Curlin | Horse Racing Free Tips

Good Magic Yearlings Look to Have Sire’s Precocity

Curlin is in the midst of an exceptional year. He's the only North American sire with three Grade I winners already in 2021 with undefeated Kentucky Oaks heroine Malathaat, Florida Derby winner Known Agenda and Santa Anita H. victor Idol. He's also responsible for the buzz horse of the week in undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' and GIII Dwyer S. winner First Captain.

As expected from Curlin, a sire known for his Classic-producing abilities, all four of these current stars broke through to stardom as sophomores or older. And while two did break their maidens as juveniles, only Malathaat was a stakes winner at two.

So while it is not unheard of for Curlin to have a top-performing juvenile, it is a rarity. According to John Moynihan, that's what makes 2017 Eclipse Champion 2-Year-Old Colt Good Magic special.

“The most unique thing with Good Magic is that he was so precocious,” the Stonestreet bloodstock advisor noted. “People expect Curlin to get durability and ruggedness, horses that run far, Classic-type horses. But a lot of times those Classic-type horses don't also come in the form of early, precocious horses and I think that's what sets Good Magic apart.”

Of the seven sons of Curlin standing in Kentucky today, just two are graded stakes winners as 2-year-olds and Good Magic is the only GI-winning juvenile of the pair.

Retired to stud in 2019, the champion bred 164 mares off a $35,000 fee. He filled a book of 142 mares at the same fee the following year. Standing for $30,000 in 2021, the Hill 'n' Dale resident will soon see his first yearlings go through the sales ring.

Moynihan said the youngsters are showing every indication that they will soon display the same precocity as their sire.

“The Good Magic yearlings that we have here at the farm, as a group, are physically outstanding. They appear that they're going to be very early and precocious like he was. They look like they'll be very, very sound horses. Robert Turner, our yearling manager, said they are all great minded like he was. A lot of the traits that made him such a good horse, physically and mentally, he seems to be throwing to the offspring that we have here at the farm.”

Good Magic is out of the dual stakes-winning Stonestreet-bred Glinda the Good (Hard Spun), a daughter of Magical Flash (Miswaki), who produced six stakes winners from 14 winners.

“The family produces very hard-knocking, rugged racehorses,” Moynihan noted. “I can remember when Magical Flash was older, there was a year where three or four of her foals won a stakes race all within one year.”

Moynihan vividly recalls watching Good Magic, a homebred for Stonestreet, grow and develop in the same paddocks where some of his first progeny now reside.

“He was one of those rare horses that was always a standout from the time he was born to when you looked at him three months later to the time he was a weanling and on to a yearling,” he explained. “He was always a horse you looked at out in the paddock and said, 'Oh, who is that?' He had that kind of presence about him.”

Moynihan said that as Good Magic matured into a yearling, the colt impressed him more and more by the day.

“He improved and got better every day that he was here at the farm. Some horses go through phases where they're not as good physically one month and they get better the next, but this horse was outstanding physically every day we had him.”

The chestnut developed into a $1 million yearling at the 2016 Keeneland September Sale, where he was purchased by e5 Racing.

Stonestreet stayed in for a piece of the promising youngster, and after going through his initial training at Stonestreet's training center, Good Magic made his debut at Saratoga, coming up a length short to run a game second. Trainer Chad Brown was encouraged by the colt's performance and bumped him up in class to the GI Champagne S., where he ran second to eventual MGSW Firenze Fire (Poseidon's Warrior).

“After the race, Chad Brown told me that if Good Magic kept moving forward like he did between his maiden and the Champagne, he was going to want to run him in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile,” Moynihan recalled. “He called me three days later and said the horse acted like he never ran in the Champagne.”

So off they went to Del Mar, where Good Magic became the first horse in history to break his maiden in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

“It takes an extremely talented and extremely good-minded horse to go through those three races in that amount of time and hold up like that,” Moynihan noted.

Following a third-place finish in the GII Fountain of Youth S. and a victory in the GII Blue Grass S., the Eclipse Champion ran in the GI Kentucky Derby where he finished second to eventual Triple Crown champion Justify. Later that summer, he took the GI Haskell Invitational S. before retiring to Hill 'n' Dale with earnings over $2.95 million.

Moynihan said he believes Good Magic's first crop of yearlings represent the quality of mares the young sire saw in his first season at Hill 'n' Dale.

