Away only fairly, the 3-5 chalk was handy enough to the early pace of 5-2 second pick Merit (Mastery)–rerouted from the Fountain of Youth–banking around the first turn and was settled nicely in fourth by Jose Ortiz through early sections of :23.79 and :47.62. Traveling a path or two away from the inside down the backstretch as the pacesetter opened just a touch of daylight, Conquest Warrior was ridden along just a bit 3 1/2 furlongs out, and when Raguel (Justify) failed to go on from a three-wide position, he had dead aim on the pacesetter. Claiming that one more or less on his own courage at the three-sixteenths, Conquest Warrior quickly opened up and was under a full-nelson for the final sixteenth of a mile, stopping the clock in a very respectable 1:50.52 for the nine furlongs on a fast strip.

“I thought there was a couple horses in there that might show a little speed. He wanted to be a little keen going into the first [turn] but then he settled perfect for [Ortiz]. I thought it was a perfect race for him,” winning trainer Shug McGaughey said. “He got to settle in behind horses, eat a little dirt, make his run the way you'd want him to and finished up on his own. When those horses came to him galloping out [Ortiz] said he wanted to go with them, so he let him do it. I'm pleased.”

A debut third to giant-figure El Capi (Maclean's Music) going seven furlongs in the Aqueduct mud Dec. 2, Conquest Warrior was pinched at the start of a local mile maiden Jan. 13 and was steadied a couple of more times in transit, but nevertheless managed to overcome all that to graduate by a half-length. The runner-up on that occasion, Centennial Farms' Antiquarian (Preservationist), backed up that effort with a maiden-breaking victory of his own on the Risen Star undercard at the Fair Grounds Feb. 22.

McGaughey was non-committal about the colt's next start n the immediate aftermath of the race.

“We'll see,. The timing's good [to the Florida Derby],” he said. “We can take him there, Kentucky or New York. He's got two wins over this track. We only have to travel and hour and a half [from Payson Park] [unlike] the other places. I'll watch [the Fountain of Youth]. I'm looking forward to it.”

Betz Thoroughbreds acquired the three-time stakes-winning Tea Time for $250,000 in foal to Union Rags at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale and that produce, a filly named Soul Play, was purchased by Don Adam's team at Keeneland September in 2021 before signing for her half-brother 12 months later. Tea Time's dam Asian Empress (Empire Maker) is a full-sister to GI Juddmonte Spinster S. winner Acoma and a half to five other winners, including the late Grade I-winning sire Arch, as well as the unraced dam of two-time Eclipse Award and dual Grade I winner Covfefe (Into Mischief) and Japanese MGSW/MG1SP Albiano (Harlan's Holiday). Tea Time is responsible for the 2-year-old colt Brodeur (Nyquist), a $110,000 FTKOCT yearling purchse by D J Stable, and is due to Justify this season.

7th-Gulfstream, $73,420, Alw (NW1X), Opt. Clm ($75,000), 3-1, 3yo, 1 1/8m, 1:50.52, ft, 5 lengths.
CONQUEST WARRIOR (c, 3, City of Light–Tea Time {MSW, $279,966}, by Pulpit) Sales history: Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-1, $96,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald Adam); B-Betz/B & K Canetti/J Betz/CoCo Equine/D J Stables (KY); T-Claude R McGaughey III.

Conquest Warrior, with @jose93_ortiz, wins with authority in Friday's featured race at #GulfstreamPark. pic.twitter.com/H52WoPjT3S

— Gulfstream Park (@GulfstreamPark) March 1, 2024

The post ‘Rising Star’ Conquest Warrior Earns Possible Florida Derby Ticket In GP Allowance Romp appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“We like the post and the way he's been training,” trainer Todd Pletcher said Thursday.

Irad Ortiz Jr., who was slated to ride Speak Easy Friday, will have the return mount in the Fountain of Youth.

Speak Easy had been installed as the 3-5 morning-line favorite in a field of seven 3-year-olds entered in Friday's seventh race, a 1 1/8-mile optional-claiming allowance. Courtlandt Farms' Conquest Warrior (City of Light) is expected to be favored in his absence. Trained by Shug McGaughey, Conquest Warrior was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following a gutsy victory in a Jan. 13 maiden special weight race.

The post Speak Easy Confirmed for Fountain of Youth appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Stretching out to 1 1/8 miles, the $925,000 KEESEP yearling broke in and brushed with Batten Down (Tapit), a son of champion Close Hatches (First Defence) who was a debut sixth in that same heat, leaving the stalls. Ridden along in fourth by Javier Castellano rounding the clubhouse turn, Corporate Power was encouraged to keep pace while in that same position as Batten Down showed the way through a half mile in :47.86.

Corporate Power loomed up with a nice move while three deep on the far turn, but Batten Down was going the much easier of the two and Paco Lopez let it out a notch as they turned for home. Batten Down looked well on his way in the stretch, but Corporate Power wasn't done yet despite racing greenly and attempting to lug in repeatedly.

Corporate Power and Sturdy (Mitole) both began to lift as Batten Down tired late. Corporate Power, much more focused racing in between horses now, seemed to want it the most of the trio and was able to eke out a neck victory over Batten Down in a blanket finish. It was another neck back to Sturdy in third.

Corporate Power's dam Road to Victory, a winner of her first three career starts at two, highlighted by a neck victory over subsequent two-time champion Monomoy Girl (Tapizar) in the GII Golden Rod S., brought $1.45 million from breeder Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings in foal to War Front at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November sale. Road to Victory produced a colt by Into Mischief in 2023 and a filly by Not This Time this year.

Sales history: $925,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $44,800. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.
O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald Adam); B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings LLC (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III.

#5 CORPORATE POWER ($4.60) gets up between rivals to win race 4 at Gulfstream Park.

