Saturday July 1, 2023
5th-HAK, ¥13,780,000 ($95k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT
DONA NOBLE (f, 2, Medaglia d'Oro–Gender Agenda {GB}, by Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) cost JS Company $200,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale and is out of a mare who upset the GIII Robert J. Frankel S. in 2015 for Carla Gaines and owners Keith Brackpool, Alon Ossip and Tim Ritvo. Gender Agenda changed hands for $80,000 at Keeneland November last fall and produced a filly by Violence this season. The deeper female family includes G1 Oaks and St Leger victress User Friendly (GB) (Slip Anchor {GB}). B-Town & Country Horse Farms LLC (KY)

6th-FKS, ¥13,780,000 ($95k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1150m
ESCALE (c, 2, American Pharoah–Pretty Girl {Arg}, by Harlan's Holiday) is the latest to make the races from his well-traveled dam, a Group 1 winner in her native Argentina for Stud RDI in 2014, a listed winner in France for Mikel Delzangles in 2016 and twice placed at Grade II level in California in 2017, with Bonne Chance Farm part of the ownership. Escale was a $310,000 purchase by Koji Maeda at Keeneland last September. B-Bonne Chance Farm LLC (KY)

11th-FKS, ¥35,040,000 ($242k), Allowance, 3yo/up, 1700m
AIR SAGE (h, 5, Point of Entry–Nokaze, by Empire Maker) won three of his first four career appearances and did not disgrace when beaten just over eight lengths into eighth behind Titleholder (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}) in the 2021 G1 Kikuka Sho (Japanese St Leger). He makes his first start since a dead-heat third in a 10-furlong allowance in February 2022 and switches to the dirt, a surface his family has proven more than capable over. Half-brother Air Almas (Majestic Warrior) is a Group 3 winner on dirt, while full-brother Air Anemoi successfully negotiated the surface when tried for the first time Apr. 30. Nokaze is a half-sister to the stakes-placed dam of dirt GSW Yuugiri (Shackleford). Keita Tosaki sees fit to ride. B-Winchester Farm (KY)

【土曜福島11R 鶴ヶ城S(3歳上3勝)】
通算6戦3勝、現級でも上位の実力を見せるエアサージュ(牡5)が1年5ヶ月ぶりの復帰戦。

初のダート戦でまずは無事にというところか。或いは半兄にエアアルマスがいる血の力で、砂での新味発揮となるか。https://t.co/p4vSpLtXH3

— netkeiba (@netkeiba) June 29, 2023

Sunday, July 2, 2023
5th-HAK, ¥13,720,000 ($95k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800mT
KANJI (c, 2, Uncle Mo–Nikki's Choice, by Forestry), a $600,000 KEESEP acquisition and the year-younger full-brother to $1.1-million KEESEP grad Evergrande, is bred on the exact same cross as champion Nyquist. The colt's unraced second dam Charming Lauren (Meadowlake) was a full-sister to GI Champagne S. winner Greenwood Lake and a half to GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero Success Express (Hold Your Peace) and MGSW/MGISP Charlie Barley (Affirmed). Top jockey Takeshi Yokoyama takes the call. B-Aaron Sones (KY)

【日曜へ向けて実戦形式…】今朝の、右から #カンジ（牡、武井、母ニッキズチョイス）、#リヤンイヴェール（牝、栗田、母デプロマトウショウ）、#ライフセービング（牡、宮、母レインダンス）、 #スパークリシャール（牡、小島、母スパークオンアイス）です【函館捜査官・Ｔ】 @goku_uma @HirooTC https://t.co/0WCvu4Qppn pic.twitter.com/SKrzKsznxQ

— 「極ウマPOG捜査官」ニッカン全力２歳馬追跡 (@gokuumapog) June 28, 2023

5th-CKO, ¥13,720,000 ($95k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1600mT
ROUGE STUNNING (JPN) (f, 2, Into Mischief–Boyne Beauty, by Giant's Causeway), a half-sister to recent Ellis maiden romper Check Engine Light (Uncle Mo), was acquired in utero for $700,000 by Nobutaka Tada at the 2020 Fasig-Tipton November Sale. The filly's unraced dam is a daughter of MSW & GSP Bubbler (Distorted Humor), herself responsible for the late Arrogate (Unbridled's Song) and SW Osare (Medaglia d'Oro), whose first foal Quester (Into Mischief) fetched $775,000 from Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low at KEESEP last year. B-Mint Co

