Empire Maker Colt ‘Ices’ Rivals En Route to ‘Rising Star’-dom

[Wandering Eyes]

Crunched into 2-5 favoritism to build on a debut second at Los Alamitos at the end of June, MESSIER (c, 2, Empire Maker–Checkered Past, by Smart Strike) made a bold run to the front fully three furlongs from home and coasted in to become a new 'TDN Rising Star' in Friday's fourth race from Santa Anita. Away only fairly beneath Flavien Prat, the $470,000 Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Showcase graduate worked his way up into a chasing second as the debuting Godsend (Midshipman) went a strong gallop up ahead of him. Prat allowed the heavy chalk to stride into the lead midway on the turn, widened without being asked into the stretch and was not fully extended while scoring by a six-length margin that could have been significantly more. The late March foal counts Sovereign Award-winning 3-year-old filly Catch the Ring (Seeking the Gold) as his third dam. She is in turn responsible for champion Catch the Thrill (A.P. Indy), the dam of the current stakes winner Curlin's Catch (Curlin). Messier is the 12th 'Rising Star' for his sadly departed stallion and second in five days, joining Keeneland maiden winner Haughty. Sales history: $470,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL. O-Golconda Stable, Madaket Stables LLC, SF Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Starlight Racing, Waves Edge Capital LLC, Donovan, Catherine, Masterson, Robert E. and Schoenfarber, Jay A.; B-Sam-Son Farm (ON); T-Bob Baffert.

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