Month: February 2021

First Mares Check In Foal For Spendthrift Farm’s Authentic, Vekoma

Spendthrift Farm's debut stallions and 2020 Eclipse finalists Authentic and Vekoma have had their first respective mares confirmed in foal.

Authentic has had two mares reported in foal, both from his official first day of breeding on Feb. 10. Aguilera, a daughter of Unbridled's Song and the dam of multiple stakes winner Bluegrass Singer, and Jennifer's Dream, a stakes-placed daughter of Medaglia d'Oro out of Grade 1 winner Joyful Victory, are both pregnant. Aguilera is owned by Seclusive Farm, LLC & Chester and Anne Prince, and Jennifer's Dream is owned by Hidden Springs Farm.

Vekoma's first mare reported in foal is Scion Power, a daughter of Wildcat Heir and full sister to graded stakes winner Derwin's Star. She is owned by Angela Ingenito.

Authentic was recently named the 2020 Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old male after capturing wins in the Kentucky Derby, Grade 1 Haskell Invitational, G2 San Felipe and G3 Sham over fellow sophomores. The son of Into Mischief closed out his championship campaign by defeating older horses in the Breeders' Cup Classic before retiring to Spendthrift with earnings of $6,191,200. His debut stud fee is $75,000 S&N.

Vekoma was an undefeated graded stakes winner at two and four and captured a major Kentucky Derby prep race at three. After winning on debut in 1:08 4/5, the Candy Ride colt earned his first graded win in the G3 Nashua at Aqueduct to close out his juvenile season. Vekoma scored a decisive win in Keeneland's G2 Blue Grass at three, and he proved to be one of the best horses in North America last year as a 4-year-old.

Vekoma won a pair of Grade 1 races in New York in 2020, including dominating the G1 Carter before taking the prestigious G1 Met Mile, and captured the Sir Shackleton Stakes at Gulfstream. He retired to Spendthrift with earnings of $1,245,525 and is standing his first season at stud for a fee of $20,000 S&N.

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Jockey Club’s 2021 Fact Book Available Online

The Jockey Club announced today that the 2021 edition of the Fact Book is available in the Resources section of its website at jockeyclub.com.

The online Fact Book is a statistical and informational guide to Thoroughbred breeding, racing and auction sales in North America and is updated quarterly. It also features a directory of Canadian, international, national, and state organizations.

Links to the Breeding Statistics report that is released by The Jockey Club each September and the Report of Mares Bred information that is published by The Jockey Club each October can be found in the Breeding section of the Fact Book.

Among the data included in the Fact Book are import/export and sales trends, all of which appear to have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Namely, when compared to 2019, imports decreased 23.3 percent, exports decreased 35.6 percent, and mean yearling price decreased 19.9 percent. The Fact Book's racing data, some of which was released as part of Equibase Company's year-end Thoroughbred economic indicators advisory last month, also indicates the impact of the pandemic on the industry.

The 2021 editions of State Fact Books, which feature detailed breeding, racing, and auction sales information specific to numerous states, Canadian provinces, and Puerto Rico, are also available on The Jockey Club website. The State Fact Books are updated monthly.

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Stewart Taking Another Shot At Dubai World Cup With ‘True Grinder’ Title Ready

For the third consecutive edition of the $12 million Dubai World Cup (G1), prominent North American owner Charles Fipke and his go-to trainer Dallas Stewart will take a swing at the world's second-richest race. This round is slightly different for the affable team, as they do not bring a known champion like Forever Unbridled (2018) or a Breeders' Cup- and Pegasus World Cup-placed runner like Seeking the Soul (2019). Instead, an improving sort getting very good at the right time will head to Dubai in the form of an appropriately named Title Ready.

A homebred like the aforementioned, the son of More Than Ready is from the immediate family of Seeking the Soul and is a grandson of one of the greatest race-mares of all time, undefeated Breeders' Cup-winning champion Personal Ensign. Title Ready exits a smart victory for Stewart in the Louisiana Stakes (G3) on Jan. 16 at New Orleans' Fair Grounds over G2 winner Wells Bayou, a culmination of six starts focused on refining the dark bay since he was received in the spring of 2020.

After competing 19 times for Steve Asmussen, he was switched to Stewart, resulting in a pair of good-looking wins, an excellent third to Mr Freeze in the Fayette (G2) and unplaced efforts in the Breeders' Cup Classic (G1) and Clark Stakes (G1).

“Chuck is excited to come and I am too,” Stewart said. “We ran him in the Breeders' Cup and there wasn't enough pace, so he really ran pretty good that day. I probably ran him back a little quick in the Clark at Churchill, but I think he's good enough for those, so I gave him a little time after that and took him down to the Fair Grounds. Then he won in New Orleans and he looked really good that day. He's just doing great and he looks awesome.

“He's a beautiful horse with a great pedigree, by More Than Ready and with Personal Ensign on the bottom side, and is related to Seeking the Soul. That whole family is so strong. ” Stewart continued. “He's training great and is a wonderful horse to have in the barn, so I really wanted to give him a shot in this race.”

Blunt and charismatic, as always, Stewart knows he is diving once again into deep waters with the good-looking 6-year-old, but that has not stopped him from taking home a big check before. His proficiency with aiming toward a big race and placing with long-odds runners has been document ad nauseam, so his eagerness to send Title Ready should be noted.

Stewart: “He doesn't look six, that's for sure. He's a young-looking dude. He's a true grinder and really just keeps coming and keeps trying. He's a real happy horse and trains well.

“I think we got outrun the two times we were there so far, but I believe the approach we have is solid. We just have to get there and run the race. It's $12 million, it's a mile and a quarter, we're hoping he will be better at that distance and we're game to try.

“It's the only way I know to approach races. You have to be game to do it, train for it and then you go for it. We really want to thank Sheikh Mohammed for having the race and allowing us back to run. We really appreciate it.”

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