This is the first victory and second career start for the Shug McGaughey trainee, who was ridden by @jjcjockey for Courtlandt Farms. pic.twitter.com/FlUYGa7iVr

— TVG (@TVG) February 24, 2024

The post Curlin’s Corporate Power Game at Second Asking in Gulfstream Maiden Win appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“Telocaset, Union, Oregon,” Neal says. “Snows an inch, drifts 10 feet. Cold country.”

But horses are tough, no?

“Well, they are,” replies Neal. “But we lost a heck of a nice Quarter Horse colt that climbed up on the snow drift, across the water trough, and drowned because the ice broke. That's why we moved to Hermiston on the Columbia River. Probably the mildest weather you can have in Oregon is right there.”

But all those experiences, across nearly half a century, add up to something that wouldn't be quite as special, nor as solid, if you could leave out the difficult days. The Christophersons have been raising or training horses for 48 years. Long enough, perhaps, to have developed some kind of X-ray vision when they saw Forever For Now (War Front) at the Keeneland November Sale two years ago. They could see straight into that mare's swaying belly, right?

“No,” says Neal with a grin, miming the opening of a catalogue. “It just said 'Uncle Mo' down there.”

That predilection, after all, was why they were there in the first place.

Six years previously, at the equivalent auction, the Christophersons had bought an El Prado (Ire) mare named Fresia for $35,000. She, too, was carrying an Uncle Mo colt, who they sold as a yearling for $60,000.

“When we took him down there to the sale at Pomona, they were all talking about something on his X-rays, a sesamoid I think,” Neal recalls. “But Eddie Woods bought the horse, took him to Florida, broke and trained him down there, and then brought him back to Barretts for the 2-year-old sale. And he sold him for $600,000! So right then and there, we knew we had something if we could just stay in the Uncle Mo business.”

That colt was raced as Galilean by West Point Thoroughbreds and his six stakes wins–which have now launched him on a stud career in New York–made his dam a suddenly lucrative proposition. Sure enough, having been returned to Uncle Mo on a foal-share, Fresia produced a filly that sold for $700,000 to Courtlandt Farm at the September Sale of 2021.

It was with their share of the proceeds that the Christophersons promptly spent $210,000 on Forever For Now that November. And, once again, a foal acquired in utero has raised the stakes. Because the mare delivered such a knockout son that he even broke new ground for horsemen as seasoned as the Penn brothers.

Their one-horse Book I consignment, so expertly handled that the colt was as mannerly and inquisitive after 300 shows as on his first, made nearly every shortlist. In the end M.V. Magnier had to go to $1.35 million to tap back into a family that his Coolmore team had helped to make one of the best in the book, Forever For Now's third dam being a full sister to Galileo (Ire) himself.

Okay, so maybe that kind of page doesn't really require X-ray vision.

“No, you just grab the dice and you roll,” Neal says. “See what happens. Because 99.9 percent of this game is luck.”

But you have to believe that you can put yourself in a position to be lucky. And the Christophersons' Bar C Racing Stable has been doing that for a long time now, albeit mostly in shallower waters.

“When we first met, we were down there at Corvallis,” Neal recalls. “That's where Oregon State University is. And I had a stallion and a mare, Quarter Horses, that I was actually using to rodeo. Pam and I ran into each other down at the bar. She'd just bought a mare off the track, to barrel race. So we both started with Quarter Horses.”

Since then, the Christophersons have excelled with Thoroughbreds on the West Coast scene in many different guises: as breeders, owners, vendors, and for 30 years as trainers. They stood a local phenomenon in Harbor the Gold, 14-time champion sire in Oregon; having bred or co-bred 11 champions over the state line, they were recently inducted into the Washington Hall of Fame; and they've topped a Barretts sale with a $600,000 Cal-bred.

Sadly, after decades of accomplishment, they feel disenchanted with the direction of their home circuit. Having for a long time upgraded the Pacific gene pool with Kentucky mares, they've gone up another level even as horseracing in Washington has been reduced to 55 days at a single track. The mares, as a result, are increasingly staying right where they are in the Bluegrass. Recently, the Christophersons have even toyed with prospecting for a farm of their own there.

“They've closed nearly all the tracks where we are,” Neal laments. “They closed Portland Meadows. They closed Playfair. Yakima. Now it's Golden Gate. The horse business in our neck of the woods is going downhill. These youngsters don't like to mess with horses, that's the only thing I can see. It's unfortunate. Like to see it keep going. We used to have five different racetracks just in Washington. But we took six head to the Seattle sale this summer, and only made $35,000.”

Of course, this kind of situation only tends to spiral downward: a struggling region tends to end up disillusioning precisely those whose experience, resources and skills it can least afford to lose–skills, it can now be seen, of uncommon transferability. Because the Christophersons have managed to hang in there, even against a growing headwind.

“This mare came into the ring at Pomona a couple of years ago and nobody's bidding,” Neal recalls. “So I opened the page, and I'm thinking, 'What's the matter with this?' So I raised my hand once, just for the hell of it, got her for $1,000. She was in foal to Stanford, who was just beginning there in California, so on our way home we went over to the ranch, dropped her off, said, 'Foal her out and breed her back!' When all that was done, we went back and got her, took her back to Oregon, had a foal. Brought the foal back a year later to the yearling sale at Pomona–and sold her for $100,000. Out of my $1,000 mare. But, again, all luck. She had good breeding, everything was good.”

So the Christophersons have been doing their best. They still have five stallions–even a young son of the inevitable Uncle Mo–and a score of broodmares.

“The Uncle Mo is a good-looking fella, but we'll see,” Neal says with a shrug. “In this business it always takes three years to find out if you've got anything. A lot of people ask us, 'Why do you do this? It takes so damned long!' But if that was how we started, every year now we've got horses going someplace or another.”

Increasingly, however, “someplace” means Kentucky. In fairness, this is hardly some overnight reaction to their September coup.

“No, what happened was that we were buying and selling in the Pacific Northwest and getting nowhere,” Neal explains. “We knew Gary Chervenell in Washington, and he's always been telling us, 'If you want the good stuff, go to Kentucky. That's where they're made.' So we made our first trip over with him 20 years ago, and really that's what has made us–the fact that we just got lucky buying some fairly well bred mares.”

