Curlin | Horse Racing Free Tips

Million-Dollar Matings

The fireworks at the annual Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton November sales are always a highlight of the year as seven-figure bids abound on some of racing's top broodmares and broodmare prospects. But after the dust settles, it can be years before words get out on the breeding careers of the sales' top offerings. We catch up with the connections of a few of these most recent million-dollar broodmares and learn of their mating plans for 2021 in our ongoing 'Million-Dollar Matings' series.

CONSTELLATION (Bellamy Road-For Royalty, by Not For Love)

Sale: 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale

Purchaser/Owner: Don Alberto Corporation

Produce Record: 2019 Curlin colt, 2021 Into Mischief filly

2021 Booking: Quality Road

Offered carrying her first foal by Curlin, Grade I winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Constellation was purchased for $3.15 million by the Don Alberto Corporation at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Her Curlin colt would go on to sell for $250,000 to Repole Stables and St. Elias Stables at last year's Keeneland September Sale.

After visiting Into Mischief but failing to produce a foal in her first year with Don Alberto, she was bred back to the Spendthrift sire last year.

Don Alberto's former Executive Director Fabricio Buffolo reported that Constellation foaled her Into Mischief filly on Jan. 31.

“We are extremely happy that she had a nice, robust filly,” he said. “She has been developing well. You can tell that she has all the parts there to turn into a nice filly as she grows.”

Buffolo said that Constellation will be bred to Quality Road this year.

“It will be interesting to see how she will produce with a horse like him with more scope and size,” he noted. “It's all about getting to know the mares and how they produce and it's a mating that has some contrasts on the physical aspect, which sometimes can be rewarding. Bellamy Road has only three blacktype winners as a broodmares sire and all three are from Mr. Prospector-line stallions.”

After a 'Rising Star'-worthy debut win as a juvenile for LNJ Foxwoods, Constellation ran in the money in her next two graded starts before capping off her 2-year-old season with a win in the Furlough S. As a sophomore, she added two more stakes wins before taking the GI La Brea S. At four, the chestnut ran second in four straight graded races including the GI Madison S. at Keeneland.

CALEDONIA ROAD (Quality Road-Come A Callin, by Dixie Union)

Sale: 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale

Purchaser/Owner: Narvick International

Produce Record: 2020 Justify filly, 2021 Justify colt

2021 Booking: Kizuna (Jpn)

Eclipse Champion Caledonia Road was purchased by agent Emmanuel de Seroux of Narvick International for $2.3 million at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

The million-dollar earner was bred to Justify as a maiden and produced a filly in January last year. De Seroux reported that the filly is “doing great” at the Ito family's Grand Farm in Japan, where Caledonia Road also resides.

The mare was bred back to Justify and foaled a colt on Jan. 27 this year.

“He's reported to be a very good foal,” de Seroux said.

This year, Caledonia Road will visit champion Kizuna, a son of the late influential Japanese sire Deep Impact and the leading Japanese freshman sire in 2019.

Trained by Ralph Nicks, Caledonia Road won on debut and ran second in the GI Frizette S. before taking the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Filles to win Eclipse honors for Champion 2-Year-Old Filly in 2017. She is a half-sister to stakes winner One of a Kind (Lemon Drop Kid) and hails from the family of Grade I winners Data Link (War Front) and Hymn Book (Arch).

CATHRYN SOPHIA (Street Boss-Sheave, by Mineshaft)

Sale: 2017 Keeneland November Sale

Purchaser/Owner: Bridlewood Farm and Don Alberto

Produce Record: 2018 Pioneerof the Nile filly, 2019 Medaglia d'Oro filly, 2020 Into Mischief colt. In foal to Curlin.

2021 Booking: None

One year after Bridlewood Farm and Don Alberto partnered up to buy a sales-topping Baffled (Distorted Humor) for $3.5 million, the same duo went to $2.3 million at the 2017 Keeneland November Sale to purchase 'TDN Rising Star' Cathryn Sophia. The 2016 Oaks heroine was carrying her first foal by Pioneerof the Nile.

The Pioneerof the Nile filly, now named Mezcal, was purchased for $625,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale by Bobby Flay, but does not yet have any recorded works or starts.

Cathryn Sophia produced a Medaglia d'Oro filly in 2019 and last year, foaled an Into Mischief colt in May.

“He is a late foal that has developed so well over the last few months,” said Don Alberto's Fabricio Buffolo. “He is a strong individual and typical of what you expect of the sire.”

Buffolo reported that this year, Cathryn Sophia is in foal to Curlin. A similar mating proved successful when the Hill 'n' Dale sire produced champion and young sire Vino Rosso with a Street Cry (Ire) mare.

Because Cathryn Sophia's Curlin foal is expected to arrive late, Buffolo said that she will take a year off this year.

Purchased as a yearling by Cash Is King LLC and trained by John Servis, Cathryn Sophia broke her maiden on debut by 12 3/4 lengths before crushing the competition in the Gin Talking S. by 16 1/4 lengths in her next start. She won her sophomore debut in the GII Forward Gal. and maintained the undefeated streak in the GII Davona Dale S. After a third-place finish in the GI Ashland S., the Maryland-bred scored a victory in the GI Kentucky Oaks. In the later half of her sophomore season, she ran third in both the GI Acorn S. and GI Cotillion S. and caught a win in the Princess of Sylmar S.

