Grade 2 Winner Leinster Retired To Pleasant Acres Stallions In Florida

Pleasant Acres Stallions is pleased to announce the arrival of Leinster (Majestic Warrior / Vassar, by Royal Academy) – who will stand in Florida for the 2022 breeding season for a $5,000 fee.

After earning $764,971 with a record of 6-6-5 from 24 starts, Leinster raced under Amy Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, and Westrock Stable. Now retired, Leinster is settling into his new home at Pleasant Acres Stallions ahead of the 2022 breeding season.

“Leinster is an exceptional addition to the stallion barn at Pleasant Acres Stallions,” said Joe Barbazon. “A world class turf sprinter, he brings with him two blazing fast track records in graded events and four triple digit Beyers.”

Out of the Royal Academy champion-producing mare Vassar, Leinster is half-brother to two-time Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Stormy Liberal – the champion turf male of 2018. In 2019, Leinster handily beat Stormy Liberal in the six-furlong $700,000 Grade 3 Runhappy Turf Sprint at Kentucky Downs.

Leinster is a four-time graded stakes winner – including the 2020 G3 Troy Stakes in Saratoga where he beat multiple graded stakes winner and world record setting Disco Partner, as well as multiple graded stakes winner Pure Sensation. Leinster set his first track record that day when he covered 5 1/2 furlongs on the Mellon Turf in a time of 1:00.23, breaking the old track record of 1:00.46 set by Lady Shipman in 2015.

The Rusty Arnold trainee went on to set a Keeneland course record by racing 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:00.86 in the $150,000 G2 Shakertown Stakes, where he beat multiple graded stakes winner and Grade 1-placed Extravagant Kid – five times total in graded events.

Leinster topped off his impressive career by winning the $150,000 G2 Woodford Stakes at Keeneland after running second in the same race the previous year. He went on to finish third in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint, where he beat the sensational multiple Grade 1 winner Got Stormy. In his final campaign, Leinster finished his career in style by winning the $100,000 G3 Gulfstream Park Turf Sprint Stakes this past February.

“Track record holder at Saratoga and Keeneland. You don't get any faster than that and a beautiful individual to go with it,” says Trainer George “Rusty” Arnold.

Leinster's sire, Majestic Warrior (A.P. Indy / Dream Supreme, by Seeking the Gold) immediately excelled for his late owner and breeder and New York Yankees kingpin, George Steinbrenner. Majestic Warrior, a son of A.P. Indy, emerged in the competitive 2-year-old world of Saratoga in 2007 to win his 6 1/2 -furlong debut by 3 1/2 lengths and in his subsequent start, he rallied to take the G1 Hopeful Stakes by 2 1/4 lengths.

Leinster's dam, Vassar (Royal Academy / Dixie Fine, by L'emigrant) has produced seven winners out of eight runners as a broodmare – where she has amassed $3.8 million in progeny earnings to date – and has produced exceptional athletes including a champion, two graded black type winners, one black type winner, one graded blacktype placer, and one blacktype placer.

Leinster joins stallions Amira's Prince, Bellavia, Breaking Lucky, Bucchero, Curlin's Honor, Gunnevera, Handsome Mike, Long On Value, Neolithic, No Never No More, Ride On Curlin, and Sweetontheladies, at the 220-acre farm located just northwest of Ocala.

Pleasant Acres Stallions has received many accolades for excellence, including 2017 Florida Freshman Sire of the Year for Poseidon's Warrior, 2017 DRF Florida-bred Beyer Award, 2009 Florida Breeder of the Year, 2009 Florida Broodmare of the Year, Breeder of the 2009 Florida Horse of the Year, and was ranked third in the nation for leading breeders in 2009 by average earnings per starter with 10 or more starters.

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Gear Jockey Ridden to Perfection in Turf Sprint

Gear Jockey (Twirling Candy), third at 67-1 as a maiden in the 2019 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Santa Anita, delivered a career high while punching his ticket to the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

The Calumet Farm homebred sat just off the pacesetting Bombard (War Front) in second, took over under confident handling as they hit the quarter pole and took care of business from there to win for fun.

