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

West Coast has a champion's resume on his pedigree page and on the racetrack, and his debut foals get closer by the day to proving the same to be true for him as a stallion.

In this week's episode of In The Stud, we speak with Bill Farish of Lane's End about the Eclipse Award-winning son of Flatter whose first foals are weanlings of 2020.

Out of the champion juvenile filly Caressing, West Coast became a champion in his own right during his 3-year-old campaign, notching victories in the G1 Travers Stakes and Pennsylvania Derby, the G2 Los Alamitos Derby, and the non-graded Easy Goer Stakes.

West Coast then squared off against the top older horses in the world, turning in-the-money efforts in the G1 Breeders' Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes, Dubai World Cup, and Awesome Again Stakes. He retired with earnings of $5,803,800.

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

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

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Study: Mare Size Affects Birth Process

Drs. Christina Nagel, Maria Melchert, Christine Aurich and Jörg Aurich created a study to determine if the size of the mare affected the birthing process. The team used 23 pregnant mares and studied hormone and heart-related changes that occur in the mare and the fetus around birth. The groups consisted of six Shetland Pony (small); eight Haflinger (medium) and nine warmblood (large) mares.

They discovered that foal weight was approximately 10 percent of mare weight, no matter the size of the mare. Placenta weight was highest in Warmbloods; it did not differ between the small- and medium-sized mares. Progestins and cortisol were also highest in the larger mares. Progestin concentrations decreased as foaling got closer and cortisol increased as parturition was imminent in all sizes of horse studied.

Heart rates in all mares increased before foaling, but the most pronounced increase was in the small mares. Overall, the small mares foaled earlier than the larger mares.

Missed heartbeats during foaling occurred regularly in the larger mares, but only occasionally in the small- and medium-sized mares. The scientists report that this is most likely because of differences in heart efficiency. Small- and medium-sized mares occasionally had missed beats during the expulsive phase of foaling and the first two hours after delivery. The researchers suggest that this is an effect of breed, not size.

The team concludes that fit, athletic horses have highly efficient respiratory and cardiovascular systems; while at rest, these horses have reduced heart rates. Fetal heart rate also went down toward birth, with the most prominent reduction in full-sized horses.

The authors determined that mare of different sizes show both similarities and differences in cardiac and endocrine changes as the time for them to give birth nears. They note that late pregnancy puts substantial strain on the mare's cardiovascular system, but that mares are well adapted to these demands, no matter their size.

Read the full article here.

Breeders’ Cup Guide, Pony Express History, and More Must-Click Links of the Week

Welcome to our link roundup, where we share our favorite stories from around the Internet! Know a link that should be included? Email it to americasbestracing@gmail.com! This is a very nice guide on what you need to know about this year’s Breeders’ Cup. (NBC Sports)

Princess Zoe Targets Ascot Gold Cup

Group 1 winner Princess Zoe (Ger) (Jukebox Jury {Ire}) is done for the year and will look toward the G1 Ascot Gold Cup in June as her long term goal. Her first outing could be for the Saudi Cup meeting in late February. A winner of the Listed Oyster S. at Galway on Sept. 8, the grey mare landed the G1 Qatar Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp on Arc weekend. She was looking for her sixth straight win in the G1 Prix Royal Oak, but finished fourth on Sunday.

“She pulled out fine this morning and is in transit as we speak,” said trainer Tony Mullins. “The people looking after her said she looked a bit tired, which I can believe. The way she ran tells me that we’re going to have some action again next year. You might have been worried what she did in the Cadran was a flash in the pan, but she showed me yesterday that she’s a serious trier and we’ll be at the top table again next summer.

“There’s no doubt the 22-day turnaround was just a step too far. I thought she performed admirably under the circumstances. She’ll have a holiday now. There is a chance that we could go to Saudi Arabia in February–if we were sure the ground wasn’t going to be firm, that could come onto the table.

“I’d say the Ascot Gold Cup will be a target. I don’t see us having a busy summer, because I want to leave enough petrol there for the likes of the Prix du Cadran and the race yesterday again. It’s very early to be making definite plans, but my talk of going for the Arc might be gone off the table for the moment–we’re looking at stamina races.”

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