Wandering Eyes

Winning Hobby seals first win for new Kuah-Azhar duo View the full article

Horses' body weights February 1 View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings February 1 View the full article

Forever Young back to his best, says Kuah View the full article

Already an intriguing field amongst the domestic rivals, Sunday’s GIII Sweetest Chant S. at Gulfstream gets an added punch of intrigue via a pair of French shippers making their sophomore and Stateside debuts. La Feve (Fr) (George Vancouver) took five tries to break her maiden, but did it against male allowance company at Mont-de-Marsan July 19, and followed that effort up with a strong third at 41-1 in the G3 Prix d’Aumale Sept. 9 at Longchamp. That was good enough to pique the interest of Madaket Stables and Robert LaPenta, who teamed up to bring the chestnut to America. She has breezed steadily for Chad Brown at Palm Meadows, capping the pattern with a half-mile on the dirt in :48 3/5 (14/98) Jan. 29. Ardara Belle (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}) is the more lightly-raced of the French pair. Graduating at first asking when dismissed at 17-1 Sept. 25 at Fontainebleau, the bay ran a close sixth in the Prix Zeddaan Oct. 23 at Deauville last out. Unlike her compatriot, however, she’s only sprinted on straightaway courses and will try two turns in this one-mile test. She also shows sharp Palm Meadows drills, highlighted by a half-mile turf move in :47 2/5 (1/41) around dogs Jan. 19. ‘TDN Rising Star’ Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) gives Brown a potent one-two punch as she attempts to stay unbeaten. Romping to an impressive 5 1/2-length score on debut Oct. 6 at Belmont, the Paul Pompa homebred survived a dogfight by a nose in the Stewart Manor S. Nov. 11 at Aqueduct. A Bit Special (GB) (Mukhadram {GB}) is a neck from being unbeaten in four career starts. Finishing fast to graduate first out sprinting on this course Aug. 19, the bay overcame a slow pace and just missed when second in the Sharp Susan S. Sept. 1 before annexing the Our Dear Peggy S. Sept. 29. Laid up briefly after that, she returned with another stakes triumph in the Wait A While S. Dec. 8. View the full article

With rain in the forecast Saturday, the one-mile Sweetest Chant and the $100,000 Dania Beach Stakes, a one-mile turf race for 3-year-olds, were moved to the Feb. 3 Gulfstream card. View the full article

The Kentucky Board of Veterinary Examiners (KBVE) and eight veterinarians at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute agreed to financial settlements last week after the KBVE investigated allegations of misdating horse sale radiographs by several of the hospital’s partners. The Paulick Report‘s Natalie Voss first broke the story that Drs. Michael Hore and Michael Spirito agreed to pay $25,000 in “administrative payments” to offset the cost of the KBVE’s investigation. In addition, Dr. Robert Hunt agreed to pay $15,000; Dr. Dwayne Rodgerson agreed to $5,000, and Drs. Ben Stivers, James Schalnus, Jeff Pumphrey, and Arnoldo Monge agreed to pay $1,000. The Paulick Report wrote that, “In all cases, settlement agreements included the statement, ‘The Board agrees and acknowledges that there is no evidence that any radiograph taken by the respondent did not accurately reflect the condition of the horse.'” Read the full story here. View the full article

Klaravich Stables’ Feedback (Violence) burst onto the scene with a dominant, ‘TDN Rising Star’-earning victory last summer at Saratoga. She hasn’t been seen since, but that effort was impressive enough on its own that she likely will go off a heavy favorite off the bench in the GIII Forward Gal S. Saturday at Gulfstream. Picked up for $85,000 as a Keeneland November weanling, the dark bay took play to be 27-10 in her Aug. 12 debut, pressed the pace and ran away readily in the lane to score by eight lengths while under wraps. The fact that trainer Chad Brown tries this race instead of a first-level allowance off the break signals major confidence, and Feedback finished up preparations with a sharp half-mile breeze in :48 2/5 (9/98) Jan. 29 at Palm Meadows. Fashion Faux Pas (Flatter) could make it a one-two finish for her sire as she looks for her third win in a row. Fourth after dueling on a fast pace debuting Nov. 2 at Laurel, the $65,000 KEESEP jumped forward to a 5 3/4-length graduation there three weeks later and repeated with a four-length success in the Sandpiper S. Dec. 15 at Tampa. She comes into this off a best-of-68 bullet half-mile in :48 flat Jan. 26 in Oldsmar. Monarch Stables’ Bye Bye J (Uncaptured) will also try to make it back-to-back stakes tallies. A first-out victress here last April, the $21,000 OBS Winter buy was third against males in a Gulfstream West turf sprint Nov. 23 before annexing the local House Party S. Dec. 8. View the full article