【注目の2歳馬紹介】ルージュスタニング　友道師「軽い走り」　ワグネリアンに続け(スポニチアネックス)#Yahooニュースhttps://t.co/pSJyKn29Fq

— MMP@一口馬主&競馬垢 (@MMP_keiba) June 26, 2023

The post Pricey Uncle Mo Colt Among Japanese Debuters appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Since April 2020, Medina has served as the general manager and trainer for Blackwood Stables, the state-of-the-art training center near Lexington. At Blackwood, he focused on breaking, training, and rehabilitation for many of the sport's leading owners and trainers. He also ran horses under his own name at Kentucky tracks for a few select clients, including August Dawn Stable's Gun Runner S. winner Play Action Pass (Cairo Prince), who was selected as a yearling by Medina.

Medina will operate his stable out of the Thoroughbred Training Center on Paris Pike in Lexington, while also continuing to develop 2-year-olds at Blackwood before they are ready to graduate to the Thoroughbred Training Center.

“The last three years at Blackwood have been wonderful, but I am excited to be opening a full public stable in Kentucky,” Medina said. “I am a lifelong race tracker and have been fortunate enough to work for some tremendous horsemen and play a crucial role in the development of some the sport's best horses. The timing is right for me to devote myself full time to a public stable. I have a great staff and setup in place and am ready to grow our operation.”

Prior to taking the job at Blackwood in 2020, Medina worked for Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey from 1995 to 2020, starting as a groom for McGaughey before eventually working his way up to assistant trainer. He was instrumental in the development and training of such McGaughey stars as GI Kentucky Derby winner Orb (Malibu Moon), GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Pleasant Home (Seeking the Gold), and multiple Grade I winners Point of Entry (Dynaformer) and Honor Code (A.P. Indy).

Medina may be contacted at (518) 441-0502 or at Robertmedinaracing@gmail.com.

The post Medina To Open Public Stable in Kentucky appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Saturday, October 29, 2022
1st-TOK, ¥9,900,000 ($68k), Maiden, 2yo, 1600m
MODERNIZE QUEEN (f, 2, Distorted Humor–Never Grow Old, by Scat Daddy), a $180,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase, is the first foal to the races for her dam, sold for $100,000 in foal to California Chrome at Keeneland November in 2018. Never Grow Old is a winning daughter of Chilean Group 1 winner Noches de Rosa (Chi) (Stagecraft {GB}), who defeated fan favorite Megahertz (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the 2004 GI Gamely Breeders' Cup H. when trained by Richard Mandella for Gerald Ford's Diamond A Racing Corp. Breeders' Cup-winning jockey Yuga Kawada takes the ride on the chestnut, whose lone start resulted in distant fourth-place effort over nine furlongs at Niigata Aug. 7. B-Grantley Acres (KY)

11th-HSN, Swan S.-G2, ¥113m ($772k), 3yo/up, 1400mT
LOTUS LAND (m, 5, Point of Entry–Little Miss Muffet, by Freud) kicks off her autumn preparation in this spot which connections could use as a springboard to loftier targets at home and/or abroad. Victorious in six of her 15 lifetime appearances, the bay was a winner in Group 3 company last season over a mile and has proven her versatility this season with success in the G3 Kyoto Himba S. (video, SC 7) in February at this intermediate trip ahead of a fast-closing second in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) (video, SC 9). She was last seen finishing 10th, but not beaten far, in the G1 Yasuda Kinen back over a mile in June and holds entries for the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile and G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint in December. A start in next month's G1 Mile Championship could also be on the cards. B-Dr Aaron Sones & Dr Naoya Yoshida (KY)

The post Classy Lotus Land Resumes In Japan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Kitodan, winner of the Apr. 2 Rushaway S., was claimed from trainer Mike Maker and Paradise Farm and David Staudacher for $80,000 in his very next start, a third-place effort at Churchill Downs May 15. He won the $200,000 Audubon S. in his first start for the new connections June 4 before a fourth-place effort over the main track in the July 2 American Derby. He was most recently fifth in the Aug. 7 Evan Williams Turf Mile S. at Ellis Park.

