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Four Share Furlong Bullet Thursday in Timonium

TIMONIUM, MD – Four juveniles shared the co-fastest furlong time of the week during the third and final session of the under-tack show for next week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Thursday.

A colt by Midnight Storm (hip 477) was the first to record the :10 flat bullet time Thursday when working early in the day's first set for consignor James Layden.

“I was really pleased with that,” Layden said of the work. “He's been doing good all year and I just wanted him to show up today when it counted.”

The dark bay colt is out of Freedom Come (Lit de Justice) and is a half-brother to graded stakes winner Harlem Rocker (Macho Uno). Layden purchased the youngster for $8,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale.

“He just looked the part to me,” Layden said of his impressions of the colt last fall. “He was a good solid colt and I just liked the way he looked.”

In addition to his bullet work, hip 477's prospects in the sales ring next week should also be bolstered by the popularity of his first-crop sire. Midnight Storm, winner of the 2016 GI Shoemaker Mile S., stands at Taylor Made Farm for $7,500. The stallion was represented at last month's OBS April sale by a trio of six-figure juveniles, led by a colt who sold for $550,000.

“I am right happy with it,” Layden said with a smile when asked about the stallion's popularity in the sales ring this spring. “I didn't think he would be as hot as he actually is. I didn't think they would be quite this precocious.”

Torie and Jimbo Gladwell's Top Line Sales sent a filly by Palace (hip 515) out to share the :10 flat bullet Thursday morning. Out of Honky Tonk Angel (Bluegrass Cat), the bay is a half-sister to stakes-placed Tapiz Dream (Tapizar).

“It's hard to say we were expecting :10 flat, but we were,” admitted Jimbo Gladwell. “She had worked really good at the farm, exceptional, and she prepped good here last week. We knew she was the fastest one we brought up here and it was just a matter of if she'd do everything right. This track is a little tough to gauge sometimes and it doesn't take much of a hiccup to knock a tick or two off, so we were just hoping she would do everything right and she did.”

The filly was purchased by the Grade I Investments of Gladwell's sister and brother-in-law Nellie and Chetley Breeden for $8,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton February sale.

“They have been doing some pinhooking and partnerships and Nellie helps my dad break and train his horses,” Gladwell said. “[Picking the filly out] was her and my brother-in-law and my dad, so all credit goes to them. They've trained her and got her ready all year. We've literally had her for two weeks up here. We will take most of the credit, but they've done most of the work for sure.”

Top Line Sales, which had its first seven-figure sale when bloodstock agent Gary Young purchased future Grade I winner Princess Noor (Not This Time) for $1.35 million at last year's OBS April sale, decided to skip the 2020 Timonium sale, but the Gladwells are happy to be back in Maryland.

“We had a small group coming up here last year and we were going to come, but we had a few horses chip and need surgery and just a few little things go wrong,” Gladwell said. “It just felt like everything was telling us to stay home, so we did. But it's great to be back. We hated missing it. It was a heck of a sale last year and the breeze show looks like it was well-attended up there in the bleachers this week. Fasig-Tipton does a great job of getting people here and they are going to put on a top-class sale here next week.”

Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables had its second bullet work of the week when a colt by Nyquist (hip 524) worked the furlong in :10 flat Thursday. The chestnut is out of In It For the Gold (Speightstown), a daughter of multiple Grade I placed All Due Respect (Value Plus). Bred by Fifth Avenue Bloodstock, the juvenile was a $67,000 Keeneland January short yearling and was purchased by BRD Racing for $60,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Wavertree topped the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale in March when selling a colt by GI Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist for $2.6 million to Coolmore.

Hip 394, the final horse in Thursday's second set, was the last of the three-session under-tack show to complete his furlong in :10 flat. Consigned by Joe Deegan's Shamrock Stables, the bay colt by Maclean's Music is out of multiple stakes winner Coco Belle (Storm Boot). He was purchased privately after RNA'ing for $14,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“I bought him in September with Ted Campion,” Deegan, a trainer and former jockey, said. “He did really well over the winter. He toed out a little bit when he was a yearling, but he straightened up when he grew, his shoulders came out. He's a very athletic horse.”

Of the colt's work Thursday, Deegan added, “I expected him to work well, but you never know until they do it. He had prepped really nice and he's always done it very easy. This is the most we've ever asked him to do. Up to this, we've just done small bits and small bits to have him just come here needing and wanting to do it. He was happy doing it and he galloped out strong.”

Deegan came to the Midlantic sale with a pair of juveniles, both of whom worked on the under-tack show's final day. After hip 394's work, the Irishman had to wait again until the session's sixth session for his colt by Cupid (hip 441) to work in :10 3/5.

Asked if the waiting was indeed the hardest part, Deegan said, “It is, but you've got to wait your turn. I'd like to have it over with.”

