“He was sent to Rood and Riddle yesterday morning to determine the exact cause of the ataxia,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. “He was responding well to treatment, but went to lie down in his stall, and fell awkwardly. As a result, he broke his right tibia, which could not be repaired.”

Improbable won three consecutive Grade I races in 2020, taking the GI Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita, the GI Whitney S. at Saratoga and the GI Awesome Again S. at Santa Anita en route to Eclipse honors at season's end.

Undefeated at two, Improbable broke his maiden at first asking at 'The Great Race Place' in late September of 2018. He followed that up with a score in the Street Sense S. at Churchill Downs in early November, which earned him a 'TDN Rising Star' badge for the effort.

Improbable winning the Whitney | Sarah Andrew

Improbable's juvenile year ended with a five-length win going 1 1/16 in the GI Los Alamitos Futurity. His time of 1:41.18 was the fastest in over a decade.

A stakes winner each season from two to four, Improbable concluded his career with a runner-up finish in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic in 2020.

All told, he won seven starts, six of them stakes, and earned $2,729,520 for owners WinStar Farm, China Horse Club and SF Racing.

“These horses are our life, and we work every day to take care of them the best way we know how,” said Dr. Natanya Nieman, general manager and resident veterinarian at WinStar Farm. “The whole team is reeling. Improbable gave us many great moments to share with our partners, our team, and the whole racing community. It is tragic.”

Bred in Kentucky by St. George Farm and G. Watts Humphrey Jr., Improbable was acquired by Maverick Racing and China Horse Club for $200,000 out of the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2017 Keeneland September Sale.

Out of the A.P. Indy mare Rare Event, the 8-year-old stallion was bred to 329 mares in his first two books and is represented by his initial crop of 2-year-olds this year, including a colt out of the stakes-placed Inaugurate (Empire Maker) that was purchased by trainer Jimmy DiVito, agent, for $475,000.

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To the outside and carrying the colors of Juddmonte, Lambeth (Arrogate) goes to post from the barn of Bill Mott. Out of a half-sister to SW & G1SP Task Force (GB) (Frankel {GB}) and SW Elegant Verse (GB) (Galileo {Ire})–making her a daughter of European champion 2-year-old filly MG1SW Special Duty (GB)–Lambeth can also claim GI Breeders' Cup Mile victor Expert Eye (GB) (Acclamation {GB}) as a relation. TJCIS PPs.

1st-SA, $61k, Msw, 2yo, 6fT, 4:00p.m. ET
Jumping from in between a West homebred and a Don Alberto one is C R K Stable's Shear Magic (Good Magic). The $350,000 OBSAPR pick up from this past spring has been sighted religiously on the work tab for conditioner John Shirreffs. His dam, a half-sister to GSP Bo Cruz (Creative Cause) and out of a half-sister to GI Preakness hero Cloud Computing (Maclean's Music), was a winner and has produced three others from as many to the races. This is the family of MG1SP Marino Marini.

The West runner American Hope (American Pharoah) is out of MGISW Room Service (More Than Ready), a half-sister to SW & MGSP Oscar Party (Dixie Union) and full-sibling to GSW Major Gain. Don Alberto's Citadino (Runhappy) hails from the family of champion 3-year-old filly MGISW Surfside and her half-brother, track record-setting GSW Irish Surf via second dam, champion 2-year-old filly MGISW Flanders. TJCIS PPs.

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“Flightline had an excellent start at stud, covering 152 mares including more than 50 Grade I mares or Grade I producers,” said Lane's End Farm's Bill Farish. “There's obviously a huge amount of excitement about his first foals, we can't wait to see them.”

Flightline (2018 bay horse, Tapit–Feathered, by Indian Charlie)

Lifetime record: Horse of the Year, Ch. older male, MGISW, 6-6-0-0, $4,514,800

Breeders' Cup connections: B-Summer Wind Equine (KY); O- Hronis Racing LLC, Siena Farm LLC, Summer Wind Equine LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, & Woodford Racing, LLC; T-John Sadler; J-Flavien Prat.

Current location: Lane's End Farm, Versailles, Ky.

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The 12-year-old, who will take his place alongside notable sires such as Henny Hughes (Hennessy) will offer an outcross to the many Sunday Silence mares there.

Bred in Kentucky by Dell Ridge and campaigned by that farm along with Lane's End Racing, Honor Code entered stud at Lane's End in 2016.

