LEXINGTON, KY – The first of two Book 2 sessions of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale saw marked polarization, as the demand for the perceived quality remained strong, but fell off for the less desired offerings.

“It's been a realistic, selective market today,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “I think it was pretty evident throughout the day, people knew what they wanted and they were very specific about what they were willing to invest in. Speaking to a lot of sellers, they were very pragmatic about the market. They saw, if a mare was young and was well-bred, you were in pretty good shape. I think any mares that were a little older probably have been exposed a little bit and were a tougher sell. And from the consignors we spoke to, there was an acknowledgment that that's where the market is at the moment. So a little bit of softening, but again, that's to be expected in certain areas.”

For the session, 213 head grossed $34,428,000. The session average of $161,634 fell 9.21% from a year ago, while the median fell 14.29% to $120,000.

The 4-year-old racing/broodmare prospect Cancel This (Malibu Moon), consigned by Four Star Sales, was the session's top-priced lot when selling for $825,000 to Larkin Armstrong on behalf of Helen Alexander.

Competition for the top weanlings continued to be strong Thursday, with a colt by Constitution selling for top price of $525,000 from Cherry Knoll Farm. The weanling was one of five to sell for $400,000 or over during the session. There were two to reach that level in the same session last year.

“The market has been really strong and on a bull run for some years,” said Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach. “We had a great September sale and yearling market this year. I think that's reflected in strong foal sales.”

The Keeneland November sale continues through Nov. 16 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Cancel This Shines at KeeNov Opener

Well into Thursday's session, Cancel This (Malibu Moon) (Hip 601) broke to the fore with a session-topping $825,000 bid from Helen Alexander, bidding from her customary place in front of the media stand at the back of the pavilion. Consigned by Four Star Sales, she was offered as a racing or broodmare prospect.

Kerry Cauthen, Larkin Armstrong, and Helen Alexander | Keeneland

“We [initially] thought maybe we should put the whole budget on one mare, but we got blown out of the water [at Fasig-Tipton Tuesday]. So we decided to divide it up instead,” said Larkin Armstrong, signing on behalf of Alexander. “We were waiting for this one. [She was good enough to] have sold in any sale.”

Alexander also signed for a pair of mares in Keeneland's Book 1: Candy Raid (Candy Ride {Arg}) (Hip 206), who brought $425,000 and Weekend Away (Malibu Moon) (Hip 166), a $400,000 purchase. Both mares were consigned by Taylor Made Sales.

“[Alexander] went into the sale wanting to buy some nice young mares for her breeding program, so I feel like we got horses that we're really excited about,” added Armstrong.

The 4-year-old filly was sold by Corey Johnson, whose CJ Thoroughbreds secured the filly for $180,000 at Keeneland September in 2020.

“When Dale Romans picked her out, I remember thinking that she was one of the most athletic, well-balanced yearlings we had ever bought,” said Johnson, obviously reveling in the moment following her sale. “That was three years ago. Our plan was to buy yearlings, race, and then sell them as broodmare prospects. I would say this one worked out very well.”

The bay made 20 starts over three seasons on the track, winning only once but hitting the board on 11 other occasions, including a runner-up effort in Presque Isle's Satin and Lace S. in July. She entered the sale with earnings over $240,000.

“She had really a good, solid racing career,” said Johnson. “And then, of course, we get a little lucky where the pedigree really booms up. It would be very difficult to expect something like that. We just figured the market would take her as far as it would go. We're very excited.”

After the Ring: Kerry Cauthen discusses the $825,000 sale of Cancel This, who topped session 2 of #KeeNov.

