Kodiac Wintergreen Could Be Home Run For Alex Bregman

Edited Press Release, Mike Kane/Kentucky Downs

All the essential timing elements for Sunday have dovetailed for Houston Astros star third baseman Alex Bregman and his very promising filly Kodiac Wintergreen (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}).

By the time Kodiac Wintergreen goes to the starting gate for the $500,000 Global Tote Juvenile Fillies S. at Kentucky Downs at 5:28 p.m. (CT), the Astros's home game with the San Diego Padres should be long finished. His day's work on the diamond at Minute Maid Field done, Bregman will be parked in front of a television to watch how the 2-year-old filly handles the one-mile race, the biggest test of her young career.

Bregman expects Kodiac Wintergreen to emerge as the second standout in his nascent and fast-growing thoroughbred stable, Bregman Family Racing LLC. Trained by Rusty Arnold and to be ridden again by Jose Oritz, she is the 3-1 favorite on the morning line. So far, No Nay Mets (Ire) (No Nay Never), with two stakes wins on his resume, is the most accomplished Bregman runner. He will try for a third stakes victory Saturday at Colonial Downs in Virginia.

Two years after Bregman, his wife Reagan and his parents, Jackie and Sam, made their first purchases at auction, the stable is emerging as a player at major racetracks.

“My family has been in love with horse racing since my great grandfather and my grandfather,” Bregman said in a telephone interview. “Everyone has loved horse racing in my family. I used to go to Albuquerque Downs with my grandfather growing up and my dad as well.”

Since Bregman, 29, made his major-league debut in 2016, the Astros have reached the World Series four times, winning twice. He is a two-time American League All-Star.

Veteran bloodstock agent Mike Akers and Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables in Ocala, Florida, have guided Bregman as he built his roster and helped him select trainers Arnold, George Weaver and Doug O'Neill.

The stable is handled by an enthusiastic racing manager.

“That's me,” Bregman said. “I love it. It's a passion of mine. It's something that I'll love forever and something that I want to be involved with forever. I want to build something special.”

While the baseball schedule keeps him away from the track, Bregman tries to see the races unfold live.

“I normally watch them with my whole team, and we yell at the TV hoping that we win,” he said.

As a result, he has become something of a racing ambassador to the Astros.

“Some of my teammates actually have owned parts of horses that we've owned,” he said. “It's been a blast. They love it now.”

The post Kodiac Wintergreen Could Be Home Run For Alex Bregman appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

No Nay Mets Headlines Skidmore

Coming in off a gate-to-wire victory in the Tyro S. on July 30, No Nay Mets (Ire) (No Nay Never) looks to extend his record to three-for-four in Friday's Skidmore S. at Saratoga. Trainer George Weaver was so impressed with his juvenile pupil's recent performance at Monmouth Park that he decided to send the two-time stakes winner to another start less than three weeks after seeing the winner's circle.

“It's hard early on with these 2-year-old races to know exactly what you're running against, but when you win by five lengths, that's a pretty big margin sprinting on the grass,” Weaver said of the Tyro win. “He just sprinted away from those guys in the stretch. He's always had a bunch of quality.”

A Coolmore-bred colt out the Group 3 winner Etoile (War Front)–whose family includes GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf winner Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) under the second dam–No Nay Mets was originally slated as a pinhook prospect for Houston Astros All-Star Alex Bregman when he was purchased for €180,000 at the 2022 Arqana August Yearling Sale. Although the juvenile posted a :20 4/5 breeze at the OBS Spring Sale, bidding stalled at $335,000.

Retained by his original buyer, No Nay Mets was sent to Weaver, who was tasked with preparing him for the Royal Palm Juvenile S. just a few weeks after the sale.

“He went straight from the sale to me and he's been straightforward and a very smart colt from day one,” said Weaver. “We never really had to rush him with his gate work. We shipped him to Gulfstream to work out of the gate. We shipped him to run at Gulfstream. We shipped him to England. Nothing fazed him.”

