Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 139 entries for its February Digital Sale, including phase one of the Ruis Racing LLC Dispersal. Entries may be viewed here and bidding is open now through Tuesday, Feb. 20, beginning at 2 PM ET.

“Fasig-Tipton Digital continues to gather momentum and traction with buyers and sellers, evidenced by the size and quality of this February Digital Sale catalogue,” said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales.

The catalogue includes horses of racing, breeding stock, a 2-year-old, and 22 yearlings.

Offerings include several recent winning and stakes-winning horses of racing age, a group of graded-stakes performing broodmare prospects and a current graded stakes producer in the dam of GIII Sam F. Davis winner No More Time (Not This Time).

Covering sires include Army Mule, Epicenter, Essential Quality, Flameaway, Golden Pal, Mitole, and Not This Time.

Also featured in the catalogue are breeding stock and yearlings from Phase One of the Dispersal of Ruis Racing LLC, which are consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency. The Ruis Racing LLC entries consist of breeding stock and yearlings and all are selling without reserve.

The dispersal features several mares in foal to Bolt d'Oro, as well as Hard Spun, Lexitonian, and Mystic Guide. Sires of broodmares and broodmare prospects include Bolt d'Oro, Elusive Quality, Harlan's Holiday, Into Mischief, and Kingman (GB).

“Phase One of the Ruis Racing LLC Dispersal adds significant interest to this catalogue,” added Aaron.  “His program is truly unique in that it is a family operation that bred and trained their own horses and has had tremendous results doing so. Horses were raised and developed with one goal–to win the sport's biggest races.”

Phase Two of Ruis Racing LLC's Dispersal will be conducted in Fasig-Tipton's April Digital Sale, and includes horses of racing age, two-year-olds, and additional yearlings.

The post Bidding Open For Fasig-Tipton Digital February Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“This is a strong colt with great bone and muscle”, said Coteau Grove Broodmare Manager Jacob Cyprian. “He has a beautiful head with quality. We sold his half-brother for good money so hopefully this colt will do the same.”

Out of Grade III-winning Lady Shipman (Midshipman), Golden Pal won seven graded stakes from 5-5 1/2 furlongs, including the GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint followed by the GI Turf Sprint in 2021. He also annexed consecutive editions of the GII Woodford S. at Keeneland, in addition to the 2022 GII Shakertown S.

The post First Foal for GISW Golden Pal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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As usual, we've sieved out the new sires, having given them a separate treatment at the outset. Instructively, however, it's a tier dominated by stallions still in the early stages of their careers. And there is an auspicious flux here. One or two, if building on a promising start on the track, could conceivably prove to be on their way to stardom.

Inevitably, there are also plenty of sires only trading at this kind of fee because they have not yet been exposed on the track. The reality is that few of these will ultimately hold out. And while we've cheerfully highlighted value about a couple of sires at a similarly untested stage, earlier in this series, that's harder to do at this money.

But what these horses do generally have behind them, having started with the sort of profile that merits a strong opening fee, is numbers.

Handsome as he is, for instance, and fast as he ran, it seemed staggering that YAUPON should have covered as many as 242 mares for his debut in 2022, behind only Gun Runner. But next time round, we saw another farm go to a dizzier level yet, allowing rookie turf sprinter GOLDEN PAL to entertain no fewer than 293.

Yauppon | Sarah Andrew

Now we all understand how this model works and breeders embrace it with open eyes. Some will hit a home run, but they're going to have to stand out from a crowd. You all know what the stakes are, and whether it can work in your program, and you don't need me preaching one way or the other. For the record, Yaupon duly processed 36 of 40 weanlings at an average $130,888/median $100,000.

He had to settle for 202 mares last time, some of his 2022 supporters having doubtless flitted straight to Golden Pal; but others yet will have switched to his new studmate CYBERKNIFE, who mustered 223. Gun Runner has risen so fast that more affordable sons are finding themselves quickly in the game, and this was one of his breakout stars who beat a 37-year track record in the GI Haskell S.

The sophomore frustrations of CORNICHE cannot have helped his cause, so a book of 180 pays tribute to the brilliance of his championship campaign. As much as the way he dominated the crop as a juvenile, the pinhookers will be dwelling on his $1.5-million breeze as a 2-year-old (and 98 Beyer on debut). Some arcane names seed his family, but the genes were all functioning in his dam, six-time graded stakes scorer Wasted Tears (Najran).

Standing on a couple of farms that know how to keep a young stallion in the game, Golden Pal, Yaupon, Cyberknife and Corniche all take a trim in 2024 from $30,000 to $25,000.

The industrial approach is long familiar at Spendthrift and Ashford, but Juddmonte also played a candidly commercial game with MANDALOUN, who opened with as many as 211 partners. So he has certainly been given every chance of riding the luck he enjoyed when promoted from second for both his Grade Is. He actually paid somewhat for that rather freakish fortune, in that it distracted people from his inherent merit. Meanwhile he's another taking a clip, in his case from $25,000 to $20,000.

These horses are slipstreaming a handful on the brink of launching their first runners. One who excelled at the sales was WAR OF WILL, whose $117,202 average (for 61 of 77 sold) placed him third in the debutants' table (sales up to $650,000, $85,000 median). He duly retains his opening fee at $25,000. War of Will appeals as a stallion for our times, as a Grade I scorer on both dirt and turf, but the clincher is a Niarchos family saturated with quality. A full subscription of 143 mares in his debut book has predictably tapered a little since (112 and 84), but the enthusiasm of the market is a huge plus for a horse who must contend with its crass reservations about anything–even a Preakness winner!–bearing a taint of turf.

Two others from his intake not only started out with very similar books (157 and 159), but achieved an identical median of $53,500 with their first yearlings. That was better news for GAME WINNER than TIZ THE LAW, in that they opened at $30,000 and $40,000, respectively. Their averages were very similar too: the former sold 66 of 84 at $95,772, just behind the latter with 64 sold of 70 at $99,835. They remain in step now, both down to $20,000 for 2024.

