But if this industry is too unpredictable for even a team as alert as Spendthrift to win every time, their program will reliably even things out. And just 15 minutes before the success of White Abarrio, who was bred on the farm before being cheaply sold, another Spendthrift graduate had booked a GI Kentucky Derby starting gate of his own.

Tiz The Bomb's success in the GIII Jeff Ruby S. quickly ended talk of an audacious raid on the storied British Classic, the G1 Qipco 2,000 Guineas. However he fares at Churchill, this colt is already a feather in the cap of a stallion still fighting his corner at the same end of the Spendthrift roster that once featured Race Day–and, in the process, serving a key priority of the farm's late owner B. Wayne Hughes, in trying to look after its less affluent clients.

Hit It A Bomb was launched at $7,000 in 2017 before slipping to $5,000 even before he made what proved a fairly low-key debut at the yearling sales. The fact is that the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Juvenile winner, though an unbeaten juvenile by War Front, has never mustered the kind of support enjoyed by so many other young stallions on this farm–presumably because of the usual aversion of Kentucky's commercial breeders to grass pedigrees and performance. His first two books did not quite reach 50 mares, and his third dwindled to just 20.

Obviously there's a limit to what can be sensibly gleaned from his commercial performance, from such a modest footprint, but he showed what he could do with the right opportunity when Spendthrift paired him, in his second season, with a Tiznow mare whose aristocratic family we'll consider shortly. As a yearling the resulting colt sold (through Eaton Sales) to Kenny McPeek for $330,000 at the post-lockdown “Showcase” auction staged by Fasig-Tipton.

Needless to say, that transaction was central to Hit It A Bomb's unusual achievement in advancing the average of his second crop of yearlings ($47,916 from $30,153), but it's worth noting that his median also improved ($23,500 from $13,000).

Anyway this colt was, of course, Tiz The Bomb. He offered little immediate promise in his first venture onto the Churchill dirt, beating only one rival in a sprint maiden a year ago next week, but his tour of the other Kentucky tracks has told us rather more. Stepped up to a mile for an off-the-turf maiden at Ellis Park, he won by over 14 lengths before switching to grass to win a stakes at Kentucky Downs and a Grade II at Keeneland. He then left the state to prove best of the home team in the race won by his sire at the Breeders' Cup despite a messy trip. We have to put a line through his resumption in the GII Holy Bull S., but back in Kentucky he has now regrouped with consecutive wins on the synthetic track at Turfway Park.

Tiz The Bomb will plainly take one or two question marks into the Derby, and the answers lurking in his pedigree do not appear terribly encouraging. Its most consistent element, however, is quality–with Hit It A Bomb's own family tree stacking up pretty respectably against the exceptional maternal line introduced by Tiz The Bomb's dam.

The most blatant genetic note in Hit It A Bomb himself is an extremely proximate combination of the two principal international conduits of the Northern Dancer revolution: with Danzig as grandsire, and Sadler's Wells as damsire. (Additionally his second dam is by Danzig's grandson Danehill Dancer (Ire), while his fourth dam is by another fount of Northern Dancer in Be My Guest.) A more understated duplication meanwhile features Forli (Arg), whose excellence as a distaff influence is attested here by both Special, granddam of Sadler's Wells, and also War Front's second dam.

Overall there's no getting away from the fact that Hit It A Bomb's family carries a ton of chlorophyll. Four of his first five dams are by sires branded principally by their work in Europe: Sadler's Wells, Danehill Dancer, Be My Guest and Vaguely Noble (Ire). His third dam is by Private Account—primarily associated with dirt in the U.S., as we'd expect of a son of Damascus standing in Kentucky, but also sire of a couple of notable turf achievers for the Niarchos family in East Of The Moon and Chimes Of Freedom.

Hit It A Bomb was bred by the venerable Mrs. Evie Stockwell (mother of Coolmore boss John Magnier) from Liscanna (Ire), who had mustered both her wins, one at Group 3 level, over just six furlongs—hardly a common distinction in a daughter of Sadler's Wells. No fewer than five of Liscanna's nine named foals are by War Front, and two of them won elite prizes as juveniles for Mrs. Stockwell: Hit It A Bomb himself, and Brave Anna, who like her mother majored in speed by adding the G1 Cheveley Park S. to her G3 Albany S. success at Royal Ascot. (Winning both those races, incidentally, by a short head!)

Liscanna's mother Lahinch (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) was another brisk performer, as a stakes winner at five and seven furlongs. She did introduce a little more stamina to the family record through two daughters of Galileo (Ire), respectively runners-up in the G1 Epsom Oaks and a nine-furlong Group 2; and while Galileo obviously loaded a ton of staying power into his stock, Lahinch also produced a son by the miler Hawk Wing to win a Listed race at 10 furlongs.

On the whole, however, this family is flavored by quite a bit of speed and War Front was hardly going to dilute that. Admittedly Hit It A Bomb only ran them down on the line at the Breeders' Cup, but that was primarily down to a very wide draw. So you could argue that the obvious caveats about Tiz The Bomb, regarding the dirt, should possibly also extend to the extra furlong awaiting him on the first Saturday in May.

So what help can Tiz The Bomb find, on both fronts, from his maternal family? Well, at first sight, you would take heart from his first two dams–both being by copper-bottomed two-turn dirt influences in Tiznow and A.P. Indy. (And don't forget that Tiznow's remarkable dam Cee's Song is by Seattle Song, like A.P. Indy a son of Seattle Slew.)

But the name that really pegs down Tiz The Bomb's pedigree is that of his fifth dam. For she is none other than Gay Missile, the granddam of A.P. Indy's mother Weekend Surprise. (Weekend Surprise, of course, was by Secretariat–whose half-brother Sir Gaylord sired Gay Missile.)