Longshot Diamond Oops (Lookin At Lucky) nosed out Bombard for second.

Gear Jockey, a maiden winner at ninth asking at Gulfstream Jan. 21, was a close third in the GIII Canadian Turf S. going 1 1/16 miles Feb. 27. A Keeneland allowance winner going a mile this spring, he cut back to a pair of 5 1/2-furlong turf sprints in his last two, scoring in an optional claimer at Saratoga July 17, then rallying for third in the GIII Troy S. Aug. 6.

Trainer Rusty Arnold has also enjoyed success with Twirling Candy's GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. heroine Concrete Rose and MGSW Morticia.

“He's been working good,” winning jockey Jose Lezcano said. “He felt very good. He broke right on top and I let him follow [Bombard] and when I asked him at the three-sixteenths, he took off again. At the quarter [pole] he had already taken me there, but at three-sixteenths, I had to ask him because no one was coming and he might hang and fool around. The whole way he gave me the feeling that I had so much horse. When I asked, him he really kicked on.”

Favored two-time GI Fourstardave H. heroine Got Stormy (Get Stormy) was a disappointing sixth.

“You've always heard me say that she likes hard ground,” trainer Mark Casse said. “I think when she's sprinting she probably would actually like it a little softer. Today they were just a little too fast for her. But she's fine. We knew this was a tall task, but this will get us ready for the Breeders' Cup.”

Pedigree Notes:

Gear Jockey, whose granddam is a half-sister to GISW Stroll (Pulpit), has effectively salvaged the last two generations of his female family from a scarcity of black-type. Gear Jockey's dam spent her early producing years delivering foals by obscure stallion Calimonco until being purchased for $20,000 by Calumet with the Turf Sprint winner in utero at the 2017 Keeneland January sale. Her most recent foals–2-year-old colt Double Clutch (Optimizer) and yearling colt Keen to Go (Keen Ice)–are by resident Calumet stallions. She has been bred back to Calumet's Bravazo for next term. Gear Jockey became the 50th black-type winner out of a Tapit mare with the Kentucky Downs score and the second by Twirling Candy out of a Tapit mare, joining Venezuelan MSW Believe (Ven). Twirling Candy is having a fabulous year, with Gear Jockey his eighth black-type winner of 2021 and joining the ranks of GI Preakness S. winner Rombauer, as well as last week's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst. Gear Jockey marks Twirling Candy's 12th graded winner and 31st stakes winner in seven crops.

Saturday, Kentucky Downs
FANDUEL TURF SPRINT S.-GIII, $995,500, Kentucky Downs, 9-11, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:07.90 (NCR), fm.
1–GEAR JOCKEY, 121, c, 4, by Twirling Candy
                1st Dam: Switching Gears, by Tapit
                2nd Dam: Pace, by Indian Ridge (Ire)
                3rd Dam: Maid for Walking (GB), by Prince Sabo (GB)
   1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN, 1ST GRADED STAKES WIN.
O/B-Calumet Farm (KY); T-George R. Arnold, II; J-Jose Lezcano.
$576,600. Lifetime Record: GISP, 15-4-2-5, $902,875. Click for
   eNicks report & 5-cross catalogue-style pedigree. Werk Nick
   Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*.
2–Diamond Oops, 121, g, 6, Lookin At Lucky–Patriotic Viva, by
Whywhywhy. ($42,000 RNA Wlg '15 KEENOV). O-Diamond 100
Racing Club, LLC, Amy Dunne, D P Racing LLC & Patrick L.
Biancone Racing LLC; B-Kin Hui Racing Stables LLC (KY);
T-Patrick L. Biancone. $186,000.
3–Bombard, 125, g, 8, War Front–Witty, by Distorted Humor.
O/B-Raydelz Stable (KY); T-Richard E. Mandella. $93,000.
Margins: 2HF, NO, HD. Odds: 5.70, 21.90, 6.30.
Also Ran: Fast Boat, Casa Creed, Got Stormy, Front Run the Fed, Chewing Gum, Stubbins, Imprimis, Siem Riep, Born Great. Scratched: Johnny Unleashed. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Gear Jockey Delivers Course-Record Performance In Kentucky Downs’ Turf Sprint

