Tag: Pioneerof the Nile

Weyburn To Skip Kentucky Derby, Point For Belmont Stakes

Gotham Stakes winner Weyburn will not contest the Kentucky Derby on May 1, racing manager Robert Landry told the Daily Racing Form on Monday. Instead, the 3-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile will start in the G3 Peter Pan Stakes at Belmont Park on May 8 as a prep for the Belmont Stakes on June 5.

“The right thing for the horse is to miss the Derby,” Landry told DRF. “I think (trainer) Jimmy (Jerkens) and I are on the same page with that. I think this horse is going to mature a lot more. The family history is they get better with age.”

Fourth last out in the G2 Wood Memorial, Weyburn is a homebred for Chiefswood Stables. He is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Sunday Affair, also the dam of multiple graded stakes-winning sprinter Yorkton and mulitple stakes-placed Nipigon.

Jerkens had suggested Weyburn would be a better fit for the Belmont Stakes even before the horse contested the Wood.

“We kind of have that in the back of our head that we'd more apt to aim for something like that than the Derby,” Jerkens told NYRA publicity. “He's a horse that takes some time to get used to new places. He's high maintenance in that regard. We'd like to stretch the year out a little more.”

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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Half-Brother To Justify, Stage Raider Impresses In The Slop At Keeneland

The half-brother to 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify, Stage Raider made an impressive picture when breaking his maiden at second asking Saturday at Keeneland. Racing as a homebred for John Gunther's Glennwood Farm, the 3-year-old son of Pioneerof the Nile dominated the seven-furlong dirt event by 10 3/4 lengths despite racing greenly in the stretch. The final time was 1:22.62 over a course rated sloppy, earning a Beyer figure of 95.

Defeated in his first outing on Jan. 23 at Gulfstream Park by the highly-regarded Prevalence, Stage Raider is trained by Chad Brown and was ridden Saturday by reigning champion jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr.

Stage Raider is out of the 2018 Kentucky Broodmare of the Year Stage Magic, a Ghostzapper mare who is the dam of three winners from four foals to race.

Stage Magic's star offspring is Justify, a son of Scat Daddy who went undefeated in six career starts, winning on debut, then taking an optional claiming race and the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby before sweeping the Triple Crown. He finished the year earning Eclipse Award honors as champion 3-year-old male and Horse of the Year.

Justify now stands at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., where his first foals will be yearlings of 2021.

The mare has also produced The Lieutenant, a Grade 3-winning son of Street Sense who stood one Northern Hemisphere season in New York, but was killed during a raid at Haras Barlovento in Peru while standing the 2019 Southern Hemisphere breeding season. His first foals are also yearlings.

Stage Raider was offered at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale by the Glennwood Farm consignment, but the Gunther family elected to hold on to the colt, after he hammered below his reserve with a final bid of $950,000.

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Half to Justify Crushes His Competition in ‘Rising Star’ Fashion

Stage Raider (Pioneerof the Nile), a half-brother to undefeated Triple Crown hero Justify (Scat Daddy), took one more try than his brother did, but followed in that Horse of the Year's hoofprints with a 'TDN Rising Star'-worthy graduation at Keeneland Saturday. Runner-up to another impressive 'TDN Rising Star' in Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) in his seven-panel debut at Gulfstream Jan. 23, the bay was hammered down to 9-5 favoritism to get the money this time. Breaking on top, the Gunther homebred was overtaken by a pair of foes just before the first quarter went up in :22.70. Keeping close tabs from third through a half-mile in :45.75, Stage Raider charged up three wide turning for home and stormed clear in the lane, splashing home to a 10 3/4-length victory. Harvard, who is a full-brother to a champion in Classic Empire, was best of the rest in second, making it an exacta for the late Pioneerof the Nile.

Fellow Gunther homebred Stage Magic's first foal was the ill-fated GSW The Lieutenant. Her second foal Holiday Music (Harlan's Holiday) was privately purchased by Jane Lyon's Summer Wind Farm prior too Justify's Triple Crown sweep to begin her new career as a broodmare. Third time was certainly a charm for Stage Magic was two-time Eclipse winner Justify was foal number three and he was followed by Egyptian Storm (Pioneerof the Nile), who was purchased by David Ingordo for $750,000 carrying her first foal by Quality Road at the 2019 FTKNOV sale. Her 4-year-old colt One More City (Will Take Charge) RNA'd for $1.75 million just months after Justify's retirement and is still unraced. Stage Raider was also a big RNA, leaving the ring unsold at $950,000. Stage Magic lost her Quality Road foal in 2019, but had a Curlin filly in 2020 and was bred back to that Hill 'n' Dale stallion.