One of the tougher jobs in racing this weekend is being the Gulfstream oddsmaker for the GIII Swale S., where 11 3-year-old sprinters will line up with not much separating most of the field. Narrow morning-line favoritism lies with Call Paul (Friesan Fire), the lone graded stakes winner among the group. A debut winner over subsequent GI Hopeful S. victor Mind Control (Stay Thirsty) last summer at Delaware, the $210,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic purchase repeated in the GII Saratoga Special S. before running a respectable third in the GI Champagne S. Oct. 6 at Belmont. Filling the same slot after dueling on a hot pace in the GIII Nashua S., he was last seen easily annexing the state-bred Pennsylvania Nursery S. Dec. 1 at Parx. The top Beyer Speed Figure in the race belongs to Silverton Hill’s High Crime (Violence), who earned a 90 for his 7 3/4-length romp here three weeks ago. The dark bay homebred was second debuting at Turfway prior to that. The priciest buy in the field is e Five Racing Thoroughbreds and Stonestreet Stables’ Seismic Jolt (Kantharos), who hammered for $800,000 at OBS April. Failing to find the mark in two turf outings to start his career, the chestnut has been a new horse on dirt, cruising to a five-length graduation on the local main Dec. 7 and repeating with another open-lengths success in the restricted Limehouse S. here Jan. 5. Topper T (Bellamy Road) is an interesting longshot while turning back in distance. An easy winner of the state-bred Iowa Cradle S. last summer at Prairie Meadows, the dark bay was privately purchased after a nose second in the Shakopee Juvenile S. at Canterbury. Trainer Bill Mott showed immense confidence in the colt, entering him in the GI Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, but he faded to eighth after chasing the pace and filled the same slot after dictating a fast tempo in the GII Kentucky Jockey Club S. Nov. 24 at Churchill. Back around one turn here, he shows a sharp Payson Park worktable for his sophomore debut, capped by a three-furlong move in :35 2/5 (1/25) Jan. 29. View the full article

Racing fans will get their first marquee matchup of the Kentucky Derby prep season Saturday when undefeated graded stakes winner and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Maxmius Mischief (Into Mischief) squares off with impressive stakes-winning fellow ‘Rising Star’ Mihos (Cairo Prince) in the $350,000 GII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Park. Maximus Mischief, a $340,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic purchase by Cash is King and LC Racing, went untested in two Parx outings to begin his career, cruising by 8 3/4 lengths under wraps on debut Sept. 29 and airing by a half-dozen in a first-level allowance Oct. 20 to earn his ‘Rising Star’ badge. Given a stiffer test stretching out to nine furlongs in the GII Remsen S. Dec. 1 at Aqueduct, the Butch Reid pupil took advantage of a modest pace and kept finding to prevail by 2 1/4 lengths. Given a brief respite while pointing for this 1 1/16-mile event, Maximus Mischief has signaled his readiness to return with pair of sharp breezes, including a sizzling five-furlong move in :58 flat (1/57) here Jan. 19, followed by a more leisurely half-mile maintenance spin in :50 flat (3/7) nine days later. “He’s a handful of horse,” Reid told the Gulfstream notes team. “He’s a big, strong colt, but he’s never about being nervous or unsure. He’s got a lot of confidence in himself, so he doesn’t worry about all the extraneous stuff. We do that more than he does. It’s just a matter of making sure he gets enough exercise to keep him mentally where we want him.” Maximus Mischief picks up Jose Ortiz after traveling beneath Frankie Pennington in his first three starts, which is notable if only because Ortiz piloted Centennial Farms’ Mihos to a good-looking score in the local Mucho Macho Man S. last out Jan. 5. Trained by Jimmy Jerkens, the $320,000 Keeneland September buy carried all the ground while five wide on the turn, but kept coming down the lane to secure a neck decision. Prior to that, the bay was third on debut behind subsequent GIII Nashua S. hero Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}) Sept. 23 at Belmont before graduating in ‘Rising Star’ fashion Nov. 24 at Aqueduct. John Velazquez will ride with Ortiz departing for the favorite. Federal Case (Gemologist), who Velazquez rode last time, is a wild card for trainer Todd Pletcher. A first-out winner for the WinStar, China Horse Club and SF Racing powerhouse and trainer Rodolphe Brisset Oct. 19 at Keeneland, the bay was offered at Keeneland November and brought a session-topping $650,000 from Robert and Lawana Low. Debuting for the new connections here Dec. 23, he chased the pace and appeared rebuffed in deep stretch before surging to prevail by a neck. Returning with three sharp breezes at Palm Beach Downs, featuring a half-mile work in :48 1/5 (1/9) Jan. 28, Federal Case will have Javier Castellano in the irons. Castellano gets off of Epic Racing’s Epic Dreamer (Orb), who rates an outside chance under Irad Ortiz, Jr. Second in the aforementioned Vekoma race in his unveiling, the $185,000 OBS April pickup scored a facile maiden tally Oct. 26 at Belmont before disappointing when sixth as the 6-5 favorite in the Springboard Mile S. Dec. 16 at Remington. He sports a five-panel bullet in :58 3/5 (1/13) Jan. 4 at Palm Meadows in preparation for this sophomore bow. View the full article

New Jersey horsemen and breeders are looking forward after the New Jersey Assembly approved a purse subsidy that will see $10 million committed to Thoroughbred purses over the next five years. View the full article