It was Tiz the Law who rallied in his second book, to 218 mares against 131 for Game Winner, and maintained an advantage of 131 against 96 last spring. He collected a series of stallion-making Grade Is–Champagne/Florida Derby/Belmont/ Travers–and might well have added the Derby if only it had been run at the normal date in 2020. That makes him look a lot of horse at this money.

As for Game Winner, he obviously offers commercial precocity as an unbeaten champion juvenile, and very few of the crop managed to close the gap on him at three.

Maximus Mischief | Louise Reinagel

How those behind this trio would love to see them emulate MAXIMUS MISCHIEF, VINO ROSSO and FLAMEAWAY, who have all just completed their freshman season in a way that has earned an elevation in fee for 2024.

Spendthrift buddies Maximus Mischief and Vino Rosso contested second in the first-season sires' table all the way to the wire. The former–repeatedly advised as a commercial no-brainer at $7,500–is hiked to $25,000 and Vino Rosso, having been kept in the game in familiar fashion by halving to $15,000 from an opening $30,000, now inches back up to $20,000.

Inevitably their farm has succeeded in maintaining volume behind both horses. In their fourth books, Vino Rosso covered 171 mares and Maximus Mischief 159. Pretty impressive, given how many of their original supporters must have been the type that annually jumps from one new sire to the next.

Vino Rosso, having himself thrived with maturity, has surprised people with the precocity of some stock, but then you're going to get many different flavors with no fewer than 155 named foals in your debut crop! His 23 winners actually represent an unremarkable percentage, then, but where Vino Rosso does deserve credit is in mustering four to make the frame at Grade I level. Overall this has been an unproductive class, in graded stakes terms, but at least Vino Rosso has been coming up with the right caliber.

Maximus Mischief has mustered a solitary graded stakes placing, though of course he was dealing with relatively modest materials when starting at a quarter of Vino Rosso's opening fee. This is a big moment for him, in that he needs to capitalize on his platform of 31 winners with an upgrade in mares at his new fee. (Predictably enough, he has already launched the highest percentage of named foals among all the freshman sires, at just about two-in-three). His yearling average held up well, with 57 of 67 sold at a $38,000 median (average $47,312) compared with $40,000 (average $57,019, as much as anyone could have asked off a $7,500 conception) for 77 sold last year.

Vino Rosso's 75 sales from 98 yearlings offered from his second crop achieved a $45,000 median ($55,558 average), down from $61,000 ($94,287 average) for 112 sold on debut. But his own template (and that of his own sire Curlin) is encouraging for his stock to keep progressing now, and interestingly both Vino Rosso and Maximus Mischief moved their weanling prices back up compared with 2022.

Hats off to Flameaway, meanwhile, for getting closest to breaking up the Spendthrift freshman monopoly. None of the quartet above him can match his four stakes winners, while he joins only champion Mitole and Solomini in relieving the overall embarrassment of the class in at least managing one graded stakes scorer.

It must be said that he had decent numbers behind him, with 109 named foals, but by the same token the pipeline will be maintained by three-figure books annually since. Like Maximus Mischief, he needs to seize the moment after making precisely the same leap in fee, to $25,000 from $7,500. His second crop of yearlings didn't really reflect the fine start made by their predecessors, 41 of 54 changing hands at an unchanged median of $30,000 (average $44,950, down from $49,340). But there should be plenty of action to come from such a versatile horse, who won at various trips on three different surfaces. Auspiciously, his flagship Dreamfyre divided her two graded stakes wins between six furlongs of dirt and a mile of turf. Flameaway's third dam is a true matriarch in Europe and he offers all the flexibility we should be seeking in a changing landscape.

 VALUE PODIUM

Bronze: BLAME
(Arch–Liable, by Seeking the Gold)
Claiborne, $25,000

How many of the aspiring youngsters who dominate this tier will end up achieving anything like as much as Blame? Entering his 13th season at stud, he has settled into the middle of this bracket as by far its most established operator. In fact, he's become a rather unique horse at this level. Everyone else is passing through, in one direction or the other. Blame is the only one trading at this kind of money where you know definitively where you stand. Others could yet turn out to have flattered to deceive, whereas he has found a fairly uncontested place among proven sires, between the blue-collar strivers and the unaffordable elite.

He's actually had a modest year by his standards, with only three stakes winners, albeit these did include a sixth Grade I scorer in Wet Paint. But his lifetime rations are extremely solid: 6.5% stakes winners from named foals, 3% at graded stakes level. His ratios are a match for the likes of Munnings, Street Sense and Twirling Candy, to name just three sires too good to be embarrassed by the comparison. And the big news with him over the past couple of years is his precocious emergence as a broodmare sire.

His breakout moment in this role was the GI Breeders' Futurity S. at Keeneland in 2022, aptly sponsored by Claiborne, when the pair that dueled clear of a strong field–champion Forte (Violence) and the luckless Loggins (Ghostzapper)–were both out of Blame mares. This is hardly a surprising development in a stallion whose third dam is none other than Special (Forli {Arg}). So for many programs–one that would like to keep a filly, for instance, or just to prove a young mare–Blame will offer better value than most horses in higher tiers. For the record, the niche he has carved out for himself could be measured in 2023 by a book of 129 mares, plus a yearling average of $94,442 (up from $82,075)–both really solid for a horse at this level of the market, at this stage of his career.

Oscar Performance | Sarah Andrew

Silver: OSCAR PERFORMANCE
(Kitten's Joy–Devine Actress, by Theatrical {Ire})
Mill Ridge, $25,000

Cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Here's a horse that faced only one problem when retiring to stud, but one as significant as it was tiresome: the notorious myopia of the domestic market regarding even high-class grass stallions. We all know how brutally difficult it is to stand a turf horse in the Bluegrass. Even English Channel and Kitten's Joy never quite cracked ringside prejudice sufficiently to obtain adequate reward for their outstanding records. But the consecutive loss of both those horses, even as he started out, nonetheless represented a big opportunity for Oscar Performance. And while it's still early days, he's making a strong case to step up as heir to his sire.

Oscar Performance covered 160 mares last spring, much his biggest book in his fifth season at stud. He had covered just 63 the previous year, but started out with a couple of three-figure books, so there will be plenty of talent coming through–especially when you recall how he kept thriving as a runner–to keep his name in lights, pending the arrival of the better stock he should be producing now.

And here's something else he did this year, that would be no less exceptional in a commercial dirt stallion. Offering his third crop of yearlings, he achieved an average of $79,959 (23 sold from 30; admittedly a $35,000 median was more in line with the $15,000 conception fee) up from $57,474 ($32,500) for his second; and $43,149 ($26,000) for his first. In other words, he's reversing the usual trend: his stock is gaining in value by the year.

Why is this happening? Well, as we said, it's still early in the piece. None of his stock is yet at the same age as Oscar Performance when he won his fourth Grade I in the Woodbine Mile. But he's now had two crops to borrow the precocity he also required to win the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, and they have together produced eight graded stakes horses at a ratio (5% of named foals) exceeded, in what looks a very strong intake, only by Justify; and matched only by Bolt d'Oro.

Interestingly his principal earner to date is Red Carpet Ready, whose two graded stakes wins actually came on the main track–on which surface he's also had Tumbarumba win the Ellis Park Derby and Deer District win a Churchill allowance by 10 lengths before placing in the GII Amsterdam S. So second and third dams by Mr. Prospector and Slew o' Gold are obviously having a say while, purely in terms of quality, his own mother has also produced two additional graded stakes-winning siblings.

His second crop has produced dual graded stakes scorer Endlessly, who looks aptly named for how far his sire may advance from here. After returning to his opening fee of $20,000 last year, back up from $12,500, Oscar Performance has now edged up to $25,000. If he can keep building from here, he may reach a much higher level as breeders belatedly service an expanding turf program.

Gold: ARMY MULE
(Friesan Fire–Crafty Toast, by Crafty Prospector)
Hill 'n' Dale, $25,000

This was a racetrack meteor–brief but bright–and now we're immediately seeing persuasive evidence that he may be replicating the freakish talent that we only glimpsed. It's not the most conventional profile, nor pedigree, but the functionality cannot be in question. If Army Mule carries on the way he has started, enough people are going to accept that reality for him to break into the elite. If so, doubling his fee from $12,500 last year is only going to be a start.

Remember he had to muscle his way into an exceptionally strong class of freshmen. Justify is soaring to stardom, either side of the water, and Good Magic came up with a Derby winner at the first attempt. In his first two crops, sired at $10,000 and $7,500, Army Mule produced only 138 named foals. Of the five above him in the cumulative earnings table, Mendelssohn has 323; Justify 309; Bolt d'Oro 238; Good Magic 226; City of Light 191. So guess what, some (but only some) of those have more stakes winners. But in what ratios?

Start with his individual winners: 68 from 108 starters, 49% of named foals. Justify is getting his at 28%; Good Magic 38%; Bolt d'Oro 39%; Mendelssohn 36%; City of Light 30%.

Of these, 10 have won at black-type level: 7.3% of named foals. Justify is operating at 6.5%; Good Magic matches Army Mule at 7.5%; Bolt d'Oro is on 4.2%; and Mendelssohn 1.9%; City of Light 3.7%. In terms of stakes performers overall, Army Mule's 11.6% is only matched in the class by Bolt d'Oro.

Understandably, given the relative caliber of mares they will have received, Army Mule can't quite see that performance through at graded stakes level. He only has two such winners, among five placed. Moreover his farm was not even able to promote his Grade I breakout with One In Vermillion, the Allen Jerkens S. having fallen into his lap in ghastly circumstances. But someone needs to say that One In Vermillion has proved a legitimate graded stakes performer as a $26,000 yearling from the Arizona TBA Fall Mixed Sale. Army Mule also has Danse Macabre, an $11,000 short yearling, close to millionaire status after winning five of her first 10. (Incidentally, another nod to our bronze medalist here: she's out of a Blame mare.)

His debut crop had already done enough by last spring for Army Mule to entertain 199 mares in his fifth season at stud, up from 115 in 2022 and 83 the previous year. His 2024 sophomores emerge from a crop of just 37 live foals, so he may have to tread water briefly. But surely Army Mule is one of those rare stallions who do enough, early enough, to lock in the medium-term momentum required. Sure enough, he sold 28 (from 38) of his latest crop of yearlings for a median $67,500 and average $96,650, up from $51,000 and $69,272: stellar returns for those who kept the faith for a $7,500 conception.

As a rule, I prefer a horse that has left no doubt as to his resilience and Army Mule's entire career comprised barely four minutes. But the talent that made him a six-length Grade I winner (114 Beyer) in that time was already luminous when he turned himself from $35,000 yearling to $825,000 2-year-old. This farm has a great record with these flashbulb talents, and there's a rapidly rising tide to catch with Army Mule.

The breeders have their say…

We asked breeders to weigh in on who their top picks were.

Carrie Brogden of Machmer Hall

GOLD: Army Mule
Gold would have to be Army Mule. He has had so much success from such modest mares that you have to pay attention. If he can simply maintain what he has done so far until the big gun crops come down the pipeline, he has the potential to be a breakout stallion. For example, we sold the dam of Grade I winner One In a Vermillion carrying him in utero for a paltry $4,500, bred on our share that I am probably going to completely regret selling earlier this year. He seems to offer speed, soundness, heart and his good looks.

Vino Rosso | Sarah Andrew

SILVER: Vino Rosso
(Curlin–Mythical Bride, by Street Cry {Ire})
Spendthrift Farm, $20,000
Silver for me would have to be Vino Rosso. We have booked three mares to him based on what he did with his first crop of 2-year-olds. Considering his own race record and breeding, I would expect that they will excel with added distance. He seems to throw a particular type and I know that he is booked full for 2024, so clearly I am not the only one who sees his future potential. When I was at the Keeneland September sale this year, we had a nice colt out of Queenie's Pride (Special Rate) and the positive feedback I got from trainers and 2-year-old consignors was surprising to me since it was so early in the year for a son of Curlin that won the GI Breeders' Cup Classic as a 4-year-old. Speaking of Curlin, what an emerging superstar sire of sires he is! That coupled with Spendthrift's eye-popping accomplishment of a stallion farm leading home all top four freshman sires for 2023 in North America, the future looks very bright!

BRONZE:
TIZ THE LAW
(Constitution–Tizfiz, by Tiznow)
Coolmore, $20,000

GAME WINNER
(Candy Ride {Arg}–Indyan Giving, by A.P. Indy)
Lane's End Farm, $20,000

Bronze would be a tie between Tiz the Law and Game Winner. Talk about racehorses! Tiz the Law won FOUR Grade Is as a 2-year-old and 3-year-old! He is by a rising top-tier stallion in Constitution and the reception and physical attributes of his babies reminded me of the early crops of Constitution.

Game Winner, a 2-year-old champion, won THREE Grade Is as a 2-year-old and is by the incredible sire of sires Candy Ride. With the ones we had at Machmer Hall and that I saw at the sales, I personally felt that there was a lot of Candy Ride in them.  I was the underbidder on two really nice weanlings by him and am still having non-buyer's remorse there. No crystal balls of course, as I am constantly reminded of playing Geoffery Russell's freshman sire contest every year, but both of these young stallions have the race record and stock to step into the very big shoes of both of their fathers.

John Greathouse of Glencrest Farm

GOLD: Blame
Blame was a gutsy racehorse and I think that's what he gets you. He's sired six Grade I winners and has been consistent year after year at the sales and at the races. He produces solid individuals that are sound and can go two turns. Blame is also starting to prove to be an excellent broodmare sire. Forte and Wet Paint are prime examples of that. If you are looking to start a young mare, there aren't many horses you can pick from that stand for less than 30k and are as proven as Blame.

Blame | Claiborne Farm

SILVER: Vino Rosso
Vino Rosso is great value at 20k. He's third on the first-crop sire list, but I think he's far ahead of where most people expected him to be at this point. He was a horse that was better going two turns and I expected his progeny would be the same. His offspring are smooth and athletic. He comes from a serious family of runners. If his progeny improve going longer, we could be talking about him like we were talking about Good Magic in 2023. There is real upside at 20k.

BRONZE: Maximus Mischief
(Into Mischief–Reina Maria, by Songandaprayer)
Spendthrift Farm, $25,000
Maximus Mischief was one of the fastest 2-year-old sons of Into Mischief, which is no easy feat. That precocity is showing up with his 2-year-olds. He's off to a terrific start with 30 winners and sits second on the first-crop sire rankings. He has bred a big book of mares every year, so I don't expect him to slow down anytime soon. I like that he gets a big, strong horse with plenty of bone which suits smaller mares. We have bred to him in the past and will continue to support him this year.

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They estimate an additional 2,500 to 3,500 mares will be reported as bred during the 2023 breeding season.

Kentucky traditionally leads North America in Thoroughbred breeding activity. During 2023, Kentucky's 199 reported stallions covered 16,953 mares, or 63.74% of all of the mares reported bred in North America. The number of mares bred to Kentucky stallions increased 1.58% compared with the 16,689 reported at this time last year.

Of the top 10 states and provinces by number of mares reported bred in 2023, in addition to Kentucky, stallions in New York, Ontario, and West Virginia covered more mares in 2023 than in 2022, as reported at this time last year.

Golden Pal, standing at Coolmore America, had the highest number of mares bred in 2023 with 293, followed by Epicenter (Coolmore), 262; Practical Joke (Coolmore), 252; Jack Christopher (Coolmore), 247; and Uncle Mo (Coolmore), 234.

Sires With 200+ Mares Bred:
Golden Pal (293)
Epicenter (262)
Practical Joke (252)
Jack Christopher (247)
Uncle Mo (234)
Olympiad (228)
Charlatan (223)
Cyberknife (223)
Justify (222)
Vekoma (212)
Mandaloun (211)
Nashville (204)
Yaupon (202)
Not This Time (200)

The RMB also shows that there were 14 stallions with a book size of 200 or more that covered a total of 3,213 mares in North America in 2023 as reported through Oct. 18, which is 12.1% of all coverings reported. The 45 stallions with books of 150 or more covered 8,588 mares, which is 32.3% of all mares reported bred.

For comparison, reports submitted by Oct. 10, 2013, show that one stallion covered more than 200 mares in North America, which represented 0.6% of the total for that year. Those reports also show 19 stallions covered 150 or more with a total of 3,205 mares in the 2013 breeding season, which equates to 9.4% of all mares reported bred in 2013 as of Oct. 10.

Click here to view all of the RMB statistics, which can be found in The Jockey Club Fact Book.

In addition, RMB information on stallions that bred mares in North America is available through report 36P or subscription service Equineline.

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Justify's 2024 fee is the fourth-highest of the stallions announced so far for 2024, placing him behind perennial leading sires Into Mischief (Harlan's Holiday) and Curlin (Smart Strike), and third-crop standout Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}).

Veteran sire Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie) remains at $150,000 while 17-year-old Munnings (Speightstown) sits at $75,000.

