Raul Reyes | Horse Racing Free Tips

Pair of McKinzie Colts, Munnings Filly Share OBS Bullet Wednesday

A pair of colts from the first crop of McKinzie and a filly by Munnings shared the fastest furlong time of :9 4/5 during the first session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company' March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Wednesday in Central Florida.

Consigned by Niall Brennan Stables, the daughter of Munnings (hip 26) was the first to set the bullet mark some 15 minutes into the under-tack show. The bay is out of the unraced Ansaam (Bernardini), a half-sister to Grade I winner Denman's Call (Northern Afleet) and from the family of multiple Grade I winner Evening Jewel. She was a $95,000 purchase at last year's Keeneland September sale.

The very next horse to work Wednesday, hip 17, a colt by McKinzie consigned by Raul Reyes's Kings Equine, also worked in :9 4/5.

“He did it the way I expected him to,” Reyes said of the work. “He was superior up at the farm. He showed a lot of talent there and he stepped up to the plate today. He is just a big, strong-looking horse. He looks like the real thing.”

The dark bay is out of multiple stakes winner Altamura (Artie Schiller). He was purchased by Scott and Evan Dilworth for $135,000 as a weanling at the 2022 Keeneland November sale before RNA'ing for $125,000 back at Keeneland last September.

“Scott bought him as a weanling and he didn't sell him as a yearling,” Reyes said. “They got lucky they didn't sell him because he really showed up today.”

Asked how the colt had changed over the winter, Reyes said, “He just got more tucked up and muscled. I thought he was a good-looking horse when I got him, quite honestly.”

An hour into Wednesday's session, hip 89, another son of Gainesway's McKinzie, worked the furlong in :9 4/5. Out of Breech Inlet (Holy Bull), the colt is a half-brother to multiple stakes winner and multiple graded placed Merveilleux (Paynter). Breech Inlet is a half-sister to graded winner Bauble Queen (Arch), dam of multiple graded winner Blitzkrieg.

The Ontario-bred was purchased by Ron Fein's Superfine Farm for $205,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. He is consigned by Wavertree Stables.

A four-time Grade I winner on the racetrack, McKinzie stands at Gainesway for $30,000.

Reyes said he is a fan of the stallion based on the progeny he has seen so far.

“I love them,” Reyes said. “They have a lot of talent. And they have a good mind. The two that I have experience with so far also have very nice bodies.”

A filly by Bee Jersey (hip 130) turned in Wednesday's fastest quarter-mile when zipping the distance in :20 4/5 for consignor Tom McCrocklin. The juvenile is out of Christmas Cove (More Than Ready), a half-sister to graded winner Coal Play (Mineshaft), as well as to the dam of GI Travers S. winner Keen Ice.

McCrocklin purchased the filly on behalf of Michael Sucher's Champion Equine for $110,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Yearlings Sale in Saratoga last August.

The dispersal of the Lothenbach Stables of the late Bob Lothenbach, which produced a pair of million-dollar mares at the Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale in February, will continue at the OBS March sale. Fourteen juveniles from the dispersal galloped during the under-tack show Wednesday from the consignments of Brennan and McCrocklin, as well as deMeric Sales and Ocala Stud. An additional 26 juveniles from the dispersal will be on the track during the remaining three sessions of the under-tack show.

The under-tack show began at 8 a.m. Wednesday with temperatures in the upper 60's and, with an increasing headwind as the day wore on, concluded just after 3 p.m. with temperatures near 80 degrees.

“The track was great,” Reyes said. “The only thing was the headwind was brutal. It changed later in the day, we experienced a very strong headwind, I would say.”

The under-tack show continues through Saturday with sessions beginning daily at 8 a.m. The March sale will be held next Tuesday through Thursday with bidding beginning each day at 11 a.m.

The post Pair of McKinzie Colts, Munnings Filly Share OBS Bullet Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

A Pair of Queens for King’s Equine

ARCADIA, CA – As the unbeaten Tamara (Bolt d'Oro) looks to emulate her legendary dam Beholder (Henny Hughes) with a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the duo have something else in common that you won't be able to find in Friday's program at Santa Anita.