One of the introductions Chervenell made was to Bo Davis, then broodmare manager at Overbrook. And when that farm's Seeking The Gold half-brother to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Boston Harbor blew a knee, Davis wouldn't stop pestering them about him. “You guys really need to stand this horse,” he urged them. “I know him, I've been with him ever since he was born.”

“We had a darn good horse at that time, name of Tiffany Ice,” Neal recalls. “But he was 22, and Bo kept saying he wasn't going to last forever. And finally, one day when he called us on our way down to Portland Meadows, back when those bag phones had just come out, the first mobiles, we said 'Oh, just send him out.'”

“When he got off that van, after shipping all the way from New York, he didn't look very good at all,” Pam says.

“We looked at each other and said, 'What in the hell do we do now?'” says Neal, shaking his head.

“We got him fattened up, and I think he bred seven mares his first year,” Pam said. “But his first foal was Noosa Beach. He won the [GII] Longacres Mile, and was horse of the Emerald Downs meet four years in a row. Out of the first mare he ever bred.”

“And you know why we bred him?” Neal says. “Because the old horse, Tiffany Ice, if ever a mare looked like she's going to kick him, do anything bad, he would just turn away and go back in his stall. And this mare, she was pretty testy. So what we did, we brought the new guy up. Had no idea what he was going to do. He'd never tried to breed anything. And he was a wild man. Boy, she didn't kick no way when Harbor the Gold got ahold of her! And that was the first baby. Won over $500,000.”

“And Harbor the Gold went on to have 72 stakes horses at Emerald Downs,” Pam marvels. “The next closest to him had 27. And every year his babies made $1 million in racing.”

As it happens, Harbor the Gold died the same year that the Christophersons sold Galilean's sister, and played up the winnings on Forever For Now. As so often in this business, as one door closed, so another one opened.

“We were going back and forth at Hill 'n' Dale when they sold Fresia's filly,” Pam recalls. “And they had this cute little War Front mare there, in foal to Uncle Mo, and I just kept looking at her. She was young, and pretty nice. Kinda looked like Miss Piggy! A big broad thing with a white blaze down her face. They said she'd had a beautiful Justify filly, I don't know where she might have shown up meanwhile, but this was going to be her second foal. Anyway when we sold the filly so well, we thought, 'Well, let's get this mare.' And all we ever wanted from the colt she was carrying was to try to make back the $210,000 she cost.”

The Christophersons are clear that one of the reasons the colt so wildly exceeded those hopes is the diligence and hands-on attention of the Penn family: brothers John and Frank, plus John's son and daughter-in-law, Alex and Kendra. Certainly you couldn't hope to see a more obliging horse, loosely on the shank, after the number of shows he made in September. But that reflected the companionship established at home–over many a mile, and many a month–with Kendra, who was also tending him at Keeneland.

“She's a good hand, by golly,” Pam says. “She's walking them, ponying them, she knows everything about them. And that horse, he knew what he was supposed to do. They're sure good people, and they did a great job.”

“We really believe in them,” stresses Neal. “You can get lost in some of those big 'factories'. This horse came out and walked the same way, every single person that came to see him, didn't get pissy once. He's a smart horse. They'll go a long way with him, as long as they keep him sound.”

Forever For Now, who has a Caravaggio weanling and is in foal to Mystic Guide, is obviously slated to return to Uncle Mo next.

“We're pretty well Uncle Mo'd out,” says Neal wryly. “Own a share in Mo Forza, that's now standing in California. His first crop was on the ground this spring. We'll see what happens. But a lot was riding on September. A few hundred bucks a day, it starts getting 'old' after a while! Now we've got enough that we can leave them here. But we're just into it, and have been forever. Like I said, we've got something coming through every year now. And the real breeding program's going well, no matter what. We've got a couple of the best kids in the country.”

Their daughter is a nurse, and has managed to resist the lure of horses, but their son now has a few acres of his own, and is also boarding mares with the Penns. The Christopherson momentum, after all these years, remains ever forward. At the November Sale, a young mare in foal to War Front caught this observer's eye in the back ring: she was by an unjustly neglected sire, but out of a half-sister to Scat Daddy. It was going to be instructive to learn which person was smart enough to buy her. Sure enough, when the next sheet went up on the wall, there it was: sold to Bar C Racing, $160,000. And history tells us to keep an eye on that War Front foal!

So by no means was this amazing coup in September necessarily the climax of a story already 48 years in the telling. Its authors remain full of passion for the next chapter.

“Because here we are, 73 years old, looking at picking up stock and barrel and going to Kentucky,” says Neal with a chuckle. “Now, isn't that crazy?”

The post ‘Bar C’ Coup Reverses the Oregon Trail appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

O-Courtlandt Farms; B-Summer Wind Equine LLC; T-Steve Asmussen. Sales History: $650,000 ylg '22 KEESEP.

The post Tapit’s Edified Runs To ‘Rising Star’ Debut At Ellis appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The post Courtlandt Farm Goes to $1m for City of Light Colt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Courtlandt Farm's homebred Greatest Honour (Tapit–Tiffany's Honour, by  Street Cry {Ire}) was a serious early contender for the GI Kentucky Derby following flashy wins in Gulfstream's GIII Holy Bull S. and GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. last winter. After finishing a flat third as the 4-5 favorite in the GI Curlin Florida Derby Mar. 27, however, McGaughey decided to hit the reset button on the bay.

“I wasn't really pleased with the way he was going after the Florida Derby,” McGaughey said. “So, we gave him some time. Then we gave him a little bit more time. He's been back training now. He was training at Courtlandt Farm then he came to Payson Park and we stepped it up a little bit when he got there. So, this is where we are.

McGaughey added, “He was always a tall horse and probably didn't carry as much weight as a 3-year-old that I'd like for him to. I think that's all come together now. I like everything he's been doing.”