Following the top three are American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) $50,000; Practical Joke (Into Mischief) $45,000; Epicenter (Not This Time), $40,000; Jack Christopher (Munnings) $40,000; Corniche (Quality Road) $25,000; Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) $25,000; Tiz The Law (Constitution) $20,000; Mendelssohn (Scat Daddy) $15,000; Maximum Security (New Year's Day) $7,500; Echo Town (Speightstown) $5,000; and Mo Town (Uncle Mo) $5,000.

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“He was a joy to train, a highly intelligent horse. I really appreciated the time at the barn with him every day, because based on his accomplishments I knew that our time would be limited with him and he'd be highly sought after as a stallion. As beautiful as he is and as fast as he was, I knew the breeders would take to him.”

The brilliantly fast Golden Pal stood his first season in 2023.

Golden Pal (2018 bay horse, Uncle Mo–Lady Shipman, by Midshipman)

Lifetime record: GISW-U.S., GSP-Eng, 13-8-2-0, $1,825,131

Breeders' Cup connections: B-Randall E. Lowe (FL); O-Ranlo Investments LLC (2020)/Westerberg, Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, and Derrick Smith (2021); T-Wesley A. Ward; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Current location: Coolmore America, Versailles, Ky.

The post Catching Up with the Breeders’ Cup’s 2020 Juvenile Turf Sprint/2021 Turf Sprint Winner Golden Pal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Last year, though, two-time Breeders' Cup race winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) drew attention to the 5 1/2-furlong turf test, which he won by a head. On Aug. 5, Caravel (Mizzen Mast) will be the headliner in the 20th running of the Troy and, if the 2022 Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint upsetter prevails, will be its first female winner.

Caravel prepped for the race Saturday on the Oklahoma turf training track with a half-mile in :48.88 under Kelvin Perez. It was the sixth-fastest of the 20 at the distance.

Trainer Brad Cox gave the breeze a solid review.

“Very good. She's always a great workhorse,” he said. “Great work this morning, so very pleased with what we saw out there.”

The gray 6-year-old Pennsylvania-bred mare brings a five-race unbeaten streak into the Troy. Starting with her victory at 42-1 in the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland, three of those wins have come against males.

While she was a very accomplished runner for breeder-owner-trainer Elizabeth Merryman winning seven of nine starts–topped by the GIII Caress S. in 2021 at Saratoga–and finishing third in the other two, she has really blossomed since last summer. Merryman sold a 75% stake to Bobby Flay in 2021 and they sold her for $500,000 to Qatar Racing and Marc Detampel at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale. Madaket Stables subsequently became a partner. The 5-year-old was turned over to Cox, who tried her once against males without success in the GII Twin Spires Turf Sprint on the Kentucky Derby program.

Cox said he had no idea that Caravel was capable of what she has accomplished.

“She got really good starting last fall,” he said. “She's always been good, but she became dominant maybe.”

After Caravel won the GIII Franklin S. at Keeneland on Oct. 16, Cox and the owners decided to try her in the Breeders' Cup over the same course. She handled pace pressure throughout, won by a half-length and paid $87.78. This year she is three-for-three and has beaten males in the GII Shakertown S. at Keeneland and the GI Jaipur S. at Belmont Park.

“She stepped up. She's been able to defeat them three times now within the last nine months,” Cox said. “She's really good. She's happy. She likes Saratoga. I'm looking forward to getting a run into her here the first part of August.”

Cox said entering Caravel in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint was a gamble.

“We were taking a shot,” he said. “She had just come off a win at Keeneland in a Grade III. It was a big run. We were asking her to run back in three weeks. We were taking a shot. She was 40-something to 1 or whatever she was. When you run horses in races and when you're that price there's really no pressure.  There was no pressure and obviously the favorite that day [Golden Pal] missed the break. I don't know how things would have played out, but she's gone on to capture another Grade I since that against the boys and is undefeated since. She's got a nice win streak going and she gives us a lot of confidence throughout the entire year, really.”

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ARTISTIC DIVA (m, 8, Munnings-Diva N Disguise, by Mizzen Mast), booked to Not This Time
Artistic Diva was brilliantly fast, winning the Anoakia S. at Santa Anita as a 2-year-old. She was also second in the GIII Miss Preakness S. as a 3-year-old. Her first foal is a rocket-bodied filly by Justify that we will offer later this year and she's currently in-foal to Constitution. Not This Time's brilliant success from his early crops has been remarkable and he looks poised to be one of the leading sires for the next decade. He has already sired Grade I winner Just One Time from a Speightstown-line mare, so the cross made a lot of sense physically and on paper.

BAYERNESS (m, 6, Bayern-Weight No More, by Pure Prize), booked to to Flightline
Bayerness is a drop dead gorgeous young mare. We acquired her as a broodmare prospect at last year's Keeneland November sale. She was a SW and MGSP on the track and earned over $430,000. We are very excited to be part of the tremendous first book of mares heading to the superstar new sire Flightline, undoubtedly one of the most talented racehorses we have ever seen.

CALL TO SERVICE (m, 7, To Honor and Serve – Game for More, by More Than Ready), booked to Justify
Call to Service is a young half-sister to GSW Isotherm (Lonhro), GISP Gio Game (Gio Ponti) and GISP Giant Game (Giant's Causeway). We purchased her in-foal to HOY Authentic in January of last year and she had a beast of a colt that we will offer for sale later this year. We are hearing good things about her first foal, a 2-year-old by Vino Rosso, and she is currently in-foal to Curlin so this mare is definitely getting every chance. Justify is off to an excellent start at stud with MSW already, and they should only get better with time. Justify has already sired SW Justique and Justa Warrior from Bernardini mares and GIII winner Champions Dream from a Tapit mare, so he made sense for this mare being from the A.P. Indy-Bernardini line.

