Wandering Eyes

Maiden Watch: Week of June 2-June 8View the full article

Coolmeen Farms shelled out €190,000 for lot 133, a son of No Risk At All, who topped the first day of the Goffs Arkle Sale on Tuesday. Consigned by Sluggara Farms, the 3-year-old gelding is out of a full-sister to stakes winner Bonne Gargotte (Poliglote) and a half-sister to Trait De Genie (Diamond Prospect). Trainer Ellmarie Holden bought the half-brother to Flat listed winner Syrita (Siyouni) with her father Paul under the Coolmeen banner. They previously pinhooked two-mile chaser Jonbon and sold him to JP McManus for £570,000 at the Goffs Yorton Sale. “Everyone here seemed to be mad about him, and we were in love with him too,” she said. “He walked beautifully – he tuned out and was so laid back – and he has a lovely pedigree too. He's just a smasher. Please God now he'll do the job for us. “Derek O'Connor will break him in, and then we'll get him going around September time and take it from there. Hopefully we'll get him to win a maiden point-to-point and bring him back to market. We did it with Jonbon but the pressure is back on.” Overall, 15 lots made €100,000 on the first day of the store sale. The clearance rate was 84% for 188 lots sold from 223 offered. The aggregate was €10,306,500 (+12%), while the average was €54,822 (+9%) and the median was €50,000 (+12%). The post No Risk At All Gelding Leads The Way At Goffs Arkle Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Bloodstock agent Mike Ryan has picked out dozens of Grade I winners over the years. He has also bred Grade I winners, most notably Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming (Bodemeister) and his half-sister Hot Dixie Chick (Dixie Union), and he's even raced a few, including 2008 GI Spinaway Stakes victress Mani Bhavan (Storm Boot) and 2019 GI United Nations Stakes winner (Tiz Wonderful) But this year's GI Gamely Stakes marked a particularly special victory for Ryan when 'TDN Rising Star' Be Your Best (Ire) (Muhaarar {GB}), a horse that he bred and races, scored her first win at the elite level. “It doesn't get any better,” said Ryan, who watched the Santa Anita race from back home in Kentucky. “It's the pinnacle, when you've had patience and are lucky enough to make some good decisions along the way. It was a very thrilling win and very exciting because of her being a homebred and still having the mare and the siblings.” One of Be Your Best's siblings is poised to further bolster his family's credentials. 'TDN Rising Star' Postmodern (Too Darn Hot)–whom Ryan sold for 270,000gns at Tattersalls October Book 1 last year–is pointing toward the G2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 17. Under the moniker St. Croix Bloodstock, Ryan runs a commercial breeding operation with around 35 broodmares. Some are owned in partnership, including the mare he co-owned with his late friend Gerry Dilger that produced a Kentucky Derby winner. He boards the majority of his mares at Indian Creek Farm in Paris, Kentucky, though he also keeps a few at Ballylinch Stud in his native Ireland. Most of his stock goes to auction, but Ryan is not shy about retaining a filly for his own racing program. Such was the case for Be Your Best, who was foaled and raised at Ballylinch. By the time the filly was a yearling, her sire Muhaarar had fallen out of commercial favor and was moved from Shadwell's Nunnery Stud to France. Kamakura at Indian Creek Farm | Katie Petrunyak “She wouldn't have brought $25,000 at a sale,” Ryan predicted. “She was a nice yearling but we knew we would be overlooked at the sales and understandably so. If it had been a colt, I probably would not have kept him. But she had enough quality about her that I said, 'Let's bring her back to America and see what we can do.'” After earning the 'Rising Star' nod in her Saratoga debut and collecting a stakes win in the P.G. Johnson Stakes under the tutelage of trainer Horacio de Paz, Be Your Best has raced almost exclusively in graded company over her four years on the racetrack. She was transferred to Saffie Joseph last fall and has since made four trips to the winner's circle, including a gutsy score in the GII Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational Stakes. Ryan said that one of the keys to the now-millionaire's recent success has been figuring out her affinity for firm turf. In between her wins in the Pegasus and the Gamely, Be Your Best put in a disappointing last-place effort in the GI Jenny Wiley Stakes during a particularly soggy Keeneland meet. “We finally understand now that she doesn't want anything but fast, firm ground and since Saffie has had her, she's won four of six races, all graded stakes,” said Ryan. “She has been a remarkable filly. She's very sound, very low maintenance and she's been very consistent.” From here, Ryan reported that Be Your Best will likely make an appearance in the GI Diana Stakes at Saratoga on July 12, although the Beverly D. Stakes at Colonial and E. P. Taylor Stakes at Woodbine are also under consideration. “If it's not firm ground, she won't run,” he said. “She'll have two more races hopefully before the Breeders' Cup. We think she'll like that firm turf [at Del Mar]. When we give her the time between races, on the right surface, she always runs well.” While awaiting Be Your Best's next start, Ryan has plenty more to look forward to from other members of his star homebred's family. Just four days before Be Your Best's Gamely score, her half-brother Postmodern stamped his ticket to Royal Ascot after an eye-catching five-length debut win at Yarmouth on May 22 for owner Wathnan Racing and trainer Hamad Al Jehani. “He has a blend of terrific speed, but he should be able to get a mile to a mile and an eighth and possibly a mile a quarter like Be Your Best,” said Ryan. “Too Darn Hot is one of the most exciting young stallions in Europe. I'm a huge fan of Dubawi (Ire) and he's one of Dubawi's best sons. Postmodern has gotten a lot of media attention. The manner of his win was super impressive and we're really looking forward to seeing him run in the Coventry, but he better be good because Aidan O'Brien has got a couple of nice Wootton Bassetts that are going to be there as well.” With both Be Your Best and Postmodern showing sky's-the-limit potential for the latter half of the year, their dam Kamakura (Medaglia d'Oro) is well positioned to cement her status as a top-class broodmare for Ryan. Ryan purchased Kamakura from Godolphin for 150,000gns at the 2016 Tattersalls July Sale. The 3-year-old was unraced, but came with a pedigree that was too good for Ryan to pass up. “This was one the greatest pedigrees of Mr. [William] Farish, with Up the Flagpole (Hoist the Flag) and Flagbird (Nureyev),” Ryan described. “Those kinds of pedigrees are hard to access and when you have the opportunity, I prefer really good bloodlines over a mare that was a good race mare but doesn't have much pedigree.” Already, Kamakura has had three winners from four to race, starting with her first foal Komachi (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) who sold for 625,000gns as a yearling back in 2019. Ryan is hoping for more fireworks from the family this fall when the latest Kamakura yearling hits the sales ring. The mare's Baaeed (GB) filly was foaled and raised at Indian Creek, but recently sent to Ireland where she will point toward the Tattersalls October Sale. Kamakura and her Cody's Wish foal | Katie Petrunyak “She is very impressive,” Ryan noted. “She's a big, strong, powerful filly with a lot of Medaglia d'Oro in her. She's much bigger than Be Your Best.” With Be Your Best's growing reputation in the U.S., Kamakura is here to stay for the time being. This year she produced a Cody's Wish colt and has since checked in foal to Nyquist. “The family goes both ways,” explained Ryan. “There is a lot of dirt and grass in this pedigree, so it seems very versatile from that perspective. We don't have a half-sister right now except for the yearling filly that is going to sell at Tattersalls, so if she were carrying a Nyquist filly we would lean pretty heavily towards keeping her and racing her ourselves. The mare is only 12 years of age, so hopefully we'll have a few more years to get another filly out of her.” Ryan said he has around 20 horses in his racing program. He is excited about several 2-year-old homebreds set to debut in the coming months, especially a half-sister to stakes winner Saddle Up Jessie (More Than Ready) named Give Your Best (Ire) (Too Darn Hot), as well as a filly he owns with his friend Jeff Drown called Sweet Little Lila (Ire) (Palace Pier {GB}) who is the first foal out of the partners' Grade I-placed mare Sassy Little Lila (Artie Schiller). For Ryan, watching a mare like Kamakura make an impact on both sides of the Atlantic is the validation of a long-term vision. And he is confident that there is still more to come. “She's on her way to becoming a blue hen like her great-grandmother Up the Flagpole,” he said. “It's a lot of fun. Believe me, we're enjoying the ride.” The post With Star Broodmare Kamakura, Mike Ryan Bringing Out the Best appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

