Tag: Bloodlines

If there was much doubt about the best 3-year-old sprinter this season, Jack Christopher (by Munnings) cleared it up with a strong victory over fellow Grade 1 winner Gunite (Gun Runner) in the Grade 1 Allen Jerkens Memorial at Saratoga on Aug. 27.

Bred in Kentucky by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, Jack Christopher has been an active advertisement for the best qualities of his sire Munnings (Speightstown), and no son could be more like the sire. Munnings was such a precocious and talented prospect that he brought $1.7 million from Demi O'Byrne, agent, at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Florida sale of juveniles in training.

Trained by Todd Pletcher, Munnings won his debut on July 26 for owners Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier, and Derrick Smith with six furlongs in 1:09.84 and jumped straight into G1 company, finishing third in the Hopeful, then second in the Champagne. A disastrous result in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (10th) was followed by a layoff of more than seven months. When Munnings returned at three, he won the G2 Woody Stephens and Tom Fool Stakes, then had a trio of thirds in Grade 1 races: the Haskell, King's Bishop, and Vosburgh.

At four, Munnings added a third Grade 2 triumph with the Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship, then another Grade 1 third in the Carter, but the massively constructed chestnut did not truly prosper in his final season and retired to Coolmore's Kentucky stud, Ashford, without the highly coveted Grade 1 victory.

We cannot praise the stallion more highly than to say that it didn't matter. Munnings has become a necessary addition to any breeding program wanting fast horses.

His son Jack Christopher is now a three-time Grade 1 winner (Champagne, Woody Stephens, and Jerkens Memorial), and the flashy chestnut is being pointed for a date with the Breeders' Cup, either in the Dirt Mile or the Sprint. The Breeders' Cup Sprint would bring a confrontation with older sprinters, including division leader Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music), who finished second to Cody's Wish (Curlin) earlier on the Travers card.

From the eighth crop by Munnings, Jack Christopher is out of Rushin No Blushin, a mare who ran second once in eight starts, earning $5,766. A half-sister to the two-time Grade 1 winner Street Boss (Street Cry), Rushin No Blushin is by the little-known stallion Half Ours (Unbridled's Song), who is the answer to an interesting trivia question.

Who is the highest-priced colt of racing age ever sold at Keeneland? Half Ours was not a 2-year-old at the time of sale, and several distinguished race fillies have brought more, but the gray son of Unbridled's Song is the answer.

At the 2006 Keeneland November sale, Half Ours was sold to dissolve a partnership between co-owners Aaron Jones and Barry Schwartz. At the time, Half Ours was three. The imposing colt had been a spectacular early 2-year-old, winning a mid-April maiden special at Keeneland by 10 3/4 lengths and coming back the first week of May to take the listed Juvenile Stakes at Churchill by 4 1/4 lengths.

From May of 2005 to November 2006, the colt had not raced again. Trained by Todd Pletcher, Half Ours was doing well, however, and both owners were well aware that the colt was progressing nicely.

When the bidding began, it became obvious how well aware of the colt's well-being the co-owners were.

Frank Taylor of Taylor Made Farm recalled the situation. “Half Ours was a really talented colt,” he said, “and Barry and Sheryl were perfect partners, but Mr. Jones wanted to direct the racing program to maximize the colt's stallion potential.

“So a sale at auction was the simple solution.” Taylor was there to bid with Jones; Buzz Chace was bidding for Schwartz; and Coolmore was part of the bidding, as well, Taylor recalled. “I told the bid spotter that as long as Mr. Jones's hat was on, he was bidding.

“The bidding started at $100,000, $200,000, going up quickly,” Taylor recalled. The bids crashed past $1 million, then $2 million, and the bidding became a runaway train, fueled by the desire of each man to own the colt outright.

“Then, Coolmore got in and stayed in with the bidding till $5 million to $5.5 million. Mr. Jones had just been sitting there with his hat on, and he looked over at me and said, 'I don't like this plan. I like bidding,' and he started bidding by hand with the spotter.

“Buzz had the bid at $6 million for Barry, and I looked at Mr. Jones and said, 'That's plenty. You're getting full value if you let him go.' He just grinned back at me and threw his hand in the air.”

Jones was the winning bidder at $6.1 million.

Slightly more than a month later, Half Ours returned to racing at Aqueduct and won a six-furlong allowance by a neck in 1:10.96.

