When Litigate (Blame) took out the 2023 renewal, he was giving trainer Todd Pletcher a seventh victory in the Davis, having won the race for the first time in 2006 with Bluegrass Cat (Storm Cat). 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road) will be the more-fancied of Pletcher's two runners as he returns to the dirt for the first time since missing by a nose in a rained-off maiden at Saratoga last August. A had-to-see-it-to-believe-it winner of his turf debut at the Spa the following month, the $650,000 Keeneland September purchase found his best stride late to take out the GIII Pilgrim S., but he was done no favors by the one-mile trip of the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, running on belatedly to finish fifth. Agate Road's seasonal debut is best taken with a grain of salt, as Tocayo (Always Dreaming) set a leisurely tempo in the Jan. 6 Dania Beach S. and was never threatened, with Agate Road chipping away late to be second. He certainly fits on class and figs, but he would be dodgy at a skinny number with Jose Ortiz in the irons. Pletcher also sends out Tireless (Not This Time), a local maiden winner over an extended mile Jan. 14.

Iowa-bred No More Time (Not This Time) broke his maiden impressively going a mile at Gulfstream in October, but was off slowly from the inside gate in the Jan. 1 Mucho Macho Man and loomed a wide threat at the head of the lane before fading into fifth. The dark bay tries the two-turn game for the first time, with Paco Lopez taking over from Ortiz for trainer Jose D'Angelo.

Courtlandt Farms' Change of Command (Into Mischief) blew the doors off a field of Gulfstream maidens going seven furlongs Dec. 17 and gutted out a neck victory trying a route of ground for the first time in Hallandale Jan. 5. Shug McGaughey elects to puts blinkers on the $1.05-million KEESEP acqusition.

Elysian Meadows (City of Light) is perfect in two starts to date, both over three-quarters of a mile at Aqueduct, and the form of his first-level state-bred allowance victory Dec. 15 was franked when the runner-up Mischief Joke (Practical Joke) returned to win the Rego Park S. It'll be up to Junior Alvarado to work out a trip from the 12 hole for trainer Bill Mott. That combination teamed to win the 2021 Davis with Candy Man Rocket (Candy Ride {Arg}).

Small, But Select Field For Rescheduled Las Virgenes

Saturday's GIII Las Virgenes S., postponed due to impending rains last Sunday, has lured a field of five, but what the race may lack in numbers, it appears to make up for in terms of quality.

Michael Lund Petersen's 'TDN Rising Star' Kinza (Not This Time) steps up in class and up in trip for this second go after earning a towering 96 Beyer Speed Figure in annexing her racecourse debut by 7 1/2 lengths going six furlongs Dec. 29. The $17,000 FTNOCT weanling, $30,000 OBSOCT yearling and $350,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic breezer will try to give trainer Bob Baffert an eighth Las Virgenes and third straight for Petersen following Adare Manor (Uncle Mo) in 2022 and Faiza (Girvin) last year.

Kopion (Omaha Beach) holds an experience edge over Kinza and exits a front-running, 5 3/4-length success in the seven-furlong GIII Santa Ynez S. Jan. 7. The $270,000 KEESEP graduate had previously defeated She's a Tempest (Connect) into second to open her account at first asking at Del Mar in late November, and She's a Tempest did her part to validate the effort with a tenacious victory over next-out maiden winner Ultimate Authority (Practical Joke) over this track and distance Jan. 5.

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Blake-Albina Thoroughbred Services will consign a yearling by Constitution out of Light of a Star, who is a full-brother to multiple graded stakes winner Laura's Light, while Hidden Brook will consign stakes winner Maries Melody (Point of Entry), carrying her first foal by Ghostzapper.

The supplemented offerings also include Broadway Girls (Army Mule), recent winner of the Blue Norther S. who is expected to make her next start in the Jan. 28 GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita. The 3-year-old is consigned by Highgate Sales, agent.

