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Dixiana to Sponsor QE II Challenge Cup at Keeneland

William and Donna Shively’s Dixiana Farm is the new sponsor for the $500,000 GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, one of this country’s most prestigious races for 3-year-old turf fillies. The QE II Challenge Cup Presented by Dixiana will be held on the second Saturday of Keeneland’s fall meet Oct. 10.

“Keeneland is pleased that Dixiana has become the sponsor of the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup,” Keeneland President and CEO Bill Thomason said. “Dixiana has been a valued corporate partner through its sponsorship of other stakes at Keeneland, and the Shivelys are enthusiastic participants in our racing and sales. We are thrilled with Dixiana’s new association with such a highly regarded international event as the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup.”

The Shivelys purchased Dixiana in 2004, a 700-acre breeding and racing operation in Lexington that dates back to 1877 when it was founded by Mayor Barack G. Thomas. He was widely recognized as one of the first to attempt to make a living by breeding and selling racehorses.

“Dixiana and Keeneland both play an iconic role in the Bluegrass and the horse industry, and we are natural partners in promoting the very best in Thoroughbred racing and breeding,” Bill Shively said. “As longtime Keeneland race sponsors, Donna and I are very excited about the opportunity to support this premier Grade I event.”

Dixiana is a previous sponsor of the GI Breeders’ Futurity and GIII Bourbon S. at Keeneland.

The Challenge Cup honors Queen Elizabeth II who attended the races at Keeneland in 1984 and presented the trophy to the winner of the inaugural running of the race, Cherry Valley Farm’s Sintra (Drone).

The Keeneland Fall meet runs Oct. 2-24 and the track will host the Breeders’ Cup championships for the second time in its history Nov. 6 and 7.

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Anchor Down Picks Up First Winner At Ellis Park

Drop Anchor fanned out wide and got the job done on Sunday at Ellis Park to become the first winner for his sire Anchor Down, BloodHorse reports.

The gray or roan colt had some trouble at the break, and spent the first half-mile of the six-furlong race near the back of the field. Then, he was moved out seven-wide in the lane under jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., and they took the clear path to a 1 1/2-length victory. Drop Anchor stopped the clock in 1:12.32 over a fast main track.

Drop Anchor won for the partnership of Harold Lerner, AWC Stables, Nehoc Stables and David Bernsen, and he is trained by Kenny McPeek.

Bred in Kentucky by Chad Frederick and Phoenix Farm and Racing, Drop Anchor is out of the placed Curlin mare Black Coronas.

Anchor Down stands at Gainesway in Lexington, Ky., for an advertised fee of $7,500.

The 9-year-old son of Tapit won five of 17 starts for earnings of $734,254, with victories in the Grade 2 Kelso Handicap and the G3 Westchester Stakes. He also finished second in the G1 Metropolitan Handicap.

Anchor Down is out of the Grade 3-winning Orientate mare Successful Outlook, making him a full-brother to Grade 3 winner Iron Fist and a half-brother to Grade 1 winner Sweet Lulu.

Rachel Alexandra’s Half-Brother Wooderson to Stand in Arkansas

Wooderson (Awesome Again–Lotta Kim, by Roar), a half-brother to Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d’Oro), will enter stud at Burdette Thoroughbred Farm in Arkansas in 2021. The deal was brokered by Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock.

Bred by Dede McGehee’s Heaven Trees Farm, Wooderson was a $400,000 purchase out of the 2016 Keeneland September Sale, the co-highest priced yearling for his sire in 2016. Trained by Todd Pletcher for Let’s Go Stable, the bay was a three-time winner from 10 starts, including a runner-up effort to future MGISW and Horse of the Year candidate Tom’s d’Etat (Smart Strike) in the 2019 Alydar S. at Saratoga.

A stud fee will be announced at a later date.

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Miss Wild Is First Winner For Taylor Made’s Mshawish

Taylor Made Stallions' Mshawish, a multiple Grade 1 winner by Medaglia d'Oro, sired his first winner when Miss Wild posted a dominating 15-length victory in her career debut at Monmouth Park on Sunday, Aug. 9.

A homebred for New Farm, Miss Wild broke smartly in the six-furlong event and scampered clear of her rivals downs the backstretch. Never threatened, she stretched her advantage to nine lengths in the lane, rolling to an eye-catching score under Tomas Mejia.

Bred in Kentucky, Miss Wild is produced from the winning Wildcat Heir mare Proud to be Wild.

Mshawish, a Grade 1 winner on both dirt and turf, captured five graded stakes on multiple surfaces and seven stakes overall in a spectacular racing career. He earned a 106 Beyer in a decisive win the 2016 Grade 1 Donn Handicap in just his third lifetime start on the dirt and annexed the G1 Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap the year prior, recording a 104 Beyer.

He also registered graded wins in the G2 Zabeel Mile at Meydan, the G2 Fort Lauderdale Stakes, and the G3 Hal's Hope Stakes at Gulfstream. In addition, he won the Prix de Tourgeville S. at Deauville and the El Prado S. and placed in the G1 Dubai Turf.

Mshawish retired with eight wins from 24 starts and earnings of $2,421,351. He is by Medaglia d'Oro out of the Thunder Gulch mare Thunder Bayou and hails from the immediate family of champion Halfbridled and multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Lu Ravi.

The post Miss Wild Is First Winner For Taylor Made’s Mshawish appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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