Tag: Salty

Celebrating 10 Years in U.S., Don Alberto Sends Star-Studded Lineup to Keeneland

It's a summer of firsts for Don Alberto.

In June, the international operation owned by Liliana Solari and her son Carlos Heller celebrated the first Grade I winner in the United States bred by their American base when Arcangelo (Arrogate) scored in a historic edition of the GI Belmont S. Now, they are preparing to send 50 homebreds to the Keeneland September Sale. The contingent is led by an Into Mischief colt out of champion racemare Unique Bella (Tapit) who will be the first of their prized mare's progeny to sell at auction.

Ten years ago, Don Alberto expanded from its successful breeding and racing base in Chile when they purchased the former Vinery Farm in Kentucky and then went on a shopping spree at the fall breeding stock sales, grossing $10.64 million in purchases at the Keeneland November Sale alone. Since then, the operation has emerged in the headlines from a different perspective as a commercial breeder. Recent highlights include their sale of the highest-priced yearling sold in North America in 2021–a $2.6 million Into Mischief colt out of GI Test S. winner Paola Queen (Flatter).

Next week at Keeneland, the farm will offer nine yearlings in Book 1. With six fillies and three colts in the lineup, each member of the assembly hails from a dam that claimed blacktype on the racetrack and four are out of Grade I winners.

“I would say this is as strong as we've ever been coming into Keeneland Book 1,” said Reed Ringler, the COO of Don Alberto's U.S. operation. “Just an incredible depth, great sire power and out of fantastic mares that we've been procuring for the last ten years here in Kentucky.”

Selling with Taylor Made Sales, Unique Bella's colt may share the same flashy coloring as his dam, but the eye-catching gray seems to have inherited the physical of his sire.

“I think this horse is more like Into Mischief,” Ringler explained. “He's got some stretch to him and he is medium-sized, a very well-balanced colt. He has a big walk on him. He's a May foal, so there is a lot of room for growth. We're very excited about him and we have high hopes for this horse on the big night.”

Unique Bella was the first horse to claim a Grade I on American soil for Don Alberto's racing stable back in 2017. She would go on to earn Eclipse honors for top female sprinter that year and was then named champion older dirt female the following season.

The mare's first two foals were retained by the farm. Her 3-year-old unraced daughter Una Bella d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) is now carrying her first foal by Mandaloun and her 2-year-old colt Ultra Power (Curlin) is in training with Bob Baffert. The juvenile ran sixth at Del Mar on debut on Aug. 25, but Ringler said the colt is expected to thrive later this season going two turns.

Salty's Tapit filly at the Gainesway consignment | Sara Gordon

Ringler also noted that their team believes they have found the right match for Unique Bella in Into Mischief, explaining that the mare's foal of this year by the Spendthrift supersire is just as impressive as her older brother.

“Unique Bella is a big, strong mare and I think what we found with Into Mischief is that we really hit the bull's-eye as we were looking for that racey athlete,” he said.

Ringler added that because the operation now has a colt and a filly from their star mare, they believed this was the right time to offer one of her progeny to the market. Selling as Hip 382, the yearling will be one of the final hips to go through the ring during the second session of Book 1.

Earlier in the second day of the sale, another high-profile Don Alberto mare will be represented by her first foal to go to auction. Salty (Quality Road), who claimed the GI La Troienne S. in 2018, was purchased by Don Alberto later that year for $3 million. Her first foal Safiri, an unraced filly by Tapit, was retained by Don Alberto and bred to Mandaloun this year. Salty's second daughter by Tapit will sell as Hip 301 with Gainesway.

Hip 220, by Candy Ride (Arg), is the first foal out of Grade III winner Magic Star and sells with Denali Stud | Sara Gordon

“She looks a lot like her daddy,” Ringler noted. “She's going to turn a lot of heads when she walks out. She's a beautiful, early type and out of a Grade I-winning mare, so we're very hopeful and very blessed.”

Don Alberto's legion of Book 1-bound fillies also includes Hip 19–an Into Mischief half-sister to MGISW American Gal (Concord Point), Hip 20–a daughter of Uncle Mo out of GI Chandelier S. winner Angela Renee (Bernardini), Hip 69–a Quality Road filly out of GI La Brea S. victress Constellation (Bellamy Road), Hip 217–another Tapit whose dam Luminance (Tale of the Cat) was second in the GI Santa Anita Oaks, and finally Hip 297–an American Pharoah half-sister to stakes winner Rubilinda (Frankel).

With a majority of fillies coming out of this year's crop of yearlings, Ringler said the decision regarding which youngsters would go to auction was not an easy one.