The daughter of Gay Missile who opened this branch of the dynasty founded by her dam Missy Baba (My Babu {Fr}) is Gallanta (Fr), runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny as a sprinting juvenile. The speed of her sire Nureyev would also come through in Gallanta's best daughter, Gay Gallanta (Woodman), who was rated the fastest young filly of her crop in winning the G1 Cheveley Park S. and the G3 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot–and would herself produced a pretty quick horse in Byron (GB) (Green Desert).

Though at one remove, with some sturdy influences arising in between, these are not the kind of names to shore up any holes in the stamina of Tiz The Bomb. Gay Gallanta did have a half-brother who lasted 10 furlongs well, earning a place at stud in South Africa, but he was by an extreme stamina influence in Alleged.

Gallanta produced Tiz The Bomb's third dam Mayville's Magic by that diverse influence Gone West. It's hard to draw any conclusions from the career of Mayville's Magic in Britain, as she regressed after winning a sprint maiden on debut. With her illustrious family she had cost as much as $725,000 as a Keeneland September yearling and, given corresponding covers in her second career, she did eventually produce four black-type performers. One, by Giant's Causeway, ran fourth in the GI American Oaks; while A.P. Indy's daughter Cabbage Key had won three in a row before twice placing in minor stakes company.

That was on grass, however, despite the input of A.P. Indy. In producing Tiz The Bomb's dam Tiz The Key from Cabbage Key, then, Tiznow really needs to have poured his love of dirt into the genetic equation–and by the barrel–if Tiz The Bomb is to vindicate the switch back to that surface.

Tiz The Key certainly restored some ability to this rather slumbrous corner of the Gay Missile legacy. Her physique got a $330,000 vote of confidence from Spendthrift as a September yearling and, sent to Richard Mandella, she did break her maiden on the dirt. But she was then stepped up to 10 furlongs of grass to follow up in an allowance race, and then emulated her “aunt” by running fourth in the GI American Oaks.

It cannot augur well for Tiz The Bomb's Derby challenge that his first two dams, though by avowed dirt influences in Tiznow and A.P. Indy, both ended up on the grass. With very little help available from his sire, in terms of dirt, this pedigree looks a pretty fragile foundation for the “Derby fever” that has, understandably with all those gate points in the bank, now altered his schedule.

On one level, it feels rather a shame that Tiz The Bomb won't be going to Newmarket. He has shown exciting talent on turf/synthetics and would have introduced an exotic factor on the Rowley Mile. But if the renewed dirt gamble does not pay off, he will naturally retain every chance to regroup.

Let's hope he can do so, as his sire deserves credit for stoking up embers of quality in a rather dormant branch of the Gay Missile family. Though facing some pretty steep commercial odds, Hit It A Bomb has also had a Grade I winner on dirt in Argentina; while his debut crop did include GII Best Pal S. winner Weston, albeit that horse has slithered down the grades since.

It must be said that the Guineas looked like Tiz The Bomb's best shot in the British Classics: the severe stamina test at Epsom, certainly, would look a highly speculative next move should the Kentucky Derby not work out. That's because the unusually “green” tinge under the dirt influences along the bottom line is complemented, in his sire's own family, by the kind of speed you wouldn't normally expect around Sadler's Wells.

But there would still be a ton of other exciting turf options, either side of the water, to capture the imagination of Tiz the Bomb's adventurous trainer. So it should be a fun ride ahead, regardless, and he's already a five-for-eight millionaire–as much as anyone could ask, clearly, of a stallion standing for $5,000.

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Easily the most expensive progeny of his sire to sell in 2020 when hammering for $330,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearling Sale, the bay only beat one horse home debuting over five furlongs on the Churchill dirt May 14, but improved drastically stretching out to a mile in an Ellis off-the-turfer July 2, cruising to a 14 1/4-length graduation. Stepping up in his first start on turf and initial try against winners to annex the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S. Sept. 6, Tiz the Bomb was made a fractional favorite in this full 14-horse field despite breaking through his stall and running off for about a furlong before being corralled and reloaded.

Finding a good spot racing in the clear in fourth behind fractions of :22.94 and :47.54, he got shuffled back a bit midway around the far turn and appeared to be spinning his wheels in sixth as the field straightened for home. Starting to find his best stride passing the three-sixteenths marker, Tiz the Bomb drew alongside a trio of battling leaders a furlong out, forged to the front soon after and inched clear to prevail. Stolen Base rallied late to get into second.

“It's not a good omen, typically, and yeah, it makes a trainer nervous when it happens, but [jockey] Brian [Hernandez] did a great job wrangling him up and keeping him under control,” winning trainer Ken McPeek said of Tiz a Bomb breaking through the gate. “It's worse if he comes off or something like that. This horse has got a lot of talent and we're fortunate to have a guy like Brian who handles things on the oval. He does a great job.”

“We were ready, we were set up, and as the last horse was walking in, I turned his head to set him to where we could leave the gate in good order,” related Hernandez. “He got a little anxious and just charged forward one step and the gate popped open. Most of the time when that happens, horses have a hard time recovering from it, but when we finally reloaded and he left the gate in good order the second time, we were able to get around the first turn in good order. I was really confident in him, and he took care of it from there.”

The win capped a big weekend at Keeneland for McPeek, whose Rattle N Roll (Connect) ran away to an impressive success in Saturday's GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity. McPeek, however, said that Rattle N Roll may pass on the Breeders' Cup while indicating that Tiz the Bomb will be on a plane to Del Mar.

