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Half-Brother To Tepin Set To Debut Friday In Ireland

Harvard, a half-brother to Eclipse Award winner Tepin, will make his debut on Friday at Leopardstown in Ireland, Racing Post reports.

The 2-year-old Galileo colt will race for the Coolmore partnership of Derrick Smith, Susan Magnier, and Michael Tabor, and he is trained by Aidan O'Brien. Wayne Lordan will have the mount.

The entries for the race can be viewed here.

Coolmore has invested heavily into the accolades of Tepin and her bloodline since the mare's Hall of Fame-caliber racing career. The group privately purchased her dam, the unraced Stravinsky mare Life Happened, in 2016. A year later, they dropped $8 million to take Tepin herself back to Europe, where both mother and daughter have joined the broodmare band of Coolmore's all-world sire Galileo.

In addition to Tepin, Life Happened is the dam of multiple Grade 2 winner Vyjack and Grade 2-placed Prime Cut. She was a finalist for Kentucky Broodmare of the Year in 2016.

Tepin, a 9-year-old Bernstein mare, was named champion turf female in 2015 and 2016, with notable victories in the 2015 Breeders' Cup Mile at Keeneland, as well as the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile, Jenny Wiley Stakes, First Lady Stakes, and Just a Game Stakes. Arguably her greatest achievement, though, came when she traveled to England for the world-class Royal Ascot meet and beat the world's best turf milers – male or female – in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes.

Tepin retired with 13 wins in 23 starts for earnings of $4,437,918. She sold to Coolmore in 2017 pregnant to leading sire Curlin, and she produced a filly for Coolmore the following year.

Harvard is the second Irish-born foal out of Life Happened to reach the racetrack, following the War Front filly Repossession, who sold to LNJ Foxwoods as a yearling for $750,000 and finished out of the money in her lone start as a juvenile last year.

Keeneland To Require Negative COVID-19 Test Proof Upon Arrival At September Sale

Following is an open letter to the industry from Shannon Arvin, Keeneland's president-elect:

To our customers:

First, I'd like to thank everyone who has been so kind and welcoming as I transition into my new role with Keeneland. This is both a privilege and a responsibility that I do not take lightly, and I very much look forward to working alongside our team to support your needs as we move into the fall season and into the future.

Over the course of the summer, the Keeneland team has been working diligently on the operational plans for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. From expanding our bidding opportunities to building our safety protocols, we are leveraging the full resources of the Keeneland team to deliver for our customers.

While Keeneland is excited to unveil our full portfolio of remote bidding options, we continue to work closely with state and federal government officials, including representatives of both Senator Mitch McConnell and Congressmen Andy Barr, to seek exceptions to allow international travelers to attend the September Sale. Just as we have done for 80+ years, Keeneland will exhaust every measure possible to bring the world to Keeneland.

Keeneland September COVID-19 Testing:

We have also received a number of questions regarding COVID-19 testing during the September Sale. We will be communicating final plans very soon, and are working in concert with health and government officials as well as Fasig-Tipton to deliver consistent and reliable protocols and testing. Keeneland's continued commitment to safety and our compliance with the Governor's Healthy at Work standards allow us the opportunity to operate our auctions and race meets. It is for this reason that we will require proof of a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival at the sale (which will need to have been completed within the last five days). If a participant does not have proof of a negative test, we have made arrangements for onsite testing at Keeneland. As we have all experienced, information available with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic changes frequently, and we may need to update and amend our protocols accordingly.

Keeneland Remote Bidding/Inspection Opportunities:

Whether you wish to attend in person or you find yourself unable to travel, Keeneland is providing our customers a number of ways to prepare and participate in the September Sale remotely. We strongly encourage buyers to familiarize themselves with these tools and take a few minutes to set up your account and establish credit within the Keeneland Sales Portal.

