Wandering Eyes

Animal Kingdom–Mary’s Follies, by More Than Ready), named a ‘TDN Rising Star‘ for a super impressive 5 1/2-length debut romp at Belmont Oct. 6, made good on even-money favoritism in Sunday afternoon’s Stewart Manor S. at Aqueduct–though she did have to work for it. Off a beat slowly from the rail, the Paul Pompa homebred rushed up to sit third as Introduced (El Padrino) applied a bit of pressure to Guacamole (Flat Out) through a :46.07 half. Regal Glory was swung out for clear sailing by Jose Ortiz into the stretch, and had Introduced squarely in her sights as that one seemed to be drifting out slightly. Undeterred, Regal Glory fought on to take a narrow advantage, and while Introduced punched back got a good bob at the wire, Regal Glory kept a whisker in front to stay unbeaten. The final time was 1:10.94. Guacamole held third. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0. O/B-Paul Pompa, Jr. T-Chad Brown. View the full article

Let us not take anything away from Accelerate’s smashing victory in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic–he was a worthy and basically easy winner. Yet there was a horse missing from the starting gate who might have had some kind of impact on the event because he could have outrun the early leaders and then maintained the kind of momentum he exhibited over the past year to dare Accelerate to catch him. That would be the New York-bred Diversify, the front-running fool of an East Coast gelding whose speed figures around two turns were equal or close to those piled up by Accelerate on the West Coast. That would have been a match with regional flavor requiring super strategic moves. But in a denouement of sadness, it did not happen because Diversify came out of his dull GI Jockey Club Gold Cup effort worse for wear, and then his trainer, Rick Violette, passed away. However, there is another reason we were shortchanged by this set of circumstances, and that was a chance to see a piece of a puzzle that is evolving regarding Diversify’s heritage, specifically that of his great-great-grandsire, Danzig. Yes, Diversify is a Danzig-line runner and would not be spotted as such by most experts unless they were quite familiar with his sire, Bellamy Road. That’s because like most of Bellamy Road’s offspring that we have analyzed over the years, Diversify is a virtual clone in appearance, size and biomechanics, indicating that this branch of the Danzig sire line has evolved from what could be referred to as a Danzig-type to something that has become (sorry, we cannot resist) more diversified. To wit: See Danzig to Bellamy Road Phenotype Target. To the eye, Bellamy Road is as atypical of his sire, Concerto, his grandsire Chief’s Crown, and Danzig as one could imagine-the latter was a superbly balanced individual who in his early years sired a host of excellent colts in North America who were all over the aptitude and phenotype map. They included Chief’s Crown, who was very similar to his sire but carried a little more weight which did not prevent him from winning the first GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile but might have brought him up short in all three Triple Crown races. Danzig also flooded the North American racing landscape with Classic performers and two-turn gallopers such as Danzig Connection, Pine Bluff, Polish Navy, Polish Numbers, and Sea Salute, as well as outright speedballs like Belong to Me. Most of these were good one-generation sires but the only North American-based sire to carry on a branch was Chief’s Crown, and he did that only through Concerto. A winner of Grade II and Grade III events, Concerto was a good middle-distance performer whose broodmare sire In Reality may have helped him tilt the branch toward power, but not dramatically. Concerto sired some nice runners while based in Florida and after his export to Panama was a major success in Central American and Caribbean venues. Bellamy Road, who won the GI Wood Memorial by a stunning 17 lengths, was by far his best runner, somewhat lightly made but able to settle quickly and get into a powerful rhythm and keep on going. His broodmare sire, GI Preakness S. winner Deputed Testamony, may have helped. As one can see from Diversify’s position on the Target, the line continues to move away from its center. Now we get to a series of ironies that may tickle your fancy or cross your eyes. The first irony is that as Diversify got really, really good, the chief noise-maker of the Danzig line in North America was sending out carbon copies of his own self, including more than half a dozen of which have already entered stud. That, of course, is War Front. (We are not overlooking Hard Spun and the late Exchange Rate, who are doing quite well on their own in getting quality horses but have no serious sons at stud yet. Nor, are we overlooking Big Brown, who bears more of a resemblance to Bellamy Road than to his own sire, Boundary, who is much like War Front. That Bellamy Road has just moved to the same barn as Big Brown at Irish Acres Farm in Saratoga Springs may be Irony One). Now for Irony Squared: Take a look at the War Front Sire Line Phenotype Target and note where he is positioned. Yup, he is virtually identical phenotypically to Bellamy Road though one would be hard pressed to gather that from looking at them. (Indeed, to many observers War Front may appear to be closer in looks to Danzig as well as the latter’s two most overall successful sons, Danehill and Green Desert, whose influence on international racing from their European and Australian bases is breathtaking; but that’s another story.) More interestingly and importantly, War Front’s first sons at stud are clustered around him in such a way as to indicate that he might be able to pass on siring consistencies to some of them. This “clustering” is not often seen in our programs and it will be interesting to follow this crowd, and those that follow. And now for Irony Cubed: It did not escape attention that War Front’s son Declaration of War, who will stand in Japan this coming season, had a very good Breeders’ Cup weekend during which his juvenile son Empire of War won the Awad S. at Aqueduct the day after his son Uncle Benny was second in the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, pipping out the pacesetter of that race, Somelikeithotbrown, who happens to be by Big Brown. Ah, diversification! There you go. (Bob Fierro is a partner with Jay Kilgore and Frank Mitchell in DataTrack International, biomechanical consultants and developers of BreezeFigs. He can be reached at bbfq@earthlink.net). View the full article