“He had a great book of mares, especially for a horse standing for $35,000,” he explained. “I know in respect to Stonestreet, and I think I'd be speaking on behalf of [Hill 'n' Dale] as well, we bred the caliber of mare that would go to a much higher-priced stallion than one standing for $35,000. That's how much we believed in him.”

Hill 'n' Dale Farm's John Sikura agreed.

“He has bred in excess of 100 mares every year,” Sikura said. “There has been great support from Stonestreet, from us, from SF Bloodstock and other shareholders. He has all the requisites you might look for in a horse in that he's a champion son of Curlin, very well bred, cost a million dollars as a yearling–all the things that a breeder would look for.”

“He represented great, great value [in his first year] at $35,000,” Moynihan said. “We thought he could stand for a little bit more money, but John wanted to be conservative and make sure breeders got the best chance for the first couple of years to make money with the horse.”

At last year's breeding stock sales, Good Magic's weanlings averaged $82,277, placing their sire within the top ranks of first-crop stallions in North America by average with 18 of 31 sold. His top lot, a half-brother to MGSW Lovely Bernadette (Wilburn) out of the winning Bernstein mare Inlovewithlove, sold to OXO Equine for $360,000 at Keeneland November. At the same sale, another colt out of SW Petition the Lady (Petionville) brought $200,000 to Stonehaven Steadings.

Good Magic colt out of Surf Light sells as Hip 303 at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

With the kickoff to the yearling sales approaching with the Fasig-Tipton July Sale on July 13, Good Magic will be represented by six members of his first crop.

Chris Baccari has one Good Magic yearling preparing to go through the ring at the upcoming auction with his Baccari Bloodstock consignment. The colt is out of the stakes-winning Malibu Moon mare Surf Light and will sell as Hip 303.

“He's a very straightforward colt,” Baccari said. “The thing I really like about him is that he has a two-turn pedigree, but he has a sprinter-type body. It looks like it will not take him very long to get ready. He's very sound and it looks like he can take a lot of training. He has a really pretty hind leg and is a really strong colt with a nice scope about him.”

Other notable pedigrees from Good Magic's progeny at Fasig-Tipton July include Hip 30, a half-brother to SW Empire Line (Morning Line) and out of a half to two stakes winners including champion Rushing Fall (More Than Ready), as well as Hip 86, a colt out of a half-sister to Breeders' Cup and Eclipse juvenile champion She Be Wild (Offlee Wild). View Good Magic's full Fasig-Tipton July roster here.

Moynihan said he thinks Good Magic's precocious-looking yearlings will be in high demand with the buyers.

“If buyers are looking to get a fairly quick return on their investment, he was such an early horse and he appears to be getting precocious horses that can get to the races quickly,” Moynihan noted. “He was also a sound horses, winning major races at two and three, so I think that's something buyers will look forward to getting in his offspring.”

“They're well bred, well made and sought after,” Sikura added. “Now the key is to win some races. We're excited for Good Magic's future. Hopefully he can be Curlin's next important son.

Click here for the full archive of our 2021 First-Crop Yearling Sires series.

The post Good Magic Yearlings Look to Have Sire’s Precocity appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Two Fresh Forces For The Next Cycle

Every year, like the fireflies, they emerge with the gathering heat of summer. Even as the more established sophomores hobble out of the Triple Crown series–many requiring rest or recuperation, some even menaced by retirement–a second wave reliably reinvigorates the crop. Sure enough, in recent days a couple of new names have volunteered themselves to test the resilience of those Classic protagonists who do persevere to Saratoga and beyond.

But while both share a fresh, progressive profile, in other respects they could scarcely be more different. 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin), winner of the GIII Dwyer S. on his stakes debut Monday, is beginning to live up to his onerous billing as a $1.5 million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga joint sale-topper by one of the world's leading stallions. In contrast Masqueparade, who won the GIII Ohio Derby the previous weekend, belongs to the very first crop of Upstart, an aptly named $10,000 foil at Airdrie to Hill 'n' Dale's $175,000 veteran.

If anything, First Captain's pedigree has become even more aristocratic since his presentation by one of the greatest of our horsemen, Arthur Hancock of Stone Farm, at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion in 2019. For he represents a celebrated dynasty already refreshed this year not only by GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. winner Greatest Honour (Tapit), but also by the 4-year-old Cezanne, another son of Curlin to have vindicated the top price at an elite sale. (Though it must be acknowledged that the $3.65 million Gulfstream 2-year-old has again evinced his fragility since that stunning return in the GIII Kona Gold S.).

