Wandering Eyes

Accomplished horseman Olin B. Gentry passed away at the age of 51 Saturday and left behind many friends within the Thoroughbred industry. A fourth-generation horseman, “Olee” Gentry was known for his engaging personality and passion for horse sales. A number of remembrances from Gentry’s friends, family and colleagues were shared with the TDN in the days following his passing. Olin would always refer to me as the “luckiest girl alive.” As a joke of course. He thought I had a lot to deal with holding his hand. I really was the luckiest. I will miss his hands and the power to calm and hold me close. The love and respect he showed to me was unbound. His cuddles and hugs were like grandma’s lap. He was true blue. My love, my heart, my person. There is not enough space to write all the ways Olin was the love and delight of my life. I am the luckiest girl alive to have held him so closely. –Athena Gentry Olee, It’s been a wildly successful partnership all these many years, but more importantly an amazing and enduring friendship. Thank you!!! I already miss you. There will be a smile on my heart every time I think of you. Good mood, one with each other. –Tom Van Meter Olin was a great friend, great horseman, and heart human being. I will miss him sorely as a friend and partner. –Spider Duignan Olee was a dear friend, a partner, my confidant, my biggest cheerleader and supporter, my buddy, my personal comedian and most of all my “true friend.” His dry wit and great stories kept long days at the sales fun and entertaining. I love Olin Gentry like a brother–I had his back and he had mine. I will never forget all that he taught me about the Thoroughbred business and how to be a friend. Thanks for being a “star” in my life, Olin Gentry. Cheers my sweet friend. –Renee Dailey For 42 years, Olin has been been in my corner–loving, supporting, and overrating me every moment. He made me better than I was, and I have no idea how to navigate this world without him. –Marty Charters A lot will be said this week about Olin, the horseman, and his many accomplishments. I have found great peace in reflecting on Olin, the humanitarian. Olin cared very much about people. He was equally comfortable conversing with a groom as much as a prince. Olin was kind and generous to all people, but especially horsemen. Many found him to be generous in their time of need. Olin had agreed to become an organ donor, and though he is now gone, his final unselfish gift was to extend the lives of others through his organ donations. This typified who Olin was. –James Keogh Olin was one for the ages. We shared a birthday and had an annual competition on who would be first to wish the other happy birthday. He inevitably would text me at 12:01 am to win! Olin had a unique insight into human nature and made me laugh about his observations on people and life like few others can. He is gone way too soon. –Dan Pride I could listen to Olin Gentry for hours. He was a skilled story teller, a character who never lost his sense of humor even on the darkest days, and while verbalizing the most complex deal, he would shift gears and dead pan the most embarrassing of human experiences. This was always followed by, “the grin.” He enjoyed imitating those he admired and I will never forget him explaining a wee bit of sculduggery in his Irish accent. He was confident and gentle and once critiqued me in classic street language intermingled with Ivy League grammar. He had a computer for a mind and was most proficient with numbers, providing multi-digit sums faster than my calculator. Olin loved his family and friends and told me many times that “O2” was his greatest joy in life. He also loved the Big Blue, but horse trade was his passion. I am extremely grateful to have known Olin and I worry that I may never laugh as hard, or appreciate a juicy tale, again. –Tony Cecil Olin grew up under horsemen. He absorbed more knowledge of the horse business then some people may know. He was compassionate to his animals and friends. The horse community has lost another good one way too soon. –Chuck Kidder When you spoke to Olin, what seemed like a five-minute conversation would be an hour-long talk about life and horses. What hurts the most is the potential of the future–the passion and the incredible gifts of spirit and joy he possessed. I can still hear his unique voice in my mind, and I think that the best way to sum up what Olin meant to me is to say that my life was better because he was in it. –Carrie Brogden I am absolutely devastated at the passing of my Great Friend Olin Gentry. Olin was a great horseman, but he was also the best Deal Maker I have ever been associated with. Simply put: Genius. He was one of a kind and left us way to early. It was my privilege and honor to have know Olin for the last 25 years. –Omar Trevino Olin was a true friend and great partner who will be greatly missed. He was the epitome of a Kentucky gentleman and was such a great horseman. The lineage carried through from his father and grandfather inheriting the ability to market the highest quality thoroughbreds. It always amazed me the innate ability he had to judge the current conditions of the TB market. He was so knowledgeable of pedigrees and had a great eye for a horse. Business aside and most importantly, Olin was such a gentle and kind soul. –Scott Dilworth We had our differences and when Olin wasn’t invited to my small wedding, he called me on the morning of the ceremony with a smile in his voice, and we talked for two hours. Olin loved to quote lines from movies to drive a point home and then howl with laughter. He was a good friend who would do anything for those he loved. –Tom Clark View the full article

Sir Michael Stoute had been waiting two years to exceed the late great Sir Henry Cecil’s record of 75 Royal Ascot winners and the genie of Freemason Lodge chose some stage to do it as one of the dyed-in-the-wool improving older horses he is so famed for, Poet’s Word (Ire) (Poet’s Voice {GB}), took the feature G1 Prince of Wales’s S. Sent off the 11-2 second favourite with all the focus naturally on Cracksman (GB) (Frankel {GB}), the G3 Brigadier Gerard S. winner travelled beautifully for James Doyle tracking that 2-5 favourite who gave out contrasting signals from the very beginning with yet another sluggish display to match his Epsom effort. When it came down to a fight in the straight, it was short-lived as Saeed Suhail’s 5-year-old readily brushed him aside passing the two-furlong pole en route to a convincing 2 1/4-length success, with eight lengths back to Hawkbill (Kitten’s Joy) in third. “It’s a relief, as we were stuck on it [75] last year and we’ve been very lucky to have some good horses down the years,” Stoute said. “Maybe Cracksman isn’t at his very best now, but we’ve beaten the others comprehensively and he’s a consistent, brave and sound horse.” POET’S WORD (IRE), 126, h, 5, by Poet’s Voice (GB) 1st Dam: Whirly Bird (GB) (SP-Eng), by Nashwan 2nd Dam: Inchyre (GB), by Shirley Heights (GB) 3rd Dam: Inchmurrin (Ire), by Lomond (300,000gns Ylg ’14 TAOCT). O-Saeed Suhail; B-Woodcote Stud Ltd (IRE); T-Sir Michael Stoute; J-James Doyle. £425,325. Lifetime Record: G1SP-Ire & UAE, 15-6-5-1, £1,961,769. *1/2 to Malabar (GB) (Raven’s Pass), MGSW-Eng, $213,277. View the full article

Second to Qemah (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) in last year’s G2 Duke of Cambridge S., Saleh Al Homaizi and Imad Al Sagar’s Aljazzi (GB) (Shamardal) cut an altogether different dash in Wednesday’s renewal as she surged to an emphatic 3 3/4-length success to provide trainer Marco Botti with a first Royal Ascot winner. Third on her return in the G2 Sandown Mile Apr. 27, the homebred bay was always travelling strongly towards the rear early under William Buick and when let loose swamped Tribute Act (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) with a furlong remaining before rushing into the clear. There was a neck back to Wilamina (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in third, while the 7-4 favourite Hydrangea (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) checked out having raced prominently to be eighth. “The race worked out perfectly, as she’s a filly who warms up into her race and this is a track that can suit closers,” jockey William Buick said. “At halfway, she really came alive underneath me and gives you a lot of confidence. She ran well at Sandown last time on soft ground and needs this ground.” ALJAZZI (GB), 126, m, 5, by Shamardal 1st Dam: Nouriya (GB) (MSW-Eng), by Danehill Dancer (Ire) 2nd Dam: Majestic Sakeena (Ire), by King’s Best 3rd Dam: Shy Danceuse, by Groom Dancer O/B-Saleh Al Homaizi & Imad Al Sagar (GB); T-Marco Botti; J-William Buick. £106,757. Lifetime Record: 14-5-1-1, £258,813. View the full article