When ‘TDN Rising Star’ Newspaperofrecord (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) stormed to her third successive dominant win in the Nov. 2 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf, she ensured that her connections’ experiment to import yearlings purchased at Tattersalls to race in the U.S. would go down as a resounding success. That part of the story has been well-documented. It is also worth reflecting on what this experiment means as a microcosm for the undeniable growth of grass racing in America. Owner Seth Klarman and trainer Chad Brown didn’t need to go to Europe to find good racehorses. Klarman, under his Klaravich Stables moniker, has raced Grade I winners like Cloud Computing (Maclean’s Music) and Practical Joke (Into Mischief), both trained by Brown. Brown is, of course, one of the preeminent trainers in the U.S. and the dominant top-level turf trainer. Brown’s best horses have included both American-breds and European imports sent to him with form. But these are both men who see opportunity and grab it; they didn’t reach the top of their respective professions by resting in their comfort zones. There is nothing new about importing European horses to America (and vice versa) and winning races. But during a time when high quality turf racing in the U.S. is growing sharply, the fact that a pair of dyed-in-the-wool Americans considered it worthwhile to put the time, effort and expense into selecting and shipping a handful of yearlings from Newmarket to the U.S. when they were having plenty of success otherwise should be considered significant. Brown said minutes after Newspaperofrecord’s Breeders’ Cup win, “We decided to go over [to Tattersalls] and try a new market because we’re always looking to change our model a little bit, and studying the races over here-yes, I’ve had success in this race before with the American-bred horses, but I also have a division of my stable where I get a lot of imported horses that we try to buy or owners just send to me from Europe.” “Just thinking forwardly, I said to Seth, ‘would you be open to buying some yearlings [in Europe]?’ If we want to have some of these European-bred horses that I feel on the average just have better blood for running on turf courses-like this today and at a high level all over the world-then we’re going to have to go in and buy some unraced ones. He said, ‘sure, we’ll go over there and try it.'” Another of the vital cogs in the experiment was bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, who helped Klaravich Stables pick out six yearlings at Tattersalls last year and 10 this year. The Irish-born Ryan has been living in America for the better part of 40 years. “It began through Chad,” Ryan said. “Chad and I have been friends for seven or eight years now and we began to work together five or six years ago. I had some horses with him and I sent him some owners like Bill Warren and Bob Edwards. Our relationship has grown over the years and we have a great mutual respect. I think he’s an incredible trainer, and he sought out my help to help him pick yearlings at the sales and it’s worked very well.” “Seth [Klarman] likes to have a balanced stable,” Ryan continued. “He loves racing, period, and he particularly loves Saratoga; he races primarily in New York. Having Chad as his trainer, Chad is equally adept at dirt and grass horses and the grass program is fantastic in the States and it’s getting better and better. Almost half of our Breeders’ Cup races are grass races. It was a natural progression for Seth and when Chad brought up the idea of going to Newmarket, Seth was fully on board with it and very supportive of the concept.” Ryan has laid his eyes on enough good horses to know one when he sees one-he even worked at Windfields Farm in Canada during the Northern Dancer glory days-and he said when selecting European yearlings to race in the U.S. he looks for a leaner horse with the potential for a strong finishing kick. “Personally I don’t like horses that are too heavy,” he said. “I think the best grass horses are a bit on the leaner side. They have to have a good turn of foot. Turf racing is a bit different to dirt; dirt is fast from the gate to the wire but with turf racing a lot of horses cruise around there then kick on from the quarter pole to the wire and finish the last quarter in :22 and change. I like leaner horses, not heavy horses and ones that can use themselves very well and are agile and not cumbersome. In this country we have good to firm turf most of the year so we’re looking for horses that can handle fast ground.” During a time when speed is king in Europe, Ryan noted that the Klaravich team is looking specifically for two-turn horses to take advantage of good purses in that realm on the grass in the U.S. They have also done all their shopping at Tattersalls in the middle market; Newspaperofrecord’s group averaged 219,167gns, while this year’s haul averaged 213,500gns. “We’re not particularly looking at sprinters; we’re looking at horses that can go anywhere from a mile to a mile and a quarter because there is huge purse money in the longer races here,” Ryan explained. “It’s very difficult to compete on the very high end against the Middle East money, the Maktoum family and Coolmore. Although we did buy a Dubawi in 2017, the Dubawis and the Galileos we kind of leave alone and look underneath that. We’re looking for the next best quality, sires like Lope de Vega, Sea the Stars and Kingman.” “They have the best turf horses in the world in England and Ireland, and the Newmarket sales are a melting pot of the best of England, Ireland and France, so you have great quality of stallions and the broodmares are very strong. It’s a terrific catalogue and we work it very hard; we look at 350, 400 horses and try to be smart about knowing where we can buy and where we can’t buy.” While Newspaperofrecord is the lone horse of the Klaravich Tattersalls experiment to yet start, Ryan said others have given them reason to believe there will be more headlines made in 2019 and beyond. “There were others that were ready to run and they came up with little issues that have cost us time, but there will be a strong group of 3-year-olds next year and a strong oncoming group of 2-year-olds,” he said. View the full article