Greatest Honour, Cezanne and First Captain all trace their ancestry to the matriarch Blush With Pride (Blushing Groom {Fr}), the GI Kentucky Oaks winner of 1982 whose daughter Better Than Honour (Deputy Minister) famously produced consecutive winners of the GI Belmont S.–Jazil (Seeking the Gold, 2006) and Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy, 2007). Both Greatest Honour and Cezanne do so through Better Than Honour herself, as second and third dam, respectively; but First Captain's mother, the Grade III winner America (A.P. Indy), is a granddaughter of Better Than Honour's half-sister Butterfly Blue (Ire) (Sadler's Wells).

It is remarkable to remind ourselves now that Blush With Pride was cashed in at the age of 18, for $635,000 at the Keeneland November Sale of 1997. At that stage, Better Than Honour was still only a yearling, but John Magnier and his partners in Coolmore–as so often–were ahead of the game even with an ageing mare who had appeared to make patchy use of her opportunities. By the time Better Than Honour had developed into an excellent track performer, and then an even better broodmare, Blush With Pride had closed out her own breeding career in Ireland with four foals by Coolmore's champion sire Sadler's Wells.

The first of these turned out to be the Group 1-placed juvenile Maryinsky (Ire), who later produced elite runners in Peeping Fawn (Danehill) and Thewayyouare (Kingmambo). And the next was Butterfly Blue (Ire), who only broke her maiden on the final of nine starts (albeit highly tried on occasion) for Aidan O'Brien and was culled with a maiden cover by Fasliyev, a precocious sprinter by Nureyev, for $610,000 to Horse France at Keeneland November in 2004.

The filly she was carrying that day was sold in the same ring 12 months later, for $290,000, to the late Jim Sapara of Winsong Farm. And it was only a couple of weeks after this filly, meanwhile named Lacadena, had added a stakes placing to her debut success at Woodbine in 2007 that her dam's half-sister was credited with her second Belmont success.

Her family tree having duly obtained a historic new distinction, Lacadena failed to meet her reserve at $1.4 million at Keeneland that November. Nonetheless, she resurfaced the following year in the silks of Bobby Flay, and though unable to win in a light sophomore campaign, she would prove a fertile investment.

Most obviously, when returned to Keeneland in 2015 to realize $1.3 million from Heider Family Stables. In the meantime, however, she had produced two significant daughters. One, Paris Bikini (Bernardini), brought $425,000 on finishing a mildly successful track career–only to work a big profit for WinStar last year when sold to Katsumi Yoshida for $1.95 million at Fasig-Tipton last November, her homebred daughter Paris Lights (Curlin) having won the GI Coaching Club American Oaks.

The other high achiever bred by Flay from Lacadena was America, the dam of First Captain. She was boldly retained at $725,000 as a Keeneland September yearling, a gamble that paid off fairly handsomely. For a start, she proved a productive performer for Bill Mott, winning five of 22 starts and adding podiums in the GI Mother Goose S. and GI Delaware H. to success in the GIII Turnback the Alarm H. And she was then, very presciently, mated with the sire of Paris Lights just days after that filly was foaled. The result is First Captain, who topped the Saratoga Sale just weeks before she was offered with an Uncle Mo cover at Fasig-Tipton in November 2019. Once again, the reserve was both ambitious–she was retained at $3.1 million–

and astute. Her half-sister, remember, would only be exalted by the rise of Paris Lights the following year.

The docket for her Curlin colt had been signed in as many as seven different names, but that of Flay himself has meanwhile resurfaced alongside three of them–West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm and Woodford Racing–in the partnership registered behind First Captain for his belated, but immaculate start for Shug McGaughey. After beating a next-out 'Rising Star' Mahaamel (Into Mischief) over seven furlongs in April, he graduated to an allowance score over a mile of slop before landing the odds, albeit not in the most flamboyant fashion, by reeling in a front-runner in the Dwyer. In fairness, he was forced wide entering the stretch and a second turn will doubtless tell us more about the feasibility of the GI Runhappy Travers S.

