Bob Baffert | Horse Racing Free Tips

Thousand Words Retired To Spendthrift Farm, Joins ‘Share The Upside’ Program

Thousand Words, the undefeated Grade 2 winner at two and multiple stakes winner at three, has been retired from racing and will stand stud in 2021 at B. Wayne Hughes' Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky.

The 4-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile will become the newest stallion to participate in Spendthrift's renowned “Share The Upside” program, and he's immediately available for inspection by appointment only.

“Thousand Words is a horse we have been high on since the day we partnered with the Albaugh family to buy him at the Keeneland September sale. We believed he was one of the best combinations of pedigree and physical we saw that year, which is why he commanded a million dollars. He was forward from the day he started training in Ocala, and Bob Baffert told us pretty early on that Thousand Words was a Derby horse,” said Ned Toffey, Spendthrift general manager. “He was an undefeated Los Al(amitos) Futurity winner at two and beat Honor A. P. in a final Derby prep race at three. Thousand Words is a terrific package and will greatly complement our stallion roster, especially at his price point. We think breeders are really going to like everything he has to offer as an exciting young stallion prospect.”

The Share The Upside fee for Thousand Words will be $10,000 for one year. Additionally, breeders must breed a mare in 2022 on a complimentary basis. After the breeder has a live foal in 2022, pays the stud fee, and breeds a mare back, he or she will earn a lifetime breeding right beginning in 2023. For breeders not interested in the Share The Upside program, Thousand Words will be offered for $7,500 on a standard stands and nurses contract. As always, Share The Upside opportunities are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

Campaigned by Spendthrift and the Albaugh Family Stables, Thousand Words broke his maiden on debut as a 2-year-old, running 6 ½ furlongs in 1:16 3/5 at Santa Anita. In his second start, the striking bay colt stretched out around two turns to capture the Los Alamitos Futurity (G2), punctuating an undefeated juvenile season.

Trained by Bob Baffert, Thousand Words opened his 3-year-old campaign with a win in the Robert B. Lewis S. (G3) at Santa Anita, remaining perfect in three starts. Prior to the Kentucky Derby, he defeated leading 3-year-old Honor A. P. in the Shared Belief S. at Del Mar in a final major prep for the Run for the Roses, earning a 104 Beyer and becoming a top-five early choice for the Derby.

Thousand Words retires with four wins and a second from nine starts, with earnings of $327,500. He sold for $1,000,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale, marking the first ever seven-figure yearling by sire of sires Pioneerof the Nile. He is out of the multiple Grade 2-winning and Grade 1-placed Pomeroys Pistol, an earner of more than half a million herself on the racetrack.

The post Thousand Words Retired To Spendthrift Farm, Joins ‘Share The Upside’ Program appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Charlatan Likely to Saudi Cup Next

After Charlatan (Speightstown) worked a half-mile Saturday in :49.80 at Santa Anita, trainer Bob Baffert reported that his Grade I winner will likely make his next start in the Feb. 20 Saudi Cup. Charlatan is coming off a dominant win against a quality field in the Dec. 26 GI Runhappy Malibu S., his first after being sidelined following the GI Arkansas Derby May 2.

Charlatan has been invited to the GI Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream, but will likely pass that race. Should Charlatan pass the Pegasus, the role of favorite will go to Knicks Go (Paynter), who will be ridden by Joel Rosario.

“He breezed today and it was a very, very nice work,” Baffert said of Charlatan. “We are leaning toward the Saudi Cup. I don’t want to bring him back too quick. He came out of the Malibu really well. He always showed that he was a brilliant horse.”

Continued Baffert, “When he won the Malibu he wasn’t really super keyed up for it. He ran a lot better than I thought he would. I thought he could win and I thought he would run well.”

So far as his top 3-year-old colts go, Baffert has begun plotting a course for Life is Good (Into Mischief) and Medina Spirit (Protonico), the one-two finishers in the GIII Sham S.

“Life is Good came out of his race really well,” he said. “We are looking, maybe, at the [GII] San Felipe [S. Mar. 6] for him. That could change. He will be nominated to everything, but it will either be the San Felipe or the [GII] Rebel [S. Mar. 13] for him.”

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with Medina Spirit. He will also be nominated to everything. What I usually do this time of year with horses like him that are breezing, they are all nominated everywhere and whoever breezes the best gets on a plane.”

Gamine (Into Mischief), the leading contender for the Filly & Mare Sprinter title, recently returned to the Baffert stable after spending time at Trifecta Farm and has yet to resume serious training. She won the GI Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint in her most recent start.

“We gave her a little break and it looks like she filled out a bit,” Baffert said. “I’ll probably aim her for the [GI] Derby City Distaff S. at Churchill during Derby week.”

In Varda (Distorted Humor), Kalypso (Brody’s Cause) and Frosteria (Frosted), Baffert has a trio of contenders on the road to the Apr. 30 GI Kentucky Oaks. He said Varda and Kalypso will likely go next in the GII Las Virgenes S. Feb. 6. He said he would find a maiden race for Frosteria before putting her back in stakes competition.