The colt came back in February to win an allowance at Gulfstream going a mile, then won the G2 Gulfstream Park Sprint Championship. Unbeaten in five races, Half Ours was targeted for major “stallion” races but lost his unbeaten status in the G3 Alysheba at Churchill, his prep for the Metropolitan Handicap. Second as the favorite in the Alysheba, Half Ours came back in the Met Mile and finished 7th behind a string of future Kentucky-based stallion prospects.

The winner was Corinthian (Pulpit) over Political Force (Unbridled's Song) and Lawyer Ron (Langfuhr), with Sun King (Charismatic), Latent Heat (Maria's Mon), and Silver Wagon (Wagon Limit) next.

Half Ours raced no more but was retired to Taylor Made Farm south of Lexington, where the good-looking colt's sire stood at stud. Half Ours attracted some notice, being a fast and attractive son of a highly commercial sire, and Rushin No Blushin was one of the horse's first crop of foals.

Neither Half Ours nor his superiors in the Metropolitan remained active stallions in Kentucky, although Lawyer Ron, for one, was not sold but sadly died very young. Corinthian went first to Pennsylvania, then was sold to stand in Turkey. Half Ours was sold to Clear Creek Stud in Louisiana, became one of the leading sires in that market, and died last year at age 18.

Yet a bit of the legacy and lore surrounding Half Ours lives on in Jack Christopher.

The post Bloodlines: Jack Christopher’s Link To The Most Expensive Racing-Age Sale Grad In Keeneland’s History appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Horse of the Year, Horse of the Century, Horse of the World. Unbeaten champion, son of a great sire and sire of sires. A horse of exceptional character and strength, Frankel received the highest ever rating from the decades' old Timeform organization. For talent, pedigree, and physical presence, Frankel stood apart.

So, how has he done at stud?

From seven crops of racing age, Frankel has logged 100 stakes winners already. Among them are Japanese champion Soul Stirring (Japan Oaks), Aussie star Hungry Heart (Australian Oaks), and European highweights Cracksman (Champion Stakes twice) and Hurricane Lane (Irish Derby). Other offspring of the great champion have won the English Derby (Adayar), Oaks (Anapurna), Irish 1,000 Guineas (Homeless Songs), Irish Derby (Westover), and Prix de Diane (Nashwa). With more than two dozen Group 1 or Grade 1 winners, that is only scratching the surface of quality performers by last year's leading sire in England.

In addition to breaking the century mark for stakes winners, over the last week, Frankel had a pair of Group 1 winners (Inspiral, Prix Jacques le Marois; Alpinista, Yorkshire Oaks), a G3 winner (Chaldean, Acomb Stakes), a pair of G2 seconds (Hans Anderson, Futurity Stakes at the Curragh; With the Moonlight, Lake Placid Stakes at Saratoga), plus a second (Time Lock, Galtres Stakes) and a third (Martel, Prix Michel Houyvet) in listed stakes.

The sire's 100th stakes winner came on Aug. 17 with Chaldean, the winner of the G3 Acomb Stakes at York.

Chaldean, a flashy chestnut, sold for 550,000 guineas at the Tattersalls December foal sale. Consigned by breeder Whitbury Manor Stud, the handsome colt was purchased by Juddmonte Farms, which races him.

A mid-May foal, Chaldean has been given the opportunity to show his talent at 2 but will not be overtaxed. Juddmonte's racing manager Barry Mahon said that, “I'd imagine he has quite a bit more developing and growing to do. So we won't overrace him this year.”

The racing manager noted that Juddmonte would purchase 10 or fewer horses annually, but that “when we see something that looks nice and can enhance our stable, the family are keen to add to it. [Chaldean] will have no problem staying a mile, and who knows, he could even get a bit further next year.”

In addition to the promise and potential of Chaldean, Frankel has one or more racers in contention for leadership of nearly every division in European racing. Winner of the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot, Inspiral made a bold statement of her position among all milers with a brave victory in the Marois, and Alpinista, now the winner of five G1 races, may try to scale an even higher peak: to be the best horse in Europe, bar none.

The gray 5-year-old is pointed for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and would be one of the stronger contenders. Certainly, trainer Mark Prescott is making no secret of his ambitions for the lovely mare bred and owned by his long-time client Kirsten Rausing of Lanwades Stud.

The trainer has plainly stated he has two wishes for the Arc: quick ground and no Baeed. The latter is most likely going to the Champion Stakes; so Prescott is halfway home on his wish list.

