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Alternation Relocates To Darby Dan Farm For 2022 Breeding Season

Multiple graded stakes-winning millionaire Alternation, a half-brother to Grade 1 winner and Darby Dan Farm stallion Higher Power and the sire of multiple G1 winner Serengeti Empress, is being relocated from Pin Oak Stud to Darby Dan Farm in Lexington, Ky., by Steve Belford's Maccabee Farm for the upcoming breeding season, the farm announced today. Alternation is being resyndicated and he will stand for a fee of $7,500 S&N.

The 2008 son of Distorted Humor is produced from the multiple stakes-winning and stakes-producing Seattle Slew mare Alternate, a three-time stakes winner who banked $550,695 and is a half-sister to Peaks and Valleys, a multiple G1 winner, millionaire, and a Horse of the Year in Canada.

“We're excited to bring a horse of Alternation's caliber to Darby Dan,” said Ryan Norton, stallion director at Darby Dan Farm. “He was a top-class horse on the racetrack, he is from an active and accomplished Pin Oak family, and he is already making his presence felt as a stallion, siring the likes of (G1) Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress. He is a great-looking horse and possesses all the qualities to be a top sire.”

Alternation was a multiple Graded stakes winner of $1,064,727 in a stellar racing career. He captured five stakes races in Pin Oak's famed colors, including the G2 Peter Pan Stakes at 3 and the G2 Oaklawn Handicap, G3 Pimlico Special, and G3 Razorback Handicap the following year at 4.

As a stallion, Alternation is represented by multiple G1 winner Serengeti Empress, winner of the 2019 G1 Kentucky Oaks and the 2020 G1 Ballerina Stakes en route to earnings of $2,175,653. Alternation is represented in 2021 by Ballroom Blitz, victorious in the Best of Ohio Distaff Stakes on Oct. 30, Ellanation, winner of the Jameela Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., and La Bolena, a Group 3 winner in Panama. He is also the sire of G3 Super Derby winner Limation and multiple stakes winner Alternative Slew.

For more information about Alternation, to inquire about shares, or to arrange an inspection, contact Ryan Norton at (859) 254-0424, or by email at ryan@darbydan.com, or visit DarbyDan.com.

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Belle Street, Half Sister To Eight Belles, Leads Saturday Session At Keeneland

Gary Broad/Walmac Farm paid $550,000 for the 3-year-old Street Sense mare Belle Street, a half-sister to Grade 2 winner and Kentucky Derby (G1) runner-up Eight Belles, who is carrying her first foal by Bernardini, to post the highest price of Saturday's fourth session of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale in Lexington, Ky.

Saturday marked another day of robust trade at the November Sale when 252 horses sold for $19,981,500, for an average of $79,292 and a median of $65,000. During the fourth session last year, total sales reached $13,141,000 for 226 horses, for an average of $58,146 and a median of $43,500.

Cumulative sales this year are $146,615,500 for 838 horses, for an average of $174,959 and a median of $120,000. Through the same period last year, the gross was $115,669,000 for 747 horses, for an average of $154,845 and a median of $90,000.

Godolphin consigned Belle Street, who is out of stakes winner Away, by Dixieland Band, and also from the family of Grade 3 winners Sky Captain and Belong to Me.

“She's a good-looking mare from a very good family,” Michael Banahan, Director of Farm Operations, Godolphin USA, said. “We didn't anticipate she was going to make that much money. But it's been so strong here since the sale started. She made well over her reserve. You can probably put an extra 20-35 percent on top of what we were valuing the mares at. It's just an unbelievably strong market.

Leading sire Bernardini, who died in July, stood for Godolphin at Darley at Jonabell.

Banahan said the Godolphin consignment is “part of what we do every year, trying to streamline our broodmare band.” Selling mares such as Belle Street represents an opportunity for breeders to buy mares from top-quality Godolphin families.

“Anytime we've brought mares to the sale, even when we haven't sold them ourselves, people are very keen to try to get into these families,” Banahan said. “They've done well for other people as well. That's why they are so popular.”

Gainesway Farm paid $340,000 for the day's second highest-priced horse, Trophy Wife, a 12-year-old daughter of Giant's Causeway, who has produced two stakes-placed runners, High Tech and Power Move, and is in foal to Mastery.

Claiborne Farm, agent, consigned Trophy Wife, whose dam is Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) winner Pleasant Home, by Seeking the Gold. The family also includes Grade 1 winner Guarana and Grade 2 winner Country Hideaway.

Multiple stakes winner and Grade 3-placed I'm Betty G, a 7-year-old daughter of Into Mischief in foal to Improbable, sold to Stoneriggs Farm for $275,000. Consigned by Bluewater Sales, agent, she is out of Lady in Ermine, by Honour and Glory, and from the family of stakes winners Sadler's Sarah, Commonsensical and Truth and Nobility.

Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent, was the session's leading consignor with sales of $2,571,000 for 23 horses.

Taylor Made consigned the session's fourth highest-priced horse, stakes winner and Grade 3-placed Ask Bailey, a 4-year-old daughter of Run Away and Hide cataloged as a racing or broodmare prospect, to Mulholland Springs for $255,000. Ask Bailey is a half-sister to Grade 3-placed Codoy and from the family of Grade 1 winners Graydar and Ron the Greek and Grade 2 winner Musket Man. Her dam is Puype's Dream, by Kris S.

Taylor Made also sold the $210,000 top-priced weanling, a filly by Nyquist purchased by Bolter Bloodstock. Out of Chifa, by Orientate, she is from the family of Grade 1 winners Dream Tree and Golden Ticket and Grade 2 winners Academy Award and Magical Feeling.

