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Grey Swallow, Hollywood Handsome To Stand At Willow Hill Equestrian In Virginia

Willow Hill Equestrian in Orange, Va. will add two new members to its stallion roster in 2021, in veteran Grey Swallow and newcomer Hollywood Handsome.

Grey Swallow, the winner of the 2004 Irish Derby, will stand the upcoming breeding season for an advertised fee of $3,000.

The 20-year-old son of Daylami previously stood at Calumet Farm in Kentucky. Before that, he stood in Australia and his native Ireland.

Grey Swallow has sired 10 crops of racing age, with 51 winners and combined progeny earnings of more than $2.4 million. He has Grade/Group 1-placed runners in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, with Ungrateful Ellen finishing second in Australia's Group 1 Queensland Oaks and Cadet Connelly running second in Canada's Grade 1 Summer Stakes.

Grey Swallow won six of 15 starts during his own on-track career for earnings of $1,607,293.

In addition to his Irish Derby score, his 2004 campaign featured a win in the listed Two Thousand Guineas Trial Stakes and a third-place finish in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas itself. As a 2-year-old, he won the G3 Killavullan Stakes.

Grey Swallow continued to run at a high level when he reached the older horse division, including a victory in the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland. He then became a globetrotter, competing in the U.S., Canada and Australia. His biggest success came in the U.S., where he won the G2 Jim Murray Memorial Handicap and finished third in the G1 Manhattan Handicap.

Bred in Ireland by Mrs. C. L. Weld, Grey Swallow is out of the winning The Minstrel mare Style of Life, who was named Ireland's Broodmare of the Year in 2004. His siblings include Group 3 winner Moonlight Dance, and Group 3-placed Central Lobby, Stylish Ways, and Rustic.

The stallion's extended family includes Italian Group 1 winner Night Style.

Hollywood Handsome, a Grade 2-placed son of Tapizar, will debut at stud in 2021 for an advertised fee of $1,000.

The 7-year-old retired with four wins in 36 starts for earnings of $269,989. After just missing the board in a pair of Kentucky Derby prep races, Hollywood Handsome entered the the 2017 Belmont Stakes but he was pulled up after he clipped heels and the rider lost his irons.

Hollywood Handsome earned his most notable black type at age four, when he finished second in the G2 New Orelans Handicap.

Bred in Kentucky by North Hanover Bloodstock, Hollywood Handsome is out of the winning Forestry mare Ladyflickerflacker, who is the dam of two winners from three foals to race. His second dam is the Grade 2-placed stakes winner Harbor Blues, and his extended family features Grade 2 winner Night Patrol.

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Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale: Multiple Stakes Winner Saguaro Row Latest Supplement

Saguaro Row, a multiple stakes winner and graded stakes placed daughter of Union Rags, is the latest entry to Fasig-Tipton's 2021 Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale.

Catalogued as hip 675, Saguaro Row will be offered as a racing/broodmare prospect by Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services, agent. A 4 ¾-length debut winner at two, she captured the Pumpkin Pie Stakes and the Interborough Stakes at four and five in open length victories. In total, she has six stakes wins or placings at three different racetracks, including a strong second to Grade 1 winner Spiced Perfection in the Go For Wand Handicap (G3).

Most recently, she finished third – beaten just 1 ¼ lengths – in defense of her Interborough Stakes title at Aqueduct on January 18. The placing increased her earnings to $342,354.

By Classic winner Union Rags, Saguaro Row is a half-sister to juvenile stakes winner Pinnacle Peak, and out of a half-sister to champion My Wandy's Girl.

Saguaro Row is now available for showing at Barn 11.

The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale will take place this Monday and Tuesday, February 8-9, in Lexington, Ky. Sessions begin daily at 10 am.

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Selected Virginia Stallion Season Auction Offerings To Benefit Kentucky HHR Lobbying Efforts

The developing situation regarding the status of historical horse racing (HHR) in Kentucky has created an “all hands on deck” scenario within the state's racing industry to ensure the crucial revenue source remains in place.

