“We have such an awesome fleet of mares, but we are always looking to add to the group,” said Stone. “We have 16 mares total. 5 of those are maidens and so we are due for eleven foals this year.”

GOODNIGHT OLIVE (m, 6, Ghostzapper – Salty Strike, by Smart Strike) bred to Not This Time

Purchased for $6 million at 2023 Fasig-Tipton November

She was the first mare to visit Not This Time this year. We're very excited about this mating. Not This Time has really been impressive over the past few years and we thought it would be a great fit with Goodnight Olive. It nicked well. We have a great relationship with the Taylors and love what they're doing at Taylor Made, so it was the perfect fit.

CARAVEL (m, 7, Mizzen Mast – Zeezee Zoomzoom, by Congrats) to be bred to Frankel

Purchased privately in January, 2024

John and I actually visited Frankel last week at Juddmonte. He's big-boned and the shoulder and hip on him is so impressive. He's every bit of what he's hyped up to. We were more than thrilled with that mating.

Caravel will leave the farm in the first part of March. The idea is to keep her over there, let her foal out and then we'll breed her back and then bring her back home.

QUEEN CAROLINE (m, 11, Blame – Queens Plaza, by Forestry) to be bred to Tapit

Dam of Forte (Violence). Purchased for $3 million at 2023 Fasig-Tipton November

Queen Caroline, the dam of champion Forte, will be bred to Tapit in 2024 | Sara Gordon

Queen Caroline had a massive filly by Flightline this weekend. Once we nicked her, it was kind of a no-brainer to send her to King Tapit.

PIZZA BIANCA (m, 5, Fastnet Rock {Aus}) – White Hot {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) to be bred to Justify

Purchased for $3 million at 2023 Fasig-Tipton November

Pizza Bianca is currently in foal to Into Mischief with her first foal. We are taking her to Justify. She's by Fastnet Rock and that pairing to Justify has worked time and time again.

PUCA (m, 12, Big Brown – Boat's Ghost, by Silver Ghost) to be bred to Into Mischief

Dam of Mage (Good Magic). Purchased for $2.9 million at 2023 Keeneland November

Puca is currently in foal to Good Magic and will be bred to Into Mischief. There was definitely a lot of discussion between John, Gavin [O'Connor, General Manager] and me. There were a lot of options for her, but we kept coming back to Into Mischief.

LENNI GIRL (m, 5, Candy Ride {Arg} – Unicorn Girl, by A.P. Five Hundred) to be bred to Practical Joke

Purchased for $500,00 at 2023 Fasig-Tipton November

She is currently in foal to Not This Time and we are taking her to Practical Joke. Practical Joke has been a favorite of ours and we actually have his full brother, who we purchased at the Keeneland September Sale [for $1 million]. That was the horse John bought all on his own when Gavin and I weren't around. He liked the horse that much. We have a great relationship with Coolmore and supporting their stallions is important to us.

GODDESS PELE (m, 4, West Coast – Fiery Pulpit, by Pulpit) to be bred to Munnings

Purchased for $300,000 at 2023 Fasig-Tipton November

Goddess Pele recently had the first foal at Resolute Farm, a very nice Epicenter filly. We will be sending her to Munnings. We have a couple of yearlings on the farm sired by him and they're fantastic. They all have a great look about that. I think he'll pair up very nicely with this mare.

CHAMPAGNE (Ire) (m, 5, Galileo {Ire} – Red Evie {Ire}, by Intikhab) to be bred to Justify

Purchased privately in 2024.

This is the full-sister to champion Found (Ire). Champagne is in foal to Siyouni and we are breeding her back to Justify.  Justify is on fire and we are excited to be sending mares to him this season.

DRAMATICALLY  (m, 9, War Front – Wonder of Wonders, by Kingmambo) to be bred to Curlin

Purchased privately in 2024.

Dramatically is in foal to Wootton Bassett and she will go to Curlin.

HAPPEN (m, 8, War Front – Alexandrova {Ire}, by Sadler's Wells) to be bred to Into Mischief

Purchased privately in 2024.

Happen, a daughter of multiple Group 1 winner Alexandrova, is also in foal to Wootton Bassett and she will visit Into Mischief.

PINK DOGWOOD (Ire) (m, 8, Camelot {GB} – Question Times {GB}, by Shamardal) to be bred to Justify

Purchased privately in 2024.

This is the full-sister to Group 1 winner Latrobe (Ire). She is in foal to Frankel and is due in April, so we're ecstatic that she will have the first Frankel on our farm. John is a huge fan of Frankel. We will be sending her back to Justify.

The post Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift: Resolute Bloodstock appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

From the same family as Breeders' Cup winner Folklore (Tiznow) and Japanese champion Contrail (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}), Queen Caroline was consigned by Bluegrass Thoroughbreds Services, agent for South Gate Farm LLC as hip 171. South Gate's Amy Moore had purchased her as a yearling at the 2014 Keeneland September sale for $170,000 and campaigned her to multiple listed black-type victories.

Watch Hip 171 QUEEN CAROLINE sell for $3,000,000 at The November Sale!

Queen Caroline's first foal is last year's #EclipseAward Champion 2YO Male Forte and she is in foal to Horse of the Year and @BreedersCup champion Flightline.#FasigNovember @LanesEndFarms pic.twitter.com/hES4KKtjIK

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) November 7, 2023

The post Forte’s Dam Fetches $3M from John Stewart appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The odds of campaigning a multiple stakes winner from the first yearling you ever purchase are certainly pretty long. But to have that horse go on and produce a champion as her first foal, what are the chances?

Amy Moore, the owner of South Gate Farm in Millwood, Virginia, knows better than to take this experience for granted. Besides her childhood family pony, the first horse she ever owned was Queen Caroline. Purchased by Moore for $170,000 as a yearling in 2014, the daughter of Blame out of Queens Plaza (Forestry) was cleverly named after the episode in British history when the wife of King George IV was “blamed” for adultery and put on trial in the House of Lords. Queen Caroline would go on to earn over $400,000, claiming five stakes victories for Michael Matz.

After she retired to Moore's small Virginia farm, the mare's first foal–and the first horse that Moore ever bred–was Forte. The son of Violence went on to be a Breeders' Cup and Eclipse Award-winning juvenile and one of the top sophomores of 2023.

“It has really been a thrill,” Moore reflected. “My sister, niece and I all came to Lexington for the Breeders' Cup last year, so we were there to see him win the Juvenile. Forte definitely has the mare's personality. Queen Caroline is a mare that knows who she is and she's number one in any field that she's ever been in. I think he has that too and it shows in these incredible victories where it looks like he's beaten at the top of the stretch and he gets up to win.”

Soon, the final chapter of Moore's fairytale story with Queen Caroline will come to a close when the Grade I-producing mare goes through the ring on Nov. 7 at the Fasig-Tipton November Sale. The sale of Moore's once-in-a-lifetime mare will make it possible for the breeder to further her boutique broodmare band for many years to come.

Sara Gordon

“It's definitely bittersweet,” Moore admitted. “She's done as much for me as any horse could possibly do. I'm running a business so I have to make decisions with those considerations in mind and she's really become too valuable to keep her in Virginia on my little farm.”

Offered in foal to Flightline, Queen Caroline will sell as Hip 171 with Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services. The mare has spent the last year with consignor John Stuart at his Chanteclair Farm in Versailles. Stuart reiterated that the mare has the attitude of racing royalty.

“She's definitely the queen,” he said. “She was really competitive on the racetrack and now she bosses everybody around in the pasture. She's a really pretty mare–16'1 ½ inches, a strong body, correct. She's got a really nice eye and head to her and just a lot of class.”

Stuart said that Queen Caroline's second foal shares the same confident air as his dam and half brother. A son of Uncle Mo, the colt now named Dr. Park sold for $850,000 last year to Mayberry Farm. Now in training with John Shirreffs, the juvenile is putting in regular works at Santa Anita ahead of his debut.

Meanwhile Queen Caroline had a stretch of bad luck when her third foal was born dead last year and she then ended up losing her foal this year due to the effects of the setback in 2022. Stuart attested to the 10-year-old mare's capability as a broodmare going forward.

“I'm confident that she's good to go and is going to have a lot of foals in a row because she's young and she's fertile,” he said. “Every year that she's been bred, she's been bred one time except for the second year when she had the Uncle Mo, when she was bred twice.”