The Stakes-placed Malibu Moon filly is from the active family of Brightwork, Midnight Bourbon, Girvin and more. pic.twitter.com/PA3BJbtHj4

— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) November 10, 2023

Out of MSW Catch My Fancy (Yes It's True), the filly is a half-sister to SW and GSP Dubini (Gio Ponti), SW What a Catch and full-sister to Catch the Moon, dam of GI Haskell Invitational winner Girvin (Tale of Ekati) and Grade III scorers Midnight Bourbon (Tiznow), who also finished second in the GI Preakness S. and GI Travers S., and Cocked and Loaded (Colonel John). To add some extra luster to the page, Cancel This is also a full-sister to Clarendon Fancy, dam of this summer's GI Spinaway S. winner Brightwork (Outwork).

“We sold her for some really great clients, Corey Johnsen. It's always great to win for friends,” added Kerry Cauthen.  “I think that was beyond our expectations by quite a number, but when you bring out the best-looking filly of the day, you're going to get rewarded.”–@CbossTDN

Finley Strikes Late for Exotic West

Unbeaten GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Flightline took Terry Finley and his West Point Thoroughbred partners on the ride of a lifetime last year and Finley was keen to acquire Exotic West (Hard Spun) (hip 667), in foal to the champion, Thursday at Keeneland. Finley purchased the 5-year-old mare, the second to last horse through the ring during the second session of the November auction, for $650,000.

“David [Ingordo} really liked the mare. She was a beautiful mare,” Finley said. “The Flightlines have been selling really well, but we thought with her placement in the sale, we might get a little lucky. And I think we were–either people were tired or they went to dinner. Obviously, the appetite for Flightline is really over the top–better than we expected and we had high expectations. Anytime you can get one in a belly with a young mare like that, you're going to take a shot.”

Consigned by Grovendale Sales, Exotic West won the 2022 Top Flight Invitational and was second in the GII Allaire DuPont Distaff S. after being claimed by Louis Lazzinnaro for $40,000 at Saratoga in 2021.

Seven mares have sold in foal to Flightline for $6,625,000 through two sessions of the Keeneland November sale. Leading the way were the $1.65-million Dalika (Ger) (Pastorius {GB}) and $1.45-million Champagne Lady (Uncle Mo).

“Our outlook is we can't get enough of them,” Finley said. “We are really happy with [Flightline's] first book of mares and the second one is shaping up really well already. If you can't get excited about owning a piece of Flightline and having a shot to have his babies and the expectation of having them hit the track in a couple of years, you probably don't need to be in the game.”

Lady Scarlet Brings $625K On Day 2

Early in Thursday's Book 2 opener at Keeneland, Lady Scarlet (Union Rags) (Hip 338) brought $625,000 from Thirty Year Farm. The Saratoga-based farm's Kristen Esler handled the signing duties on the GIII Miss Preakness S. winner.

Kristen Esler | Keeneland

“We loved her,” said Esler, who operates Thirty Year Farm with her husband, Matt. “She was our first pick. She was in my heart from the moment I saw her. She's beautiful and she's everything we looked for in conformation. She was an A+. She carried herself really well. I like to look them in the eye and spend some time. She is one that we wanted to bring to our farm.”

Consigned by Lane's End, the 4-year-old is a daughter of Exclude (GB) (Include), a daughter of SW Soldera, herself responsible for MGSW Exhi (Maria's Mon) and SW Diluvien (Manduro). The daughter of Polish Numbers is also a sister to Soldata, dam of Group 2 scorer Alignement (GB) (Pivotal {GB}).

A $200,000 purchase at this venue in January, the mare visited Flightline before returning to Keeneland Thursday.

Thirty Year Farm also made a purchase in Book 1, buying Hip 163 Walking Miracle (Into Mischief) for $525,000.

“This is the one that was our highest priority. We had one that we got yesterday and we were happy with that purchase, so we may be set, but we don't know yet.” —@CbossTDN

Muths Flip a Lady

Chip Muth and his sons, always on the lookout for young mares to buy, put in foal and return to the market, purchased Lady Scarlet (Union Rags) (hip 338) for $200,000 at the Keeneland January sale earlier this year. Covered by champion Flightline, the mare returned to the Keeneland sales ring Thursday and sold for $625,000 to Thirty Year Farm.