“I think for this horse definitely the Breeders' Cup Juvenile [Turf] is ideal,” he commented. “Everything happens for a reason. You could have made the case that Tiz the Bomb could have run yesterday for sure, and Rattle N Roll–of course, they're apples and oranges. It's a high-level problem we've got right now. We're just going to enjoy this, relish the moment and make those decisions as we get closer.”

Pedigree Notes:

One of seven stakes winners for Spendthrift Farm's Hit It a Bomb, Tiz the Bomb becomes his fifth graded stakes winner with the victory. He's the second foal to race out of his dam, who was fourth at 22-1 in the 2014 GI American Oaks. A $330,000 Keeneland September buy by Spendthrift, she has a yearling Free Drop Billy filly and foaled a colt by Mor Spirit this season before being bred to Gormley.

Sunday, Keeneland
CASTLE & KEY BOURBON S.-GII, $200,000, Keeneland, 10-10, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:43.69, gd.
1–TIZ THE BOMB, 120, c, 2, by Hit It a Bomb
   1st Dam: Tiz the Key, by Tiznow
   2nd Dam: Cabbage Key, by A.P. Indy
   3rd Dam: Mayville's Magic, by Gone West
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($330,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL).
O-Phoenix Thoroughbred, LTD; B-Spendthrift Farm, LLC (KY);
T-Kenneth G. McPeek; J-Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr.
$120,000. Lifetime Record: 4-3-0-0, $447,841. Werk Nick
Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Stolen Base, 118, c, 2, Bodemeister–Running Wild, by
Indian Charlie. ($45,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Three
Diamonds Farm & Deuce Greathouse; B-Peter E. Blum
Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Michael J. Maker. $40,000.
3–Credibility, 118, c, 2, Nyquist–Class Edge, by Indygo Shiner.
($32,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $15,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR). O-Harry
Rosenblum; B-DJ Stable, LLC (KY); T-Mark E. Casse.
$20,000.
Margins: 3/4, HF, 3/4. Odds: 2.90, 7.90, 45.00.
Also Ran: Red Danger, Dowagiac Chief, Rocket One, Play Action Pass, Lucky Boss, On Thin Ice, Brit's Wit, Martini'nmoonshine, Heaven Street, Fast N Steady, Waita Minute Hayes. Scratched: Red Run, Vivar.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Trainer Kenny McPeek hopes that is the case Sunday afternoon at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky., when he sends out Tiz the Bomb in the Grade 2 Castle & Key Bourbon, a “Win and You're In” race for the $1 million Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf to be run Nov. 5 at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif.

“He's a very good horse,” McPeek said about the son of Hit It a Bomb, winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf here in 2015. “I would have run him in the (Grade 1 Claiborne) Breeders' Futurity if the owner (Phoenix Thoroughbred III Ltd.) didn't have another one (Double Thunder) in there.”

Tiz the Bomb enters Sunday's Castle & Key Bourbon off a victory in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile on Sept. 6 in his turf debut. Prior to that victory, Tiz the Bomb won an off-the-turf maiden race at Ellis Park by 14¼ lengths.

McPeek has won the Bourbon three times, most recently with Lawn Ranger in 2014.

In the race preceding the Bourbon, McPeek will send out Three Chimneys Farm and Walking L Thoroughbreds' Envoutante in the Grade 1 Juddmonte Spinster.

McPeek is seeking his third victory in the race, having repeated with Take Charge Lady in 2002-2003. “It's a tough race,” he said.

The post McPeek Hopes Tiz The Bomb Can Copy Sire’s Win In Bourbon Stakes At Keeneland appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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UPSTART (Flatter–Party Silks, by Touch Gold) was cleverly named and I think him a very plausible type, likely to rise pretty quickly through the ranks. Certainly there were more than enough “nouveaux riches” among his first juveniles–only Not This Time exceeded his 19 winners (from 54 starters)–for him to be pegged at $10,000 by Airdrie. His principal earner was Reinvestment Risk, who twice chased home speedball Jackie’s Warrior (Maclean’s Music) in Grade Is after romping on debut at Saratoga, but a measure of what may be coming down the tracks was the 12-length debut success of Manor House at Laurel just before Christmas.

Remember Upstart himself was multiple Grade I-placed at two, three and four, so expect him to keep consolidating from an opening book of 146 and in the process to ride out a dip in numbers since to 86 and then just 38. Very auspiciously, his first yearlings (whose $63,608 average exceeded six times his fee) prompted renewed traffic last spring to 90 mares. And actually his second crop maintained value and demand far better than most, 41 of 47 selling for another very fertile yield, relatively speaking, at $45,159. In the meantime he had also excelled in a challenging 2-year-old market, his $104,400 average giving him virtual parity with a far more expensive pair in Nyquist and Frosted.

There’s no mistaking professional enthusiasm for Upstart’s stock, physically. But the key is that the speed shown by his earlier types is just a foundation; they’re bred and built to stretch, too. I can’t imagine that Flatter has had another juvenile clock a triple-digit Beyer, and there’s a really wholesome depth and balance to his pedigree.

His dam, a half-sister to a Grade II winner, is by Touch Gold–who combines distaff legends Deputy Minister and Buckpasser. This just looks so good opposite the Secretariat-Buckpasser combination behind Weekend Surprise, mother of Flatter’s sire A.P. Indy.

Speightster | PM Photos

One at the same fee who did even better in terms of holding the value of his second crop was SPEIGHTSTER (Speightstown–Dance Swiftly, by Danzig), no mean achievement given the sheer volume he had generated at WinStar.

Having opened up with a $63,680 dividend, virtually identical with Upstart, for 71 yearlings sold from no fewer than 97 offered in his first crop, Speightster managed $59,153 for 43 of 58 offered this time round. That was sufficient to secure fifth in the averages, and represents a quite remarkable vote of confidence after a solid 15 winners from 63 starters. A couple of those scored at black-type level, though perhaps nothing Speightster has done so far quite equalled the splash of his $1.1 million son at OBS in the summer.