Code of Honor LLC/L.E.B., agent, paid $1 million for eight horses to lead buyers.

The November Sale resumes Sunday at 10 a.m. ET and continues through Friday, Nov. 19.

The Nov. 19 session will conclude with a single dedicated portion of horses of racing age following the conclusion of breeding stock. A total of 285 horses of racing age have been cataloged to the closing day and will follow the total of 148 head of breeding stock in the catalog.

Keeneland will accept supplements to the horses of racing age section through mid-November.

Click here for the online catalog for the horses of racing age in Session 10 of the November Sale. The entire auction is streamed live on Keeneland.com.

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Lexitonian Retired, Will Stand At Lane’s End

Lane's End farm announced today that the Calumet homebred Lexitonian will stand the 2022 season at their Versailles farm.

An impressive two-year-old debut winner at Belmont, the son of champion Speightstown went on to win the Grade 3 Chick Lang Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md., along with the Concern Stakes before hitting the board in the G2 Phoenix Stakes at Keeneland in his 3-year-old season. At 4, he ran second by a nose to Collusion Illusion in the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif. In his 5-year-old campaign, he ran second by a head to Flagstaff in the hotly contested G1 Churchill Downs Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on the Kentucky Derby undercard and scored a huge victory in the G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., defeating 2020 Champion male sprinter Whitmore and G1 winners Mischevious Alex and Firenze Fire.

“He's a horse who fights”, said trainer Jack Sisterson. “He has the talent, the will, and the heart. He's a class act winning and placing second in multiple Grade 1 races. I've had a tremendous amount of confidence in him throughout his career because you can run him over any track, and he always knows what to do.”

“We are thrilled that Calumet is entrusting us with a horse as special as Lexitonian is,” said Bill Farish of Lane's End Farm. “He has been a consistent top-level performer at all stages of his racing career. He has the pedigree, racing ability, and soundness that we think will set him up for success at stud.”

A 5-year-old son of prominent sire Speightstown, Lexitonian is the first foal out of the young Tapit mare Riviera Romper. She is a daughter of G1 Test winner Swap Fliparoo that Calumet acquired at the 2015 Keeneland November Sale for $310,000 while carrying him.

Lexitonian will stand for $7,500 for the 2022 breeding season.

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Toast To Vino Rosso Presented By Spendthrift Farm: Momentum Into The Weekend At Keeneland November

As the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale moves into its second week, Spendthrift Farm's Vino Rosso has emerged as one of the early stars among the first-crop weanling sires.

The Breeders' Cup Classic-winning son of Curlin was responsible for the auction's most expensive first-crop weanling through the auction's first three sessions, and has established himself as one of the rookie stallions with the highest average weanling sale price during the select sessions of Kentucky's fall mixed sales.

In this installment of Toast To Vino Rosso, we'll look at a pair of weanlings by the stallion from the Gainesway consignment. One turned heads in the sale ring on Friday with a six-figure hammer price, while the other will get her chance to shine during Sunday's session.

Hip 645 – Bay filly out of Shaken, by Uncle Mo

The second-most expensive Vino Rosso weanling of the Keeneland sale through the end of Friday's session went to Scoot Stable for $300,000.

Bred in Kentucky by Mark Stansell, the bay filly is the first foal out of the Grade 2-placed Uncle Mo mare Shaken, who is herself a half-sister to the multiple Grade 2-placed runner Sway Away.

We checked in on this filly back in May, when she was boarded at Waggoner Farm in Lexington, Ky., for Texas-based Stansell. At the time, he said the decision to send Shaken to Vino Rosso was based on the stallion's race record and his expectation that the first foals would be received well at auction.

Brian Graves of consignor Gainesway was quick to note the filly's quality after the fall of the hammer.

“The Vino Rosso that we sold was just a really beautiful filly,” he said. “She'd be a select session-type filly at any sale she'd go to. She's beautifully-balanced, great hip. We've seen quite a few Vino Rossos that we liked over the sale, so the stallion looks like he's off to a good start producing nice stock.”

Hip 1469 – Gray or roan filly out of Snagglepuss, by Holy Bull

Sunday's session will feature this filly out of the winning Holy Bull mare Snagglepuss, who is the dam of one winner from two runners.

Bred in Kentucky by Tami Bobo, the filly hails from the family of Grade 1-placed Colorful Charades. The mating that produced this foal was set up by Milan Kosanovich, and Bobo acquired the pregnant mare after her visit to Vino Rosso.

“She's a beautiful filly, very forward, always loved her,” Bobo said. “I thought the market might be one that would support a filly that's physically as presentable as her to maybe come and try early, and see if the market plays where I think it should play. I think she's a great specimen for the stallion.”

“As a group overall, I like the Vino Rossos,” Bobo continued. “Collectively, they've been a great group of horses, and I think the public's going to receive them well. In hindsight, I think I probably should have been earlier than later, but I played it safe and was busy with real estate, and really hadn't gone through my babies like I should have early enough. Sale deadline time came up, so I called my two consignors and said, 'Enter all my horses in Book 3.' Hopefully she's a standout where she's at, and hopefully the public sees what we see in her.”

Vino Rosso, a 6-year-old son of Curlin, stands at Spendthrift Farm for an advertised fee of $20,000.

Vino Rosso won six of 15 starts and earned $4,803,125 on the racetrack. In addition to his signature Breeders' Cup Classic score, the stallion picked up victories in the Grade 1 Gold Cup at Santa Anita Stakes, and the G2 Wood Memorial Stakes.

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