5. ASBURY PARK (GB), 6/6, SAR, Race 8, 1 1-16th (turf) Beyer Speed Figure- 85 (c, 4, by Frankel {GB}–Limonar {Ire} by Street Cry {Ire}) O-Peter Brant and St Elias Stable. B-St Elias Stable (GB). T-Chad Brown. J-Flavien Prat. Not surprisingly, Saratoga produced all five of these maiden graduates – three on Friday. Asbury Park got his race in just before heavy rain and powered away as much the best despite a slow pace, wide trip and an 9 1/2-month layoff due to shin issues. Brant bought the colt as a yearling for $318,526 from Vinny Viola in October 2023 at Tattersalls, with Viola opting to keep an ownership share. Brown emptied the barn at Saratoga, going 5-for-28 with Grade I and Grade II victories. 4. RAGTIME, 6/6, SAR, Race 2, 7 furlongs Beyer Speed Figure- 86 (f, 3, by Union Rags–Burmilla, by Storm Cat) O/B-Godolphin (Ky). T-Bill Mott. J-Junior Alvarado. Mott may be all-world, but he has never prioritized success with first-time starters: heading into Saratoga last weekend he had lost with 43 in a row. Then he unleashed winning debuters Friday and Saturday at 9-1 and 8-1 odds, respectively, and both make our top five. Ragtime rolled to the front in midstretch and drew off sharply by 3 3/4 lengths. Her now-22-year-old dam Burmilla had her own Saratoga highlight: in 2007 she earned a 107 Beyer in taking the Grade II Honorable Miss. 3. HIT THE POST, 6/6, SAR, Race 14, 7 furlongs Beyer Speed Figure- 87 (g, 3, by Kantharos–Memento d'Oro, by Medaglia d'Oro) O/B- Old Tavern Farm (NY). T-Melanie Giddings. J-Chris Elliott. In his fourth career start and first as a 3-year-old after 7 1/2 months sidelined, Hit the Post dashed to the front and splashed home a decisive 6 3/4 lengths ahead of New York-breds. Saddled by Giddings of Maple Leaf Mel fame, he became the first Saratoga winner for apprentice Elliott and the second for owners/breeders Walt and Melanie Borisenck, who in 2016 founded Old Tavern Farm in Saratoga Springs. 2. MAINSTREAM, 6/7, SAR, Race 2, 7 furlongs (2nd) Beyer Speed Figure- 92 (c, 3, by Speightstown–Lesley May, by Tapit) O-Jeffrey Drown, Don Rachel and Stonestreet Stables. B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings. T-Brad Cox. J-Luis Saez. Of those who have raced, Mainstream was perhaps America's fastest maiden before Saturday – and still is. At 3-5 odds, he battled head-to-head with Junior Alvarado and Stars and Strides for the final 3/16th as they leaned/rubbed/bumped repeatedly. A stewards' inquiry resulted in no change and Mainstream is 0-for-3 despite back-to-back 92 Beyers on sloppy tracks. Trip note: he stumbled at the break Saturday, and despite an impressively quick recovery may have been unlucky since the final margin was only a head. 1. STARS AND STRIDES, 6/7, SAR, Race 2, 7 furlongs Beyer Speed Figure- 92 (c, 3, by American Pharoah–Holiday Blues, by Ghostzapper) O-Pin Oak Stud. B-Four Pillars Holdings (Ky). T-Bill Mott. J-Junior Alvarado. This $475,000 yearling buy was Mott's second winning first-timer in two days, showing talent and determination to outfinish Mainstream. Aside from his 'Pharoah' genes, his half-brother Panther Island was a stakes sprinter on turf and he already shows a bullet work on grass at Payson, so the green is a nice future option. The post The Five Fastest Maidens, Presented By Taylor Made, For The Week Of June 2-9 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