“We needed a couple of mares and we went through looking at young stakes mares,” Muth said. “That mare kind of caught our eye. And we got lucky and got her for the right kind of money.”

Lady Scarlet | Keeneland

The 4-year-old Lady Scarlet won last year's GIII Miss Preakness S. and Cicada S.

Muth admitted he thought the mare might have brought more money Thursday.

“To be honest, we all felt like the mare would bring more,” he said. “We sold two mares out here last year almost back to back for $750,000 and one for $700,000.”

Also Thursday at Keeneland, Muth sold Miss Mattie B (Tonalist) (hip 373) for $425,000. The 4-year-old, who was third in last year's GII Santa Ynez S., sold in foal to Quality Road.

“That's pretty much what we do,” Muth said. “We buy mares and put them in foal to the right horses. We restock 24/7. We are always on the prowl. We very seldom buy on the open market–just when we have a need for one and haven't been able to find something to fill a need.”

Asked what the family looks for in mares to buy with an eye towards resale, Muth smiled and said, “Can't tell you our secrets.”

But he added, “Physicals. Young mares, nice American fillies by name brand stallions. And they have got to be drop-dead gorgeous kind of mares.”

Muth said he generally sells about 20 mares a year.

“We concentrate on November,” he said. “We bring mares here in the fall and in January we will bring some that got in our program a little later and might be carrying a later foaling date.”

Constitution Colt Tops Thursday's Weanlings

South Carolina horseman Peter Pugh purchased Thursday's top-priced weanling when going to $525,000 to acquire a colt by Constitution (hip 286) from the Nursery Place consignment.

Hip 286 | Keeneland 

“He was super well-balanced and a real good mover,” said Pugh, who purchased the weanling in the name of Cherry Knoll Farm. “Every time we saw him, he was the same.”

Asked if the plan was to pinhook the dark bay colt, Pugh said, “For now. Obviously you want to hit the home run, but I have a partner on him also, we discuss all of this stuff as time goes on.”

The weanling is out of Gone to Town (Munnings) and was bred by Nursery Place and Dicken Equine. Nursery Place purchased the mare for $240,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November sale. She RNA'd with the Constitution colt in utero for $190,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.

“He was probably one of the better colts we've raised in the last 10 years.”

After the Ring: Griffin Mayer on the $525,000 sale of their weanling colt by Constitution (hip 286) earlier today at #Keeneland. #KeeNov pic.twitter.com/KC5ObzMhbO

— Keeneland Sales (@keenelandsales) November 10, 2023

“We try to bring a handful of weanlings every year to Keeneland–a very select few,” said Nursery Place's Griffin Mayer. “They have to be really, really nice with pedigrees and by the right sires. He checked all the boxes and honestly, he's probably one of the better colts that we've raised in the last 10 years. He's very special. He's a homebred for my dad and one of his partners, John Dicken of Dicken Equine.”

Cherry Knoll has purchased three weanlings at Keeneland so far this week and acquired two colts at the Fasig-Tipton sale Tuesday, going to $500,000 for a son of Into Mischief (hip 268) and $270,000 for a colt by Not This Time (hip 61).

“It's the same old, same old,” Pugh said. “The better horses bring the money. You have to pay for them.”

Klaravich Enjoys Strong Results at November Sales

Ranking as the nation's second-leading owner in earnings so far this season, Klaravich Stables capitalized on that racetrack success with the sale of a trio of its stable stars in the select sessions of this week's most important breeding stock auctions. Among the headliners at Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton November sale was GI Acorn S. winner Search Results (Flatter) (Hip 179), who sold for $3.6 million to Katsumi Yoshida.

