breeders' cup filly and mare sprint | Horse Racing Free Tips

Catching Up with 2012-13 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint Winner Groupie Doll

Fan favorite and beloved Bradley family member Groupie Doll won two Eclipse Awards, two Breeders' Cup races, four Grade Is, and nine graded stakes; she set two track records, including at Churchill Downs in the GI Humana Distaff; and she sold to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm for $3.1 million. But it's not the accolades that mean the most to co-breeder, co-owner, and trainer Buff Bradley, he said. It was the special ride she gave the Bradley family during a difficult time.

“Winning the Breeders' Cup was great and awesome and wonderful for myself, my family, and my career. Really, being able to see something that we bred and foaled and raised do that was very special.

“Everybody says, 'You did good with that filly [as her trainer],' but I had more pleasure from being a co-breeder and attending her foaling. That meant more to me than anything.

“My father and I got to share a lot of good racing over the years from maiden claimers all the way up to Grade Is with [Bradley family homebred] Brass Hat, but when the Breeders' Cup with Groupie Doll came about, it was very special for me because my dad had been diagnosed with dementia and I knew this might be his last hurrah with a horse.

“That was something that could keep my dad going and have him communicate with me, so it was really special to win that first one. The second year my father wasn't able to travel, but they had a party in Frankfort.

“My ex-wife, Kim, and I–we're still good friends–always go back and talk about her. I could tell you 100 stories about Groupie Doll since I was there since her first breath.

“We didn't really want to sell her ever, but we'd had several offers that kept coming. Right after her maiden win, I finally told my dad what we needed to do is sell 10% of her to our best partners and that was Carl Hurst and Brent Burns. We sold 10% to each of them so we could have some fun with them and that way we could say we already sold her and get people off our backs about selling her.

“Kim and I were talking just the other day about Groupie Doll. In between her Breeders' Cup wins, I had her turned out with Brass Hat. Once, from our house, we were watching them run in the paddock. As we watched them, Brass Hat would keep cutting the corner on her and make her run around him. In the end, she was blowing and he wasn't! We had to cool them out. I wanted to take him back to the track [he was retired], but Kim said it was time for her to go back. It was a lot of fun to see those two.

“When Groupie Doll was born, I told Kim, 'We're going to keep this filly, she'll be part of the broodmare band.' We kept moving forward and won the two Breeders' Cups, but before the second one, I told the family she would be worth more than we could afford. We were so happy to see Mandy purchase her. I was able to keep Groupie Doll in my barn after that and race her two more times for Mandy. Now she's at Gainesway and I haven't seen her in a while, but I used to visit her sometimes when she was at Timber Town. I'd go out in the field and she'd even talk to me a little bit when she walked toward me. She knows I have a peppermint for her.”

Groupie Doll (2008 chestnut mare, Bowman's Band–Deputy Doll, by Silver Deputy)

Lifetime record: Ch. female sprinter (twice), MGISW, 23-12-4-4, $2,648,850

Breeders' Cup connections: B-Fred Bradley & William Bradley (KY); O-Fred F. Bradley, William B. Bradley, Carl Hurst, and Brent Burns; T-William 'Buff' Bradley; J-Rajiv Maragh.

Current location: Gainesway, Lexington, Ky.

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The Dams Connected to Todd Fincher’s Breeders’ Cup

by J.N. Campbell

If you didn't know the name of New Mexico's Todd Fincher, you do now. The past few weeks solidified it. “My phone's just blown up,” he admitted.

In the GII Thoroughbred Club of America S. at Keeneland on Oct. 8, the trainer's 4-year-old filly Slammed (Marking) set the pace early. Never looking back, she torched a solid field by more than a half dozen lengths. Once supplemented for $200,000, she will race on the same track in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint on Nov. 5.

That was Fincher's second trip to the heart of the Bluegrass, and his first victory at Keeneland. It gave him a pair of tickets to next month's international event. His 4-year-old colt, Senor Buscador (Mineshaft), won the GIII Ack Ack S. at Churchill Downs on Oct. 1, and will compete on the same day as his filly in the GI Breeders' Cup Big Ass Fans Dirt Mile.

But there is more to this story.

Flash back to 2013, when Fincher was facing a predicament. Two of his top mares were headed for the same race. There wasn't any way around it; he had to enter both. Keeping them apart had worked until then, but time had run out.

The elder was the short-priced favorite, Rose's Desert (Desert God), then a 5-year-old mare owned by Joe Peacock Sr. She would face her stablemate, Barbara Coleman's 4-year-old filly Hennesey Smash (Roll Hennesey Roll) in the Peppers Pride H. at Sunland Park.