Greatest Honour, produced by an unplaced daughter of bluehen mare Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister) and hailing from the same female family as Classic winners Rags to Riches and Jazil, has posted three workouts since late January at Payson Park, most recently completing a four-furlong breeze in :50.40 (21/24) Feb. 14.

“So far, he's doing really well,” McGaughey said. “He's been breezing weekly at Payson Park and hopefully he's probably a month or so away. I haven't gotten any timetable [for specific races] for him. I'm just sort of waiting to let him to tell me. But, so far, so good.”

Last year's GIII Dwyer S. 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin–America, by A.P. Indy), meanwhile, has begun gearing up at McGaughey's Gulfstream base. A disappointing well-beaten third while suffering his first career defeat making his two-turn debut in Saratoga's 1 1/8-mile Curlin S. July 30, he was subsequently freshened after bypassing a potential start in the GI Pennsylvania Derby in September. He's breezed six times so far this year, including a five-furlong move in 1:01.46 (6/14) in Hallandale Feb. 14.

“There really wasn't anything the matter with him, I just wasn't all together pleased of where I stood with him, so I thought, 'Well, let's just give him some time,'” McGaughey said. “Time helped him a lot. He was at Barry Eisaman's and he did a great job with him. He got out here and had a really good bottom in him and he's been breezing ever since. Hopefully, we can find a spot for him down the road somewhere along the lines.”

The $1.5-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling is campaigned in partnership by West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, breeder Bobby Flay and Woodford Racing. First Captain, the first foal out of Flay's GSW & MGISP America, is bred on the same Curlin over A.P. Indy cross responsible for recently crowned champion Malathaat as well as GISWs Global Campaign and Idol.

“I just want them to have a good summer campaign, so I'm not in any hurry,” McGaughey concluded of the duo.

First Captain was his usual silky smooth self this am in a 5F breeze (1:02.1) with ⁦@jose93_ortiz⁩ up. This was his 4th breeze since arriving ⁦@GulfstreamPark⁩ on New Year's Eve. Good stuff. pic.twitter.com/jm7rbAhCdf

— Jason Blewitt (@jasonblewitt30) February 2, 2022

The post APBs: McGaughey Troops Gearing Up in South Florida appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

6th-AQU, $80K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 2:14 p.m.

Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey unveils a pair of well-bred newcomers in this salty-looking test. Courtlandt Farm paid $1,025,000 for Adam's Angel (Into Mischief) as a Keeneland September yearling. Out of stakes-placed Mary Rita (Distorted Humor) and bred on the same cross as Practical Joke and Life Is Good, the bay's third dam is the McGaughey-trained Hall of Famer and blue hen Personal Ensign (Private Account). Gainesway Stable and Andrew Rosen, meanwhile, will be represented by $340,000 KEESEP buyback Digital Asset (Tapit). Out of GSW First Passage (Giant's Causeway), she's a half to GSW Berned (Bernardini). Her dam is a half to the dam of this year's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst (Twirling Candy). This is the family of GISW Harmony Lodge and GSWs Win Crafty Lady, Graeme Hall, Win McCool, Stratford Hill, etc.

Stonestreet Stables LLC's $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Select Yearling Showcase acquisition Favor (Pioneerof the Nile) is out of a winning full-sister to GISW Cross Traffic (Unbridled's Song). Dam Fame and Fortune cost $500,000 herself and could run some–she romped second out over this same track and trip as a 4-year-old before missing out on black-type by a neck around two turns.

Augustin Stable's Send for Me (Into Mischief) was a $250,000 September yearling turned $500,000 OBS April juvenile off a :10 flat breeze. Her second dam is MGISW Versailles Treaty (Danzig), who also produced GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner George Vancouver (Henrythenavigator) and GSW Saarland (Unbridled). TJCIS PPs

The post Racing Insights for Saturday, Nov. 27 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

During the first of two sessions of the prestigious Book 1 catalog, Keeneland sold 95 yearlings for a total of $38,172,000, for an average of $401,811 and a median of $325,000. Totals include six horses sold via online bidding for $2,605,000. Three horses brought seven figures.

In addition to the 95 sold, 61 yearlings failed to exceed their reserve price, 39.1% of the 156 through the ring (compared to 36.3% RNA's from the opening session in 2020). Combined with the 45 lots withdrawn, there were 106 yearlings from the 201 catalogued (52.7%) that did not sell.

Keeneland amped up the atmosphere in the Sales Pavilion to kick off the September Sale to create excitement and showcase the best of what the Bluegrass has to offer.

“The sale should be a fun environment,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “It is exciting that we are here, that we are all back together and that we have these phenomenal horses on offer in Book 1. We had complimentary cocktails being passed and brunch being served, a Bluegrass band playing 'My Old Kentucky Home' on the auction stage right before the sale started. We worked hard to create that environment, and we got a lot of positive feedback. Book 1 at Keeneland's September Sale is special, and it deserves to feel that way.”

“Trade was really strong today,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “There was confidence, and the money was spread out over more horses. The energy on the grounds was very strong. I have not seen the Sales Pavilion this full in a long time.”

Betz Thoroughbreds, agent, consigned Monday's top-priced yearling, who also is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Echo Town and Grade 3 winner J Boys Echo. They are out of Grade 2 winner Letgomyecho, by Menifee.

Alan Quartucci of Northshore purchased the filly for owner Joe Allen and said she most likely will go to trainer Shug McGaughey.

“She looks like a real runner,” Quartucci said. “She has a fantastic pedigree that's still going forward every day. The filly who won in Saratoga (Echo Zulu) was amazing. (The yearling) was the whole package.”

Consigned by Mt. Brilliant Farm, a colt by Into Mischief from the family of North American champion and English and Irish highweight Islington (IRE) sold to Ron Winchell's Winchell Thoroughbreds for $1.35 million. He will be trained by Steve Asmussen.