Given his trainer's admirable circumspection, the Curlin S. may well appeal not just for its aptness, but also as a less-searching rehearsal than the GII Jim Dandy S. Whatever happens, he will surely keep progressing. Even at the most elementary level, you would expect a Curlin colt out of an A.P. Indy mare to flourish with maturity and distance; and the anterior intervention of Sadler's Wells in one of the modern breed's landmark Classic families can only serve that orientation.

A.P. Influence Behind the 'Masque'…

A.P. Indy is also a significant presence behind Masqueparade, who is by a grandson and whose damsire is out of one of his daughters. This is a different kind of slow burn. Whereas First Captain was late on the scene, but landed running, Masqueparade did get onto the track at two (albeit only just) but then required four attempts round the Fair Grounds to break his maiden. With those foundations laid, however, he proved a revelation when Al Stall Jr. brought him up to Churchill, winning an allowance on the Derby undercard by just shy of a dozen lengths; and he then consolidated that breakthrough by seeing off some quite accomplished rivals at Thistledown.

I do like the antecedents of this horse, who represents not only a model barn, but also one of the most exemplary programs in the Bluegrass, having been bred by Brereton C. Jones in support of Upstart's debut at Airdrie Stud. (A $100,000 weanling pinhook, he made $180,000 from FTGGG as a yearling.) Masqueparade's dam, Cry War Eagle (Any Given Saturday), was recruited to the farm on her retirement for just $40,000 at Keeneland January 2015. It says plenty about our strange industry that her value as a weanling had depreciated so steeply–she had changed hands for $170,000 in the same ring-despite winning five of 20 starts in the meantime.

That record was sewn from hardy genetic reserves: her half-brother Actin Good (Yes It's True) was a stakes winner or graded stakes-placed in four consecutive seasons, including the GIII Pegasus S. among five wins in 25 starts overall. And their dam was a half-sister to Voice Of Destiny (Mane Minister), teak winner of 24 races (including a couple of graded stakes) between the ages of two and 10! Moreover, the next dam is an Alysheba half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Very Subtle (Hoist the Silver) plus another brisk one in Schematic (Upper Mile), whose respective win tallies ended up 12-for-29 and eight-for-15.

We can rely on Airdrie to draw out such wholesome ingredients not just in their broodmare band, but also in their stallion roster. Sure enough, Upstart was Grade I-placed at two, three and four, besides thrashing Frosted by five and a half lengths in the GII Lambholm South Holy Bull S.

How very auspicious, then, that Upstart should have made such a businesslike start with his first juveniles last year. Reinvestment Risk romped in an early maiden Saratoga to become a 'Rising Star' before twice chasing home speedball Jackie's Warrior (Maclean's Music) at Grade I level, while only the runaway train Not This Time mustered more freshman winners. Consistent with his own track profile, Upstart is now maintaining that momentum in a second campaign where only the eccentric case of Protonico deprives him of the highest earnings-per-named-foal among active Kentucky stallions in this intake.

In the meantime, moreover, he was again in conspicuous demand at the 2-year-old sales, advancing what was already a good yield for his second crop of yearlings (his $45,159 average held up well against fee, not least in a pandemic market and while rehousing as many as 41 out of 47 into the ring) as high as $113,250. Moreover, he has already bucked the usual trend, his first yearlings having been received so warmly (average $63,608) that his fourth book, a notoriously challenging one for most sires, went right back up to 90 after taking the customary slide from 146 to 86 and then just 38.

Both as a runner and a sire, Upstart has introduced more precocity than we associate with the Flatter brand. But remember how another son of Flatter, West Coast, is one of the best recent examples of the type of late-on-the-scene sophomore under discussion. (Though credited with beating all three Classic winners in his Travers, it would be churlish to pretend that they had made it to Saratoga in the same kind of form). So don't be surprised to see Upstart consolidate from here.

Other new names will doubtless emerge to challenge those who have absorbed the grueling Triple Crown trail, though Mr. Wireless (Dialed In) tore up the script prepared for odds-on Fulsome (Into Mischief) in the GIII Indiana Derby Wednesday. Remarkably, the breeders of Mr. Wireless, John and Iveta Kerber, had also been responsible for Iowa Derby winner Stilleto Boy (Shackleford) just five days previously. The Kerbers remain involved in Stilleto Boy and will be hoping to secure due reward for this notable achievement when he enters the ring at Fasig Tipton next week as hip 557 at the Horses of Racing Age Sale.