In the early minutes of the first session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday, a colt by Yaupon (hip 104) turned in what would be the day's fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 and that mark was matched later in the day by a filly by Leinster (hip 81) and a colt by Engage (hip 152). It was the second :9 4/5 work at OBS for the colt from the first crop of Yaupon, who put in a similar work ahead of the company's March sale. “It wasn't a big surprise that he went as fast as he did, because he'd already went :9 4/5 in March,” said consignor Julie Davies. “He had a P1 [chip] after the breeze in March, so we had to stop and take that out. We had plenty of interest in him in March, but people didn't want to fool with that. So obviously there was the question mark of what fitness he lost in the time that he was off, as he hasn't done much between then and now, but we had no reason to think that he wouldn't do as well as he did then. He showed up and he did it again.” When the colt was purchased for $85,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, the name on the ticket was 'Happy Birthday, Chili.' “My boyfriend, Chalino, picked him out as a yearling,” Davies said. “He and Tami Bobo were together up in the back ring and they picked him out. Everybody calls him Chili, and it was his birthday, so Tami signed the ticket Happy Birthday Chili.” The colt is out of After the Party (Into Mischief) and from the family of Grade I winner Callback. “He has always been fast and he's always been very happy to train,” Davies said of the juvenile. “He enjoys training. He's a happy horse with a great mind.” A filly from the first crop of multiple graded winner Leinster, who is already sire of the Royal Ascot-bound Lennilu, equaled the furlong bullet for consignor Octavio Mejia. The bay is out of Wildcat Gaze (Wildcat Heir), a half-sister to stakes winners Saratoga Treasure (Treasure Beach {GB}) and April Gaze (High Cotton). Purchased for $13,000 at the OBS Winter sale last year, she RNA'd for $27,000 at the OBS October sale. Rounding out the trio of bullet workers was a colt by another first-crop sire in multiple graded winner Engage. Consigned by Blue Sapphire Stables, the juvenile hit the bullet mark Tuesday despite changing leads several times down the lane. “Three weeks ago, he kicked the stall at the farm and the leg went through it and he got a serious cut,” said Blue Sapphire's Jesus Avila. “It still bothers him a little bit, so that could be why he was switching leads there.” Avila continued, “He prepped :10 flat last week. So he could have gone :9 3/5, I think.” The bay colt is out of Bazinga B (Lion Hearted) and is a half-brother to stakes winner Bazinga C (Exaggerator). He was purchased for $3,500 at last year's OBS October sale. Blue Sapphire Stables also sent out the fastest quarter-mile worker of Tuesday's session when I'm Here For Grace (Combatant) (hip 45) covered the distance in :20 4/5. “She was fast, but she is kind of small,” Avila said. “I think she's 15.2, but she can run. She is a late April foal, so I think she is still going to grow.” The filly is out of stakes-placed True Religion (Yes It's True), a half-sister to graded winner Sharp Sensation (Sharp Humor), and she is a half to stakes-placed Monster Man (Unbridled's Song). She was purchased for $5,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October sale. “I want to buy the best ones for little money,” Avila said with a laugh when asked about his yearling purchases. “I buy inexpensive horses–under $10,000. So I look at the new sires and the [lighter] pedigree page.” Tuesday was the first of five sessions of the under-tack show and Davies said she thought conditions had remained consistent throughout the day. “It didn't get too hot, it rained a little, so I did feel like it stayed pretty consistent today,” she said. The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning each day at 7:30 a.m. The June sale will be held next Tuesday and Wednesday. Bidding commences at 10 a.m. for each session. The post Trio of First-Crop Juveniles Share Furlong Bullet at OBS Tuesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

