Coolmore | Horse Racing Free Tips

As Time Goes By Soars in Santa Margarita

Sent off the prohibitive 3-5 favorite against a seemingly overmatched field in Saturday's GII Santa Margarita S. at Santa Anita, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier and Derrick Smith's As Time Goes By (American Pharoah) was taken straight to the front by Hall of Famer Mike Smith and reeled off opening fractions of :23.17 and :46.98 as Harvest Moon (Uncle Mo) offered some mild pressure. Well in hand and not doing more than she had to down the backside, the half-sister to 3-year-old champion Will Take Charge was finally given her cue by Smith and picked it up a notch through three-quarters in 1:11.36. Easily drawing clear of her stablemate passing the quarter pole, she powered on all boosters late en route to an eye-catching eight-length victory over 31-1 longshot This Tea (Curlin). Harvest Moon rounded out the trifecta.
“I was shocked [to be on the lead), I actually thought [Pharoah's Heart] and Harvest Moon would show a little more speed,” said Smith, who won last year's Santa Margarita with Paradise Woods and who has won the race a total of five times. “But today, she actually jumped really quick out of there, and she fell right into stride so nice and I just stayed out of her way.”
Smith continued, “She warmed up really brilliant, acted really good in the gate, stood really well. That was really impressive today, she did that well, well in-hand and galloped out nice.”
As Time Goes By needed three starts to get off the duck, but did it in style when scoring by four lengths at Los Alamitos in December. Back in the winner's circle following a flashy nine length win in a Santa Anita allowance Jan. 17, she took some support at 9-5 in the Mar. 13 GI Beholder Mile S. but found champion sophomore filly Swiss Skydiver (Daredevil) 2 3/4 lengths too good that day.
Added winning trainer Bob Baffert, “I was debating on running her next week in Kentucky or here, but since I want to develop her slowly and the Breeders' Cup [at Del Mar] is the main goal, we chose to stay [home].”
Baffert also trained As Time Goes By's Triple Crown winning sire, American Pharoah, also conditioned by Baffert.
“She's so sweet like her sire,” he said. “She's the sweetest thing in the barn. I have a soft spot for her, because I think of American Pharoah every time I walk by her stall.”

Pedigree Notes:
As Time Goes By is the last reported foal out of 2013 Broodmare of the Year Take Charge Lady, who has turned just about everything she's touched to gold. Originally a $175,000 yearling at Fasig-Tipton's Kentucky summer sale, Take Charge Lady earned nearly $2.5 million and won three Grade I events. She was sold at the 2004 Keeneland November sale for $4.2 million carrying her first foal, Charming (Seeking the Gold), who would go on to sell as a $3.2-million Keeneland yearling. Charming would become the dam of 2014 champion 2-year-old filly Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway) and additional GISW Omaha Beach (War Front). Later foals of Take Charge Lady would include 2013 champion 3-year-old colt Will Take Charge (Unbridled's Song) and 2012 GI Florida Derby winner Take Charge Indy (A.P. Indy), now both Kentucky-based sires.
Like both Charming and Will Take Charge, As Time Goes By is inbred top and bottom to Mr. Prospector, although farther back than either of those half-siblings. As Time Goes By is the 10th graded winner and 15th black-type winner for her Mr. Prospector-line sire, 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah. The former Horse of the Year is the leading third-crop sire in North America by earnings, stakes winners, and graded winners. As Time Goes By marks his first stakes winner out of a mare by Dehere, who was the champion 2-year-old colt of 1993 and counts 115 stakes winners out of his daughters, including Breeders' Cup winners Midnight Lute (Real Quiet) and City of Light (Quality Road).

Saturday, Santa Anita Park
SANTA MARGARITA S.-GII, $200,000, Santa Anita, 4-24, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/8m, 1:49.95, ft.
1–AS TIME GOES BY, 120, f, 4, by American Pharoah
1st Dam: Take Charge Lady (Broodmare Of The Year, MGISW, $2,480,377), by Dehere
                2nd Dam: Felicita, by Rubiano
                3rd Dam: Grand Bonheur, by Blushing Groom (Fr)
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Michael
Tabor, Mrs. John Magnier & Derrick Smith; B-Orpendale &
Chelston (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Mike E. Smith. $120,000.
Lifetime Record: 6-3-2-1, $260,600. *1/2 to Take Charge Indy
(A.P. Indy), GISW, $1,103,496; 1/2 to Will Take Charge
(Unbridled's Song), Ch. 3YO, MGISW, $3,924,648. Werk Nick
   Rating: C+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–This Tea, 120, f, 4, Curlin–Funny Moon, by Malibu Moon.
($135,000 Ylg '18 KEESEP). O-Kretz Racing LLC; B-My
Meadowview LLC (KY); T-George Papaprodromou. $40,000.
3–Harvest Moon, 122, f, 4, Uncle Mo–Qaraaba (GB), by
Shamardal. O-Alice Bamford & Michael B. Tabor; B-Alice
Bamford (KY); T-Simon Callaghan. $24,000.
Margins: 9 1/4, 2 1/4, 11. Odds: 0.60, 31.80, 2.00.
Also Ran: Pharoah's Heart, Clockstrikestwelve.
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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Pricey Cezanne Wins Big in Return to the Races

