Tag: Calumet Farm

Opalina Gives Optimizer a First Stakes Winner in Sweetest Chant

Opalina (Optimizer), the third choice in a wide-open pari-mutuel affair, took the overland route into the final furlong and a half of Saturday's GIII Sweetest Chant S. at Gulfstream Park, but stayed on gamely late to become the first black-type winner for her Calumet Farm-based stallion.

One of the first to break the line from her low draw, Opalina ultimately settled just ahead of centerfield and raced with cover down the backstretch as longshot Myfavoritedaughter (Carpe Diem) galloped them along at a decent clip. Given her cue with a bit more than three furlongs to race, Opalina was left with no choice but to circle horses into the stretch, rallied four wide under a full head of steam and looked to be idling a bit late, but was home comfortably in front.

Opalina defeated state-bred maidens by a dozen lengths in a hand-timed affair over yielding Gulfstream turf Sept. 17 and was a sneaky good fifth, beaten a length and a half, behind California Angel (California Chrome) in Keeneland's GII Jessamine S.

Oct. 13. Given some time off thereafter, Opalina came to win the Jan. 1 Ginger Brew S. at the eighth pole, but couldn't finish the job and settled for third as the even-money pick.

“When she took the lead in the stretch she kind of waited for the other ones, but when she got on the left [lead] she gave me another gear,” Saez said of Saturday's effort. “Last time, she needed a race and she didn't want to be too close. Today, we wanted to race a little bit from behind and make one move with her. Everything turned out like we were expecting.”

Pedigree Notes:

In addition to being the first black-type winner for Optimizer, Opalina is the 24th stakes winner (11 graded) out of daughters of Kitten's Joy, who have produced the likes of Grade I winner Channel Cat and other graded winners Spooky Channel, English Bee and Admiralty Pier to the cover of Optimizer's late sire English Channel.

Bernardo Alvarez-Calderon purchased Opalina's dam with the filly in utero for the upset price of $1,000 at Keeneland November in 2018. Calderon, who also bred GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational hero Mucho Gusto (Mucho Macho Man) and last year's GII Tampa Bay Derby upsetter Helium (Ironicus), passed away in August 2020 at the age of 78.

Opalina, also a half-sister to the stakes-placed Red Hornet (English Channel), is the last listed produce for Go Kitten Go.

 

Saturday, Gulfstream Park
SWEETEST CHANT S.-GIII, $100,000, Gulfstream, 2-5, 3yo, f,
1 1/16mT, 1:41.56, fm.
1–OPALINA, 118, f, 3, by Optimizer
                1st Dam: Go Kitten Go, by Kitten's Joy
                2nd Dam: Go Cherokee Go, by Cherokee Run
                3rd Dam: First Flyer, by Riverman
   1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Teneri
Farm & J Stables LLC; B-Teneri Farms Inc. & Bernardo Alvarez
Calderon (FL); T-Roderick R Rodriguez; J-Luis Saez. $59,520.
Lifetime Record: 6-2-2-1, $135,770. *First stakes winner for
second-crop sire (by English Channel). Werk Nick Rating: A++.
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ambitieuse, 118, f, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Lucky Folie, by
Distorted Humor. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE.
O/B-Wertheimer and Frere; T-H Graham Motion. $19,200.
3–Miss You Ella, 118, f, 3, Declaration of War–Newstouse, by
Unbridled's Song. 1ST BLACK-TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK-TYPE.
($135,000 Ylg '20 EASOCT). O-Wonder Stables, Madaket
Stables LLC & Golconda Stable; B-Equivine Farm (PA); T-Chad
C Brown. $9,600.
Margins: 3/4, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.30, 4.80, 5.80.
Also Ran: Myfavoritedaughter, Battle Charge, Ocean Safari, Roughly a Diamond, Hal's Dream, Nostalgic. Scratched: Running Legacy. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Robert B. Lewis Stakes: O’Neill Waiting On ‘Go’ Sign For Debut Winner Happy Jack

Doug O'Neill has but two horses nominated to next Sunday's Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif., while Bob Baffert has more than half, 11 of the 20. O'Neill is considering debut winner Happy Jack for the 1 1/16-mile race for 3-year-olds, which he won in 2007 with Great Hunter and in 2012 with eventual Kentucky Derby winner I'll Have Another.

The Lewis is an official qualifying points race for the Kentucky Derby, awarding 10-4-2-1 to the top four finishers.

“The plan is to run him if he gives us the go sign,” said O'Neill, who is considering an out-of-town stakes for his other Lewis nominee, Los Alamitos Futurity winner Slow Down Andy.