Fincher said he had no idea how it was going to shake out, except that, he said, “It was going to be a showdown.” He was right.

From the bell, Hennesey Smash snatched the lead, forcing Rose's Desert to fan to the outside before the first call. Down the backstretch, Fincher's younger entry clung to the rail in control, but it looked like her more experienced rival was gaining. By the top of the lane, though, it was clear that Coleman's mare had much more left in the tank. The upset was on, all the way to the wire.

Ironically, Slammed and Senor Buscador are out of Hennesey Smash (MSW, $252,006, winner of seven of her eight career starts) and Rose's Desert (MSW, $626,035, winner of 10 of her 15 career starts), respectively. Maybe it's more prophetic. Since he took out his trainer's license 25 years ago, it's one of those full-circle moments, as both dams are connected to his Breeders' Cup berths.

Fincher was born in Denver, Colorado to a family of horsemen. They moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1985.

“I weighed 100 lbs. and was about 5'1″ in middle school,” Fincher said with a chuckle. After he graduated from high school, he became a professional jockey in his home state, amassing $2,138,839 in earnings over some 4,100 starts. He got too big for the saddle by 1997, and the following year, he turned to training.

Despite a stellar record in New Mexico, Fincher surprised some people by ending up this October in the winner's circle with Senor Buscador and Slammed. The conditioner's success wasn't happenstance; instead, it was built on breaking and building up young runners to race. What Fincher calls, “my program,” which doesn't include claiming, is based 100% on patience. It isn't easy.

“The approach I have is slow and methodical and to let the horses dictate everything because they'll tell you when it's time,” he said.

With a crack staff, he helps choose those yearlings and 2-year-olds for his trusted clients, and then trains many of them to use early speed to an overwhelming effect. If owners decide to transfer to another barn to run elsewhere, Fincher takes pride that they were given a firm foundation.

A recent case in point, Smash Ticket (Midnight Lute), who is owned partly by Coleman, was moved to Rob Atras's barn over the summer. The half-sister to Slammed recently won the Weather Vane S. at Pimlico. Fincher said he was pleased.

“The right choices early in a horse's career mean everything, as far as I am concerned, so we start them out on the right foot,” he explained.

Managing equine form during training also requires a steady dose of forbearance. Back in early 2021, when Senor Buscador sustained an injury along the Derby trail after the GII Risen Star S. at the Fair Grounds, Fincher and owner Joey Peacock Jr., did everything in their power to give the budding star a chance to recuperate.

“There was nothing easy about that time up until this past summer, and it was supremely frustrating to see him have a couple of major setbacks, but he is the best he can be, right now.”

Fincher continues to forge strong bonds with clients. After the GIII Rancho Bernardo H. at Del Mar in August, he sold his share in Slammed to Barbara Coleman.

“She and her husband, who has now passed, sent me a number of really good horses over the years, and me and Brad King bought Hennesey Smash from her when she got out of the breeding and racing business, so it was the right thing to do,” Fincher said.

He might have missed out on the filly's future earnings, but he said he doesn't see it that way.

“I'm a trainer,” he said. “I have to pay the bills, so ownership isn't at the forefront of my mind.”

What is on Fincher's mind? Getting his filly and colt ready for the biggest races of their lives, and probably his own. As for Rose's Desert, she is currently in-foal to Authentic, while Hennesey Smash visited City of Light. The next generation of New Mexico-breds are coming.

In the meantime, another showdown looms. Luckily for Todd Fincher, Slammed and Senor Buscador don't have to race one another.

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Bar of Gold’s Justify Half-Sister Breaks Maiden With Flourish