Bred on an early Feb. 24 cover date, Queen Caroline will be one of the first mares at public auction to be offered in foal to undefeated Flightline. Last year's Horse of the Year, the new Lane's End stallion holds an esteemed place at Fasig-Tipton as a $1 million graduate of their Saratoga Sale.

Queen Caroline and her paddock mate First Passage (Giant's Causeway) | Sara Gordon

“Flightline is a very special horse to everybody in the industry,” said Fasig-Tipton's president and CEO Boyd Browning. “He captivated our imagination like no other horse has in my 35 years of being involved in the Thoroughbred industry. I think everybody around the world is excited to see the potential that Flightline possesses as a stallion.”

Another important component of Queen Caroline's resume, Browning said, is her pedigree. The mare's family includes Essential Quality and Contrail (Jpn), both champions at two and three in their native countries who are now embarking on their stud careers.

“The sky is the limit in terms of what could be happening within this pedigree,” Browning said. “It's already an exceptional pedigree. She's by Blame, who is emerging as one of the best broodmare sires in the world, and you've got Seattle Slew in the pedigree. But we could look up in 10 years and say the pedigree has exploded. Forte has become a great stallion or Contrail has become a great stallion. And who knows what else is going to happen with her own produce with the potential she possesses. It's a power-packed pedigree and the future is very bright for Queen Caroline.”

“I think anybody in the world could buy Queen Caroline,” he continued. “I would be hesitant to predict who the buyer would be or where they'll be from. She has truly international appeal. Her first foal is one of the best horses of the 3-year-old crop and a champion 2-year-old last year and her second foal brought $850,000, so she's the complete package of what you're looking for in terms of a commercial broodmare. She's going to be coveted by virtually every major breeder in the world.”

In the days leading up to Queen Caroline's sale, Moore will be watching from Virginia as Forte looks to make his bid in the Breeders' Cup Classic. The breeder will make the trip to Lexington to watch her star mare go through the ring and hopefully from there, come home with one or two new additions to her small broodmare band.

“I'm sure Queen Caroline will go to a very good home,” Moore said. “That will be a comfort to me, to know she's well taken care of and she's getting the best in terms of breeding opportunities. I think her future buyer will have a very nice mare and will get some really nice foals from her.”

Even when she no longer owns the mare, Moore said she will always be proud to be listed as the breeder of Forte as he furthers his career on the racetrack and hopefully someday, the stud barn.

“It's been a roller coaster,” she said of Forte's campaign. “I'm sure Forte's owners can say the same. There have been a lot of ups and downs, as there always are in the horse business, but it's been a lot of fun to watch a really good horse compete and to own his dam. I will miss that, but I hope to produce another one and go around again someday. As soon as I have a chance, my mares will be going to Forte.”

The post Ahead of Fasig November, Amy Moore Bids Queen Caroline a Heartfelt Farewell appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“The Fasig-Tipton November Sale annually offers a collection of the world's finest bloodstock,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “This year's catalogue is once again outstanding, offering 55 graded stakes winners or producers, 26 of which are Grade I.”

Browning continued: “We have Eclipse Champions, international champions, multiple Breeders' Cup winners, and a Kentucky Oaks winner. On the producer side, buyers will find the dams of Eclipse Award winners, Breeders' Cup winners, and a Royal Ascot winner. This sale is one-stop shopping for those seeking the very best.”

The sale begins with weanlings selected on pedigree and conformation before transitioning into racing/broodmare prospects and broodmares as afternoon turns to evening.

“Weanlings have become a very important part of this sale, and this year, we tightened up our acceptance standards to ensure a high-quality group from top to bottom. It's a very good group of foals,” Browning added. “The racing and breeding offerings are even deeper this year, as well. Buyers will find significant quality at all levels of the market.”

The catalogue may now be viewed online, as may Fasig-Tipton's Enhanced Catalogue.

The Enhanced Catalogue provides up-to-date catalogue pages, Daily Racing Form past performances, and race replays; an Alan Porter pedigree analysis and five-cross pedigrees for all racing/broodmare prospects and broodmares; stallion register pages for all sires of weanlings and covering sires; as well as other tools to aid prospective buyers. All Grade I-winning females off the track or carrying their first foals will also be profiled with individual feature videos.

The catalogue includes 133 weanlings by established and young sires alike, including 2023 first-crop weanling sires Charlatan, Essential Quality, Independence Hall, Knicks Go, Lexitonian, Maxfield, Raging Bull, Rock Your World, Tacitus and Yaupon.

Those weanlings include:
• Hip 3, a Collected colt whose second dam, Mien, produced champion Big Brown.
• Hip 8, a Ghostzapper colt whose second dam Salty Strike produced champion Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper), also selling at Fasig later on the night;
• Hip 46, a Munnings colt who is a full-brother to Eda, the winner of the GI Starlet S. who sports eight wins in 10 starts;
• Hip 48, a colt by Into Mischief out of Grade I Spinaway S. winner Sippican Harbor (Orb), from Taylor Made;
• Hip 53, a colt by Maxfield who is a half-brother to GI Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Bright Future (Curlin), who is pointing to the Breeders' Cup Classic;
• Hip 95, a Gun Runner filly whose second dam, Baffled, produced leading sire Constitution;
• Hip 105, a colt by Constitution who is a half-brother to Grade I Preakness S. winner Rombauer (Twirling Candy);
• Hip 107, a colt by Uncle Mo who is a full-brother to Grade II Jim Dandy S. winner Laoban;
• hip 213, a colt by Maxfield who is a half-brother to two-time Grade I winner Up To the Mark (Not This Time).

But it's the mares' section of the catalogue that really wows.

Top mares include:
• Argentinian champion 3-year-old filly Dona Bruja (Arg), in foal to Candy Ride (Arg);
• Impazible Woman, the dam of Tyler's Tribe, who won his first five starts in 2022 by a combined 60 lengths;
• Grade I Cotillion S. winner It Tiz Well, in foal to Into Mischief;
• Moira (Ghostzapper), the champion 3-year-old filly and Horse of the Year in Canada, being offered as a racing or broodmare prospect;
• Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}), the winner of this year's GI Beverly D. S. who was also placed in the G1 English 1000 Guineas;

• Needmore Flattery, whose second foal was the three-time GISW 'TDN Rising Star' Taiba (Gun Runner), carrying a full-sibling to him;
• two-time GII Santa Monica S. winner Merneith, in foal to Flightline;
• Nest (Curlin), the winner of GI Ashland, Coaching Club American Oaks, and Alabama who was the Eclipse Award-winning 3-year-old filly of 2022, and who is expected to start in this Sunday's GI Juddmonte Spinster S. at Keeneland;
• GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Fillies winner Pizza Bianca, in foal to Into Mischief;
• Queen Caroline, the dam of Forte, in foal to Flightline;
• Grade I American Oaks winner Queen Goddess (Empire Maker), from an elite Phipps family;
• Sauterne (Kingman {GB}), who won the G1 Prix de Moulin de Longchamp on Sept. 3 and out of a half-sister to multiple champion Stacelita (Fr);
• Grade I Acorn S. winner Search Results (Flatter);
• Grade I Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath (Arrogate);
• Grade I Queen Elizabeth S. Winner Shantisara (Ire) (Coulsty {Ire});
• Sophia's Song, the dam of GI Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Bright Future, in foal to Jackie's Warrior;
• Trophy Girl, the dam of GI Champagne S. winner and GI Preakness S. runner-up Blazing Sevens (Good Magic), carrying his full-sibling;
• the dam of Grade I winner and sire Golden Pal, Lady Shipman, herself a graded stakes winner, in foal to Flightline;
• the six-year-old Vigui's Heart, whose first foal Valiant Force won the G2 Norfolk S. at Royal Ascot, selling in foal to Vekoma;
• Wonder Wheel, Into Mischief's first champion juvenile and winner of the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in a 2-year-old campaign where she went four-for-five;
• America, the dam of GIII Pimlico Special winner and 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain, in foal to Gun Runner, whose last two auction yearlings have each sold for seven figures;
• Arrogate's Grade I-winning daughter And Tell Me Nolies;
• Armony's Angel, the dam of Grade I-winning millionaire Angel of Empire, in foal to Gun Runner;
• Belle's Finale, the dam of Up To the Mark (Not The Time), carrying a full sibling to the turf star;
• Grade I Frizette S. winner Chocolate Gelato (Practical Joke);
• Grade I Starlet S. winner 'TDN Rising Star' Faiza (Girvin);
• Eclipse Award and Breeders' Cup champion Goodnight Olive;

There are also three Grade I-winning daughters from Arrogate's first crop, and mares in foal to first-crop sires Flightline, Olympiad, Nashville, Life is Good, Mystic Guide, and Epicenter.