 

11th-Keeneland, $79,000, Msw, 4-10, 3yo, 7f, 1:22.62, sy,

10 3/4 lengths.

STAGE RAIDER (c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Stage Magic {Broodmare Of The Year, GSP, $133,981}, by Ghostzapper) Sales history: $950,000 RNA Ylg '19 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-1-0, $55,570. O/B-John D. Gunther (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. *1/2 to The Lieutenant (Street Sense), GSW, $345,882; and to Justify (Scat Daddy), Triple Crown, Horse Of The Year, Ch. 3-year-old Colt, MGISW, $3,798,000. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree or the VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Saturday’s Racing Insights: Bros to Champions Make Second Starts

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11th-KEE, $79K, Msw, 3yo, 7f, 6:38 p.m. ET

A pair of Pioneerof the Nile brothers to high-profile champions look to go one better off of runner-up debuts to close out the Keeneland card Saturday. John Gunther homebred Stage Raider (Pioneerof the Nile) is half to none other than Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) as well as the ill-fated GSW The Lieutenant (Street Sense). A $950,000 Keeneland September RNA, the Chad Brown trainee was beaten 8 1/2 lengths by super impressive 'TDN Rising Star' Prevalence (Medaglia d'Oro) going this distance at Gulfstream Jan. 23. Prevalence came back and did what he had to do to take an optional claimer next out, but he settled for sixth in last Saturday's GII Wood Memorial S.

WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Harvard (Pioneerof the Nile), meanwhile, was second going a furlong shorter at Gulfstream Feb. 28, good for a field's-best last-out Beyer Speed Figure of 75. Bred by China Horse Club, the Rodolphe Brisset pupil is a full to 2016 champion juvenile and 2017 GI Arkansas Derby winner Classic Empire, who has first 2-year-olds himself this season. TJCIS PPs

4th-OP, $93K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 2:42 p.m. ET

Bob Baffert brings in Following Sea (Runhappy) for a lucrative maiden special weight try a few races before he'll be represented by the two expected favorites in the GI Arkansas Derby. Spendthrift homebred Following Sea crossed the wire second on debut behind stablemate and subsequent GI Runhappy Santa Anita fourth Defunded (Dialed In) at Santa Anita Mar. 6, but he was moved back to third by the stewards for interference. The bay was a $230,000 in utero purchase at the 2017 Keeneland November sale. His stakes-winning dam has already produced one stakes horse and is half to SW and MGSP Qahira (Cairo Prince), who is also conditioned by Baffert.

Frank Fletcher Racing and Ten Strike Racing will be represented by Brad Cox-trained firster Amazing Rocket (Into Mischief). The $500,000 KEESEP buy is a grandson of MSW Amazing Buy (High Yield). Happymac (Runhappy) was a $360,000 KEESEP yearling who RNA'd last year at OBSAPR for $800,000 following a :20 3/5 bullet breeze. The half-brother to speedy GSW/MGISP Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) was fourth in the Saratoga mud last August–two slots behind recent GII Toyota Blue Grass runner-up Highly Motivated (Into Mischief)–and was beaten a neck after setting the pace at Keeneland in October. He's one of two to be saddled by Steve Asmussen, along with $170,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga New York-bred Arms an Armor (Laoban).

Rising Empire (Empire Maker) earned the same Beyer Speed Figure–64–when finishing fourth on debut that Happymac did at Keeneland one day earlier. The half-brother to MGSW marathoner and 'TDN Rising Star' Rocketry (Hard Spun) was a $275,000 KEESEP yearling turned $700,000 OBSAPR grad off a :10 1/5 move. Terawatt (Nyquist) was a $200,000 KEENOV weanling, $300,000 FTSAUG yearling and $295,000 FTMMAY RNA (:10 1/5). He's a half to GSW Native Bombshell (War Front). TJCIS PPs

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