Not all of these later developers, of course, will cope with the raising of the bar. Some, like those fireflies, will fade away as shyly as they have emerged. But one or two, perhaps, will discover a glow that endures even until mirrored by the Pacific sunset at the Breeders' Cup in November.

The post Two Fresh Forces For The Next Cycle appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Max Shows Honor Still Cracking the Code

When a horse carries a name like this, there can be no evasion or equivocation. With due honesty, then, let us admit that Honor Code is not yet converting his transparent eligibility as a stallion–apparently so watertight in pedigree, physique and performance–in quite the fashion that seemed likely when he produced the luminous Honor A.P. from his very first crop.

Not yet. Small, agonizingly flexible words, in the context of a suffocatingly impatient marketplace. By any rational measure, it should still feel like early days in Honor Code's stud career. After all, his forte was always going to be two-turn horses that progress with maturity. And it was only this time last year that one such, Honor A.P., was basking in a decisive defeat of Authentic (Into Mischief) in the GI Santa Anita Derby. Luck would subsequently turn against this vital flagship, thereafter confined to two starts that did inadequate justice to his ability before being forced into retirement–and, indeed, into competition with his sire at Lane's End. But let's not forget that Honor A.P. was the only colt ever to beat the eventual Horse of the Year and, moreover, appeared to do so entirely on merit.

Even so, with only his second crop of sophomores barely halfway through their campaign, Honor Code somehow finds himself at something of a crossroads. For the success of Max Player in the GII Suburban S. last Saturday shone a fairly unsparing light on the fact that for now he remains Honor Code's only other graded stakes winner, besides Honor A.P., with just two other black-type scorers to back them up.

As another graduate of his first crop, of course, the fresh impetus of Max Player may yet be emulated by others responsible for this fitful record to date, which has seen Honor Code's fee halved to $20,000 from an opening $40,000. (A pretty standard slide, of course, as the freshman luster fades.) True, we all need to see Max Player do it again: the track was sloppy, and the runner-up perhaps a little rusty. But he certainly looked like a horse who, having meanwhile joined one of the powerful barns in the land, is belatedly renewing the promise of his GIII Withers S. emergence last year.

Regardless, long experience permits the people behind Honor Code to place in heartening context the teething problems of so many sires who then regrouped to become important contributors to the breed.

“You know, people rush to judgement so early,” says Bill Farish of Lane's End. “And we've seen it over and over again with our stallions: sometimes they just take a little while to get going. Kingmambo's first 2-year-olds just didn't light it up for people, and then he came on like crazy. We had quite a lot of interest in him [at that time] from abroad, but luckily Dad was pretty firm in his belief. And thank goodness. I remember breeding to him I think at $18,000, after he had started at $45,000. And there was a shareholder market significantly below that. What an opportunity that was!”

Before long, in fact, Kingmambo was standing at $300,000.

“We went through a similar experience with Smart Strike,” Farish continues. “And Curlin was another, just the same. It's amazing how everyone forgets now that Curlin went through a tough stretch before he came flying out. In the meantime, unfortunately, he had found a new home. But yes, he went through that same kind of patch. So we're still very optimistic that Honor Code can still go on the same kind of course.”

Having launched a series of new stallions over recent seasons, the farm routinely faces challenging decisions on the distribution of support among the broodmare band. But knowing that Honor Code was hardly likely to produce a bunch of Keeneland sprint maiden winners, he was maintained at full subscription (at least by the wisely temperate standards of this farm) through his first four years at stud. This third group of juveniles, then, represents a book of 154. And, in scanning the horizon for reinforcements, the Lane's End team can already make out the silhouettes of the cavalry.

The retention of several Honor Code yearlings for their racing division reflected a concern that they might be undervalued in a market so shaken by the pandemic. And Shug McGaughey, whose Hall of Fame career includes supervision of Honor Code's own track career, has encouraged them that this strategy will pay off.

“We've got an exciting group of 2-year-olds,” Farish says with enthusiasm. “There's a colt named Informal who's out of the Epsom Oaks winner Casual Look (Red Ransom). He should run in the first grass race up at Saratoga: obviously that makes sense with that female family. Another one who's quite close is Irish Sea, who's out of [multiple graded stakes winner] Irish Jasper (First Defence). I only mention those because they're just a couple of weeks off running, but we have three others that we're very high on. So we'll see.”