Turning its focus on Keeneland in Book 1, the Seth Klarman-led operation also followed up with the sale of four-time graded winner and Grade I-placed Technical Analysis (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) (Hip 145), who sold to Japan's J S Company for $1 million in addition to black-type producer Strong Incentive (Warrior's Reward) (Hip 264), who realized $2.15 million from Alpha Delta Stables. She sold in foal to hot sire Good Magic.

Klaravich had GII Mother Goose S. winner Gerrymander (Into Mischief) also entered at Fasig-Tipton earlier this week, but opted to withdraw her and retain her for a 5-year-old campaign.

“[Klarman] really likes racing and he wanted to run her as a 5-year-old,” said Klaravich's bloodstock agent Mike Ryan. “If they are sound, they have talent and they still have the desire, then you can run them. Many of them are really not at their best until they're about five anyway. And with turf horses, it can be older than that. There is so much opportunity, you don't have to run them frequently. You know what they are. You pick your spots, five or six races and they can be very successful.”

Technical Analysis | Sarah Andrew

All consigned by Elite, the trio of mares were campaigned throughout their careers by Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown, whom Ryan credits with much of the team's success on the track.

“Chad is a huge part of the success,” said Ryan. “We understand each other very well now. When I tell him I really like something, he listens. And I know what he likes. We have a great dialogue and a tremendous trust between us. That's important.”

The most accomplished of the trio, Search Results, a daughter of Co Cola (Candy Ride {Arg}), was bred by Machmer Hall. In addition to the Acorn, she also won five more black-type races, including the GII Ruffian S. and GIII Gazelle S. She also hit the board in six Grade I tests, headed by the Kentucky Oaks.

Search Results, who brought $310,000 at the 2019 Keeneland September Sale, led that season's Book 4 opener.

Ryan recalled, “She was an exceptional-looking filly. I remember when I bought her [at KEESEP] it was very late in the sale and I said 'this filly will top the sale today. We need to buy her.' And she did. I remember saying at the time that I thought she could win the Spinaway. She was really special. And she is by a sire that I really like and out of a mare by Candy Ride, who is starting to show up prominently in pedigrees. She was a magnificent physical all her life.”

He continued, “From a physical perspective, it was very hard to fault her. She reminded me of [champion turf female] Rushing Fall [More Than Ready]. Very elegant, had size and substance and class. She had the whole deal.”

Through four seasons on the track, Technical Analysis accounted for eight wins, six at the stakes level, including her latest trip to the winner's circle in the Athenia S. last month. She also placed in the GI QEII Challenge Cup S. and the GI Diana S. The daughter of Sealife (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who realized 200,000gns at the 2019 Tattersalls October Sale, sold at Keeneland as a racing or broodmare prospect.

“When we bought her in Newmarket, there was no black-type in the first two dams,” recalled Ryan. “We thought we just bought a nice filly at the time. Kingman was starting to roll on pretty good. But she really made her own pedigree. She proved to be a very successful filly, just a notch below Grade I. I thought she was going to bring a little bit more than she did, to tell you the truth, but I think the fact she was the only black-type under the first two dams might have had something to do with it.”

Also showing stakes prowess on the racetrack albeit lightly raced, Strong Incentive collected her only taste of black-type in Woodbine's Jammed Lovely S. in 2015 before retiring to the breeding shed. The mare proved to be of greater value in her latter career, producing Grade III winners Highly Motivated (Into Mischief) and Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}).

Ryan went to $200,000 on behalf of Klarman and William Lawrence at the OBSAPR sale in 2014, and was back to secure the filly for Klarman at Keeneland November in 2018 after the Klaravich partners decided to part ways. Her son, Highly Motivated, was also sent to the sale's ring that season, bringing $240,000.

“Both Strong Incentive and Highly Motivated went to the sale that year to dissolve the partnership,” said Ryan. “She was open at the time she sold. She was a big, beautiful mare and didn't have any black-type at that time, but she was a gorgeous mare and there was so much going for her. I told [Klarman] he needed to keep this mare. For only $40,000, she's proven to be a steal.”

