January, 2023 | Horse Racing Free Tips

First Foal Is A Colt For Grade 1 Winner Halladay

Grade 1 winner Halladay sired his first reported foal when a colt out of the Unusual Heat mare Katie's Heat was born on Jan. 17 at Checkmate Thoroughbreds in Parkfield, Calif.

Owned by Checkmate Thoroughbreds LLC, Hector and Denise Cuevas, Raul Montenegro, and Javier Montenegro, Katie's Heat is a daughter of California Broodmare of the Year Miss Soft Sell, who produced multiple Grade 1 winner Brother Derek, winner of the G1 Hollywood Derby, G1 Santa Anita Derby, and fourth in the Kentucky Derby en route to earnings of more than $1.6 million.

Katie's Heat is a half-sister to Dontsellmeshort, a multiple stakes winner of $402,365, Sister Kate, multiple stakes winner of $282,186, and Swizzle Stick, a stakes-placed earner of $129,964.

Halladay, a Grade 1-winning son of perennial leading sire War Front was campaigned by Harrell Ventures and trained by Todd Pletcher.

An impressive front-running winner of the $400,000 G1 Fourstardave Handicap at Saratoga, Halladay defeated six Grade 1 winners, including Got Stormy, Raging Bull (FR), and Uni (GB).

Halladay is ranked #1 in California and amongst the top-5 of first-year stallions in America by Class Performance Index for mares bred in 2022, asserting him in the class of Charlatan, Essential Quality, Maxfield, and Yaupon.

“Halladay is an incredible physical specimen by a sire of international leading sires,” said Adrian Gonzalez, owner of Checkmate Thoroughbreds and manager of Halladay Syndicate. “He's bred the best mares in California and his book is looking even stronger for 2023. It's exciting to see such a quality first foal and we're grinning ear-to-ear like it's Christmas morning with the promise of more gifts to come”

Halladay stands at Harris Farms for a $7,500 fee LFSN.

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OBS Expands March 2-Year-Old Sale

An increase in entries has precipitated The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company to expand the 2023 March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. The Under Tack Show will expand to four sessions, beginning Tuesday, Mar. 14 and continuing through Friday, Mar. 17. All sessions begin at 8:00 a.m. There will now be three sale sessions, beginning Monday, Mar. 20 and continuing through Wednesday, Mar. 22. All sessions get underway at 11:00 a.m.

The sale and Under Tack Show will be streamed live via the OBS website at obssales.com. The catalog will be available after the conclusion of the Winter Mixed Sale. For more information regarding the March Sale, please call (352) 237-2154.

The post OBS Expands March 2-Year-Old Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Frank Angst Named Editorial Director Of BloodHorse

Frank Angst has been named editorial director of BloodHorse, it was announced Friday by Carl Hamilton, chairman of BloodHorse.

Angst takes the place of Claire Crosby, who will assume a role with Breeders' Cup as vice president of communications effective March 1, 2023.

“Breeders' Cup is fortunate to welcome Claire to their team. She has done an excellent job leading the editorial department and graciously agreed to work with Frank and the BloodHorse staff during the transition,” Hamilton said. “We are fortunate as well to already have Frank as part of our talented BloodHorse team. His experience as features editor and his deep knowledge of the Thoroughbred industry ensure his transition to editorial director will be seamless.”

“I look forward to this new role at BloodHorse,” Angst said. “With record purses in 2022, strong sales, and, on the racing side, unprecedented safety and medication reforms, it's an exciting time to be covering this industry. I aim to help our terrific staff showcase their talents in covering racing, breeding, sales, and all other aspects of the sport on our various platforms.”

Angst has been a turf writer for more than 20 years, 10 of which have been with BloodHorse. Before becoming editorial director, he was the features editor for the magazine and played a critical role in its move from a weekly to a monthly publication. Previously, Angst served as news editor, overseeing industry stories posted to BloodHorse.com, BloodHorse Daily, and the magazine.

In BloodHorse Daily Angst writes the Dollars & Sense column looking at industry business trends. He founded and continues to co-write The Road column, which looks at horses on the Triple Crown trail, and The Challenge, which highlights horses excelling in the Breeders' Cup Challenge series.

In 2014, Angst and other BloodHorse team members were awarded the audio/multi-media Eclipse Award for an in-depth look at the horses that won the first two legs of the Triple Crown only to come up short in the Belmont Stakes (G1). Angst's story, Waiting, and Waiting for Crowning Glory, anchored the piece that also included interactive graphics and video.

Angst has earned five equine media awards from American Horse Publications for news and feature writing. His 2021 website story on Loves Only You's historic victory for Japan in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T) earned the Joe Hirsch Award from Breeders' Cup for outstanding news coverage. In 2019 his Kentucky Derby (G1) race coverage earned a media Eclipse honorable mention.

Prior to joining BloodHorse, Angst was a writer and editor for Thoroughbred Times for 10 years.

Originally from Cincinnati, Angst graduated from Butler University with a dual major in journalism and political science. He resides in Frankfort, Ky., with his wife, Nikki, and son, Drew.

BloodHorse has chronicled the Thoroughbred industry since 1916 and is dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing. BloodHorse produces widely distributed content on Thoroughbred racing and breeding via its namesake monthly magazine, BloodHorse Daily, BloodHorse.com, and social media platforms. BloodHorse is co-owned by The Jockey Club Information Systems Inc. and TOBA Media Properties. Additional information is available at BloodHorse.com.

The post Frank Angst Named Editorial Director Of BloodHorse appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Friday Show Presented By PHBA Stallion Auction: Desormeaux Bullish On Confidence Game In Lecomte

Trainer Keith Desormeaux has carved out an impressive niche, developing low-priced sales yearlings and 2-year-olds into graded stakes winners and contenders for the 3-year-old classics.

Texas Red, winner of the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 2014, cost just $17,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. My Boy Jack, winner of the G3 Southwest and Stonestreet Lexington Stakes in 2018, was a $20,000 bargain at that same sale who earned $776,897. Exaggerator, a $3.6 million earner and winner of three G1 races in 2016 including the Preakness and was runner-up in the G1 Kentucky Derby, was a $110,000 Keeneland September graduate.

The Louisiana native is back at it with Confidence Game, a Candy Ride colt out of a half sister to Zenyatta scooped out of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale for a mere $25,000. Now winner in two of five starts, Confidence Game will try to give Desormeaux back-to-back wins in Saturday's G3 Lecomte Stakes, a race he captured in 2022 with $80,000 OBS March Sale purchase Call Me Midnight at odds of 28-1. The Lecomte is a qualifying points race for the Kentucky Derby giving the first five finishers 20-8-6-4-2 points, respectively.

Desormeaux joins Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills in this week's Friday Show to talk about Confidence Game and what he looks for (and is willing to forgive) when he goes shopping for racing prospects.

The trainer is bullish on Confidence Game, calling him as talented a colt as he's ever trained, though he cautioned it's still early days on the road to the classics. “He's got soundness. He's got class. He's got speed. He's got pedigree,” said Desormeaux. “And according to his last race, he's got a fighting spirit, too.”

Watch this week's episode of the Friday Show below:

The post The Friday Show Presented By PHBA Stallion Auction: Desormeaux Bullish On Confidence Game In Lecomte appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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