Online Bidding: This service will fully integrate with the live auction environment, providing live video with enhanced speed that allows for a real-time bidding experience as the sale is occurring.
Phone Bidding: Keeneland has expanded its existing phone bidding program to accommodate for expected increased demand in 2020.
Walking Videos: Keeneland's online catalog will offer the capability to showcase walking videos for any yearling selling in the September Sale, allowing buyers to access and view virtual inspections from anywhere.

The health and safety of our customers is our top priority. With that goal, Keeneland also has expanded our on-site bidding options to provide additional bidding locations beyond the sales arena and back ring to allow for further social distancing. We look forward to sharing these details with you in the coming weeks.

Before closing, and with a heavy heart, we acknowledge the passing of our own Katherine McKee on Monday. As previous manager of Keeneland's Horsemen Hospitality and most recent director of racing administration, Katherine has been a part of the Keeneland journey alongside many of you. We will always cherish the legacy of her dedication and love for horsemen and her Keeneland family. Although she battled advanced melanoma for nearly three years, many of you may have been unaware as Katherine's positive attitude, dignity and grace never wavered. She was an amazing person and friend and will be tremendously missed by all of us.

Sincerely,

Shannon B. Arvin

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Ashford Stud To Offer Southern Hemisphere-Season Breedings For Resident Stallions

Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., will offer the services of its stallions remaining in the U.S. for the summer and fall for matings on the Southern Hemisphere season's schedule.

Top commercial sire Uncle Mo leads the way with a Southern Hemisphere season fee of $30,000. The 12-year-old son of Indian Charlie has seen his greatest Southern Hemisphere success in Australia, where his runners are led by Man From Uncle, winner of the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes and G3 Eskimo Prince Stakes.

Munnings, a 14-year-old Speightstown horse, will stand for $15,000. His top runner south of the Equator was Argentine-born Rock and Fellers, who was a group stakes-level competitor in his native country before being moved to race in the U.S.

Veteran sire Lookin at Lucky is advertised at $10,000. The 13-year-old son of Smart Strike has shuttled in the past to Australia and Chile, and he's proven especially effective in the latter country, finishing 2017 as the country's leading sire. His top Chilean-sired runners include Chilean Filly Triple Crown winner and U.S. Grade 1 winner Wow Cat, and Chilean Derby winner Full of Luck.

Following is a complete list of Ashford Stud's stallions available for Southern Hemisphere-time breeding, along with their advertised fees for the season.

Air Force Blue – $8,000
Competitive Edge – $5,000
Cupid – $5,000
Fusaichi Pegasus – $3,000
Lookin at Lucky – $10,000
Mo Town – $5,000
Munnings – $15,000
Practical Joke – $10,000
Tale of the Cat – $5,000
Uncle Mo – $30,000

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Big On Big Earns First Win At Stud For Spendthrift Farm’s Cinco Charlie

Spendthrift Farm freshman sire Cinco Charlie was represented by his first winner on Tuesday when Big On Big went gate-to-wire in his career debut to score by 1 1/2-lengths in a six-furlong maiden special weight race at Belterra.

Ridden by Joseph Ramos, Big On Big made the lead just a few jumps out of the gate and held the top spot the entire trip, widening his margin through the stretch to claim the convincing victory.

Trained by William Cowans, Big On Big races for his owner/breeders Daniel and Patricia Yates. The dark bay is out of the Corinthian mare Justoneoftheguys, also the dam of stakes-placed Sister's Creed and a yearling half-brother, both by fellow Spendthrift stallion Jimmy Creed.

Cinco Charlie was a stakes winner during each of his three campaigns. An especially precocious 2-year-old, his Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes win was one of four stakes victories during his juvenile season.

Cinco Charlie, who stands for a fee of $5,000 S&N, is participating in Spendthrift's renowned breeding program for freshman sires – the Safe Bet program – in 2020, which guarantees breeders a graded stakes-winning 2-year-old from his first crop this year or no stud fee will be owed in 2021 when the resulting foal is born.

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