Underscoring the point, Strong Incentive's most recent foal to race, Ways and Means (Practical Joke), finished runner-up in this summer's GI Spinaway S. And according to Ryan, the 'TDN Rising Star' could be the crowning jewel of the mare's produce thus far.

“Highly Motivated was very good, but I think the best one might be Ways and Means,” he opined. “She missed the Breeders' Cup with a bit of an issue, but she is very, very good. Three top horses out of three different sires. That's impressive for any mare.”

Given Klaravich's latest success in the sales ring, Ryan is quick to give props to the patience and commitment of Klarman, who is likely to find himself once again among the finalists for leading owner of the 2023 season.

Ryan said, “It is great to see him rewarded because he invests a significant amount of capital every year to buy yearlings and 2-year-olds and racing is his passion. He's a great owner. Really loves the game. And he deserves all the success.” —@CbossTDN

The post $825K Cancel This Tops ‘Realistic’ Book 2 Opener at Keeneland November appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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LEXINGTON, KY – After a vibrant afternoon-into-night of bidding, the Fasig-Tipton November Sale grossed over $100 million for the third straight year with champions Nest (Curlin) and Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) leading the way when bringing matching $6-million final bids Tuesday at Newtown Paddocks.

“It was another remarkable horse sale, literally from start to finish,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “It's really humbling to think that we've been able, for three years in a row, do over $100 million in sales in a single night. It's remarkable and beyond our wildest expectations. The first time we did $100 million [in 2021], I told you it was something I never thought we'd be able to achieve. And coming into this year, we would never have dreamt it would happen again. I'm really proud of that.”

During the single-session sale, 154 horses sold for $101,281,000. The average of $657,669 was up 9.8% from a year ago, while the median of $295,000 was up 18%. The buy-back rate was 24.9%.

A year ago, 169 horses grossed $101,214,000 for an average of $598,899 and a median of $250,000. The 2022 buy-back rate was 29.3%.

During Tuesday's auction, 25 mares sold for seven figures, with 16 selling for two million or more and 10 selling for $3 million or more.

Lexington financier John Stewart, who burst onto the sales scene at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale two months ago, dominated the domestic buying bench with seven horses purchased for $13,350,000. He purchased broodmares Queen Caroline (Blame) and Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) on matching $3 million bids and capped his evening with the $6-million acquisition of champion Goodnight Olive, who just four days ago won her second GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint at Santa Anita.

Earlier in the auction, Mike Repole bought out his partners to retain Nest for $6 million with plans to return the champion to the racetrack as a 5-year-old next season.

Also representing strength in the domestic buying bench, Spendthrift Farm purchased five mares for $7.7 million, led by the $3-million acquisition of GI Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath (Arrogate).

“It's plenty strong,” Spendthrift's Ned Toffey said of the market Tuesday. “They are not giving them away, that's for sure. I think there are plenty of people here with deep pockets.”

Ned Toffey | Fasig-Tipton

Japanese buyers were out in force at Newtown Paddocks Tuesday, with nine seven-figure purchases led by Emmanuel De Seroux's $4.2-million acquisition of Group 1 winner Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) on behalf of Grand Stud.

“There was great international participation tonight–it probably wasn't as reflected on the sheets because of the number of people who got outbid consistently,” Browning said. “But there was great competitive bidding throughout the evening, particularly on the quality mares in-foal and the quality fillies and mares coming off the racetrack. It's remarkable what happens when you are entrusted with fillies like Goodnight Olive, Nest and Wonder Wheel and mares in-foal like Queen Caroline. I could go and on, because there were so many that sold remarkably well. It all comes down to the horses.”

The Fasig-Tipton November sale opened with an offering of 135 weanlings and the group was topped by a filly by Munnings who sold for $500,000 to Shadwell Racing. Shadwell also purchased a weanling filly by Gun Runner for $400,000.

