City of Light Represented By First Two Winners

About 24 hours before Lane's End Farm's City of Light (Quality Road–Paris Notion, by Dehere) celebrated his first American winner in the form of Ellis Park second-time starter Roja Ligera, the first-crop stallion was represented by his first winner when the colt City of Knowledge raced away to graduate by daylight in a 5 1/2-furlong allowance over a sloppy strip at Hipodromo Camarero outside of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, July 30.

Sent off the 4-5 second choice in a field of six, the $100,000 Keeneland September yearling and $32,000 OBS March breezer won the break and was soon clear beneath leading jockey Juan Carlos Diaz through an opening quarter-mile in :23.24. Opening up on his rivals on the turn, the dark bay carried a five-length advantage into the final eighth of a mile and went on to best favored Husky Driver (Outwork) by a handy 5 3/4 lengths. The final time was 1:04.71 (see below, SC 3).

 

 

Bred in Kentucky by Betz/B & K Canetti/J Betz/D J Stables/Graves/GTL, City of Knowledge is the first foal out of three-time winner and $174,425 earner Mo Knows (Uncle Mo), a half-sister to GSW & GISP Payton d'Oro, who was acquired by Bill Betz's Betz Thoroughbreds for $285,000 with the colt in utero at the 2019 Keeneland November Sale. Mo Knows is also the dam of a yearling colt by American Pharoah and a colt foal by Justify.

Roja Ligera made it a weekend double for City of Light when running out a 1 1/4-length winner of a sloppy Ellis maiden July 31. The bay filly took some nibbles at 9-1 for her July 1 debut at Churchill, but bombed the start and finished well-beaten.

Spectacular in winning the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S., City of Light is the sire of 101 foals of racing age and stood the most recent breeding season for $60,000 at Lane's End.

 

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City of Light Off The Blocks With First Winner

Three Diamonds Farm and Joseph Besecker's Roja Ligera (City of Light) stepped forward at second asking to take an off-the-turf Ellis Park dash Sunday and become the first winner for her freshman sire (by Quality Road). She had trailed all but one rival home following a poor break in a five-furlong event at Churchill Downs July 1, but the $75,000 OBSMAR purchase (:9 4/5) got away much sharper this time out, moving between horses to contend for the lead before giving way to Catcha Later Mo (Mo Town). Roja Ligera began to re-engage that rival around the far turn, drawing even with her l at the quarter pole before drawing off from the three path. Collected Glory (Collected) gave chase along the rail from second and was gaining slowly, but ran out of time as Roja Ligera went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

Also City of Light's first-born foal, Roja Ligera is out of a half-sister to GSW Wishful Tomcat (Tactical Cat) and to the dam of MGSW Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kowboy). The winner has a yearling half-sister by Mastery.

City of Light, winner of both the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile at four and the GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational S. at five, stood alongside his sire at Lane's End this year for $60,000 after seeing frenzied bidding for his first crop of yearlings last term. A City of Light colt topped Keeneland September at $1.7 million and 15 of his yearlings fetched $500,000 or more in 2021.

5th-Ellis, $60,000, Msw, 7-31, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f (off turf), 1:05.31, my, 1 1/4 lengths.
ROJA LIGERA (f, 2, City of Light-Redbud, by Union Rags) Sales History: $155,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $75,000 2yo '22 OBSMAR. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-0, $37,139. Click for the Equibase.com chart.
O-Three Diamonds Farm & Jospeh Besecker; B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Joe Sharp.

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