His profile contrasts sharply with that of Upstart, having blitzed his first three (sophomore maiden/allowance/GIII Dwyer) before derailing on only his fourth start. That may or may not have been the tip of an iceberg, but the pedigree could hardly have been more auspicious. What a frisson, nowadays, just to see a dam by Danzig–never mind one who is sister to Dance Smartly and half-sister to Smart Strike. This is obviously one of the great Canadian dynasties, while a physical resemblance to his farm’s venerable patriarch can only aid Speightster’s cause in contesting the succession. He has relentless numbers behind him, too, having opened with books of 174, 150, 124 and 152, so one way or another there’s a lot of belief out there.

Air Force Blue | Coolmore

His buoyancy offers a curious contrast with another who prizes Danzig in the second generation. The first juveniles of AIR FORCE BLUE (War Front–Chatham, by Maria’s Mon) performed to a very similar level–in fact more winners from fewer runners (17 from 46), albeit just couldn’t crack a stakes win–but who suffered quite a slide in the value of his second crop of yearlings: his 34 sales (of 50) this time round realizing $46,145, down from the $98,230 (albeit for only 44 sold of 73 into the ring) on his sales debut.

One obvious difference is that Ashford started him at $25,000, but he has taken repeated trims and is now down to $10,000. Another is that Air Force Blue failed to go on after a sensational juvenile career, so we’ll now be looking for him to draw on his pedigree to keep his stock progressing with maturity. That’s certainly possible: his second dam is full-sister to Flanders (Seeking the Gold), a champion herself and dam of another in Surfside (Seattle Slew), while copper-bottomed influences seed his entire family tree. But you suspect the biggest hesitation has been a reputation made on turf, such a culpable prejudice in the commercial market.

In fact nine of his 17 winners scored on dirt, and this horse deserves a fresh chance at such a friendly fee. He was a genuinely top-class juvenile for Ballydoyle and it looks a really positive sign that the conveyor belt picked up again last spring when opening books of 153, 106 and 90 were followed by one of 135.

Exaggerator | Sarah Andrew

Nobody threw numbers at the track in the same volume as EXAGGERATOR (Curlin–Dawn Raid, by Vindication), so 14 winners from as many as 69 starters has to go down as pretty tepid. As many as five, however, managed a stakes podium. Having launched at WinStar off $30,000, he housed 63 of 103 yearlings in his first crop for $85,746 but it proved tough going for his 76 into the ring this time, 56 processed at just $25,982. He has taken a third consecutive cut, to $15,000, but will maintain the numbers after a fourth book of 104, having opened with 162, 163 and 129.

If this is the kind of industrial process that makes some of us uncomfortable, then Exaggerator did at least demonstrate some old-school wares in banking $3.6 million through 15 starts in 16 months, actually bookending his career in the same races as Nyquist. The pair also exchanged verdicts in the Derby and Preakness, one of three Grade I prizes won by an admirable racehorse of good Canadian family. You’d expect Exaggerator’s stock to keep thriving, then, as and when finding their stride.

The same farm launched TOURIST (Tiznow–Unbridled Melody, by Unbridled’s Song) at $12,500 but has had to make repeated cuts, now to $5,000, after failing to find any commercial traction with his first two crops: the first realized $27,996 for 41 sales (of 58 offered) and this time round he was down to $14,533 for 16 of 23. With his books dwindling–134, 102, 70 and 60–he needs his stock to stick to the program, having himself improved relentlessly through four campaigns until ultimately shocking Tepin (Bernstein) in the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile in a race-record 1:31.71. He laid a feasible base with 13 winners from 43 starters, and the market’s distaste for turf meant that he would always be a longer-term project.

Flintshire | Louise Reinagel

Speaking of grass, you can only despair that a horse as accomplished as FLINTSHIRE (GB) (Dansili {GB}–Dance Routine {GB}, by Sadler’s Wells) should struggle for patronage in Kentucky. Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa now offers him at $10,000, half his opening fee, after his fourth book sank to just 38. Nobody could be surprised, given his own template, that he mustered only half a dozen winners from his first 36 juveniles. But the fact is that anyone far-sighted enough to support him now will be able to ride the wave as his strong early support from an ownership group including Juddmonte plays out (opened with 121, 89 and 69) in his maturing stock.

It’s tiresome to hear people talk so reverently about expanding turf opportunities, or the importance of soundness, when they don’t seem to respect even this nugget from the Juddmonte program: by one of the best-bred stallions in Europe out of a Classic-placed mare, he became its richest-ever graduate as a five-time Grade/Group I winner of $9.5 million (also dual Arc runner-up) whose turn of foot was measured at :44.56 for his closing half-mile in the GI Manhattan. His first crop of yearlings had fared reasonably well, clearing as many as 45 of 52 at $46,686, but 14 of 25 this time round scraped together a yield of $19,552. But you reap what you sow and if this industry can only make fast, precocious dirt horses pay, it will someday learn to regret it.

Mshawish | Taylor Made

Turf is only one of the strings to the bow of MSHAWISH (Medaglia d’Oro–Thunder Bayou, by Thunder Gulch), fourth of 19 in the G1 Prix du Jockey Club before being imported to win Grade Is, on both surfaces, at five and six. He has taken another cut at Taylor Made, now down to $7,500 from an opening $20,000, despite mustering a solid 13 winners from 42 starters.

