Munnings | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kimari Returns to Winning Ways in Honorable Miss

'TDN Rising Star' Kimari (Munnings) earned her first graded win of the season Wednesday when rallying to victory in Saratoga's GII Honorable Miss H. The 3-1 third choice in a four-horse field, the bay broke a hair slow from the outside post, though not as slow as second choice Frank's Rockette (Into Mischief) in the one-hole. Kimari sat off the fence in third with Frank's Rockette off her inside flank as favored Bella Sofia (Awesome Patriot) and 8-1 outsider Amadevil (Dominus) knocked heads on the front end. Amadevil cruised clear of the chalk, clocking a first quarter in :22.72. Frank's Rockette got into gear, charging up the fence to take control from her longshot foe with Bella Sofia and Kimari ranging up together on the outside as they entered the far turn. Frank's Rockette took command at the top of the stretch with Bella Sofia navigating her way to the fence for an inside attempt and Kimari still coming on the outside. Bella Sofia never turned on the after burners and posed the briefest of threats before backing up. Meanwhile, Kimari was just finding her best stride in the final sixteenth, forging clear of a determined Frank's Rockette to win by a half-length. Amadevil and was eased, vanned off and reported to have bled.

“I thought the race set up for today, especially drawing the outside,” trainer Wesley Ward said. “It gave Joel [Rosario] a nice easy run down the backside with no opposition as far as maneuvering to try to get there. He was already there when they opened the gates. That was a key. It just worked out great, and it's always great to stand in the winner's circle for a graded race at Saratoga. There's nothing like it.”

As for what's next, the conditioner said, “Our ultimate goal would be the [GI] Breeders' Cup [Filly and Mare Sprint in November at Keeneland] because it's my home track and her home track. So we'll work backwards from there and get together with Coolmore and give them a few options.”

“She ran good,” Rosario said. “She's a nice horse and always tries hard. I'm glad we got the win today. It looked like there was going to be so much speed and she [Kimari] can be up closer, but we kind of were in a good spot and she did great and responded to everything I asked her to do. I thought for a second the leader might get away, but she kept fighting and got the job done.”

Kimari captured the GI Madison S. at Keeneland last April and was subsequently sent to the sidelines. Resurfacing in the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar seven months later, she checked in seventh behind stablemate Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) and went through the ring at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale two days later, summoning $2.7 million from Coolmore's M. V. Magnier. Returned to Ward's care, Kimari made her seasonal bow in a main track event at Gulfstream Mar. 3, romping by 5 1/4 lengths. The bay was third when attempting to defend her title in this year's Madison Apr. 9 and was fifth last time in the GI Derby City Distaff S. at Churchill Downs May 7.

Wednesday, Saratoga
HONORABLE MISS H.-GII, $186,000, Saratoga, 7-27, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.78, ft.
1–KIMARI, 123, m, 5, by Munnings
1st Dam: Cozze Up Lady (GSW, $407,169), by Cozzene
2nd Dam: The White Lady, by Johannesburg
3rd Dam: Maha Al Iman, by Pulpit
($152,000 Ylg '18 FTKJUL; $2,700,000 4yo '21 FTKNOV).
'TDN Rising Star' O-Westerberg Limited, Mrs. John Magnier,
Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith & Michael B. Tabor; B-China
Horse Club International Limited (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward; J-Joel
Rosario. $110,000. Lifetime Record: GISW-US & G1SP-Eng,
15-8-2-2, $981,327. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the
eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Frank's Rockette, 121, m, 5, Into Mischief–Rocket
Twentyone, by Indian Charlie. 'TDN Rising Star' O-Frank
Fletcher Racing Operations, Inc.; B-Frank Fletcher (KY);
T-William I. Mott. $40,000.
3–Bella Sofia, 125, f, 4, Awesome Patriot–Love Contract, by
Consolidator. ($20,000 2yo '20 OBSOPN). O-Michael Imperio,
Medallion Racing, Sofia Soares, Vincent S. Scuderi & Parkland
Thoroughbreds; B-Two Tone Farms (KY); T-Rudy R. Rodriguez.
$24,000.
Margins: HF, 5 3/4, 40HF. Odds: 3.05, 2.90, 0.70.
Also Ran: Amadevil. 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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The Funny Farm Comes to Fasig-Tipton

With over three decades of experience in the horse world, breeder Meg Dumaine will record a first when she brings her own consignment to the Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings. Dumaine will offer three homebred yearlings under her The Funny Farm banner during the one-day auction.

“I have done all phases of this industry and I have run consignments for other people, but I've never sold my own horses,” Dumaine said. “It's just sort of coming full circle, from planning the mating, being there for the breeding, foaling the foal and raising it and prepping it. It's the last step in the cycle if you're not going to go any further and race them.”