1st-Saratoga, $88,000, (S), Msw, 8-12, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.18, fm, 1 length.
IM JUST KIDDIN (f, 2, Justify–Khancord Kid {GSW, $167,343}, by Lemon Drop Kid) scored here at second asking for the same connections of GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint shock winner Bar of Gold (Medaglia d'Oro), GISW, $1,551,000, becoming the eighth winner for her freshman sire (by Scat Daddy). Breaking well from the rail as the 4-5 favorite, the Kimmel trainee was outrun early but content to track from fourth behind :22.36 and :45.34 splits. Swung to the outside for her rally, she took aim at frontrunner Highway Harmony (Mo Town) and greenly ran down that pacesetter despite swapping leads in deep stretch. Im Just Kiddin won with ears pricked after finishing second last out on debut July 15 sprinting this distance on the main track. Kingsley Creek (Lord Nelson) flipped behind the gate before the start, and was scratched. Conditioner John Kimmel reported later that she appeared to come out of the incident okay. Im Just Kiddin's aforementioned older half-sister is a graded stakes producer herself as the dam of GIII With Anticipation S. victor Coinage (Tapit), who the Bromans race in partnership with D. J. Stable after he passed through the ring for $450,000 at KEESEP. The victress also claims Land Mine (Mineshaft), SP, $158,342; and stakes-placed Homeland (American Pharoah) as half relations. Dam Khancord Kid (Lemon Drop Kid) claimed the GIII Herecomesthebride in Hallandale as a race-mare, and is half to MSP Crackerjack Jones (Smarty Jones). She produced a 2022 Uncle Mo filly and visited Medaglia d'Oro for 2023. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $66,000. Click for the eEquibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.
O/B-Chester Broman & Mary R. Broman (NY); T-John C. Kimmel.

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July 31 Insights: Half to Mo Donegal Debuts at the Spa

by Christie DeBernardis & Patrycja Szpyra
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

6th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 3:49 p.m. EDT
GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) may be missing his appearance at the Spa this summer, but his little sister PRANK (Into Mischief) will be stepping up to the post for the first time Sunday. Out of a daughter of GISW Island Sand (Tabasco Cat), the $500,000 KEESEP buy also hails from the Todd Pletcher barn. Steve Asmussen unveils Courtlandt Farm's High Class (Into Mischief), purchased for $575,000 out of the same sale. She is a daughter of GSP Euroboss (Street Boss). TJCIS PPs

2nd-SAR, $105k, Msw, f, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:37p.m. ET
MILIEU (Empire Maker), half-sister to Champion female sprinter and GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint shocker Shamrock Rose (First Dude), debuts in this turf maiden route for Bill Mott and Mike Rutherford. Costing $230,000 as an October yearling at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky, there is high-level success in her pedigree on the grass, namely MGSW Slew the Red (Red Ransom) under the second dam, who annexed two French Group contests before being imported for a State-side campaign. TJCIS PPs

1st-DMR, $80k, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 5:00p.m. ET
Sent to the blocks here by his powerhouse connections of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC, and Catherine Donovan, MASSIMO (Uncle Mo) will debut under the tutelage of Bob Baffert. The colt rides back-to-back five furlong bullets into the race, a July 14 move in :59.80 at Santa Anita (1/46) and a July 22 work over this track in :58.40 (1/82). A Winstar-bred graduate of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale, his connections paid $575,000 for the half-brother to GSP Hozier (Pioneerof the Nile) out of MGSW Merry Meadow (Henny Hughes). Through third dam Cruella (Tyrant), this is the family of MGISW Diazo (Jade Hunter). TJCIS PPs

8th-DMR, $80k, Msw, f, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 8:37p.m. ET
Debuting against a well-bred field here, JUSTIQUE (Justify) stands tall as the half-sister to GI Hollywood Derby winner Mo Town (Uncle Mo). Out of MGISP Molto Vita (Carson City), herself half to GSP Jaguar Paw (Giant's Causeway) and MGSP Venetian Mask (Pulpit), the filly's $725,000 price tag befit her pedigree; hailing from the breeding program of John Gunther & Eurowest Bloodstock. John Shirreffs will send Justique to post. Breaking to that one's inside in the colors of Mrs. Doreen Tabor is Fourth Street (Street Sense), the fleet-footed filly blazed :9.4 at OBSAPR, bringing $600,000 from M. V. Magnier to secure her. Out of a young broodmare, her second dam is MGSW Salty Strike (Smart Strike). Tea N Conversation (Candy Ride {Arg}) will carry the Spendthrift Farm colors on unveiling here, a $400,000 KEESEP half-sister to GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity winner Nucky (Ghostzapper). TJCIS PPs

6th-MTH, $55k, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 2:40p.m. ET
Breaking from the rail, MANASSAS (Frankel {GB}) debuts here for Todd Pletcher. Dam Avenge (War Front) was the two-time winner of the GI Rodeo Drive S. and finished third in both the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and the Gamely S. at Saratoga. His dam's half-sister Lira (Giant's Causeway) was graded stakes-placed, and was herself the dam of a stakes winner. This is the family of GISP Grasshopper (Dixie Union) and of the globetrotting MG1SW Mashaallah (Nijinsky II). TJCIS PPs

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