Quality Road will lead the pack at the Lane's End stallion barn for the 2023 breeding season, standing for $200,000. Up from $150,000 in 2022, the 16-year-old is responsible for 2022 GI New York S. winner Bleecker Street, GII Rebel S. runner-up Ethereal Road, GI American Pharoah S. runner-up National Treasure, as well as three new 'TDN Rising Stars.' In the sales ring, he had seven yearlings bring seven figures at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale, including the $2.5-million colt who topped the sale.
At $75,000, the same fee he stood for in 2022, Candy Ride (Arg) continues to command the farm's second-highest fee.
First-year stallion City of Light, represented by three black-type winners from his first crop, stands alongside his sire Quality Road and holds steady at $60,000. A Top 10 freshman sire in North America by earnings, City of Light has sired eight winners, including GI Darley Alcibiades S. runner-up and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies pre-entry Chop Chop.
Bred by Stonestreet Thoroughbreds and purchased for $1.6 million by Woodford Racing & West Point Thoroughbreds, WEYHILL ROAD (Quality Road) makes his debut Friday at Keeneland. Out of the Malibu Moon mare Catch the Moon, Weyhill Road is a half-brother to GSW & MGISP Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), GISW and up-and-coming sire Girvin (Tale of Ekati), GSW Cocked and Loaded (Coloniall John), and GSW Pirate's Punch (Shanghai Bobby).Trained by Shug McGaughey, Weyhill Road enters off a four-furlong work from the gate in :48 1/5 (18/82) and gets jockey Tyler Gaffalione aboard. TJCIS PPS
8th-SA, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 6fT, 7:44 p.m.
A $760,000 yearling, Clooney (City of Light) makes his first start Friday for owners SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, and Madaket Stables and trainer Tim Yakteen. A half-brother to MGSW Selcourt (Tiz Wonderful), whose first foal brought $485,000 from the same connections at this past September's Keeneland Yearling Sale, Clooney picks up jockey Tyler Baze in the irons. TJCIS PPS
John Velazquez wouldn't give a definitive answer on where Gamine (Into Mischief – Peggy Jane, Kafwain) ranks on the list of all-stars the Hall of Fame jockey has been associated with over the years, but he came pretty close.
Asked how the champion sprinter stacks up against a long line of high-class fillies he has ridden to Grade I success, he responded, “She's definitely one of the top ones. Like definitely one or two, I would say.”
That answer is high praise coming from the two-time Eclipse Award-winning jockey, who said that he will never forget Gamine's authoritative way of going or how she could effortlessly switch gears coming down the stretch.
“What I will always remember about Gamine is how powerful she was,” Velazquez reflected. “Her stride and everything she did was so easy. For a horse as fast as she was, she was also really kind. She had a great mind on her and she had a big heart. She would give you everything she could at any time. That's what made her Gamine.”
Together, Gamine and Velazquez raced to five Grade I victories highlighted by a record-setting win in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at Keeneland.
Now approaching exactly two years since that day, Gamine is carrying her first foal by Quality Road and in a few weeks, she will sell at the Fasig-Tipton 'Night of the Stars' Sale. There, she will be consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa as Hip 289.
Gamine is no stranger to the Fasig-Tipton sales ring. The flashy bay made her first of many headlines there when she topped the 2019 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Old Sale, selling to Michael Lund.
“Gamine has always been special to us at Fasig-Tipton ever since her breeze at the Timonium Sale,” said Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning. “She had one of the co-fastest breezes, working an eighth of a mile in :10 flat, but she looked like she was just galloping. She had a beautiful stride on her and beautiful mechanics. When you went back to the barn to see her, she never turned a hair. She had the class. She had the elegance. I think we all knew that she was poised to do something special in that sales ring.”
Bob Baffert can quickly recall his first encounter with Gamine at that sale. Standing alongside agent Donato Lanni, it took the trainer less than 10 seconds to know he wanted the filly in his barn.
“It's very rare that I have horses that I just look at and see something magic in them,” Baffert said. “Gamine had me at hello. I walked away and told Donato that we needed to call Michael Lund, who was just getting in the business, and tell him he needs to buy this filly. Michael said, 'Well Bob, how far should I go?' And I said these fillies are hard to find. You stop when you own her. He stepped up and she went for $1.8 million. It was incredible.”
Gamine made quick work of justifying her sales price the following year as she completed a near-perfect, Eclipse Award-worthy sophomore campaign. A 'TDN Rising Star' on debut, the brilliant filly took the GI Acorn S. by almost 19 lengths and the GI Test S. by seven before her spectacular Breeders' Cup victory.
“I think history will reflect the fact that Gamine's 2020 racing campaign was one for the ages when you take into consideration not only that she won, but the dominant, brilliant way in which she won,” Browning explained. “She was a horse that when you watched her on the racetrack, she gave you goose bumps. You knew you were watching something special when Gamine broke from the starting gate and got into that poetic motion that she ran with.”