Cezanne (Curlin), who topped the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale in 2019 at $3.65 million, stamped himself as one to watch for this year with a dominant victory in Santa Anita's GIII Kona Gold S. Sunday evening. A debut winner going this same 6 1/2 furlongs last June, the Coolmore partners and St. Elias Stable representative doubled up going a mile at Los Alamitos in July. He was most recently fourth in Del Mar's Aug. 1 Shared Belief S. behind million-dollar stablemate Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile) and $850,000 GISW Honor A. P. (Honor Code). The hulking bay had been working very quickly for this, and was off as the 9-5 second choice in a field of four behind last-out GII San Carlos S. hero Brickyard Ride (Clubhouse Ride).

Away cleanly but last from the rail, Cezanne sat third some

10 lengths behind the fleet-footed Brickyard Ride as that foe zipped through splits of :21.18 and :43.60 with Cezanne's stablemate Ax Man (Misremembered) applying pressure. Cezanne cruised ominously closer heading for home as the pacesetter was clearly feeling his early exertions. Brickyard Ride came well off the fence entering the lane, and Cezanne cut the corner and seized the lead before running up the score to 9 3/4 lengths. Brickyard Ride held second over Fight On (Into Mischief).

“It worked out well,” said rider Flavien Prat. “We had a fast pace in front of us and we were able to save ground. He gave me a good kick when I asked him. He ran really nice.”

Jimmy Barnes, assistant to trainer Bob Baffert, added, “We knew there was going to be a hot pace. Not sure how fast, but it ended up being fast, and you know Cezanne just ate them up. [Prat] gave him a wonderful ride and Bob had him ready… With the races coming up this spring and summer, we should be looking really good with Cezanne.”

Sunday, Santa Anita
KONA GOLD S.-GIII, $98,000, Santa Anita, 4-18, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:14.71, ft.
1–CEZANNE, 122, c, 4, by Curlin
          1st Dam: Achieving, by Bernardini
          2nd Dam: Teeming, by Storm Cat
          3rd Dam: Better Than Honour, by Deputy Minister
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($3,650,000
2yo '19 FTFMAR). O-Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick
Smith & St Elias Stable; B-Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, Inc. &
St. Elias Stables, LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-Flavien Prat.
$60,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $123,000. *1/2 to
Counterforce (Smart Strike), SW, $323,708; and Arabian
Hope (Distorted Humor), GSW-Tur, SW & G1SP-Eng, $227,783.
Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick Rating:
   A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Brickyard Ride, 126, c, 4, Clubhouse Ride–Brickyard Helen,
by Southern Image. O/B-Alfred A. Pais (CA); T-Craig Anthony
Lewis. $20,000.
3–Fight On, 124, h, 6, Into Mischief–Havenlass, by Elusive
Quality. ($340,000 Ylg '16 KEESEP). O-C T R Stables LLC
(Calvert) & Westside Racing Stable; B-Haymarket Farm LLC
(KY); T-Doug F. O'Neill. $12,000.
Margins: 9 3/4, 1 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 1.90, 0.60, 20.90.
Also Ran: Ax Man. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Cezanne was a :10 flat breezer at Gulfstream. Coolmore's M.V. Magnier was also involved in the acquisition of three of the next five lots. With the auction having been cancelled last year due to the pandemic, representatives of Coolmore bought two colts at last month's sale–the $2.6-million Nyquist topper and $1.3-million Uncle Mo third topper.

Pedigree Notes:
Cezanne is the 70th stakes winner, 40th graded, for super sire Curlin–who was also responsible earlier on the card for dominant Baffert-trained firster Curvette. Cezanne is bred on a potent cross also responsible for last year's GI Coaching Club American Oaks winner Paris Lights and leading 2021 GI Kentucky Oaks contender Clairiere.

Bernardini sits at 11th on the broodmare sire list for 2021 with significantly fewer mares than the majority of older counterparts above him. His ever-growing list of stakes winners as a broodmare sire sits at 49 (28 graded), and includes this year's GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational S. hero Colonel Liam (Liam's Map).

The winner's dam Achieving is a great granddaughter of Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour. Achieving produced a full sister to Curlin in 2019. Vinnie Viola's St. Elias has had serious success with sons of Curlin, including GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero Vino Rosso and this year's GI Curlin Florida Derby winner Known Agenda, who is GI Kentucky Derby bound.

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Classic Heroine Even So Sold to Japan

Classic winner Even So (Ire) (Camelot {GB}-Breeze Hill {Ire}, by Danehill), has been sold by Coolmore to Japan for broodmare duties, Irishracing.com reported on Saturday.