Before heading out to join Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella in Southern California, they were both broken and trained on behalf of Spendthrift Farm at Raul and Martha Reyes's King's Equine in Ocala, Florida.

Like mother, like daughter?

“Actually, Tamara was a little different as a yearling than Beholder was,” Raul Reyes said. “Tamara was a little bit more of a rebel. She was a little harder to break for a couple of weeks–she had her own mind. Then, she changed and became a regular filly. On the other side, Beholder was very pleasant all the time. She never gave you any trouble.”

Reyes continued, “Beholder was a little more stocky and had more muscle. Tamara has really filled out since Mandella has had her.”

Tamara is the fourth foal produced by the four-time champion and three-time Breeders' Cup winner. Beholder's first two offspring–Q B One (g, 5, by Uncle Mo) and Karin With an I (f, 4, by Curlin)–failed to find the winner's circle and were a combined 0-for-6 at the races. Tamara's 3-year-old half-sister Teena Ella (War Front), winner of this spring's grassy GIII Senorita S. at Santa Anita, became Beholder's first winner as a broodmare in February.

Beholder's yearling colt by Curlin, meanwhile, brought a sale-topping $4 million from Zedan Racing at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale this summer. Barren for 2023, Beholder was covered by Jackie's Warrior for next season.

Tamara, ears up, toying with the competition in the GI Del Mar Debutante S. | Benoit

Reyes and Mandella would often chat about and compare notes on Beholder's offspring during Mandella's visits to King's Equine, Reyes said. Mandella has trained all of Beholder's progeny to date.

“I told him that I didn't know how good this filly (Tamara) was going to be, but she sure was better than her siblings,” Reyes said. “I broke all of Beholder's (offspring) and Tamara looked more racey. She breezed way better than all of them–way way better. She used to outrun the company when I used to breeze her here. The filly before her (Teena Ella) won a Grade III and she was O.K. But Tamara was exceptional. We didn't know that she'd go on and win these races like that. But she was the best one of the siblings by far.”

Carrying the namesake of B. Wayne Hughes's daughter–sounds like the folks at Spendthrift concurred with Reyes's assessment–Tamara overcame a stumble at the start from her rail draw to launch her career in style with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance at Del Mar Aug. 19.

Tamara ran to the billing as the 6-5 favorite and then some with a 6 3/4-length tour de force over 11 rivals in the GI FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante S. Sept. 9, good for a 91 Beyer Speed Figure. Tamara will be heavily favored as she tries two turns for the first time in the Juvenile Fillies. She has been installed as the 4-5 morning-line favorite.

“The way she runs, she makes you think that she's gonna be alright,” Reyes said.

Beholder seeks to become the fifth Breeders' Cup winner to also produce a winner at the two-day Championships.

Living the American Dream…

Growing up a mile from the racetrack in his native Tijuana, Mexico, Reyes wanted to follow in the footsteps of his older brother, a quarter horse jockey in Texas. Reyes began working on the backstretch at the tender age of 10 back in 1975–yes, you read that correctly–and just six years later, began to pursue his career in the saddle in California.

“I came to the United States and worked for a couple of good trainers, but I was too big to be a jockey,” Reyes said. “I had to quit riding when I was like 20. It was hard for me because I couldn't speak English very well. Can you imagine? It's hard enough for an American kid to make it here.”

King's Equine's Raul Reyes | Fasig-Tipton

Reyes subsequently relocated to Florida to begin training and caught his big break while working the yearling sales for Taylor Made in Kentucky. Everything began to fall into place from there.

“They gave me the opportunity of a lifetime,” Reyes said. “That opened my eyes. I learned how to sell horses and how to deal with people. I must say, my friend (Taylor Made's Vice President of Sales) Frank Taylor, he's the one who really made it happen for me. He introduced me to all these good people–the biggest clients in the world all come to Taylor Made. And then I met Wayne. That's really how I got started.”

Wayne, of course, is B. Wayne Hughes, the late founder of Spendthrift Farm who passed away in 2021.

“We became pretty good friends,” Reyes said. “And we've had pretty good success together. They are great people to work with.”