No Nay Mets was a frontrunning 3 1/2-length winner at Gulfstream, where he earned an automatic berth to compete at Royal Ascot, but the colt did not fare as well as his stablemate Crimson Advocate (Nyquist) at the prestigious meet. After failing to get the same speedy start he had shown on debut, he settled for ninth in the G2 Norfolk S.

“He didn't get away and wasn't able to cut the pace that day,” said his conditioner. “I think his speed is his asset. He came back at Monmouth and we used his speed and it just worked out a lot better.”

Owners Bregman Family Racing and Ivan Carbrera are hoping that their star can come back with a similar performance at Saratoga, but a rainy forecast Friday morning could put a damper on their plans.

“I would prefer not to run him under unfavorable circumstances,” admitted Weaver. “He's been so good to us and he just won. We're coming back on a short rest, but I'll just have to talk with Alex and we'll do what we think is best.”

For now, morning-line favorite No Nay Mets is slated to race from the seven position in a 10-horse Skidmore. The field also includes Mike Maker's Ship Cadet (Midshipman), who was second to No Nay Mets in the Tyro. Stonestreet Stables' Fandom (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) was impressive in his debut at Keeneland this spring, but he finished a disappointing 11th in the G2 Coventry S. at Ascot. The MyRacehorse colorbearer Seize the Grey (Arrogate) will make his turf debut coming off a maiden win in the slop for D. Wayne Lukas on July 29 at Saratoga.

The post No Nay Mets Headlines Skidmore appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Kodiac Filly Flies Late to Graduate at Saratoga

Kodiac Wintergreen (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), getting an extra half-furlong to work with following a late-running second-place finish in her five-furlong debut at Belmont June 11, was sent off the even-money favorite Thursday at Saratoga. The bay filly was away well, but was shuffled back to mid-pack. Racing greenly on the turn, she was behind a wall of horses at the top of the lane and was tipped out to the center of the course. She found her best stride in deep stretch and closed with a powerful late flourish to reel in Ever So Sweet (Ire) (Calyx {GB}) in the final strides to win by 3/4 lengths. Parade Ring (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) was a neck back in third to complete the Irish-bred trifecta.

While the late-running trip may have caused her backers some anxious moments, bloodstock agent Mike Akers, who purchased the filly last year on behalf of Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman's Bregman Family Racing, had confidence she could get the job done.

“I loved the ride,” Akers said. “I was getting a little nervous, but [Jose Ortiz] had ridden her before. She didn't get loose last time, he kept her inside and split horses and she got a lot out of that first race that bode well for today. So there was no panic. He knew how much punch she had when he got her loose. I think everybody saw her turn out of foot there.”

Kodiac Wintergreen is a half-sister to Love Reigns (Ire) (U S Navy Flag, MSW, $242,065), who won last year's Bolton Landing S. and came back this term to win the Limestone S. for Stonestreet Stables. She is also a half to Goldana (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}), GSW-Ire, SW-Ger; and to Glorious Empire (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}), GISW, $977,227. She has a yearling half-brother by Mehmas (Ire).

Akers purchased the filly for €160,000 at last year's  Goffs Orby sale.

“It's a good family. She is a half to a good horse here in America and also a couple over there that came to America and ran well here,” Akers said of the filly's appeal. “The pedigree would get your attention. She stayed in Ireland to get broke and then she went to Wavertree to Ciaran Dunne and at every stop, I've had very good horsemen telling me that she has a great mind and talent. We just hoped everything worked out. You can have all of that and not go anywhere, but she is on the right trail. Let's just see if we can keep it going.”

As for what is next for the filly, Akers said, “That's in the hands of [trainer] Rusty Arnold. He's very patient. But I think she will tell us that she wants a little more ground. Right now, we were happy to get 5 1/2 [furlongs]. So you have to wait and see what's out there. Obviously, somebody would look at the 'Win and You're In' [the Breeders' Cup] races for 2-year-olds. That would be a natural to look at and see where they pop up on the racing schedule. Everybody can be excited now and dream a bit.”