“We are hopeful that on completion of his stud career Honor Code will return to Lane's End. He has provided us with so many memories.  We would love to have him back some day,” said Bill Farish of Lane's End Farm.

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6th-ELP, $70k, Msw, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 3:18pm ET
In this six panel dash of 3-year-old fillies, HAPPY CHARGER (Super Saver) and Port Townsend (Uncle Mo) will be separated by a single runner between them. The former is the full-sister to GISW & MGISP Happy Saver and hails from the female line of the great A.P. Indy through third dam Weekend Surprise. The latter is not lacking for family either as the first to the races for an unraced half-sister to two-time champion MGISW Songbird (Medaglia d'Oro). Port Townsend's female line includes the dam of GSW Mico Margarita, and GSW Dean Delivers (Cajun Breeze), who most recently ran third in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H.. TJCIS PPs

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BEHOLDER MILE S.-GI, $501,500, Santa Anita, 3-11, 4yo/up, f/m, 1m.
A MO REAY, 122, f, 4, Uncle Mo-Margaret Reay, by Pioneerof the Nile). Lifetime Record: 12-5-1-3, $692,650. O-Hunter Valley Farm; B-T & G Farm of Kentucky LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox.
Not only is A Mo Reay a clever blend of two parts of a name (sire Uncle Mo and dam Margaret Reay), it also has assonance with the word Amore, so it is wordplay–pun or calembour–resonating name combination (with possibly a little touch of an indefinite article in front of it). Literary-award level brilliance, for me. And we are talking about a Grade I winner, so the Gods like the name.

7th-Oaklawn, Msw, 3-17, 3yo, f, 1 1/16m.
EXPONENTIAL STAR (f, 3, Accelerate–Star Number, by Polish Numbers). O-Ten Strike Racing; B-A. Leonard Pineau (MD); T-Lindsay Schultz.
One can find many different definitions of “exponential” online (many heavy on mathematics…), but I like this one of the many from Google: (of an increase) becoming more and more rapid. Therefore, the name of the Oaklawn 3-17 female winner Exponential Star is spot on. Actually, in that race she came from behind and was “clear at the wire”, so she fully deserves the name.

3rd-Chukyo, 1-15, Newcomers, 3yo, 1800m.
KISS ON THE CHEEK (JPN) (f, 3, Curlin–Eskimo Kisses {GISW, $711,102}, by To Honor and Serve). O-Shadai Race Horse Co Ltd; B-Shadai Farm (Jpn); T-Mikio Matsunaga.
Maybe rubbing noses to signify affection is just a cute necessity for Eskimos, in reason of the freezing weather. In any case, a U.S.-conceived but Japan-based winning 3-year-old filly out of the famous and excellent Kenny McPeek-trained Grade I-winning mare Eskimo Kisses has graduated to the more temperate name of Kiss on the Cheek. You gotta be looking forward to more progeny out of the dam: love will save the day, as the popular song goes.

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First run in 1936–also Keeneland's first year–for 3-year-olds and up, the Ashland was named for the plantation home of Kentucky statesman Henry Clay. It had a predecessor, the Ashland Oaks, which was inaugurated in 1879 at the old Kentucky Association Racetrack and was a very different race.

Perhaps it's the magic of the Ashland running in front of the home crowd, but it has left a truly extraordinary endowment on the breed. Yes, it is the major Kentucky prep for the GI Kentucky Oaks–now just four weeks away–and it counts no fewer than 14 winners who have also taken the Oaks, but it's much more than that. The Ashland has been so rife with extreme quality that it's harder to find winners who haven't become stakes producers than it is to name those who have.

Counting split divisions and a dead heat, 90 fillies have worn the Ashland crown. If we eliminate the past 10 years of winners as young mares haven't necessarily had a chance to prove themselves as broodmares yet and focus on the first 80 winners, a full 56 (70%) became stakes producers. Some of the foals were obviously higher quality than others: a few of the mares may have had one or two black-type performers instead of stakes winners among their foals, while others had champions.

Even those who don't enjoy statistics should be staggered by these numbers; 70% stakes producers on any list–whether a race's winners, a broodmare band, or a top stallion's book of mares–is simply preposterous. When including what their daughters and granddaughters produced, the number jumps up to 67, or 83.75%, of those 80 winners who threw black-type quality. Of the remaining 16.25%, five (6.25%) died before ever producing a foal and only eight (10%) were not responsible for any black-type among their descendants.