“He's probably an Into Mischief who doesn't look like an Into Mischief,” Winchell said, “and I've had Into Mischiefs that look like Into Mischiefs and I can't seem to find the winner's circle with them, so I figured I would go a different direction. I knew he might be expensive.”

“He has always been outstanding,” said Mt. Brilliant owner Greg Goodman, who purchased the colt's dam, the Hard Spun mare Superioritycomplex (IRE), as a 3-year-old in England. “He's always done everything right. A calm horse, smart; we're really happy with him and we're really happy Mr. Winchell got him and that he's going to a good home.”

A filly by Uncle Mo out of the winning Forestry mare Nikki's Choice sold for $1.1 million to Don Adam's Courtlandt Farm.

Paramount Sales, agent, consigned the filly, who is from the family of Canadian champion Charlie Barley, Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Success Express and Grade 1 winner Greenwood Lake.

“She's an April foal, but you can see that she's still a little high behind and see she's gonna develop still,” Courtlandt's Ernie Retamoza said. “A real athletic, type-y filly, young mare, fits our program to a T. Not sure where we'll send her, but we'll get her home and break her. She acts like she's gonna be the right type of filly that we're looking for. Had to stretch, obviously, to get her, but Mr. Adam looked at her this morning and loved her – we all loved her – and we felt like she was a filly worth stretching for.”

“She was a beauty,” Pat Costello of Paramount said. “She didn't put a foot wrong from the day she was here, and we could see with the way the vetting was going, everybody was on her. She deserved to bring the kind of money she brought because she's just stunning. She came from a client of ours and she was always nice, very much so. We were delighted with the price. It was a little bit more than we thought she would bring.”

During the session, Courtlandt acquired five yearlings for $2.6 million to lead buyers.

Three yearlings on Monday sold for $950,000 apiece.

M.V. Magnier paid the amount for a colt by Quality Road whose dam is a half-sister to champion Rushing Fall. Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for WinStar Bred & Raised, consigned the colt, who is out of stakes winner Milam, by Street Sense.

“He is a lovely colt and he has done well his whole life,” Elliott Walden, WinStar's President, CEO and Racing Manager, said. “We are very proud of him and that Coolmore got him and wish him nothing but the best.”

Walden said he is confident in the market at this point of the yearling sales season.

“There are six race tracks with maiden races for over $100,000,” he said. “When I trained 15 years ago, we were running for $30,000. It is amazing. Purses have caught up and gives a person a chance to make money on the race track. I think that will translate all the way through. I don't know about you, but I have never seen so many people on Day 1 in there sitting down (in the Sales Pavilion).”

Taylor Made Sales Agency sold 14 yearlings for $5,782,000 to lead consignors during the session.

Donato Lanni, agent, spent $950,000 for a Medaglia d'Oro filly consigned by Claiborne Farm, agent. She is the first foal of the Distorted Humor mare Naples Princess, a full sister to stakes winner Banker's Buy, and from the family of champion Mitole and 2021 Grade 2 winner and Belmont (G1) runner-up Hot Rod Charlie.

Lanni bought the filly as agent for Michael Lund Petersen and Willow Grace Farm, owners of recent TVG Del Mar Debutante (G1) winner Grace Adler.

“She wasn't a hard one to find – she had everything,” Lanni said. “He's (Medaglia d'Oro) just a proven sire over and over. He's got good fillies, colts. (She has a) great female family. She's an athlete, she's classy and she's got pedigree. I hate to say it: She just checked all the boxes.”

Lanni said the market has “really been strong all year. There's a big appetite for really good horses out there and it's nice to see us get back to some kind of normalcy.”

A colt from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify who is a half-brother to multiple Grade 2 winner Pretty N Cool sold for $950,000 to Hideyuki Mori of Japan. Consigned by Baccari Bloodstock, agent, he is out of the Rockport Harbor mare Stayclassysandiego and from the family of Grade 1 winner Sean Avery.

Seven horses in Tuesday's RNA Reoffer
Seven horses who did not meet their reserves during Monday's session have been entered in the RNA Reoffer, a new program at this year's September Sale that will begin immediately following the final hip of Tuesday's second session. They are:

• Hip 6 – Into Mischief-Indian Rush colt consigned by Paramount Sales, agent;
• Hip 70 – First Samurai-Miss Singhsix (IRE) filly consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent;
• Hip 72 – Justify-Mo Chuisle filly consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent;
• Hip 111 – More Than Ready-Polish a Diamond colt consigned by Four Star Sales, agent for Westbury Stables;
• Hip 179 – American Pharoah-Sweater Weather colt consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent;
• Hip 195 – Uncle Mo-Terrific Treasure filly consigned by Mill Ridge Sales, agent; and
• Hip 197 – Nyquist-Thank You Marylou colt consigned by Ramsey Farm, agent.

“The RNA Reoffer is a mechanism for free trade,” Lacy said. “It has been well received. We have some people who feel that the market didn't treat them the way they expected. This program allows them to come back (with the horse) and maybe have a better reception tomorrow. This gives people a safeguard.”

To participate in the RNA Reoffer, sellers were required to inform the Sales office in writing no later than 30 minutes following the sale of the final hip of today's session.

A reserve must be placed and approved on reoffered horses, and must be within 15 percent above or below the initial hammer price. (Click here for information about the RNA Reoffer.)

The second session of the September Sale starts tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET. TVG2 will have live coverage of the session from 1-7:30 p.m. The entire sale is streamed live at Keeneland.com.

The post Grade 1 Winner Echo Zulu’s $1.4 Million Half Sister Tops Keeneland September Sale’s Opening Session appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

LEXINGTON, KY – The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, led by a trio of million-dollar yearlings, opened with a day of steady trade in Lexington Monday.

A total of 95 yearlings sold during the session for $38,172,000, at an average of $401,811 and a median of $325,000.