Akers was busy buying on behalf of Bregman across the globe last year. He purchased No Nay Mets (No Nay Never) for €180,000 at the Arqana August sale. The colt RNA'd for $335,000 following a bullet quarter-mile breeze at the OBS April sale this year, but won a Royal Ascot qualifying stakes at Gulfstream in May and sold for ₤800,000 at Goffs in June.

“Alex's instructions were, 'Buy me some athletes,'” Akers explained. “That's kind of the way we approached it. We weren't really focused on any particular thing. And when I go to sales, I send him a short list and he goes over the short list and gives me instructions on what he likes. He is very eager to learn and he's like a sponge, he's picking everything up. I think he will be in it for the rest of his life in some form. It's been refreshing to work that way. It's always fun shopping sales and I always seem to have a list. So far it has worked out well and we've had some pretty good success kicking it off.”

Akers agreed a filly like Kodiac Wintergreen is bought looking ahead to her residual value as a broodmare.

“He's got a couple of mares,” Akers said of Bregman. “He bought a mare in foal to Wootton Bassett, so he's got a baby filly by him out of a nice mare. And he bought another mare and bred her to Constitution. So yes, his long-term plan would include being a breeder. We will continue on the road and concentrate on some fillies with enough pedigree to sell out of and try to create some added value to them at the racetrack. He loves competition of any kind and the racetrack and the sales rings are just other places to compete. We will attack those two things.”

6th-Saratoga, $105,000, Msw, 7-20, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.40, fm, 3/4 length.
KODIAC WINTERGREEN (IRE) (f, 2, Kodiac {GB}–Humble And Proud {Ire}, by Pivotal {GB}) Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $75,750. O-Bregman Family Racing LLC; B-Patrick Grogan (IRE); T-George R. Arnold, II.

The post Kodiac Filly Flies Late to Graduate at Saratoga appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bregman’s No Nay Never Colt Steals the Show at OBS Monday

A colt by No Nay Never (hip 332) turned in the fastest quarter-mile work of the second session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Monday in Central Florida, covering the distance in :20 4/5. The juvenile was the first of three from an initial pinhooking group owned by Houston Astros third-baseman Alex Bregman to hit the OBS track ahead of next week's auction.

Bregman Family Racing made its debut on the racetrack a winning one just last May when the first horse to carry the family's colors, Cadillac Candy (Twirling Candy), graduated at Churchill Downs.

The family's focus will still be on racing, according to Ciaran Dunne, whose Wavertree Stables preps Bregman's horses in Ocala, but the reoffered lots reflect a slight adjustment for the three-year-old stable.

“Alex made the decision to sell a few colts to try to finance his racing stable,” Dunne said. “I think he's decided that racing fillies is probably, in his grand scheme of things, going to be a better plan. He wants to develop a broodmare band and sort of have a long-term plan of action. By selling the colts, it helps finance some of the racing stable and the broodmare band. That's not to say he won't race a colt going forward, but, if he races fillies, he wants to own them 100% and he'll partner on colts with the hope of making a stallion. We have three in the sale for him here and if the right people with the right plan came along, I am sure he would be more than willing to stay in and be a partner.”

Hip 332, an Irish-bred son of No Nay Never, was purchased on behalf of Bregman by bloodstock agent Mike Akers for €180,000 at last year's Arqana August Yearling Sale. He is the first foal out of group winner Etoile (War Front), who is a full-sister to group winner and multiple Group 1-placed Ancient Rome.

“We got him in October or November sometime,” Dunne said of the colt. “It took him a little while to get his feet underneath him. It's a long process between shipping and quarantine and everything else. But ever since, he's been a really straightforward horse. His works have been more than solid coming into this. So we went in there with high expectations and I think he delivered. He's just a really solid colt by probably one of the top stallions in Europe.”