That reflects the usual dwindling books (just 40 mares last spring, down from 117, 73 and 68) and a dip by his second crop of yearlings to an average $16,515, for 14 of 19 sold, down from $39,338 for 42 sales from 56 first time round. But he remains a very wholesome option with his seven consecutive triple-digit Beyers and average earnings of $100,000 per start through 24 races. His versatility is not just down to his sire, with a dam inbred 3×3 to Storm Bird; while his granddam is a half-sister to the mother of champion Halfbridled (Unbridled). As a longer play, still every chance.

The Albaugh Family team, which brought us Not This Time, offers a value alternative by the same sire in BRODY’S CAUSE (Giant’s Causeway–Sweet Breanna, by Sahm) at Spendthrift. He made quite an impression with his first juveniles: only half a dozen winners (from 29 starters) but they were good ones: two won at stakes level and four made the podium in graded stakes, notably GIII Iroquois S. winner Sittin On Go and GI Starlet S. runner-up Kalypso, who has since won the GII Santa Ynez S. on the third day of her sophomore career.

Like Not This Time, he extends a regal bottom line: his fourth dam, indeed, is by Dr. Fager out of a Bold Ruler half-sister to Secretariat’s dam Somethingroyal. His second dam was Grade I-placed and Brody’s Cause himself won Grade I races at two and three and, while he didn’t last the course, had established himself among the best of his generation and looks a bet to nothing now that he is down to $5,000 from an opening $12,500. He does have some weight of numbers, too, with initial books of 101 and 110 before dipping to 63 and 49. After a promising debut at the sales (33 sold of 51 yearlings at $50,166), he was another to struggle with his second crop (27 sold of 34 at $25,596) but he is definitely, definitely still in the game–and a viable sanctuary for those priced out of Not This Time.

Hit It a Bomb | Spendthrift

On the same farm, HIT IT A BOMB (War Front–Liscanna {Ire}, by Sadler’s Wells) has given himself a squeak at the same fee–not just with GII Best Pal winner Weston among his handful of winners, but also with a startling $330,000 colt at Fasig-Tipton in September. That boosted his second-crop average to $47,916 for a dozen sold of 15, but even a $23,500 median was solid after 15 in his first crop averaged $30,153 (median $13,000).

These are hardly the industrial numbers familiar on this farm but actually he rallied to 47 mares last spring from a third book of just 20, after opening with 48 and 49. It’s all chlorophyll, obviously, but the GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner is brother to another juvenile Group 1 scorer from a classy family.

Another down to the bottom tier at Spendthrift is CINCO CHARLIE (Indian Charlie–Ten Halos, by Marquetry), though he managed no fewer than 14 winners from just 31 starters, including one at stakes level. He also made quite a stir with a $200,000 filly at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Old Sale, albeit seven second-crop yearlings (from 10 into the ring) realized just $6,600 down from $20,944 (for 19 of 26) first time round. Cinco Charlie did match his precocity (GIII Bashford Manor S. second time out) with hardiness, racking up seven black-type wins in 18 starts, so don’t rule out farther progress; while his second dam is by none other than Halo.

We know to expect interesting stallions at Crestwood and TEXAS RED (Afleet Alex–Ramatuelle {Chi}, by Jeune Homme), rather wonderfully, has earned a hike in fee to $10,000 from $7,500 after pulling GII Sorrento S. winner My Girl Red out of his hat. She was among eight scorers from just 19 starters.

Texas Red will have to ride out a couple of quieter years but opening books of 81 and 67 give scope for consolidation and he was, after all, a brilliant runner. His 104 Beyer romping at the Breeders’ Cup was backed up in an interrupted sophomore campaign, beating Frosted in the GII Jim Dandy besides running a top-class sprinter in Lord Nelson (Pulpit) to a neck over seven furlongs. A classy South American family also makes him a very accommodating outcross.

Firing Line | Crestwood

Studmate FIRING LINE (Line of David–Sister Girl Blues, by Hold for Gold) works from a narrow base but had four winners from his 13 starters. He had sold 20 of 21 yearlings in his first crop, including a colt and filly that each made six figures, while one of his daughters soared to $210,000 at OBS in June. If things were quieter for his yearlings this time round, Firing Line retains plenty of interest on performance, denied a Grade I at two only by a nose and the Derby itself only by a Triple Crown winner; and also on pedigree, his dam a Grade I-placed sibling to the mothers of two Grade I-winning milers, their line extending to matriarchs Kamar (Key to the Mint) and Square Angel (Quadrangle).

Another to give striking encouragement from a small base is TAMARKUZ (Speightstown–Without You Babe, by Lemon Drop Kid) at Shadwell. From just 14 runners, he had five winners including GIII Bob Hope S. winner Red Flag and, though lacking numbers (third book was highest at 57), might merit a roll of the dice at $7,500 from an opening $12,500.

Having bowed out beating the next two winners of the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the GI Dirt Mile, Tamarkuz is out of a half-sister to two GI Belmont S. runners-up who has also produced a Group 1 miler in Without Parole (GB) (Frankel {GB}). You have to love a second dam by Storm Bird opposite his son Storm Cat as Speightstown’s damsire, and the maternal line tapers to some resonant names.

Wins from two to six suggest that his stock will keep flying the flag with maturity; and he also showed versatility in terms of surface. Though his first yearlings excelled, moving on 18 of 20 yearlings at $68,222, a handful of his second crop made no money to speak of. But one of only four hips at the 2-year-old sales made $160,000, and Tamarkuz should definitely interest anyone out there who might want to breed an actual racehorse for a small fee.