Lyons's brother and assistant Shane Lyons told Irishracing.com, “Even So has gone breeding and has been sold to Japan. She was an absolute lady, had a beautiful Dr Devious-pedigree so hopefully she does well over in Japan for her new connections.

“She was a superstar and to win a Classic on home soil, you couldn't get any higher. It's what dreams are made of and she served us well.”

The April foal was bred by Lynch Bages in Ireland and, sent to trainer Ger Lyons, saluted in the 2020 G1 Juddmonte Irish Oaks last July. She also won the Listed Naas Oaks Trial earlier that month and was third in the G3 Park Express S. Owned by Mrs. John Magnier and Mrs. Paul Shanahan, she retires with a record of 8-3-0-2 and $231,791 in earnings.

Even So is the star foal out of her dam, who won in New Zealand as a 4-year-old. Breeze Hill is a half-sister to Irish champion sprinter Archway (Ire) (Thatching {Ire}), English highweight Dr Devious (Ire) (Ahonoora {GB}), who won the G1 Derby, G1 Dewhurst S., and G1 Champion S. and was runner-up in the G1 Irish Derby, the GSW Royal Court (Ire) (Sadler's Wells) and the SW & GSP Shinko King (Ire) (Fairy King). Another half-sister produced English highweight, G1 Epsom Oaks and G1 German Oaks heroine Dancing Rain (Ire) (Danehil Dancer {Ire}). This is also the family of G1 2000 Guineas hero Saxon Warrior (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen victor Suzuka Phoenix (Jpn) (Sunday Silence) and G1 Emirates S. winner Awesome Rock (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}).

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Young Sires Reign At The Top Of Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale

The Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Selected 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale was the first casualty of COVID-19's havoc on the auction calendar, and as one of the market's first checkpoints when the juvenile season came back around in 2021, this particular renewal would reveal plenty about the state of the upper market.

That's a lot of weight to carry, but the auction's returns presented plenty of reasons for optimism, especially for sellers of juveniles by young sires.

Returns were down across the board, but not in the kind of way that should sound alarms. The most recent Gulfstream sale in 2019 was a record edition in nearly every measurable way, and pinhookers were buying into a different, less stable market in the fall of 2020 than they had been in previous yearling seasons, so there were plenty of valid causes.

What makes this slight decline palatable is the fact that Wednesday's sale still produced some of the best returns in the auction's history.

A total of 67 horses changed hands on Wednesday for revenues of $25,360,000, the second-highest gross since the sale moved to Gulfstream Park in 2015. The average sale price was $378,507 (third-highest since 2015), the median price was $300,000 (second-highest in that time span), and the buyback rate finished at 36 percent.

Where the sale saw its most drastic change was in its upper-middle market, similar to the squeeze seen at the higher-end yearling sales in 2020.

Three horses changed hands for $1 million or more on Wednesday, which was down from six in the record-setting 2019 edition, but it was equal with the 2018 sale. However, the 13 juveniles that sold for $500,000 or more was down from 20 in 2019 and 19 the year before that.

The top of the market at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale is often a playground for the most proven sires, but this year's edition turned that notion on its head.

Of the 11 horses to bring $550,000 or more, eight of them came from the first or second crops of their respective sires.

Leading the way was Hip 28, a second-crop Nyquist colt who sold to M.V. Magnier of the Coolmore partnership for $2.6 million.

The bay colt garnered plenty of attention following Monday's under-tack show after breezing an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 seconds, giving him sole possession of the day's fastest time at the distance.

Consigned by Wavertree Stables, agent, the colt is the first foal out of the winning Smart Strike mare Spinning Wheel. The dam is a half-sister to classic-placed Ride On Curlin and stakes winner Space Mountain. His third dam is the Grade 1 winner Victory Ride.

Magnier, typically a big player at the Gulfstream sale, also secured Hip 67, an Uncle Mo colt, in partnership with West Bloodstock for $1.3 million for the day's third-highest price.

The full-brother to Grade 1 winner Dream Tree is out of the winning Afleet Alex mare Afleet Maggi, whose foals also include stakes-placed O'Maggi. Grade 1 winner Golden Ticket is in the colt's extended family, along with Grade 2 winner Academy Award.

Wavertree Stables also consigned this colt, who breezed an eighth in :10 seconds flat.

The sale's second-highest price came for Hip 181, a first-crop Gun Runner colt who went to Gary C. Young, agent, for $1.7 million.

The chestnut colt, named Needmore Guns, is the second foal out of the stakes-winning Flatter mare Needmore Flattery. He was consigned by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds, agent, and he breezed an eighth in :10 1/5 seconds.

Gun Runner joins Triple Crown winner American Pharoah as the only two stallions to hammer down a seven-figure horse from their first crop at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale since the auction moved to Gulfstream Park in 2015.

Other first-year stallions to with horses sold at $550,000 or more included Practical Joke, American Freedom, and Arrogate. Darley's second-year duo of Nyquist and Frosted were also represented at that price level, with Nyquist having three sold in that range.

To view the auction's full results, click here.

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