First and foremost, let's salute Journalism (Curlin) and his connections for confirming that only feebleness in horsemen, not horses, menaces the Triple Crown schedule. In last weekend replicating his Churchill challenge to crop leader Sovereignty (Into Mischief), moreover actually moving up his numbers, the only horse to contest all three legs demonstrated precisely the prowess that breeders have long sought from this series. That deserves to be remembered once Journalism goes to stud. Obviously, the GI Belmont Stakes is not asking quite so exacting a question just now. By the same token, we cannot give full weight to what would otherwise represent a new horizon for the sire of the horse who denied Journalism a Triple Crown. Into Mischief's evolution as a Classic influence, having started as a purveyor of precocity round a single turn, has corresponded to the upgrading of his mares with uncommon neatness. For him to sire a Classic winner over 12 furlongs, however, would still feel almost as startling as when Scat Daddy did so in 2018. As it turns out, Justify has duly confirmed himself to have advertised genetic wares of great significance that day. Sadly his prospects of in turn slaking our thirst for a British Triple Crown winner were thwarted by Ruling Court's withdrawal at Epsom on Saturday. Nonetheless the horse who exploited his absence, Lambourn (Ire) (Australia {GB}), was still able to enhance the legacy of Scat Daddy-this time as a broodmare sire. Lambourn's dam Gossamer Wings (Scat Daddy) was a very sharp juvenile, beaten a nostril in the G2 Queen Mary Stakes. If her contemporaries matured past her, that scarcely disqualified her as a familiar kind of foil for that latent dourness that Coolmore managed so successfully in Galileo (Ire) and meanwhile in sons such as Australia. Many breeders can attest that matings intended to balance extremes mostly cancel out distinction of any kind, so there's nothing merely formulaic to the way Galileo conjured the best of both worlds from sprinting mares. True, you might argue that Sovereignty represents a broadly similar equation, in reverse: a mare laden with the Triple Crown endurance of Seattle Slew (sire of her third dam, while her own sire Bernardini is a grandson) sent for extra pep to Into Mischief. But remember that when Justify stretched for the Belmont, he could draw even on his sire for help: Scat Daddy's granddam was by the last horse to win that 8f-14f British Triple Crown. Nijinsky also recurs in the bottom half of the pedigree, Justify's third dam being by his son Baldski. One of his lesser sons, maybe, but one who certainly channelled aristocratic blood: his dam, inbred 2×3 to Nasrullah, also produced Capote and Exceller. Now these names lurk in a pretty deep seam. For some of us, however, one of the keys to pedigree breadth is seeding by sires that themselves represent good family. Because if you can't even be sure what color your foal's coat will be, then you want to be entwining as many strands of quality as possible. As grandsire and damsire of Gossamer Wings, for instance, neither Johannesburg nor Rubiano are necessarily limited by their individual stud records when it comes to an eligibility, in the right circumstances, to spark something special. (As Rubiano perhaps did already, for instance, as damsire of War Front.) Johannesburg is a conduit for the Narrate line, his dam being half-sister to Tale of the Cat and Minardi. And Rubiano's dam Ruby Slippers, who incidentally introduces another dose of her sire Nijinsky, additionally produced Tapit's dam Tap Your Heels (Unbridled). (Tapit, of course, is by another stallion representing the Narrate family in Pulpit.) Lambourn's third dam, meanwhile, was by Hero's Honor. Hardly one of Northern Dancer's more influential sons-but look at the other taps out of the same pipe: his siblings include Sea Hero and Wild Applause, herself dam of Yell, Eastern Echo and Roar. Again, then, his individual profile doesn't necessarily put a ceiling on the right of Hero's Honor to filter something special into the mix. Ultimately, indeed, the same holds true of Australia himself: if his overall performance cannot be considered electrifying, exceptional genetic embers remain available to be stoked up behind him (Ouija Board (GB)/Urban Sea/Park Appeal (Ire) etc). Few would bother with this kind of exercise when it comes to Crowned (Bernardini), the late dam of Sovereignty. Besides being by an outstanding broodmare sire, her grandsire and damsire are huge brands: A.P. Indy and Empire Maker. But let's not forget that both are out of mares, Weekend Surprise and Toussaud, that do not owe their celebrity exclusively to the sons who happen to put their names in this pedigree. In fact, it's much the same even with Into Mischief. When he went to stud, a dam by Tricky Creek looked a pretty tricky proposition-but then of course Leslie's Lady additionally produced Beholder (Henny