On behalf of the Bregman family, Wavertree will also send out a colt by Twirling Candy (hip 402) to work Tuesday and a son of Omaha Beach (hip 617) to work Wednesday.

“He absolutely loves the horse business,” Dunne said of Bregman. “It will be bittersweet for him. Racing is his first love. Pinhooking is probably going to be very hard for him. But we've had the discussion, 'look if you bring them over, you have to sell them.' So I think he will. But, like I said, if someone were to come along, I think he would be more than happy to stay in.”

Four horses shared Monday's fastest furlong time of :9 4/5. A filly by Flameaway (hip 177, video) worked the bullet for David McKathan and Jody Mihalic's Grassroots Training and Sales just minutes after the session's 8 a.m. start time. Out of Cinnamon Girl (Meadowlake), the chestnut filly was purchased by Grassroots for $15,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Consignor Marcial Galan sent out a colt by Jimmy Creed (hip 239, video) to share the fastest furlong time Monday around 10:30 a.m. Out of Days Like This (Congrats), the juvenile was bred by Jason Hall, Stephen Baker, Herschel Martindale and Mike Riordan.

A colt by Triple Crown winner Justify (hip 299, video), who is out of D'Wildcat Speed (Forest Wildcat) and is a half-brother to multiple Group 1 winner Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy), gave Jonathan Navas's Navas Equine its first :9 4/5 work when he hit the track around 10:40 a.m. Monday morning.

“I am very fortunate to have such a nice individual under my care,” Navas said. “He is an easy colt to work with. He is that kind that goes out there, puts in a lot of effort in training, does his best in the morning, and then comes back to the stall. Rest and repeat.”

Navas picked the well-bred colt out of the back ring at Keeneland last September and purchased him as part of a pinhooking partnership for $50,000.

“I saw him in the back ring, but I didn't inspect him at the barn,” Navas said. “His page is obviously really strong. And I liked the way he was taking everything in at the sale. We liked what I thought I could polish and develop a little bit more with training.”

Asked if he was surprised to get the colt at that price last fall, Navas said, “Yes, to be honest, it was a little bit surprising. With that pedigree, I would have thought I would have had to extend my budget a little bit more. He didn't look as athletic as he does now. He had a belly and he was a little bit narrow as a yearling. But with the time and training, he became a better-looking athlete. That's what I visualized last year and I think that's what we have right now.”

From a racing family in Venezuela, Navas launched his consignment in 2020. He was represented by a Shackleford filly who worked a quarter-mile bullet in :20 3/5 at the 2021 OBS June sale. Purchased for $7,500 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale, the filly sold for $70,000 that June. Now named Join the Dance, she resold for $110,000 at last year's Keeneland Horses of Racing Age Sale and is two-time stakes-placed.

“This is my third year consigning and I had never had a :9 4/5 before,” Navas said of hip 299's work Monday. “He was able to put up this great workout for us and am I very happy with it. It was pretty impressive.”

A colt by Twirling Candy (hip 192, video), consigned by Steve Venosa's SGV Thoroughbreds, completed the quartet of bullet workers shortly before noon Monday. Out of Conquest Babayaga (Uncle Mo), the dark bay was bred by St. Elias Stables and RNA'd for $120,000 at Keeneland September last fall.

The colt was the second from the SGV Thoroughbreds to turn in a :9 4/5 work this week at OBS. A filly by Flameway (hip 37, video) hit that mark for the consignment Sunday.

The final sets of Sunday's initial session of the under-tack show had horses working into a headwind, but it was the earlier sets Monday that had to deal with the wind, according to Dunne.

“All the way through the first set and through the second set, there was a pretty good headwind and then it seemed to get quieter towards the end of the day,” Dunne said. “We had a horse go :10 1/5 in the last set, so I think the track has been consistent the whole way through, which is all we can ask.”

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The Spring sale will be held next Tuesday through Friday. Bidding commences each day at 10:30 a.m.

The post Bregman’s No Nay Never Colt Steals the Show at OBS Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights