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In The Stud Presented By Kentucky Equine Research: Tapwrit, First Crop Weanlings Of 2020

Going to stud with a classic win under one's belt is often enough to generate plenty of interest in a young stallion. Being a son of top commercial sire Tapit with a classic score on the resume only serves to further fuel the fire.

On this edition of In The Stud, we speak to Sean Tugel of Gainesway about Tapwrit, the 2017 Belmont Stakes winner whose first foals are weanlings of 2020.

Tapwrit was slotted for big things after selling for $1.2 million as a yearling, and he lived up to the lofty expectations. As a juvenile, he won the Pulpit Stakes going a mile at Gulfstream Park. He then emerged as one of the top 3-year-olds of his class the following season, winning the G2 Tampa Bay Derby in the spring and adding the crown jewel to his resume in the summer when he won the Belmont Stakes.

Tapwrit is out of the Grade 1-winning Successful Appeal mare Appealing Zophie, making him a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Ride a Comet. He will aim to be the successor to his sire, Tapit, who has been the anchor of the Gainesway stallion roster for a decade and a half.

The In The Stud video series, put together by our friends at EquiSport Photos, features up-and-coming names in the stallion ranks, with a focus on those whose first foals are weanlings of 2020. Paulick Report bloodstock editor Joe Nevills interviews farm staff about the stallion's appealing qualities and what mares might work best with them, while giving viewers and potential breeders a chance to see the stallion on the walk and on the racetrack.

The post In The Stud Presented By Kentucky Equine Research: Tapwrit, First Crop Weanlings Of 2020 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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McKinzie Retired to Gainesway

Four-time Grade I winner McKinzie (Street Sense–Runway Model, by Petionville) has been retired from racing and will stand stud at Gainesway in 2021, the farm announced Wednesday evening.

“McKinzie was absolutely brilliant. He was an undefeated Grade I winner at two, as well as a multiple Grade I winner and top-rated horse at three and four years of age,” Brian Graves, General Manager of Gainesway, said. “His speed, precocity and good looks make him an absolute standout.”

Purchased by Karl Watson, Michael Pegram and Paul Weitman for $170,000 at Keeneland September, the bay was named in honor of trainer Bob Baffert’s late longtime friend Brad McKinzie, a Los Alamitos executive. Tabbed a ‘TDN Rising Star’ for his debut win at Santa Anita in 2017, he crossed the line second in that year’s GI Los Alamitos Cash Call Futurity S., but was promoted to first via DQ.

Kicking off his sophomore season with a win in the 2018 GIII Sham S., McKinzie was second in the GII San Felipe S. that March and was subsequently shelved. Resurfacing that September, he won the GI Pennsylvania Derby and failed to fire in the GI Breeders’ Cup Classic, but rebounded with a decisive win in the GI Malibu S. Second in both the 2019 GII San Pasqual S. and GI Santa Anita H., the colt was ultra-impressive when winning the GII Alysheba S. and was a close second in a salty renewal of the GI Met Mile last summer. A decisive victor of the GI Whitney S., the Baffert runner completed the exacta in both the GI Awesome Again S. and Breeders’ Cup Classic.

McKinzie made four starts this year with his best effort being a good-looking victory in the GII Triple Bend S. He retires with a record of 18-8-6-0 and earnings of $3,473,360.

“From day one, McKinzie has just been exceptional,” said Baffert. “He is a gorgeous physical with brilliant speed and stamina. I’ve only had one other horse in my career that has been able to accomplish what he’s done by winning a Grade I at two, three, and four. It takes an extraordinary horse to achieve that.”

Bred in Kentucky at Jane Lyon’s Summer Wind Farm, McKinzie is out of MGSW and MGISP Runway Model, who was purchased by Lyon for $2.7-million at the 2006 KEENOV sale. Her most recent foal is the 3-year-old filly Map Maker (Liam’s Map). Runway Model has been retired from the breeding shed, but one of her older fillies Malibu Model (Malibu Moon) has now taken up broodmare duties at Summer Wind in her place.

“McKinzie is the best son of Street Sense, his Ragozin sheet numbers are as impressive as I have seen and to maintain that speed and soundness over multiple seasons takes an absolute superstar,” said Sean Tugel, Gainesway’s Director of Stallion Sales and Recruitment. “He has everything you want in a stallion prospect.”

The post McKinzie Retired to Gainesway appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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McKinzie Retired To Gainesway Farm For 2021 Breeding Season

McKinzie, a four-time Grade 1 winner, has been retired from racing, and he will begin his stallion career at Gainesway in Lexington, Ky., for the 2021 breeding season, the Daily Racing Form reports.

The 5-year-old son of Street Sense was under consideration for this year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at Keeneland. Instead, he finishes his career with eight wins in 18 starts for earnings of $3,473,360.

Trained by Bob Baffert for owners Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman, McKinzie won on debut as a juvenile by 5 1/2 lengths at Santa Anita Park, and he parlayed that into a victory in the Grade 1 Los Alamitos CashCall Futurity. At three, McKinzie kicked off the season with a victory in the G3 Sham Stakes, and he later added wins in the G1 Pennsylvania Derby and G1 Malibu Stakes.

The colt continued to be one of the best in his class at age four, racking up wins in the G1 Whitney Stakes and G2 Alysheba Stakes, and finishing the year with a second in the Breeders' Cup Classic. This year's campaign was highlighted by a win in the G2 Triple Bend Stakes.

Grade 2 Winner Bird Song Sold To Stand In Saudi Arabia

Multiple stakes winner Bird Song (Unbridled's Song – Bird Town) has been purchased to continue his stud career in Saudi Arabia in a deal brokered by Chad Schumer of Schumer Bloodstock.

The 7-year-old son of Unbridled's Song previously stood at Gainesway Farm in Kentucky. His oldest crop are yearlings of 2020.

Trained by Ian Wilkes on behalf of famed breeder Marylou Whitney, Bird Song won five races, including the Grade 2 Alysheba Stakes at Churchill Downs. That gate-to-wire victory over Honorable Duty, Noble Bird, and American Freedom capped an excellent 4-year-old campaign that also saw him win the G3 Fred W. Hooper Stakes at Gulfstream Park and run placed in the G3 Hal's Hope and Ben Ali Stakes.

Bird Song boasts a pedigree out of the top drawer as a son of Marylou Whitney's champion Kentucky Oaks heroine Bird Town. In turn, that daughter of Cape Town is a half-sister to Belmont Stakes winner Birdstone, subsequently a classic-producing sire.

The post Grade 2 Winner Bird Song Sold To Stand In Saudi Arabia appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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