcomers ‘Take Charge’ At Fasig July New owners Al LaRose and Greg Bach wanted to make a splash at their first Thoroughbred auction and did just that when trainer Ken McPeek went to $250,000 on their behalf to acquire a Will Take Charge filly (hip 253). “We just got out of the trucking business last year,” La Rose said. “We started the business 37 years ago and we decided to get into the horse racing business. A friend of mine has some partnerships with Kenny [McPeek] and he introduced us before the [GI Kentucky] Derby.” He continued, “This is our first sale. We have parts of eight now. Five on our own and three partnerships.” Bach chimed in, saying, “We’ve been business partners for 37 years and we have been friends since sixth grade. We are looking to make a splash here.” Out of the Dynaformer mare Hamsin, hip 253 hails from the family of MGISW Dynaforce (Dynaformer), MGSW & MGISP Willcox Inn (Harlan’s Holiday) and GSW Western Ransom (Red Ransom). “I thought she was the best Will Take Charge I’ve seen,” McPeek said. “I was fortunate to be around him a lot when he was in training with [D. Wanye] Lukas and of course I trained his mother [Take Charge Lady]. She is a beautiful filly and did everything right from the moment I saw her.” Bred by Castle Park Farm, AF Thoroughbreds and John Karakourtis, the chestnut was consigned by Gainesway on behalf of Tami Bobo, who bought the filly for $55,000 at Keeneland November. “We loved the filly when we bought her,” Bobo said. “I expected her to do well. She is a great feel and I wish them the best of luck with her. I believe she has a good future ahead of her.” Champion Will Take Charge is represented by his first 2-year-olds this year, but has proved quite popular at both yearling and juvenile sales. “I love Will Take Charge,” Bobo said. “I bought Take Charge Indy as a yearling, so I am big believer in the whole family. That is why I kind of gravitate to these horses.” —@CDeBernardisTDN Bayern Filly Stands out for Venosa A yearling filly from the first crop of GI Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Bayern (Offlee Wild) proved popular in the Fasig-Tipton sales ring Tuesday when bringing a final bid of $210,000 from Steve Venosa’s SGV Thoroughbreds. Consigned by breeder Woodford Thoroughbreds, the dark bay filly (hip 267) is out of stakes placed Hot Roots (Indian Charlie), a half-sister to GI Kentucky Derby runner-up Commanding Curve (Master Command). “I looked at her and fell in love with her,” Venosa said of the yearling’s appeal. “Bayern was a tremendous racehorse and I love Indian Charlie mares.” Bayern, who stood the 2018 season for $15,000 at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms, had a first-crop weanling average of $89,705 in 2017. His top-priced weanling was a $220,000 colt. “I’ve heard really good things about him,” Venosa said of the young stallion. “But before I even looked at her page, I knew I was buying this horse no matter what she brought. She was just that type of horse.” Venosa is confident of the filly’s future success. “Wherever she goes, she’s a runner,” he said. Woodford Thoroughbreds purchased Hot Roots, in foal to Into Mischief, for $185,000 at the 2014 Keeneland November sale. Her Into Mischief colt sold for $200,000 at the 2016 Keeneland September sale. The mare produced a filly by Constitution this year. @JessMartiniTDN Quick Start to Yearling Sales for Graves The Fasig-Tipton July Sale wasn’t an hour long when Brian Graves recorded his first pinhooking score of the young yearling sales season as a filly by Warrior’s Reward, purchased for $7,500 at last year’s Keeneland November sale, sold to Hartley/ DeRenzo Thoroughbreds for $160,000. The Lexington horseman was back quickly, selling a filly by Strong Mandate, purchased for $25,000 at Fasig-Tipton November, for $190,000 to Gold Square LLC. Graves credited his late father Bill, who passed away in May, with the decision to purchase the Strong Mandate filly last November. “It was my dad. He really liked this filly,” Graves said of hip 87, who is out of Timetobegone (Vindication). “He liked her for the sale and there weren’t a lot of people who wanted to buy her. He still believed in her and he told me we should buy her, so I did. And he was right. She turned out beautiful and she sold really well.” Of the Warrior’s Reward filly (hip 24), Graves said, “She was a filly that I liked a lot. I found her on the last day of the Keeneland sale and I think people had just gotten cold and gone home.” Graves admitted he was surprised he was able to acquire the filly, out of Pure Desire (Gold Legend), for a relative bargain. “That day, I was thinking she would cost more money,” he said. “I was doing double back flips when she only brought $7,500. I was really happy. I was e-mailing, taking pictures of her and I was taking everyone down to see her. I just really thought she was lovely.” While the yearling sales season has just begun, Graves is expecting there will be high demand for the right horses. “I think there is a strong demand for quality horses,” he said. “When I say quality, I mean a quality physical. If you have a little pedigree to go with it, I think it will be competitive.” @JessMartiniTDN View the full article

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Officials at the Maryland Horse Breeders Association have announced the election of three new officers to its board of directors. Dr. Michael J. Harrison, DVM, owner of Willowdale Farm, has been elected president. A practicing veterinarian for more than 35 years, he is a horse breeder and owner as well. David H. Wade, a resident of Chesapeake City, is the new vice president. The general manager of Northview Stallion Station as well as its Pennsylvania satellite location, Wade is also the manager of Sycamore Hall Farm and a Thoroughbred sales agent. The new secretary/treasurer of the MHBA is Kent Allen Murray. The owner of Twin Oaks Farm, a horse boarding facility, Murray is a consultant and program manager for Murmur Farm. View the full article