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Fighting Mad Makes Seasonal Bow in La Canada

Grade I winner Fighting Mad (New Year’s Day) looks to return to winning ways as she kicks off her 5-year-old season Saturday in the GIII La Canada S. at Santa Anita. Starting off last term with a third in the six-panel GIII Desert Stormer S. in May, the homebred scored a decisive victory over the re-opposing Hard Not to Love (Hard Spun) when stretched out to two turns in the GII Santa Maria S. just two weeks later. Capturing the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. next out at Del Mar in August, the bay was third when last seen in the GII Zenyatta S. in Arcadia Sept. 27.

Hard Not to Love, heroine of the 2019 GI La Brea S., captured the GII Santa Monica S. last February and was second in the GI Beholder Mile prior to her second in the Santa Maria. Failing to fire when sixth in the Clement Hirsch, the bay was a close second in the Zenyatta.

Fighting Mad’s stablemate Message (Warrior’s Reward) also makes her seasonal debut here. She was last seen finishing second to Proud Emma (Include) in the GIII Bayakoa S. at Los Alamitos Dec. 6.

The post Fighting Mad Makes Seasonal Bow in La Canada appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bloodlines Presented By Diamond B Farm’s Rowayton: Life Is Getting Interesting For Life Is Good

The name of the winner of the 2021 Sham Stakes might as well be the year's motto: Life is Good.

And getting better.

The dark bay son of Into Mischief (by Harlan's Holiday) had won a maiden on his debut that staggered the speed figure makers, as the colt coasted home by 9 1/2 lengths on Nov. 22 at Del Mar. The sheets and graphs and figs were all very strong on this powerful-looking bay, and Life is Good had been working well and looking good in the meantime.

In the meantime, both the second and fourth in the maiden won by Life is Good have returned and won their maiden specials. Second-place Wipe the Slate (Nyquist) came back on Dec. 26 to win and earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88. On Jan. 3, the fourth-placed Centurian (Empire Maker) made his second start and won by 3 3/4 lengths, going a mile and a sixteenth in 1:44.88. This looks like a key maiden, and more black type is likely to come to its participants.

For his stakes debut on Jan. 2, Life is Good was the 1-to-5 favorite and won the Grade 3 Sham by three-quarters of a length over Medina Spirit in 1:36.63. The second-place finisher had 13 lengths on third-place Parnelli (Quality Road), and Medina Spirit (Protonico) was the peanut butter in a price sandwich among the top three finishers.

Whereas the winner sold for $525,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September sale and Parnelli sold for $500,000 at the same auction, Medina Spirit brought $1,000 at the 2019 OBS winter mixed sale as a short yearling, then resold last year at the OBS June (in July) sale of 2-year-olds in training for $35,000.

As a great breeder once said, “Horses can't read their pedigrees or their press clippings, and it's a good thing.”

Although the “thousand-dollar wonder” made a race of it, Life is Good was strong to the end, and the son of leading sire Into Mischief became the 84th stakes winner for the top Spendthrift Farm stallion.

Life is Good was bred in Kentucky by Gary and Mary West, who also bred and raced Maximum Security (New Year's Day). The Wests' racing manager, Ben Glass, said: “Life is Good was a really nice colt. We liked him a lot, but the consensus at the time was that the Into Mischiefs wouldn't go a mile and a quarter. So Mr. West told me to go ahead and put him in a sale.

“We breed enough foals every year that we have to sell some, and we have to sell some of the nicest ones because people notice if the yearlings don't include some serious prospects. For the nicer horses, we put a proper reserve on them, and if they bring it, they sell. Mr. West told me to put a half-million reserve on the Into Mischief colt,” and he brought $525,000 from China Horse Club and WinStar Farm LLC.

Owned by two of the principals behind Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy), Life is Good went into training with the man who trained the last two Triple Crown winners, Bob Baffert. The bay colt is now unbeaten in two starts and is poised to race along the same path that 2020 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief) trod a year ago.

Nor is Life is Good the only Into Mischief colt pointing toward the classics. On the same day and a continent's width away from Santa Anita, the bay Mutasaabeq (Into Mischief) won the Mucho Macho Man Stakes at Gulfstream, covering the mile in 1:35.98. This was the progressive colt's third victory in five starts, and it was his first stakes victory on dirt.

After finishing third in the G1 Hopeful last summer, Mutasaabeq had tried turf and won the G2 Bourbon Stakes at Keeneland, then finished unplaced in the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf after an eventful trip.

Trained by Todd Pletcher for Shadwell Stable, Mutasaabeq was bred in Kentucky by Black Ridge Stables LLC. He is out of the Scat Daddy mare Downside Scenario, a half-sister to G3 stakes winner Cool Cowboy (Kodiak Kowboy). Winner of a maiden special, Downside Scenario sold to Black Ridge for $250,000 at the 2018 Keeneland January sale when she was carrying Mutasaabeq.

Expectations are that Mutasaabeq will try the classic trail, and he and Life is Good are two more examples of why Into Mischief is such a popular stallion: his racers are fast, enthusiastic competitors and everybody wants one.

Not surprisingly, the dam of Life is Good is already booked back to Into Mischief for a 2021 mating. Beach Walk is in foal to Candy Ride, carrying a colt, and due in the coming weeks. For breeders, it's simple. Glass said, “We love Into Mischief. We bred three mares to him in 2017, including Beach Walk, and bought a share in him. Then we sold the best one, and if we had to do it again, we'd probably do the same thing.”

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