Without a winner on day one, Ballydoyle hit back with a vengeance early on Wednesday with Kew Gardens (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in firm command of a one-two-three for the stable in the G2 Queen’s Vase. Ninth when aggressively ridden in the G1 Epsom Derby June 2, the 10-3 second favourite was held up towards the back this time by Ryan Moore who needed to get his pick of the stable’s trio right after an uncharacteristically quiet first day. Staying on strongly to collar the exuberant front-runner Nelson (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining, the bay galloped to a 4 1/2-length success from Southern France (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who ousted Nelson by a neck in the dying strides. “We’ve always thought he’d stay this far and he loves fast ground,” Aidan O’Brien said. “We had been very happy with him since Epsom and Donnacha, who rode him in the Derby, said to maybe take a bit more time on him next time and that would suit. It was Nelson’s first run back for a while, while Seamus’s horse is a big baby who will improve a lot as the year goes on. Kew Garadens could go back for the [G1] Irish Derby [at The Curragh June 30] or have a little rest and be trained for the [G1] St Leger [at Doncaster Sept. 15]. In the autumn, that would be a lovely race for him but it’s a long way off and if he comes out of this as well as he did the Derby he can go anywhere.” KEW GARDENS (IRE), 126, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire) 1st Dam: Chelsea Rose (Ire) (Hwt. 3yo Filly-Ire at 9.5-10.5f, G1SW-Ire & G1SP-Ity, $527,260), by Desert King (Ire) 2nd Dam: Cinnamon Rose, by Trempolino 3rd Dam: Sweet Simone (Fr), by Green Dancer 1ST GROUP WIN. O-Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier & Michael Tabor; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £113,420. Lifetime Record: GSP-Ire, 9-3-2-1, £181,547. *1/2 to Thawaany (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), GSW & G1SP-Fr, $262,616; and Hamlool (Ire) (Red Ransom), SP-Eng. View the full article

Recently bought into by Phoenix Thoroughbreds, Signora Cabello (Ire) (Camacho {GB}) came to Royal Ascot to win for the North as she showed gutsy determination to prevail in the G2 Queen Mary S. Sent off at a bewildering 25-1 considering her connections and the fact that she came here off a win in the Listed Marygate Fillies’ S. over this five-furlong trip at York May 18, the bay was rousted along from break by Oisin Murphy and raced prominently in the centre as the 10-3 favourite and TDN Rising Star Chelsea Cloisters (First Samurai) blew the start. Driven into a narrow lead from Shades of Blue (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) inside the last 100 yards, she held off Ballydoyle’s Gossamer Wings (Scat Daddy) in a pulsating finale by a short head, with the same margin back to Shades of Blue in third. Yorkshire-based trainer John Quinn, who took the G2 Coventry S. with the Al Shaqab purchase The Wow Signal (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) in 2014, said, “All she did was improve and she got hampered at halfway at York but was well on top at the line. She has trained lovely since and is very unassuming, but keeps pulling it out. She is terribly tough and we have real belief in her.” SIGNORA CABELLO (IRE), 126, f, 2, by Camacho (GB) 1st Dam: Journalist (Ire) (GSP-Eng), by Night Shift 2nd Dam: Schlefalora (GB), by Mas Media (GB) 3rd Dam: Spanish Habit, by Habitat 1ST GROUP WIN. (20,000gns Ylg ’17 TAOCT). O-Phoenix Thoroughbred & Zen Racing; B-Diomed Bloodstock Ltd (IRE); T-John Quinn; J-Oisin Murphy. £62,381. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, £96,569. *1/2 to La Presse (Gone West), GSP-Eng; Emirates Girl (Unbridled’s Song), SP-Fr & Ger; and Plagiarism (Lonhro {Aus}), SP-Eng. View the full article

By the time we know the outcome of the dual between Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in the G1 Gold Cup, Royal Ascot 2018 will be more than halfway over and a lot of the big questions would have been answered. This is a clash to savour and a build-up to relish, with the meeting’s ancient showpiece now firmly reinstalled as at least its main source of racing entertainment. While it is gratifying to witness the kings and queens of agility in the sprints and the princes and princesses of the mile and middle-distance bouts, there is something timeless in the spectacle of the great stayers straining sinew in the last quarter mile of this two-and-a-half mile trip. It is a long time since we had a genuine stand-off between a pair of such calibre in this race and it conjures memories of Le Moss (Ire) and Ardross (Ire) in 1980, when the former prevailed over his younger opponent in the first of their thrilling trio of encounters. If Order of St George is to regain the crown he surrendered to Big Orange (GB) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) 12 months ago, he will have to take Stradivarius out of his comfort zone on ground that favours Bjorn Nielsen’s challenger. Stradivarius breezed his way through the May 18 G2 Yokshire Cup, a success that keeps him on track for the Stayers’ Million, which adds an extra dimension to this year’s renewal. The pair also have to reckon with His Highness The Aga Khan’s Vazirabad (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}), who comes to Britain for the first time on the back of a thoroughly convincing success in the G2 Prix Vicomtesse Vigier at ParisLongchamp on May 27. Aidan O’Brien is looking for a record eighth edition and said he sees no reason to expect anything other than Order of St George’s best on the day. “We are as happy with him going into the Gold Cup as we have been with him in any of the other years he has gone there,” he said. John Gosden is a keen historian and said he sees the significance of this particular renewal as he prepares Stradivarius for the longest distance he has performed over. “It’s got great depth in it this year. So often the Gold Cup can be a little bit thin on quality, but there is a lot of depth there and it’s an exciting Gold Cup this year,” he said. “He’s in great nick and he has come out of his win at York very well. It will be a helluva test–the two and a half miles. Once he goes beyond two miles, it is uncharted territory. We are very hopeful he will get the trip. If he doesn’t, we know what we will do–we will go to a Goodwood Cup and prepare for a Melbourne Cup.” Stars Align In Riddlesdale… Godolphin’s Charlie Appleby stable is picking up impulsion as the season wears on and there is no reason to expect anything other than a G2 Ribblesdale S. success for ‘TDN Rising Star’ Wild Illusion (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) after sound efforts when fourth in the G1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket May 7 and runner-up in the June 1 G1 Epsom Oaks. Last year’s G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner sets a lofty standard, but it is notable that only two winners of this in the last 10 years had been to Epsom. “She’s in great order,” Appleby said. “She looks fantastic and she’s training well. Was it a difficult decision to back her up quickly after Epsom? No, not at all. She’s come out of the race well and if she can repeat her Oaks performance she will be very hard to beat in the Ribblesdale.” One coming up from underneath is Khalid Abdullah’s ‘TDN Rising Star’ Sun Maiden (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a half-sister to Midday (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) who won a 10-furlong Salisbury novice contest by 12 lengths despite looking green. While the form of that race is in no way strong, the homebred is made up of the finest Juddmonte fabric and is in the hands of this meeting’s winningmost trainer Sir Michael Stoute. “She was really impressive at Salisbury, but it was only a maiden,” Juddmonte’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said. “Sir Michael has given her more time to mature both mentally and physically. She is coming on and, like everybody else will be saying, she is in good form and we are hoping for a good run. We are going to find out if her inexperience at that level will hold her back, but if she has got enough talent she will be all right.” Filly A Force In The Norfolk… The opening G2 Norfolk S. will hinge on whether Breeze Easy’s Apr. 26 Keeneland maiden special weight winner Shang Shang Shang (Shanghai Bobby) can burn off the Europeans for Wesley Ward and Joel Rosario, but this is a race Aidan O’Brien is capable of springing a rare surprise in. Sioux Nation (Scat Daddy) and Waterloo Bridge (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) were 14-1 and 12-1 winners respectively in the last three years and his sole representative Land Force (Ire) (No Nay Never) trades around that price after finishing third in the Listed Marble Hill S. at The Curragh on May 26. The line-up of zippy juveniles includes the Robert Cowell-trained ParisLongchamp winner Pocket Dynamo (Dialed In) and two from the first crop of Charm Spirit (Ire) in the Hannon runner The Paddocks (Ire) and Charming Kid (GB) from the Richard Fahey yard. Another first-season sire with representation is Bungle Inthejungle (GB), whose Rumble Inthejungle (Ire) races for last year’s Coventry-winning partnership of Rebel Racing and Richard Spencer. “He won very well at Salisbury first time out and the form of that race has worked out well, I think two winners have come out of that race already,” Spencer said. “He’s taken a big step forward from his debut and I think he’ll run a big race.” A Hampton Hat Trick? Godolphin has a trio in the G3 Hampton Court S. they have won for the past two years headed by the Listed Newmarket S. winner Key Victory (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Charlie Appleby said he is hoping he can rebound from a last-out eighth in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly on June 3. “He is a horse who is learning on the job,” he commented. “He didn’t lose anything in defeat in France and he learnt plenty on the day. I think he will be a key player in the Hampton Court and being back on a sounder surface will suit him.” The race’s unknown quantity is the promising Shadwell homebred Wadilsafa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who readily dispatched the highly-regarded Herculean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in a mile novice race at Newmarket on May 18. The Britannia H. over a mile features some 3-year-olds on the up including the course-and-distance winner Corrosive (Uncle Mo) from the Hugo Palmer stable, while heading the weights for the closing King George V S. is Godolphin’s Dubhe (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), a son of the G1 Irish Oaks heroine Great Heavens (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) who gave the re-opposing London Gold Cup winner Communique (Ire) (Casamento {Ire}) eight pounds and a four-length beating in a Sandown handicap on Apr. 27. Lurking in this is Juddmonte’s First Eleven (GB) (Frankel {GB}), a John Gosden-trained son of the G1 Poule d’Essai des Pouliches heroine Zenda (GB) (Zamindar) and therefore a half to Kingman (GB) who was impressive when winning by five lengths in an 11-furlong Newbury handicap on May 18. View the full article