And Stay Out (Exchange Rate), the dam of multiple stakes winner Coach (Commissioner), has also been added to the Winter sale. The 12-year-old mare, who will be offered in foal to Upstart, will be consigned by Candy Meadows Sales, agent.

The supplement also includes mares in foal to Bolt d'Oro, Frosted, McKinzie, Mitole, Munnings, Paynter, Speightstown, Take Charge Indy, and Tiz the Law.

Yearling sires represented include Bolt d'Oro, Constitution, Curlin, Frosted, Girvin, Goldencents, Hard Spun, and Maclean's Music.

These entries may now be viewed online and will be available in the equineline sales catalogue app. Print versions of the supplemental catalogue will be available on the sales grounds.

Fasig-Tipton will continue to accept approved supplemental entries through the end of the month.

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“Today I engaged her right from the gate and she got a little bit strong at the first turn, so I had to grab her a little bit, try to slow her down a bit the first part of the race,” said winning jockey John Velazquez. “Once we got to the half-mile pole, I kind of put my hands down on her and her long stride just kept going just like that. I just left her alone and let her get into her rhythm, and she just showed up today. Obviously, she stepped it up from one race to another one and she did it very nicely today.

Velazquez continued, “I looked back a couple of times and I slowed it down, I looked up saw they were pretty far [back] and I backed up thinking, I should save something here although she was breathing fire up front, I didn't want to ask her down the lane then Bob would get mad at me. I definitely wanted to save something.”

The dazzling victory would normally make Adare Manor a major GI Longines Kentucky Oaks contender, but Baffert's current Churchill ban made the filly ineligible to earn the Las Virgenes' 10 qualifying points to that Classic.

Baffert's sixth Las Virgenes tally broke a tie with fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas. The trainer's most recent previous Las Virgenes winner (in 2018) was also a pricey 2-year-old sales grad by Uncle Mo in Dream Tree.

Adare Manor, bred by Town and Country Horse Farms and Gary Broad, was purchased by Broad for $180,000 as a short yearling at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale. She RNA'd for $190,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Selected Yearlings Showcase that September before selling for $375,000 following a :10 1/5 work at last year's OBS June sale.

She missed by just a neck when second after contesting the pace in her six-furlong unveiling Oct. 31 at Santa Anita. She was fourth over 6 1/2 furlongs at Del Mar Nov. 20 before her eye-catching 12-length maiden score over one mile in Arcadia Jan. 7.

“She duplicated her last race, you know, she's got that big, long stride on her,” said Baffert. “I sprinted her twice and I thought she'd win each of those times and then I thought, well she wants to go long…She's like an amazon, she's got that big, powerful [way of moving]. She's got that big frame, but she's quick. She relaxed nicely today…I think that time [1:37.11] is pretty serious on this track. Just gotta keep 'em healthy. I've run her twice now, I don't want to come back too quick with her.”

Pedigree Notes:

Adare Manor is the first foal out of multiple stakes winner Brooklynsway, who was four times graded placed. Town and Country Horse Farms purchased the mare, in foal to Into Mischief, for $95,000 at the same 2020 Fasig-Tipton February sale at which Adare Manor sold. That in-utero Into Mischief foal died, but the 10-year-old mare has a yearling filly by the Spendthrift stallion and she was bred back to Ghostzapper.

Adare Manor is the 42nd graded winner for Uncle Mo. In addition to Dream Tree, other daughters of the stallion who have found graded success at Santa Anita include multiple Grade I winner Bast, Harvest Moon, Mopotism, and Donna Veloce.