A colt by Empire Maker (hip 550) turned in the fastest quarter-mile drill of Thursday's session, covering the distance in :21 4/5 for de Meric Sales. The juvenile is out of Lady Pewitt (Orientate) and is a half-brother to champion 2-year-old filly Jaywalk (Cross Traffic) and to multiple stakes winner Danzatrice (Dunkirk). Bred by Gainesway, he was purchased by Danny Pate for $40,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale. His full-sister sold for $2 million at the 2019 Keeneland September sale.

During the three-day under-tack show, 11 juveniles shared the :10 flat bullet furlong time and a pair of youngsters shared the bullet quarter-mile time of :21 2/5.

The Midlantic sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday with bidding commencing each day at 11 a.m.

The post Four Share Furlong Bullet Thursday in Timonium appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Union Rags Filly Swiftest in Timonium Wednesday

TIMONIUM, MD – The second of three under-tack sessions ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale got underway minutes after 8 a.m. with chilly temperatures in the mid-40s and a tailwind which remained fairly steady throughout the day's seven sessions at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Wednesday. Five of the day's six fastest times came during the session's first 20 minutes, with a filly by Union Rags equaling Tuesday's quarter-mile bullet time of :21 2/5 and four horses sharing the co-bullet furlong time of :10 flat. It wasn't until the day's fourth set that a fifth juvenile hit that mark.

Consignor Tom McCrocklin sent a filly by Union Rags (hip 295) out to work a quarter-mile in :21 2/5 Wednesday, matching Tuesday's fastest time for the distance.

“She is a super nice filly,” McCrocklin said. “She showed up and I expected her to. She was that way at the farm and she prepped that way here. She's really classy and sound. She galloped out good. She's a lovely filly–probably my favorite horse we had all year.”

The bay filly is out of stakes winner Afleet Lass (Northern Afleet) and is a half-sister to graded placed Honor the Fleet (To Honor and Serve). Bred by Gainesway, she was purchased by McCrocklin for $20,000 at last year's Keeneland September Yearling Sale.

“I'm still not sure how I got her for $20,000, but it was one of those things at Keeneland where you hit a soft spot,” McCrocklin said. “I bought her from Gainesway and I remember walking up there and [Gainesway's] Lakota [Gibson] said, 'No reserve.' That can be good or bad because when you hear no reserve, you never know what to think. But she's been really nice all year.”

The second horse on the track Wednesday, a filly by Race Day (hip 340), equaled Tuesday's bullet furlong time when working in :10 flat for Grassroots Training & Sales. Bred by Dala Farm, the bay filly is the first foal out of Battle Tux (Into Mischief).

Eddie Woods's consignment had its second bullet worker of the week when hip 211, a colt by Quality Road, covered his furlong in :10 flat Wednesday. Bred by Jon Clay's Alpha Delta, the dark bay colt is out of the unraced Stormy Welcome (Storm Cat), a half-sister to graded winner Guest Suite (Quality Road). The colt's third dam is Weekend Surprise (Secretariat), dam of A.P. Indy and Summer Squall.

A colt by American Pharoah (hip 337) shared the :10 flat bullet when working for Raul Reyes's Kings Equine. The chestnut colt is out of Baroness Aamoura (Theatrical {Ire}) and is a half-brother to stakes-placed Madam Aamoura (Zensational). His second dam is multiple graded stakes winner Anguilla (Seattle Slew).

“We were very happy with it,” Reyes said of the work. “He prepped pretty fast and he prepped fast at the farm, so this wasn't really a surprise.”

Bred by Zayat Stables, the juvenile RNA'd for $145,000 as a weanling at the 2019 Keeneland November sale and for $45,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“I bought him right after [the September sale],” Reyes said. “I was looking for an American Pharoah for the right price and he looked kind of fast. He looked a little rough as a yearling, but he has changed a lot. He looks like a more serious, stronger horse. He is big-bodied.”

Kings Equine has sent out 12 juveniles to work through the first two sessions of the under-tack show in Timonium.

“The track here is very consistent,” Reyes said. “You can work good any time. I like that about Maryland. You can come at 4 p.m. and still do good.”

Rounding out Wednesday's first set :10 flat workers was hip 260, a colt by Munnings consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables. Dunne purchased the dark bay colt, who is a Pennsylvania-bred out of Tweet (Medaglia d'Oro), for $55,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

“Munnings is a handy stallion. He's one of those middle-range horses. The Pennsylvania-bred thing didn't hurt and the price was right,” Dunne said of the colt's appeal last fall. “We always bought him with Timonium in mind. And we actually stuck to the plan for a change. We'll see how that works out.”

Dunne agreed the track in Timonium has remained consistent throughout the under-tack show's first two sessions.