Pedigree Notes:

Kitodan is the seventh graded winner for Point of Entry. His dam, Divine Presence, produced fillies by Karakontie (Jpn) in each of the last three years. The mare is a daughter of champion Divine Proportions, who also produced group winner Eightfold Path (Giant's Causeway). She was exported to Japan after selling for $50,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale. She had RNA'd, with Kitodan in utero, for $80,000 at the 2019 Keeneland January sale. Her Karakontie weanling filly sold for $87,323 at this year's JRHA July sale.

Monday, Kentucky Downs
BIG ASS FANS DUELING GROUNDS DERBY-GIII, $750,000, Kentucky Downs, 9-5, 3yo, 1 5/16mT, 2:15.41, gd.
1–KITODAN, 124, c, 3, by Point of Entry
1st Dam: Divine Presence, by A.P. Indy
2nd Dam: Divine Proportions, by Kingmambo
3rd Dam: Myth to Reality (Fr), by Sadler's Wells
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($9,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Foster
Family Racing, Douglas E. Miller & William J. Wargel;
B-Flaxman Holdings Limited (KY); T-Eric N. Foster; J-Gerardo
Corrales. $432,450. Lifetime Record: 15-6-1-3, $779,641. *1/2
to Market King (Into Mischief), GSP, $236,271. Werk Nick
Rating: B. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Grand Sonata, 124, c, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–A. P. Sonata, by A.P.
Indy. ($125,000 RNA Ylg '20 KEESEP). O/B-Whisper Hill Farm,
LLC (KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher. $139,500.
3–Mount Rundle, 118, g, 3, Jack Milton–Beaucoup, by English
Channel. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. ($7,000
Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Circle 8; B-Pope & Marc McLean, Pope
McLean Jr. & Taproot Bloodstock, LLC (KY); T-Michelle Nihei.
$69,750.
Margins: 4, 3HF, HD. Odds: 20.74, 4.80, 17.19.
Also Ran: Always Above, Dripping Gold, Ready to Purrform, Speaking Scout, Double Clutch, Running Bee, Red Run, Tallahatchiebridge, Western River. Scratched: Camp David, Russian Tank. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Point of Entry’s Kitodan Pulls Off Dueling Grounds Derby Upset appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Sixth in his last start in the Forbidden Apple at Saratoga, Corelli once again was at the back of the pack in the Singspiel, seventh for the first six furlongs with only Woodbridge behind him. Peace of Ekati held the lead for the first six furlongs, setting fractions of :25.90 for the first quarter, :50.55 for the first half, and 1:14.91 for the three-quarters of a mile. Belichick, who sat a length behind Peace of Ekati throughout the first three-quarters of a mile, moved to the lead on the final turn, his advantage a half-length going into the stretch.

Kimura took Corelli through an opening on the turn, building up momentum to challenge Belichick's lead with a furlong to go. The son of Point of Entry took over at that point, pulling away to win the Singspiel by a length and three-quarters. English Conqueror was second, Belichick holding on for third. Theregoesjojo, Primo Touch, Peace of Ekati, Eons, and Woodbridge rounded out the order of finish.

The final time for the mile and a quarter was 2:01.70. Find this race's chart here.

Corelli paid $9.80, $4.90, and $3.10. English Conqueror paid $9.20 and $4.80. Belichick paid $2.70 to show.

Bred in Kentucky by George Strawbridge, Jr., Corelli is a 6-year-old gelding by Point of Entry out of Vignette, by Diesis. Owned by Augustin Stable and trained by Jonathan Thomas, the victory in the G3 Singspiel improves Corelli to 2-0-1 in 2021, with a lifetime record of five wins in 18 starts for career winnings of $270,011.

The post Corelli Passes Belichick In Stretch To Win Singspiel At Woodbine appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Breaking from the six post, Point Me By settled in behind Like a Saltshaker as the 3-year-old gelding grabbed an early lead, with Tango Tango Tango in second on the rail. Luis Saez kept Point Me By off the rail, running in fifth on the backside as Like a Saltshaker set fractions of :25.03 for the first quarter and :50.04 for the first half. On the far turn. Saez took his mount to the outside of horses, as Tango Tango Tango moved to the lead entering the stretch.