A victory for Alpinista in the Arc would be a long-awaited vindication for those who believed that, under similar course conditions, Frankel himself could have won the race. For most of his career, Frankel was viewed as a miler, and indeed he was and was an extraordinary one too. The steady hand and watchful eye of trainer Henry Cecil kept the great horse at his peak and delivering winning performances, and when they set him new tasks as a 4-year-old in the Juddmonte International at York and the Champion Stakes, Frankel was both ready and superb.

Sent to stud at Juddmonte Farms's Banstead Manor in Newmarket, Frankel has been a steady draw for racing fans and breeders looking for foals of high ability. Although some observers quibbled and squawked about the stallion's early foals and yearlings, because they came in all colors and shapes, the test that mattered was the one on the racecourse.

Frankel and his offspring have answered that in the same fashion that the great horse did in each of his races, and he has proven the co-fastest sire to 100 stakes winners, in a tie with his grandsire Danehill.

There are further fields of glory and more conquests to make. Two of the steepest challenges are 1) getting a racehorse equal to himself and 2) getting sons and daughters who carry on the next generation at the highest level. Whereas the first is nearly impossible, I'd say the second is becoming more probable every day.

The post Bloodlines Presented By Texas Thoroughbred Association: Frankel Hits The Century Mark With Stakes Winners appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The dramatic maiden special winner Damon's Mound (by Girvin) came out of Kentucky with a big reputation, almost as big as that for Gulfport (Uncle Mo), who had won a fancy-looking maiden and then followed with a powerful victory by 12 ¼ lengths in the listed Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs.

In the Grade 2 Saratoga Special on Saturday, Aug. 13, Gulfport was the favorite at 45 cents to a dollar, with Damon's Mound a good second choice. At the finish of the race, Damon's Mound won by 3 1/4 lengths, and there was no doubt that they were the two best colts in the race, as Gulfport finished seven lengths clear of third-place Super Chow (Lord Nelson). The relative merits of the first two will be disputed, however, because the deviant son of Lord Nelson swerved out in front of Gulfport, causing that colt to check sharply and lose momentum.

The winner of the Special is a son of freshman sire Girvin, who now ranks fifth on the list of leading first-crop sires, with earnings of slightly more than a half-million to date. The stallion had the first stakes winner among the freshmen sires of 2022 and now has seven winners and two stakes winners from 17 starters from his first crop of 72 foals.

Girvin's leading racer is named for a place in Texas. Damon's Mound is a geological feature in Brazoria County, south of Houston. The mound is a limestone formation that rises 146 feet above the surrounding land and covers 3,000 acres. The mound is a source of limestone and site of mineral springs, according to the state historical society.

Damon's Mound the horse was bred in Florida and is out of the Stroll mare San Antonio Stroll. The Saratoga Special winner is the first foal and stakes winner for the dam and is in fact the first stakes winner for generations in the direct female line.

San Antonio Stroll was the first step in rehabilitating the family's fortunes, as the daughter of Stroll (Pulpit) won three of 14 starts, with a second in the La Senorita at two and a third in the Fiesta Mile at four, both at Retama Park, with earnings of $75,001.

Going backward in the female line, there isn't another stakes horse until the fourth dam, True Love Sue (Temerity Prince), produced Pronto Paco (The Prime Minister), who was third in the Texas Stallion Consolation Stakes. The fifth dam, Dancing Katie (Prince Street), produced Amazing Allison (Bayou Hebert), who ran second in the Louisiana Futurity at the Fair Grounds.

No matter how plebeian a family seems to be, going back far enough will turn up a fine specimen of the breed, and the ninth dam of the Saratoga Special winner is no less than Carrozza, a daughter of Derby winner Dante (Nearco) who won the 1957 Oaks for owner-breeder Queen Elizabeth II.

Carrozza was out of the Hyperion mare Calash, a full sister to Sun Chariot, who won the 1,000 Guineas, as well as the war-time replacements of the Oaks and St. Leger that were run at Newmarket in 1942. Calash and Sun Chariot were out of Clarence, one of only three foals from the very quick juvenile stakes winner Nun's Veil (Friar Marcus). Although she died at age six, Nun's Veil overcame the long odds of continuing a female line and is the 12th dam of Damon's Mound. In addition, Nun's Veil is a half-sister to the great sire Blandford (Swynford), and their dam Blanche (White Eagle) is the 13th dam of the Saratoga Special winner. This is the Black Cherry family that has produced such important racers around the world.