“We worked a horse in the fifth set that we like quite a bit, a Klimt colt (hip 311) and he worked good, he went in :10 1/5,” Dunne said. “So I think it's been fine all the way through. It was the same for us yesterday. They all worked about like we would have expected them to work.”

Wavertree opened the juvenile sales season with a pair of blockbuster seven-figure pinhooks at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale and Dunne said he was “cautiously optimistic” heading into next week's two-day Midlantic auction.

Turning heads during Tuesday's first breeze show session from the Wavertree consignment was a daughter of Quality Road (hip 46) who worked her furlong in :10 1/5. Out of a half-sister to champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road), the bay filly was a $230,000 purchase at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale.

“The Quality Road filly that worked yesterday is a really nice filly with a huge pedigree,” Dunne said. “She was also always earmarked for here, being such a late foal [May 22] and coming from the October sale. Our breaking process is like watching paint dry, so it is hard for us to get those horses to the earlier sales.”

Rounding out Wednesday's :10 flat workers was hip 264, a colt from the first crop of multiple graded stakes winner Tom's Ready (More Than Ready). Out of Uno Royale (Macho Uno), the dark bay was consigned by De Meric Sales and was purchased by Silvestre Avila for $15,000 at last year's OBS October Sale. Avila, an exercise rider for the De Meric operation, has made a habit of turning bargain-priced yearling purchases into pinhooking coups in recent years.

“He keeps buying these $15,000 horses and turning them into $150,000 and then some 2-year-olds,” said Nick de Meric before adding with a chuckle, “We are starting to re-think our whole program. We are just going to give him all our money and let him go do it. He's done great this year, which is really heartwarming. A couple of guys in the barn are partners with him on the horse. So it is really great to see. Hopefully they will all make a little paycheck out of it.”

Tom's Ready won the 2016 GII Woody Stephens S. and GIII Ack Ack S., as well as the 2017 GIII Bold Ruler H.

“I haven't seen a lot of them,” de Meric said of offspring of Tom's Ready. “This guy is kind of built for this track. He's got that More Than Ready look about him and a good strong body type. He's not super big, but very fast and early looking. That type tend to do really well on this track and he was no exception.”

The de Meric family will be looking to turn a quick profit on another juvenile in its Midlantic consignment, having purchased a filly by Bernardini (hip 217) for $40,000 privately after she had RNA'd at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale in March. The first foal out of stakes winner Super Allison (Super Saver) had been part of Kirkwood Stables' Gulfstream Gallops group, which had purchased her for $25,000 at the 2020 Keeneland September sale. She worked a furlong Wednesday in :10 2/5.

“The plan was to flip her here and see if we could turn a dollar,” de Meric said. “To be honest, Tristan [de Meric] was contacted about that filly and went over to see her. She's a typical Bernardini, a lighter-framed kind of filly. She really stepped up here. She had a lot to learn in a relatively short space because she was in that galloping program and hadn't done much breezing. She's really moved forward and she prepped ok here, but she stepped forward on her breeze when it mattered. We are very happy with her breeze.”

De Meric continued, “You never quite dare think you got a bargain until they go through the ring. That's when you find out if you've got a bargain. We thought she was good value. Bernardini is such a good broodmare sire and over the years, he's been good to us. So we weren't afraid to give it a shot. The Gulfstream sale is a boutique sale. If everything aligns and falls into place, it can be spectacularly good, but there isn't much margin for error as we all have learned. She just didn't quite impress enough at the time, but hopefully she'll get it right up here”

Also coming out of Kirkwood's Gulfstream Gallop program is hip 166, a colt by More Than Ready who RNA'd for $115,000 in Hallandale and worked the quarter-mile bullet in :21 2/5 for Kip Elser's consignment Tuesday.

Another Gulfstream Gallop graduate is hip 221, a son of Street Sense who was purchased by the Wycoff family's Three Diamonds Farm for $25,000 in South Florida in March. The colt worked a furlong in :10 4/5 from the Crane Thoroughbred Services consignment Wednesday.

The Midlantic under-tack show concludes with a final session Thursday beginning at 8 a.m. The auction will be held next Monday and Tuesday with bidding commencing each day at 11 a.m.

The post Union Rags Filly Swiftest in Timonium Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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More Than Ready Colt Sets Midlantic Bullet

TIMONIUM, MD – The under-tack show ahead of next week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale kicked off under sunny skies and unseasonably cool temperatures in the mid-50s at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Tuesday. A colt by More Than Ready turned in the day's fastest quarter-mile work, while a colt by Malibu Moon and a filly by Empire Maker shared the fastest furlong time.