A son of Oxbow, who sired Hot Rod Charlie, Happy Jack was indeed a surprise winning first out at six furlongs on Jan. 22 for owner/breeder Calumet Farm, coming from behind at 24-1 to score by 1 1/4 lengths under Abel Cedillo, who would ride back in the Lewis.

Cedillo won three races yesterday, including the Palos Verdes Stakes on a determined Essential Wager for Bob Baffert.

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Season To Ready’s Image To Be Auctioned As Fundraiser For Springcliff Farm Barn Fire

One week after a farm destroyed Springcliff Farm, one of Indiana's leading Thoroughbred foaling farms, fundraising efforts have ramped up to help the Cagle family recover from the devastating loss.

While a cause to the fire has yet to be confirmed, clean up will soon begin on the more than 100-year-old barn.

On Friday, Michael Lauer, in partnership with Calumet Farm, announced that a season to leading Indiana sire Ready's Image (More Than Ready – Clever Phrase, by Clever Trick), standing at Swifty Farms, will be auctioned off during the Indiana Thoroughbred Owners' and Breeders' Association Annual Banquet. The banquet will be held at Indiana Grand Racing and Casino on Saturday, Jan. 15. All proceeds from the season auction will go to Springcliff Farm.

Anyone interested in bidding on the season to Ready's Image, but cannot attend the ITOBA Banquet, they can contact Michael Lauer with a maximum bid by calling: 502-639-1536

Other fundraising efforts for the farm include efforts on GoFundMe, which looks to reach and surpass its goal of $10,000. Also, custom t-shirts featuring the Springcliff Farm logo and the words “#SpringcliffStrong” are being sold for $20 each, with all proceeds going towards the family. Information on the t-shirt can be found on the Indiana Thoroughbred Alliance website or by ordering online: https://springcliffstrong.link/or4ebg2

The Cagles have been overwhelmed by the response and support from the entire Thoroughbred industry, including farms and owners in Indiana, Kentucky and Florida.

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Leading Thoroughbred Breeders In North America For 2021: A Different Take

The Jockey Club recently released its list of leading Thoroughbred breeders for 2021, ranking the top 50 individual breeders by money won in North America. It also published a second list that includes breeding partnerships. Those lists can be viewed here.

High-volume breeder Calumet Farm got knocked off its perch atop the list the last two years, with Godolphin out-earning Calumet by nearly $2.4 million despite having less than one-third the number of starters. Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, WinStar Farm and Kenneth L. and Sarah K. Ramsey rounded out the top five by North American money won.

Calumet was represented by 549 individual starters, more than twice as many as the next largest-sized operation, that of the Ramseys, with 246 starters.

That's all well and good, but I think there are other ways to look at this list that might be more useful to the Thoroughbred breeder than seeing who won the most money.

The accompanying list ranks those same breeders (or at least breeders with five or more starters in 2021) by average earnings per start. (Note: The only top 50 breeder with fewer than five starters was Northern Farm, which won $2,080,000 with its two Japanese-bred starters, Breeders' Cup winners, Loves Only You and Marche Lorraine).

The two people topping the list, Angie Moore ($151,406 per start) and Gail Rice $97,318), each were carried by one major horse. Among her six starters, Moore bred probable Horse of the Year Knicks Go, whose victories in 2021 included the G1 Pegasus World Cup and G1 Breeders' Cup Classic. Rice bred seven starters, led by Medina Spirit, whose 2021 earnings of $3,520,000 include $1,860,000 from the G1 Kentucky Derby. Those earnings are in jeopardy because of the horse's failed drug test.

Third on the list by average earnings per start is the late Edward A. Cox Jr., who was also elevated by one big horse. Hot Rod Charlie's $2,127,500 in earnings made up the bulk of purse money won by Cox-bred runners in 2021. Same goes with St. George Stables, ranked fourth by average earnings per start. St. George bred multiple G1 winner Letruska, who earned $1,945,540 in North America in 2021.

Rounding out the top five on our list is Godolphin, which leads the list by number of stakes winners, 18. Godolphin benefits in average earnings per start and stakes winner through its global operation by only sending mostly proven horses from Europe to compete at the top level in North America.

The top five by average earnings per start also account for the highest average percentage of stakes winners from starters.

Other breeding operations that had a commendable percentage of stakes winners/starters are Sam-Son Farms (9.62%), Live Oak Stud (9.52%), G. Watts Humphrey Jr. (8.86%), Rustlewood Farm (8.82%), W. S. Farish (8.51%), Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings (8,39%) and Hinkle Farms (8.16%).

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