CILLA (m, 5, California Chrome – Sittin At the Bar, by Into Mischief), booked to Jackie's Warrior
We acquired Cilla at the Fasig-Tipton November sale last year. She won the Grade II Prioress S. at Saratoga among her stakes wins and placed in the GI Frizette S. at Belmont as a 2-year-old. She earned over $509,000 and was tough and genuine as a racehorse. I know her family well, having followed her dam Sittin At the Bar's career closely from the time she was a yearling (we also own Sittin at the Bar's half-sister, Lead Us to the Bar). Sittin at the Bar has produced three SW already in her career and looks sure to add more in the coming years. Jackie's Warrior was as brilliant, tough, and consistent as they come on the racetrack and we love him as a sire prospect. His performance in the GII Pat Day Mile, when he set blazing fractions, fought off multiple challengers and still found a way to win, is a race I'll never forget.

ELFIN QUEEN (m, 6, American Pharoah – Pretty 'n' Smart, by Beau Genius), booked to Life is Good
Elfin Queen is one of our most exciting long-term prospects as a potential foundation mare. She was a $1.2 million yearling and is a half-sister to GISW Cupid (Tapit), as well as GSW Heart Ashley (Lion Heart), GSW Ashley's Kitty (Tale of the Cat) and SW Indianapolis (Medaglia d'Oro). This is also the immediate family of recent GSW fillies Kathleen O. (Upstart) and Ain't Easy (Into Mischief). The first dam literally fills the page. Elfin Queen's first foal is an outstanding Justify filly and she's currently in-foal to leading sire Into Mischief. We felt that Life is Good was one of the most gifted horses of the past 10 or 15 years and he has the phenomenal looks to match his pedigree and racetrack performance. He has all the ingredients to make a future leading sire.

GOLD SOUK (6, m, Medaglia d'Oro – Glittering Tax by Artax), booked to Charlatan
Gold Souk is a half-sister to GISW Miss Temple City (Temple City), GSW Pricedtoperfection (Temple City) and SW Miss Mosaic (Verrazano). Her first foal is a Speightstown colt that will be selling as a 2-year-old later this spring and looks fast as lightning. She is in-foal to Munnings and we tripled down on the ultra-successful Speightstown-Medaglia cross by going to the popular young sire Charlatan this year. I thought on pure talent that Charlatan was up there with the likes of Life is Good and even Flightline. His first four starts were breathtaking and it took an outstanding horse to beat him in the G1 Saudi Cup in Mishriff. Speightstown has been a wonderful sire of sires and Charlatan had probably the most talent and ability of all of his sons. His first in-foal mares averaged over $344,000.

HOT AUTUMN (8, m, Tiz Wonderful – Shesoprovocative, by Orientate), booked to Constitution
Hot Autumn is another mare who had a high cruising speed-second in the GI La Brea S. at Santa Anita. She has a yearling filly by Authentic who is a monster and could be any kind. She is currently in-foal to Essential Quality. I liked Constitution for her this year as a proven, top-level sire who has had excellent results with Tiznow line mares, producing the likes of GISW Tiz the Law, GSW We the People and SW Never Surprised.

Golden Pal | Sara Gordon

LITTLE MS PROTOCOL (m, 14, El Corredor – Character Builder, by Coronado's Quest), booked to Golden Pal
Little Ms Protocol was the first horse ever bred by Coteau Grove, and remarkably, she developed into a top performer on the racetrack as a MSW of over $730,000. She has already produced two winners including The Great One (Nyquist), who was second beaten by a nose in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity and was on the Derby Trail in 2021. Little Ms Protocol foaled a full brother to The Great One in 2022 and we thought it made sense to return to the Uncle Mo sire line with the lightning-fast multiple Breeders' Cup winning Golden Pal this year.

LITTLE MISS ZAPP (m, 7, Ghostzapper – Little Ms Protocol, by El Corredor), booked to Corniche
Little Miss Zapp is the first foal out of Little Ms Protocol. She was unraced but we are excited about her broodmare potential with her pedigree and looks. Her first foal, a McKinzie colt, is a crackerjack and she is currently in-foal to the red-hot Good Magic. I'm intrigued by the potential of Corniche as he was a brilliant 2-year-old and has incredible strength and athleticism. His breeze at OBS when he topped the sale was sensational and I loved his dam Wasted Tears when she was racing. The Quality Road-Ghostzapper cross is a proven one as well.

MIDNIGHT FANTASY (7, m, Midnight Lute – St. Jean, by Macho Uno), booked to Uncle Mo
Midnight Fantasy is one of our newest purchases, we bought her at Keeneland November last year in-foal to Quality Road. Similar to Bayerness and Cilla, I followed her racing career very closely from the time she was a yearling and she always showed tremendous talent from the beginning. She was a MSW on the track and earned over $340,000, displaying terrific speed and ability. Uncle Mo is coming off another excellent season and has consistently shown he can get Grade I Saturday afternoon horses, year-in and year-out.

MISS HOT LEGS (7, m, Verrazano – Expo Gold, by Johannesburg), booked to Flightline
Miss Hot Legs is a SP half-sister to the champion 3-year-old filly Swiss Skydiver. She is an incredible physical and was very talented in her own right with tons of speed. Her first foal is a very athletic yearling colt by Curlin that we have very high hopes for both as a sales prospect later this year and then for his racing career. Miss Hot Legs is also booked to Flightline this year, we're hoping that foal can break the sound barrier!

MYLADY CURLIN (8, m, Curlin – Ladyledue, by Slewdledo), booked to Life is Good
We purchased Mylady Curlin at Fasig-Tipton November last year in-foal to the exciting first season sire Charlatan. Mylady Curlin was an excellent racemare, as MGSW and earner over $800,000. Her biggest score came in the GII Falls City H. at Churchill Downs for trainer Brad Cox. We have been trying to steadily upgrade our broodmare band the past few years and adding these types of mares really moves our program to a different level. She is another mare we have going to the brilliant Life is Good, whose elite speed is a great match for Mylady Curlin's stamina. Recent SW Dazzling Blue (Into Mischief) is also a successful product of the Into Mischief-Curlin cross.