That call has been heard outside the state as well. The Virginia Thoroughbred Association will feature a group of offerings during its upcoming stallion season auction where the full proceeds will benefit the Kentucky Equine Education Project's lobbying efforts toward restoring HHR in the state and putting it on firmer legal ground.

The auction, set to take place Wednesday, Feb. 10, features four seasons donated thus far by Kentucky stallion operations where the money will go toward the KEEP Alliance, a branch of KEEP specifically dedicated to lobbying, grassroots campaigns, and otherwise raising awareness among key people and groups about the importance of HHR in Kentucky.

As of Friday morning, the seasons benefitting the KEEP Alliance come from Airdrie Stud's Complexity, Spendthrift Farm's Goldencents, Gun Runner of Three Chimneys, and Not This Time of Taylor Made Stallions. Farms are welcome to donate further seasons to benefit the KEEP Alliance prior to the auction.

VTA executive director Debbie Easter said the seasons were added to the auction in recent weeks, helping push the total number of different stallions on offer near 220 from 11 different states.

“Obviously, it's a good cause,” Easter said. “Everybody gets too regionalized sometimes, and it's important for us to work together to help each other. This is an important thing for Kentucky, and helping keeping things going along is important. Horse people working together always do better than working apart, so we're trying to move the needle a little bit.”

Virginia's Thoroughbred economy is familiar with the benefits HHR can have on a program.

Gov. Ralph Northam signed an HHR bill into law in 2018, which set into motion the re-opening of Colonial Downs and significant funding sources to fuel purses and incentive programs on and off the racetrack. The Virginia-Certified program paid out a record $1.77 million in awards in 2020, and Easter said HHR revenues have just started to kick into that pool, leaving even more room for growth in the future.

“We certainly know how important HHR is going to be to us,” Easter said, “and we've certainly seen what it's done for Kentucky, and they can't afford to lose that.”

While Virginia has been able to show positive growth with the help of HHR, it's widely accepted that Kentucky's Thoroughbred market is the tide that lifts and sinks the other regional-market boats in North America.

Even the largest foal-producing jurisdictions outside of the Bluegrass State are supported heavily by Kentucky stallions, and its starting gates are filled by Kentucky-breds. A weakened Kentucky racing industry would have ripple effects on the state's breeding program, and the rest of North America would feel the aftershock whether they race or breed in the state or not.

“Debbie was very enthusiastic about helping us,” said Elizabeth Jensen, KEEP's executive vice president. “I think everybody realizes as goes Kentucky, so goes the rest of the country's racing industry, so we need to keep it strong and vibrant here. We're happy that our counterparts in Virginia are willing to help us out and support us.”

Beyond the season donations, Jensen said Kentucky's major stallion operations have supportive of the advocacy measures to preserve HHR in the state. She noted that farms including Ashford Stud and WinStar Farm have made cash donations, and many stallion stations have sent out emails to their client lists urging them to take action.

“Preserving historical horse racing has to be the entire industry in Kentucky's priority right now,” Jensen said. “If we lose that, we lose 1,400 jobs overnight, and losing those purses and the horses that we're getting at Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs during summer racing, and just the whole racing circuit in Kentucky will be severely impacted if we don't get this done.”

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Russell Calls Decision To Enter Hello Hot Rod In FT Winter Mixed Sale ‘A Good Business Move’

As a trainer, Brittany Russell knows the best time to take a chance is when a horse is doing well. She shipped Hello Hot Rod from her Laurel Park base to New York last weekend, where the Maryland-bred half-brother of multiple stakes winner Hello Beautiful extended his win streak to three races in Aqueduct's Jimmy Winkfield Stakes.