Print catalogues will be available by October 6. The catalogue will also be available via the Equineline sales catalogue app.

Online bidding and phone bidding will be available.

The November Sale will also offer a supplemental catalogue. Fasig-Tipton will accept approved entries for the supplement through the Breeders' Cup.

The post Fasig-Tipton November Offers Champions, Breeders’ Cup Winners, and More appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Over an extended mile of turf, a 5-year-old daughter of Big Brown overtook Queen Caroline (Blame) in the stretch before going clear by 1 3/4 lengths. On her 16th start, it was an overdue black-type success for Puca, who had in younger days started one of the favorites for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies and also (after running second in the GII Gazelle S.) been deemed worth a crack at the GI Kentucky Oaks.

Having meanwhile added the fourth stakes prize of her own career, Queen Caroline followed Puca to a graded stakes at Belmont the following month. Against this stiffer competition, however, neither was able to land a blow. A few days later Puca was sold at Keeneland, to Thomas Clark for $275,000, and subsequently booked to the rookie Gun Runner; while Queen Caroline, a year her junior, persevered for one more campaign before being retired and sent to Violence.

Puca elevated her value pretty steeply when sold a second time, carrying her Gun Runner foal, to Grandview Equine for $475,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale of 2018. She was a beautiful, black-type mare and her page was decorated by half-brother Finnegans Wake (Powerscourt {GB}) as winner of the GI Woodford Reserve Turf Classic.

Once she had safely delivered a filly, Puca's new owners utilized a share in Good Magic for her next cover, which encounter produced a colt on 18 April 2020. That September, they offered her Gun Runner filly at Keeneland, but she failed to meet her reserve and was retained at $70,000. Sent into training with Kenny McPeek and named Gunning, she has won three of seven starts and earned a second black-type podium just a few days ago.

Queen Caroline's date with Violence had meanwhile resulted in a 3 February colt, sold to Silver Hill Farm at Keeneland that November for $80,000. He proved a pretty marginal pinhook, realizing $110,000 from Repole Stable & St. Elias, deep in the following September Sale.

Puca's Good Magic colt had made $235,000 earlier in the same auction, sold through Runnymede Farm–where he had been foaled and raised–to New Team. He, too, was just a solid pinhook through the next cycle, getting to $290,000 when sold through Sequel Bloodstock to Ogma Investments at Timonium.

As you will doubtless have recognized by now, if you didn't already know, the 1-2 in the Steve Pini Memorial have meanwhile become celebrated as the respective dams of Mage (by Good Magic out of Puca) and Forte (by Violence out of Queen Caroline). The two sons reversed their mothers' Suffolk Downs form in the GI Florida Derby, but a rather wild move on the much less experienced Mage had convinced many that he could progress past the champion juvenile in the GI Kentucky Derby.

That subplot, of course, has been deferred after the 11th hour withdrawal of Forte. But even the first Saturday in May is only one leg of an epic journey. Mike Repole can comfort himself that Uncle Mo, another champion juvenile in his silks scratched late from the Derby, has amply redressed that disappointment in his stud career. And doubtless those associated with Good Magic feel rather less aggrieved about bumping into a Triple Crown winner in his own Derby, now that he has retrieved the top of their class in the sires' table–whether by cumulative earnings, or in the second-crop championship.

Both Good Magic and Justify contested a gripping freshman title last year, every cent counting for much of the campaign, but in the end Bolt d'Oro made his numerical advantage tell, with $2,815,623 banked by 80 starters, over Good Magic ($2,533,414 from 65) and Justify ($2,478,038 from 71). (It is only fair, at this point, to stress again the excellent yield-per-starter achieved from smaller books and fees by the likes of Army Mule, Girvin and Oscar Performance.)

Of the trio, however, it was Good Magic who was first to the Grade I breakthrough with Blazing Sevens in the Champagne S.; and now he has added the Derby itself. In the process, he becomes a poster boy for the commercial inundation of new stallions–albeit their collective books are such that elite success, somewhere among each intake, should really be considered not just imperative, but inevitable. Those that don't take their big chance soon find themselves swirling round the plug-hole, and even coming up with Always Dreaming from his debut crop couldn't prevent the export of Bodemeister to Turkey. As things stand, however, Good Magic appears to be laying down some patently sustainable foundations.

Just getting into contention for the freshman title, after all, had suggested that he is replicating an unusual precocity by the standards of his sire Curlin. Having run second in a Saratoga maiden and again when fast-tracked to the Champagne, Good Magic claimed a unique distinction in breaking his maiden in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile. He duly consolidated at three, winning the GII Toyota Blue Grass S. and GI betfair.com Haskell S. besides seeing off all bar Justify at Churchill. Though he backpedalled off the stage in the GI Runhappy Travers S., he had banked just shy of $3 million across nine starts.

Coming under the inspired management of John Sikura and his team at Hill 'n' Dale, at an opening fee of $35,000, Good Magic faced the same challenge/opportunity as the likes of Vino Rosso, Connect, Global Campaign and Known Agenda: namely, to volunteer himself as the premier heir to their sire. Though Curlin has now had consecutive sons produce a Derby winner at the first attempt, that admirable creature Keen Ice has undeniably struggled for commercial recognition. So while Curlin remains lord of the manor at Hill 'n' Dale, he's approaching the evening of a great career at 19 and for now the succession appears wide open. The outlying speed of Cody's Wish will obviously make him an interesting pretender to the crown, as we saw again on the Derby undercard. But Good Magic is positioning himself pretty formidably, his fee having already turned round to $50,000 (from $30,000) after the endeavors of his debut crop.

Besides two elite scorers, that crop has included a second Derby runner in GIII Sham S. scorer Reincarnate; plus winners of the GII Sorrento S, GII Remsen S. and GIII Iroquois S. And while Bolt d'Oro was the only one of three freshman title protagonists actually to elevate the yearling average of his second crop, Good Magic again excelled relative to conception fee. The 94 processed from his first crop (110 offered) had averaged $151,708; while last year 74 yearlings sold (87 offered) at $130,250. If his third book suffered the customary slide, it remained more than respectable at 92 mares and he will now surely be back on the way up.

When retired to stud, Good Magic's racetrack credentials were backed up by a physique that had as a yearling secured a seven-figure Keeneland September docket from E5 Racing. His breeders at Stonestreet then struck a deal to stay aboard. His granddam, after all, had been one of the first building blocks in their program: Magical Flash, a daughter of distaff legend Miswaki purchased for $140,000 at the Keeneland November Sale of 2004. She was rising 15 at the time, but channelled speed, class and also precocity. Her half-sister Magical Maiden (Lord Avie) had won a Grade I at two, as did Magical Maiden's daughter Miss Houdini (Belong To Me). Since then, moreover, Miss Houdini had added fresh luster to the family by producing champion female sprinter Ce Ce (Elusive Quality).

Magical Flash (who ended up producing no fewer than 14 winners, including a graded stakes winner on turf by Chester House) similarly brought to the surface some of the genes that appear to have contributed to the sharpening of Good Magic. For instance, a daughter by Smarty Jones was group-placed in France over just five furlongs; while another, by the sturdy influence Prized, managed to produce an Exchange Rate colt fast enough at two to win the GIII Bashford Manor over six furlongs.

Magical Flash's daughter by Hard Spun, Glinda The Good, won two stakes and was also placed at two in the GIII Pocahontas S. And it was her mating with Stonestreet's dual Horse of the Year that produced Good Magic.

In fairness, Hard Spun has proved a vital late conduit (and remains an outstandingly well-priced one) to the breed-shaping Danzig. So who knows, maybe Good Magic's damsire–himself a Derby runner-up–contributed much to the thwarting of his own son, Two Phil's, last Saturday!

Danzig's presence behind Good Magic's damsire is one of the obvious pegs to the mating that produced Mage, in that he recurs on the bottom half of the pedigree through his grandson Big Brown, the sire of Puca. Danzig's replication in the fourth generation is matched by another ubiquitous modern influence, Mr. Prospector. His grandson Curlin sired Good Magic, while one of his rather less potent sons, Silver Ghost, is responsible for Puca's dam Boat's Ghost. (Mr. P. is further represented by his son Miswaki, don't forget, as sire of Magical Flash.)