A horse that ‘bounced all over like an orangutan’ and ‘refused to show’ at the 2016 Keeneland September sale has become one of Japan’s top dirt sprinter/milers, and Group 1 competition–both at home and potentially in the desert–beckons over the coming months for Sachiaki Kobayashi’s Copano Kicking (Spring At Last). The 4-year-old gelding made it seven wins from nine starts and consecutive victories at Group 3 level in the Negishi S. (1400m) at Tokyo Racecourse Jan . 27 (see below, gate 11). The dark bay was bred in Kentucky by Reiley McDonald from Celadon, a three-time winner in six appearances who was her sire Gold Halo (Jpn) (Sunday Silence)’s only foal to race in the United States. The colt was catalogued as hip 3210, deep into the 10th session of the September sale, and Top Line Sales‘s Torie Gladwell found herself at the Eaton consignment in search of pinhooking prospects, though at first it may have been difficult to believe that what she saw in front of her might turn into something special. “This colt came out and he just did not want to show,” she explained. “He was bouncing all over like an orangutan and he refused to walk, but you could just tell that he was a real athlete. I left him on my list and then my husband [Top Line’s Jimbo Gladwell] and I went back to look at him and the same thing–the horse just would not calm down and show. “Reiley ended up buying the horse back (on a bid of $19,000),” she continued. “When we approached Reiley about purchasing the horse, he said he would actually send the horse to us on a half-deal, so he stayed in and partnered on the colt and we took him and trained him for no bills.” Gladwell said that it really wasn’t all that hard to see through the colt’s mischievous and petulant ways and she had faith that he could become a profitable commodity during the following year’s under-tack sales. “He just looked really precocious, it looked like he was very well put-together and super athletic,” she said. “He was rearing and bucking and playing. He really caught our attention because he was so athletic on the end of the shank. He acted like he was going to do it and do it eagerly. He was not a laid-back sort of horse. He had a big hip, a really good gaskin, good forearm and you didn’t have question whether he was going to go out there and give it his all every time. You could tell by looking at him at the yearling sales that he was a feel-good horse and he was going to try hard any time you turned his head loose.” But those qualities did not mean that raising him was straight-forward. In fact, it was anything but. “All we had to do was keep him in one piece, but that wasn’t even easy,” she said. “He jumped out of the paddock twice, so we had to quit turning him out. We like to turn all of our 2-year-olds out. We think it helps lay down bone and we think it helps them mentally and this guy needed to go out, as hot-minded as he was. After the second time, the crew showed up and called Jimbo at six in the morning and they’re like, ‘Spring At Last is gone! He’s gone! We can’t find him! He’s nowhere!’ He ended up down at another person’s barn talking to the fillies over the fence. But not a scratch on him, didn’t get hurt. After that, we decided we weren’t going to be able to turn him out.” WATCH: Copano Kicking makes it back-to-back Group 3s in the Negishi S. How, then, do you train such an animal? “He got to go out in the round pen and we would lunge him before we rode him every day,” she reported. “We would warm him up a little longer than the normal horse, but even though we did all this, he’d still want to go up there and train too hard and too fast every day. Any time you turned him loose to breeze him, he would go balls to the wall. Finally we had to stop breezing him because if you wanted him to go an eighth, he’d go three-eighths. Want a quarter? He’d breeze a half.” On pedigree, the colt was not a slam dunk for a boutique breeze-up sale like Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream, but he was accepted all the same. “Physically, the horse was a 10 on the end of the shank,” Gladwell said. “He was beautiful, had a good smooth walk, all the right lines. Just a really early 2-year-old type, so that’s why we went to Gulfstream with him.” Consigned by Top Line, the colt did them proud with a powerful breeze clocked in :10 flat. It was one of five works to share the bullet. “If he wasn’t a bullet worker, we were going to be sorely disappointed,” Gladwell admitted. Kobayashi signed the ticket on hip 35 at $100,000, right on the reserve set by the Gladwells and McDonald. “Reiley had already made his mind up that if he didn’t bring $100,000, we were going to race him. We were very high on the colt,” she reported. “He had a couple of issues after the under-tack show that probably held him back from bringing a lot of money, because he was very popular. He was vetted a handful of times after that breeze and the vet issues scared some people. But the Japanese, they didn’t even vet the horse. They looked at him and fell in love.” Copano Kicking’s victory in the Negishi S. paves the way for a start in the G1 February S. at Tokyo Feb. 17, a race won by the Kobayashi-owned champion dirt horse Copano Rickey (Jpn) (Gold Allure {Jpn}) in 2014 and 2015. It will mark Copano Kicking’s first attempt at a mile, but a good performance could lead to an appearance in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200m) at Meydan Mar. 30. “We’ve never had another horse like him,” Gladwell said. “We’ve been doing this for 10 years, we’ve had maybe only three like him. It’s neat when you get horses like that to come in and you know the minute you start training them that you’ve got one that could be really talented.” The Gladwells have their passports at the ready. “I’d love for him to run in Dubai, we’d love to go over there and cheer him on,” she admits. View the full article

Jockeys Romero Maragh and Carlos Montalvo were injured in a spill during the running of the first race Jan. 31 at Gulfstream Park. View the full article