Hughes) and Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy). Into Mischief's Sovereignty winning the Belmont Stakes | Tod Marks Now Sovereignty is plainly entitled to draw on much else besides, his first three dams all having been seven-figure yearlings. Crowned was the second foal of GI Spinster winner Mushka (Empire Maker), herself first foal of turf stakes winner Sluice (Empire Maker); and the latter, in turn, was second foal of Lakeway (Seattle Slew), winner of four Grade Is. Beyond this sequence of early foals, this family has admittedly produced plenty of expensive disappointments. It certainly hasn't lacked opportunity. We can seldom account for why one particular angle should have clicked, when so many others subsequently don't. But that's the point, really: the richer the seeding of those neglected third and fourth generations, the less it will matter which flavor ultimately percolates through. Mischief Nearing New Heights With another sophomore son Patch Adams winning the GI Woody Stephens Stakes on the same card, Into Mischief is already hurtling towards his seventh successive championship. That would match the streak put together between 1963 and 1969 by Bold Ruler, who added an eighth title in 1973. Even that modern record-we must leave Lexington's achievements the previous century as a case apart-scarcely feels safe from a 20-year-old of such freakish libido and fertility. Despite his intimidating fee, Into Mischief's last published book in 2024 actually moved back up to 193 after an outstanding 82 percent of 174 mares the previous year delivered live foals. His sheer volume makes it very hard to lay a glove on the Spendthrift phenomenon, now breathing down the neck of Tapit at the head of the all-time North American sires' table. Despite Tapit's four extra crops, the pair are virtually in step, Into Mischief having now just edged ahead by starters (1,458 over 1,453), winners (1,069 over 1,065) and stakes winners (175 over 168). Tapit's ratios in the elite indices remain clear, however, last weekend reaching another landmark with his 200th graded stakes performer, ahead of Into Mischief on 161. But that gap has steadily closed with the upgrading of his mares, and Into Mischief will shortly seize Tapit's crown. His lifetime earnings have now reached $216,254,446, with the venerable gray clinging on at $217,020,128. Well Dressed Family Cutting a Dash Like so many stallions, even Into Mischief finds himself indebted to Distorted Humor mares. In fact, Patch Adams brings them up to a startling one-in-five among his 25 elite winners. Back in 2021 the WinStar team had particular encouragement to send the dam of Patch Adams, Well Humored (Distorted Humor), over to Spendthrift. For just about then they were buzzing over the sensational emergence of Life Is Good, a yearling purchase with China Horse Club on the same cross. CHC are duly also partners in Patch Adams, the first foal out of Well Humored to reach the track. This family had quite a weekend. The day before the Woody Stephens, Well Humored's half-brother Parchment Party (Constitution) romped over twice the distance in the GIII Belmont Gold Cup-a freakish test, albeit transferred off the turf, for American Thoroughbreds. Well Humored herself won a stakes in a light career, while her brother Muqtaser managed a couple of graded stakes podiums. But the most accomplished foal out of their dam Life Well Lived (Tiznow) remains GI Maker's 46 Mile winner American Patriot. The latter joined Darley Japan on retirement, his third dam being sister to the mother of dual Japanese Horse of the Year Symboli Kris S. But the core of the dynasty spreads beneath Life Well Lived's dam, Well Dressed (Notebook), a stakes-winning sprinter whose $150,000 purchase at the 2001 Keeneland November Sale has proved outstanding value. The Awesome Again filly she was carrying that day has since become granddam of the top-class Cyberknife (Gun Runner). But Well Dressed in the meantime discovered a particular affinity to Distorted Humor and/or Tiznow, both of course resident at WinStar. Most obviously Well Armed (Tiznow) banked over $5 million; while the five Tiznow siblings inspired by his G1 Dubai World Cup success included not just Life Well Lived but also the dam of GI La Troienne Stakes winner Played Hard (Into Mischief). Well Dressed's three foals by Distorted Humor, meanwhile, all contributed to the page: graded stakes winner/producer Witty; GI Travers-placed Helsinki; and the unraced O'Toole, whose daughter by Tiznow produced multiple graded stakes winner Mr. Money (Goldencents). That formula (by a son of Into Mischief, first two dams by Tiznow and Distorted Humor) represents an especially strong echo of Patch Adams (by Into Mischief, first two dams by Distorted Humor and Tiznow). No patching up required by a family as Well Dressed as this one. The post Breeding Digest: Epsom Reminds Us Who’s the Daddy appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