The overall seeding of the maternal family is less familiar, admittedly, Big Brown and Silver Ghost being followed by Summer Squall and a forgotten son of Raise A Native, Native Royalty. It's an old American line that eventually takes in some Greentree royalty, notably a 10th dam who was half-sister to 1931 Derby and Belmont winner Twenty Grand.

By now all that stuff is obviously quite attenuated, and Puca's dam–stakes-placed in a light career and dam, as noted, of a Grade I winner on turf–was actually sold (in foal to Raging Bull {Fr}) at Keeneland only this January at the age of 19. I'm pleased, but unsurprised, to see that this indignity was relieved, at just $17,000, by that exemplary farm Nursery Place. If they can just get a filly out of the venerable lady, they'll have a half-sister to the dam of a Derby winner.

As for the people who have Puca herself, well, we visited Robert Clay to hear about Grandview Equine's program just before the Derby. The founder of Three Chimneys candidly acknowledges Mage as rather a windfall. Along with various partners, and with the counsel of Solis/Litt, he bought Puca to support a portfolio that included some Good Magic shares. The principal objective, however, had been to develop yearling colts with stallion potential. They achieved just that with Olympiad, but must now feel very relieved that Puca's date with that horse did not come off, meaning that she instead returned to Good Magic. Moreover the failure to meet her reserve of Mage's half-sister, Gunning, has now turned into another wonderful stroke of luck.

As and when Mage proceeds to stud, incidentally, I think he might repay European attention. We noted how Good Magic's granddam produced some pretty smart turf performers, while his grandsire Smart Strike and damsire Hard Spun have both proved flexible influences. More proximately, however, don't forget Puca's switch to become a stakes scorer on grass; nor that her sire Big Brown started his own career on that surface.

In the meantime, let's hope that Mage's delayed rematch with Forte will eventually put some sunshine back into the headlines. True, it's poignant that the “prequel” takes us to another depressing tale, in the closure of Suffolk Downs. But there are doubtless plenty who, in missing their sport in Massachusetts, in particular miss Stephen J. Pini after his premature loss in 2015. Pini, his father and grandfather had between them worked at Suffolk Downs every day since it opened in 1935. It's nice, then, that a race contested in his memory should now have been rendered so significant by the protagonists' sons.

But then this is a game full of concentric fortunes. Here was Rick Dutrow, for instance, saddling his first starter (and winner) in 10 years on the very day that his own Derby winner, Big Brown, became damsire of another one. (And if we think this was a tough Derby day, just scroll back to that one…)

Puca was co-bred by Paul Pompa, Jr. in support of Big Brown, the horse he had bought and then raced in partnership, as he tried to make his way at stud. Then she, in turn, was deployed by Clay and his partners on their stake in another young stallion. And now the daughter of a Derby winner who confounded nearly all precedent, having made just three starts beforehand, has produced another to do exactly the same.

There's no formula, no wand to be waved. But sometimes things just seem to work as if by “Magic.”

The post Magic Formula for Curlin Succession appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

It could be a case of beginner's luck or that Moore really knows what she is doing or some combination of the two, but Moore's success has been nothing short of sensational.

The first horse she bought and raced was Queen Caroline (Blame), a $170,000 Keeneland September purchase who won four stakes and earned $384,776. Queen Caroline would be the first horse to join Moore's broodmare band at her South Gate Farm in Virginia. She was bred to Violence (Medaglia d'Oro) and the offspring would be Moore's first ever production as a breeder. That Violence-Queen Caroline colt is none other than Forte, the likely favorite for the GI Kentucky Derby. One horse bred, one Kentucky Derby favorite.

It's a remarkable story and one Moore shared with us this week on the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland. Moore was this week's Green Group Guest of the Week.

As a lawyer, Moore, who grew up riding horses, advised large companies on their retirement and health plans. But in the back of her mind she looked forward to the day when she could have an easier and, some would say, more rewarding lifestyle breeding and racing horses.

Click here to play this week's podcast | Ryan Thompson Photo

“A 70-hour week would have been a light week, frankly,” she said. “It was very intense. A lot of hard work. It was fun because you're working with extremely bright people and that's always challenging and fun. But no, I have never looked back. I like being a farmer a lot better than I like being a lawyer.”

Actually, she didn't get off to a perfect start. Queen Caroline finished last in her first two races, losing by a combined margin of 42 3/4 lengths.

“I thought I was going to have to go to the races with that paper bag over my head for shame,” she said.

But then trainer Michael Matz put Queen Caroline on the turf and she was a completely different horse.

Moore said that Forte has become a celebrity in her local county in Virginia, where he was raised after being born in Kentucky.

“One of the nicest things about it is that now everyone in Clark County, Virginia, which is the smallest county in Virginia, knows Forte,” she said. “He's a local hero. So if I go to the post office or the grocery store or wherever, people are rooting for Forte and want to know how he's doing and they're very interested in him, and that's a nice thing to have for the community. A lot of people that know nothing about horse racing are getting behind the horse.”

Queen Caroline has delivered one live foal since Forte, a now 2-year-old colt by Uncle Mo who sold for $850,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale, and she has been reported to be in foal to Flightline. It doesn't look like Moore will be a one-horse wonder.

Elsewhere on the podcast, which is also sponsored by Coolmore,https://lanesend.com/  the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association, Woodford Thoroughbreds, Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders, Lane's End, XBTV, 1/st Racing, WinStar Farm and https://www.threechimneys.com/ West Point Thoroughbreds, the team of Zoe Cadman, Randy Moss and Bill Finley went over last week's action, which was topped by the GI Blue Grass S., the GI Santa Anita Derby and the GII Wood Memorial. Moss and Finley both thought that Tapit Trice (Tapit) ran much better when winning the Blue Grass than he did in his GIII Tampa Bay Derby win. They looked ahead to this week's GI Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland and to the GI Apple Blossom H. to be run at Oaklawn. In other news, the team took a look at the Ron Faucheux story. After winning his third straight training title at Fair Grounds, Faucheux announced that he was becoming a jockey's agent because he wasn't making a decent living as a trainer.

Click here to watch the video version of this podcast or click here to hear the audio-only version.

The post Forte’s Breeder Amy Moore Joins The TDN Writers’ Room Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

1) PRACTICAL MOVE (c, Practical Joke–Ack Naughty, by Afleet Alex) O-Leslie & Pierre Jean Amestoy & Roger Beasley; B-Chad Brown & Head of Plains Partners (KY); T-Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $90,000 RNA yrl '21 KEESEP; $230,000 2yo '22 OBSAPR. Lifetime Record: GISW, 7-4-1-2, $884,200. Last Start: 1st Apr. 8 GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Kentucky Derby Points: 160.

Practical Move leapfrogs into the No. 1 spot because his well-executed GI Santa Anita Derby score (100 Beyer Speed Figure) asserts him as the no-nonsense “momentum” horse heading to Louisville. In winning the strongest of the three nine-furlong preps run Saturday, this son of Practical Joke ($90,000 RNA KEESEP; $230,000 OBSAPR) pressured the field into submission, and he has not yet indicated he is close to bottoming out, stamina-wise. His stay-in-touch stalking style and obvious comfort level at being covered up on the inside are highly desirable traits for a Derby contender.

Practical Move won the two fastest 1 1/16-miles Derby qualifying stakes in 2022-23 (1:41.65 in the GII Los Alamitos Futurity and 1:42.01 GII San Felipe S.). His winning time of 1:48.69 in the Santa Anita Derby is also quickest of all the nine-furlong preps.

Unhurried at the break, jockey Ramon Vazquez secured an inside run behind a blazing :22.30 opening quarter in the Santa Anita Derby. He chipped away at the margin down the backstretch, and for the third graded stakes in a row, Practical Move rode the rail to menace the pacemaker. Seizing the lead while still in hand before the quarter pole, the even-money Practical Move then fended off a determined Mandarin Hero (Jpn) (Shanghai Bobby) to win by a nose while keeping a wide-and-driving Skinner comfortably at bay a half-length back in third.

Practical Move has yet to display an overdriven “Wow!” gear late in the lane. But being able to crank up the torque without being flashy about it can certainly earn a blanket of roses on Derby day.

2) FORTE (c, Violence–Queen Caroline, by Blame) 'TDN Rising Star' . O-Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable; B-South Gate Farm (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: Ch. 2yo Colt, MGISW, 7-6-0-0, $1,833,230. Last start: 1st GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Apr. 1. Kentucky Derby Points: 190.