With Tango Tango Tango on the lead, Point Me By found running room down the center of the track, closing fast to win. Tango Tango Tango and Ginsburned needed a photo to determine second and third, with Tango Tango Tango notching second by a nose. King of Miami was fourth, with Like a Saltshaker, Therideofalifetime, Mr. Universe, New Year Surprise, and Shadizaar rounding out the field.

The final time was 1:37.70. Find this race's chart here.

Point Me By paid $5.40, $2.80, and $2.40. Tango Tango Tango paid $3.00 and $2.40. Ginsburned paid $3.80.

Bred in Kentucky by Winchester Farm, Point Me By is by Point of Entry out of Viva Allegiance, a Proud Citizen mare. He is owned by Homewrecker Racing Stable and trained by Eddie Kenneally. This was Point Me By's second win in three lifetime starts, for career winnings of $238,268.

The post Point Me By Gets First Graded Stakes Win In Bruce D At Arlington appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Settled in mid-field as Like A Saltshaker (Peace and Justice) crossed and cleared his rivals from gate nine, Point Me By traveled on the bridle beneath Luis Saez and remained within easy striking distance through a half that was negotiated in a modest :50.02. Guided down to the fence for the run around the turn, Point Me By pinched ground to be just behind the leading trio nearing the stretch, was angled out and around pace-pressing Tango Tango Tango and just to the inside of Ginsburned with about an eighth of a mile to travel and kicked home a conclusive winner.

Point Me By was the veteran of just two previous racetrack appearances prior to Saturday's stakes debut, a debut success at 14-1 in a Churchill turf sprint June 20 ahead of a sound fourth-place effort in a first-level Saratoga allowance in which he rallied from the back of the pack to complete the superfecta.

Pedigree Notes:

Point Me By is the 13th stakes winner, fourth graded winner and first Grade I winner for Canadian-based Point of Entry. Bred by one one of the sire's most fervent supporters in Winchester Farm, Point Me By is out of half-sister to Life In Shambles (Broken Vow), a stakes winner and twice placed at Grade III level and perhaps better known as the old workmate of GI Belmont S. winner Tonalist (Tapit); and to the dam of GSP No Mo Lady (Uncle Mo). Winchester Farm has bred several winners by Point of Entry, a handful of which have raced successfully in Japan. That number includes the 4-year-old filly Lotus Land, a listed stakes winner this year who is entered for Sunday's G3 Sekiya Kinen (1600mT) at Niigata. Viva Allegiance's final listed produce is the 2-year-old colt Uno Najd (Macho Uno).

Saturday, Arlington
BRUCE D. S.-GI, $300,000, Arlington, 8-14, 3yo, 1mT, 1:37.70, gd.
1–POINT ME BY, 119, c, 3, by Point of Entry
                1st Dam: Viva Allegiance, by Proud Citizen
                2nd Dam: Life (Fr), by Anabaa
                3rd Dam: Igma, by Grey Dawn II
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN, 1ST GRADE I
WIN. ($30,000 Ylg '19 KEEJAN). O-Homewrecker Racing LLC;
B-Winchester Farm (KY); T-Eddie Kenneally; J-Luis Saez.
$174,600. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $238,268. Werk Nick
Rating: C+. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tango Tango Tango, 119, c, 3, Tourist–First Consul, by
Deputy Commander. ($35,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Calumet
Farm; B-Frederick Wieting (KY); T-Jack Sisterson. $58,200.
3–Ginsburned, 119, g, 3, Noble Mission (GB)–Court Appeal, by
Candy Ride (Arg). ($110,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP; $47,000 RNA 2yo
'20 OBSAPR). O-Ashbrook Farm; B-W. S. Farish & Lazy F Ranch
(KY); T-George R. Arnold, II. $29,100.
Margins: 2 3/4, NO, 1 1/4. Odds: 1.70, 1.90, 6.50.
Also Ran: King of Miami, Like a Saltshaker, Therideofalifetime, Mr. Universe, New Year Surprise, Shadizaar.
Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

The post Point Me By Rolls in Bruce D appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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A winner in his 2021 comeback race on April 24 at Pimlico Race Course, Corelli will step up to graded stakes company again when the grass specialist goes in the Grade 3 Monmouth Stakes, the headliner on Saturday's 12-race card at Monmouth Park.

