The talented daughter of Kela – Lauren's Turn (Lion Heart) was recognized as the 2021 ITBOA Horse of the Year and the champion ITBOA “3-year-old filly.”

Kela's Turn earned $233,951 in total purse money last year, winning three of her six starts for her owner under jockey Shane Laviolette for trainer Henry Guillory, Jr.

Her 2021 season started with a bang when Kela's Turn took command early and drew off to a seven-length victory over five rivals in the traditional opening-weekend allowance sprint for the distaff 3-year-olds and up.

Kela's Turn bested the likes of Snapy Gal, 2020 seasonal champ Topless, and eventual top 2021 champion older Iowa-bred mare Naughty Shirley.

She won the Bob Bryant Stakes one month later and finished second to Naughty Shirley in the Mamie Eisenhower Stakes on June 19.

McClintock and Guillory decided to stretch out Kela's Turn into route races in her next two starts, which resulted in a third-place optional claiming finish and a narrow victory over Snapy Gal in The Hawkeyes Handicap at a 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 7.

“We really thought she could get a route of ground,” explained Guillory at the time. “After her first two-turn race, we decided to take the blinkers off and that really made the difference.”

The day after her tenacious victory in The Hawkeyes, Guillory stopped at the Prairie Meadows racing office to view the race again.

“I could watch the replay a hundred times,” Guillory exclaimed. “I knew she could win at two turns and she proved it!”

Guillory dropped Kela's Turn into the entry box more than a few times the rest of August and into early September, but was unable to get his filly into a race before the season-ending Iowa Breeders' Oaks on Iowa Classic Day Sept. 25.

In her first start in almost two months, Kela's Turn settled for second behind open-lengths winner Bossy Moment, an effort that solidified her status as the top Iowa-bred 3-year-old of the season and ITBOA Horse Of The Year for 2021.

“I'm so proud of her and her accomplishments,” said McClintock. “That first allowance race win was amazing! You never know for sure whether or not a young horse is going to move forward off a good two-year-old season or not and she ran like she hadn't missed a beat.”

“Sure, we wanted her to end the season with an Iowa Classic stakes victory,” added McClintock. “But it's pretty tough to go into those races on works alone.”

Guillory added, “She was the best Iowa-bred filly on the grounds all season long. I'm not trying to make excuses, but they all dodged her in the weeks after The Hawkeyes.”

Before the end of 2021, Kela's Turn added to her win total and career earnings with back-to-back victories, including a stakes score, at Delta Downs in Louisiana.

“We'll bring her back to Prairie Meadows for her 4-year-old season,” said McClintock. “We've already got our eyes on the major stakes races for the older fillies and mares. And, if we have to, we'll ship out to take advantage of any opportunities that might come up at other tracks in the Midwest.”

The other Iowa-bred champions of 2021:

2-year-old Iowa-bred colt — Ain't Life Grand, a son of Not This Time – Cat D'Oro (Medaglia D'Oro), won three of his four starts last season for owner/breeder RPM Thoroughbreds of Prairie Meadows Hall of Famers Ray and Peggy Shattuck, earning $128,730.

The precocious 2-year-old set off some fireworks of his own in an impressive Fourth of July debut, breaking alertly under jockey Elvin Gonzalez, seizing command early, and pulling clear to a three-length score.

Under the care of Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame trainer Kelly Von Hemel, Ain't Life Grand finished third in the Iowa Stallion Futurity on July 24, then capped his season with a double-digits tally in the Richard Radke Memorial at one mile on Sept. 4 and a gutsy three-length victory in the Iowa Cradle on Sept. 25.

2-year-old Iowa-bred filly — Demidanu, bred by Iowa State University and running for trainer Kelly Von Hemel, also recorded three wins in four starts during her debut season, posting earnings of $102,390.

Campaigned by the ownership group of Lynette Dreifurst, Dana Hellbusch, Warren Hellbusch, and Anthony Schieffer, Jr., Demidanu scored by eight lengths first time out under jockey Kevin Roman on June 27.

The daughter of Formidable – Soaring Goddess (Desert God) was unplaced in the Iowa Stallion Futurity before winning on Aug. 24 and capping her season with a solid score in the Iowa Sorority on Sept. 25.