Dumaine, who grew up just outside Boston, loved horses right from the start.

“My mother says my first words were, 'I want a horse,” Dumaine recalled. “That's the story I grew up being told. And I fought desperately to have a horse, against lots of parental opposition. As soon as I was old enough to buy one and support it myself, I did. I did U.S. Pony Club until I aged out of that and I am still active with the local Pony Clubs here working with younger kids. I just always wanted to do something with horses.”

Dumaine left New England for warmer climes in the late 1970s and has been living in the Bluegrass of Kentucky ever since.

“I didn't want to stay in New England where the winters were so long and the riding season was so short,” she said. “Especially for somebody who loves to ride outdoors. I moved here in 1979 when I attended UK. I never left.

“But I never finished UK, either,” she added with a chuckle.

Dumaine began breeding horses over 30 years ago, but determined to take a break from the pursuit until she could do it right.

“I was breeding years ago while I was galloping and breaking horses for a living and foaling mares,” Dumaine said. “They were cheap junk. And when I quit doing cheap junk, I swore I would never do it again until I could afford to do something that, at least on paper, looked like it might be worth something.

“I came into a little money when my parents died and stock certificates were really boring, so I decided to play with a little bit of it.”

She made her first move at the 2017 Keeneland November sale, where she acquired the dams of all three of her July offerings. She purchased the unraced Picardia (Stormy Atlantic), a half-sister to Grade I winners Lear's Princess (Lear Fan) and Pretty City Dancer (Tapit), for $350,000; stakes winner and multiple graded-placed You Bought Her (Graeme Hall) for $250,000; and stakes-placed Conquest Superstep (Super Saver), a full-sister to graded winner Inside Straight and half to graded winner Dance Daily (Five Star Day), for $150,000.

“I decided if I was going to do it, it had to be a team effort made up of people a lot smarter than me,” Dumaine said of that trip to Keeneland five years ago. “I reached out to an old friend, Dan Rosenberg, and he helped me with a long list coming down to a short list as we walked around at Keeneland. And these are the ones that the hammer fell on.”

The Uncle Mo colt Picardia was carrying in November 2017 sold for $410,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton October sale, while You Bought Her's colt by Distorted Humor sold for $270,000 at the 2020 October sale.

Dumaine currently has a broodmare band of five Thoroughbreds at her The Funny Farm in Bourbon County and while she sees the most potential for making money within Kentucky's Thoroughbred industry, she is by no means breed exclusive.

“My interest is in horses,” Dumaine said. “I've bred sports horses, I've done driving horses, I've done dressage horses, I like draft horses. I have a field full of American miniatures. It doesn't matter to me. I'm not a breed snob.

“I love the birth process with the mare,” she continued. “I love being there for the foaling. I love getting my hands on foals. And going through those phases of 'I'm scared, I'm scared. You're a predator' and then building that confidence with them. The shaping of that young mind, that process. That's not specific to the Thoroughbred, but in this part of the country, it's the thing to do. It is where there is an industry and the potential for making some money.”

The Funny Farm's July consignment kicks off with a filly by Munnings out of Picardia (hip 154) and continues with a colt by Street Sense out of You Bought Her (hip 228). The trio is rounded out by a filly by Ghostzapper out of Conquest Superstep (hip 280).

“I am confident in them,” Dumaine said of the group. “I don't think anybody knows which one is going to be a racehorse until they get head to head with another horse and you see if they are going to dig in and go. But I know these horses are sound. I know they are clean and their X-rays are good and their scopes are good. They've never had horrible mishaps and they have been handled well. They are straightforward horses with good, athletic walks. They are the kind of horses I would want to buy if I was going to buy a racehorse prospect.”

As for her first attempt at consigning her own horses, Dumaine said, “I know I can do it on a small scale in the right venue. I don't feel like I could take my horses to Keeneland in September and sell them myself and be successful. I feel like, unless you have that one horse who is the superstar that everyone is talking about, it's too easy to get lost among 3,000 horses. The buyers have to take horses off their lists somehow and not knowing who the consignor is could be enough.”

The Fasig-Tipton July sale will be held at the company's Newtown Paddocks next Tuesday with bidding beginning at 10 a.m. Next Monday, Fasig-Tipton will host its July Selected Horses of All Ages Sale. Bidding for that auction begins at 3 p.m.