Just as much of a force to be reckoned with at four, Gamine added four more graded victories to her resume including the GI Derby City Distaff S. and the GI Ballerina H. She retired with only two losses in her 11 career starts.
“Gamine was probably the grandest, smartest, kindest and most beautiful filly I ever trained,” her conditioner said. “I would always look forward to watching her run because I knew she was going to 'wow' us and that's what she did.”
Browning said that he believes one of the most remarkable aspects of Gamine's career was that she fulfilled expectations every step of the way.
“The bar has always been set very high to begin with for her and she has always exceeded those expectations, so I think she'll likely do that as a broodmare as well,” he said. “She certainly has the opportunity to be a once-in-a-multigenerational type of opportunity. Gamine has been part of the Fasig-Tipton team since she walked through the sales ring for the first time and we're delighted and honored to have the opportunity to sell her in foal on behalf of Michael Lund this November.”
“She's the whole package,” Baffert said. “She is a generational talent. That's what you need in this business. That's why we always refer to her as Queen Gamine.”
Stepping up after suffering a defeat at the hands of the dynamic filly Spirit Gal (Fr) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) in the Listed Star Appeal S. at Dundalk Sept. 30, Cairo (Ire) (Quality Road) mastered his rivals in Saturday's G3 Killavullan S. at Leopardstown to add another string to Ballydoyle's remarkable juvenile bow.
Never far from the pace set by Bold Discovery (Bolt D'Oro), the 5-2 favourite took over from that rival approaching the furlong pole and stayed on strongly for a 2 3/4-length success from stablemate Sierra Blanca (Ire) (No Nay Never), who denied Bold Discovery by a neck.
Stable representative Chris Armstrong said, “I think the proper gallop helped him today. He's a lovely horse physically and he's done everything right so far. He's in the Group 1 in France next weekend [the Criterium International], but that will probably come too soon. The second horse ran a lovely race and he'll come on again.”
Pedigree Notes
Cairo, who had broken his maiden over a mile at The Curragh Aug. 27, is the third foal out of the Listed Coolmore Stud E.B.F. Sprint S. winner Cuff (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) who was not seen again after finishing fifth in the G3 Albany S. on her next start. She is a full-sister to five former Ballydoyle notables, headed by the G2 Superlative S.-winning sire Gustav Klimt (Ire) who was also placed in the G1 St James's Palace S., G1 Haydock Sprint Cup, G1 Irish 2000 Guineas and G1 Prix Jean Prat. Also a full-sibling of the St James's Palace third Mars (Ire) and the G3 Silver Flash S. scorer Wonderfully (Ire), Cuff is a daughter of the listed-winning Massarra (GB) (Danehill).
Massarra, a full-sister to Kodiac (GB) and half to the sire sensation Invincible Spirit (Ire), also produced the G1 Gran Criterium scorer Nayarra (Ire) (Cape Cross {Ire}) and is the second dam of the Listed Lingfield Derby and Oaks Trial winners Kilimanjaro (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and Hertford Dancer (GB) (Foxwedge {Aus}). She is connected to Mishriff (Ire) (Make Believe {GB}), who needs no introduction as the ground-breaking G1 Dubai Sheema Classic, G1 Prix du Jockey Club, G1 Juddmonte International and Saudi Cup hero. Cuff's yearling filly is by No Nay Never, while she also has a colt foal by Wootton Bassett (GB).
Saturday, Leopardstown, Ireland KILLAVULLAN S.-G3, €50,000, Leopardstown, 10-15, 2yo, 7fT, 1:31.73, y/s.
1–CAIRO (IRE), 131, c, 2, by Quality Road 1st Dam: Cuff (Ire) (SW-Ire), by Galileo (Ire) 2nd Dam: Massarra (GB), by Danehill 3rd Dam: Rafha (GB), by Kris (GB) 1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GROUP WIN. O-D Smith, Mrs J
Magnier, M Tabor, Westerberg; B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan
O'Brien; J-Wayne Lordan. €30,000. Lifetime Record: 4-2-2-0,
$50,929. Werk Nick Rating: D+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. 2–Sierra Blanca (Ire), 131, c, 2, No Nay Never–Alexandrova
(Ire), by Sadler's Wells. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. O-Westerberg,Mrs J Magnier,M Tabor,D Smith;
B-Coolmore (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €10,000.
3–Bold Discovery, 131, c, 2, Bolt d'Oro–Caribbean Babe, by
Arch. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE. ($50,000 Ylg
'21 KEESEP). O-Marc Chan; B-Chc Inc. (KY); T-Jessica
Harrington. €5,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, NK, HF. Odds: 2.50, 5.00, 3.50.
Also Ran: Bay of Plenty (Ire), Clever And Cool (Ire), Imadpour (Ire), King of Scotia (Ire), Tiverton (GB), Bossy Parker (Ire), Lakota Seven (Ire), Daamberdiplomat (Ire). VIDEO.
Cairo rides on a night boat to glory in the €50,000 G3 Killavullan Stakes for 