The 13th running of the $150,000 Monmouth Stakes, scheduled for 1 and 1/8th miles on the grass, has attracted a field of 10 plus two alternates.

“We're really pleased with his comeback race,” said Thomas. “We think we've figured him out. We were probably running him too long last year.

“We've tried to kind of re-invent him and encourage him to show a little more turn of foot while also relaxing early on in races.”

After racing in England for his first 10 career starts, Corelli came into Thomas' care last year. Though winless in four starts in 2020, the son of Point of Entry-Vignette by Diesis did manage to get third in the Grade 1 United Nations at Monmouth Park at a mile and three-eighths. But that was the extent of his success, with two of his races last year at a mile and three-eighths and one at a mile and a half in the Grade 1 Sword Dancer. All were on the turf.

“I thought he ran well in the United Nations,” said Thomas. “He looked like he was running a winning race and then at the eighth pole he was kind of coming up for air a little bit.

“That's not to say we won't run him back in the United Nations at that distance but I get the feeling he is best suited for a mile and an eighth.”

Cut back to a mile and a sixteenth for his first start this year, Corelli rallied to win by a nose in the $100,000 Henry Clark over a firm turf course.

Thomas also found out something else about the Augustin Stable-owned Corelli from the Sword Dancer: He wants nothing to do with a soft turf course. In his last start in England over a soft grass course Corelli finished 15th. In the Sword Dancer he was fifth in the seven-horse field, beaten 18 lengths.

“The turf was very soft for the Sword Dancer that day,” said Thomas. “We learned with this horse that he is not a soft turf horse. He's a big horse. He does not like the soft ground.”

It's something Thomas will keep in mind for today and tomorrow, since rain is in the forecast for both days, though Saturday's is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the 80s.

“We're keeping he weather in the front of our minds,” Thomas said. “We'll have a much better idea on Friday as to what we're doing.”

The field of 10 for the Monmouth Stakes features three horses trained by Chad Brown (Devamani, Serve the King and Tribhuvan) as well as the Todd Pletcher-trainer Winters Back.

First race post time on Saturday is 12:15 p.m. Full card simulcasting of the Belmont Stakes day program will also be available.

The post Jonathan Thomas Seeking Firm Turf For Corelli In Monmouth Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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In the last couple of instalments, we've observed the Kentucky talent pool in each intake rapidly drying up, so that our review of third- and fourth-crop options respectively encompassed 18 and just six stallions. And we are left with a similar rump among those about to launch a fifth crop of juveniles, with only seven still advertising a fee in Kentucky.

No need, by this stage, to reprise yet again the familiar traps of the commercial model. Suffice to turn back the clock to 2016, not so long ago, when Orb (Malibu Moon–Lady Liberty, by Unbridled)–a Kentucky Derby winner from the family of Ruffian, standing for $25,000 on an exemplary, historic farm; one sagely resistant to the inundation of the market by more industrial rivals–dominated this group with a $148,318 average for his first yearlings. Unusually, moreover, he actually managed to elevate his second crop to a still higher yield at $184,006, when selling no fewer than 66 of 77 into the ring. The world was at his feet. In 2021 Orb is still clinging on at Claiborne, but listed as “private” after receiving a grand total of seven mares last spring.

Nobody's fault, and there are parallels on every farm. Conceivably Orb could yet pull a champion out of his hat. But such is the terrifying commercial vortex that consumes a young stallion who does not make an adequately purposeful start.

Nor, on the other hand, does even the briskest of beginnings guarantee lasting momentum. The champion freshman of this group was Overanalyze, whose 2018 book at WinStar promptly soared to 195. The following season, however, he had plummeted to 43 mares and last spring he was exported to Korea. Shanghai Bobby was on his way to Japan within the year of finishing third in the freshmen championship–despite having meanwhile produced a Royal Ascot winner from his second crop, which also turned out to include elite sprinter Shancelot. A year later Japan would also summon Animal Kingdom, who had finished fourth in the freshman table.