Reyes typically trains approximately 100 head at his 84-acre training center and is also a leading consignor at the 2-year-old-in-training sales. Spendthrift Farm has been a client of his for nearly two decades now.

“We try to keep it simple,” Reyes said. “It can get very complicated if you start looking for ways to do it differently. People have been doing this for a 100 years. They say the good things don't change.”

In addition to Beholder and Tamara, other King's Equine training graduates include: champion Letruska (Super Saver); MGISW Miss Temple City (Temple City); GI Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Silver Train (Old Trieste); and GISWs Jimmy Creed (Distorted Humor) and Hit the Road (More Than Ready).

King's Equine's 2-year-old sale alumni include: GISW Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy) ($200,000 2yo '20 EASMAY); MGSW millionaire Stanford (Malibu Moon) ($550,000 2yo '14 BARMAR); MGSW Kanthaka (Jimmy Creed) ($140,000 2yo '17 BARMAR); and GSW and GI Breeders' Cup Sprint runner-up Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) ($245,000 2yo '18 OBSMAR).

“I've been in Ocala for 25 years already,” Reyes said. “This is a place that's been very good to me. That's a lot of good seasons that I've had here now.”

Reyes's 2023 season is about to get even better at 2:40 p.m. PT on Friday afternoon.

The post A Pair of Queens for King’s Equine appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Fasig-Tipton Midlantic June Sale Makes its Debut in Timonium Wednesday

TIMONIUM, MD – The juvenile sales season will add one more stop this year with the inaugural Fasig-Tipton Midlantic June 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale which will be held Wednesday afternoon at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. Bidding is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.

With a svelte catalogue of 99 head, the auction's under-tack show was held Tuesday morning. After a night of heavy rain and thunder storms, the first of five sets began at 8 a.m. under a light drizzle, but skies cleared throughout the show, which concluded under muggy and sunny conditions shortly before noon.

Clovis Crane, who will consign 16 horses to the one-session auction, got the under-tack show off to a fast start when the first horse over the track, a filly by Frosted (hip 79), worked her furlong in :10 flat.

Crane Thoroughbred Services ultimately sent out three of the day's five :10 flat bullet workers, with a filly by Social Inclusion (hip 69, video) working in the first set and a filly by Flatter (hip 86, video) working in the day's third set.

Crane also sent out the day's fastest quarter-mile worker, a filly by Kantharos (hip 47) who covered the distance in :20 4/5.

“I have been telling a lot of people all along that I had an unbelievable group and obviously, today, with the way they went, it showed,” Crane said. “We have had 21 graded stakes horses come off of our farm and I would suspect that there are a couple in this group that will add to that number.”

Asked to pick some highlights from his day, Crane said, “I put the Social Inclusion filly [out of Royal Aspen {Congrats}] in the first set because I thought she would be a star and she showed up today. The Flatter filly [out of stakes-winner Valued Strike {Smart Strike}] is crazy fast. And I have a Palace Malice filly [hip 73, :10 1/5] who appears to me like she can really run.”

The bullet worker by Kantharos, who was one of seven juveniles to work a quarter-mile Tuesday in Timonium, is out of La Titina (Distorted Humor), a daughter of multiple Grade I winner Ask the Moon (Malibu Moon).

A $125,000 Keeneland September purchase, she will be making her second trip through the sales ring this spring after RNA'ing for $110,000 following a :10 1/5 work at the OBS April sale. In addition to her work at OBS, the filly has a pair of published works at Penn National, most recently going four furlongs in :47.20 (1/21) June 9.

“I was telling everyone how awesome my Kantharos filly was,” Crane said. “She breezed in :47 1/5 in hand at the racetrack June 9. And she came out of it good then. We trained her lightly for the last two weeks and then we prepped her easy over here. We prepped her easy and she went in :21 4/5 and :35 1/5, so we knew she was sitting on go.”

Of the filly's trip south to Ocala, Crane said, “She just didn't like that track. I gallop everything myself the first couple of days when we go anywhere and I could feel it the first day. I said, 'Oh, boy, she doesn't like this.' She still breezed :10 1/5 and :21 1/5 and she went good, but didn't make anyone's short list. I literally only showed her eight times down there. She had done nothing wrong. She X-rayed clean, she came back out of it good. So I just went back to training her at home and, over the dirt, she moves great. She just didn't move good over the synthetic. She came to what I was thinking she was today.”