Beating Tamarkuz for the GII Kelso H. in 1:32.9 is the poster achievement for ANCHOR DOWN (Tapit–Successful Outlook, by Orientate), now $5,000 from an opening $10,000 at Gainesway. Eight winners from 18 runners was a very good start, given his small books, and he’s a half-brother to GI Test S. winner Sweet Lulu (Mr. Greeley). His sale yields are pretty standard for this level, but it should be noted that his clearance rate for both crops of yearlings were extremely high and he also went down well at the 2-year-old sales, with a $270,000 colt and $200,000 filly. Competition is obviously tough among heirs to the farm’s champion but less so at this level.

There are a handful of others in this intake whose numbers are too precarious to repay much dredging. But the likes of BIG BLUE KITTEN (Kitten’s Joy–Spent Gold, by Unaccounted For) and PRODUCER (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}–River Saint, by Irish River {Fr}) at Calumet, or V. E. DAY (English Channel–California Sunset, by Deputy Minister) at Buck Pond Farm, were always going to be longer-term projects and so remain entitled to repay perseverance.

And we should highlight a conspicuous achievement apiece by three who share the same, great damsire: $2,500 cover OPTIMIZER (English Channel–Indy Pick, by A.P. Indy) at Calumet, for pulling a $190,000 filly out of his hat at Keeneland in September; IRONICUS (Distorted Humor–Meghan’s Joy, by A.P. Indy) for coming up with an unbeaten stakes winner from his small footprint from Claiborne at $5,000; and PROTONICO (Giant’s Causeway–Alpha Spirit, by A.P. Indy), at the same fee, for a potentially game-changing start to 2021.

A rootless start to his stud career can hardly have helped his cause. Yet his three winners from eight starters include Medina Spirit, a $1,000 yearling who closed to within a length of the Derby favorite in the GIII Sham S. Protonico’s second dam is Chilean Horse of the Year and Grade I winner Wild Spirit (Chi) (Hussonet), and a half-length miss in the GI Clark H. left him cents short of millionaire status. Medina Spirit is the kind of flagship that would be trumpeted from the rooftops by farms who throw 200 mares at rookie stallions, so to come up with this dude from an opening book of 34 entitles Castleton Lyons to hope that he could yet claw his way from the back lanes to the highway.

That’s the kind of frayed highwire all these horses are walking now. And while many will lose their footing, the great thing is that some of them are suddenly going to break into a run.

CHRIS McGRATH’S VALUE PODIUM
Gold: Frosted ($25,000, Darley)
   A champion at the right distance, out of a Deputy Minister mare, and no less likely to succeed now than when he was $50,000.
Silver: Upstart ($10,000, Airdrie)
   His record and pedigree guarantee that a fine start by his juveniles is only the beginning.
Bronze: Speightster ($10,000, WinStar)
   A lot of people seem adamant that he’s about to take off.

The post Kentucky Sires for 2021: First Sophomores–Part II appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Del Mar's morning line maker Jon White has hung the chestnut colt as the 6-5 favorite in the extended sprint, a race named for the show business icon who laid the path for his big Hollywood breakout when he became good pals with Bing Crosby during post-race parties at the shore oval in its first season (1937). Crosby and Hope went on to make nine “Road to….” movies, considered by many to be the most successful “buddy” pictures ever.

Spielberg, of course, has a Hollywood connection all his own, having been named for Steven Spielberg, the towering Tinsel Town figure who has proven to be one of cinema's quintessential figures as a director, producer and screenwriter with dozens and dozens of major movie credits on his ledger.

Spielberg, the racehorse, is a son of the top stallion Union Rags and has had a four-race career this season that has seen him twice go stakes-placed in Grade I races and then finally find the winner's circle in a straight maiden race at Del Mar on November 1. Trainer Bob Baffert sends his charge back two weeks later and will have the meet's leading rider, Abel Cedillo, in the tack for his run in the Hope.

Here's the full field for the Sunday stakes in post-position order with riders and morning line odds:

Reddam Racing's Ambivalent (Mario Gutierrez, 7/2); Spielberg; Drakos or Hanson's Weston (Drayden Van Dyke, 3-1); Saratoga West's Coastal Kid (Tyler Baze, 15-1); Tina and Jerome Moss' Red Flag (Victor Espinoza, 6-1), and Eric Homme's Uncle Boogie (Flavien Prat, 5-1).

Spielberg's chief threat would appear to be Weston, a gelded son of the War Front stallion Hit It a Bomb who has a pair of wins under his belt, including a tally in the Best Pal Stakes during the Del Mar summer meet. His last start saw him chase home Dr. Schivel and Spielberg in the Grade I Del Mar Futurity on September 7. The bay since has put in a series of sharp workout at Santa Anita for trainer and part-owner Ryan Hanson.

Ambivalent will have his backers in the sprint, too. The Constitution colt, a $550,000 2-year-old-in-training purchase earlier this year in Florida, is still a maiden, but it isn't for want of trying. This will be his sixth start and he's got a pair of stakes placings on his resume, as well as a pair of second-place finishes in straight maiden races. He runs out of the stable of trainer Doug O'Neill.

First post Sunday is the usual 12:30 p.m. with the featured Hope scheduled to go off at approximately 4 p.m.

The post Million Dollar Baby: Spielberg Tops Sunday’s Bob Hope At Del Mar appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Sorrento's public betting choice at 0.90-to-1 was My Girl Red (by Texas Red), and after leading all the way, the handsome bay filly duly delivered by 4 3/4 lengths from second-choice Get On the Bus (Uncle Mo), who had five lengths on Exchange Vows (Tapiture), the longest price on the odds board.

Bred in Kentucky and racing for breeder Erich Brehm, My Girl Red is out of the stakes-placed Morakami (Fusaichi Pegasus), and the Sorrento winner is one of four stakes horses out of that mare. Brehm, who was a co-owner of Texas Red, purchased Morakami in foal to Street Boss (Street Cry) for $21,000 at the 2017 Keeneland January sale.