“I think the trade was really strong,” Keeneland's new vice president of sales Tony Lacy said at the close of business Monday. “The numbers may have stacked very comparably to last year, but I think there was a lot more confidence and the money was spread out over more horses. I think it's a healthier market in many ways. The energy on the grounds was very strong.”

During last year's first session, 109 head sold for $40,680,000. The session average was $373,211 and the median was $330,000.

From a catalogue of 201 head, 45 horses were withdrawn and 61 failed to meet their reserves for a buy-back rate of 39.10%.

“I think a lot of people got shut out today,” Lacy said. “I know there was one group of buyers, we actually sent them a bottle of bourbon because they were underbidders on 15 or 16 horses. That in itself is a very strong sign. When you have some higher RNA's that OK because these are people who want to race, they like their horses and that's not a sign of weakness, that's actually a sign of strength. So from a trading environment, I think it was excellent.”

A filly by American Pharoah (hip 43) was first to hit seven figures during the session when bloodstock agent Alan Quartucci bid a session-topping $1.4 million to acquire the yearling on behalf of Joe Allen. The youngster, a half-sister to recent GI Spinaway S. winner Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), was consigned by Betz Thoroughbreds. Also bringing seven figures Monday was a colt by Into Mischief (hip 177) who sold for $1.35 million to Winchell Thoroughbreds and a filly by Uncle Mo (hip 89) who brought a final bid of $1.1 million from Courtlandt Farm.

A standout among the buy-backs was a colt by Quality Road out of Justwhistledixie (Dixie Union) consigned by Clearsky Farms who RNA'd for $1.9 million. While connections plan to retain the yearling to race, there were seven horses who failed to sell Monday who have been added to Keeneland's new RNA Reoffer program which takes place at the end of Tuesday's second session of the auction.

“That might change,” Lacy said of the number of yearlings entered into the initiative. “We had two that were entered earlier and they got sold privately. And that's exactly the way it's supposed to work. And some of these may be sold privately before the end of the session tomorrow. That is a mechanism to allow free trade. And if something is not done by tomorrow evening, it allows them to run back through. It's been well received by the people who are using it. I think there was a little bit of uncertainty about what it really was, but now we are at the stage of the day where you may have had one or two people who thought the market didn't treat them the way they thought it would. It allows them to come back and hopefully have a better reception tomorrow.”

The seven yearlings currently scheduled to be reoffered Tuesday evening are: hip 6, hip 70, hip 72, hip 111, hip 179, hip 195, and hip 197.

Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of the partnership of SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables which was such a powerhouse buying group at last year's September sale, purchased four yearlings Monday for a total of $2,225,000.

“We bought two horses in the first 50 lots,” said SF Bloodstock's Tom Ryan. “The market seems to be strong. There is plenty of depth here and a lot of international participation. I feel like the rest of the sale will be strong.”

With a further 200 Book 1 yearlings to be offered Tuesday, consignor Chris Baccari admitted he has concerns about the number of yearlings who meet the session's elite standards.

“There only need to be 100 to 150 horses, that's all there is of Book 1 horses,” Baccari said. “Great sires, great female pedigrees, that vet, there are only 100 horses, maybe 150 horses, on the planet that meet all those requirements. It's like diamonds. If diamonds where as common as gravel, they wouldn't be worth anything.”

The Keeneland September sale continues Tuesday at 1 p.m. Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11 a.m. and, following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 24 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Allen Comes Out on Top for Echo Zulu Sis

Northshore Bloodstock's Alan Quartucci, acting on behalf of owner Joe Allen, was the first to sign a seven-figure ticket at Keeneland September Monday as he went to $1.4 million to secure hip 43, an American Pharoah half-sister to leading juvenile filly Echo Zulu (Gun Runner). The May 8 foal was consigned to the sale by Bill Betz's Betz Thoroughbreds and bred on an apparent foal share by Betz, J. Betz, Burns, CHNNHK, CoCo Equine, Ramsby and Ashford Stud.

“She looks like a real runner,” Quartucci said. “She has a fantastic pedigree that's still going forward every day. The filly who won in Saratoga was amazing. She was the whole package, I think.”

Quartucci said the filly would likely end up in the barn of Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey.

A $300,000 purchase here 12 months ago, Echo Zulu was turned over to Steve Asmussen by L and N Racing and Winchell Thoroughbreds and romped on debut at Saratoga July 15, good for 'TDN Rising Star' status and a gaudy 92 Beyer Speed Figure. She doubled up with similar flash in the GI Spinaway S. Sept. 5, and looms the likely favorite for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies at this stage.

Hip 43's dam Letgomyecho (Menifee) annexed the 2005 GII Forward Gal S. and later sold to Betz and partners for $135,000 in foal to Congrats at the 2011 Keeneland November sale. Since then she has also produced the likes of GSP Unbridled Outlaw (Unbridled's Song, $300,000 KEESEP '14); Grade III winner and 'Rising Star' J Boys Echo (Mineshaft, $485,000 KEESEP '15); and Echo Town (Speightstown, $100,000 KEESEP '18), winner of last year's GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial S. and now a member of Coolmore's stallion roster.

“She is a lovely filly,” Betz said of hip 43 last week. “She has strength, balance, good movement and temperament. She also has pedigree. Obviously the mother was a graded stakes winner and produced graded stakes horses, including Echo Town, who won the Jerkens last year at Saratoga. So, now with Echo Zulu, it's a pretty nice package.”

He added, “Anytime you get something current happening in the pedigree it is a pretty big plus. In her case, it is icing on the cake because you already had all that to begin with. To have a half-sister as exciting as Echo Zulu just solidifies her place as an elite filly.”

Allen and Quartucci struck again later in the day for an $850,000 Candy Ride (Arg) colt (hip 181) from the super deep female family of top-level winnners Verrazano, Chic Shirine, Queena, Keen Ice, Preservationist, Librisa Breeze, Harmonize, et al. —@BDiDonatoTDN

Winchell Wins Battle for Into Mischief Colt

Winchell Thoroughbreds's Ron Winchell went toe-to-toe with the Courtlandt Farm team late in Monday's KEESEP session to land hip 177, a son of leading sire Into Mischief, for $1.35 million. The bay was consigned by his breeder, Greg Goodman's Mt. Brilliant Farm.