PLUS ONE (14, m, Bluegrass Cat – License Free, by Miswaki), booked to Olympiad
Plus One is the dam of the brilliantly fast GISW No Parole (Violence), the first for that farm, and now a stallion we are standing in partnership with in Louisiana. We took at shot breeding to Gun Runner last year and thankfully it looks like that choice has turned out well! For 2023 we are going with Olympiad. He is a stunning horse physically ($700k yearling), big and stretchy and full of quality. He is much more reminiscent of his broodmare sire Medaglia d'Oro than Speightstown. Seeing as Violence is by Medaglia d'Oro, I thought that bringing that blood back to Plus One for this mating made a lot of sense and it's a great physical match as well.

TOUCH MAGIC (13, m, by Lion Heart – Unifier, by Deputy Minister), booked to Maxfield
Touch Magic had a big year in 2022, as her 3-year-old son Touchuponastar (Star Guitar) won four of sixth starts including the Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds by nearly five lengths. He is one of the most exciting Louisiana-breds currently in training. Touch Magic is booked back to Maxfield, who we think has a great shot at developing into a classic stallion in the mold of his sire Street Sense. This mating also creates 4×4 linebreeding to the influential mare La Affirmed, ancestress of such luminaries as Bernstein, Sky Mesa, Caress, Country Cat, Della Francesca, Good Samaritan, Wiseman's Ferry, Matareya and Maxfield himself. Maxfield also carries Quiet American blood through his broodmare sire Bernardini, an added bonus as Star Guitar, sire of Touchuponastar, is also by Quiet American.

Maxfield | Coady Photography

WILLFUL WOMAN (5, m, by Nyquist – Foxt Dansuer, by Mr. Greeley), booked to Life is Good
We acquired Willful Woman at Fasig-Tipton November last year, in-foal to Medaglia d'Oro. She is just an incredibly good-looking mare–big, fancy and powerful. She was a $400,000 Saratoga yearling purchase by Bo Hunt for the Lieblongs and certainly looked the part. She translated those good looks into top level performance as well, winning three of 10 starts and running a strong second to Army Wife in the GII Black-Eyed Susan S. Life is Good was another easy choice for this mare with his potential and pedigree-wise it makes a lot of sense too–Into Mischief has already sired GISW Dayoutoftheoffice and GSW Frank's Rockette out of Indian Charlie line mares.

YOU LAUGHIN (15, m, by Sharp Humor – Livermore Leslie, by Mt Livermore), booked to Mandaloun
You Laughin is the dam of GISW Zenden (Fed Biz) and she is a half-sister to GISW Sweet Reason (Street Sense), GSW Don't Forget Gil (Kafwain) and SW Battle Girl (Midshipman). We purchased her for $55k a couple years before he won his Grade I, so we got fortunate there that he fulfilled his potential. We sold her Audible yearling for $175,000 last Sept. and he will go to Steve Asmussen. I really like the Into Mischief-Distorted Humor cross that has been so effective with Life is Good and Practical Joke among others, so it was logical to go with the first-year sire Mandaloun. He is a big, beautiful stretchy horse for an Into Mischief and has one of those mesmerizing walks to him. I thought he was great value for his pedigree, looks and race record and I know he has proven popular at Juddmonte.

Interested in sharing your own mating plans? Email garyking@thetdn.com.

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A 15-year-old stalwart of the Coolmore stallion roster, Uncle Mo is currently enjoying a bit of a hot streak with his group of 2023 three-year-olds.

Arabian Knight is the #1 ranked horse on the TDN's Derby Top Contenders off one start-the first race on the Breeders' Cup Saturday card–indicating just how impressive that race was. The $2.3-million sales topper at OBS April was named a `TDN Rising Star' and won by 7 1/4 lengths. He was Uncle Mo's 13th TDN Rising Star.

In the first two weeks of the year, Kingsbarns, an $800,000 Fasig-Tipton March 2yo, broke his maiden in his first start in an $84,000 allowance as the favorite at Gulfstream Park Jan. 14, and Scoobie Quando won the Turfway Prevue S. in his career debut Jan. 7 at Turfway.

This comes, of course, after the year in which he had his second Classic winner with Mo Donegal in the Belmont (joining Nyquist's Derby win).

As the breeding sheds prepare to open, Eddie Rosen, General Manager for Mike Repole's Repole Stables, who campaigned the champion two-year-old, agrees with the `hot' assessment, but takes a bit of umbrage that it's a current phenomenon. “He's very hot right now. But it's important to remember that he has been hot for a very long time. Consistently.”

The industry, he points out, is too often consumed with the shiny new toy. “So often, the concentration is placed on breeding to young stallions, new stallions that have been recently retired. But very few, if any stallions have succeeded like Uncle Mo from the beginning to the current time. He started out with a Derby winner and his very first crop in Nyquist, and he has continued year after year with stakes winners of all kinds.”

In fact, Nyquist leads the list of Uncle Mo's fairly staggering 24 sons at stud, topping the list with a stud fee of $55,000 at Darley. Golden Pal and Yaupon (at Spendthrift) are next at $30,000 each. An informal survey finds only Speightstown and Tapit, who each have 25 sons at stud standing in the U.S., with more.

But while Tapit turns 22 this year, and Speightstown 25, Uncle Mo is far younger.

“Uncle Mo is now 15, and he's on an incredible run,” said Coolmore America's Adrian Wallace. “He's been with us at Ashford Stud now for all of his stallion career. We're privileged to have him. He's been a horse that obviously as a racehorse left no doubt as to how good he was when trained by Todd Pletcher for Repole Stable to be Champion two-year-old. He's imparted a lot of that precocity on his stock but his run continues to flourish.”