“This year is exceptionally hard with the fillies coming out of these pedigrees,” he admitted. “Carlos [Heller Solari] and I just had a meeting about how hard this game is and it gets harder the bigger the decisions get. We are commercial and we do bring most of our horses to market, but when we identify horses that are maybe undervalued, we're going to keep them and race them. We're strong judges, but Carlos knows it's a business. We were filly heavy this crop and we thought it was the right thing to bring them to market to let other people see what we're building at Don Alberto.”

Don Alberto's Book 1 group is rounded out by two additional colts. Hip 220, a Candy Ride (Arg) colt consigned with Denali Stud, is the first foal out of Grade III victress Magic Star (Scat Daddy). Hip 377 by Curlin is a son of Grade III winner Touching Beauty (Tapit) and will sell with Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa.

Hip 19, a half-sister to GISW American Gal, by Into Mischief | Sara Gordon

Don Alberto will be represented well on past Book 1, but the breeding operation has proven that they can produce a top-level horse in the later books.

Dual Grade I winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) slipped through the September Sale in 2021 when he sold for just $35,000 to Jon Ebbert in Book 3. His dam Modeling (Tapit), who hails from influential Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour, was a $2.85 million purchase for Don Alberto in 2014, but Arcangelo's immaturity and smaller stature as a May foal kept him off most lists.

“The great thing about Keeneland is that there is value everywhere,” Ringler explained. “You never know where you're going to find an Arcangelo and that's why you come here to shop. The dam of Arcangelo was one of our foundation mares so to get our first Classic winner with a horse that is this special for his connections, it's just been a wonderful year.”

While health issues have prevented Modeling from producing another foal since Arcangelo, Don Alberto does have his half-sister Madison Square (Medaglia d'Oro) in their broodmare band.

With just over 100 mares on their farm in Lexington, the Don Alberto product may continue to evolve, but their philosophy stays the same.

“When Ms. Liliana and Carlos came here, their passion for racing and pedigrees was already globally known,” said Ringler. “They came here with a plan. We've adapted a bit to American commercial appeal and I think we're seeing that on the racetrack now. Carlos has big goals. He wants to win the Kentucky Derby. He wants to compete in all the big Classics. But I think more importantly, we want to further the breed, be a good steward of the industry and continue to develop relationships.”

“Ms. Liliana lights up around all of her horses,” he continued. “You can see her love and passion for all of her horses and it really flows through to our entire staff. You can see the love they give to every horse and I hope that when the world sees our horses at Keeneland, they see that love and that care coming through with all of our yearlings.”

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First Foals Out of Grade I Winners on Offer at KEESEP

One of the highlights of Book 1 of the Keeneland September Sale each year is the opportunity to view and purchase the first foals out of some of the top racemares in recent years. This year is no exception with six such offerings available in Book 1. Below we feature six yearlings who are the first foals out of Grade I-winning mares, such as two-time champion Unique Bella (Tapit).

 

It Tiz Well won five of her 10 starts and was only out of the money once, earning over $1.1 million. She scored her first black-type win in the 2017 GIII Honeybee S. and captured the GIII Delaware Oaks three starts later. Second to Elate (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI Alabama S. next out, the bay concluded her career with a two-length defeat of champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road) in the GI Cotillion S. at Parx. Retained by owner Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, It Tiz Well was sent to War Front for her first mating and the resulting colt is offered by Denali Stud here.

“It's a nice first foal with good leg and good scope,” Denali's Conrad Bandoroff said. “You see a lot of the mare with the Arch line coming through. He is a powerful colt, well balanced with a good hip, good shoulder and deep heart girth on him. He is a hard horse to pick on. He has good size and substance especially for a first foal. We are pretty encouraged for the mare's first effort.”

 

A $375,000 OBSMAR purchase by Speedway Stable, Noted and Quoted won the GI Chandelier S. in 2016. She retired with two wins from 13 starts. Bred to fellow Bob Baffert trainee and Horse of the Year Justify, the 'TDN Rising Star' was sent through the ring at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, RNA'ing for $950,000. The resulting foal was a colt bred by Aaron and Marie Jones and consigned by Taylor Made Sales.

“This colt has really good size for a first foal,” Mark Taylor said. “He is a leggy individual, a lot like the other Justifys I've seen. He has a really good frame to him, looks like a two-turn horse. He is very correct with a lot of class. Noted and Quoted herself is a beautiful mare and was a Grade I winner at two. I think this colt is exactly what you would have hoped for from a mare of that caliber, especially for a first foal. This colt is very forward with a lot of stretch to him. He is a really nice horse.”