G2 NORFOLK S. – ROYAL ASCOT DAY THREE Each of the 10 runners in the Norfolk S. have passed through a sales ring; the least expensive transaction was when Kinks was bought as a foal for 4,000gns. On the higher end of the scale, Land Force was a €350,000 yearling, and Vintage Brut was bought by his new owners just three days ago for £280,000. CHARMING KID (GB) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) was sold by breeder Biddestone Stud to Mags O’Toole for 75,000gns at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale. Re-offered by Lynn Lodge Stud at Goffs Orby last September, he was led out unsold at €45,000, but seven months later found a new home for £105,000 when The Cool Silk Partnership and Stroud Coleman Bloodstock scooped him up at the Goffs UK breeze-up sale. He looks to become the first stakes winners for his first-season sire. B-Biddestone Stud Ltd. GLORY FIGHTER (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) was a 95,000gns find by SackvilleDonald at Tattersalls October Book 2, and was plucked from the National Stud consignment. B-Mr & Mrs P Hopper & Mr & Mrs M Morris. KINKS (GB) (Sixties Icon {GB}) was bred by Mike Channon and offered through Norman Court Stud at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale, where he was bought by Whitwell Bloodstock for 4,000gns. Re-offered by Rathasker Stud just nine weeks later at Goffs February, he was unsold at €7,000, but fared a bit better at the Sportsmans sale in September, where he fetched €14,000 from Gill Richardson. He now races under the care of Mick Channon for David Hudd, Chris Wright & Ann Black. B-Mike Channon Bloodstock Ltd. KONCHEK (GB) (Lethal Force {Ire}) was purchased by trainer Clive Cox for 85,000gns from breeder Cheveley Park Stud at Tattersalls October Book 2. He is the first stakes performer out of the G2 Lowther S. and G3 Princess Margaret S. winner Soar (GB) (Danzero {GB}), who was second in the G2 Queen Mary S. at this meeting. B-Cheveley Park Stud Ltd. LAND FORCE (IRE) (No Nay Never) was bred by Evie Stockwell and now races in the silks of her son John Magnier. The half-brother to dual Grade I winner Photo Call (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) passed through the Goffs Orby ring as part of the Oaks Farm Stables consignment, where he was signed for by Magnier/Mayfair for €350,000, and he now races for Magnier, Tabor and Smith. As would be expected of any Coolmore-connected colt, Land Force comes from a seriously deep family: his second dam is Cassandra Go (Ire) (Indian Ridge {Ire}), winner of Royal Ascot’s King’s Stand S. when it was a Group 2, and she has produced the triple Group 1 winner Halfway To Heaven (Ire) (Pivotal {GB}) and her triple Group 1-winning daughter Rhododendron (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) among many accomplished descendants. B-Mrs Evie Stockwell. POCKET DYNAMO (DIALED IN) is a $20,000 Keeneland November graduate, having been purchased by EA Bloodstock from the draft of Darby Dan, which stands his sire. Hunter Valley Farm re-offered the colt at Keeneland September, where trainer Robert Cowell picked him up for $35,000. Pocket Dynamo has won two of three thus far, but had no takers when led out unsold at £170,000 at Goffs London on Monday evening. B-Jocelyn Shutkas. RUMBLE INTHEJUNGLE (IRE) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) looks to make it back-to-back Royal Ascot wins for Rebel Racing and Richard Spencer following Rajasinghe (Ire) (Choisir {Ire})’s victory in last year’s G2 Coventry S. Rumble Inthejungle was unsold at €52,000 as a Goffs November Foal, but breeder Patrick Gleeson dispatched him to Rebel Racing and Bobby O’Ryan for £70,000 at Goffs UK’s Premier yearling sale last August. B-Patrick Gleeson. THE PADDOCKS (IRE) (Charm Spirit {Ire}) was bought by Ross Doyle on behalf of Merriebelle and Sullivan Bloodstock for €120,000 at Arqana’s August yearling sale from perennial leading vendor and breeder Monceaux. B-Ecurie Des Monceaux. VINTAGE BRUT (GB) (Dick Turpin {Ire}) was among the King Power Racing haul signed for by SackvilleDonald at Goffs London on Monday evening, and his pricetag was £280,000. He was previously raced by Lovely Bubbly Racing to win his two starts to date. B-Mrs D O’Brien. SHANG SHANG SHANG (Shanghai Bobby) is expected to provide Wesley Ward with his latest Royal Ascot victory when she goes up against the colts here. Originally a $110,000 OBS Winter Mixed Sale purchase by Summerfield, the bay was pinhooked for $200,000 when bought by Breeze Easy at OBS March and was the winner of her lone start at Keeneland in April when beating subsequent winner and stablemate Moonlight Romance (Liaison), who goes for Saturday’s Listed Windsor Castle S. B-Kris R Del Giudice. View the full article