Cathryn Sophia was offered at the 2016 Fasig-Tipton November Sale as a broodmare or racing prospect and sold to SF Bloodstock for $1.4 million. It was announced a month later that she would retire from racing, and she returned to the sales ring a year later in foal to Pioneerof the Nile.

GALILEO GAL (Galileo (Ire)-Alpha Lupi (Ire), by Rahy)

Sale: 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale

Purchaser/Owner: Craig Bernick

Produce Record: 2020 Kingman (GB) filly. In foal to Lope de Vega (Ire).

2021 Booking: Kingman (GB)

The regally-bred Galileo Gal was offered at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. Watch out feature leading up to the sale here. She was purchased by Craig Bernick for $1.4 million.

She was sent to Norelands Stud in Ireland and was first bred to Juddmonte's hot young sire Kingman.

That mating produced a filly that is now a yearling.

“We are happy with [her],” Bernick said. “Our plan is to put her into training with Jessica Harrington next year.”

Galileo Gal was next bred to Ballylinch Stud's Lope de Vega (Ire) and Bernick reported that she is expected to foal any day now. She will return to Kingman later this year.

Bred by the Niarchos family, Galileo Gal was purchased by Gary Barber as a yearling and brought to race in North America, where she was a winner at three and four. The chestnut is a half-sister to champion and four-time Group 1 winner Alpha Centauri (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), as well a second G1 Coronation S. winner in Alpine Star (Ire) (Sea the Moon {Ger}) and stakes winner Tenth Star (Ire) (Dansili {GB}). Her family includes several other champions in Miesque (Nureyev), East of the Moon (Private Account) and Rumplestiltskin (Ire) (Danehill), as well as Group 1 winners and sires Kingmambo (Mr. Prospector) and Karakontie (Jpn) (Bernstein).

The post Million-Dollar Matings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Impressive Allowance Winner Known Agenda May Target Florida Derby

St. Elias Stable's Know Agenda may have earned his way into the $750,000 Curlin Florida Derby (G1) presented by Hill 'n Dale at Xalapa field Friday after romping to a 11-length victory in the Gulfstream Park's featured Race 4, a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds.

“We'll talk about it with Mr. Viola and Mrs. Viola and their team,” said trainer Todd Pletcher, who trains the son of Curlin for Vinny and Teresa Viola's St. Elias Stable. “We'll talk about it, but I think he ran well enough today that it's definitely in play.”

Known Agenda, who was sent to post as the 1-2 favorite in a field of six, rated off a solid early pace contested by Etched in Stone, Top Gun Tommy and Warrior in Chief during a half-mile in 47.89 seconds. Top Gun Tommy won the pace battle to take a clear lead into the stretch under Paco Lopez, but Known Agenda loomed large on the turn and quickly took charge at the top of the stretch and drew off under Irad Ortiz Jr.

The son of Curlin ran the Florida Derby distance of 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.47 while equipped with blinkers for the first time on the day before a field of 10 3-year-olds compete in the $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth (G2), a key prep for the March 27 Florida Derby.

“Johnny [Velazquez] recommended blinkers last time. We just needed to get him a little more focused. We know he's got a lot of talent. He's shown it in the mornings and hints of it in the afternoon,” Pletcher said. “We're just trying to get him a little more consistent. It looks like today the blinkers helped. He got into the race a little bit more and won impressively in the end.”

The St. Elias Stable's homebred colt finished fifth in the Feb. 6 Sam F. Davis (G3) at Tampa Bay Downs after racing far back early. In his prior start, he finished a distant third in the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct after getting bumped at the start.

Known Agenda's victory came two days after it was announced that Pletcher is among the 2021 National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame nominees in his first year of eligibility.

“It's an honor to be nominated. I'm very thankful for all the opportunities we've had over the years,” Pletcher said. “We've been blessed to train a lot of great horses for a lot of great people and have a tremendous staff backing us up.”

Pletcher, who has saddled a record five Florida Derby winners, has saddled the winners of more than 5,000 races and $400 million in purses.

The post Impressive Allowance Winner Known Agenda May Target Florida Derby appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Known Agenda Possible for Florida Derby

St. Elias Stable's Known Agenda (Curlin) may have earned his way into the GI Curlin Florida Derby field Friday after romping to a 11-length victory in the Gulfstream Park's fourth race, a 1 1/8-mile optional claiming allowance for 3-year-olds.

“We'll talk about it with Mr. and Mrs. Viola and their team,” said trainer Todd Pletcher. “We'll talk about it, but I think he ran well enough today that it's definitely in play.”

Known Agenda, who was sent to post as the 1-2 favorite in a field of six, rated off a solid early pace contested by Etched in Stone (Cairo Prince), Top Gun Tommy (Mineshaft) and Warrior in Chief (Kantharos) during a half-mile in :47.89. Top Gun Tommy won the pace battle to take a clear lead into the stretch under Paco Lopez, but Known Agenda loomed large on the turn and quickly took charge at the top of the stretch and drew off under Irad Ortiz Jr. The chestnut covered the Florida Derby distance of 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.47 while equipped with blinkers for the first time.