Sunday, Santa Anita
LAS VIRGENES S.-GIII, $196,000, Santa Anita, 2-6, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:37.11, ft.
1–ADARE MANOR, 120, f, 3, by Uncle Mo
1st Dam: Brooklynsway (GSW-USA, MSW & GSP-Can, $724,597), by Giant Gizmo
2nd Dam: Explosive Story, by Radio Star
3rd Dam: Maya's Note, by Editor's Note
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($180,000
Ylg '20 FTKFEB; $190,000 RNA Ylg '20 FTKSEL; $375,000 2yo
'21 OBSOPN). O-Michael Lund Petersen; B-Town & Country
Horse Farms, LLC & Gary Broad (KY); T-Bob Baffert; J-John R.
Velazquez. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-0, $176,600.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk Nick
Rating: A+.
2–Queen of Thorns, 120, f, 3, Violence–Royale Paradise, by
Unbridled's Song. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($50,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP; $300,000 2yo '21 OBSAPR).
O-Exline-Border Racing LLC, Richard Hausman, William Dan
Hudock, Aaron Kennedy & Susanna Wilson; B-Pollock Farms
(KY); T-Peter Eurton. $40,000.
3–Miss Everything, 120, f, 3, Tiznow–Wynning Is Sweet, by
Candy Ride (Arg). 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($40,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $40,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Don't
Tell My Wife Stables & J. Keith Desormeaux; B-TNIP LLC &
Tiznow Syndicate (KY); T-J. Keith Desormeaux. $24,000.
Margins: 13, 1 1/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.40, 2.50, 15.20.
Also Ran: Gracelund Gray. Scratched: Eda. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Uncle Mo Filly All Alone in Las Virgenes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“The surgery went well,” said Joe Mishak, MyRacehorse's Racing Operations Manager. “She's been doing great, filling out and looking really good. Just biding her time, which is standard operating procedure [following surgery], especially for the Mandella barn. The last 30 days or so she's been out at Bonnie Acres [in California] getting treadmill therapy building up her fitness. Hopefully in a couple of weeks if all things remain on course, she should go to an offsite facility to start training and get that foundation at the track. Then a month after that, she'll head back to the Mandella barn in early-to-mid August once she has the fitness.”

Campaigned in partnership with Spendthrift Farm, the $620,000 KEESEP yearling buy earned her diploma at third asking in her two-turn debut with a career-high 87 Beyer Speed Figure at Los Alamitos Dec. 13, then doubled up with a powerful last-to-first tally in the Las Virgenes.

Bred in Kentucky by Stonehaven Steadings, Moonlight d'Oro is a half-sister to the juvenile graded stakes-placed Olive Branch (Speightstown). Moonlight d'Oro's winning dam Venetian Sonata (Bernardini) is a full-sister to GSW Wilburn and SW & GSP La Appassionata and a half-sister to GSW Beethoven (Sky Mesa).

Any intended targets penciled in for Moonlight d'Oro's return to the races?

“We'll see where she is with her training, but it's kind of an awkward time of the year [for a 3-year-old filly to return],” Mishak said. “The surgery went well, but a little bit of extra caution gave her 120 days off rather than 90. Hopefully, she'll be coming back in the October timeframe, and at that stage, I think you're just looking for the right type of race to return in.

Mishak concluded, “She showed early in the year that she was the best 3-year-old filly on the West Coast. When she won the Las Virgenes, she didn't even have her best that day. It was rather exciting to get her to that level. I don't know if we'll make the Breeders' Cup this year–it's probably too close–but we'll have all of next year to have a really top filly in training.”

The post Moonlight d’Oro on Comeback Trail appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The good-looking, last out Los Alamitos maiden winner in her two-turn debut with a field-best 87 Beyer Speed Figure Dec. 13 was sent off as the 6-5 second-choice in this stakes debut.

She was content to trail the field of five beneath Flavien Prat as the Bob Baffert-trained favorite Kalypso (Brody's Cause), a last out winner of the GII Santa Ynez S. and runner-up in the GI Starlet S., led through fractions of :23.25 and :47.47.

Moonlight d'Oro caught the eye with a flashy, three-wide move as they approached the quarter pole and took care of business from there, powering clear in the stretch to win with authority.

The Las Virgenes carries 10-4-2-1 qualifying points on the road to the Kentucky Oaks.