In its more distant generations, this was clearly a thoroughly distinguished family, with classic winners along with quality performers in juvenile competition and high-class older horses.

To upgrade the more recent stock, the addition of Pulpit's high-class son Stroll, winner of the G1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, and G1 Haskell Stakes winner Girvin to this female line has infused qualities that brought this line back into top-class competition.

The post Bloodlines Presented By Texas Thoroughbred Association: Damon’s Mound, Named For Texas Landmark, Has Florida Roots appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Unlike the situation with his sons, which are not well represented with stakes winners in the male line, the daughters of Unbridled's Song are treasures as producers. It is also noteworthy that daughters of the sons of Unbridled's Song are making a mark.

Among those representing Unbridled's Song in the broodmare sire line over the weekend, the Grade 3 Troy Stakes at Saratoga went to Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), who is out of Lady Shipman (Midshipman); the Lure Stakes, also at Saratoga, went to Dynadrive (Temple City), who is out of Harbingerofthings (Rockport Harbor); the Incredible Revenge Stakes at Monmouth went to Bay Storm (Kantharos), who is out of Stormy Regatta (Midshipman); the Indiana First Lady Stakes went to Climber (Divining Rod), who is out of Gazeley (First Defence); and the Searching Stakes at Laurel went to Music Amore (Mshawish), who is out of the Unbridled's Song mare Rhapsody Queen.

Five stakes winners in a weekend is a pretty good haul, and these are not the only ones out there. Would any of them, however, have greater promise than Naughty Gal?

At Saratoga in the G3 Adirondack Stakes, Naughty Gal (by Into Mischief) won by 2 ½ lengths as the race favorite. A winner of her maiden in her second start at Churchill Downs on July 4, Naughty Gal now has won two of her three starts.

The only difference between the latter and the five stakes winners above is that Naughty Gal's broodmare sire is a full brother to Unbridled's Song named Spanish Steps, and Naughty Gal is the first graded winner out of a Spanish Steps mare.

Bred in Florida by Loren Nichols, Naughty Gal is out of Conway Two Step, who was a stakes winner at two in the Brave Raj Stakes and twice stakes-placed at three, earning $102,605. Nichols bought Conway Two Step for $11,000 as a broodmare prospect at the OBS winter sale in January 2013.

To date, the mare has produced five winners from seven to race, including Naughty Gal's full brother Good Clean Fun, who was a $475,000 yearling at the 2018 Saratoga select sale. Nichols sold the Adirondack winner as a weanling at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky November sale for $200,000; the filly was bought back for $240,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale and then sold at the OBS March auction of juveniles in training earlier this year for $350,000 to Holy Cow Stables, which races the Adirondack winner.

Naughty Gal is the sixth filly in succession to win stakes for this female family, extending back to fifth dam Distonia, a Uruguayan-bred filly foaled in 1964 who won the Premio Carlos Zuluaga in Venezuela. Imported to race in the States, Distonia produced Ruddy Belle Handicap winner Distant Voyage (Admiral's Voyage), who produced Starfire Voyage (Fire Dancer), winner of the Discovery Stakes at Tampa and the dam of multiple stakes winner Nancy's Glitter (Glitterman).

The latter was a smashing 2-year-old stakes winner, taking the laurels in the My Dear Girl, Susan's Girl, and Desert Vixen stakes among her five victories as a juvenile, when she earned just shy of a half-million. As a producer, Nancy's Glitter had only one stakes winner, Conway Two Step, but she also produced a pair of stakes-placed racers, including Glittering Tax (Artax), the dam of three stakes winners. Among those, Glittering Tax foaled G1 winner Miss Temple City and G3 winner Pricedtoperfection, both by Temple City (Dynaformer).

Now a third granddaughter of Nancy's Glitter has become a graded stakes winner. Since producing Naughty Gal, Conway Two Step has a yearling filly by Malibu Moon (A.P. Indy) and a filly of 2022 by Omaha Beach (War Front). The mare was bred back to Practical Joke (Into Mischief) for 2023.

Naughty Gal is the 112th stakes winner and 52nd graded winner for Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday), who represents the most vibrant branch of Storm Cat in contemporary breeding.

The post Bloodlines Presented By CTBA Sales: Naughty Gal, And The Female Influence Of Unbridled’s Song appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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