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Up To The Mark To Stand At Lane’s End Upon Retirement

Up to the Mark, a multiple Grade 1 winner, will enter stud at Lane's End Farm upon the conclusion of his racing career.

Campaigned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, Up to the Mark broke his maiden at first asking in a Saratoga maiden special weight on the dirt by 4 1/4 lengths.

Up to the Mark started his 4-year-old campaign with back-to-back wins at Gulfstream Park, before placing third in the Grade 1 Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland after a wide trip in his first start at the Grade 1 level. His follow-up performance on Kentucky Derby day in the G1 Turf Classic resulted in his first win at the highest level. Winning by 3 3/4 lengths, he earned a 103 Beyer for the impressive performance.

Making his next start on Belmont Stakes day, he earned his second Grade 1 victory by daylight in the G1 Manhattan Stakes, earning back-to-back triple-digit Beyer figures with a career best 105, boosting his earnings to $1,242,050. The 105 Beyer currently stands as the top Beyer speed figure in 2023 at a mile and a quarter on the turf.

“He's a horse that we were always high on since he was two,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “He broke his maiden first out on the dirt, but with the switch to the turf he really put that talent on display with his tremendous turn of foot. His impressive wins in the G1 Turf Classic and the G1 Manhattan showed that he is one of the top grass horses in the U.S., and his speed figures back that up.”

Bred in Kentucky by Ramspring Farm, Up to the Mark is by leading sire Not This Time, a top 10 general sire in 2023. Fourth-crop sire Not This Time is the sire of five Grade 1 winners and 13 graded stakes winners, led by 2022 champion 3-year-old colt and G1 Travers Stakes winner Epicenter.

A $450,000 yearling purchase, Up to the Mark is out of the Ghostzapper mare Belle's Finale. Belle's Finale is out of multiple graded stakes winner and G1 Test Stakes winner Capote Belle and is a full sister to Grade 3 placed and stakes producer Zapper Belle.

“Up to the Mark's versatility and looks are what initially attracted Lane's End,” according to Bill Farish. “He has a dirt pedigree and is by an emerging young sire. He really showed that he is one of the top turf horses in the U.S. with his dominating wins in back-to-back grade ones. We have a history in standing stallions that can get runners on all three surfaces and feel Up to the Mark has the potential to follow in that tradition.”

The post Up To The Mark To Stand At Lane’s End Upon Retirement appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Tuesday Insights: Half To Mandaloun Gets Turf Debut At Indy

7th-IND, $34K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 5:36 p.m.

Debuting for trainer Brad Cox, BADGE OF WAR (War Front) is the latest in a Juddmonte line dating back at least three generations. Brooch, herself a multiple group-stakes winner in Ireland, is already responsible for GI TVG.com Haskell S. winner, GI Kentucky Derby runner up and 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief). The dam is also a half to MSW/MGSP Caponata (Selkirk) and from the family of G1SW Emulous (GB) (Dansili {GB}) and her daughter 'TDN Rising Star' G1SP Bluestocking (GB) (Camelot {GB}). Badge of War has been training forwardly into this spot with a pair of bullet five-furlong drills from his last three works over the Horseshoe Indianapolis main track. TJCIS PPS

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Blue Point Breeding Right to be Auctioned by Darley

With Dubawi as its lynchpin, there have of course been plenty of red-letter days for Darley in recent years, but the results from the Arc meeting at Longchamp on Sunday can nevertheless be deemed to be extra special.

Best of all was the victory in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe for the unbeaten Ace Impact (Ire), a member of the first crop of Cracksman (GB). That stellar performance was backed up by a first-crop Group 1 winner for Blue Point (Ire), who is leading the first-season sires' table and supplied the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere winner, Rosallion (Ire), a homebred for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. Furthermore, the hugely likeable Highfield Princess (Fr) gained yet another Group 1 success in the Prix de l'Abbaye, and the daughter of Night Of Thunder (Ire) could head next to the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita.

“To have three Group 1 winners by the stallions without Dubawi being one of them was new territory for us,” admits Sam Bullard, Darley's director of stallions.

“Ace Impact has been a high-profile 3-year-old through the whole summer. Obviously we were rooting for him and, by God, he was good. I watched it with [Cracksman's breeders] the Oppenheimers and they were so thrilled. It was lovely to see.

“Cracksman was obviously very good, and is the highest-rated son of Frankel, and he has had four 2-year-old winners since Sept. 16, so that is important too. One swallow doesn't make a summer, but there is plenty to back it up. Definitely his best book of mares was in 2023, too.”

With Blue Point out in front on 39 individual winners, he looks unlikely to be caught in the freshman championship, but Darley's Too Darn Hot (GB) has also made an eye-catching start with his first runners, and now has four group winners to his name.

“Too Darn Hot's runners were never going to be precocious but sure enough, once he got to August and September, away he went,” Bullard adds.

“It's been a long time coming but we are so lucky to see this success for sons of Dubawi and Shamardal. Earthlight's yearlings sold well last week in Goffs and we have Pinatubo's first yearlings here as well, and Ghaiyyath.

“It's been great to see both Dubawi and Shamardal do well for other studs too, with Lope De Vega, and Zarak for the Aga Khan. There are plenty of them and I think that's what really excites our principal, the idea that he's got horses who really are breed-shaping, who are making a difference to the long term of the breed. That really gives him a buzz.”

On the back of Blue Point's success this year, Darley will soon launch a “ground-breaking” feature on its website which will facilitate the sale of select breeding rights in its stallions. The project will launch on the weekend of the Darley Dewhurst S., with a breeding right in Blue Point the first to come onto the market.

“We have an auction site on the MyDarley website for any breeders who want to register,” Bullard explains.

“There are no breeding rights in Blue Point at the moment. There will never be more than 30, but we're going to sell one, and if there's a demand, we'll sell more.”

Darley will release further details on this unique feature in the coming weeks.

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TAA Announces Calendar Photo Contest Winners

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) on Monday announced the winners of their third annual Calendar Photo Contest, the 12 chosen photos set to be featured in the 2024 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Calendar, sponsored by Repole Stable.

The grand prize winner and cover feature by Ann Cheek captures an early morning sunrise over the sanctuary at Our Mims Retirement Haven in Kentucky. The image captures Our Mims residents Theheartofdixie, Kidnap Katie, and Sweet Ambition.

This year's calendar contest received nearly 200 submissions and along with the primary winners, additional photos were chosen to be featured in the calendar as honorable mentions. A total of 49 photographs were chosen to be included in the calendar. Featured photographs represented 29 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance accredited organizations.

“We are thrilled to feature the talents of these Thoroughbreds from various disciplines and accredited organizations in the 2024 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Calendar,” Samantha Smith, Director of Marketing and communications for the TAA, said. “We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Repole Stable for sponsoring the calendar and to Tipperary Equestrian for their generous prize sponsorship. Congratulations to all our winners, and we extend our appreciation to everyone who submitted entries.”

The calendar will be available beginning on Giving Tuesday, Nov. 28. With every online donation of $100 or more made between Nov. 28-Dec. 31, donors may opt to receive a calendar by noting “2024 Calendar” in the comment field on the donation form. Calendars will be available while supplies last.

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