Just days after the arrival of new stallions City of Light (Quality Road) and Accelerate (Lookin at Lucky) after the GI Pegasus World Cup, Lane’s End held a press day on Wednesday to allow the media to meet the horses, as well as fellow newcomer West Coast (Flatter), and catch up with the farm’s other stalwarts and its human team. With three new stallions and four sires with their first 2-year-old runners this year, Lane’s End has plenty to be excited about in its 40th year in 2019, and we discussed all these things with Lane’s End’s Bill Farish, Chance Timm and David Ingordo. When you get these new horses off the track, like City of Light and Accelerate this week and West Coast back in November, what is their routine like and how long does it take them to settle in? Chance Timm: Each horse is individual but for the most part we just want them to settle down and take a few days and take a deep breath. For now, for both City of Light and Accelerate, their primary routine is just getting a bit of turnout time in a round pen. If the weather would cooperate a bit more we’d graduate them to a small paddock turnout but the objective is to get them on to the same routine as the other stallions as soon as possible and normally with a horse like West Coast, who got here at a different time of year, within a week or two he is on that kind of routine. This is a whole new experience for us, with them having just come off the track at Gulfstream a couple days ago. We’re trying to take a step back and just give these horses a chance to chill out and give Billy Sellers–our stallion manager who has been here for 30-plus years–give him a chance to do what he needs to do with them and get them prepared for their job and what they’re here for. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Media Day at Lanes End","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/314596024.sd.mp4?s=648239bba201022d8dae135289efa363f6688fe4&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/311208381.sd.mp4?s=72d8bf9f5a0e092d952ca0e9f2fb3982db599c23&profile_id=165","prerollSkipTimer":"5","midrollAD":"no","midrollAD_displayTime":"midrollAD_displayTime","midrollGotoLink":"midrollGotoLink","midroll_mp4":"midroll_mp4","midrollSkipTimer":"midrollSkipTimer","postrollAD":"no","postrollGotoLink":"postrollGotoLink","postroll_mp4":"postroll_mp4","postrollSkipTimer":"postrollSkipTimer","popupAdShow":"no","popupImg":"popupImg","popupAdStartTime":"popupAdStartTime","popupAdEndTime":"popupAdEndTime","popupAdGoToLink":"popupAdGoToLink"}],"instanceTheme":"light","playerLayout":"fitToContainer","videoPlayerWidth":720,"videoPlayerHeight":405,"videoRatio":1.7777777777778,"videoRatioStretch":true,"videoPlayerShadow":"effect1","colorAccent":"#000000","posterImg":"","posterImgOnVideoFinish":"","logoShow":"No","logoPath":"","logoPosition":"bottom-right","logoClickable":"No","logoGoToLink":"","allowSkipAd":true,"advertisementTitle":"Ad","skipAdvertisementText":"Skip Ad","skipAdText":"You can skip this ad in","playBtnTooltipTxt":"Play","pauseBtnTooltipTxt":"Pause","rewindBtnTooltipTxt":"Rewind","downloadVideoBtnTooltipTxt":"Download video","qualityBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Close settings","qualityBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Settings","muteBtnTooltipTxt":"Mute","unmuteBtnTooltipTxt":"Unmute","fullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Fullscreen","exitFullscreenBtnTooltipTxt":"Exit fullscreen","infoBtnTooltipTxt":"Show info","embedBtnTooltipTxt":"Embed","shareBtnTooltipTxt":"Share","volumeTooltipTxt":"Volume","playlistBtnClosedTooltipTxt":"Show playlist","playlistBtnOpenedTooltipTxt":"Hide playlist","facebookBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Facebook","twitterBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Twitter","googlePlusBtnTooltipTxt":"Share on Google+","lastBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to last video","firstBtnTooltipTxt":"Go to first video","nextBtnTooltipTxt":"Play next video","previousBtnTooltipTxt":"Play previous video","shuffleBtnOnTooltipTxt":"Shuffle on","shuffleBtnOffTooltipTxt":"Shuffle off","nowPlayingTooltipTxt":"NOW PLAYING","embedWindowTitle1":"SHARE THIS PLAYER:","embedWindowTitle2":"EMBED THIS VIDEO IN YOUR SITE:","embedWindowTitle3":"SHARE LINK TO THIS PLAYER:","lightBox":false,"lightBoxAutoplay":false,"lightBoxThumbnail":"","lightBoxThumbnailWidth":400,"lightBoxThumbnailHeight":220,"lightBoxCloseOnOutsideClick":true,"onFinish":"Play next video","autoplay":false,"loadRandomVideoOnStart":"No","shuffle":"No","playlist":"Off","playlistBehaviourOnPageload":"opened (default)","playlistScrollType":"light","preloadSelfHosted":"none","hideVideoSource":true,"showAllControls":true,"rightClickMenu":true,"autohideControls":2,"hideControlsOnMouseOut":"No","nowPlayingText":"Yes","infoShow":"No","shareShow":"No","facebookShow":"No","twitterShow":"No","mailShow":"No","facebookShareName":"","facebookShareLink":"","facebookShareDescription":"","facebookSharePicture":"","twitterText":"","twitterLink":"","twitterHashtags":"","twitterVia":"","googlePlus":"","embedShow":"No","embedCodeSrc":"","embedCodeW":720,"embedCodeH":405,"embedShareLink":"","youtubeControls":"custom controls","youtubeSkin":"dark","youtubeColor":"red","youtubeQuality":"default","youtubeShowRelatedVideos":"Yes","vimeoColor":"00adef","showGlobalPrerollAds":false,"globalPrerollAds":"url1;url2;url3;url4;url5","globalPrerollAdsSkipTimer":5,"globalPrerollAdsGotoLink":"","videoType":"HTML5 (self-hosted)","submit":"Save Changes","rootFolder":"http:\/\/wp.tdn.pmadv.