Yet this is also the intake that includes New Year's Day. Having been reduced to a couple of dozen mares at $5,000 in 2018, he was sold to Brazil four months before an upgraded claiming horse named Maximum Security gave him a first graded stakes success. The rest is history, and New Year's Day has since been given a fresh start in Japan.

What a chaotic environment, then, shaped more by luck than judgement, has been heroically negotiated by the handful in this class who have established a viable niche in the Kentucky market.

Violence | Sarah Andrew

As it happens, far and away their most consistent achiever has been a horse who was worn down in the GII Fountain of Youth S., which turned out to be his final start, by none other than Orb. Their fortunes have diverged in their new careers, with Violence (Medaglia d'Oro–Violent Beauty, by Gone West) at Hill 'n' Dale dominating on cumulative results by virtually all indices. He only missed Overanalyze by cents as a freshman, and has since maintained output for 21 black-type winners.

True, he had a quieter year in 2019, prompting an immediate reversal–back to $25,000 from $40,000–of the fee hike he had earned with his across-the-board second-crop championship, on the back of which he had sold his yearlings (conceived at $15,000) for a knockout average of $133,600. But his 2020 campaign has the look of a turning point, crowned not just by a first domestic Grade I winner but by three of them, from consecutive crops: Volatile in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H., No Parole in the Woody Stephens, and Dr. Schivel in the Del Mar Futurity. Behind Speightstown's four elite scorers, only Into Mischief, More Than Ready and War Front shared this distinction in 2020.

The focus on speed in his elite trio is an interesting development. Violence's own sire, though by an avowed turf influence in El Prado (Ire), operated on dirt and has divided his impact, at stud, not only between surfaces but also between disciplines. And an aristocratic maternal family features a series of crossover influences: second dam by Storm Cat out of Hall of Famer Sky Beauty (Blushing Groom); third a half-sister to the flying Dayjur (Danzig); fourth by Nijinsky out of champion sprinter Gold Beauty (Mr. Prospector).

There will be no break in the traffic for Violence, whose sales performance reflects something of his own exceptional physique. The group of juveniles he is about to launch, indeed, graduate from a book of 214 mares and he only lost momentum after that quiet 2019, with 86 mares last year. You can bet that numbers will be back up now. After sliding to a yearling average of $44,649 with his 2019 blip, this time round Violence rallied to $72,128 for 66 yearlings sold of 88 offered–an especially good performance, of course, in the teeth of the pandemic economy.

I love that Violence's first two dams are both by sires, in Gone West and Storm Cat, out of daughters of Secretariat–whose half-brother Sir Gaylord is responsible for the damsire of El Prado. One way or another, Violence now has all bases covered and can keep consolidating.

Paynter | WinStar

If Violence has always seemed regal, his nearest pursuer in this group has seemed more like the plucky fellow fighting to earn his stripes. Doubtless that partly reflects the grave health challenges overcome by Paynter (Awesome Again–Tizso, by Cee's Tizzy) before he could resume at a high level as an older horse. But we should remind ourselves that he actually started out at WinStar off a higher fee ($25,000) than Violence.

For 2021, he has taken his fourth fee cut to just $7,500–pretty astonishing, really, when he had just been saluted as sire of the fastest miler in Keeneland's history. Now, of course, Knicks Go has followed up his GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile track record in the GI Pegasus World Cup, reiterating his ability to kick again from the front. But this dazzling renewal for the Brad Cox barn is actually the second time that Maryland-bred Knicks Go, whose family is seeded by some pretty exotic names, has demanded a fresh look at his sire.

With three-figure books across his first four seasons, Paynter had been given a solid base and his first yearlings were well supported. They made a fairly quiet start on the track the following year, however, reducing his next book to just 34 mares at half his opening fee. Neither Paynter himself nor his sire had raced at two, so it's hard to know quite what breeders were expecting. But then Knicks Go emerged from his second crop, first as shock winner of the GI Breeders' Futurity and then beating all bar Game Winner (Candy Ride {Arg}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. That revived momentum for Paynter, who received 97 and 71 mares in the two years since, and the second coming of Knicks Go will surely repeat the dose at such a low fee.