An off-the-turf running of the $100,000 Atlantic Beach Stakes at Acqueduct Racetrack Nov. 10 proved to be a non-issue for Gatsas Stables' Backtohisroots, who sailed home to his first stakes win by 5 3/4 lengths. View the full article

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continued to churn out steady results as the auction’s Book 4 section opened Saturday in Lexington. Brad and Misty Grady made the day’s highest bid when going to $235,000 for the 4-year-old broodmare K J Warrior (Tapit). The gray mare was consigned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield on behalf of Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings. Summerfield and Stonestreet teamed up to sell two of the 12 six-figure offerings Saturday. A filly by Kitten’s Joy brought the top weanling price of the day, selling for $145,000 to En Fuego Stables from the Perrone Sales consignment. During Saturday’s session, 223 horses sold for $7,236,400. The session average was $32,450 and the median was $20,000. The buy-back rate on the day was 31.60%. Through six sessions, Keeneland has sold 1,316 head for $165,074,900. The cumulative average is $125,437 and the median is $67,000. After six sessions of the 2017 auction, 1,172 horses had grossed $174,295,500 for an average of $148,716 and a median of $80,000. The Keeneland November sale continues through Friday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m. Gradys Stay Busy Supporting Girvin Brad and Misty Grady have been busy all week at Keeneland, buying mares to support their recently retired Grade I winner Girvin, who stands his first season at stud next year at Ocala Stud. Before heading home to Texas Saturday, the couple made their biggest purchase of the auction when paying a session-topping $235,000 for K J Warrior (Tapit) (hip 2123). Consigned by Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck’s Summerfield on behalf of Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, the 4-year-old mare sold in foal to Kantharos. She is a daughter of J Z Warrior (Harlan’s Holiday), a half-sister to Grade I placed A Z Warrior (Bernardini) and graded stakes winners Jojo Warrior (Pioneerof the Nile) and E Z Warrior (Exploit). “She has a fast family and we think she’ll fit well with Girvin,” Grady said after signing for the mare while seated in the pavilion with his wife and bloodstock agents Bobby Dodd and Jacob West. “My wife and I are really going to support Girvin–that’s who all these mares are for.” The Gradys purchased 12 mares through six sessions of the November sale for a total of $1,214,000 and an average of $101,167. In addition to K J Warrior, the couple purchased Brandenburg (Dunkirk) (hip 305) and Ten Demerits (Into Mischief) (hip 1022), both for $190,000. “I have Jacob West doing a lot of the pedigree work,” Grady said. “We are trying to find mares with speed and obviously as pretty and correct as we can buy. We are putting Classic pedigrees to him, too. We don’t know what’s going to work, so we’re trying a little variety.” He continued, “I’ve got Bobby Dodd here with me, he’s my bloodstock agent through and through, and when you buy the horses that fit Bobby’s criteria and Jacob’s criteria, they are going to be at the upper echelon of the prices.” In horse racing only since 2009, the Gradys got their first taste of racing at the highest level with Girvin, who was originally purchased as a pinhooking prospect but who carried Grady’s colors to victory in the 2017 GI Haskell Invitational, GII Louisiana Derby and GII Risen Star S. “My wife has always liked the breeding operation,” Grady, who estimated they would be sending 30 mares to Girvin next season, said. “That’s more her love than mine. I don’t mind it, but she likes the horses. So, happy wife, happy life. I love the racing and I love the pinhooking, too. I like fast stuff, the breeding, that’s her deal.” Girvin (Tale of Ekati–Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) will stand his first season for $7,500. “Girvin is a beautiful horse,” Grady said. “He was a precocious 2-year-old, won as a 2-year-old first time out going :10 1/5. He won several graded stakes and he was pretty versatile. Beau Lane has really got me pumped up on the horse’s pedigree–going back to the 1800s to Domino–and he’s educated my wife and I on the pedigrees. We’ve been buying some mares that are Beau Lane recommended, too. Beau Lane will get you really excited and willing to spend a lot of money on pedigrees.” As for plans for Girvin’s first foals, “We’ll do a little bit of both, [selling and racing],” Grady said. “The bulk of them, we’ll run ourselves.” Asked if he planned on continuing his buying spree at the November sale, Grady said, “My wife and I are going home this afternoon. We have young kids and we can only keep my wife away from the kids for so long. Jacob will still be here shopping the sale for us.” I’m Pretty Strong Heading Down Under I’m Pretty Strong (Street Cry {Ire}) will be heading to Australia where she may continue her racing career before becoming a broodmare after Boomer Bloodstock’s Craig Rounsefell signed the ticket at $220,000 for the dark bay filly (hip 2099) from the Upson Downs Farm consignment. “She’s been purchased for clients in Australia,” Rounsefell said. “We think that, with her residual value as a broodmare prospect, she’s extremely exciting. Street Cry has been very much a proven stallion all over the world and particularly in Australia and she’s out of a champion turf mare.” I’m Pretty Strong is a daughter of Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect), who won the 2010 GI Breeders’ Cup F/M Turf in the colors of Sagamore Farm. Bred and raced by Sagamore, I’m Pretty Strong won two of seven starts for trainer Horacio DePaz. “This filly has shown a lot of ability on the track,” Rounsefell said. “With seven starts to date, she is one that we think, physically is still immature. We think there is improvement in her physically. She is going to really develop and let down. But we have time until the breeding season next year, so we will probably put her in training and, if she is measuring up down there, we’ll keep it going because we think she has a lot of ability on the track. She might race in Australia, but predominantly she’s been bought as a broodmare.” Australian buyers have been active all week at Keeneland and Rounsefell said the success of the progeny of mares imported from America have made the move a popular one in the country. “The statistics don’t lie,” he said. “American mares have done very well in Australia. They’ve over achieved percentage wise. There is a small number of them there and they have done really well. They’ve produced top-quality horses. The gene pool in Australia is getting very condensed down the Danehill line, so there are people here looking to expand their bloodlines and to bring in the American speed. The market has been very strong in Australia and people are looking to replenish their broodmare bands and this is the best place to do it.” Of the market at Keeneland this week, Rounsefell said, “We’ve followed quite a few up and the two that we really wanted we walked away with. We tried on a number of others up to a point, but I think the market is very strong, like it is all around the world, for anything that is commercial. There are plenty of breeders who made money at the yearling sales and are looking to continue their Kitten’s Joy Filly a Starr Jim Perrone sold four horses on behalf of Jon Starr during Saturday’s session of the Keeneland November sale, but it was a daughter of Kitten’s Joy who was the obvious standout. The weanling sold for $145,000–highest foal price of the day–to En Fuego Stables. Starr purchased the mare Sunday Sport (Honour and Glory), with the filly in utero, for $20,000 at last year’s Keeneland November sale. “Every day, she was nothing but class,” Perrone said of the weanling (hip 2268). “She came in from Oklahoma and she went over to Polo Green Stable, to Nobu Araki. He made her beautiful. The horse did it herself. She was correct, had a big walk, and looked good and showed class. As the sale went on, she was one of the better horses of the day. We intentionally put her on this day because of that.” Starr served as mayor of Hot Springs, Arkansas in the 1980s, and his success Saturday proved popular with the auctioneers at Keeneland. “He owned the Thoroughbred sale company in Arkansas,” Perrone explained. “I think he started half of these auctioneers when they were young. He gave them their first jobs.” Araki added, “Everyone [from the auction stand] came out high fiving after she sold.” Sunday Sport, who also produced stakes placed Norma’s Charm (Creative Cause) and Touchdown Kitten (Kitten’s Joy), was already 19 when Starr purchased her last year. “Jon is very good at that,” Perrone said. “He can pick out those older mares who have some quality to them. That’s what he does. He keeps some mares in Oklahoma. He foals them in Oklahoma and has someone raise them for him there. Then he ships them to Nobu for a couple months to refine them and get them ready for the sale.” The weanling impressed Araki right from the start. “She was one of my favorites,” he said. “As soon as she stepped off the van, she was my favorite. She is the most correct Kitten’s Joy I’ve ever seen.” Of his results for the day, Perrone said, “I sold four for Jon today. The other three we just brought down and found new homes for. This one was the home run.” Kerbers Adding Grammar Iowans Jeff and Robin Kerber added to their fledgling broodmare band with the $130,000 purchase of Good Grammar (Exchange Rate) (hip 2073) Saturday at Keeneland. Consigned by Darby Dan Farm, the 4-year-old mare sold carrying a foal from the first crop of Grade I winner Klimt (Quality Road). “She is young and comes from a good family,” Jeff Kerber, who did his bidding out back with bloodstock agent Mike McMahon, said. “Klimt is a sire we wanted to get–that Quality Road line is so hot,” McMahon added. The Kerbers were quickly back in action Saturday, again paying $130,000 to secure the broodmare prospect Pray for Leslie (Bernardini) (hip 2206) from the Lane’s End consignment. The 3-year-old mare is out of multiple graded stakes placed C J’s Leelee (Mizzen Mast), a half-sister to Grade I winner Capo Bastone. The Kerbers are building a commercial broodmare band which currently numbers five head. Kerber admitted it’s been tough bidding at Keeneland this week. “We were tired of losing,” he said with a chuckle. “It’s been very difficult.” McMahon added, “We’re pretty picky and the ones we like have been popular.” The Kerbers have been involved in racing for several years, but have decided to up their participation in the game after selling the family’s livestock-based Kerber Companies earlier this year. McMahon revealed his client’s hopes for the new broodmare band. “I think he said something really cool just before,” McMahon said of Kerber. “He said, “We’d really like to breed a nice one.’ I think that’s a good goal.” View the full article