Jupiter comes full circle as he tackles turf mile again View the full article

The early identification of good young broodmare sires is an important endeavor for many breeders. Having a broodmare sire that is in vogue is certainly something than can influence mare buyers or even yearling buyer to make that extra bid at the sales. Our list of stallions are all foaled on or after 2000 and all have had at least 100 starters so far. But while it may be easy to come by the data for such a ranking, it’s different matter entirely to draw conclusions from it. Generally speaking, good sires tend to make good broodmare sires, simply because good sires tend to have built their reputations on good books of mares. Therefore, it is no surprise to see a stallion like Bernardini on top of our ranking. Right from the outset of his career, Bernardini was bred to some of the best mares in America. In his first three years his mares were so good that they would have produced 16.4% stakes winners when mated with other sires. So it is these pedigrees together with Bernardini’s own influence that is shining through. Over 10% stakes winner to runners is very good for a sire and phenomenal for a broodmare sire. Predictably, his sire line works well with most in America. His top horse is the GI Hollywood Derby winner Mo Town, by Uncle Mo. Bernardini will almost certainly struggle to maintain this output, although it must be said that breeders have supported him with quality mare throughout his time at Darley. Ghostzapper, with 13 stakes winners, is marginally behind Bernardini with 9.6% stakes winners. And it has to be said that, so far, Ghostzapper’s stakes winners are in a different league to most. The brilliant undefeated Triple Crown winner Justify is one of three Grade I winners among the early runners of Ghostzapper’s daughters. Ghostzapper was a brilliant racehorse who was beaten only twice in a relatively short 11-race career that extended from two to five. After winning the 6 1/2-furlong GI Vosburgh S. later in his 3-year-old season, Ghostzapper went unbeaten in five more races including the 10-furlong GI Breeders’ Cup Classic and finished his career winning the GI Met Mile–brilliance no matter what the distance. No wonder Timeform rated him as high as 137. The son of Awesome Again–as his 2018 fee of $85,000 suggests–has also been an outstanding sire. Sixty-four stakes winners at an impressive rate of 11.1% to starters clearly testifies to this. Moreover, he outscores his opportunities, producing graded stakes winners at a rate of 5.9% compared to his runners’ sibling score of 4.7%. But here’s the thing about Ghostzapper. Though he hasn’t been bred to the same quality of mare as the likes of Bernardini (15.8% versus 9.6%), he’s more likely to sire good racemares. Daughters like Better Lucky, Judy The Beauty, Paulassilverling and Contested are perhaps his best racehorses period. Not only that, his ratio of stakes-winning fillies to starters is a massive 12.9% compared to his sons’ score of 9.5%. In fact he’s carrying on where his sire and grandsire, Awesome Again (6.7% stakes winners as a broodmare sire) and Deputy Minister–who has 235 Stakes winners (7.7%) as a broodmare sire–left off. Could he one day rival the famous Deputy Minister, whose daughters produced Curlin, Frosted, Rags To Riches, Abel Tasman and Tapizar to name but a handful of his 25 Grade I winners? It’s no surprise to see the Seattle Slew line featuring heavily in our broodmare sire ranking–his line offers get outcross opportunities. A son of the Seattle Slew sire A.P. Indy leads the way and we have a grandson in third place. No not Tapit, but Sky Mesa, whose 14 Stakes winners have been produced at an excellent rate of 7.2% to starters, despite his own output as a sire being considerably lower than Tapit’s. Like Ghostzapper, he’s had to call upon the late Scat Daddy to produce his best runner (Grade I winner Harmonize) as a broodmare sire. But we can expect Tapit to improve on his 3.6% as we move forward. He’s a stallion that has built his reputation the hard way starting out at $15,000 and as his daughters with superior pedigrees start retiring to the breeding shed we should see a vast improvement in his strike rate as a broodmare sire. As is always the case, pedigree counts for everything, including it seems in the making of a top-class broodmare sire. View the full article

There were a couple of noteworthy newcomers at Royal Ascot on opening day. Most notably, Meghan Markle rode in the third Royal Carriage with her new husband, Prince Harry. Besides Markle, sensational New York jockey Jose Ortiz also made his first appearance to the top hat and tails crowd. Ortiz was blanked in his only two rides, but I have the feeling that he had two excellent learning experiences. Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) was prominent in the G1 Queen Anne S. only to even out on the unusual, undulating straightaway. In another Grade 1 event, the King’s Stand S., he lost a nose photo for fourth at 40-1 in a field of fourteen aboard Bucchero (Kantharos). Ortiz has the talent and ambition to be the toast of London with the right set of riding engagements. Markle, now known as the Duchess of Sussex, was easy to find–all one had to do was listen for the sound of cameras clicking away. But the star of the day was jockey Frankie Dettori, who at age 47 brought a desire to win like nothing I had seen for decades. He missed his favorite race meet, Royal Ascot, last year because of a paddock injury. This year he joked he was wrapping himself in bubble paper between rides to be ready and able when called to the paddock. Dettori is the leading rider of the young meet with three wins. In addition to Calyx (Kingman {GB}) in the G2 Coventry S., and a come-from-behind performance on Monarchs Glen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Wolferton S., his biggest win of the day was on Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the G1 St. James’s Palace S., a race his father, jockey Gianfranco Dettori, won in 1975 aboard Bolkonski. Frankie’s son, Rocco, is now riding in pony races, so we could have a third generation to wager on soon. All three of his Ascot winners Tuesday were conditioned by trainer John Gosden, who is now the leading trainer of Royal Ascot 2018. Ortiz watched from the jockey’s room as a stellar crowd gathered, and he jokingly vowed to hold the trophy someday. The Duke and Duchess made the presentation to Dettori and Gosden. For those who follow the top tier of Thoroughbred racing on both sides of the Atlantic, the feat of 72-year-old John Gunther, master of Glennwood Farm in Kentucky, takes the grand prize. Along with his daughter, Tanya, Gunther bred Without Parole. He also bred a horse named Justify (Scat Daddy), who just won racing’s most elusive prize, the Triple Crown. View the full article

It’s slightly disappointing that the Price Of Wales’s Stakes is the only Group 1 contest tomorrow but it’s a stellar day racing nonetheless. Cracksman tops the billing and last season’s Champion Stakes winner is very hard to oppose. The toughest opposition will come from Poet’s Word, Cliffs Of Moher and Eminent but it would seem that they are all fighting for minor money. RaceBets have a great offer for new customers, simply place a £/€20 bet on the Prince of Wales Stakes and get your stake back if your horse loses. T&C’s Apply. Click here for full details. The opener on Day 2 of the royal meeting is the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes for two-year-old fillies. Wesley Ward has won two of the last three renewals with Acapulco and Lady Aurelia and the American will be hoping his Chelsea Cloisters can add to his previous three victories. Lots of pedigrees and profiles catch the eye but one of the more interesting fillies is French raider Forever In Dreams who is unbeaten in two runs and hails from the same connections as last year’s Albany winner Different League. The Queens Vase looks like a schooling race for Aidan O’Brien with three of four market leaders in the form of Kew Gardens, Nelson and Southern France. John Gosden’s unexposed pair of Stream Of Stars and Almoghared are undoubtedly the biggest dangers to Aidan O’Brien claiming a sixth win in the race with a slight preference for Stream Of Stars. Aidan O’Brien looks to have another strong candidate for victory with Hydrangea in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes, the two-time Group winner should appreciate this step down in class and is the likely winner. Marco Botti’s Aljazzi looks the biggest danger in the hands of William Buick. Anyone who read my Handicap Hopefuls article last week will know that my banker of the week runs in the Royal Hunt Cup. This race is all about Settle For Bay, David Marnane’s charge has everything going for him including stable form, with Marnane having another winner on Sunday. Marnane said: “He’s in good form and travelled over well. He cantered on the track and we’re very happy with him”. Many romantics will be rowing in behind the Queen’s runner Seniority who has gotten into the race as a second reserve. The Dubawi gelding has won both his starts this term and with James Doyle in the plate, a big run looks on the cards. The Group Three Jersey Stakes brings Day 2 to a close and it looks a tricky affair for anyone trying to get out of jail in the “lucky last”. Could It Be Love was runner-up in the Irish 1000 Guineas most recently but those races can sometimes throw up funny results especially when it comes to the placings. William Haggas’s Society Power has a plethora of “1” beside his name which can be misleading but to be fair the Society Rock colt has been very progressive and looks a real contender for the Group Three prize. Of the other runners, I quite like the Hamdan Al Maktoum owned Tabdeed. The Havana Gold colt is unbeaten in two starts and was mightily impressive on both occasions. Owen Burrows slowly slowly approach can reap dividends here as I expect Tabdeed to go very close in this contest. The post Royal Ascot Preview – Day 2 appeared first on RaceBets Blog EN. View the full article

Anthony Oppenheimer's son of Frankel brings a five-race winning streak to Royal Ascot, and trainer John Gosden is hoping for a return to his best form back at the scene of his romp in the QIPCO Champion Stakes (G1) last Autumn. View the full article