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/Elite-video-player\/"} What types of mares could you imagine working with West Coast? CT: For me from a pedigree angle he’s really interesting. His sire is bred like a lot of the good A.P. Indy sons, A.P. Indy over Mr. Prospector. Inbreeding to Mr. P has been hugely successful with A.P. and his sons and I think that’s going to be a really interesting angle for him. He’s going to have a lot of opportunity that way; he’s out of an Honour and Glory mare so inbreeding to In Reality is also going to be a really good play. Tapit has had a lot of success doing that as well. He’s going to have every opportunity. Do you see any similarities between West Coast and his sire Flatter, or does is he more like his dam’s side? David Ingordo: A lot of stallions will favour their broodmare sire, and Honour and Glory would throw a very attractive horse. I think this horse has that ‘pretty’ coming through from Honour and Glory. I was pretty keen when we got West Coast because I think Flatter is a very underappreciated stallion and there’s no reason why he can’t be a sire of sires. Can you reminisce about the day you bought Accelerate as a yearling, and reflect on what he has developed into since then? DI: John [Sadler] is great. I get him on the phone, I tell him what the plan is and which ones I like and we grade them. On the day of the sale I said man, I’m going to ask him to stretch a bit here, because I wasn’t the only person who liked the horse. He really improved more than I expected because he was such a nice-looking yearling. What he’s turned into today, he doesn’t need to take a back step to anybody; even City of Light, who is as good-looking a horse as you’ll ever find, Accelerate can stand next to him and doesn’t have to be embarrassed. Accelerate spent about a week at the farm after the Breeders’ Cup, but breeders booking their mares hadn’t had a chance to see City of Light on the farm. How did that affect the process of building his first book? Bill Farish: We were able to get Accelerate and West Coast here after the Breeders’ Cup so they had that time and a lot of people came out to see them. But with City of Light they didn’t. He obviously had a reputation, he was a $700,000 yearling and people that had seen him or talked to people that had seen him heard glowing reports because he’s just a gorgeous horse. I think in most cases it would have been tough, but his reputation and what he’d done on the racetrack really made it easy. We were completely crushed with requests for him so it hasn’t hurt him at all having only recently arrived. Can you talk about the physical similarities between City of Light and his sire, Quality Road? BF: He might be a slightly more refined version of his father but they do look a lot alike. Mike [Cline] and Allaire [Ryan] were the first ones in our organization to see him and I think that’s what Allaire told me was the first thing that jumped out for her, how much he looked like his father. Quality Road won three times at Gulfstream and twice he set track records in Grade Is, and I just felt leading up to the Pegasus like City of Light was going to do something similar. Lane’s End is this year celebrating 40 years in existence. There have been many successes to celebrate over that time, but what stands out for you? BF: A.P. Indy has been the standout franchise player for the farm. His influence on the breed has been amazing. He’d have to be the real standout but we’ve been fortunate to have sires like Kingmambo, Smart Strike and others that really have made for a great 40 years. How has the business changed in the time you have been involved? BF: The business has changed quite a bit. When dad first started the farm, the July sale was really the bellwether sale of the year. Most of our yearling crop was targeting the July sale then the Saratoga sale afterwards, and the September sale was really like the October sale is now. I think that’s one of the single biggest changes. The stallion market hasn’t changed that much over the years other than the obvious fact that book sizes have increased tremendously; we’ve gone from 50-mare books to where some farms are now breeding over 200 mares. The fact that so many of your stallions descend from Lane’s End’s foundation sires like A.P. Indy and Smart Strike has to be a big point of pride? BF: That’s been one of the really gratifying things. Dad has been very successful over the years with sons of A.P. Indy, sons of Smart Strike, and to see now in the case of Quality Road to have City of Light come back to the farm, it’s very exciting, and to have two sons of Candy Ride here. There are five descendants of A.P. Indy standing here at Lane’s End. It could be a very big year for the Lane’s End stallions, as you have four horses with their first 2-year-olds. Can you tell us a bit about each of them? BF: We are lucky to have four freshman sires this year: Honor Code, Liam’s Map, Tonalist and Mr. Speaker. All of them had good-sized books in their first year so there should be lots of 2-year-olds out there running for them. Honor Code started at a fee of $40,000 and he’s maintained that straight through. His books have averaged about 150 mares. He’s set up to have a big year; he was the second-leading freshman sire to American Pharoah at the sales so we couldn’t be happier with how his first crop was received by the yearling market. Liam’s Map has had very good books his first three years and it looks like he’s going to have another good book this year. He was the third highest averaging freshman sire last year at the yearling sales and I think we’ll see quite a few of his offspring at the 2-year-old sales. The early reports on the Liam’s Maps have been great. Tonalist had very strong books his first two years, and in his third year he had more mares than in his second year. We’re very hopeful that the Tonalists are going to surprise us; he’s a little more under the radar than some of these other horses but being a son of Tapit and bred the way he is he’s really an exciting prospect. Mr Speaker is bred on the same cross as Tapit and is a great-looking horse. Unfortunately he went down to Chile in his second year and actually got stuck down there, he couldn’t clear quarantine, so he missed his second year at stud here. But he had a very good book of mares his first year. He had a good book his third year so we’re hoping to get him going with his first runners this year. They also sold well at the sales and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he snuck up and had a very good year. View the full article