3-year-old Iowa-bred colt/gelding — Sir Wally Wally, the son of Revolutionary – Paws Up (Posse), notched two wins from six starts at Prairie Meadows in 2021 for the ownership group of Midnight Thoroughbreds, LLC, Parenza Farms LLC, and Mark Deterding.

Trainer Kelly Von Hemel sent out Sir Wally Wally to stakes scores under Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame jockey Glenn Corbett in the Grays Lake on May 31 and the Iowa Stallion Stakes on July 17.

Older Iowa-bred mare — Naughty Shirley, a daughter Jafmil – Pulpinit (Pulpit) enjoyed the best season of her career during a seven-race campaign as a five-year-old.

Bred by Joe Robson Thoroughbreds and owned by Mercy Man Racing of Dylan Robson, Naughty Shirley recorded back-to-back wins at Prairie Meadows in 2021 under jockey Ken Tohill for trainer Doug Anderson.

She added a victory at Gulfstream Park on November 19, to reach $110,091 in total earnings for her season.

Older Iowa-bred horse — Topper T, a son of Bellamy Road – Des Moines (Evansville), hadn't won a race at Prairie Meadows in almost three years when he tallied an optional claiming sprint score under Shane Laviolette on July 12.

The 2018 Iowa Cradle winner for breeder Black Oak Farm (Sherry Tracy) changed hands four times after his two-year-old year and was claimed out of his July win by owner Gene Burkholder and trainer William Martin.

Topper T ran three times for Burkholder and Martin, winning the Dan Johnson Sprint on Iowa Classic Day to finish 2021 with earnings of $128,094.

The ITBOA also named champions based on earnings at Prairie Meadows in 2021:

Owner/Breeder of the Year—Allen Poindexter, whose Iowa-owned runners earned $854,870 and whose Iowa-bred foals earned $936,399.

Stallion of the Year — Native Ruler, now pensioned at Unbridled Spirits in Lisbon, IA. His progeny earned $430,295.

Broodmare of the Year — Paws Up, owned by Midnight Thoroughbreds, whose offspring earned $166,423.

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A total of 36 yearlings changed hands at the Iowa sale for revenues of $402,350, up three percent from the previous year's edition when 48 yearlings brought $389,400. The average sale price rose 34 percent to $11,176 from $8,285, and the buyback rate finished at 10 percent compared with 28 percent in 2020.

Tom Lepic and Tim Martin purchased the sale-topper, a Sharp Azteca colt, for $34,000.

The dark bay or brown colt is the first foal out of the winning Mission Impazible mare Impazible Woman. Bred in Iowa, the colt hails from the family of Grade 2 winner Tenants Harbor and Hungarian Horse of the Year Ryan's Gift.

The colt was consigned by Clifton Farm.

This year's leading consignor was Iowa State University, with 11 horses sold for a total of $182,200. Leading the way was Molly Bye O, an Anchor Down filly who sold to Poindexter Thoroughbreds for $30,000.

Poindexter Thoroughbreds was, in turn, the sale's leading buyer, landing four horses for a combined $71,500. All four purchases came from the Iowa State consignment.

To view the auction's full results, click here.

The post Sharp Azteca Colt Leads Gains At Iowa Fall Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The auction will take place Thursday, Sept. 2 at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, beginning at 2 p.m. Central. Horses may be viewed Wednesday, Sept. 1 from 4-7 p.m., and on Thursday starting at 10 a.m.

This year's catalog features 39 yearlings and one broodmare. While the bulk of the yearling portion features Iowa-breds, it also includes horses born in Kentucky and Kansas.

Stallions whose first crops of yearlings are represented in the Iowa sale catalog include Army Mule, C'mon Boys, Free Drop Billy, Mor Spirit, and Sharp Azteca.

Supplemental entries to the catalog will be accepted through Aug. 2.

To view the online catalog, click here.