William Haggas has suffered a major blow to his Royal Ascot plans after Economics was ruled out of the meeting after pulling a muscle.View the full article

A. P. Kid, a ridgling 3-year-old son of Honor A. P., was making just his third career start in the $300,000 Pennine Ridge, which he won by 6 1/4 lengths for Donegal Racing.View the full article

Back at seven furlongs, the Into Mischief colt became a grade 1 winner after winning a key allowance race on the Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard. View the full article

In a stretch run reminiscent of the May 3 Kentucky Derby (G1), Sovereignty charged past Journalism to win the Belmont Stakes (G1), with Baeza rounding out the trifecta June 7 at Saratoga Race Course.View the full article

Cash Call delivered on the hype June 7, outfinishing stablemate Howin to the wire to give trainer Bob Baffert a 1-2 finish in the $100,000 Summertime Oaks (G3) at Santa Anita Park.View the full article

Louisiana stallion and grade 1 winner No Parole sired his first winner June 7 when the filly High Class Trip broke her maiden in a state-bred maiden special weight contest at Evangeline Downs.View the full article

The public's attention was on Sovereignty after he ran down Journalism to capture the June 7 Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga. But Aron Wellman—president and founder of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, one of Journalism's owners—had eyes on his horse.View the full article

On Jan. 9, 2025, a Thoroughbred mare named Kayseri was euthanized in Puerto Rico. She had no joint space left in her fetlocks. Her body was broken down from overuse, her mind likely exhausted from pain and confinement. Her death is not only a tragedy–it is the subject of three formal complaints now filed against the Puerto Rico Racing Commission, the track veterinarians, and her final owner. Kayseri was not a forgotten horse. She was bred by the University of Kentucky. She raced under Hall of Famer Mark Casse. She competed at Gulfstream Park. But in 2021, after a decline in performance, she was sold off privately and shipped via cargo container to Puerto Rico–where she was raced over 50 times in three years, with minimal oversight, on a dangerous surface, while her condition clearly deteriorated. I personally flagged Kayseri in July 2024 and submitted an official intervention request to the Puerto Rico Racing Commission. I provided race history, declining speed figures, and an offer to retire her to a safe home. My formal complaints cite: Regulatory failure by the Puerto Rico Racing Commission for allowing Kayseri to be repeatedly raced after being placed on the vets' list multiple times (for lameness, medication violations, and appetite loss), and for failing to respond to a written intervention request made six months before her death. Veterinary misconduct by Equine Practitioners & Associates and Veterinary Clinic de Confederación for the continued administration of joint injections and pain-masking treatments rather than recommending rest or retirement, in direct violation of veterinary ethics and welfare standards. Owner negligence by Establo Anajalin PR, for knowingly exploiting a declining, unsound mare until she collapsed under the weight of their indifference. These complaints are not symbolic. They are a plea for justice–not just for Kayseri, but for the 1,000+ horses euthanized at Camarero between 2021 and 2024. The data speaks volumes: 2021: 268 horses euthanized, 32.3% within 7 days of last race 2022: 257 euthanized, 34.8% within 7 days 2023: 270+ euthanized, 41.4% within 7 days 2024: 254 euthanized, 36% within 7 days Many of these horses were Kentucky bred. Many were only three or four years old. This is not “retirement” racing. This is a disposal system in disguise. Now, with the Ocala Breeders' Sales (OBS) approaching, the American Thoroughbred industry–breeders, consignors, trainers–must take responsibility for where these horses are ending up. If we continue to sell to bad-faith buyers who ship to Puerto Rico, we are enabling cruelty. Puerto Rico is U.S. soil. These are U.S.-bred horses. And the suffering happening at Hipódromo Camarero is happening on our watch. I urge the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) to expand its jurisdiction to include Puerto Rico, or for Puerto Rico's regulators to voluntarily adopt and enforce HISA's welfare standards. Until such protections are in place, U.S. sales companies and racetracks should blacklist any buyer known to ship horses to Puerto Rico, where there is currently no reliable oversight or enforceable safeguards. If Puerto Rico refuses to accept external accountability, the industry must act by cutting off its supply of horses. And the public and press must continue to shine a light on these regulatory failures until meaningful reform is no longer optional, but inevitable. Kayseri ran in 60-plus races. She tried every time. She did not deserve to be discarded, ignored, and raced to death in silence. Her death must mean something. The letters have been filed. The facts are documented. Now it is time for accountability. Chrissy Laughlin is an advocate and owner of a retired racehorse. The post Letter to the Editor: Suffering in Puerto Rico is Happening on Our Watch appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