A $225,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, Morakami would have been counted a disappointing broodmare at the time of sale, as none of the mare's racers had earned black type at the time. Two of the mare's foals already in training subsequently became stakes-placed, and the foal she was carrying at the sale is now known as Gold Street, the winner of the 2019 Sugar Bowl Stakes at the Fair Grounds and the 2020 Smarty Jones at Oaklawn Park.

Now unbeaten in two starts, My Girl Red is the first graded winner for either of her parents. Morakami has a yearling filly by Texas Red and a weanling filly of 2020 by leading sire Kitten's Joy (El Prado). The mare was bred to Into Mischief for 2021.

Much like his precocious daughter, Texas Red (Afleet Alex) was a talented 2-year-old, winning the G1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile in the absence of champion American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Nile) and becoming one of the early favorites for the next season's classics. The tall bay was sidelined in February 2015 with a hoof abscess, came back to win the G2 Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga, then was sidelined once again with bone bruising.

In 2017, Texas Red went to stud in Kentucky at Pope McLean's Crestwood Farm. Pope McLean Jr. said that former Crestwood associate “Phil Hager had a relationship with Brehm, and we partnered with him and his group. Erich leads that ownership group, and most of them stayed in on the horse” as a stallion prospect.

“Erich Brehm has put so much into the horse that this [victory at Del Mar] meant a lot to them,” said Marc McLean. “Morakami was a nice mare already, but Erich bought some other mares for the horse. That makes a difference in the opportunities that a young stallion has.”

With a first crop of “only” 49 foals, Texas Red had a very respectable number of foals for an earlier time, but in today's stallion environment with popular stallions having superbooks of 200 mares or more, the son of Afleet Alex is overachieving to have a graded stakes winner already.

In addition, another daughter of Texas Red, Somuchsugar, finished second in the restricted Miss Ohio Stakes on Aug. 8 to the Constitution filly Alexandria.

Like Texas Red, Hit It a Bomb (War Front) was a Breeders' Cup winner as an unbeaten juvenile, winning the 2015 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf by a neck from Airoforce (Colonel John). Laid off until August of his 3-year-old season, Hit It a Bomb returned with thirds in the G2 Solonaway Stakes and G3 Desmond Stakes and ended his career unplaced in the G1 Breeders' Cup Mile.

Sold to stand at Spendthrift Farm, Hit It a Bomb got a tepid reception from dirt-oriented breeders and has only 38 foals from his first crop. Some of them looked the part of quality racers at last year's sales of yearlings, as Makai brought $140,000 at the Keeneland September sale from Jordan Blair Racing, and Miss Costa Rica brought $95,000 at the same auction. Too many of the yearlings by Hit It a Bomb, however, did not receive the seal of approval from American trainers and pinhookers, with a sales median price of $12,000 from 23 sold.

One of those below the median price was Weston, who sold to Chris Drakos for $7,000 at the Keeneland September sale. Now the winner of the Best Pal Stakes, the bay has improved a lot, and he may not be the only one. Miss Costa Rica returned as a 2-year-old in training at the OBS March sale and sold for $200,000 in this year's strongly depressed market. She and a couple other well-regarded members of the first crop by Hit It a Bomb are reported to be training well and should make starts soon.

A winner on debut, Weston won the Best Pal after laying up with the pace the whole trip and was ahead by a neck at the wire, defeating Girther (Brody's Cause).

Weston is out of the stakes-placed Elke (Dixie Union), and the Hit It a Bomb gelding is the mare's first stakes winner. Elke has also produced the stakes-placed Miss Segovia (Paddy O'Prado) and two other winners of more than $100,000.

As the progeny of a high-class racer who showed his form on turf, gamblers will want to pay special attention to the stock by Hit It a Bomb when they get a chance to race on turf.

Both My Girl Red and Weston were the first winners by their sires, and now they have become the first stakes winners and graded stakes winners for those young stallions trying to secure a future in the breeding world of Kentucky. To secure a position in the stallion hierarchy for 2021, Hit It a Bomb and Texas Red needed to show success early, and they have done well to sire graded winners from relatively small crops very early in their first inning at stud.

The post Bloodlines Presented By California Thoroughbred Breeders Association: Texas Red, Hit It A Bomb Land Early Blows In Freshman Sire Race appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The gelding became the first stakes winner for the freshman sire Hit It a Bomb, just getting the best of 32-1 longshot Girther, owned by Altamira Racing Stable. Finishing third via disqualification of the original third-place finisher Ambivalent

Chris Drakos and Ryan Hanson's Weston got up in the final stride to triumph in the 50th running of the Grade II Best Pal Stakes for 2-year-olds at Del Mar Saturday.

The gelded son of the young stallion Hit It a Bomb just got the best of 32-1 longshot Girther, owned by Altamira Racing Stable. Sonic Breeze was awarded third when the original third-place finisher, Ambivalent, was disqualified for interference and placed fourth.

The 1-2 race favorite, Breeze Easy's Roderick, who had shipping in from New York and was coming off an impressive victory there, failed to fire in the lane and finished last of the seven runners.

“Boy, I had to work hard for that one,” said Van Dyke. “But I'm glad I did. I was happy to win it for (trainer) Ryan Hanson. He's such a kind man and a good horse trainer. And this horse showed some class, too. Ryan told me he never got to paddock him (prior to the race), but he was just standing in there like an old pro. I knew I got there in the end and I'm real glad I did.”

Weston is trained by co-owner Hanson and the bay's score was the first graded stakes win in Thoroughbred racing for the conditioner, as well as his first stakes victory at Del Mar.