Because actually Paynter has a solid spread of talent behind his flagship. Knicks Go, remember, sat out most of 2020 and his $608,440 earnings represented only 10 cents in every dollar banked by Paynter in overhauling even Violence, with his three Grade I winners, to top the fourth-crop sires table. Though we've seen that only a handful of elite stallions could match the icing on Violence's cake, their performance otherwise was very similar: Paynter had 222 starters, Violence 225; he had nine black-type winners, against eight for Violence; 18 black-type performers played 15; each had three graded stakes winners and six graded stakes horses; and they respectively notched 115 and 116 winners overall.

The gap between them, of course, remains the one that divides Knicks Go from the rest of Paynter's best stock. Graded stakes winner Harpers First Ride is doing his best, ten-for-18 overall after finishing tailed off in the Pegasus, but Paynter doesn't want Knicks Go to seem so freakish as to become as much of a burden as a benefit. That's why we should respect the breadth of his output, putting him in some pretty august company in the general sires list (among the top 20 active stallions last year).

Paynter's fee cut looks a sensible response to his virtual disappearance as a commercial force with his latest yearlings, processing a handful for a four-figure average. But he can turn that round, too, as people absorb the supporting cast behind his headline act. Either way he certainly looks attractively priced for anyone who might want to breed a runner. And remember his deeds all have an obvious genetic base: he's out of a full-sister to his farm's pensioned legend Tiznow.

Take Charge Indy | Louise Reinagel

This group contains one stallion who has actually managed to reverse the usual tide, Take Charge Indy (A.P. Indy–Take Charge Lady, by Dehere) having last year returned to WinStar after a three-year stint in Korea. He had been exported after a tepid reception for his first yearlings in 2016, leggy and immature as they often were, an average of $40,422 representing a limited yield for a rookie who had started out at $20,000.

The three crops he left behind, however, turned out to include the likes of GII Rebel S. winner Long Range Toddy, GII Louisiana Derby winner Noble Indy and GI Preakness S. runner-up Everfast. In 2018, Take Charge Indy finished runner-up in the second-crop table; and the following year he edged out Paynter to top the third-crop championship with five black-type winners. He only mustered one of those last year, but obviously had no juvenile input in play.

He was welcomed back by 144 mares last spring, at $17,500, and a mild trim to $15,000 suggests confidence that breeders will be following through on a pedigree that unites a breed-shaping stallion with a top-class runner who has since become a Broodmare of the Year (also responsible, of course, for Three Chimneys sire Will Take Charge). As with Violence, we get a double dose of Secretariat's daughters through Weekend Surprise, the dam of A.P. Indy, and Sister Dot, who gave us Take Charge Lady's sire Dehere. Indeed, the whole page is saturated with Classic influences and, if his GI Florida Derby success could not disguise the reality that he raced one peg below the very best, then Take Charge Indy could well become one of those whose genes make him eligible to produce runners still better than himself.

That remains to be seen. Strictly, Take Charge Indy still needs his big horse–but the bottom line is that his black-type winners and performers have come at a clip slightly better than both Violence and Paynter. Obviously he has a problem in that there will be few if any headlines coming off the track for a couple years now, so he may need the market to invest his relaunch with something of the glamour generally reserved for total newcomers. But he should be treated with more respect than those, having already demonstrated his competence in the role. And the Classic complexion of his overall pedigree should especially appeal to anyone prepared to retain a filly.

Oxbow | ThoroStride

Another nugget of old-fashioned virtue, and who happens to be even more closely related to a rival in this intake, is Oxbow (Awesome Again–Tizamazing, by Cee's Tizzy) at Calumet. He is by the same sire as Paynter and his dam, like Paynter, is another sister to the great Tiznow. Both horses, moreover, finished second in the GI Belmont S. But Oxbow did so after winning the GI Preakness and running sixth in the Derby, and earlier won the GIII Lecomte S. by 11 1/2 lengths. Unfortunately he derailed in his next start, but he had left no doubt as to his throwback, speed-carrying capacities and you'd be confident that his stock will mature effectively.

That's important, because his sophomores this year represent a book of 187–and they include none other than Hot Rod Charlie, 94-1 runner-up in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. So these might just keep him in the game after he was reduced to a very small book last year, duly trimmed to $7,500 (opened at $20,000). His percentages are unexciting and he appears to have rather shot his bolt as a commercial sire, but that won't stop him producing another Coach Rocks (GII Gulfstream Oaks) or two.