Also sharing the bullet furlong Tuesday was a filly by Enticed (hip 35, video) consigned by James Layden and a filly by Practical Joke (hip 56, video) consigned by Wes Carter on behalf of Crossed Sabres Farm.

Crane comes into the inaugural Midlantic June sale with the catalogue's largest consignment.

“[Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sales Director] Paget [Bennett] has always been wonderful to me and she asked me if I would save a couple of nice horses for here,” Crane said of his decision to target the auction. “So the Social Inclusion, we saved her for here on purpose and there are a couple of other horses we saved for here. The Kantharos filly, I didn't want to go back to OBS June because she didn't like the surface and I knew it. I am sure there are several horses here that would rather have the dirt surface. And I think buyers will like the dirt surface better. It's a truer representation of what you're going to get.”

While the June sale is slim on numbers, Crane sees potential for the auction's growth, but agreed this year's first sale might not have enough horses to attract a large buying bench.

“I don't see why it shouldn't gain momentum [in the future],” he said. “But if I were a buyer, I would be at this sale [this year] because I think there are bargains to be had. I have reached out to several top buyers and they aren't coming. So I think it will be a buyer's market and that's unfortunate because I've got a great group and I won't get rewarded in some spots. But at the end of the day, I am going to be in this business for a long time, so it will be all right. Hopefully they will buy runners from us now and then they'll buy from us again in the future.”

While many of the major Ocala operations have skipped this year's Midlantic June sale, the Central Florida horsemen were represented by a handful of consignments, including those of Tom McCrocklin and Raul Reyes's King's Equine.

“Fasig-Tipton, in a nutshell,” McCrocklin said when asked why he decided on a return trip to Timonium this year. “I know they wanted to try it. It's kind of walking the highwire the first time and maybe it's an opportunity to sell some horses. We will see how it goes.”

McCrocklin, who sold a $700,000 colt by Awesome Slew at last month's Midlantic May sale, brought 11 horses to the June sale. The auction comes some two weeks after the traditional end to the juvenile sales season in the OBS June sale, but McCrocklin thinks this later date shouldn't intimidate buyers.

“If you are trying to buy a nice racehorse, what's the big deal if you buy them a month ago or two weeks ago or right now,” McCrocklin said. “It's not like we have gone into the Twilight Zone because it's two or four weeks later. And there are some nice horses here. I have personally seen nice horses train here all week. I would invite people to take a look at them.”

Asked if he was concerned about a lack of buyers at the sale, McCrocklin said, “Yes. Absolutely. But look, so many of these horses are bought remotely now, you can get photos, walking videos, gallop-out times, breeze videos, bid online, bid on the phone. So if you don't want to come, I get it, but it's not a reason not to go through the process and buy a horse.”

Reyes brings six horses for his second trip to Timonium this year. The consignor, who was perennially a leading presence at the slimmed down–and now defunct–Barretts May sale, wasn't worried about the smaller catalogue.

“I always like the small sales,” Reyes said. “I used to go to California when they had those smaller sales and I did very well there.”

As always, Timonium's location at the crossroads of several racing venues will prove advantageous in attracting buyers, according to Reyes.

“There are so many racetracks that are so close and people need horses,” Reyes said. “They will be here tomorrow afternoon.”

The post Fasig-Tipton Midlantic June Sale Makes its Debut in Timonium Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Justify Colt Claims Fastest Quarter-Mile Work in Timonium Wednesday

TIMONIUM, MD – Four juveniles shared the fastest furlong time of :10 flat, while a colt by Triple Crown winner Justify (hip 322) zipped a bullet quarter-mile in :21 2/5 during the second session of the under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Wednesday.

The first of seven sets opened around 8 a.m. with a brisk tailwind–which prevailed throughout the day–and a bevy of :10 1/5 works before a colt by Bolt d'Oro (hip 287) became the first of the session to hit the :10 flat mark. The dark bay is out of stakes-placed Masasi (More Than Ready), a full-sister to multiple graded winner Custom for Carlos. He is consigned by Raul Reyes's Kings Equine, as agent for his breeder, Spendthrift Farm.