'TDN Rising Star' Forte ($80,000 KEENOV; $110,000 KEESEP) goes into the Derby as the East Coast kingpin and reigning divisional champ. But while Practical Move ended his prep season with an exclamation point, Forte's final prep resonated more like a question mark, because at 1-5 odds he was expected to deliver a shellacking to s soft-on-paper GI Florida Derby field.

Yes, this son of Violence did win with his ears pricked after giving himself too much work to do. And his loping, 4 ½-furlong move did not come at the expense of jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr., having to drill this colt in order to power past the pesky Mage (Good Magic). Five-sixteenths out, Forte looked beaten. But once he got rolling, Forte uncoiled on cue, giving off a “Don't worry, I've got this!” vibe to win by a measured length.

The 20-horse Derby will be different. It was a tactical revelation to hear Ortiz say post-race that “We went to the first turn and those horses cleared me and I said, 'Oh my God.' I thought he could clear them and he didn't do it.”

Forte just might have the most devastating late-race kick in the Derby. But if he can't attain good early positioning, he won't have a stable launching pad to set up his proven far-turn run.

3) HIT SHOW (c, Candy Ride {Arg}–Actress, by Tapit) O/B-Gary & Mary West (KY); T-Brad Cox. Lifetime Record: GSW, 5-3-1-0, $404,375. Last Start: 2nd in GII Wood Memorial S. at Aqueduct Apr. 8. Kentucky Derby Points: 60.

Three horses were bobbing heads at the wire of the GII Wood Memorial. Although this homebred for Gary and Mary West ended up second, he ran the best race in terms of boosting his chances in the Derby.

This Candy Ride (Arg) colt went off as the 17-10 favorite, and although he didn't challenge for the lead from post 12, he was in the hunt five wide on the clubhouse bend before taking up a stalking spot while fifth, about five lengths off a moderate first two quarters in :24.88 and :24.12.

The cadence quickened through a :23.88 third quarter, and Hit Show was on the prowl three deep through the turn. He was bottled up off the bend, had to be switched off the heels in upper stretch, then both gave and took some light slam-dancing while sparring in the middle of a three-way go through the final furlong.

The hedge here is that this May 9 foal can build off that effort, especially when you consider Hit Show has already won at nine furlongs (in the GIII Withers. S.). In addition, his Beyers show a nice, ascending arc of 60-71-82-91-93 through five career tries.

4) VERIFYING (c, Justify–Diva Delite, by Repent) O-Westerberg, Mrs John Magnier, Jonathan Poulin, Derrick Smith & Michael Tabor; B-Hunter Valley & Mountmellick Farm (Ky); T-Brad Cox. Sales history: $775,000 yrl '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGISP, 6-2-2-0, $489,900. Last start: 2nd GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 8. Kentucky Derby Points: 54.

Verifying ($775,000 KEESEP), a Justify colt who will not hit his third birthdate until five days after the Derby, picked a stellar time to run his breakthrough “coming out” race when second, beaten a nose, in the GI Blue Grass S.

A half-brother to 2019 champion older dirt distaffer Midnight Bisou, Verifying broke forwardly but conceded the lead to an 86-1 sacrificial pacemaker. Tyler Gaffalione let that long shot roll onto the back straight while sitting second with his 2.3-1 mount, then tightened that open-length gap 5 ½ furlongs out.

Cognizant of 'TDN Rising Star' and 1.2-1 favorite Tapit Trice (Tapit) making a bold move to his outside, Verifying took control at the five-sixteenths pole. Gaffalione braced for the quarter-pole challenge of Tapit Trice by deftly floating that favorite out to the five path.

The two then threw down in a length-of-stretch slugfest that included some inconsequential bumping and brushing, with Verifying twice clawing back the lead before Tapit Trice snatched it away by a neck at the wire. The two co-earned 99 Beyers.

Verifying has won twice, but never at the stakes level. He had enough speed to break his maiden over six furlongs at the Spa last summer, and also took down a key-race allowance going a mile at Oaklawn in January, out of which the second- and  third-place horses came back to win their next starts as favorites.

5) TAPIT TRICE (c, Tapit–Danzatrice, by Dunkirk) 'TDN Rising Star'. O-Whisper Hill Farm LLC and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); B-Gainesway Thoroughbreds Ltd. (KY); T-Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $1,300,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISW, 5-4-0-1, $100,150. Last start: 1st GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 8. Kentucky Derby Points: 150.

Tapit Trice would not be denied in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. | Coady Photography

There's a good chance 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice is evolving into a powerhouse with a knack for extricating himself from tight predicaments and finding a way to win at all costs.

But his slow-to-go nature marks this son of Tapit as a “heart attack” type of horse who scares the daylights out of his backers by constantly having to be pumped on for run by rider Luis Saez before he accomplishes his task by only as much as it takes to win narrowly.

That was the way Tapit Trice scored in the GIII Tampa Bay Derby (a crew that will not yield any other Kentucky Derby qualifiers), and it was a similar story in Saturday's tougher Blue Grass S.

After hustling this burly gray from the one post, Saez had to throttle back before the field passed the mile marker. The colt settled to seventh entering the backstretch, got guided outside, and was already on the march six furlongs from the wire.

Tapit Trice was jointly third by the half-mile pole, and as the lead changed in front of him, he went relentlessly after Verifying off the turn. They raced in lockstep while exchanging love taps and the lead, but Tapit Trice had more at the finish.

Despite the victory, the overall takeaway is that Tapit Trice's loop-the-group tactics simply don't align with the profiles of recent Derby winners. Eight of the last nine Derbies have been won by horses racing either right up front or just off the lead. Thus, despite winning his last two stakes in respectable, off-the-tailgate fashion, Tapit Trice takes a haircut in the rankings, dropping from third to fifth.

6) KINGSBARNS (c, Uncle Mo–Lady Tapit, by Tapit) O-Spendthrift Farm; B-Parks Investment Group (KY); Todd Pletcher. Sales history: $250,000 yrl '21 FTSAR; $800,000 2yo '22 FTMAR. Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $657,300. Last Start: 1st GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Mar. 25. Kentucky Derby Points: 100.

This 3-for-3 son of Uncle Mo ($250,000 FTSAUG; $800,000 FTFMAR) led at every call through moderate fractions to win the GII Louisiana Derby (95 Beyer) by 3 ½ lengths.

Although light on experience race-wise, Kingsbarns is developing a businesslike, no-drama demeanor. Ranked by foaling date (Jan. 17), he's also the oldest of the Top 20 competitors.

This colt doesn't necessarily need the lead. But this Todd Pletcher trainee is in his comfort zone either setting the pace or forcing the issue from just behind the leaders.

He's also already checked the “overcomes adversity” box. As the 3-1 favorite in his one-turn-mile Gulfstream debut, Kingsbarns was unbothered by being smothered at the rail in tight quarters on the turn. He later got blocked badly at the head of the lane before coming up with a decisive, punch-through run that resulted in a 1 3/4-length victory (74 Beyer).

Race number two didn't require as much effort, but it was useful. In a mile and 40 yards first-level allowance at Tampa, Kingsbarns let a 37-1 shot open up a long lead, then reeled him in with ease to finish 7 ¾ lengths ahead of the pack (85 Beyer).

7) REINCARNATE (c, Good Magic–Allanah, by Scat Daddy) O-SF Racing LLC, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables LLC, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC & Catherine Donovan; B-Woods Edge Farm (KY); Tim Yakteen. Sales history: $775,000 yrl '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GSW & GISP, 6-2-3-1, $231,900. Last Start: 3rd in the GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Apr. 1. Kentucky Derby Points: 45.

Reincarnate hasn't been to the winner's circle since his Jan. 8 GIII Sham S. score, and his Beyers are drifting in the wrong direction at age three (95-90-86). But I wouldn't discount him as a rebounding, front-end factor in the Derby.

This large-framed, long-striding $775,000 KEESEP colt by Good Magic has never been off the board from seven starts, all at a mile or longer.

Reincarnate has twice flown to Oaklawn since Feb. 25 rom his Santa Anita training base, running third in both the GII Rebel S. (with a troubled trip) and the GI Arkansas Derby (ideal stalking setup but failed to fire).

At somewhere in the 25-1 range, I'd have a hard time excluding Reincarnate from Derby exotics, although his lack of a positive-momentum final prep precludes keying on him to win.