“He broke sharp, just like we wanted him to, but then it looked like he just sat there for a minute,” said Hanson. “I got a little nervous when he got shuffled back, but then he got back up there and fought on. The time was not very impressive, but that doesn't matter. I didn't think we were going to win it. I thought we'd be second to the Peter Miller horse, who had had a trip over the track. But I'm just really happy. We'll see how he looks tomorrow and let him tell us what to do (regarding the $250,000, Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity on closing day, September 7). ”

Weston paid $12.20, $6.80 and $4.60 across the board and picked up a check for $90,000 from the $151,000 purse.

Final time for the six furlongs was 1:12.72.

The winner was a $7,000 yearling purchase at the Keeneland September Sale in 2019. He captured his only previous start when he flashed speed and tallied by a length and a quarter in a four and a half furlong straight maiden race at Santa Anita on June 21.

The post Weston’s Best Pal Score Gives Trainer Hanson, Sire Hit It A Bomb First Graded Stakes Victories appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Bouncing out abruptly, Weston was shuffled back in the early scramble for position but moved back up to be part of the leading vanguard with Girther along the rail and the chalk three deep. Roderick backed out of it abruptly heading for home, and Weston and Girther battled it out at the top of the lane as Ambivalent appeared a major danger for the stretch drive. Ambivalent shifted in sharply and bumped with Sonic Brees, however, effectively leaving the top two to sort it out. Girther looked the winner until late, as Weston made one last lunge to notch the decision. Ambivalent was subsequently disqualified from third to fourth.

“Boy, I had to work hard for that one. But I’m glad I did,” said winning rider Drayden Van Dyke. “I was happy to win it for Ryan Hanson. He’s such a kind man and a good horse trainer. And this horse showed some class, too. Ryan told me he never got to paddock him [before the race], but he was just standing in there like an old pro. I knew I got there in the end and I’m real glad I did.”

Hanson added, “He broke sharp, just like we wanted him to, but then it looked like he just sat there for a minute. I got a little nervous when he got shuffled back, but then he got back up there and fought on. The time was not very impressive, but that doesn’t matter. I didn’t think we were going to win it. I thought we’d be second to the Peter Miller horse [Girther], who had had a trip over the track. But I’m just really happy. We’ll see how he looks tomorrow and let him tell us what to do [regarding the GI Mar Futurity Sept. 7]. ”

Saturday, Del Mar
BEST PAL S.-GII, $151,000, Del Mar, 8-8, 2yo, 6f, 1:12.72, ft.
1–WESTON, 120, g, 2, by Hit It a Bomb
                1st Dam: Elke (MSP, $122,970), by Dixie Union
                2nd Dam: Call to the Post, by Mt. Livermore
                3rd Dam: Trumpet’s Blare, by Vice Regent
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($7,000 Ylg
’19 KEEJAN; $7,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-Chris Drakos & Ryan
Hanson; B-EVADI Farm Team (KY); T-Ryan Hanson; J-Drayden
Van Dyke. $90,000. Lifetime Record: 2-2-0-0, $120,000.
Werk Nick Rating: F. 
   Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Girther, 120, c, 2, Brody’s Cause–Tea Dancer, by Afternoon
Deelites. ($2,500 Wlg ’18 KEENOV; $4,000 Ylg ’19 OBSOCT;
$20,000 2yo ’20 OBSMAR). O-Altamira Racing Stable; B-Farm
III Enterprises LLC (FL); T-Peter Miller. $30,000.
3–Sonic Brees, 118, r, 2, Maclean’s Music–Miss Hetty, by
Congrats. ($80,000 Ylg ’19 KEESEP). O-William Strauss, Kyle
Suarez & Darin Tsukashima; B-Springhouse Farm, Olin Gentry
& John F. Goldthorpe (KY); T-Doug F. O’Neill. $18,000.
Margins: NK, 1 1/4, 1 1/4. Odds: 5.10, 32.90, 22.00.
Also Ran: Ambivalent, Schnell, Herd Immunity, Roderick.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

Pedigree Notes:
A winner of both of his Irish starts at two for Aidan O’Brien and owner/breeder Evelyn Stockwell, Hit It a Bomb overcame the 14 hole to take the 2015 GI Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland. He was twice Group-placed back overseas as a sophomore, is a full-brother to Europe’s 2016 champion 2-year-old filly Brave Anna.

Weston is the 19th graded stakes winner out of a Dixie Union mare. Dam Elke was MSP as a juvenile, and was successful both dirt sprinting and turf routing. Third dam Trumpet’s Blare was a GISW juvenile. Weston has a yearling half-sister by Tapiture and a foal half-brother by Speightster.

Runner-up Girther’s sire Brody’s Cause also stands at Spendthrift and is represented by first 2-year-olds this year.

The post Hit It a Bomb Gets First Stakes Winner with Weston in Best Pal appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The 7-year-old son of War Front stands the Northern Hemisphere season at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky., where he was advertised in 2020 for $5,000. His first foals are 2-year-olds of 2020, and he was represented by his first winner at stud on June 21, when the gelding Weston won a Santa Anita Park maiden special weight.

Hit It a Bomb has become a frequent traveler to Argentina during his young stud career, having covered 75 mares in the country during last year's Southern Hemisphere season.

The stallion won three of seven starts during his on-track career for earnings of $626,476, highlighted by his Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf score at Keeneland. He also won the Star Appeal Stakes in Ireland as a juvenile. The horse came back at three to place in a pair of Irish group stakes races.

A Kentucky homebred for Evelyn Stockwell, Hit It a Bomb is out of the Irish Group 3-winning Sadler's Wells mare Liscanna, making him a full-brother to European champion Brave Anna.

The post Hit It A Bomb Shuttling To Argentina For 2020 Southern Hemisphere Season appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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