A week after the Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes (G1), a group of older horses will line up in the $200,000 San Pasqual Stakes (G2) at Santa Anita Park with their connections eyeing another World Cup. View the full article

When Pure Purity (Perfect Soul {Ire}) enters the ring at Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale Tuesday, Feb. 5, Ann Hanley–wife of WinStar General Manager David Hanley–will be seated in the pavilion, crossing her fingers for a good result as the proceeds from Hip 289‘s sale will go directly to Hanley’s Parkinson’s Research Fund. The MSP 6-year-old mare, offered as a broodmare prospect, is a half-sister to MSWs Citius (Old Forester) and Flashy Margarita (Bold n’ Flashy), as well as SW Bourbon Stritta (Old Forester). “James Keogh came to me at the end of the November sale and said he was anxious to do something for me to help raise money for Parkinson’s research,” Hanley said. “He had this mare and thought this was an ideal way to do it. He hoped that maybe it would ignite interest in other people. James donated this mare to us. I went to see her and he has her looking absolutely fantastic. Alfredo, her groom, has done a great job.” Diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 49, Hanley has been working tirelessly over the past few years to raise money for a surgical procedure performed by Dr. Craig Von Horne at the University of Kentucky in which a nerve graft is implanted in the patient’s brain. Hanley, who underwent the procedure herself this summer, also spends endless hours with the other patients and is the first person they see before and after surgery. “I was able to participate in the research and I had two brain surgeries in August,” said Hanley. “So far it looks really good. I was the 60th patient and we have seen great success. Parkinson’s is a disease with no cure, no effective therapy and no medicine. All you can do is get progressively worse. The results have been spectacular. Some patients have seen up to 40% improvement and that is unheard of.” She continued, “I work at the hospital, doing research for the last six years with Dr. Van Horne at UK. That is the only place they do this. I have been there from the very beginning. It is so difficult to get funding because we don’t use drugs, so you have no big pharma or drug company involved.” With all of her friends involved in racing, it was only natural that Hanley started her fundraising efforts by reaching out to the Thoroughbred community and they responded with gusto. The team at Goffs, headed by Hanley’s lifelong friend Eimear Mulhern, raised €150,000 within 10 days of her phone call. Fasig-Tipton, Coolmore and WinStar also teamed up to host “A Night for a Cure,” which raised $300,000 during the 2016 Fasig-Tipton July Sale. “We saw results in the first group of patients and then we had to stop because of funding,” Hanley said. “To me, it was ridiculous. I had never raised a penny in my life and I didn’t know how I was going to do it, but if you have something that changes people’s lives, you have to find a way to do something. All my friends are horse people in the industry. They all rallied around this cause and because of that I have been able to raise over $1.1 million, which is amazing, in just a couple of years.” Many members of the Thoroughbred community have stepped up to support Hanley through creative fundraising efforts. Olive and Brendan Gallagher of Frankfort Park Stud syndicated a mare named Lady Hester (Bernardini) under the condition that 50% of her earnings go directly to Hanley’s foundation, an effort which has not only raised money, but created new racing fans. Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and his wife Jill, who met Hanley during Justify (Scat Daddy)’s historic campaign, donated two very popular shadow boxes. One housed Justify’s halter and the other contained a shoe from Justify, a shoe from American Pharoah and copies of the front pages of the Sports Illustrated editions each Triple Crown winner appeared on signed by both Baffert and their respective jockeys. The items were auctioned off during Keeneland’s annual art auction during their November sale and resulted in a check for $72,000. “There is no doubt in the world that we could not have gotten this done if the Thoroughbred community had not stepped up,” Hanley said. “When you consider, in the big picture, what we are able to do, probably changing the face of this disease and certainly changing the progression of this disease. We want to make it available to everybody. That is why the funding is so necessary.” View the full article

Three days after clearing the New Jersey state Assembly Appropriations Committee by a unanimous 11-0 vote, a bill that would provide a $10-million annual purse supplement to Monmouth Park over five years passed a vote on the Assembly floor by a 68-6-1 count Thursday. With this final major clearance secured, the bill will go to the desk of Governor Phil Murphy to be signed into law. Bill 2992 would distribute $20 million between the state’s Thoroughbred and Standardbred industries annually, with Monmouth Park receiving the entire $10-million allotment to the Thoroughbred industry. Should Murphy sign the bill into law, Monmouth could gain access to the new purse funds for its 2019 meet, which begins in May. The racing industry previously received a $17-million annual purse supplement funded by Atlantic City casinos until the fund was terminated by Governor Chris Christie in 2011. During Monday’s Assembly Appropriations Committee session, an amendment to the bill was added which requires recipient racetracks to provide an annual report that demonstrates a positive impact created by the purse subsidy. View the full article

Godolphin's homebred Sunset Wish will headline a field of seven 3-year-old fillies in the $125,000 Martha Washington Stakes going one mile Feb. 2 at Oaklawn Park. View the full article