Jake Ballis didn't know quite what to expect when he sent Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) to the 2023 Royal Ascot meet, where she won the GII Queen Mary Stakes. He says now it was one of the most exciting days of his life, and he has vowed to get back there every day since. Ballis, who heads the Black Type Racing partnership, couldn't find a runner in 2024 that he thought could win at one of the most competitive meets in the world. But he never stopped looking. “It was probably the greatest racing experience I've ever had,” Ballis said. “It's an unbelievable experience. We wanted to find another horse and do it again. I'm not doing it just to say we had a participant. It needed to be one that we thought had a chance over there. Running against 25 other horses is not an easy task. We have partners that have wanted to run there, especially after we won. We were just trying to find the right one to take us back there.” This time around, he found his horse. Black Type has purchased Azizam, (GB) (Havana Grey {GB}) a first-out winner at Hamilton Park in Scotland in his debut. “Why did we buy him? It was the way the horse finished,” Ballis said. “The jock flashed him the stick and he just took off. You can see that he was rank early and he was getting no cover. Once they started going up the hill, the jockey asked him and he had a really nice turn of foot. That was the main thing that caught our eyes. The sire, Havana Grey, has been very, very good. Go back a few years and I wouldn't be looking to buy a turf sprinting colt. But after we won at Ascot in 2023, I wanted to go back. Last year, we looked and couldn't get anything done. Now this horse came around and we're going to take a shot.” Azizam will remain in the barn of Karl Burke for his next start before he is sent to the U.S., where he will join George Weaver's stable. Weaver also trained Crimson Advocate. “We've been looking for something to buy to go over there,” Ballis said. “Whether we bought it in the States or over there, that didn't matter. I have a friend named Adam Potts, who works for BBA Ireland. So we will bounce horses off of one another and I look to get his opinions on European horses. If he sees something, he'll send it to me. He was the first one who brought this horse to my attention. I wasn't watching European racing that day. I watched the replay, and I sent the replay over to my wife who helps buy our horses and then to George Weaver. We all agreed it was worth taking a shot.” He said he's not going back just to be able to say that he had a horse run at Royal Ascot. “It costs too much money to buy these horses and with the expenses and the shipping just to go over there to have a party,” he said. “We're happy that we are going to be there, but we don't want to do anything just to say we participated. We're going to try to pick the right spot for him over there, a spot where he can win.” Ballis said that Azizam will most likely start in the June 18 Windsor Castle Stakes. Once back in the U.S., Azizam will be pointed to the Kentucky Downs meets, where he could land in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Sprint. The stable was planning on using John Velazquez, but with Outfielder no longer making the trip to Royal Ascot, Velazquez has decided to stay home. Ballis said it is likely that Luis Saez will pick up the mount. “We're going to keep trying this because it's an incredible place to visit and it was one of the best experiences we ever had,” Ballis said. “Even if we hadn't won with Crimson Advocate we would be trying to get back. That's how special that place is.” The post Black Type Thoroughbreds Wants Another Shot at Royal Ascot Glory appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