As an owner, Russell hopes to experience similar success when Hello Hot Rod goes through the ring Feb. 9 on the second of Fasig-Tipton's two-day winter mixed sale in Lexington, Ky. The sale begins both days at 10 a.m. ET.

Russell co-owns Hello Hot Rod, a 3-year-old Mosler colt out of the Tiznow mare Hello Now, with Dark Horse Racing. Consigned by ELiTE Sales, he is cataloged as Hip No. 672.

Hello Hot Rod fetched $10,000 out of Fasig-Tipton's 2019 Midlantic Eastern Fall Yearling Sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. He has won three of four starts and $113,941 in purse earnings.

“This is a business and it just seemed like sort of a good business move after winning the stake up there. I have some friends between Fasig and ELiTE sales and I thought it was a good move,” Russell said Thursday. “Naturally, I'd love to have him in the barn and keep him and race him, and maybe that can still happen, but we're going to put him through and just see what happens.”

Hello Hot Rod debuted running second by a neck to Doubleoseven in a six-furlong waiver maiden claimer last Oct. 30. He returned to capture a similar spot going seven furlongs Nov. 13 by 4 ½ lengths, then stepped up to win a one-mile optional claiming allowance triumph by 2 ¼ lengths Dec. 13 in his juvenile finale. All three races came at Laurel.

“He's the right kind. This is the right kind of horse at this time of year,” Russell said. “He's won at a mile. He already has that, and he's a stakes winner. He's done nothing wrong. That's what it comes down to. He's a racehorse.”

Hello Hot Rod was a determined front-running head winner of the seven-furlong Jimmy Winkfield, the first time he didn't go off as the favorite. He returned to Laurel later that evening, ahead of the winter storm that gripped the New York and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas.

“He's awesome. We got lucky with the snow. It started later up in New York so we were able to get him home right away,” Russell said. “He's wonderful. You wouldn't even know he ran. He trained this morning and he's in good form.”

Russell has Wonder Stables, Robert LaPenta and Madaket Stables' Little Huntress in the seven-furlong Ruthless for 3-year-old fillies Feb. 7 at Aqueduct. A 14-length maiden special weight winner Dec. 27 at Laurel, the Frosted filly is also nominated to Laurel's $100,000 Wide Country going seven furlongs Feb. 13.

Little Huntress drew Post 4 in the Ruthless against just four other rivals.

“I entered Little Huntress in the Ruthless this morning because it [is] a short field. We're going to take a look at it and, obviously, we're going to heavily consider running Sunday there,” Russell said. “If we opt to skip, she'll run here in the stakes next week.”

Meanwhile, Russell will send out Cash is King, D.J. Stable and LC Racing's Mine Not Mine in Friday's eighth race, a one-mile allowance for Maryland-bred/sired 4-year-olds and up where the Golden Lad colt drew Post 3 in a field of seven and is 6-1 on the morning line.

Mine Not Mine ran third in a similar spot going 1 1/16 miles Jan. 1, his first start in 216 days after finishing 10^th of 11 as the favorite in an open one-mile allowance last May. The winner of that race, Toy, also beat Mine Not Mine in his New Year's Day comeback.

“We were tickled with his last race. To be honest, he was far from being tight to go two turns … meaning he was at least two works short,” Russell said. “He could have used a little bit more, but he was doing well and he was working well so we thought, let's just give him a race and that should really put him right for this next race.”

Mine Not Mine, also by Golden Lad, made his first two starts for trainer Claudio Gonzalez. In his first two starts after being sold for $210,000 in December 2019 and moved to Russell, Mine Not Mine ran second and third, respectively, to the Gonzalez-trained Lebda in the 2020 Miracle Wood and Private Terms at Laurel.

“He's a horse that we've had high expectations for from Day 1 and he's had some hiccups along the way. You're just kind of hoping that every time you run him, maybe this is his chance to shine,” Russell said. “He seems like he's great right now. He's on good foot in the morning so I certainly expect to see a good effort from him.”

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