Like the multiple graded winner Skye Diamonds, who was a pickup from a claiming race before she reached stakes glory for Bill Spawr, Risky Proposition completed the transformation Nov. 10 with a closing upset victory in the Let It Ride Stakes. View the full article

An off-the-turf running of the $100,000 Atlantic Beach Stakes at Acqueduct Racetrack Nov. 10 proved to be a non-issue for Gatsas Stables' Backtohisroots, who sailed home to his first stakes win by 5 3/4 lengths. View the full article

Had the $75,000 Millions Preview Classic been run at a racetrack other than Gulfstream Park West, multiple stakes winner Mr. Jordan may have come up short in a bid to win the 1 1/16-mile stakes that headlined nine stakes for Florida-breds Nov. 10. View the full article

Amirul suspended for five days, Poon and Firdaus get two days each View the full article

Double joy for W&W as Walker, Woodworth win first Singapore Gold Cup View the full article

Makanani scores bittersweet win for Gold Cup guru Takaoka View the full article

Spirited win from tough Irish stayer in Lucky Stable quinella View the full article

Chocante keeps Poon Train chugging along View the full article

Ararat Lady shows great promise second-up View the full article

Firdaus clings on to lead Walker 1-2 View the full article

Track conditions and course scratchings November 11 View the full article

Horses' body weights November 11 View the full article

“I gave her some time off after the Sapporo Kinen and had planned to race her in the Oct. 13 Fuchu Himba S.,” said trainer Ippo Sameshima. “Ten days before that, however, she ran a fever and had to be withdrawn. She got over the fever immediately, and I switched my sights to here. She tends to improve with a prep, but she did run very well in the Sapporo Kinen even though it was her first race in 4 1/2 months. This time, the time between races is less, so I think she’ll be able to access all her power.” A winner of the G3 Flower Cup at Nakayama in March, Cantabile (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) was off the board in Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn})’s G1 Japanese Oaks, but returned to capture the G2 Kansai Telecasting Corp. Sho Rose S. at Hanshin over 1800 metres on Sept. 16. In the Oct. 14 Shuka Sho, she was once again defeated by Almond Eye and took third that day trying 2000 metres for the first time. Lys Gracieux (Jpn) (Heart’s Cry {Jpn}) just needs to boost her form a hair as she has been competitive at this level previously, running second in the May 13 G1 Victoria Mile–her fourth Group 1 placing to date. Kept to a light campaign in 2018, an unplaced effort in the G1 Yasuda Kinen in June saw her benched until Oct. 13, where she ran second to Deirdre (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) in the G2 Ireland Trophy Fuchu Himba S. with Frontier Queen (Jpn) (Meisho Sampson {Jpn}) third. Never off the board in five starts to date, Normcore (Jpn) (Harbinger {GB}) rolled a pair of threes in the G2 Flower Cup–to Cantabile–and the G2 Sankei Sports Sho Flora S. this spring. Allowed time off to mature, the 3-year-old put it all together in the Sept. 8 G3 Shion S. going 2000 metres at Nakayama, and if she continues her upward trajectory, could prove dangerous on Sunday. Red Genova (Jpn) (Symboli Kris S) has enjoyed a fairly productive 2018, with five on-the-board finishes and three wins in six starts, and she enters the Queen Elizabeth II Cup with a runner-up performance in the Oct. 8 G2 Kyoto Daishoten to MG1SW Satono Diamond (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}). View the full article

Woodford Racing's Hot Springs took an adventurous trip to victory Nov. 10 in the $100,000 Commonwealth Turf Stakes (G3T), but in the end picked up his first graded stakes win and preserved his unbeaten record on the Churchill Downs turf. View the full article

Spirited Guy became the first winner for his sire, He Be Fire N Ice, when the 2-year-old gelding broke his maiden Nov. 9 at Golden Gate Fields. View the full article

HOT SPRINGS (c, 3, Uncle Mo–Magical Victory, Victory Gallop) shifted out sharply in the lane and kicked away convincingly to make the grade in Saturday’s GIII Commonwealth Turf S. under the Twin Spires. The $750,000 KEESEP yearling stopped the clock in 1:46.97, with Zero Gravity (Orb) completing the exacta some 1 1/2 lengths behind and pacesetting Marzo (Medaglia d’Oro) holding on for third. The winner took maiden and allowance races here in June before finishing second in the GIII Kent S. at Delaware July 14. Fourth in the GIII Saranac S. at Saratoga Sept. 1, he was last seen annexing the Jefferson Cup S. here Sept. 29. Hot Springs becomes the 22nd graded winner for his sire. Lifetime Record: 7-4-1-0. O-Woodford Racing LLC. B-Bo Hirsch LLC (Ky). T-Steven M Asmussen. View the full article

The Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners’ Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award, named in honor of the late founder of Oldham County’s Hermitage Farm, has announced the 2018 recipient–Bill Landes–Jones’ long-time chief lieutenant who worked for Hermitage for 41 years, including almost a quarter-century as general manager. The presentation will be made at the KTO’s 31st annual awards gala Saturday, Nov. 17 at the Kentucky Derby Museum. The Warner L. Jones Jr. Horseman of the Year Award recognizes individuals for outstanding contributions to Kentucky racing and sharing the passion exemplified by Jones, who spent 50 years on the Churchill Downs board, including eight as chairman during the iconic track’s resurgence. Jones was the inaugural winner in 1988. “It means everything,” Landes who, with his wife Sally, own Greystone Farm near Hermitage. “Nov. 1, 1977, I walked into the office as an employee. I started out about two years earlier as a boarding client with a mare at Mr. Jones’. I took a year off from the practice of law to learn the horse business. And 41 years later, here I sit. “You don’t know what this award means to me, because I wouldn’t know half the people, have half the contacts, had half the fun in the Thoroughbred business without Mr. Jones. He taught me not only about horses–and I learned a lot about the horse business–but he taught me a lot about people. More importantly, he taught me about community, the local community. So many things he impressed upon me. There are a lot of truly great horsemen and great people who have won this award before me. But for me to have worked with Mr. Jones, known him and as family as well as I did, gosh, I can’t express in words what it means.” Landes is chair of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Development Fund advisory committee of the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission and serves on Churchill Downs’ horsemen’s racing committee. He is a past president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and of the LaGrange Rotary Club. “We name an award for the man who is so behind everything we do in the industry, the breeder we all aspire to do,” KTO president Chris Murphy said of Jones. “We thought it would be fitting to honor someone who really is the glue to keep the entire industry together. Bill needs to be recognized for everything he’s done.” 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 Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourses, including the return to action of the exciting Group 3 winner Mr Melody (Scat Daddy) Sunday, November 11, 2018 5th-KYO, ¥13,400,000 ($118k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800mT PERKUNAS (JPN) (c, 2, Majesticperfection–Thundercup, by Thunder Gulch) is a full-brother to 2015 GI Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Lovely Maria, who was RNAd for $5K as a Keeneland November weanling one year after her dam fetched $32K with the filly in utero at Keeneland. Thundercup was acquired privately in 2015 and this is her first Japanese-bred foal. Second dam Buttercup (Baldski) was responsible for MGSW Rare Blend (Bates Motel). B-Shadai Farm 8th-KYO, ¥19,950,000 ($175k), Allowance, 