So heavily laden with quality are the Ashland winners as producers that we'll only list the particularly phenomenal here. No fewer than 30 would be included here otherwise.

Following are a fraction of the most important Ashland winners by what impact they've had on the sport through their sons and daughters. Unbelievably, producing a champion or even a Grade I winner or two isn't enough to make this list.

Take Charge Lady (1999, Dehere–Felicita, by Rubiano), bred by William Schettine: Named the 2013 Broodmare of the Year, she produced three Grade I winners and is granddam to a champion. She's also probably not done adding to her legacy, as a number of promising prospects are in the pipeline through her daughters as is MGISW and 2023 first-crop sire Omaha Beach.

Prospectors Delite (1989, Mr. Prospector–Up the Flagpole, by Hoist the Flag), bred by W. S. Farish: Broodmare of the Year in 2003, her first foal was MGISW and Grade I producer Tomisue's Delight, while her last was Horse of the Year Mineshaft. All five of her foals were stakes winners.

New to the sire ranks for 2023, Olympiad descends from the 1987 Ashland winner | Sarah Andrew

Chic Shirine (1984, Mr. Prospector–Too Chic, by Blushing Groom {Fr}), bred by Emory Alexander: No fewer than 20 graded winners already trace to her, including GISWs Keen Ice, Somali Lemonade, Harmonize, Preservationist, Verrazano, and Olympiad in the last decade alone.

Blush With Pride (1979, Blushing Groom {Fr}–Best in Show, by Traffic Judge), bred by Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Brown: Among her best was her Broodmare of the Year daughter Better Than Honour, who hammered for $14 million at Fasig-Tipton's November sale in 2008, and that one's champion daughter Rags to Riches. The family remains extremely active and continues to rack up graded victories.

Gay Missile (1967, Sir Gaylord–Missy Baba, by My Babu {Fr}), bred by Michael G. Phipps: She produced French champion Gay Mecene among her four stakes winners, but it was Gay Missile's daughter Lassie Dear who cemented her legacy with a number of champions tracing straight to her. Among the extensive list of Gay Missile's breed-shaping descendants are Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise and her Horse of the Year and leading sire son A.P. Indy, as well as champion and sire Lemon Drop Kid.

Miss Swapsco (1965, Cohoes–Soaring, by Swaps), bred by Mr. and Mrs. John W. Galbreath: Her first foal, Ballade, produced Canadian Horse of the Year and U.S. champion Glorious Song (who in turn produced champion and multiple-continent Grade I/Group 1 winner Singspiel {Ire}, as well as stellar sire Rahy), champion Devil's Bag, and excellent sire Saint Ballado.

Hidden Talent (1956, Dark Star–Dangerous Dame {GB}, by Nasrullah {GB}), bred by Harry F. Guggenheim: Among her descendants are Broodmare of the Year Too Bald, champion Capote, 11-time Grade I/Group 1 winner Exceller, and MGISW Broad Brush.

Real Delight (1949, Bull Lea–Blue Delight, by Blue Larkspur), bred by Calumet Farm: Her Broodmare of the Year granddaughter Sweet Tooth produced champion Our Mims and six-time GISW and leading sire Alydar. Others tracing to Real Delight include champion Christmas Past and Classic winner Codex.

Myrtlewood (1932, Blue Larkspur–Frizeur {Fr}, by Sweeper {Fr}), bred by Brownell Combs: As the first winner of the Ashland, Myrtlewood set a stunning precedent in her second career as a broodmare. Among her foals were a champion as well as a Kentucky Oaks winner, with several more champions and another Oaks winner among her descendants. Her biggest legacy? Tracing to her through her daughters are breed-modeling sires Mr. Prospector and Seattle Slew.

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Say, you're looking for a past volume on the two-time Horse of the Year Secretariat, then copious choices await. More recent works like William Nack's Secretariat: The Making of a Champion (2002) and Lawrence Scanlan's The Horse That God Built (2007) are ubiquitous.

But across the canon, you might find that there is something sorely lacking when it comes to  'Big Red' hagiography. No author has quite delved deep enough into the offspring of this champion who has continued to top Thoroughbred history by an unsurmountable 31 lengths.

That is, until now.

As the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's historic Triple Crown run is almost here, author Patricia McQueen has done all of us a massive service by rolling out her magisterial study, Secretariat's Legacy: The Sons, Daughters and Descendants Who Keep His Legend Alive, published this Mar. by SL Publications.