David Marnane knows a thing or two about taking aim and plundering big-race riches at Royal Ascot but the trainer admitted that success with his juvenile Gavoo could potentially beat all given the Coventry Stakes outsider is bidding to provide his owner-breeders with an emotional fillip next week. A recent winner at Listowel, Gavoo was bred in County Roscommon by Seamus and Bernadette Gormley. Sadly, Bernadette passed away earlier this year and Marnane has commended the A Touch Of Leather Syndicate, which is made up by family and friends of the breeders, for resisting the temptation to sell their Royal Ascot contender in favour of living in the moment with the rapidly-progressive colt. “We're taking a bit of a step here but Gavoo will run in the Coventry Stakes,” Marnane said on running plans for the colt. “He built on a lovely debut run at the Curragh to win nicely at Listowel and, while I know Royal Ascot will represent a big step up in class for him, he's not just an early two-year-old and I think he's a very nice horse going forward who should acquit himself well next Tuesday.” He added, “I'm not really running him on what we have seen from him already – we think there's an awful lot more under the bonnet. He has always worked like a really, really good horse. He has size and scope and he also has the temperament for Royal Ascot. We're under no illusions. A Coventry is a Coventry and he'll be taking on the best in Europe but he's done nothing wrong and deserves to take his chance.” Gavoo can be backed at odds of 33-1 for the Coventry Stakes but this doesn't quite illustrate how far the owner-breeders have come with the horse. The dam, Daddy's Gal, beat just two horses in all five of her starts on a racecourse before connections decided to go another route with the daughter of Scat Daddy. After seeking out the advice of David and his brother Ed, a plan was hatched to visit the then Ballyhane-based stallion Elzaam with Daddy's Gal. Lo and behold, up popped a Coventry Stakes contender. There is no law to this game at times. Marnane explained, “He's owned and bred by lovely people, the Gormley family, based in Roscommon over in the West of Ireland. They've a lovely horse on their hands and it's a great advert for what can be achieved in this game. Gavoo's dam Daddy's Girl beat a total of two horses during the entirety of her career. The Gormley family are great friends of ours and, when they asked what they should put the mare in foal to, my brother Ed suggested Elzaam because the mare is by Scat Daddy – and they can be a bit hot – but Elzaam was inexpensive and gets solid racehorses. He was a gorgeous foal. He came to us to be broken before Christmas and he just hasn't put a foot wrong since.” He added, “Never in our wildest dreams did we think we'd end up at Royal Ascot with the progeny. Now, the mare does have a decent back pedigree, so it wasn't like they were feeling around in the dark here and I'm just so glad for them because there's a huge amount of poignancy given Seamus Gormley's wife Bernadette [co-breeder] passed away earlier this year. They have been offered a few quid for the horse but they syndicated him out and there are a good few family and friends involved so they are rolling the dice. I commend them for it because it's great to see people being involved in ownership for the pure enjoyment of it all. The horse may well be sold in time but they are enjoying the ride for now and please God he can reward them with a big run next week.” Gavoo will be joined in transit by stablemate Tokenomics, who is looking increasingly unlikely to get a run in the Royal Hunt Cup, a race the trainer won back in 2018 with Settle For Bay. Connections do, however, have a Plan B in the shape of the Buckingham Palace Stakes on Thursday, with Marnane quietly confident of a bold showing in whatever race the four-year-old son of The Grey Gatsby rocks up in. “He's being aimed at the Royal Hunt Cup but it's going to be a bit of a sweat I'd say. Now, if it was a normal year, he'd have got in but the handicapper dropped him 2lbs so it's looking doubtful. We have a Plan B, which is the Buckingham Palace Stakes on the Thursday. We were actually second in that race with Jamesie a few years back so it would be nice to go and win it.” Marnane added, “Niall Molloy took a gamble on this horse. We brought him to the Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale at Tattersalls last year but he wasn't vetting clean so he sold for 70,000gns. He just didn't x-ray wonderfully but, listen, we were delighted to have him back and fair play to Niall for stepping up to the plate. He's been a fantastic supporter of the yard for a good number of years and this is a new foray into sole ownership for him and I hope it works out for him now at Royal Ascot. We think he'll run a big race.” The post Homebred Gavoo Bids To Provide Gormley Family With Emotional Fillip At Royal Ascot appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions. View the full article

This year's rescheduled Queensland Derby (G1) proved worth the wait for training partners John O'Shea and Tom Charlton, as did the emergence of Super Seth's Maison Louis, who at AU$21 led home a quinella for his stable in the Eagle Farm classic.View the full article

Takeaways from the 157th Belmont Stakes (G1) and other major races that were part of the five-day Belmont Stakes Racing Festival (through June 7) at Saratoga Race Course. View the full article

It may not match Alydar vs. Affirmed in terms of racing's greatest all-time rivalries. But what happened June 7th in the 157th Belmont Stakes (G1) at Saratoga finally brought a large dose of excitement back to the final leg of the Triple Crown. View the full article

As Royal Ascot draws closer, Wathnan Racing increased their chances with the purchases of Night Raider and Flora Of Bermuda.View the full article

Jantar Mantar rebounded from a bitter disappointment in Hong Kong and a long layoff to win the Yasuda Kinen (G1) June 8, earning a "Win and You're In" berth in the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T).View the full article

Five-time group 1-winning trainer Robbie Laing has died at the age of 66, passing in his sleep overnight June 7. Laing was at Flemington saddling up what was to be his final runner El Soleado just hours earlier.View the full article

A year ago, it was a Belmont Stakes (G1) week like no other for NYRA president and CEO Dave O'Rourke and his team. This year, it was also a rather unique Belmont Stakes experience for NYRA at the Spa, though for a different reason.View the full article

In a field of four Kentucky Derby (G1) runners making their returns, East Avenue would not be denied his return to the winner's circle in the $387,000 Matt Winn Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs June 8.View the full article

A known commodity on the turf, Saturday Flirt proved to be a Sunday darling when debuting on dirt to win her first stakes race in the $175,000 Soaring Softly Stakes June 8 at Saratoga Race Course.View the full article