Fathers and sons, on the track; fathers and daughters, off it. Sometimes the jagged and capricious lines of fortune on the Turf level off into such perfect arcs that they seem to obey a destiny more wonderful and mysterious than should find expression in anything so essentially trifling as a horserace. In this latest instance, needless to say, there remains ample time and opportunity for the usual frustrations associated with the Thoroughbred to shatter what might prove just an illusion of inexorability. As things stand, however, only one climax could satisfactorily complete the story that yesterday maintained a cohesion of narrative and character that would seem excessively fanciful in fiction. And that is for Without Parole (Frankel {GB}) to take on Justify (Scat Daddy) in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at the end of a year in which both have accelerated to stardom more or less overnight. For each to have graduated from the same boutique breeding operation–John and Tanya Gunther’s Glennwood Farm–is already so outlandish that a relatively feasible increment of extra luck would suffice for both to arrive in Louisville in November as a continent’s outstanding unbeaten talent. The dirt surface would, of course, make it “a home game” for Justify. But just as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex performed a priceless service to the sport by submitting themselves to the paparazzi here, so soon after their wedding, a similar feat of evangelism lies within reach of those to whom the royal couple presented their trophies after the G1 St James’s Palace S. That ceremony introduced one transatlantic alliance to another. And if the Duchess could be counted unfortunate to find another American lady just as elegantly turned out, anywhere on the course, how must she have felt to share a dead-heat with a compatriot on the very same podium? As it was, the presentation sealed John Gunther’s unequivocal declaration that winning this race, in their own silks, surpassed even the joy he and his daughter had found in breeding a Triple Crown winner. “Nothing will come close to this, ever,” he said. But maybe something could. For the flair, imagination and instinct by which the Gunthers have created these parallel masterpieces have already sketched out a valid outline for bringing them onto the same canvas. The Gunthers have never taken a narrow, prescriptive view of pedigrees. Without Parole’s dam Without You Babe (Lemon Drop Kid) is a half-sister to a G1 Travers S. winner in Stay Thirsty (Bernardini) and has already produced a GI Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner in Tamarkuz (Speightstown). And while Frankel, sadly, did not risk the Breeders’ Cup Classic himself, the relentless way he carried his speed was straight out of the dirt textbook. Actually, there was something rather reminiscent of Frankel’s own performance in this race, seven years ago, in the way Without Parole settled the issue but then had to hold off the strong finish of a Ballydoyle colt: Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) here reprising the role of Zoffany (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). But Frankel was a thunderous juvenile, and it is remarkable how Without Parole has built on the shallow foundations he laid in starting out only the week before Christmas. His progress since has been neither as rapid nor as seamless as that of Justify, as he missed the G1 QIPCO 2,000 Guineas with a foot problem. But at least that enabled the Gunthers to see Justify win the first leg of his Triple Crown, the same day; and conceivably spared Without Parole a rude awakening after two odds-on romps. The French have a saying for it: reculer pour mieux sauter (meaning that you get the spring required for a longer jump by taking a step or two back from the launching board). A son of Frankel also won the last race, completing a treble for Gosden and Frankie Dettori. For they had earlier ensured that Frankel’s Juddmonte studmate Kingman (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) was not overshadowed, a stunning colt emerging from his debut crop in G2 Coventry S. winner Calyx (GB). To do this 10 days after his debut leaves no doubt that he is out of the ordinary, and likewise the unflinching confidence in the betting ring–not least after the 33-1 shocker Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}) landed the opening G1 Queen Anne S. This breakout success for Eve Johnson Houghton meant that Tanya Gunther was not the only daughter shedding tears of joy and pride in the winner’s enclosure yesterday. Johnson Houghton took over her father Fulke’s stable 11 years ago and endured challenging times before registering 50 winners in a season for the first time last year. The exacta, completed by half-length runner-up Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper), paid £974. Yet it was over the same straight track only last October that Accidental Agent won a handicap by half a length from–well, from Lord Glitters, of course. What are the chances of that? Shorter, you can be sure, than a family farm like Glennwood producing Justify, Vino Rosso (Curlin) and Without Parole from around a score of yearlings sent to the sales in 2016. Without Parole, thankfully, was bought in for 650,000gns. A different destiny was calling. View the full article