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Munnys Gold Carries Big Dreams Into Saratoga

While her connections were hoping for a good showing on debut, no one really quite foresaw the performance 'Hagyard TDN Rising Star' Munnys Gold (Munnings) put on when she ran off the screen June 17 against Monmouth Park maidens, stopping the clock in a scorching :56.60 for five furlongs. Jacob West, advisor to the filly's owners, Robert and Lawana Low, was watching the race from his phone in the midst of a round of golf and admits he initially lost her in the shuffle after the break. By the time she found her way to the front, the first quarter was put up in :22.41 and she'd rolled through a 'touch crazy' second split of :45.22, but was doing it easily. Not long after she coasted in and the final time went up, the congratulatory text messages began flooding in.

“We didn't expect that from her first race–you never do–but we were pleasantly surprised,” West said in a phone interview Monday. “We always believed in her.”

A few days after the fact, and West reports that no news is good news, the filly having come out of the eye-catching effort in great shape. The current plan is to ship Munnys Gold up to Saratoga, get her settled in and on a routine, before deciding which race is next on her radar; the $175,000 GIII Schuylerville S. July 14 and the $200,000 GIII Adirondack S. Aug. 7 are the most likely targets. Where she goes will solely depend on how she's doing when it comes time to make the decision.

When he purchased her for $300,000 from the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select Yearling sale in July of 2021, it was the filly's physical which stuck with West the most vividly.

“The July sale produces many athletic and precocious horses, and they had this filly in a great spot. She was a well-made, beautiful horse,” West replied, when asked what encouraged him to spend the fourth highest amount paid for a filly at the auction last year. “Her pedigree was a little light at the time, but I prefer an athletic conformation over pedigree.”

He did add that, while her page wasn't heavy with black-type, it wasn't lacking, either. Champion 2-year-old Anees makes an appearance under the fourth dam and the filly's sole older half-sibling was placed in his two starts. Four broodmare sires in her female line all impart a heavy influence of stamina: Medaglia d'Oro, Distorted Humor, Unbridled, and Alydar. Combined with the speed on top from her sire Munnings, and it bears very advantageous fruit when it works out. Early reports from the farm provided their first inkling of budding talent, and by the time they were loading the filly onto a truck bound for the track, the anticipation was clear.

West gives Todd Pletcher and his crew a lot of the credit when it comes to providing seamless transitions from the training farm to racing careers. It's an operation known for its ability to get the best out of young horses and the results tend to speak for themselves. When Munnys Gold shipped up to Monmouth Park, a move with no external meaning beyond stall availability and being able to race in her own backyard, assistant trainer Anthony Sciametta was quick to get hands on her and the filly is thriving. The move north to New York is anticipated to be just as smooth.

Of course, the process is always made easier with enthusiastic owners, and Lawana and Robert Low are the epitome of the word. The former is rumored to be an eagle-eyed handicapper and a trip to the races is always a family affair. West was generous in praise he maintains the owners richly deserve after decades of patience and faith in the sport. He described them as two of the most humble and 'down to earth' people in the room.

“The Lows don't take anything for granted, so when a special horse comes along, they get very excited. For them, it's love the animal, first, and a career, second. Hopefully, Munnys Gold will be another exciting runner for them.”

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Easy Munny: Munnings Filly a ‘Rising Star’ on the Jersey Shore

Munnys Gold (f, 2, Munnings–Haraawa, by Medaglia d'Oro) powered away from the gate and never gave her seven rivals a chance, running away to 'TDN Rising Star' status for Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher on debut at Monmouth Park Friday.

Sent off as the 8-5 second choice, the Lawana L. and Robert E. Low colorbearer shot out to the front and sped through an opening quarter in :22.41. The $300,000 FTKJUL purchase hugged the rail around the far turn and made sure it was a one-horse race from there, rolling home completely unchallenged while widening her margin at every call. Munnys Gold hit the wire 14 1/2 lengths ahead of Alma Rose (Sharp Azteca) while stopping the clock for five furlongs in a razor sharp :56.60.

The second winner from as many to make the races for her dam, Munnys Gold has a newborn half-sister by Frosted. This is the extended female family of champion 2-year-old colt Anees. The Munnings over Medaglia d'Oro cross is also responsible for GIII Longacres Mile H. winner Barkley. Munnys Gold is the 10th 'TDN Rising Star' for her sire.

3rd-Monmouth, $56,925, Msw, 6-17, 2yo, f, 5f, :56.60, ft,
14 1/2 lengths.
MUNNYS GOLD, f, 2, by Munnings
1st Dam: Haraawa, by Medaglia d'Oro
2nd Dam: Alseera, by Distorted Humor
3rd Dam: Unbridled Idol, by Unbridled
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by TVG. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
O-Lawana L. & Robert E. Low; B-Nicksar Farms (FL); T-Todd A. Pletcher.

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