8) DISARM (c, Gun Runner–Easy Tap, by Tapit) 'TDN Rising Star'. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steve Asmussen. Lifetime Record: GSP, 4-1-2-1, $290,350. Last Start: 2nd GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Mar. 25. Kentucky Derby Points: 40.

'TDN Rising Star' Disarm is the highest-ranked Top 20 contender who is outside looking in, points-wise. He's currently parked at No. 26 on the qualifying list with 40 points and needs help from defectors.

This Winchell Thoroughbreds homebred rates so highly because it's unlikely we've seen his best effort at age three. Whether his prime-time bust-out comes 3 ½ weeks from now in the Derby or 3 ½ months from now as a later developer is the question.

Remember, his sire, Gun Runner, ran third as the 2016 Derby, finished on the board in a series of graded stakes into the summer and fall, but didn't burst onto the scene until after the Breeders' Cup, when he won the GI Clark H. (and seven of his eight final races against top-class competition).

Disarm has been at a tactical disadvantage trying to pull back lone-speed pacemakers twice in 2023, first in an allowance at Oaklawn Feb. 19, and again, with inside trip trouble, in the Louisiana Derby.

9) ANGEL OF EMPIRE (c, Classic Empire–Armony's Angel, by To Honor And Serve) O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-Forgotten Land Investment Inc & Black Diamond Equine Corp (PA); T-Brad Cox. Sales history: $32,000 RNA wlg '20 KEENOV, $70,000 yrl '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: GISW, 6-4-1-0, $1,069,375. Last Start: 1st in the GI Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Apr. 1. Kentucky Derby Points: 154.

Angel of Empire dominated the GI Arkansas Derby | Coady Photography

Angel of Empire (Classic Empire) sails into the Derby off back-to-back, come-from-behind wins at nine furlongs in the GII Risen Star S. (89 Beyer) and Arkansas Derby (94 Beyer). This two-time sales entrant ($32,000 RNA KEENOV; $70,000 KEESEP) will seek to become the third Pennsylvania-bred to win the Derby, after Lil E. Tee (1992) and Smarty Jones (2004).

“I think he's capable of winning [the Derby],” trainer Brad Cox said on the Apr. 6 TDN Writers' Room podcast. “We have to get better and we may have to have Forte stub his toe in order to beat him. But 20-horse field, it's a demanding, challenging race, bottom line. If you make the field that's why you go, so many things can happen.”

10) TWO PHIL'S (c, Hard Spun–Mia Torri, by General Quarters) O-Patricia's Hope LLC and Phillip Sagan; B-Phillip Sagan; T-Larry Rivelli. Sales History: $150,000 RNA Ylg '21 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: MGSW, 8-4-1-1, $683,450. Last start: 1st GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Mar. 25. Kentucky Derby Points: 123.

If you discount his rough-trip fifth debuting at five furlongs way back on June 23 and his seventh behind Forte in the key-race GI Breeders' Futurity S.(when Two Phil's got bounced around at the break), this is a colt with four wins (two at Grade III) and a second and third in two other graded stakes.

His 101-Beyer score in the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks was a sizable 15-point jump off his previous effort in the Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds. That's a stout number, but it's so far removed from his normal range that it leads to speculation about whether triple digits on the Beyer scale are sustainable for Two Phil's.

Versatility and a “do your job” attitude are the twin strengths of Two Phil's. He's won sprinting and routing over fast dirt, slop and now Tapeta, and you have to admire how he's been in it to win it at least until the upper stretch every time he's raced.

11) MANDARIN HERO (JPN) (c, Shanghai Bobby–Namura Nadeshiko {Jpn}, by Fuji Kiseki {Jpn}) O-Hiroaki Arai; B-Hirano Bokujo (Jpn); T-Terunobu Fujita. Lifetime Record: GISP, 6-4-2-0, $386,854. Last start: 2nd GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby. Kentucky Derby Points: 40.

Mandarin Hero (Jpn) (Shanghai Bobby), victorious in four of five starts in Japan (only loss by a neck), popped with an impressive 8-1 runner-up try in the Santa Anita Derby. But the 40 qualifying points he garnered (24th) are still shy of a certain Derby berth.

His sharp United States debut would have been good enough to win the Santa Anita Derby in most years. Mandarin Hero broke fifth, tucked into the two path around the first turn, then had to wait for room into the far turn. Committed to inside passage by jockey Kazushi Kimura, he patiently waited some more, then dove through at the fence off the turn.

In upper stretch Mandarin Hero had his momentum briefly stalled as Kimura repositioned him off the favorite's heels. But Mandarin Hero still maintained his focus on Practical Move even while a fresh rival, Skinner (Curlin), was bearing down outside. This colt was getting to the winner; they were separated by a nose and co-earned 100 Beyers.

12) MAGE (c, Good Magic–Puca, by Big Brown) O-OGMA Investments, LLC, Ramiro Restrepo, Sterling Racing LLC and CMNWLTH; B-Grandview Equine (KY); T-Gustavo Delgado. Sales history: $235,000 yrl '21 KEESEP; $290,000 2yo '22 EASMAY. Lifetime Record: GISP, 3-1-1-0, $247,200. Last Start: 2nd GI Curlin Florida Derby at Gulfstream Apr. 1. Kentucky Derby Points: 50.

The eye-catching, far-turn move by Mage ($235,000 KEESEP; $290,000 EASMAY) was slightly premature in the Florida Derby. But it catapulted him to the lead, and he showed he knew what to do to defend his position once he hit the front, sharply repulsing a bid from the more experienced Cyclone Mischief (Into Mischief).

All the while Forte was taking dead aim. Even though this son of Good Magic had little left to stave off the 1-5 fave, Mage's effort still rates as impressive considering his lack of seasoning (just three races) and the fact that that no horse has finished that close to the champ in three other races over the last six months.

If a Forte-vs.-Mage rivalry continues to percolate, you can trace it back to a grudge match their dams started. Mage is out of the Bill Mott-trained Puca, who won her only stakes race in a $75,000 turfer at Suffolk Downs in 2017. She scored by 1 ¾ lengths over the Michael Matz-trained Queen Caroline, who would go on to foal Forte.

Potentially Rounding Out the Starting Gate..

13) Skinner (Curlin)
Skinner ($40,000 KEESEP; $510,000 OBSAPR) stamped himself as an outside Louisville threat who figures to be flying under the radar, odds-wise. In the Santa Anita Derby, this noticeably maturing son of Curlin broke well but was asked to settle second from last by Victor Espinoza. Skinner started to pick off midpack targets with a purposeful move three-eighths out, then swung four wide for the drive. He briefly brushed with a tiring 54-1 shot, dug in, and stayed on decently. Skinner ended up beaten half a length by Practical Move and Mandarin Hero, earning a 99 Beyer that leaves room for improvement. Trainer John Shirreffs orchestrated Giacomo's 50-1 Kentucky Derby win in 2005 off a fourth-place try in the Santa Anita Derby. At No. 21 on the qualifying list, Skinner needs one defection to make the cut.

14) Lord Miles (Curlin)
Lord Miles outran his 59-1 odds in a shocker of a score in the Wood Memorial. Is he a one-race wonder, or just starting to blossom? He broke forwardly, pressed the pacemaker, then backed off to fourth on the back straight. It looked for a few strides like he was starting to lose touch into the far bend, but Paco Lopez got him going again, and by the head of the lane this Vesgo Racing Stable homebred was hunkered down and not at all deterred by the rambunctious jostling of a furious three-way stretch battle. He won the bob at the finish by a nose, and the win represented a 14-point Beyer jump from 79 to 93. Realistically, this year's Derby projects to require a triple-digit Beyer to win, meaning Lord Miles must deliver another lifetime best against the toughest competition and over the longest distance of his career.

15) Derma Sotogake (Jpn) (Mind Your Biscuits)
Derma Sotogake wired the G2 UAE Derby. But that doesn't necessarily mean this ¥18,000,000 JRHJUL yearling will be committed to seeking the lead in the Derby. “We didn't exactly plan to go straight to the lead but he broke well,” said trainer Hidetaka Otonashi. Added jockey Christophe Lemaire, “He can break a little slowly [but he] travelled nicely on the lead and he relaxed for me down the backstretch. He was still moving smoothly for me as we came into the home stretch and once I pressed the button he was very impressive and I could enjoy the finish on him.” The first four horses across the finish barely changed positions for the bulk of that race, although Derma Sotogake cracked them all while still in hand before widening his margin under light encouragement.

16) Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg})
This $25,000 KEESEP colt whose dam, Eblouissante, is a half-sister to Hall-of-Famer Zenyatta is listed as “possible” by Keeneland for the GIII Lexington S. on Saturday. Confidence Game does not need qualifying points to attain a Derby berth, so the 1 1/16-miles prep would serve as a true tune-up effort. Otherwise he'd be heading to Louisville off a 10-week gap since his 94-Beyer win in the Rebel S., a wide-and-driving score that was aided by a pace meltdown.

17) Rocket Can (Into Mischief)
This Into Mischief gray ($245,000 FTSAUG RNA) safely qualifies with 60 points  and is already stabled at Churchill, but his Derby status hasn't been solidified. He was a punchless fourth as the beaten fave in the Arkansas Derby, after which trainer Bill Mott said Rocket Can “gives you the feeling there's a little more there, but he's just not quite giving it all to you yet.” This colt proved late at age two and early into his sophomore season that he can capably stalk to stay within striking distance of leaders, and he doesn't shy from stretch fights. After winning the GIII Holy Bull S. back on Feb. 4, Rocket Can was a best-of-the-rest second behind divisional champ Forte. But he still hasn't made the convincing leap in Beyers, regressing from a 91 in the GII Fountain of Youth S. to an 86 at Oaklawn.

18) Sun Thunder (Into Mischief)
This late-running Into Mischief colt ($400,000 KEENOV; $495,000 RNA FTSAUG) has a second, two fourths, and a fifth in graded stakes this year, and his 54 qualifying points are enough for a Derby berth. But trainer Ken McPeek was undecided on his starting status as of Sunday, the day after Sun Thunder ran 6 ½ lengths off the winner in the Blue Grass S. Sun Thunder still hasn't won beyond the maiden ranks, but his Dec. 31 Oaklawn score was a capable effort despite minor trip trouble. His company lines aren't soft either; he caught some peaking horses earlier in the winter and was up against the grain of a speed-rewarding track on Louisiana Derby day.

19) Jace's Road (Quality Road)
'TDN Rising Star' Jace's Road barely makes the cut as one of three horses currently tied with 45 qualifying points. He enjoys a $25,850 advantage in non-restricted stakes earnings, which is the tiebreaker. A $510,000 KEESEP son of Quality Road, he faded to third in the late stages of the Louisiana Derby after pressing (but never truly threatening) all-the-way winner Kingsbarns. He took moderate pressure without any quit when wiring the Dec. 26 Gun Runner S. at Fair Grounds, but has been winless in two starts since.

20) Continuar (Jpn) (Drefong)
The 2-for-5 Continuar (Jpn) accepted an invitation to Churchill for earning 40 points in the Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby series when he won the Cattleya S. at Tokyo last Nov. 26. At age three, this ¥70,000,000 JRHJUL yearling was fifth in the G3 Saudi Derby. He then improved to third in the UAE Derby, but he was still beaten 10 lengths by winner Derma Sotogake after stalking that pacemaker until the home straight. Trainer Yoshito Yahagi is best known stateside for his two winners in the 2021 Breeders' Cup at Del Mar: Marche Lorraine (Jpn) at 49-1 in the GI Distaff and Loves Only You (Jpn) at 4-1 in the GI Filly and Mare Turf.

The post TDN Derby Top 20: Upheaval in the Ranks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“We've got a ton of great support for the horse, from Eclipse Award-winning owner-breeders to successful commercial breeders,” said Ingordo. “We went out and bought five mares to support him, spending $4.5 million to do so. The book is a phenomenal first-season book, and it's hard to name all the good mares going to him. I have chosen just a few here, and we have just scratched the surface. It's such a deep, exciting group, both young mares off the track and proven producers like Queen Caroline, the dam of 2-year-old champion Forte (Violence).”

Ingordo said that a lot of thought went into what the champion's book size would be, and that many factors had to be balanced before a decision was reached by the Lane's End team, which included Bill Farish, Ingordo, Jill McCully, Chris Knehr and Bill's son, Will Farish III.

“We've committed to keeping him right at 150 mares,” said Ingordo. “We felt at the price for which we're standing him, that's a fair number. We need him to have enough mares that he has a chance, but we don't want people breeding to the horse at a very high stud fee to think they don't have exclusivity. The Lane's End policy and that of everyone in the ownership group has never favored big books, and that's how we agreed upon that number.”

With that in mind, Ingordo kicks off Flightline's book with two mares from one of the world's best operations: Juddmonte.

OBLIGATORY (5, Curlin-Uno Duo, by Macho Uno). Obligatory is a maiden mare by Curlin from one of their very, very deep families that they have curated for so long. She's the winner of the GI Derby City Distaff S., and a multiple graded stakes winner who placed in filly classics like the [GI] Acorn S. and the [GI] Cotillion S., amongst other races. She is the typical great Juddmonte race filly and this offspring will obviously go into their racing stable. We're very excited to have a mare like this.

PAULASSILVERLINING (11, Ghostzapper-Seeking the Silver, by Grindstone). Paulassilverlining is the other mare Juddmonte is sending us. She is the winner of the GI Humana Distaff S. at Churchill and the GI Madison S. at Keeneland. She placed in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Paulassilverlining has already produced Artorius (Arrogate) as her first foal, who was a nice late-developing 3-year-old that looks like he could be a force either sprinting or in the handicap ranks next year. She is a Juddmonte mare they purchased for Arrogate in the past, and to get her in Flightline's book is nice.

ROYAL FLAG (7, Candy Ride {Arg}-Sea Gull, by Mineshaft). From Lane's End, we're breeding one of our best maiden mares off the track, Royal Flag. She is a third-generation mare from Mr. Farish's breeding program. She won the GII Beldame S. and the GIII Shuvee S. and was placed in the GI Personal Ensign S. Royal Flag is a great physical and we love the cross with Flightline over Candy Ride mares or Gun Runner mares, because Candy Ride over Tapit seems to be working well, so we're doing that cross here. She's a beautiful maiden mare owned by Mr. Farish who is a half-sister to the very promising Lane's End first-crop 2-year-old sire of 2023, Catalina Cruiser.

QUEEN CAROLINE (10, Blame-Queens Plaza, by Forestry). Befitting Flightline–the co-highest rated horse in history along with Frankel, and now Horse of the Year–we are breeding him to the mare who produced the three-time Grade I winner and champion Forte (Violence). Forte is an exceptional prospect for the classics as well as down the road as a stallion, and so that Queen Caroline is going to Flightline is exciting. Her pedigree goes back to horses that Mr. Farish has had his hands on, like Jeano, and champions Folklore and Essential Quality hail from this family. That Queen Caroline is now coming to the most important stallion we've ever retired brings this pedigree back into association with the farm. There are three champions under the first four dams and we're very excited about having her in the book.

DELIGHTFUL QUALITY (14, Elusive Quality-Contrive, by Storm Cat). Speaking of the family of Queen Caroline, Flightline will be bred to Delightful Quality, a daughter of Elusive Quality and the dam of Essential Quality, by Tapit. Essential Quality, of course, was a champion 2-year-old and 3-year-old, a classic winner of the GI Belmont S., the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile, the GI Runhappy Travers S., among many other races. This is another mare from the same family as Forte and not a one-hit wonder; she's also the dam of dual stakes winner Famed (Uncle Mo), who looks to be ready to have a good 2023 as well.

SHAMROCK ROSE (8, First Dude-Slew's Quality, by Elusive Quality). We are blessed that the Japanese have taken a strong interest in Flightline and they have committed Shamrock Rose, who was purchased by KI Farm for $3 million at the Keeneland November sale. She was the Champion Female Sprinter of 2018 after winning the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, along with multiple other stakes. We purchased a War Front yearling out of the mare and are quite happy with how he is training at this stage.

JUJU'S MAP (4, Liam's Map-Nagambi, by Flatter).This filly has a big pedigree. She was the winner of the GI Darley Alcibiades S. at two, and was second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. In addition to having a lot of 2-year-old form, she is a beautiful physical, an Albaugh family runner and another exciting young mare off the track that we think really fits Flightline.