 

Sailor's Valentine upended the 2017 GI Central Bank Ashland S. at 22-1. She retired with two wins from 13 starts and over $400,000 in earnings. Purchased for $800,000 at the 2018 KEENOV sale by Town and Country Farms and Pollock Farms, the gray was sent to War Front for her first mating and was sent back through the Keeneland ring the following November, bringing $1.25 million from Bryant Prentice's Pursuit of Success. St. George Sales consigns the colt on behalf of the breeder.

“I like the horse very much,” Archie St. George said. “He is a big strong colt, a very good first foal. He is very straightforward. Obviously the mare was a very good racehorse and he is by a very good stallion in War Front.”

 

Salty scored her first black-type victory in the 2017 GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and was runner-up in that term's GI Acorn S. The bay capped her career with a win in Churchill's GI La Troienne S. in May of 2018, retiring with a record of 11-4-2-2 and $688,500 in earnings. She summoned $3 million from Don Alberto at that year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale and was sent to Tapit. The resulting filly is offered by Lane's End here.

 

   Sippican Harbor had a short, but sweet career, winning the 2018 GI Spinaway S. She retired at the end of her juvenile season with just four starts under her belt. Lee Pokoik sent her to Medaglia d'Oro in 2019 and entered her in term's FTKNOV sale. She RNA'd for $1.45 million and her colt is in the Taylor Made consignment at KEESEP.

 

  • UNIQUE BELLA – Medaglia d'Oro filly (Hip 221)

Unique Bella more than lived up to her 'TDN Rising Star' billing throughout her career. The $400,000 KEESEP buy won four consecutive graded events in California during her 2017 sophomore season. Off the board in that term's GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint, the Don Alberto runner rebounded with a victory in the GI La Brea S. Kicking off 2018 with a win in the GII Santa Maria S., the gray finished second in the GI Apple Blossom H. and followed that with a pair of wins in the GI Beholder Mile and GI Clement L. Hirsch S. Her 2018 campaign earned her a pair of Eclipse awards as the top female sprinter and top older dirt female. Her first foal is a Medaglia d'Oro filly, who is in the Denali Stud consignment.

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Understanding Equine Perception May Be Key To Training And Welfare

Understanding how a horse uses his five sense to perceive stimuli can be key to his training and horse-human interactions.

Drs. Maria Vilain Rørvang, Birte Nielsen and Andrew McLean reviewed more than 180 studies that investigated equine vision, smell, taste, hearing and touch, and how information about the horse's environment is perceived. Though horses and humans have the same sensory modalities, how the information gathered from them are perceived can be drastically different.

Understanding how a horse perceives sensory information is key since sensory ability, perception and behavior are closely linked. The researchers determined that horses have a highly developed sense of smell; in some cases, their hearing is better than humans. Additionally, horses have a wider field of vision that people, but they see similarly to humans who are red and green colorblind.

The scientists concluded horses perceive the world in the following ways:

Vision

A horse's vision is adapted for detection of and escape from predators; they have a wide focus that allows them only a small blind spot directly behind them. Horses do not have good acuity, and will lift, lower or tilt their head and neck to focus on an object. Horses also have good vision in low light, seeing details better on cloudy days than during bright, sunny days.

Hearing

Equine ears can pivot toward sounds to enhance their hearing. While larger animals tend to hear lower frequencies well, horses are the exception; the lowest frequency detectable by horses is higher than the lowest sound a human can hear. Conversely, horses can hear higher frequencies than humans can. Horses can also recognize people from vocal cues even if they can't see them.

Smell

Little research has been done on horse's sense of smell. Horses have distinct odor profiles; similar profiles can shape a horse's response for interactions with other horses that have a similar smell. The research team notes that a horse's sense of smell could be exploited to draw the horse to certain locations, limiting the need to manually move horses. Additionally, riding in or around areas where a horse might encounter the smell of a predator may pose a safety risk to the rider.

Taste

Horses rarely breathe through their mouth, so it is unclear if horses can differentiate odor and taste from flavor, like humans. Horses can detect sweet, sour, salty and bitter; it is not known if they can detect umami (savory).

Touch

Horses are sensitive to touch; this sense is the main mode of communication between a horse and human, whether riding or handling. Horses are most sensitive around their eyes, nose and mouth; other areas of the body vary in their sensitivity, with the neck, withers, flank, shoulders and back of the pastern generally being the most sensitive.

The study team suggests that tactile stimulation be used with caution, especially when there is force applied, like during twitching. Future studies may investigate how a horse's age, breed, personality and experience may influence how touch is perceived.

The trio conclude that identifying specific sensory reactions in horses may be a way to optimize management and training to improve equine health and welfare.

Read more at HorseTalk.

The post Understanding Equine Perception May Be Key To Training And Welfare appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Grade I Winners Salty and Dacita Thriving at Don Alberto Farm

An intentional breeder is a student of their broodmares, diligently studying each mating and the resulting offspring while adjusting and making inferences at every corner.

Over the past seven years, the Don Alberto Corporation has meticulously analyzed each foal produced on their growing Kentucky-based farm and has endeavored to make each mating more successful that the last as they continue to learn from their elite broodmare band.

“The engine has started working,” Don Alberto’s Executive Director Fabricio Buffolo said. “We know the mares and know more about how they are producing. We are getting better matings because we know what we can do with them.”

Buffolo said that this year, two crosses in particular have proven to be successful–the mating of Chilean-bred millionaire Dacita with Quality Road, and of Grade I-winning maiden mare Salty with Tapit.

Dacita is a daughter of Scat Daddy, and is the leading earner for her dam Daja (Chi) (Seeker’s Reward). She was a dual champion in Chile before moving to the United States and into the barn of top turf trainer Chad Brown as a 4-year-old. She raced for three years in the States, claiming four graded stakes including two Grade I races in the Diana S. and Beverly D. S.

As fellow Chilean natives, the Don Alberto team had a strong attraction to the millionaire earner.

“Dacita is very dear for all of us because she raced in Chile,” Buffolo said. “She won Grade I races there, including the Chilean Oaks, and when she came here she had a long campaign, running until she was six years old.”

The chestnut mare was purchased by Don Alberto at the 2017 Fasig-Tipton November Sale for $1.85 million. Last year, Dacita had her first foal, a colt by Uncle Mo and was bred back to Quality Road. The resulting filly was born in January of this year, and Buffolo said their team is very happy with the result of the mating.

“We really like the scope that Quality Road gave her,” he said. “Size is really important for Dacita, because she’s a nice, medium-sized mare. Quality Road gave her the scope she needs.”

Buffolo also added that they had picked the mating in hopes that the offspring could be competitive on dirt or turf.

“Quality Road is a horse that could go either way,” he said. “He can have good runners on the grass and the dirt. And although Dacita was a turf runner, we know that Scat Daddy could do it all.”

Don Alberto liked Dacita’s second foal so well that the mare is now back in foal to Quality Road for next year.

A year after they purchased Dacita, they found another Grade I winner up for grabs in the Fasig-Tipton sales ring in Salty.

Produced by the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Theycallmeladyluck, Salty broke her maiden second time out as a 3-year-old, and then won the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks when making her stakes debut in her next start for trainer Mark Casse. She placed in three Grade Is later that year before claiming her first Grade I in the 2018 La Troienne S. in her final career start. Among those behind her was Eclipse champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road).

Buffolo said he can easily recall initially seeing her at the sale.

“I remember very well the day that I first saw her there,” he said. “I was standing beside Leif Aaron from Juddmonte, and when we saw her, I was just like, ‘Wow.’ She was a beautiful individual, just gorgeous.”

Buffolo passed on his findings to Don Alberto’s Carlos Heller Solari, who also fell in love with the imposing bay filly.

They purchased Salty for an even $3 million, and bred their new addition to champion sire Tapit in 2019.

After the resulting filly was born in January of this year, Buffolo said that Salty was well worth the hefty price tag.

“We have an outstanding Tapit filly,” he said. “She’s just class. She’s very pretty, very feminine. She’s refined, and has almost an Arab-like head, but is a really good size. We were rewarded; Salty gave us a very pretty filly.”

Buffolo reported that the youngster has a sweet charm to go along with her quality physical.

“She has an incredible personality,” he said. “Every time somebody comes here to take pictures, she’s always the first one to come to you. She’s very inquisitive and has a curious mind. She wants to be with you. Even if you’re trying to take pictures of the other foals, she comes up behind you and is always trying to be with people.”

As the auspicious young fillies continue to develop, plans are formulated as to where they could end up.

“We will enter all of them [into a sale] as yearlings,” Buffolo said. “We will assess them one by one as we get closer to the deadlines. We’re not sure yet, but some we might retain.”

While the number of horses on the farm continues to grow, so too does the farm’s acreage. Since the original purchase of Vinery, they’ve added 400 acres from the adjoining Crestwood Farm, and recently, they also bought a portion of the nearby Hill ‘n’ Dale property, and look to receive more acreage later this year.

“We’ve grown a lot in the last few years,” Buffolo said. “For us, three, four, or five years seems like a lot of time, but in this industry it’s not. It takes a long time to get to know the good mares, to know how they are producing, especially when we bought a lot of maiden mares. You really need to learn what they are producing and adjust your matings accordingly so that you can make a plan for the future.”

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