Wayne Lukas didn’t think like other Thoroughbred trainers. Maybe that was because he came from different sports (basketball and Quarter Horse racing), maybe it was because he never wanted to be just another average trainer, maybe it was because he was a visionary. Probably, it’s all of the above. Lukas set up his Thoroughbred stable in Southern California in 1977 and by 1978, he had already established one of the top barns on the circuit. He won four stakes races that year and produced his first superstar, Terlingua. He was well on his way to becoming one of the dominant trainers in California. For Lukas, that wasn’t good enough. He saw the best trainers in California–Charlie Whittingham, Laz Barrera, Bob Wheeler, Ron McAnally–and wondered why they were content to have 25-30 horses, all of them stabled at the same place, which limited the earning power of the stable and the opportunity for the horses. “Racing is tradition-bound,” Lukas said. “It’s very hard for anybody in racing to accept change of any kind. I thought that most of the people that I had encountered and were rubbing elbows with were not visionaries in a lot of areas.” Back when Lukas started in Thoroughbred racing, a trainer was normally limited to about 40 stalls at a racetrack, which meant he or she could only have so many horses, unless they wanted to be at more than one track. Most were content to stay in one place, and since there was no horse-shortage problem, racing secretaries weren’t inclined to gave a large outfit extra stalls. You also didn’t have the many training centers that now exist which give trainers additional places to stable, like Palm Meadows in Florida and portions of the Saratoga backstretch that are now open in all but the winter months. Lukas saw none of that as an impediment, so he planted a seed. He would not limit his operation to just California, and by stabling at several racetracks would expand his numbers. It was something a few claiming trainers, most notably Jack Van Berg, had done before, but no one had ever tried something like this with the type of high-quality horses that Lukas had. The seed took root and turned into an operation unlike anything racing had ever seen. He had divisions in California, New York, Florida and New Jersey. If he had cheaper horses that couldn’t make it a top-tier track, he’d find a place for them, like at Ak-Sar-Ben or at the Northern California tracks. He moved horses back and forth across the country like he was playing a game of chess, and he always seemed to be one move ahead of his opponent. In 1987, his operation now spread across the country, Lukas won 53 graded stakes races at 13 different racetracks. The traditionalists were not happy. Jealousy was a byproduct of his success. “I couldn’t have cared less what people thought,” he said. “I thought the Thoroughbred business was stagnant and I was cocky, brash, arrogant and ambitious.” All that mattered to Lukas was that he was winning races and his clients were happy. “Every horse that we purchased or who came into our care ended up being somewhat productive, making a mark somewhere in the industry,” he said. “That’s because we were able to move them around to find a spot where they fit and they could win. A lot of records fell into place and a lot of things we couldn’t have achieved otherwise, we did. It was very common for us on any given weekend to win six or seven stakes races.” There was a time when a single trainer winning six or seven stakes on a weekend was unheard of. Not anymore. Lukas provided the blueprint for the mega-stable and proved that it could be done. It was inevitable that others, including some of his former assistants, would copy his methodology. Do it right and you can make a lot of money and train some of the best horses in the county. At age 82, Lukas’s operation looks nothing like it did in the eighties. He currently has 38 horses under his care and has only one division: Oaklawn in the winter, Kentucky the rest of the year. But he has been replaced by seven or eight trainers who have not only equaled what he has done, but with some, taken it to another level. Lukas said he never had more than 150 horses. At the height of the 2018 season, Chad Brown–the two-time reigning Eclipse Award Outstanding Trainer–will have 220 horses under his care. We now have a name for the Chad Browns, Todd Pletchers, Steve Asmussens, Bob Bafferts and the rest: “Super Trainers.” What is a super trainer? There’s no precise definition, but it’s more or less this: a trainer who has a huge stable, is based at more than one racetrack and wins a ton of major races. Lukas started the super-trainer concept, but it didn’t take root overnight. Probably the next super trainer was his former assistant Todd Pletcher. He was confident he could do what Lukas had done. In 2004, Pletcher won 239 races overall, including 43 graded stakes. “Wayne had so many strengths and one of them is organizational,” Pletcher said. “That’s one of the main things I learned from him. It was his attention to detail, his ability to set up an organization and make it run smoothly. With our own barn, we took a lot of things from that.” Pletcher is the prototypical super trainer of the modern era. He has about 160 horses spread among three locations and every year restocks his barn with some of the best-bred, most expensive horses that go through the sales ring. Like Lukas during his heyday, he is capable of winning multiple stakes races across the country on any weekend. But he is not alone and, in fact, in many categories, has been eclipsed by rival Chad Brown. Super trainers have never been more in vogue or more dominant. “It seems like every big owner only knows the phone number of four of five trainers,” said Midwestern-based trainer Dan Peitz, whose stable houses 16 horses. In 2017, there were 107 Grade I races run in the U.S. Thirty of them–28%–were won by two trainers. Brown won 16 and Bob Baffert won 14. Throw in Mark Casse (6), Jerry Hollendorfer (5), Pletcher (4) and Steve Asmussen (4) and seven trainers won 45.8% of all Grade I races last year. In this year’s 10-horse GI Belmont Stakes, five were trained by Hall of Famers (Lukas, Bill Mott, Steve Asmussen and two from the Baffert barn). Three more were trained by certain future Hall of Famers (Chad Brown and two from Pletcher). The remaining two were trained by Doug O’Neill and Dale Romans, potential Hall of Famers. It’s the proverbial snowball effect. A group of hyper-competitive, driven trainers have all emerged at about the same time, some of whom have started with only a handful of horses. While success on the track has always translated to more owners and more horses, this phenomenon is something different. It’s almost as if once Lukas shattered racing’s stereotypes about how many horses a trainer could have and still be successful and manage each one effectively, there was no going back. They start winning. Clients see that they are winning. They give them more horses and better horses. Other owners take their horses away from trainers whose numbers are less than spectacular and give them to the larger stables. The trainer’s stable grows some more, it wins more races and that attracts even more owners and better horses. Owners, naturally, want to hire the best talent available. The result is that seven or eight trainers seem to train 80% of the best horses in the sport. “People hire these guys because they do a great job,” said Jerry Crawford, who heads the Donegal Racing partnership and uses, among others, Mott, Pletcher and Baffert. “Winning Grade Is is hard no matter what. The reason why winning at the highest level in horse racing is so special is because it’s incredibly hard to do. When you work with these marquee trainers, if you give them a horse that is good enough, the odds are great that they will get the best possible out of that horse.” No one personifies the super-trainer phenomenon more than Brown. A former assistant to Hall of Famers Bobby Frankel and Shug McGaughey and an Ivy League graduate (Cornell), he went out on his own in 2007 at the age of 28. He was guaranteed nothing. He started with 10 horses, but it wasn’t the numbers or quality in his barn that began arguably the fastest rise to the top in racing history. Brown is smart, organized, works tirelessly at his craft, understands the importance of hiring only the very best to work under him and absolutely hates to lose. It’s a recipe for success. “I am a challenge-oriented person and I have been that way since I was a kid,” Brown said. “I feel like I need to be doing something with my life that is challenging and I find that this profession is both challenging and rewarding. Our team is faced with challenges every day and that drives us to always try to get better.” In his first full year, 2008, he won 31 races and had a major breakthrough when he won the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf with Maram (Sahm). That’s the type of win that gets you noticed. Brown’s victory total increased every year, and in 2014, he won 147 races, 17 graded stakes and three Breeders’ Cup races. In 2017, he won 213 races, including 47 graded stakes. For his career, he is winning at a 25% clip. He is so much in demand that other super trainers are losing their horses to him. The owner of Instilled Regard (Arch), a $1.05 million 2-year-old purchase, who was fourth in the GI Kentucky Derby, recently took the horse away from Jerry Hollendorfer and turned him over to Brown. He apologizes for nothing. “I am doing a service to the industry by taking certain clients that I have had and doubling and tripling or even quadrupling the amount of horses they own since they first hired me,” he said. “That’s because they have had success with us. These are people who, if they were in another barn and weren’t doing as well, might not be in the game any longer. Be careful throwing too many arrows at the larger, successful stables that are cultivating owners, increasing the amount of dollars spent and the overall commerce in the sport. That trickles down to the breeders, the racetrack owners and others.” To be a super trainer, you must be like Brown, focused solely on your career and willing to forego any sort of normal life. “There’s a price for this,” said Mark Casse, who trains about 125 horses. “We don’t have days off. Not even Christmas. It’s an all-day deal, an all-night deal. Myself, I thrive on that. I get bored easily.” “I work really hard at this,” Baffert said. “I don’t take vacations and I don’t go anywhere. It’s a lot of hard work and effort and that’s why I’m rewarded with a lot of good horses.” Most anyone would like to train the type of horses that Baffert has and make the kind of money that he does, but some trainers say it’s not worth the sacrifice. “Those super trainer guys, the majority of them have white hair and they’re constantly on the telephone,” said Florida-based trainer Larry Bates. “I generally carry between 12 and 15 horses. I’m older than all those guys and my hair hasn’t turned white yet. I get to go fishing. I love what I’m doing and I’ve had one owner for 23 years and another for 15. It’s kind of like a family affair. I wish those guys with all those horses all the luck in the world and the composure they have is amazing, but I don’t envy them.” But just as Bates wants to spend time fishing and is happy having a dozen horses, the super trainer wants to be involved with his stable 24/7 and can’t win enough races to satisfy their desire to be the very best there is. That may not be a life for everyone, but it works for them and they have the numbers to prove it. What they are selling is their highly successful record, and most top owners are no longer willing to settle for anything less. This is Part I of a two-part series. In Thursday’s TDN, Bill Finley will explore Part II of the “Super Trainers” discussion: Are super trainers bad for the sport? View the full article

John and Tanya Gunther's storybook season got even better at Ascot June 19, as their homebred colt Without Parole (GB) bested nine rivals to land the Royal meeting's St James's Palace Stakes (G1). View the full article