Moonlight d'Oro faced the starter two previous times sprinting before earning her diploma. She gamely split horses in deep stretch after getting outsprinted early to finish an educational second as the 3-5 favorite on debut last summer at Del Mar Aug. 2. She also completed the trifecta going six furlongs at Del Mar Nov. 7.

“It turned out good,” Mandella said. “I was worried she got a little washy going to the gate, and she was a lamb over at Los Alamitos where she should have gotten upset. Sometimes you take them over to something like that and then the next time they're looking for the excitement.”

Prat added, “I was trying to see if I should stay inside or go around, and I decided to go around. She was there for me when I asked her to go. [Joel] Rosario was at the front and nobody was really bothering him, but when I came around the turn, I made that great move and tried to get some momentum out of it. She was traveling nicely behind horses, and I was very happy with how she ran.”

Winning co-owners MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm also campaigned recently crowned Horse of the Year and new Spendthrift sire Authentic (Into Mischief) in partnership. They are currently also represented by the MGSP 4-year-old Tizamagician (Tiznow), runner-up in last weekend's GII San Pasqual S.

Backed by B. Wayne Hughes's high-powered operation, the microshare partnership re-loaded at the yearling sales last fall, purchasing 14 head at Keeneland September for $3.355 million and another $850,000 on three yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Showcase.

For a feature on Moonlight d'Oro and her owners earlier this week, click here.

Pedigree Notes:

Among the perennial leading sires, Darley's Medaglia d'Oro notched his 75th graded winner with Moonlight d'Oro's Las Virgenes score, half an hour before adding his 76th with Risk Taking's GIII Withers win. The striking bay and triple Grade I winner is just shy of 150 career black-type winners with 148. His four-years younger stablemate in the Darley stallion barn, Bernardini, is Moonlight d'Oro's broodmare sire. The filly becomes the 44th stakes winner out of a Bernardini daughter and the second by Medaglia d'Oro. With zero inbreeding through her first five generations, Moonlight d'Oro is a half-sister to 2016 GII Adirondack S. placer Olive Branch (Speightstown), while her own dam is a full-sister to GSW Wilburn and SW & GSP La Appassionata, all by Bernardini, as well as a half-sister to GSW Beethoven (Sky Mesa). Second dam Moonlight Sonata (Carson City) is a half to GISW Bevo (Prospectors Gamble) and to the dam of 2017 champion and $5-million seller Abel Tasman (Quality Road). Venetian Sonata's yearling colt is by Justify. She was bred back to Medaglia d'Oro.

Saturday, Santa Anita
LAS VIRGENES S.-GIII, $200,000, Santa Anita, 2-6, 3yo, f, 1m, 1:38.01, ft.
1–MOONLIGHT D'ORO, 120, f, 3, by Medaglia d'Oro
1st Dam: Venetian Sonata, by Bernardini
2nd Dam: Moonlight Sonata, by Carson City
3rd Dam: Wheatly Way, by Wheatly Hall
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($620,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-MyRacehorse & Spendthrift Farm LLC; B-Stonehaven Steadings (KY); T-Richard E Mandella; J-Flavien Prat. $120,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-1-1, $163,040. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Kalypso, 120, f, 3, Brody's Cause–Malibu Cove, by Malibu Moon. ($240,000 Ylg '19 FTKJUL). O-David A Bernsen, LLC, Rockingham Ranch & Chad Littlefield; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC (KY); T-Bob Baffert. $40,000.
3–Moraz, 120, f, 3, Empire Maker–Malvinia, by A.P. Indy. O-Don Alberto Stable; B-Don Alberto Corporation (KY); T-Michael W McCarthy. $24,000.
Margins: 1HF, 1 3/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 1.30, 1.00, 4.10.
Also Ran: Brilliant Cut, Honor America.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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For Michael Behrens's budding MyRacehorse microshare partnership and B. Wayne Hughes's Spendthrift Farm, having a promising filly on the GI Kentucky Oaks trail is certainly a good place to begin.