The Feb. 14 foal is the first out of Superioritycomplex (Ire) (Hard Spun), a 400,000gns Tattersalls December purchase as part of the Ballymacoll Stud dispersal in 2017 who would go on to take a pair of allowances for Mt. Brilliant and Orrin Ingram the following season. His third dam is G1 Yorkshire Oaks heroine Hellenic (Darshaan), who in turn produced the great Islington (Ire) (Sadler's Wells).

“Into Mischief is great,” said Goodman. “We bought the mare in Europe, in England, at Tattersalls a few years ago. We just love the family–we also bought her sister [1,050,000gns MGSP Abingdon (Street Cry {Ire})] at the same time because it was a dispersal.”

As for hip 177, Goodman said, “He has always been outstanding. He's always done everything right. A calm horse, smart, we're really happy with him and we're really happy Mr. Winchell got him and that he's going to a good home.”

Winchell, who enjoyed a banner Saratoga meet thanks in large part to his Grade I-winning juveniles Gunite (Gun Runner) and Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), also picked up a $700,000 Into Mischief colt (hip 116) earlier in the session and a $150,000 son of American Pharoah (hip 183) a few hips after signing for 177.

“[Hip 177's] probably an Into Mischief who doesn't look like an Into Mischief, and I've had Into Mischiefs that look like Into Mischiefs and I can't seem to find the winner's circle with them, so I figured I would go a different direction,” Winchell quipped. “I knew he may be expensive, but you always hope for a little less.”

As for his leading freshman sire Gun Runner, whose four offerings Monday averaged $288,750, Winchell said, “To me, he is the perfect mix of speed and stamina and obviously that's proven now. His offspring are hitting the racetrack and obviously we have had a lot of success with them lately and we hope to continue to do that.” —@BDiDonatoTDN

Quality Road Colt to Coolmore

A colt by Quality Road attracted a final bid of $950,000 from Coolmore's M.V. Magnier during Monday's first session of the Keeneland September sale. The bay yearling (hip 64) is out of multiple graded-placed Milam (Street Sense), a half-sister to champion Rushing Fall (More Than Ready).

“We liked the horse, he's very athletic,” said Magnier. “Quality Road is doing very well. And this is a very nice horse. We plan to leave him in the U.S.”

The yearling was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency on behalf of his breeder, WinStar Farm. WinStar purchased Milam for $175,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November sale.

“He's done well his whole life and we are very proud of him and that Coolmore got him,” said WinStar's Elliott Walden. “We wish them nothing but the best with him.”

Walden said he saw a lot to be optimistic about heading into the two-week September sale.

“I feel really good. I have a lot of confidence,” Walden said. “There are six racetracks running with maiden races over $100,000. It's crazy. I trained 15 years ago now and we were running for $30,000, so it's just amazing. I think the purses have caught up with the expenses. It gives a person a chance to make money on the racetrack instead of just building equity in the horse.”

Walden continued, “I think it should translate all the way through the sale. Looking around here on day one, I've never seen so many people in there sitting down. So I feel very encouraged about it.”

Milam's filly by Curlin sold for $250,000 to BSW/Crow Bloodstock at last year's Keeneland September Sale and Liz Crow, bidding alongside trainer Brad Cox, was an underbidder on the mare's yearling Monday.

Also Monday, Magnier signed for a colt by War Front (hip 29) for $400,000. @JessMartiniTDN

Mori Justifies the Trip

Hideyuki Mori struck for three colts by Justify during Monday's first session of the Keeneland September sale. The Japanese trainer warmed up by purchasing a son of the Triple Crown winner who is a half-brother to champion Classic Empire (Pioneerof the Nile) (hip 133) for $625,000 from the Bluewater Sales consignment and he came back to acquire a half-brother to multiple graded stakes winner Pretty N Cool (Scat Daddy) (hip 161) for $950,000 from Baccari Bloodstock. Mori wrapped up his day one by buying with a son of Justify out of Grade I winner Streaming (Smart Strike) (hip 170) who was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale Sales Agency.

“I have seen a lot of the Justifys and I really like them,” Mori said through an interpreter. “They have a beautiful line and they move very well. Based on their action and physical form, I think they will probably perform quite well on the Japanese turf.”

Consignor Chris Baccari is another fan of Justify. Baccari purchased hip 161 for $435,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“I went out in search of the very best Justify I could possibly find, privately or at public auction,” Baccari said. “And I felt he was it. He is a great strong physical and I am a believer in the horse and I took a swing.”

While the gray colt, out of stakes-placed Stayclassysandiego (Rockport Harbor), was the first horse Baccari sent through the ring at the September sale, the horseman is looking forward to more success with Justify later in the fall.

“We had several Justifys that we've raised that are very nice–a couple that I raised were born later, they aren't as big as him because he is a January foal,” Baccari said. “But we have several others that are very nice. We have a couple others that are going to October that were born in May. I like how buoyant Justify was and how strong he was. I am trying to sell commercially, but the most important thing is for me to sell horses who run. And that is why I wanted to get tied to a horse like him.”

Baccari admitted he had hoped the gray colt would have attracted more bids.

“The air gets thin when you get past $800,000,” Baccari said. “A few years ago, we used to have buyers who were concerned about buying racehorses. The price didn't matter. I think people lose sight of one thing. Whether you give $300,000 or $3 million, if they are brilliant it doesn't matter. The price doesn't matter anymore. Being brilliant is what counts. And I think buyers sometimes lose sight of that, in my opinion. Because if you don't have brilliance it doesn't matter. If you have brilliance, it doesn't matter what they cost.” @JessMartiniTDN

Courtlandt Win Out on Uncle Mo Filly

Courtlandt Farm's Don Adam and his farm manager Ernie Retamoza were determined to take a home hip 89, a filly by Uncle Mo, and they fought off an equally resolute Donato Lanni to take the dark bay home for $1.1 million.