Jimmy Creed | Spendthrift

Jimmy Creed (Distorted Humor–Hookedonthefeelin, by Citidancer) represents a very different firm, in Spendthrift. But actually he has so far had nothing like the kind of industrial output sometimes associated with that farm, while having quietly established himself as a most consistent operator at $10,000, temptingly down from $15,000. In fact, his lifetime ratio of black-type winners and performers to named foals (5.2% and 11.5% respectively) is ahead of all these, even Violence (4.5% and 8.7%).

That makes him a really interesting proposition, as a lively start with his first juveniles (20 winners from 44 starters) turned round his book from 67 in 2017 to 165 in 2018. That gives him a big team of juveniles for the year ahead, including yearlings that sold for as much as $500,000 and an average $46,125, while he had another 253 covers across the next two years to keep the pipeline full. In other words, foals conceived now can hope to ride renewed headlines on the track, where he has already produced four graded stakes winners/four Grade I horses. It's all perfectly feasible of a GI Malibu winner whose dam and half-sister Pussycat Doll (Real Quiet) both won the GI La Brea S.

Alternation | Asuncion Pineyrua

Another by the same sire, Alternation (Distorted Humor–Alternate, by Seattle Slew) resembles Paynter with Knicks Go in needing to show that it is not all about GI Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress. Yes, he only has one other graded stakes winner to this point, but eight black-type scorers overall is a respectable percentage of only 199 named foals.

By this stage he's not really pretending to be a commercial sire but the 40 mares he entertained at Pin Oak last year were sent in the knowledge that his half-brother Higher Power (Medaglia d'Oro) has now earned a place at Darby Dan as a runaway winner of the GI Pacific Classic. Their dam is a half-sister to Canadian Horse of the Year Peaks and Valleys (Mt. Livermore) and it's a regal family all round. He has done it once and, given the chance, there's no reason why he shouldn't do it again.

The only other stallion apparently advertising a fee in Kentucky from this group is Raison d'Etat (A.P. Indy–Sightseek, by Distant View) at Calumet, off the bargain peg of $2,500. He is trading primarily on his genes, rather than the limited use he made of them on the track, but has vindicated the theory to a modest degree with a couple of stakes winners so far.

Bottom line is that some of these survivors may have a lean and hungry look, but they're a deserving bunch overall and much better value than almost all the unproven stallions who dominate the market. Here's hoping they consolidate and can earn a place, next time round, in our concluding look at Established Sires.

CHRIS McGRATH'S VALUE PODIUM: Fourth- & Fifth-Crop Sires
Gold: Paynter ($7,500, WinStar)
   Good base behind his headline act, yet cost shrinking
Silver: Cairo Prince ($15,000, Airdrie)
   Star of his class now a tempting fee
Bronze: Jimmy Creed ($10,000, Spendthrift)
   Pipeline is loaded.

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“We would have loved to run in the Pegasus Turf again, but he hasn’t run since June,” explained Lynch. “He needed some time off after his last race and the Pegasus Turf comes up too soon.”

He added, “He’s coming back at a distance that isn’t really ideal for him, but it’s a good starting point. The good thing about this race is there’s plenty of pace, which ideally suits

Gulfstream..He’s his own worst enemy. He gives himself too much to do. He needs the ideal trip and the heavens to open up. He needs a clean path. He’s such a big horse, when you get him stopped, it’s hard to get him started again. He can be his own worst enemy the way he takes himself out of it, but we’ve been seeing a lot of maturity in him.”

Ride a Comet (Candy Ride {Arg}) is undefeated in two starts in 2020, both over Woodbine’s Tapeta surface. A come-from-behind victor in a seven furlong optional claimer in October, the John Oxley and My Meadowview runner took the GII Kennedy Road S. at six furlongs Nov. 21. The Mark Casse trainee has won at distances ranging from six to nine furlongs throughout his career, including the 2018 GII Del Mar Derby. Tyler Gaffalione gets the call.

William Lawrence’s Analyze It (Point of Entry), favored at 2-1 on the morning line, will scratch due to a quarter crack issue per Daily Racing Form’s Mike Welsch.

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