“We expected a professional work,” Reyes said. “We didn't know it was going to be :10 flat, but we knew he would work well.”

The colt RNA'd for $160,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

The very next horse to work, a filly by Take Charge Indy (hip 361), equaled the :10 flat time for De Meric Sales, agent. The bay, a full-sister to graded winner Take Charge Paula, was purchased by Tami Bobo and Fernando De Jesus's First Finds for $100,000 as a weanling at the 2021 Keeneland November sale.

The bullet furlong time was equaled again by back-to-back workers in the day's second set. First up, Golden Rock Thoroughbreds sent out a filly by Into Mischief (hip 328, video).

“She's a filly who has shown her quality throughout the whole process,” said Golden Rock's Keiber Rengifo. “From breaking her and seeing her every morning, we expected that she was going to be a really fast filly.”

The juvenile is out of Nefertiti (Speightstown) and is a full-sister to graded stakes winner Engage, who stood his first season at stud at nearby Northview Stallion Station in 2022. She was purchased by Marc Tacher's Elusive Thoroughbreds for $250,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale.

Wednesday's work was the filly's second appearance at an under-tack show this spring. She also worked in :10 flat when consigned by Top Line Sales at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, but did not go through the ring at that auction.

“She had a high hip number and was really late in the sale,” Rengifo said of the decision to scratch from the March sale. “She did a :10 flat with Top Line Sales, but we decided to scratch her and aim her for this dirt track. We expected way more from her on the synthetic, but she just didn't show a lot of speed. We thought we would bring her here to Maryland because it's a completely different surface. As a rider, I have a good opinion of this dirt track and I am a big fan of the Maryland sale. I was working for Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo for five years and we always had a good horse to bring over here and show up on the dirt track like she did this morning.”

Rengifo was aboard for the filly's bullet drill Wednesday.

“I think the track was a little tighter today,” he said. “Yesterday, it was kind of soft. But you still have to have a quality horse to go that fast. I didn't have to use my whip with this filly. She is a medium-sized filly with a big heart. She has galloped out well all through the winter. And today, she did :10 flat and she was rolling all the way out. For me, as a rider, that impressed me even more than the :10 flat.”

A colt by Twirling Candy (hip 249) consigned by Grassroots Training and Sales had the final :10 flat of the day. The bay is out of Lady Mamba (War Front), a half-sister to Grade I-placed Luminance (Tale of the Cat) and multiple graded-placed Stellar Sound (Tapit). His third dam is multiple Grade I winner Versailles Treaty (Danzig), dam of George Vancouver and Saarland. He was a $65,000 purchase by Grassroots at the Keeneland September sale last year.

Wednesday's third set got a jolt when Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds sent out a long-striding son of Justify to work the week's fastest quarter-mile of :21 2/5.

“He's been able to run all year long,” said Randy Hartley. “We don't usually prep very fast, we kind of just show them where to go. But when we prepped him here, I had to catch my kid–and he's a big guy. I don't usually do quarters, but he is a big, tall, two-turn looking horse. The farther he goes, the better he gets.”

Out of the appropriately named My Fast One (Elusive Quality), the bay colt was purchased by Hartley/DeRenzo for $155,000 as a weanling at the 2021 Keeneland November sale. He RNA'd for $185,000 at Keeneland the following September and was sent through the ring again at Fasig-Tipton October where he sold for $175,000.

“We bought him as a baby and we buy all of our weanlings to re-sell as yearlings,” Hartley said. “[At the September sale], Justify hadn't quite hit yet. And he was a tall, gangly horse.”

Of the return to the sales ring in October, Hartley explained, “One of our clients bought into our package. Sonny Stokes, who has passed away now, he owned a piece and he was selling everything. So one of my other clients bought in.”

The under-tack show concludes with a final session beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday. The Midlantic May sale will be held next Monday and Tuesday. Bidding begins each day at 11 a.m.

The post Justify Colt Claims Fastest Quarter-Mile Work in Timonium Wednesday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post