Farish acknowledges that some stallions won't make the grade even when, by all the consensus that governs breeding selection, it seems like they just can't miss. But the immediate advent of Honor A.P. really did appear to corroborate the sense of destiny vested in Honor Code, one of 36 named foals in the final crop of A.P. Indy–the breed-shaping farm icon, who finally passed on last year at the venerable age of 31.

Honor Code's maternal family, moreover, complements the aristocratic genes of A.P. Indy: his dam Serena's Cat (Storm Cat) made $1.4 million as a weanling grand-daughter of elite runner and producer Serena's Song (Rahy). And besides extending the Bold Ruler sire-line, Honor Code combines two mares that helped to make Bold Ruler's greatest son Secretariat such an important broodmare sire: A.P. Indy's dam Weekend Surprise, and damsire Storm Cat's mother Terlingua.

A Saratoga debut winner who missed a Grade I by a neck on his second juvenile start, Honor Code was sidelined from the Triple Crown trail by injury but matured into a tremendously charismatic dasher, pouncing from way off the pace in races like the GI Met Mile and, most memorably, the GI Whitney S.

That epic race, where Honor Code nailed Liam's Map on the line, had an intriguing sequel when the first three (Tonalist having also finished well for third) all ended up at Lane's End. And, since renewing their rivalry, they have been somewhat reprising their Whitney performances.

Liam's Map made a similarly explosive start to his stud career, with two Grade I winners among his opening salvo of juveniles immediately elevating his fee from $20,000 to $35,000. Tonalist, in contrast, was away relatively slowly and duly absorbed a series of fee cuts, standing this year at just $12,500. But he has been quietly working his way forwards through this competitive intake (headed by American Pharoah and Constitution): his black-type winners and performers now tally seven and 17, against nine and 16 for Liam's Map, and he recently registered a breakout Grade I success through Country Grammer. Indeed, Tonalist's diligent progress (currently fifth in the third-crop table) makes him look exceptional value–and he could yet become another slow-burning success along the lines of those cited by Farish.

That must also be the hope for Honor Code. This is a notoriously ruthless business and every farm, at some point, must decide when to yield to the prejudices even of a market as foolishly capricious as this one. But Farish is keeping the faith, albeit he acknowledges both that Honor Code needs to retrieve commercial attention and also that he faces an additional challenge in the rivalry of his own son Honor A.P.–introduced as a freshman this spring at a bargain $15,000.

It's a situation that presents difficulties to father and son alike, but they also share a glossy physical allure, showcased in their racing days by the earnest head carriage and raking stride trademarked by A.P. Indy himself.

“People are always a little hesitant to breed to a stallion whose own sire is still young, and hasn't proven himself as a sire of sires,” Farish accepts. “But people that come out and look at them generally end up breeding to them, because they're both very flashy, eye-catching types.”

So while Honor Code's book this time round was evidently down somewhat, from 138 mares in his fourth book and 85 mares in his fifth, he remains absolutely entitled to consideration–not least, in view of that seamless pedigree, by breeders disposed to retain a filly. Perhaps there isn't sufficient commercial oxygen in the modern market for all three of those Whitney protagonists to find a sustainable niche in the Bluegrass. But it's far from clear that the current balance of power, between them, will prove a lasting one. Remember that even their oldest stock has not yet arrived at the point in their careers that they themselves reached that day.

“Tonalist had a decent sort of book this year,” Farish reflects. “I think he's really in the fight, too, along with Honor Code. His race record was phenomenal. People forget that he won the [GIII] Westchester and the [GI] Cigar, and was really a good miler as much as anything. They're not all going to make the grade but they each have the chance to ride it out and come out the other side.

“But yes, while things like Max Player's win are great, you need more than that; you've got to have some new horses, some 2-year-olds coming along. And we're more than hopeful that we do. Sometimes you just need quite a bit of patience. It's interesting how we seem to have more stallions that need a bit of time, where other farms tend to have a bunch of hot 2-year-olds and then it all goes quiet. Ours seem to go a different route. But so long as they show up at some point, I guess it doesn't matter. And there are so many things to like about Honor Code that it's hard to imagine he's not going to come on through.”

