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Grade 1 Winner, Veteran Sire Gayego Dies At Age 17

Gayego, a Grade 1 winner and veteran stallion that ran in the 2008 Kentucky Derby, died due to complications from colic, Bar None Ranches announced Wednesday. He was 17.

The son of Gilded Time stood his entire career in Canada, debuting at Norse Ridge Farm in Ontario for the 2012 breeding season, and moving to Bar None Ranches in Alberta the following year. He stood there for the rest of his life.

Bred in Kentucky by Hargus and Sandra Sexton, Gayego began his career in the barn of Paulo Lobo for owner Cubanacan Stables. He picked up his first stakes victory in his 3-year-old bow, taking the listed San Pedro Stakes at Santa Anita Park.

Gayego then entered the Triple Crown scene with a runner-up effort in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes, and a road trip to win the G1 Arkansas Derby. He entered the 2008 Kentucky Derby as a middle-priced prospect, and he finished 17th after a sluggish start and rank behavior through the races early goings. He came back two weeks later for the Preakness Stakes, where he finished 11th.

In the fall of his 3-year-old season, Gayego set a track record for 6 1/2 furlongs at Hollywood Park, winning an optional claiming race in 1:13.37.

Trainer A.C. Avila purchased the horse shortly after his record-setting performance, and he quickly sold him to the Godolphin operation, who sent him to run in the U.A.E. He won his first international start, and his 4-year-old debut, in the G2 Dayjur Mahab Al Shimaal, then he finished second in the G1 Godolphin Mile.

Gayego then returned stateside for the remainder of his 2009 campaign, which started with an optional claiming victory in Saratoga, followed by the G1 Ancient Title Stakes. He finished the season with a fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Santa Anita Park.

Whether in the U.S. or U.A.E., Gayego was trained by Saeed bin Suroor.

At five, Gayego began his season once again in the U.A.E., and then returned in the U.S., where his season was highlighted by a victory in the listed Presque Isle Mile Stakes, followed by a third in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Churchill Downs. He returned to the U.A.E. for one final start at age six before his retirement.

Gayego retired with eight wins in 25 starts for earnings of $1,751,120.

At stud, Gayego has been responsible for eight crops of racing age, with 44 winners and combined progeny earnings of more than $1.2 million. His top runners include multiple stakes winners Bar No Q, Doc Ross, and Ma's Miracle Run.

A social media statement from Bar None Ranches read as follows:

“He enjoyed racing his sire Gilded Time up and down the long fence lines when he arrived, never one to turn down a challenge or an opportunity to show off. In later years, because of his excellent, quiet temperament he was able to live by 'his mares,' enjoying his post watching the daily activities of the broodmare pens and socializing with anyone who'd stop in for a visit.

“His foals were known for their quiet, bidable personalities and reflected his large, kind eye and considerable size…The big black stallion with a heart of gold will be missed greatly by (breeding manager Shaun Rathy) and her team, as well as anyone who had the fortune of having met him.”

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Consignors And Commercial Breeders Association To Host ‘Deal Or No Deal’ Panel At Keeneland

The Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association Inc. (CBA) will hold their fourth Deal or No Deal event at Keeneland on Sunday, Sept. 11th from 4:30 to 6:00 pm.

It will take place in the Paddock Chalet next to the East Gate entrance, just a few steps from the sales pavilion. Keeneland will be providing drinks and appetizers and live racing from Kentucky Downs will be streaming.

The event will ask the panelists questions about the impacts of various x-ray findings on performance. The participants include veterinarians Dr. Mark Cheney and Dr. Bob Hunt, European pinhooker Brendan Holland, 2-year-old in training consignors Niall Brennan and Susan Montanye and trainer Todd Pletcher.

The Deal or No Deal series began in 2021, with the first held at Fasig-Tipton in July and the second at Keeneland in September. The series aims to provide educational opportunities ahead of yearling sales in a Q&A format with industry professionals who share their experiences with veterinary findings in young horses.

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Bloodlines: Jack Christopher’s Link To The Most Expensive Racing-Age Sale Grad In Keeneland’s History

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.

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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.

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Grade 1 Winner Maracuja Retired Due To Injury

Maracuja, the winner of last year's Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks, has been retired after suffering a small fracture in her right-front ankle, BloodHorse reports.

The 4-year-old daughter of Honor Code sustained the non-surgical injury in the listed Lady Jacqueline Stakes on June 25 at Thistledown, where she was eased to the wire and vanned off.

Brittney Atras, wife and assistant of trainer Rob Atras, told BloodHorse that Maracuja was taken back to their base at Belmont Park following the Lady Jacqueline, and she is currently walking and jogging sound in hand, but her ownership, partners Beach Haven Thoroughbreds, Medallion Racing, Parkland Thoroughbreds, and Barry Fowler, were given the choice of whether to continue, and decided to retire the filly.

Maracuja retired with three wins in 11 starts for earnings of $588,200. Her breakthrough on the national scene was a runner-up effort in the G3 Gazelle Stakes, which earned her enough qualifying points to make the field for the 2021 Kentucky Oaks, where she finished seventh.

The filly then achieved her career highlight, upsetting top fillies Malathaat and Clairiere in the CCA Oaks as the longest-priced horse in the four-entry field at 14-1.

She continued to race at the graded stakes level for much of her remaining career, but her next and final victory came in an Oaklawn Park allowance race to kick off her 2022 campaign.

Breeding and sale plans for Maracuja were not announced.