Despite its girth, this is decidedly not a traditional coffee table-style book with pretty pictures. Rather, this is a seriously sourced monograph, replete with revisionist perspective. Namely, that some of the bloodline critics got it wrong in memoriam, Secretariat's progeny were not agonistes. Instead, when we step back, they have on the whole made a sizable contribution to the future of this sport. Some did not 'stamp his get,' as the equine phrase goes, but there were those that certainly begat his running ability and passed it on. With an expert photographic portfolio as proof, McQueen effectively argues that the much-debated sire's influence deserves another look.

It all began for the author while she was in college. Curiosity in the Triple Crown winner took her on a pilgrimage to Kentucky in 1982 to see the fellow himself. The sire's subsequent death in 1989 propelled her down a path to locate and snap pictures of Secretariat's remaining band that would carry forth his legacy. One picture led to one story, and then the dominoes fell, as she documented as many offspring as she could.

McQueen's highly-readable style takes us along Secretariat's pedigreed shedrow where we meet Dactylographer–the sire's first stakes winner, sales toppers like Miss Secretariat and Grey Legion make an appearance, as does popular Old Friends social media darling Tinners Way. A bevy of international success stories inform us about the sire's reach that stretched from France to Japan.

We also hear some wonderful anecdotes, like the one the author tells about the unusual in-utero journey of Fanfreluche, one of Secretariat's most productive mares. Thieves absconded with her in June 1977 from Claiborne Farm, and after five months, an FBI sweep of the Bluegrass uncovered her location when she was discovered on an innocent farm after she was found wandering along a country road.

More evidence piles up, curated and culled expertly by McQueen. The chapter entitled 'The Lukas Touch' is especially rich with stories of how 'The Coach' believed Secretariat should be crossed with fast, precocious mares. Crimson Saint produced a number of these types, including Lukas runners like Terlingua, Pancho Villa, Navajo Pass and one of the last three of his progeny still alive, Border Run. From Lady's Secret and Risen Star to the influence of Storm Cat, Gone West and A.P. Indy and all the way to Bricks and Mortar, Authentic and Knicks Go, 'Big Red' is still with us.

With a foreword by Kate Tweedy and Leanne Ladin, plus an excellent appendix listing all 62 stakes winners, Secretariat's Legacy has closed the canonical 31-length gap in the scholarship. Patricia McQueen ensures that this 'Super Horse's' offspring are agonistes no longer.

Clearly, it's time to reserve a spot on the shelf at Black Swan Books.

Secretariat's Legacy: The Sons, Daughters and Decedents Who Keep His Legend Alive by SL Publications, 298 pages, photos, appendix, glossary, March 2023.

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With a group of nearly 15 in attendance, along with members of the Lane's End team, Flightline was walked around the stallion complex, displaying how well he has adapted to life on the farm. Despite the colder temperatures, with a hint of snow and the bite of wind in the air, the recently retired colt took everything in stride as those watching took videos and photos to document the experience.

After all facetime with Flightline was fulfilled, the group headed inside to hear from Lane's End's Bill Farish and David Ingordo, the operation's bloodstock agent, who provided further insight on the decision to retire Flightline this year. He will enter stud next season, standing for a fee of $200,000 LFSN.

“We got together the Sunday afterwards, the day after [the Breeders' Cup], and we went over every scenario, looking at the different races and different targets he could have had for next year,” said Farish.

The GI Pegasus World Cup, set for Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 at Gulfstream Park, was brought up as an example, where the team weighed questions such as, “Who's going to run in the Pegasus against him? Is it going to be worth waiting that time and bucking up against breeding season?”

“To go on through the [next] year, again, he'd beaten the best four 3-year-olds and best other older horses that are out there. Who's going to emerge to run against him? By the time Breeders' Cup rolls around next year, maybe there will be a superstar that will be worthy of that, but that's a long wait for one race. There just really was no upside to keep him in training,” said Farish.

In the end, those factors along with the reality that he was at the end of his 4-year-old season led owners Hronis Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine and Lane's End-affiliated partnership Woodford Racing to the ultimate decision to retire Flightline from his racing career and ready him for his first season at stud.

Flightine has proven to acclimate exceptionally well throughout his racing career. He did so when traveling from his home base at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA, to Belmont Park in Elmont, NY, for a victorious romp in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H., and later back to the West Coast for his breathtaking GI TVG Pacific Classic win at Del Mar. And finally returning to what ended up being his final destination in central Kentucky, Flightline struts around Lane's End as if he's spent his entire life there.