Fasig-Tipton has catalogued an additional three entries for its 2019 Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale supplemental catalogue. These entries may now be viewed online and in the Equineline catalogue app. These new entries, catalogued as hips 529-531, are a yearling colt by Point of Entry consigned by Brookdale Sales, and the 5-year-old mares Holders Season (Speightstown), offered in foal to Vancouver (Aus) and consigned by Legacy Bloodstock, and La Manta Gris (Lemon Drop Kid), consigned by Lane’s End as a racing/broodmare prospect. The Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale will be held Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 4-5, in Lexington, Ky. Print versions of these latest entries will be available on the sales grounds in an addendum to the main and supplemental catalogues. View the full article

The New York Racing Association, Inc. will team up with Oaklawn Park Saturday, Feb. 2, to offer its first Cross Country Pick 5, highlighted by the GIII Withers S. from Aqueduct Racetrack and the Martha Washington S. from Oaklawn Park, following up on its Cross Country Pick 4 offerings in 2018. Live coverage and analysis of each leg will be broadcast on FOX Sports Saturday At The Races from 4-6:30 p.m., airing on FS2, and produced by NYRA. Hosted by NYRA, the Cross Country Pick 5 offers a low 15% takeout and $0.50 minimum base wager. It starts with Race 6 from Oaklawn Park at 4:52 p.m. and concludes with the Martha Washington (Race 8, 5:55 p.m.) Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 is the first of a month-long series that will see the multi-race wagering challenge move to Tampa Bay Downs Feb. 9 for the GIII Sam F. Davis S. card in conjunction with the Jimmy Winkfield S. at the Big A. View the full article

Gulfstream Park officials have placed Barn 3 under quarantine after an unidentified horse tested positive for “Swamp Fever,” or equine infections anemia. As first reported by the Daily Racing Form, all other horses in the barn produced negative tests when inspected by veterinarians. According to the Racing Form report, the quarantine could last at least two weeks. Officials at The Stronach Group said that all horses in Barn 3 are required to train during a special window in late morning until the quarantine is lifted. In order for the quarantine to be lifted, the remaining horses in the barn will be required to pass testing administered by the state’s Department of Agriculture. View the full article

Longtime New England multiple stakes winning owner, trainer, breeder and World War II veteran Edward H. Stone died Jan. 29 in Burlington, Mass. He was 100. View the full article

Longtime New England multiple stakes winning owner, trainer, breeder and World War II veteran Edward H. Stone died Jan. 19 in Burlington, Mass. He was 100. View the full article

In this continuing series, Alan Carasso takes a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this weekend running at Chukyo and Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses: Saturday, February 2, 2019 4th-KYO, ¥11,400,000 ($105k), Newcomers, 3yo, 1800m LUMINOUS SWORD (f, 3, Candy Ride {Arg}–Kara’s Match Point, by Curlin) is out of a winning daughter of GSP Home Court (Storm Cat), dam of MGSW & GISP Coup de Grace (Tapit)–now standing stud at Klawervlei Stud in South Africa–and Grade I-winning juvenile filly Dancing Rags (Union Rags). Keith and Ginger Myers’s Coteau Grove Farm purchased Kara’s Match Point for $260K at Keeneland November in 2015, sold Luminous Sword back for $230K as a weanling and $450K from Japan’s Shimokobe Farm for Kara’s Match Point in foal to Constitution at KEENOV in 2016. Luminous Sword was also a $210K KEESEP yearling. B-Coteau Grove Farm (KY) 10th-CKO, ¥19,000,000 ($175k), Allowance, 3yo, 1200m TIMING NOW (c, 3, Tapit–Her Smile, by Include), a $750K KEESEP acquisition, got his career off on a high note, kicking home by four solid lengths in a newcomers’ event at Kyoto Jan. 5 (see below, gate 8). The February foal is the third produce out of the 2011 GI Prioress S. winner, who fetched $1.5 million from Larry and Karen Doyle’s KatieRich Farm at KEENOV in 2014. The foal she was carrying at the time became $625K Fasig-Tipton Saratoga grad Pink Sands (f, Tapit), a Gulfstream allowance winner in late December. The legendary Yutaka Take has the call. B-KatieRich Farms (KY) Sunday, February 3, 2019 6th-TOK, ¥11,400,000 ($105k), Newcomers, 3yo, 1800mT NOBLE MAYOR (c, 3, Noble Mission {GB}–Mayoress {GB}, by Machiavellian), a $150K graduate of the 2017 Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase sale, is out of a full-sister to Marietta, winner of the GIII Iowa Oaks and GIII Arlington Oaks in 2007; and out of a half to SW Thousand Islands (GB) (Dubai Millennium {GB}), whose son Watershed (Bernardini) won the GIII Ben Ali S. in this country and was Group 3-placed in Dubai. The GSW & MGISP third dam Dowery (Full Pocket) was a half-sister to the Grade I-winning turf mare Reluctant Guest (Hostage). B-Fred W Hertrich III & John D Fielding (KY) View the full article