ROYAL ASCOT DAY TWO: G2 QUEEN MARY S. There are many fillies in this lineup that would rightfully be considered bargain buys if they can boost their profiles with a win in this prestigious contest. The priciest public auction purchase in the lineup is the Scat Daddy daughter Gossamer Wings, and she is one of three to have graduated from American sales. Kodiac (GB) has four line up here, while first-season sire Kuroshio (Aus) is among those with two. CHELSEA CLOISTERS (First Samurai) was a $125,000 selection from the Fasig-Tipton July sale by agent Gatewood Bell’s Cromwell Bloodstock. She wears the silks of Hat Creek Racing, which were carried to victory at this meeting last year by Con Te Partiro (Scat Daddy) in the Listed Sandringham H. B-Alastar Thoroughbred Co. COME ON LEICESTER (IRE) (Kodiac {GB}) continues a busy Royal week for Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The last-out maiden winner was bought by Church Farm for €80,000 at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland September yearling sale from the Baroda & Colbinstown draft, and was a significant pinhook at the Tattersalls Craven Sale in April when picked up by King Power’s agent Alastair Donald of SackvilleDonald for 360,000gns. B-Philip And Mrs Jane Myerscough. COUNTRY ROSE (IRE) (Bungle Inthejungle {GB}) was a €7,500 Goffs Orby yearling purchase by Ron Harris from Rathasker Stud. The last-out novice race winner was led out unsold at £95,000 at Monday evening’s Goffs London Sale. B-Dylan Finucane. DAPHINIA (GB) (Kuroshio {Aus}) was retained by her breeders when led out at £8,000 at last year’s Tattersalls Ireland Ascot yearling sale, but changed ownership privately before making a winning debut at Wolverhampton in April. B-Mr & Mrs J R Worboys. DEIA GLORY (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) was scooped up by trainer Scott Dixon for 32,000gns from breeder Whitsbury Manor Stud at Book 3 of last year’s Tattersalls October yearling sale. B-Whitsbury Manor Stud. FOREVER IN DREAMS (IRE) failed to find a new home at the 2016 Goffs November Foal Sale when retained by breeder Con Marnane at €10,000. Racing in the silks of Con’s wife Theresa, she is unbeaten in two tries in France for trainer Matthieu Palussiere. B-Con Marnane. GLOBAL GODDESS (IRE) (Morpheus {GB}), a first-crop daughter of Frankel’s half-brother, looks up against it here after finishing fourth in her lone outing at Wolverhampton on May 14. She was picked up by trainer Gay Kelleway for £17,000 from breeder Tally-Ho Stud at last year’s Goffs UK Silver yearling sale. Tally-Ho also stands the sire. B-Tally-Ho Stud. GOSSAMER WINGS (Scat Daddy) is a sibling to three stakes winners, including the Grade III-winning Baby J (J Be K). The filly from the final crop of the late great Scat Daddy was bought by MV Magnier for $500,000 at Keeneland September from Taylor Made Sales. B-Mrs O M Patrick. HAATS OFF (GB) (Haatef) is the first of just two foals for her dam Lahqa (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}), who died after producing a colt by Hot Streak (Ire) last year. The filly has not yet visited a sales ring. B-D R Tucker. KODYANNA (IRE) (Kodiac {GB}) was picked up by The Cool Silk Partnership in conjunction with Stroud Coleman Bloodstock at the Goffs UK Premier yearling sale for €180,000. Kodyanna is a full-sister to juvenile stakes winner and G3 Prix de Cabourg second Darkanna (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). B-Mountarmstrong Stud. KURIOUS (GB) (Kuroshio {Aus}) is the second runner here for her surprise package first-season sire, and she looks to make it back-to-back wins in this juvenile fillies’ feature for the Hot To Trot Racing syndicate following Heartache (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) last year. Kurious has yet to visit a sales ring, and like the club’s other runners is leased from her breeder. B-Mrs B A Matthews. LITTLE KIM (GB) (Garswood {GB}) was withdrawn by Barton Stud from the Tattersalls December Foal Sale and instead offered the following year at the same firm’s Book 2 October yearling sale, where she fetched 45,000gns from trainer Karl Burke. B-Gary Hodson & Peter Moule. LUCHADOR (GB) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) with withdrawn from Monday’s Goffs London Sale, and races in the colours of breeder Al Asayl Bloodstock. B-Al Asayl Bloodstock Ltd. RED BALLOONS (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}) was selected by Joe Foley on behalf of Clipper Logistics for £28,000 from the draft of co-breeder Limestone Stud at last year’s Goffs UK Silver yearling sale. She is out of a mare who is a sister to a trio of classy fillies, including the G3 Nell Gwyn S. winner Silca’s Gift (GB) (Cadeaux Genereux {GB}). B-Limestone And Tara Studs. SECOND GENERATION (GB) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) was offered at Book 2 at Tattersalls October through The Castlebridge Consignment but was retained by breeder Godolphin for 22,000gns. The daughter of the G3 Cornwallis S. third El Manati (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) now races for Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum. B-Godolphin. SERVALAN (IRE) (No Nay Never) was a €50,000 Goffs Orby yearling purchase by BBA Ireland on behalf of this year’s Oaks-winning breeder Vimal Khosla. The filly, who is out of the stakes-placed Catch The Eye (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}) was offered on that occasion by breeder Noeleen McCreevy from Derrymore Farm. B-Mrs Noeleen McCreevy. SHADES OF BLUE (IRE) (Kodiac {GB}) represents last year’s Queen Mary-winning trainer Clive Cox. She was bought by Rathbarry Stud for 105,000gns from breeder Newtown Stud at Tattersalls as a foal, and retained at 110,000gns when put through the same ring 10 months later at Book 2 of the Tattersalls October yearling sale. B-Newtown Stud. SHUMOOKHI (IRE) (Society Rock {Ire}) was picked up by Blandford Bloodstock from the draft of breeder Tally-Ho Stud for £11,000 at the Tattersalls Ireland Ascot breeze-up sale in April. She broke her maiden at second asking at Catterick five weeks ago. B-Tally-Ho Stud. SIGNORA CABELLO (IRE) (Camacho {GB}) was a 20,000gns yearling at Book 3 at Tattersalls October, having been bought by Richard Knight Bloodstock and Sean Quinn, and she was the subject of a private sale to Phoenix Thoroughbreds after winning the Listed Marygate Fillies’ S. on May 18. Signora Cabello is out of the G3 Princess Margaret S. second Journalist (Ire) (Night Shift). B-Diomed Bloodstock Ltd. SNAZZY (IRE) (Kodiac {GB}) was snapped up by Charlie Gordon-Watson for €40,000 at Tattersalls Ireland’s September yearling sale from the Ballyhimikin Stud draft. The debut winner for Highclere was third behind Signora Cabello in the Marygate. B-Trevor Stewart. SO PERFECT (Scat Daddy), like her stablemate Gossamer Wings here, was scooped up by MV Magnier from Keeneland September last year, her pricetag being $400,000 from the Select Sales consignment. The full-sister to the stakes-placed Scat Eddie is out of a half-sister to dual graded winner Cowtown Cat (Distorted Humor). B-Machmer Hall. YOLO AGAIN (IRE) (Toronado {Ire}) was taken home by Barnane Stud from the Goffs November Foal Sale when bought back for €15,000, and was sold by the same consignment for €25,000 10 months later at the Goffs Sportsmans yearling sale when bought by Gill Richardson. Yolo Again was offered by trainer Johnny Murtagh’s Fox Covert Stables at the Goffs London Sale on Monday, but she will race on for Fitzwilliam Racing after failing to meet her reserve at £85,000. B-The Suite Partnership. View the full article

The 2018 Maryland State Fair at Timonium will feature seven days of live racing from Aug. 24 through Sept. 3 with purses of over $185,000 daily. For the first time in many years, the meet will conduct two $75,000 stakes events: the Timonium Distaff S. Aug. 25 and the Maryland Coalition S. Sept. 1. A $20,000 trainers’ bonus will be included again this year, while groom awards to the best turned out in each race will also be awarded. On Aug. 25, Timonium will host College Day at the Fair, with nine $1,000 college scholarships awarded to preregistered full time college students in attendance. “Without the leadership of Gerry Brewster, chairman of our Board, Bill Marlow, head of our racing committee, and the entire Board of Director of the Maryland State Fair, these developments would not be possible,” said Bill Reightler, Timonium’s director of racing operations. “We are particularly excited about our improved stakes program and College Day at the Fair. Thank you to our sponsors and horsemen for supporting us!” View the full article

Carrying a Frankie Dettori in irresistible mood, the unpredictable Monarchs Glen (GB) (Frankel {GB}) was on his best behaviour as he swooped to provide his sire and owner-breeder with an opening day Royal Ascot double in the Listed Wolferton H. Last seen finishing in front of only one of his 15 rivals in Meydan’s G1 Dubai Turf at the end of March, last year’s G3 Darley S. winner was playing second fiddle to fellow Frankel homebred Mirage Dancer (GB) in the betting at 8-1 but whereas that rival got stuck in behind rivals at a crucial point, Dettori was riding on the crest of a wave and his daring dash up the inner paid off as he delivered the third of his three winning rides for John Gosden on the front end approaching the furlong pole. Soon beyond reach, the 8-1 shot was the comfortable scorer by a length and the same from the 33-1 shots Euginio (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and Muntahaa (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). “I took a chance and it worked out, but I didn’t expect this one to win,” his rider said. “Three rides and three winners–what an amazing day and it’s making up for last year [when he missed the meeting through injury]. This track has been so lucky for me and John Gosden is on fire.” MONARCHS GLEN (GB), g, 4, Frankel (GB)–Mirabilis (GSW-US, SW & G1SP-Fr, $275,664), by Lear Fan. O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. View the full article

The Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association will host its 33rd annual National Awards Dinner Sept. 8 at the Woodford Reserve Club at Kroger Field in Lexington. The dinner honors owners and breeders from 23 states and Canada and recognizes the National Owner of the Year and National Owner Finalists, National Breeder of the Year, Small Breeder of the Year, Broodmare of the Year, Rood & Riddle Sport Horse of the Year, Claiming Crown Horse of the Year and recipient of the Robert N. Clay Award. “We look forward to a special and unforgettable evening of honoring the leading Thoroughbred owners and breeders in North America,” said TOBA president Dan Metzger. “Hosting the National Awards Dinner at the University of Kentucky’s football stadium will provide a unique and exciting setting for all of our state and national winners and guests.” Tickets for the National Awards Dinner will go on sale July 31 and will be available online at www.toba.org or by calling Meredith Downey at (859) 276-6793. View the full article