“He just adapted immediately; we probably could have just turned him out the first day. He's been so relaxed and so intelligent about everything, it's amazing. He's a really smart horse,” said Farish.

Not only does Flightline add prestige to the farm's 2023 roster in the form of on-track success and exceptional conformation, but there's also immense hope that he will add to the legacies that have been created by his sire Tapit, grandsire Pulpit and great-grandsire A.P. Indy, the late stalwart of Lane's End.

“Having multiple generations of any sire line has always meant a lot to us here. With Dixieland Band, we've had four generations of that sire line, and now seeing the same thing happen with A.P. Indy, it's really special,” said Farish.

Resident @LanesEndFarms barn cat Bruce made sure to steal a few moments in the spotlight during Flightline Media Day at the farm! pic.twitter.com/gxCWRtxzlN

— TDN (@theTDN) November 16, 2022

With all of that being said, the team at Lane's End has been under immense pressure to pull together the best possible first book for their new stallion. But even before the decision to officially retire Flightline to stud was made, a continuous stream of inquiries was flooding in and the team was diving into pedigree research in an effort to plan ahead.

“I think people in their minds maybe felt he would retire, so they took it upon themselves to say, 'I'm going to set this mare aside.' Nobody knew we were retiring this horse until the morning we did, because it was that kind of decision, it was a very difficult one,” Ingordo said. “When people would say, 'Well should I send you a mare?' I'd reply, 'If you want to set one aside, you go ahead, you send it to me, we'll figure it out [when] we do it,' and this was during the October sale, the September sale. Once the announcement was made, the inbox and texts and everything got full.”

“We did a lot of pedigree research ahead of time, and again, we didn't decide we were retiring him until Sunday morning, but we went on the offensive because we figured if he races on, we'll have this year's sales mares and next year's sales mares. We went through and worked with [Werk Thoroughbred Consultants'] Sid Fernando on some pedigree research, and later we graded them all, then we made a list. Once he was retired, we went through and looked at them all and we just [assessed] every mare that fit him.”

According to Farish, Flightline's first book of mares will be set around 150.

He remarked on the impressive quality of the mares submitted so far, with plenty of interest from many of the top breeders nationwide and substantial attention from prominent international interests. Notable mares that are already part of the book include champion Shamrock Rose (First Dude), purchased for $3 million in foal to Curlin at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale by KI Farm; Queen Caroline (Blame), dam of 'TDN Rising Star' and multiple Grade I winner Forte (Violence); and Diva Delite (Repent), dam of champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute).

“We've had a lot of interest from the Japanese. They were going to take their mares straight to Japan and I think we've got five or six horses that came out of the sale, that were purchased by Japanese [connections], that are going to hopefully breed to him and spread his influence over there,” said Farish. “That's one of the unbelievable added benefits with a horse like this, there's total international interest and a lot of European mares as well, so I think he'll have a really good balance. I wish it was this easy with all of them.”

“We bought the mares we thought we liked that fit him and we had notes on all of these other ones so when people were submitting them, we tried to be as thoughtful as we could without, as a friend of mine says, having 'Analysis to paralysis.' We think we've curated a pretty good book,” added Ingordo.

Until breeding season officially begins in February, all the team behind Flightline can do is wait, while continuing to field hundreds of emails, phone calls and a seemingly never-ending stream of farm visits.

“I don't know if it's going to work or not but we can't say we didn't try,” said Ingordo.

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6th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 7:25 p.m.

A $775k Keeneland September purchase by John Williams, the Three Chimneys Farm-bred SIR ROCK (Gun Runner) is out of a half-sister to MGSW Moonlit Promise (Malibu Moon). Third dam Weekend Storm (Storm Bird), herself a half-sister to late horse of the year and leading sire A.P. Indy, also produced MGISW Court Vision (Gulch) as well as GISP Lord Snowdon (Seeking the Gold). Three Chimneys Farm stayed in on the chestnut who runs out of Kelsey Danner's barn.

Calumet Farm homebred Devils Red (More Than Ready), a full-brother to dual Eclipse Award winner and multi-millionaire Roy H, debuts in the same spot for trainer Doug O'Neill and enters off back-to-back bullet five-furlong drills Sept. 17 and Sept. 24.

Also making his first start is Tres Soles (Justify), a $400,000 KEESEP yearling pick up by Winchell Thoroughbreds out of the Steve Asmussen barn. TJCIS PPS

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