BELL'S THE ONE (7, Majesticperfection-Street Mate, by Street Cry). Multiple graded stakes winner. She's the Grade I winner of the Derby City Distaff, and placed in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. She was a tough and durable racemare, campaigned from two to six, with 13 wins. She's also a very pretty filly with a good family with which we have a lot of experience. This is a Ned Evans family, and a mare who I just loved on the track and worked hard to get into his book. I raced her sire Majesticperfection under Padua Stables with Satish Sanan, and thought he was a very underrated stallion, and this is arguably his best offspring to date. I thought she was one of the best fillies out there. She was one of the top mares I wanted to get into his book, and I really like the cross. Sid Fernando at Werk Thoroughbred Consultants was very helpful. We did some research work with him on pedigrees that would work well at the sale, including Bell's The One, and he's been a big help in crafting Flightline's book.

POLLY FREEZE (10, Super Saver-Elusive Gold, by Strike the Gold). Polly Freeze is a proven mare from Hertrich and Fielding, the breeders of Eclipse Award winners. She is the dam of Americanrevolution (Constitution), the winner of the GI Cigar Mile H. with earnings of $1.2 million. She's has a wonderful pedigree. Americanrevolution is by a son of Tapit, so this mating makes a lot of sense. She is also the dam of another winner, Bold Journey (Hard Spun) and I own the 3-year-old, Paleta (Collected), for whom we have high hopes. She's a proven mare with a good family from outstanding breeders.

LITTLEPRINCESSEMMA (17, Yankee Gentleman-Exclusive Rosette, by Ecliptical). From the Summer Wind broodmare band of Flightline's breeder and co-owner Jane Lyon, we have one of her crown jewels, Littleprincessemma, the dam of none other than Triple Crown winner and sire American Pharoah. She is also the dam of Grade I-placed American Cleopatra (Pioneerof the Nile), GI Starlet S. winner Chasing Yesterday (Tapit) and Flightline's paddock mate as a baby, Triple Tap (Tapit).

EDGEWAY (6, Competitive Edge-Magical Solution, by Stormin Fever). A new acquisition on behalf of Summer Wind for Flightline's book was Edgeway, purchased at Keeneland November for $1.7 million. John Sadler thought she was an exceptionally talented filly–a tough runner who raced from three to five for Hronis Racing. She was second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and was a multiple graded stakes winner over her three seasons of racing. She comes from a deep family of tough, classy graded stakes runners in New York and California. Flightline always seemed to have an affinity for her; when she was walking around John Sadler's shedrow, he'd always look at her and nicker.

The post 2023 Mating Plans, Presented by Spendthrift: A Selection From Flightline’s Book appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“I rode as a child and teenager and showed hunters that belonged to other people,” Moore said of her first introduction to horses while growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The people I was with got into racehorses and I helped them at a few sales. Then I galloped horses one summer at the track for Del Carroll, Sr.”

Eventually, Moore had to take a step back from her interest in racing.

“I had to earn a living, so for 30 years I worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “But when I retired, I bought a farm and bought a couple of horses.”

Moore bought South Gate Farm in 2015 and moved to the 126-acre property in January of 2016.

A year before purchasing the farm, she made her first equine purchases at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Her very first purchase was Queen Caroline (Blame), who she acquired for $170,000. Trained by Michael Matz, the dark bay went on to win four stakes races in Moore's colors in 2016 and 2017 and earned over $400,000 before helping to kick start the South Gate broodmare band.

Forte, Queen Caroline's first foal, sold for $80,000 as a weanling at the 2020 Keeneland November sale and was purchased by Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola for $110,000 at Keeneland September the following year.

“I thought he was a gorgeous foal,” Moore recalled. “I was really happy with him. I had had weanlings by Violence that I had pinhooked–I bought weanlings and sold yearlings–and I liked them, but they didn't really resemble the sire at all. So I was pleased to get a foal in Forte that looks a lot like Violence. He's a good blend of his sire and his dam.”

The prohibitive 1-5 favorite, Forte romped to a 7 3/4-length debut victory (video) May 27 at Belmont Park.

“When he won big in his first race, of course, that was a joy to see,” Moore said. “That was what I was trying to achieve when I bred the mare to Violence. I hoped to get a foal that had a little more speed and was a little more precocious than she was, but had her athleticism and racing temperament. It worked out just as I had hoped. Another case, I am sure, where it won't always work out like that. But Queen Caroline has been very good to me, both as a racehorse and as a broodmare. If they were all like her, it would be easy.”

Forte comes into the Hopeful off a fourth-place effort in the six-furlong GIII Sanford S. July 16 and will get an extra furlong to work with Monday at Saratoga.

“I would be ecstatic if that happened,” Moore said of a possible Hopeful win. “But I think, win or lose the Hopeful, he looks like he's going to be a good racehorse. So I am looking down the road, as I am sure his connections are, and hoping for good things for him. I think he will do better as the races get longer. So I think the extra furlong in the Hopeful will help and I hope he goes on from there.”

Queen Caroline next visited Uncle Mo and produced a colt by the Coolmore stallion last spring.

“It is a cross that I really liked, both physically and in the pedigree,” Moore said. “The mare is a nice, big athletic mare and Uncle Mo is obviously a nice, big athletic stallion with a similar build. But it also has some intriguing pedigree aspects to it. Nyquist (Uncle Mo) is out of a Forestry mare and Queen Caroline is out of a Forestry  mare. And the good filly by Uncle Mo, Bast, is out of an Arch mare and Queen Caroline is by Blame who is by Arch. So you have a lot of good pedigree connections to some very successful runners, as well as having a good physical match.”

The yearling will be Moore's first homebred Book 1 offering at Keeneland September when he goes through the ring as part of the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services consignment next Monday.

“He is a lovely colt,” she said of the yearling. “I am prejudiced, of course, but he is a really, really nice colt. He has his dam's mind, which is good, he has a good racing temperament. He is tall and big-bodied and strong and athletic. I think he is what everyone wants–he's what I want.”

Well. The colt wasn't exactly what Moore wanted.

“I was, to be honest, hoping to get a filly,” she said with a laugh. “I would have kept and raced her and hoped to retire her to the broodmare band one day. But I got a very nice colt.”

The colt conundrum is nothing new to Moore, who currently has four broodmares housed at her Virginia farm.

“I have bought nothing but fillies,” she said. “I sell the colts that I breed. I would keep fillies, if I ever had a filly. I am 0-for-7, seven colts and no fillies.”

Moore takes stock of market conditions when determining when to sell her foals.

“I just sort of fly by the seat of pants,” Moore explained. “If the stallion is doing very well, as Violence was when I sold Forte–I think Violence had three Grade I winners that year–I might sell the foal as a weanling. But if it's a nice physical that I think would be one to send to the Saratoga select sale or one of the first two books at Keeneland, then I would keep it and sell it as a yearling. It just depends on how the stallion is doing and how the foal develops. And what the finances are like.”

As for Queen Caroline, after not producing a foal in 2022, she is now in foal to Not This Time.

“She was in foal to Authentic, and lost that one, which was very disappointing, but I am really excited that she is in foal to Not This Time,” Moore said. “I think that's going to be a great match and who knows, I might get a filly this time. She is an easy mare to mate because she is doesn't have any faults you want to breed away from. She is a very nice well-conformed mare that had a lot of success on the track. So you are trying to add a little speed and a little precociousness to the offspring, but you don't really have faults that you want to breed away from. Which is helpful.”

Queen Caroline's first two foals are both Kentucky-breds, but future foals are expected to be born at South Gate Farm.

“In the case of Forte and his brother, those I sent the mare back to Kentucky to foal,” Moore said. “I am now starting to foal in Virginia, so that I will have Virginia-bred foals.”

In addition to her four-horse broodmare band, Moore also has borders at South Gate taking advantage of the Virginia-certified program which allows horses conceived and foaled outside of the state to become eligible for incentives at Mid-Atlantic racetracks if they maintain residency in Virginia for at least a six-month consecutive period prior to Dec. 31 of their 2-year-old year.

“I have lot of yearlings, a lot of boarders, that are here for the Virginia-certified program,” Moore said. “And I do some sales preparation for the boarders.”

Reflecting on her seven years as a farm owner, Moore said, “I enjoy living on a farm. It's very nice to have a reason to have a farm–you can't have 126 acres and not have any animals. So that's been a lot of fun. The racing has been highs and lows, as it is for everybody. When it's good, it's spectacular. When it's bad, it's pretty depressing. But you get through the bad and hope for more of the good. And on balance, I have enjoyed it quite a bit.”

The Keeneland September sale opens with two Book 1 sessions next Monday and Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11 a.m. and, following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 24 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

The post South Gate Farm Making Noise from Saratoga to Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post