Bernardini Filly Prevails in Battle of the Bafferts

6th-Del Mar, $81,500, Msw, 8-7, 2yo, f, 5f, :58.69, ft, 1 1/2 lengths.
FAST AND SHINY (f, 2, Bernardini–Spotted Heart {SW, $167,692}, by Lion Hearted) got the better of a final-furlong tussle with the better-fancied and commonly owned Doinitthehardway (Street Sense) under a cerebral ride from Florent Geroux. They lined up three across the track early on, Fast and Shiny, Doinitthehardway and favored Getthemoney (Midnight Lute) from the rail out, but Geroux elected to take a tug of Fast and Shiny and allow the other two to set the table for him. Despite losing a fraction of momentum when easing back off the speed, Fast and Shiny was steered out full of run outside of a weakening Getthemoney, joined her stablemate a furlong for home and did the better work through the final sixteenth of a mile. The two blue shadowrolls were separated by 1 1/2 lengths on the wire. Hailing from the female family of champion Judy the Beauty (Ghostzapper), Fast and Shiny had a foal half-brother by Munnings. Sales history: $150,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $48,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O-Michael E Pegram, Karl Watson & Paul Weitman; B-Douglas Scharbauer (KY); T-Bob Baffert.

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Northview Stallion Station Expansion Leads to Saratoga

After pinhooking success near its home base in Maryland last fall, Northview Stallion Station and the Golden family's Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds will look to keep the momentum going with a debut consignment of three horses at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale Monday.

“It's been a goal of ours for several years to start consigning up here [in Saratoga],” explained Northview's David Wade. “We've had homebreds that have fit the Keeneland market and we've had homebreds that fit the Timonium market, but we were looking specifically for something to pinhook up here at Saratoga. It's difficult for Northview to consign at Keeneland because we are a small consignor for that quality of horse, but in Saratoga, you can come up with two, three, four horses and not get lost and sell at the top of the market. That's where we've wanted to be. Hopefully this works out for us and we can continue to do it.”

Asked if the move marked a new direction for the farm, which was founded by the late Richard Golden in 1986, Wade said, “I don't know that it's a new direction, it's an expansion. We are still breeding horses and selling commercially. But this is just something different to try to see if we can make it work. There are a lot of different ways to lose money in the Thoroughbred industry and there are a lot of different ways to make money in the Thoroughbred industry. So we are looking for other ways to make money.”

Northview's Saratoga consignment kicks off Monday with one of two yearlings by freshman sire Mendelssohn (hip 31). The filly, out of graded winner Munny Spunt (Munnings), was purchased by Sycamore Hall for $280,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

The first-crop 2-year-olds by Mendelssohn have been gaining momentum on the racetrack in recent weeks as the Coolmore stallion has been represented by maiden winners at Ellis Park, Saratoga, Laurel and Delaware Park.

“I feel a lot better than I did a month ago,” Wade said of bringing two yearlings by the sire to market next week. “He finally got that winner in Saudi and then all of a sudden he ends up with a nice winner at Ellis Park and then a really nice winner at Saratoga and then he has had another three or four since then. So he's starting to heat up. He's moved up the freshman sire list. I think he is seventh today, whereas a couple of weeks ago he was probably down there around 20th. So there have been some nice timely wins that make you feel a lot better.”

Mendelssohn added another nice winner Sunday at the Spa in the form of 'TDN Rising Star' Pink Hue.

While Mendelssohn continues to get things done on the racetrack, Northview has already had success with the stallion in the sales ring. The operation purchased a Mendelssohn colt for $100,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Returned to the sales ring last October, the chestnut topped the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Sale on a bid of $235,000 from pinhooker David Scanlon. Not to be outdone, Scanlon, in turn, sold the colt for $1.3 million at this year's OBS Spring Sale.

“We pinhooked one last year that we took to the Timonium sale that we bought for $100,000 and we got $235,000 and topped the sale,” Wade said of the operation's pinhooking resume. “We had a second horse that I actually bought with the intention of pinhooking for the farm which was an Empire Maker colt, but when I got him back to the farm, Mike Golden, who owns Northview with his sister, saw the horse and he said, 'I'm not selling this horse. I want to race it.' So he's now with Graham Motion and he'll hopefully make a start in four to six weeks.”

The Empire Maker colt (hip 790) was purchased for $150,000 at the 2020 Keeneland November sale. Now named Kicks Like Tucker, he continued preparations for his debut with a three-furlong work in :37 flat (1/4) at Fair Hills last Thursday.

Northview's Saratoga consignment will continue with a colt by Bernardini (hip 90) out of Stargirl (Medaglia d'Oro), who is a half-sister to stakes winners Little Nick V (Colonel John) and Now Spun (Hard Spun). The yearling, whose third dam is Grade I winner Pacific Squall (Storm Bird), was purchased by Wade on behalf of Sycamore Hall for $125,000 at this year's Keeneland January sale.

“We had several horses that we had short listed at the January sale, but the important thing when you shortlist these horses to pinhook them, you have to try to buy them at the right level,” Wade said. “And he was one of the horses who was certainly on our list. I don't think I would have gone any higher for him, but I think we left some room to make some money. We will find out on Monday.”