Kip Elser's Kirkwood Stables sent out hip 166, a son of More Than Ready out of graded winner Separate Forest (Forestry) to work the quarter-mile bullet of :21 2/5 during the fifth of seven sets Tuesday. Elser purchased the colt for $75,000 as part of his Gulfstream Gallop pinhooking partnership at last year's Fasig-Tipton October. After galloping at the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream under-tack show, the dark bay colt RNA'd for $115,000.

“He galloped well and I was surprised he didn't get more attention at Gulfstream,” Elser said. “We took him home, gave him three weeks in the paddock and galloped him and breezed him a couple of times. And that's all he did.”

Elser said of the colt, “He's like a lot of More Than Readys, he's not real big. But I have loved More Than Ready since the day I bet on him the day he broke his maiden at Keeneland for Todd [Pletcher]. And he's been good to me ever since. He's a remarkable sire–200+ stakes winners all over the world. He's been good for everybody that's ever been near him.”

Three years ago, Elser had success in the Midlantic sales ring with another colt who had RNA'd at a previous juvenile sale that spring. By Mucho Macho Man, the colt RNA'd for $55,000 at OBS March before working the quarter-mile bullet in :21 1/5 and selling for $625,000 to Michael Lund Petersen. Named Mucho Gusto, the handsome chestnut went on to win the 2020 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational.

“They liked him better here,” Elser said of that 2018 result.

Asked if he thought the buyers might also like this colt by More Than Ready more in Timonium, Elser chuckled and said, “I'd imagine.”

The first 195 catalogued juveniles worked over seven sets, beginning at 8 a.m. and continuing until shortly before 3 p.m. Tuesday.

“This is always as a good a track as there is anywhere,” Elser said of conditions at the Timonium oval. “These guys are consistent. They do a great job. They care about it. One of the things that really helps–it makes for a slightly longer day–but cutting it off at 22 in every set so every horse gets a fresh racetrack. I'm a big fan of this racetrack and the crew that takes care of it and I always have been. Not just this year, but every year.”

During the day's first set, a colt by Malibu Moon (hip 164) worked the furlong in what would be the day's co-bullet :10 flat. Out of Seeking Atlantis (Seeking the Gold), the bay is a half-brother to Seeking Her Glory (Giant's Causeway). His second dam is multiple graded stakes winner Atlantic Ocean (Stormy Atlantic).

Bred by Castleton Lyons and Kilboy Estate, the juvenile RNA'd for $135,000 at the 2020 Keeneland January sale. He is consigned to the Midlantic sale by Eddie Woods.

“I was delighted with the work,” Woods said. “He's a big, stretchy horse. So for him to be able to do that around here is pretty good. He wasn't on his right lead, unfortunately, but the video still looks good. He just tries so hard. And he's coming off a mile track. So they have trouble adjusting to a little track like this and the leads some of the time.”

Woods continued, “I haven't had him that long. He came up from Bill Harrigan. Bill owns him in his partnership. They did a great job, as usual, getting him ready.”

Last year's Midlantic sale was pushed back to the end of June due to the pandemic and Woods did not offer a consignment at the 2020 auction. The Irishman admitted he was happy to be back in Timonium this year.

“All of the sales are important, just to keep our industry rotating, rolling along, and this is part of the rotation,” Woods said. “And this is a good sale because there are buyers who come here that don't go anywhere else. It's always been a good place to sell a nice horse, but then anywhere is a good place to sell a nice horse. They always find them. You look around, most of the top-end people, they attend all the sales. It's the other guys that kind of clean up, the locals come in and buy here. There are a lot of racetracks within a short commute of here, so hopefully they need product.”

Working during Tuesday's fourth set, a filly by Empire Maker (hip 109) shared the bullet furlong time of :10 flat. The bay is out of Pontiana (Deputy Minister)–a daughter of Grade I winner Shine Again (Wild Again)–and she is a half-sister to stakes-placed Addibel Lightning (Colonel John).

The juvenile was consigned by Kevin McKathan's McKathan Bros. Sales and was purchased for $125,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October sale.

The seventh and final session of Tuesday's under-tack show was delayed when hip 130 was injured and had to be pulled up on the backstretch following her work. The filly was taken off the track by horse ambulance.

The under-tack show continues through Thursday with sessions beginning each day at 8 a.m. The Midlantic sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday with bidding commencing both days at 11 a.m.

The post More Than Ready Colt Sets Midlantic Bullet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Under-Tack Show Starts Tuesday

The under-tack show ahead of next week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale begins Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. Catalogued hips one through 195 are slated to work Tuesday, with hips 196 through 390 working Wednesday and hips 391 to 587 working at the show's final session Thursday.

The Midlantic sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday with bidding beginning each day at 11 a.m.

Last year's Midlantic sale, which was delayed until late June due to the pandemic, was topped by a $1.1-million son of Uncle Mo. The colt was one of 303 juveniles to sell at the 2020 auction for a gross of $23,572,500. The average was $77,797 and the median was $40,000.

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