“She's an April foal, but you can see that she's still a little high behind and see she's gonna develop still,” said Retamoza. “A real athletic, typey filly, young mare, fits our program to a T. Not sure where we'll send her, but we'll get her home and break her. She acts like she's gonna be the right type of filly that we're looking for. Had to stretch, obviously, to get her, but Mr. Adam looked at her this morning and loved her, we all loved her, and we felt like she was a filly worth stretching for.”

Consigned by Paramount Sales, hip 89 was bred by Dr. Aaron Sones and hails from the family of Canadian champion Charlie Barley (Affirmed).

“She was a beauty,” said Paramount's Pat Costello. “She didn't put a foot wrong from the day she was here and we could see with the way the vetting was going, everybody was on her. She deserved to bring the kind of money she brought because she's just stunning. She came from a client of ours and she was always nice, very much so. We were delighted with the price. It was a little bit more than we thought she would bring.”

Courtlandt also struck earlier in the session for a $575,000 son of Speightstown (Hip 17).

“We loved him, but we had to stretch on him a little too,” Retamoza said. “We had Strike Power (Speightstown), who was pretty successful for us and he reminded me a lot of Strike Power. Speightstown is a great sire. We are really happy to get him.”

Courtlandt Farm was also back in action later in the day, purchasing a $400,000 City of Light colt (Hip 166); a $325,000 Flatter colt (Hip 158); and a $200,000 Union Rags filly (Hip 191).

—@CDeBernardisTDN

Sones Scores With Uncle Mo Filly

Dr. Aaron Sones experienced the biggest success of his breeding career at Keeneland Monday when an Uncle Mo filly out of Nikki's Choice (Forestry) brought $1.1 million from Don and Donna Adam's Courtlandt Farm.

“We always knew she was special, but you can never expect that,” said Sones, who founded and sold Physicians Management Group and currently serves as Director of Jackson Hole Trust. “I love Uncle Mo and knew this cross would be successful as it is the same cross as [champion] Nyquist. I'm thrilled.”

Sones became interested in hip 89's female family on a tip from Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. Bloodstock agent Mersad Metanovic helped Sones acquire Nikki's Choice's half-sister GSP Moyo Honey (Mizzen Mast), who he raced in partnership with Lorill Harlingten.

“My good friend D. Wayne Lukas turned me on to this family,” Sones said. “Moyo Honey had one of the quickest turns of foot I had ever seen. I went out and bought her mother [Charming Lauren (Meadowlake)] and then began acquiring more of the family.”

Sones breeds between 15 and 25 mares a year and keeps his broodmare band at Dr. Naoya and Marie Yoshida's Winchester Farm.

“We race quite a few colts, but we can't keep them all,” Sones said. “So we usually sell 50% and keep 50%. Our goal is to win the [GI] Kentucky Derby.” —@CDeBernardisTDN

Grace Adler Partners Go for Gold

Willow Grace Farm and Michael Lund Petersen, who campaign recent GI TVG Del Mar Debutante S. romper Grace Adler (Curlin), added another fancy filly to their roster Monday when acquiring hip 86, a daughter of Medaglia d'Oro from the Claiborne Farm draft, for $950,000. Agent Donato Lanni advised on the purchase, and three hips later was the underbidder on the $1.1-million hip 87.

“She's a really nice filly from a hot family,” said Claiborne's Walker Hancock. “She's a great filly–she's going to be a star, so I'm glad for the new buyers.”

Hip 86 was bred by The Estate of Edward A. Cox, Jr., who passed away in 2019. She hails from a deep female family that includes dual Grade II winner Live Lively (Medaglia d'Oro), last year's champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya) and this year's standout sophomore Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow).

“She wasn't a hard one to find–she had everything,” Lanni said of hip 86. “She was bred by a very good man who passed away. I really liked her and was just happy to buy her… [Medaglia d'Oro is] just a proven sire over and over. He's got good fillies, colts. [Hip 86 has] a great female family. She's an athlete, she's classy, and she's got pedigree. I hate to say it, she just checked all the boxes.”

The filly was the third high-dollar purchase Lanni had been credited with by nearly midway through the opening session.

“[The market's] really been strong all year,” he said. “There's a big appetite for really good horses out there and it's nice to see us get back to some kind of normalcy.”

Willow Grace Farm is the nom de course of Jim Burrows, who directed the hit TV show Will & Grace. Grace Adler is the sitcom's co-main character. —@BDiDonatoTDN

Avengers Strike at KEESEP

The ownership group nicknamed The Avengers was quite active as expected at the KEESEP opener, acquiring four colts to be trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. One of their first big purchases of the day was an $850,000 son of Into Mischief, a stallion who has already been quite good to the group headed by SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables with champion Authentic. Hip 53 was consigned by Taylor Made Sales on behalf of breeder Town & Country Farms.

“He will go to Bob Baffert,” said SF's Tom Ryan. “We are excited about him and I can't say enough about the horse. He looks like a nice two-turn colt. We will put him into the program and hopefully we will be talking about him this time next year.”

Town & Country Farms acquired hip 53's GSP dam Majestic Presence (Majestic Warrior) for $360,000 carrying her first foal by Runhappy at the 2017 KEENOV sale. The resulting foal, a now-3-year-old gelding named Gruntled, brought $230,000 from DJ Stable and her 2019 Candy Ride (Arg) colt sold to Brandon Parlante for $250,000 at KEESEP last year.

Donato Lanni also struck on the Avengers' behalf for hip 8, a $650,000 Quality Road colt out of MSW Inspired (Unbridled's Song); a $400,000 Into Mischief colt (hip 114); and a $325,000 son of Spendthrift's super sire (hip 155).

—@CDeBernardisTDN

The post Million-Dollar Yearlings Pace KEESEP Book 1 Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post