3yo/up, 1800m YUMENO TOBIRA (f, 4, Bernardini–West Coast Swing, by Gone West) overwhelmed the opposition in her first three career appearances at Sonoda on the NAR circuit and most recently showed she could mix it at the major-league level with a comfortable victory going 1400m of this dirt course Oct. 8. The $250K KEESEP yearling is a daughter of ‘TDN Rising Star’ West Coast Swing, herself a half-sister to fellow ‘Rising Star’ GSW and promising young WinStar stallion Speighster (Speightstown). B-WinStar Farm LLC (KY) 11th-TOK, ¥44,350,000 ($390k), Open Hcp., 3yo/up, 1400mT MR MELODY (c, 3, Scat Daddy–Trusty Lady, by Deputy Minister) makes a much-anticipated return to the races as he faces elders for the first time. A half-brother to GSP Trendy Lady (Unbridled’s Song), Mr Melody set a Tokyo track record in graduating at first asking and made a successful transition to the turf with a defeat of fellow US-bred Asakusa Genki (Stormy Atlantic) in the G3 Falcon S. in March (video, gate 10). He was last seen finishing a close fourth in the G1 NHK Mile Cup at this track. A $75K KEENOV buyback, Mr Melody fetched $100K as a KEESEP yearling in 2016 and $400K at the 2017 OBS April Sale. B-Bell Tower Thoroughbreds (KY) –Alan Carasso View the full article

Odanis Acuna, a veteran exercise rider for trainer Kenny McPeek, died early Saturday morning during a training accident at Churchill Downs. He was 42. The accident occurred shortly after the track opened for training when the unraced 2-year-old New York Harbor (Verrazano), with Acuna aboard, fell about a sixteenth of a mile before the finish line. Onsite emergency medical technicians who arrived on the scene to treat Acuna believe he died instantly, while New York Harbor sustained catastrophic injuries. “Today is a somber day,” said Churchill Downs Racetrack President Kevin Flanery. “We extend our deepest sympathy to Odanis’ family, friends, colleagues and the entire team at trainer Kenny McPeek’s barn. Our hearts are with them in this difficult time of extreme sorrow.” Known to his racetrack friends as “Cuba” –a nod to his native homeland–Acuna is remembered by friends as a tireless worker who was dedicated to improving the life of his family. “Odanis was one of the hardest working guys you’d ever meet; he was working the American dream,” said McPeek, who employed Acuna for nearly a decade. “He galloped for me in the morning and worked for the feed company in the afternoon.” Training at Churchill Downs ceased Saturday morning shortly after the accident. A moment of silence was observed in Acuna’s honor prior to Saturday’s first race. “When he started with me he had little or nothing and he got himself pretty well setup and had been saving money,” McPeek said. “He bought himself a car and was getting ready to buy a house. He was hard at it all day, every day. We worked together a long time and he traveled with us wherever we went. He rode a lot of my best horses for years and was a guy who could handle just about any horse you put him on. He was just a good guy and loved what he was doing. I am just sickened by this tragedy.” Funeral arrangements, a memorial service and fundraising efforts for the family are pending. View the full article