The post Iowa Fall Sale Catalog Now Available Online appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Also being inducted into the track's hall of fame this year is Iowa's all-time leading distaff earner Mywomanfromtokyo (Neko Bay). Racing for Scott Pope's Crimson King Farm and Christine Rhiner and trained by Kelly Von Hemel, the 8-year-old mare has won four stakes and earned $595,276.

The post Lepic, Leech Inducted into Prairie Meadows Hall of Fame appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The auction begins Saturday, Dec. 5 and closes at 7 p.m. (CDT) Monday, Dec. 14.

A list of the stallions donated and details of the auction are at http://thoroughlybred.com/itboa

Proceeds from the online auction will fund three stakes races for all 2022 offspring of stallions whose seasons are sold at this auction: The 2024 Stallion Futurity and two 2025 Stallion Stakes races for 3-year-olds, one for colts and one for fillies.

A $5,000 bonus will be paid to the winner of any of the three races if the foal is conceived from a breeding season purchased at the auction.

The Iowa stallion auction is the only one in North America where the donor of the stallion season is eligible to receive a $5,000 per race bonus. This year, Castleton Lyons, Darby Dan Farm, and Hill 'n' Dale Farms each received $5,000 because foals by their stallions won the Iowa Stallion Futurity, Stallion Stakes and Filly Stallion Stakes.

Past recipients of the bonus include Adena Springs, Alfred Nuckols Jr, Darley, Diamond G Ranch, Hill 'n' Dale, Lane's End, Margaux Farm, Madison County Thoroughbreds, Mighty Acres, Rockin' River Ranch, Special K Stables, Swifty Farms, War Horse Place, and WinStar Farm. To date, ITBOA has paid out $120,000 to stallion farms and owners.

Stallion donations are still being accepted. Please contact the ITBOA office to donate or visit their website iowathoroughbred.com.

The post Iowa Stallion Season Auction Begins On December 5 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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In this edition of INQUIRY, we see who participants in the bloodstock industry cheer for away from the racetrack by asking the question, “What is your favorite sports team?”

Donato Lanni – Hill 'n' Dale Farms

“My favorite team is the Chicago Blackhawks. It's an electric place to go watch a game, and I met and got to know Joel Quenneville, their [former] coach, through John Sikura, and John's nephew played for the Blackhawks, so it's nice to see that all come together. Denis Savard, Eddie Olczyk, a lot of those Blackhawks seem to like the horse business. You see them out in the grandstand, and it's pretty cool.”

Mark Taylor – Taylor Made Sales Agency

“The Clemson Tigers. I went to Clemson, and if you went to Clemson, it's a cult, and once you get indoctrinated, you can't get it out of your blood. I live, breathe, eat, sleep Clemson football. I went down there a basketball fan because I'm from Kentucky, but I came out a football fan.”

Stuart Morris – Morris Bloodstock Services

The post INQUIRY Presented By Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders And Owners Association: Favorite Sports Teams On The Sales Grounds? appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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A total of 55 horses changed hands for revenues of $408,300 during this year's sale, for an average sale price of $7,424 and a median of $3,400. The buyback rate was 28 percent.

This year's sale introduced online bidding for the first time, which accounted for $94,500 in purchases – 23 percent of the overall gross.

The yearling portion moved 48 horses for revenues of $389,400, down 17 percent from last year's slate of yearlings, when 38 sold for $469,800. The average yearling sale price fell 33 percent to $8,285 from $12,363.

This year's sale-topper was Hop To It, a Grasshopper gelding who sold to NBS Stable for $60,000.

The dark bay or brown gelding is out of the winning Speightstown mare Islet, whose two foals to race are both winners. The Iowa-bred hails from the family of Grade 2 winner Windward Islands and French Group 1-placed Deveron.

Though the overall figures were down, Hop To It's $60,000 price tag tied the record for the most expensive horse ever sold at the Iowa auction, equaling the mark set last year.

Iowa State University consigned the sale-topper, and it topped the sale's consignors by both gross and number sold, moving 26 horses for $273,800.

NBS Stable was the sale's leading buyer with two purchases totaling $79,000. Dick Clark bought eight horses to be the most active buyer by bulk.

To view the auction's full results, click here.

The post Grasshopper Gelding Tops Iowa Fall Mixed Sale appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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