The post Max Shows Honor Still Cracking the Code appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Unbeaten First Captain Progresses In Dwyer; McGaughey Eyes Travers

Highly-regarded First Captain lived up to his connections' aspirations, tracking a moderate pace along the rail and taking control in mid-stretch to remain undefeated while conquering his first stakes test in Monday's Grade 3, $250,000 Dwyer at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Trained by Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey for owners West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Woodford Racing and Bobby Flay, First Captain arrived at the one-turn mile for 3-year-olds off a first-level victory against winners at Belmont on May 29.

The talented chestnut posted a sharp debut score by three-quarters of a length over eventual winners Mahaamel and Repo Rocks going seven furlongs over Big Sandy on April 24.

First Captain broke toward the rear of the compact five-horse field while Ridin With Biden was first in command through an opening quarter-mile in 23.47 seconds over the fast main track, 1 ½ lengths clear of Gershwin and Snow House, who battled for second.

Ridin With Biden's lead dwindled through a half-mile in 46.67 as jockey Jose Ortiz started getting busy aboard First Captain, who made a four-wide bid around the far turn.

First Captain confronted the pacesetter just past the eighth-pole en route to a 1 3/4-length score, completing the journey in 1:36.19. Ridin With Biden held second by a half-length over Snow House. Gershwin and Civil War competed the order of finish.

Ortiz, who piloted First Captain in both of his previous efforts, said First Captain improved significantly.

“Last time, he was in the clear most of the time. Today, he was a lot better. He was behind horses and took some dirt,” Ortiz said. “They were running. They went 46 and when I put him in the clear it took me awhile to get into high gear, but when he did it, he used that beautiful stride of his. He went by them as he is supposed to, and he galloped out really well. I think he's going to improve with distance.”

First Captain provided McGaughey with his fourth Dwyer triumph, adding to a list that includes Seeking the Gold [1988], Coronado's Quest [1998] and Code of Honor [2019]. The latter two went on to win their respective year's edition of the Grade 1 Travers at Saratoga.

McGaughey said he would consider a start in the Grade 1, $1.25 Runhappy Travers on August 28 at Saratoga Race Course, but also didn't rule out the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy on July 31 – the Spa's local prep for the Mid-Summer Derby.

“We'll take a look at it,” McGaughey said. “I'll see how he comes back and how he is when he gets up there. That would be the best-case scenario. I'm glad to get this one.”

Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds said they initially considered running in his sire's namesake race, the nine-furlong $120,000 Curlin on July 30 at Saratoga, but the opportunity to garner a graded stakes win could not be passed up.

“He's never going to be a horse that just dazzles you, but you can tell he's just starting to get going,” Finley said. “We're very happy with him. We would have loved to have got him a little further in his third start, but it just wasn't to be. We were going back and forth to run in the Curlin, but this spot came up and it was too attractive. Now, I guess we can go to the Jim Dandy or wait for the Travers.”

Now 3-for-3, First Captain banked $137,500 in victory, over doubling his lifetime earnings to $237,500. Going off as the 2-5 favorite, First Captain returned $2.80 for a $2 win bet.

“He was a lot steadier today. I knew he was winning his first two races on ability, but I didn't really know what to think of him,” McGaughey said. “Today, he showed me something, especially that two turns is going to be in the bag, I think. I liked the way he took the dirt; he took it a lot better today than he did the last time. He was a little further back than I thought he would be. But that's why they are what they are. I thought we were in pretty good shape coming up to the quarter-pole.”

Bred in Kentucky by Bobby Flay, First Captain is by multiple-champion producing sire Curlin and out of the graded stakes-winning A.P. Indy broodmare America. He is a direct descendant of influential broodmare Best in Show – a prominent line that includes American classic winners Jazil, Rags to Riches and War of Will, as well as Grade/Group 1 turf winners Peeping Fawn, Denon, Good Journey, Chimes of Freedom, Spinning World, Domedriver, and popular Japanese champion Almond Eye.

First Captain was a $1.5 million acquisition from the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale, where he was consigned by Stone Farm.

Live racing resumes on Friday afternoon with a nine-race card. First post is 1 p.m. ET.

NYRA Bets is the official wagering platform of Belmont Park, and the best way to bet every race of the 48-day spring/summer meet. Available to horseplayers nationwide, the NYRA Bets app is available for download today on iOS and Android at www.NYRABets.com.

The post Unbeaten First Captain Progresses In Dwyer; McGaughey Eyes Travers appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post