Wallace points out that Uncle Mo's recent Grade I winners ranged from Golden Pal at 5 furlongs in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint to Mo Donegal over the Belmont's 12 furlongs on the dirt. “It's a great depth and breadth of winners he has had, siring a Belmont Stakes winner in Mo Donegal and a very fast champion sprinter-elect on the turf in Golden Pal. I think the horse is definitely going from strength to strength every single year. He has horses running in all the best races, but the great thing is they do it short, long, dirt, and turf in this country on and all around the Northern Hemisphere.”

Arabian Knight wins in his Keeneland debut | Coady photo

But right now, it's Arabian Knight capturing everyone's attention.

“Arabian Night is obviously very much at the forefront of everyone's imagination being at the top of the TDN's leading Derby contenders for 2023,” said Wallace. “His much-anticipated debut here on the Breeders Cup undercard at Keeneland was highly, highly professional and brilliant. Hopefully, he will be seen to good effect in the in the Santa Anita Derby.”

Arabian Knight worked five furlongs in 59.60 at Santa Anita, but trainer Bob Baffert-who told jockey John Velazquez to ride him like he was Uncle Mo– said that he had not picked out the colt's second start yet, and would take his time with him.

“But there's not just one,” said Wallace. “I think Scoobie Quando made a very impressive debut for Ben Colebrook winning the Turfway Prevue as a maiden in a stakes race. So, we think the future is very bright hopefully throughout this classic season for Uncle Mo.”

But then again, Rosen will tell you that his future has always been bright. “He doesn't have peaks and valleys,” he said. “He's consistently coming up with stakes winner after stakes winner. He continues to make the front pages of the TDN. He's emerging as a sire of sires. He is emerging as a top broodmare sire, which proves to continue on his legacy as a great sire. I feel like every night, something good happens that's worthy of mention.”

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Among the quartet, two of the new additions hold Breeders' Cup titles, and breeders have fervently responded to that prized piece of resume. While turf sprinting superstar Golden Pal (Uncle Mo – Lady Shipman, by Midshipman) boasts the rare distinction of taking home two Breeders' Cup trophies, his new studmate Corniche (Quality Road – Wasted Tears, by Najran) justified his 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy debut last fall when he claimed the 2021 GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

According to Coolmore's Adrian Wallace, Golden Pal in particular has seen demand almost unlike what the Coolmore team has ever seen before as the son of Uncle Mo joins his sire at Ashford.

“Golden Pal is getting inquiries from every type of breeder around,” Wallace said. “He's getting a really good book of mares behind him with graded stakes winners and graded stakes producers. He's going to be one of the most popular horses that we've ever stood. He really is electrifying–both on the racetrack and in breeders' minds.”

Wesley Ward, who trained Golden Pal to graded stakes wins at two through four, has shown no hesitation in describing the champion as “the fastest of the fast.”

“Wesley Ward leaves you under no impression that he was the best horse he's every trained–the fastest horse he's ever trained– and Wesley has trained some pretty good horses,” Wallace said. “I think Golden Pal holds a very special place not only in Wesley Ward's heart, but in his breeder Randy Lowe's heart and in Coolmore's heart.”

After running second in the G2 Norfolk S. at Ascot as a juvenile, Golden Pal broke his maiden in the Skidmore S. at Saratoga and from there, remained nearly undefeated on American soil throughout his three-year career. The 2020 GII Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, and back-to-back wins in the GII Woodford S. at Keeneland are a few highlights from his list of seven graded stakes victories.

Golden Pal's dam Lady Shipman earned close to $1 million and ran second in the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint. While her son followed the successful racemare's lead as a turf sprinting specialist, Wallace said he believes Golden Pal will emulate his sire in producing versatile offspring.

“The great thing about Uncle Mo is that you've got the options of dirt and turf,” he explained. “To me, Golden Pal doesn't really look like a sprinter. I think he was fast because he was brilliant. I think the horse could have been very effective over a mile and on both surfaces. That's the great thing about Uncle Mo is that [his progeny] are so versatile. They get going early at two and they get better as they get older, and they also seem to work both here and in Europe.”

Golden Pal and 2022 GI Belmont S. hero Mo Donegal are both sons of Uncle Mo joining the Kentucky stallion ranks next year.

Corniche | Sarah Andrew

Ashford's other Breeders' Cup-winning addition Corniche has been well-received by breeders for many of the same reasons as Golden Pal.

“I think everyone wants speed and horses like Corniche and Golden Pal offer that,” Wallace said. “That's the greatest selling point for any stallion. They're the ones that will get you to the races early and hopefully get you to the racetrack on the big stage.”

Corniche displayed his brilliance well before he made it to the starting gate when he breezed in :10 flat at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale and then sold for $1.5 million to Speedway Stables.  He earned 'Rising Star' honors in his debut for Bob Baffert and then remained undefeated in the GI American Pharoah S. and GI TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile.

“I don't think we'll ever forget the display that Corniche put on in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile,” Wallace said. “He was favored going into the race, but people were asking if he would be able to overcome the wide draw. He left us under no illusion of who the best horse was that day as he romped to a juvenile championship.”

After sustaining a career-ending injury at three, Corniche retired to Ashford, where his book is now filling quickly as breeders see the talented chestnut up close.

“When you look at Corniche, you think Quality Road and you think speed,” Wallace said. “He's very much like his sire in that he's got the same sort of physique and structure to him. He's a balanced horse with a good hip and shoulder on him. He's a good mover and is very easy to be around.”

Bred by Bart Evans and Stonehaven Steadings, Corniche is out of six-time graded stakes winner Wasted Tears.

Both Corniche and Golden Pal will stand for a fee of $30,000 in their debut seasons at Ashford Stud.

Click here for previous video features on the incoming class of new stallions and watch for future editions from the series in the coming weeks.

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