Newmarket, UK–Newmarket can be an unforgiving place in the depths of winter and potential buyers remained on the cold side as a new year of British auctions opened in subdued fashion at the Tattersalls February Sale on Thursday. Some vendors might well have forecast the apathetic market as a number of the more interesting horses were withdrawn, whilst this year’s sale did not have the rare attractions from 2018, which included some of the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal and choice fillies owned in partnership by Markus Jooste. Although the clearance rate of 75% was much the same as last year, the day one average was down 74% from 27,536gns to 7,121gns, with the median also dropping 50% from 5,500gns to 2,750gns. Eighteen fewer lots went through the ring but the aggregate fell a hefty 77% from 3,992,650 to 925,700. A quartet of in-foal broodmares offered at lunchtime livened up business, providing two of the day’s top three lots. Highest honours went to All I Need (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) (lot 67), who never raced herself but is a half-sister to the Wildenstein family’s G3 Prix Allez France S. heroine Aquamarine (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) and also came in foal to Haras de la Haie Neuve’s surprise package Pedro The Great (Henrythenavigator). Offered by Voute Sales, she has now joined John Deer’s Oakgrove Stud just outside Chepstow. Stud manager David Hilton was on hand for the bidding and signed the ticket at 55,000gns, and explained that their interest had been sparked some way down the mare’s page. “Tim Lane [former manager] bought Altesse Imperiale, who is under the second dam, and she has been a really good mare,” he said. “She has bred four winners, three of them black-type horses, including Altruistic, who finished third in the G1 Racing Post Trophy, so it made sense. She’s in foal to Frankel. “It is a very active family and she suits us physically – she is a fine mare and we have a breeding rights in some strong bodied stallions. I’m very happy to have got her at that price.” Hilton imagined that he would be discussing All I Need’s next mating in the horse box on the way home to South Wales. It will be all hands on deck back at Oakgrove, which stands Deer’s multiple Group 1 winner Al Kazeem, as the stud has already welcomed the first arrival of the new year. “We had a nice Teofilo colt out of a Shamardal mare, from the family of Lady Grace,” he added. “He looks to have a lot of quality.” Now Or Never For Kalandara There had been high hopes that lot 69 would be a star turn, only for this to prove short-lived. Baroda and Colbinstown Studs’s Kalandara (Ire) (Rainbow Quest) had risen into the higher echelons through the exploits of her daughter Luminate (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}, a dual Group 3 winner in France and sold to be a broodmare here for 900,000gns in December Sale. She is in-foal to Lope De Vega (Ire) and her price rose as far as 230,000gns before she was led away unsold. Similarly, lot 66, Hestia (Fr) (High Chaparral {Ire}), who was entered in-foal to €100,000 sire No Nay Never, was bought back on behalf of the Irish National Stud. A buyer was found for the other mare expecting a foal from last year’s leading first-season sire. This was Art Of Dance (GB) (Medicean {GB}) (lot 68), who is from a family that Eamonn Reilly of BBA Ireland knew well and prompted him to lodge the final bid of 50,000gns. She is a daughter of the G2 Sun Chariot S. winner Danceabout (GB) (Shareef Dancer) and had another No Nay Never filly foal last year. “I bought her Bated Breath colt Marshall Law here as a yearling for 72,000gns,” Reilly explained. “He’s in training with Jessie Harrington and has shown some good form at Leopardstown. “She has been bought for an Irish breeder and being in-foal to No Nay Never is very attractive.” Flanagan Phones It In Although many familiar faces from the bloodstock world were missing, modern technology means that sales can always be monitored from afar and a late movement from a switched-on Mick Flanagan landed him Highclere Stud’s Snazzy (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) (lot 159). Listed-placed from in a six-run juvenile campaign for Charlie Fellowes, her third dam is the exceptional sprinting mare Cassandra Go (Ire), who has produced star after star including Magical (Ire) and Rhododendron (Ire). Although Flanagan often acts as agent for the China Horse Club, this 52,000gns purchase is believed to be for his own collection and Snazzy is likely to visit Nathaniel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). David Cox, who made the final bid, said, “Mick rang me this morning and said would I take a look at her, and I told him she’s handy and moves well. She looked good value.” The breeding route for Straight Aim (Ire) (New Approach {Ire}) (lot 154) had developed a marked National Hunt slant after the exploits of her late half-brother Nichols Canyon (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), who became a garlanded staying hurdler when moved from John Gosden to Willie Mullins. She was knocked down for 33,000gns to Max Pimlott, who explained that she was bought for an undisclosed Irish jumping breeder. Not a lot was expected from the consignment of yearlings and juveniles, many of which would have struggled to make the cut in a more selective sale. A dozen 2-year-olds were being offered but only two rose beyond four figures. David and Emma Armstrong, the breeders of Mayson (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), supported the young stallion by purchasing Houghton Bloodstock’s filly out of Astley Park (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) (lot 75) for 10,000gns. Blandford Bloodstock later paid 11,000gns for lot 83, one of the first crop of Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire} out of a half-sister to G1 Dubai World Cup winner Moon Ballad (Ire)(Singspiel {Ire}). It was much the same with the yearlings, a considerable number of which failed to even reach 1000gns. Trainer Phil Kirby, who raises youngsters alongside his burgeoning training operation in Yorkshire, could have got a bit of value about lot 131 when signing for just 11,000gns for a daughter of the estimable Camelot (GB) (Montjeu {Ire}). The progeny of Territories (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) are a year away from running but Jill Lamb Bloodstock landed the successful bid of 15,000gns for a daughter of Vereri Senes (GB) (Nayef), from the immediate family of James Garfield (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Ire}). View the full article