Of the colt's progression since January, Wade said, “He's actually grown and gotten a little bit bigger than I thought he would. He was kind of a compact, mature-looking horse with a lot of speed, but he's gotten a little bit bigger than I thought he would have.”

The Northview trio is completed by a son of Mendelssohn (hip 110) who is out of Undisputed Legend (Domestic Dispute) and is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Whereshetoldmetogo (El Padrino). Bred by Wade, the yearling is one of six Maryland-breds in the Saratoga catalogue.

“I think Maryland has always had a strong program,” Wade, a lifelong resident of the state, said. “A lot of the better Maryland-breds wind up going to Kentucky or to Saratoga and every once in a while you see a really good Maryland-bred who is going to go to Timonium. And there are a lot of them that are retained to race, not just to sell. But the Maryland program has always been strong. The breeders that we have there are pretty smart cookies. So we are bullish on the Maryland program and the Maryland-bred incentives.”

Wade is also optimistic heading into the two-day Saratoga sale.

“I think all three of these horses are coming into the sale just right,” he said. “[The market] looked pretty good in July in Kentucky. The 2-year-old sales certainly looked very good. I think, as these foal crops have continued to get smaller and purses have continued to go up, that there is going to be demand for horses. So I think we are sitting in pretty good shape.”

The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale will be held Monday and Tuesday in the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion. Bidding begins each evening at 6:30 p.m.

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Combatant to Shuttle to Chile in 2022

Freshman New York stallion COMBATANT (Scat Daddy-Border Dispute, by Boundary) will shuttle to Haras Porta Pia in Chile for Southern Hemisphere duties, announced officials at Rockridge Stud July 22. Combatant stood his first year at Rockridge Stud in Hudson, NY and was well-received by breeders. The half to GSW Long Lashes (Rock Hard Ten), SP Bordini (Bernardini), and GSP Mythical Border (Johannesburg) retired with a record of 30-4-5-6, and earnings of $1,062,915. The 2020 GI Santa Anita H. winner is a syndicated stallion.

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Second Chances: Godolphin Homebred Spelterini One to Watch at the Spa

In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

It's admittedly very early days, but one of the more promising 2-year-olds to debut thus far at the prestigious Saratoga meeting didn't even get her picture taken.

Godolphin homebred Spelterini (f, 2, Bernardini–Keepshercool, by Smart Strike) came flying home to finish an eye-catching second on the Spa's opening day program July 14.

Last of six after a slow start from her inside draw, the 13-1 shot was ridden along by Junior Alvarado to keep pace while saving ground up one spot in fifth through an opening quarter in :22.54.

Appearing to have her work cut out for her in that same position approaching the quarter pole, she was tipped out widest of all in the five or six path as they straightened for home and came rocketing down the center to finish within a half-length of the front-running, second-time starter Half a Chance (Flatter). It was another length back to heavily favored Todd Pletcher-trained first-time starter and $475,000 FTFMAR graduate Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke) in third.

Spelterini, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, earned a very respectable 78 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort in the 5 1/2-furlong affair.

“We were very pleased with how she ran, especially with the winner having had a start already,” Godolphin Director of Bloodstock Michael Banahan said.

“She didn't break all that well, but got a good educational run out of the race and ran strong through the wire. Couple of jumps after the wire and she was out in front. We liked her. She'd been training well. We were hoping for a good run. You just never know with those 2-year-olds, especially at Saratoga. We look forward to getting her back into a maiden later on in the meet and hopefully we can take another step forward.”

Out of the unplaced Smart Strike mare Keepshercool, the cleverly named bay carries the namesake of Maria Spelterini, the Italian tightrope walker who famously crossed Niagara Falls as part of a celebration of the U.S. Centennial in 1876.

The 7-year-old Keepshercool, a well-beaten sixth in the Belmont slop in her lone trip to the post, is a half-sister to GSW & MGISP Penwith (Bernardini); MGISP Centring (A.P. Indy); GISP Tranquil Manner (A.P. Indy); and Collective (Bernardini), the dam of MGSW Shared Sense (Street Sense).

Spelterini's second dam Composure (Touch Gold), a two-time Grade I winner and runner-up in the 2002 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, brought $3.6 million from Sheikh Mohammed's operation at the 2003 KEENOV sale.

“[Keepshercool] ended up hurting herself when she was in training and had to have a fracture repair of the pastern,” Banahan said.

“We liked her as a young horse as a yearling and we were hoping that she would do well. That never really worked out, but we do like the pedigree. We've had a nice bit of luck in there. It's a family that we've done well with.”

The 'Second Chances' honor roll is headed by two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner and Lane's End stallion Honor A. P. (Honor Code) and MGISW and 'TDN Rising Star' Paradise Woods (Union Rags).

This term's GI Carter H. winner Speaker's Corner (Street Sense), GIII Westchester S. winner Cody's Wish (Curlin), GI Preakness S. third-place finisher Creative Minister (Creative Cause), streaking Cinema S. winner War At Sea (War Front) and next out 'TDN Rising Star' Artorius (Arrogate) have also been featured in the series.

Other standouts include: GSW Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), GSW & MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), MSW and 'TDN Rising Star' Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}); and GISP A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo).

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