In September, Justify left WinStar Farm for a career at Ashford Stud after the undefeated Triple Crown winner was purchased by Coolmore. Two months later, he is on display for breeders and fans alike and has proven to be a popular draw during the Keeneland November Sale. We caught up with Adrian Wallace to see how the big chestnut was settling in. TDN: Justify has been here around two months now. He looks fantastic. How has he settled in? AW: He has settled in fine. We have been overwhelmed by the response from our breeders. It goes without saying he’s always going to be a popular horse, but he looks the part, he’s very mature, and WinStar obviously did a great job with him. He arrived here in good weight, and he has taken to his new role of being our number one show stallion quite well. We have probably had three hundred people through over the last two days. It will be interesting to see what happens when Pharaoh comes back. Having two Triple Crown winners in the same place will be quite overwhelming, I’m sure. But we’re quite happy with him, he’s a beautiful-looking horse, he’s 16.3, a lovely rich color, and in a great mood. And we couldn’t be happier. TDN: American Pharaoh will be back soon enough from Australia. In terms of breeders and the public, how do you prepare for a demand like that? AW: We’re close partners with Horse Country, who do a great job in promoting the farms and arranging the tours. So for the first couple of weeks in November, we stopped our Horse Country tours to give breeders a chance to come see the horse, and come see Mo Town as well, who’s also new for 2019. So once the sales are over, we’ll start again with our Horse Country tours and try to get them available to the fans again. But we want to be mindful of the horse. It wasn’t so long ago he was racing, so we want to do the right thing by him, not overwhelm him, and that’s why we’ve got sort of a fairly strict measure of time. TDN: It’s quite a historic achievement, standing two Triple Crown winners. AW: We’re the fourth farm in history to stand two Triple Crown winners, so that puts us now in a bracket that includes Claiborne Farm, Calumet, and Spendthrift. It’s a place that we’re honored to be in. Having horses like Justify and American Pharaoh is a responsibility to the business and to the industry, and it’s one we don’t take lightly. We’re looking forward to getting a good book of mares under both these stallions. Obviously Pharaoh is going to have his first runners next year, and his yearlings couldn’t have sold any better. And we think Justify will get a justifiably good book of mares. TDN: How do you go about sorting through the mares and trying to get him the best start? AW: We get the applications, some mares are more obvious than others. A Raving Beauty was booked into Justify this morning, so she’s obviously one you don’t have to think about too hard. We’ll breed 40 or 50 of our own mares to them as well. We hope to get a good solid book behind them. The criteria is that we want young, good-looking, well-credentialed mares, but they don’t have to be Grade I or Grade I producers. As long as they’ve got good families behind them and have the credentials, we’re happy to take a look at them. {"id":3,"instanceName":"Articles No Playlist","videos":[{"videoType":"HTML5","title":"Justify the Star of the Show at Coolmore America","description":"","info":"","thumbImg":"","mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/299966153.sd.mp4?s=8654d7ed9606aa7b35d55e8cba68c7e6c0885731&profile_id=165","enable_mp4_download":"no","prerollAD":"yes","prerollGotoLink":"prerollGotoLink","preroll_mp4_title":"preroll_mp4_title","preroll_mp4":"https://player.vimeo.com/external/273891801.sd.mp4?s=59b83370d3ca1d184f53617f1f64aff7056df628&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\/"} TDN: You have Uncle Mo and now you’ve got one of his sons, Mo Town, standing here next year. How is the demand for Uncle Mo from breeders this year? AW: Uncle Mo is one of those horses; he’s very young, but he’s already had six Group 1 winners in his first two crops. He’s a horse that doesn’t really need any introduction. He’s popular in the sales ring, he’s popular with buyers, he’s popular with breeders, and the trainers like them. Getting Nyquist in your first crop puts you in fairly rarified air, so I think he’s a horse that really doesn’t need too much explaining. But he’s been very well received as well. He, Pharaoh, and Justify really are the horses that are filling up very very well. And obviously our newer horses are starting to fill now as well. TDN: And finally, naturally after Accelerate won the Breeders’ Cup, his connections are campaigning for him as Horse of the Year. What is your argument for Justify as Horse of the Year? AW: There’s only one Triple Crown. There have only been 13 winners of the Triple Crown. And he is the thirteenth Triple Crown winner. He should be Horse of the Year. He’s one of those horses who, when he’s running, you never really doubt that he was going to win the race. He gave Mike Smith the confidence, he gave Bob Baffert the confidence to put him in the Santa Anita Derby in only his third start, and the Kentucky Derby only his fourth start. What the horse achieved this spring and early summer was quite incredible. I think being a Triple Crown winner in six starts was pretty amazing stuff. Let’s not forget the Curse of Apollo, either. View the full article