“Johnny [Velazquez] recommended blinkers last time,” said Pletcher. “We just needed to get him a little more focused. We know he's got a lot of talent. He's shown it in the mornings and hints of it in the afternoon. We're just trying to get him a little more consistent. It looks like today the blinkers helped. He got into the race a little bit more and won impressively in the end.”

The homebred finished fifth in the Feb. 6 GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs following a distant third in the Dec. 5 GII Remsen S. at Aqueduct after getting bumped at the start.

The post Known Agenda Possible for Florida Derby appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Bloodlines Presented By Mill Ridge Farm: Clairiere Displays The Winning Formula For Stonestreet

The prep races at the Fair Grounds brought out some of the bright prospects for the 2021 classics, and the winners of both the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra and the G2 Risen Star Stakes are a filly and a colt marked for classic potential by their immediate antecedents.

Stonestreet Stable's Clairiere (by Curlin) won the Rachel Alexandra and is by a Preakness Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic winner out of a mare by a Preakness winner, Bernardini (A.P. Indy). Juddmonte's Mandaloun won the Risen Star and is by the sire of 2020 Kentucky Derby and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Authentic (Into Mischief) out of a mare by Belmont Stakes winner Empire Maker (A.P. Indy).

The recipe is clear. Breed a top-class stallion to a daughter of a classic winner, especially if it's a classic son of Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic winner A.P. Indy.

In addition to Authentic, Into Mischief is also responsible for Kentucky Derby third Audible, who is a G1 winner and is a sire standing at WinStar Farm. This year, Into Mischief also has the highly regarded Life is Good (2021 Sham Stakes) and Mutasaabeq (2021 Mucho Macho Man Stakes) working their way along the classic trail.

In contrast, Curlin is light-handed for colts at the moment, but the glowing chestnut titan is flush with fillies. As of the weekend, chief of these is Clairiere, who picked up 50 points for the Kentucky Oaks and guaranteed herself a starting gate position if all goes well between now and the filly's classic.

And among Curlin's stakes horses of 2021, at least five by the two-time Horse of the Year are out of daughters of Horse of the Year A.P. Indy or one of his sons. Is this the greatest cross of the present day?

Bred in Kentucky by Stonestreet Bloodstock LLC, Clairiere is the first foal of the Bernardini mare Cavorting, who won three Grade 1 races (Test, Personal Ensign, and Ogden Phipps). That race record shows that Cavorting had first-class speed, especially for a daughter of champion Bernardini, who sires a sprinter only by accident, but some of his best are so talented that they can race effectively at almost any distance.

Cavorting was one of the latter, as she proved with a Grade 2 victory in the Adirondack Stakes at two, then progressed at three and four to win Grade 1 races both years.

Bred by Swettenham Stud and purchased by Stonestreet as a weanling for $360,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November sale, Cavorting earned $2 million her new owners. John Moynahan picked out Cavorting for Stonestreet and recalled that she “was a beautiful foal. Total quality.

“Then as a yearling, she looked like she'd be a very precocious 2-year-old. She won her debut by 11 lengths, then won the Adirondack by a length and a quarter,” from Angela Renee, another Bernardini filly who won the G1 Chandelier Stakes later that year. Fifth in the Adirondack was Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway), who won the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and was named champion of her division for 2014.

Cavorting went to the G1 Frizette unbeaten in two starts but finished seventh and “had to be put on the shelf due to some minor bone bruising,” Moynahan recalled, “although she never had any real soundness issues.”

“When she got older,” Moynahan said, “[trainer] Kiaran [McLaughlin] came with the idea to try her going two turns,” and Cavorting won the last three starts of her career going a mile or more, including two of her three Grade 1s.

On retirement, great hopes were held for Cavorting because “she's kind of a throwback who can last on the New York circuit to win major races at two, three, and four. Real hickory,” Moynahan said.

Sure enough, the lovely bay mare has continued her winning ways at stud. Clairiere is the first foal of her dam and now is her first graded stakes winner. The Rachel Alexandra winner is the 74th stakes winner for Curlin. Since Clairiere, Cavorting has produced a 2-year-old filly by Medaglia d'Oro who is yet unnamed and has a yearling full brother to Clairiere. Bred to Quality Road last year, the mare was barren.

The mare is booked to Into Mischief.

Clairiere is the third generation of her female family to win a graded stakes, as the filly's second dam is the Carson City mare Promenade Girl, who won the G2 Molly Pitcher, four other stakes, and also was third in the G1 Spinster and Ogden Phipps.

“Cavorting's pedigree, physique, and attitude made us very hopeful for her prospects as a broodmare,” Moynahan said, “and now it looks like she could be a tremendous producer, the sort of mare who could get a world-class champion.”

The post Bloodlines Presented By Mill Ridge Farm: Clairiere Displays The Winning Formula For Stonestreet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post