The third day of the Inglis Great Southern Sale at Oaklands Junction marked the conclusion of the weanling portion, with broodmares making up the second half of the day, and it was 3-year-old broodmare prospect Yulong Xingsheng (Aus) (I Am Invincible {Aus}) (lot 602) who took pride of place, taking over as the highest-priced lot of the sale when knocked down to Aquis Farm for A$380,000. The Woodside Park Stud offering scored her biggest win in the Listed Twilight Glow S. in the spring and counts Carlingford Rose (GB) (Dance in Time), a listed winner in Ireland, as her third dam. “She is a beautiful quality mare who is by one of the best sires in the country,” said Aquis CEO Shane McGrath. “We loved her and she was our pick of the sale. I thought [A$380,000] was a very fair price for her when you value her in comparison to previous sales. When you buy these A-grade physicals with the proper race form, that is what you have to expect to pay. She has done her job on the track and we will have fun with her going forward.” For the entirety of the select weanling session, 382 (81%) sold and grossed A$9,302,523. The average was A$24,352 and the median was A$12,000, with a son of Fastnet Rock (Aus) (lot 97) making A$300,000. Sixty-two general weanlings (93%) also found new homes for an aggregate of A$148,750. Woodside Park’s Written Tycoon (Aus) was out in front on the sire table, with all 10 lots selling for a gross of A$931,500 and an average of A$93,150. Woodside Park’s unreserved reduction of 18 weanlings made them the leading vendor, with a gross of A$948,500. “It’s great to be the leading commercial stud in Victoria,” said Woodside Park’s General Manager Commercial James Price. “It’s equally satisfying to see the progeny of Written Tycoon in high demand not only Australia-wide, but also internationally.” The sale continues at Oaklands Junction with a broodmare session on Thursday with 225 lots slated to go under the hammer beginning at 10 a.m. local time. View the full article

John Gunther’s run of luck is bordering on the obscene and just days after the colt he bred Justify (Scat Daddy) completed the Triple Crown he was able to live out a longtime dream of owning a Royal Ascot homebred winner as Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}) justified 9-4 favouritism for a John Gosden-Frankie Dettori axis in firm forward motion. Settled third early as US Navy Flag (War Front) set off to prove the stamina question once and for all, the bay who took the Listed Heron S. at Sandown May 24 swooped on that tiring leader passing the quarter pole and stayed on strongly as Ballydoyle’s other runner Gustav Klimt (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) bore down on him. At the line, he had a half length to spare, with 3 1/4 lengths back to Wootton (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in third as the 3-year-old miling division finally sorted itself out. “He had gone very fast on US Navy Flag and it was a brave performance from my horse, as he had to commit early,” Gosden said. “The horse would have learned a lot and there is a lot more to come.” WITHOUT PAROLE (GB), 126, c, 3, by Frankel (GB) 1st Dam: Without You Babe, by Lemon Drop Kid 2nd Dam: Marozia, by Storm Bird 3rd Dam: Make Change, by Roberto 1ST GROUP WIN; 1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (650,000gns RNA Ylg ’16 TATOCT). O-John Gunther & Tanya Gunther; B-John Gunther (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £305,525. Lifetime Record: 4-4-0-0, £336,489. *1/2 to Tamarkuz (Speightstown), GISW-US & MGSP-UAE, $1,840,444. View the full article

Lael Stable's Chalon moved into a tie for first in the filly and mare sprint-dirt division of the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship series when she earned 10 points with her victory in the $75,000 Regret Stakes June 17 at Monmouth Park. View the full article

There was to be no third Royal victory for Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) in the G1 King’s Stand S. as TDN Rising Star Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) provided another red-letter day for Godolphin, Charlie Appleby and William Buick. Sent off at 6-1 coming back to Europe off a last-of-nine finish in the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize at Sha Tin Apr. 29, he stuck within two lengths of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s trail-blazing leader Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) throughout and wore him down with 100 yards remaining en route to a 1 3/4-length success, with a neck back to Mabs Cross (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) in third. Lady Aurelia, the 2-1 favourite, was only seventh after failing to live with the potent pace. “There is a list of people I can thank,” his trainer said. “We’ve loved him since he was a two-year-old and I knew this was the right race for him.” BLUE POINT (IRE), 130, c, 4, by Shamardal 1st Dam: Scarlett Rose (GB), by Royal Applause (GB) 2nd Dam: Billie Blue (GB), by Ballad Rock (Ire) 3rd Dam: Blue Nose (Ire), by Windjammer (110,000gns Wlg ’14 TATFOA; 200,000gns Ylg ’15 TATOCT). O-Godolphin; B-Oak Lodge Bloodstock (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £305,525. Lifetime Record: GSP-UAE, 13-6-3-2, £741,517. *1/2 to Formosina (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), GSW-Ire & GSP-Eng, $185,830. View the full article

Having the pundits jumping up and down when registering fast fractions en route to a five-length debut success over six furlongs at Newmarket 10 days earlier, TDN Rising Star Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}) justified the boldness of John Gosden to come to the G2 Coventry S. so quickly after that effort and provide another Juddmonte spectacular at Royal Ascot. Always travelling strongly behind Cosmic Law (Ire) (No Nay Never) and Indigo Balance (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) on the stand’s side, the heavily-supported 2-1 favourite surged clear of his group under Frankie Dettori before two out and at the line had a length and a neck to spare over Advertise (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) and Sergei Prokofiev (Scat Daddy) who battled it out far side. Several lengths in front of the nearest peer on his side, the winner rates as a serious Coventry winner and Gosden was ebullient afterwards. “His father was exceptional and he is very talented,” he said. “I think for a horse second-time out to be left on his own for the last two furlongs he did amazingly well to win. It’s probably worth more than the winning distance. He’s a bit of a show-off and I’d love to give him a holiday now and bring him back for the G1 Prix Morny at Deauville in August. I don’t see why he won’t be a Guineas horse, as he’s rateable and was relaxed enough early. He’s got a good bit of scope, but a bit like the jockey can be a bit full of himself!” CALYX (GB), 127, c, 2, by Kingman (GB) 1st Dam: Helleborine (GB) (GSW & G1SW-Fr, $218,924), by Observatory 2nd Dam: New Orchid, by Quest For Fame (GB) 3rd Dam: Musicanti, by Nijinsky II O-Khalid Abdullah; B-Juddmonte Farms Ltd (GB); T-John Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. £85,065. Lifetime record: 2-2-0-0, £90,240. View the full article

ACCIDENTAL AGENT (GB), c, 4, Delegator (GB)–Roodle (GB), by Xaar (GB). (8,000gns RNA Ylg ’15 TAOCT). O/B-Mrs R F Johnson Houghton (GB); T-Eve Johnson Houghton; J-Charles Bishop. £367,197. Lifetime Record: 14-5-2-1, £601,261. Only sixth in the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury May 19, Accidental Agent (GB) (Delegator {GB}) found the requisite improvement to grind out a notable first Royal Ascot success for trainer Eve Johnson Houghton and jockey Charles Bishop at a huge 33-1 in the G1 Queen Anne S. Anchored with one behind early, the bay who had been third to Century Dream (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) in the Listed Paradise S. on his penultimate start over this course and distance on soft ground May 2 worked his way between rivals and to the lead 50 yards out to deny a blanket of rivals. Lord Glitters (Fr) (Whipper), who beat him in the Balmoral H. here in October, was a half length behind in second, a neck in front of Lightning Spear (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) who was in turn a nose ahead of Century Dream. There was another half length to the US raider Yoshida (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) in fifth, while Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) attracted a wave of support into 11-4 favouritism but after racing prominently faded to 10th. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but Eve was the one who wanted to come here,” Bishop said. “He’s got there to the front and quickened up again.” His trainer added, “My mum bred him and we have the mare in the field, nobody wanted to buy him at 8,000gns and I thought I was tilting at windmills. I dreamt about being third and this is just ridiculous.” View the full article