Moonlight d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro), a visually impressive maiden winner for Hall of Famer Richard Mandella in her two-turn debut going a mile at Los Alamitos Dec. 13 (video), kicks off her sophomore campaign versus four rivals in Saturday's GIII Las Virgenes S. at Santa Anita. The one-mile contest offers 10-4-2-1 qualifying points on the road to the Kentucky Oaks.

“It's a tough act to follow,” MyRacehorse's Racing Operations and Owner Experience Manager Joe Mishak said. “We always want to provide the shareholders with exciting times to look forward to. You want to be on the Classic trail, and to have a filly like this, makes it exciting.”

Moonlight d'Oro first caught the eye splitting horses in deep stretch after getting outsprinted early to finish an educational second as the 3-5 chalk on debut last summer at Del Mar Aug. 2 (Second Chances). She ran well in defeat once again second out, completing the trifecta going six furlongs at Del Mar Nov. 7.

Her stalk-and-pounce, three-length maiden victory–good for a very strong 87 Beyer Speed Figure–was further flattered when distant third-place finisher that day Moraz (Empire Maker) resurfaced with a blowout maiden win of her own in Arcadia Jan. 8. Moraz re-opposes in the Las Virgenes.

“We're really excited,” Mishak said. “She definitely executed the two sprints to a route perfectly. It all came together in that third race where she was forwardly placed and was push button when Flavien [Prat] asked her on the far turn. We've had this one circled on the calendar for a while now. Obviously, we're all highly anticipating her stakes debut.”

Bred in Kentucky by Stonehaven Steadings, the $620,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase is a half-sister to the juvenile graded stakes-placed Olive Branch (Speightstown). Moonlight d'Oro's winning dam Venetian Sonata (Bernardini) is a full-sister to GSW Wilburn and SW & GSP La Appassionata and a half-sister to GSW Beethoven (Sky Mesa).

Moonlight d'Oro's worktab–highlighted by a five-furlong move in 1:00.40 (2/32) Jan. 20 and a six-furlong bullet in 1:12.60 (1/6) Jan. 27–includes some in company experience with the three-time, graded stakes-placed 6-year-old mare and 'TDN Rising Star' Amuse (Medaglia d'Oro).

“She's trained superb,” Mishak said. “Everything that Team Mandella has thrown at her, she's passed with flying colors. She's super eager in her training. He gave her a little bit of time off after that maiden win–just a few weeks to decompress and get a little breather–and she picked up right where she left off. With the eyes on the prize, hopefully, we have a long spring campaign ahead of us.”

In addition to co-owners Madaket Stables and Starlight Racing, no fewer than 5,314 shareholders were in on Authentic. The ownership experience with MyRacehorse is also designed to be an educational one, per Mishak.

“The cool thing about Moonlight d'Oro and her shareholders is that we packaged her in a group of four fillies to teach about diversification and show why that strategy is so important,” he said. “If you own one horse, and hey, it turns out to be Authentic, great. You really hit a homerun. But in all probability, you're going to run into some difficulties that come along with horse ownership. The three other fillies in the group had some minor 2-year-old hiccups and we had to send them to the farm. Moonlight's been the bright spot of the bunch and has been getting people excited, and now those other fillies are making their comebacks as well.”

Along with the continued support of the high-powered Spendthrift operation, MyRacehorse re-loaded at the yearling sales last fall, purchasing 14 head ($3.355 million total) at Keeneland September, led by a $600,000 Into Mischief colt. MyRacehorse also spread out another $850,000 on three yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Showcase, with a $450,000 Into Mischief colt at the forefront.

MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm also campaign MGSP 4-year-old Tizamagician (Tiznow), runner-up in last weekend's GII San Pasqual S.

“We had 17 yearlings that we purchased right off the heels of Authentic and it was met with so much enthusiasm where it was sold out very quickly within the matter of days,” Mishak said. “There's still a very big appetite and demand for shares in horses and getting into ownership.”

Mishak concluded with a laugh, “I think the shareholders are literally over the moon, pun intended.”

The post Over the Moon for Saturday’s Las Virgenes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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