On Calumet Saturday at Kentucky Downs, the farm's homebred Gear Jockey delivered a timely performance to triumph in the Grade 3 FanDuel Turf Sprint. Crossing the wire 2 1/2 lengths the best at odds of 5-1, Gear Jockey lowered the track record for six furlongs by over a second: his final time was 1:07.90 over the firm turf. Jose Lezcano piloted the Rusty Arnold trainee to victory.

The 4-year-old son of Twirling Candy earned the first graded stakes victory of his career in the Turf Sprint, as well as an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar in November.

Third by a length in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf as a maiden, Gear Jockey has continued to improve with age. The colt broke his maiden in January of 2021, and hadn't run worse than fourth in seven starts this year as he entered the starting gate at Kentucky Downs. Most recently, Gear Jockey ran third after a poor start in the G3 Troy Stakes at Saratoga on Aug. 6.

Coming from well off the pace that day, Gear Jockey was much closer to the pace in this pace-less edition of the Turf Sprint. Bombard grabbed the lead at the start, and Lezcano kept Gear Jockey right on his heels through fractions of :22.38 and :45.14. Rounding the far turn Gear Jockey drew even with the frontrunner, and Lezcano sent him up the hill to the wire an easy winner by 2 1/2 lengths.

Diamond Oops, also up close early, made up ground in the lane to out-finish Bombard by a nose for the place. Troy Stakes winner Fast Boat finished another head back in fourth. Race-favorite Got Stormy, the filly taking on the males, finished sixth, beaten 3 1/4 lengths.

Bred in Kentucky by owner Brad Kelley's Calumet Farm, Gear Jockey is out of the winning Tapit mare Switching Gears, from the family of Grade 1 winner Stroll. Calumet purchased the mare with Gear Jockey in utero for $20,000 at the 2017 Keeneland January sale. With a record of four wins, two seconds, and five fifths from 15 career starts, Gear Jockey has earned a total of $902,875.

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Navratilova Lands A Winning Shot In Tepin Stakes

G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s Navratilova held off the late challenge of Tobys Heart and New Boss to win Saturday's second running of the $150,000 Tepin Stakes at Churchill Downs.

Trained by Rusty Arnold II and ridden by Brian Hernandez Jr., Navratilova completed one-mile on the firm Matt Winn Turf Course in 1:35.56. The Tepin was the final race that will be held over the current turf course before a $10 million renovation this summer at Churchill Downs.

Navratilova set early quarter-mile fractions of :24.35 and :48.99. Around the far turn, Adam Beschizza aboard New Boss ranged alongside Navratilova. The duo battled for nearly a quarter-mile when the highly-regarded Tobys Heart and jockey Javier Castellano ranged alongside the two fillies. Navratilova dug in gamely at the rail for a half-length victory.

“She relaxed well up front and had her ears up,” Hernandez said. “Down the stretch, she really had to dig in to hold off those challengers. She ran well and handled the distance like we thought she could.”

Navratilova rewarded her backers at odds of 9-1 and paid $20.80, $9.40, and $7. Tobys Heart finished a head in front of New Boss to return $4.80 and $4.20. New Boss paid $5.80.

Town Avenger, Adventuring, Arm Candy, Invincible Gal (GB), Bullseye Beauty, Commanders Palace, Barista, and Fairchild completed the order of finish.

With her win Saturday, Navratilova improved her record to 5-2-0-2 with purse earnings of $136,340. She was bred in Kentucky by her owner.

“Her dam (Centre Court) was a Grade I winner going 1 1/16 miles so we thought she'd like the distance today,” Arnold said. “She was sprinting in her last start which she didn't handle as well but did much better today.”

The Tepin is named after the brilliant two-time Eclipse Award-winning turf mare in 2015-16.

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