That $500,000 price tag was matched with a pair of supplemented weanlings late in the sale when the En Fuego Stables pinhooking partnership purchased a son of Maxfield and Cherry Knoll Farm purchased a filly by Into Mischief. Both weanlings were consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency.

“We thought we had strengthened our weanling group this year,” Browning said. “And clearly the overall weanlings were better this year than last year.”

Browning said the Fasig-Tipton November sale has established a trusted record of success among buyers across the globe.

“I think we have clearly established, A) a lot of wonderful relationships and B) the trust and the confidence in the marketplace,” he said. “The buyers know they are going to be able to come here and have the opportunity to buy the best horses on offer anywhere in the world.”

Repole Buys Out Partners for Nest

Mike Repole, sitting with his team in the pavilion, jumped in the bidding around the $4-million mark and eventually saw off all challengers to purchase out his partners on champion Nest (Curlin) (hip 163) for $6 million Tuesday at Fasig-Tipton. The 4-year-old filly was consigned by Highgate Sales.

“I wasn't sure if I was going to get her or not,” Repole said. “At that price, I thought I wanted to give her another shot. If she had gone to $7 or $8 million, I probably would have let her go. But considering I own 50% of her, I feel like I just bought her for $3 million, not $6 million. My family CEO thinks we sold her for $6 million. He's got bad news coming, but I am not going to hurt his feelings right now.”

ICYMI: Watch Eclipse Champion NEST sell for $6,000,000 at The November Sale! Congrats to all the connections! #FasigNovember pic.twitter.com/YoXcWKUOW1

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) November 8, 2023

Racing for Repole, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, Nest put together a championship season as a 3-year-old in 2022. The bay filly won the GI Alabama S., GI Ashland S. and GI Coaching Club American Oaks and finished second in the GI Belmont S. and GI Kentucky Oaks.

During an abbreviated 4-year-old campaign, she won the GII Shuvee S. in July, was third in the GI Personal Ensign S. and fourth in the GI Spinster S.

“I am going to try my best to bring her back [to the races],” Repole said. “Hopefully, she will be 100%. If not, I own a couple of stallions, one Uncle Mo. She could have a date with him. But I really think the goal will be to bring her back. I think she has unfinished business.”

Repole continued, “I think last year she had a fever and got started late. And then she had that race at Saratoga where she was spectacular. I really think that took a lot out of her. I think if we get off to a better start, and space her properly this year, I think she is good for four or five good starts. Hopefully, she will run in May, June, and August and maybe in the Distaff and hopefully be a champion again.”

Nest, who was purchased by Repole and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners for $350,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September, is a daughter of Marion Ravenwood (A.P. Indy), who sold to Coolmore's M. V. Magnier for $2.6 million at Fasig-Tipton last November while carrying a full-sibling to the champion. The mare produced a colt this year and was bred back to Into Mischief. @JessMartiniTDN

Laymon Says Emotional Goodbye to Olive

After watching champion Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) (hip 237) sell for $6 million Tuesday night at Fasig-Tipton, Steve Laymon admitted, “It's hard not to have a tear in my eye.”

Laymon and his First Row Partners, through bloodstock agent Liz Crow, had purchased the filly for $170,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton October sale. Then watched as the dark bay mare won back-to-back renewals of the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint and $2,196,200 on the racetrack.

“I followed her all the way around [the sales grounds],” Laymon said. “And it was just like going to the paddock and to the races, and just like Olive, she never turned a hair. She's such a smart mare. Her intelligence level was just amazing. She came in the ring and she showed who she was. You never dream of buying a horse and selling her for $6 million. I do not know John Stewart, I spoke to him tonight. But I am so thrilled to have him in the business. These mares need to stay in the U.S.–no disrespect to international buyers. But it's hard not to get possessive of one of these and want to keep them in the country.”

Laymon, an optometrist from North Carolina who founded First Row Partners five years ago, said it was an easy decision to send the 5-year-old mare through the sales ring.

“We are a racing partnership,” he said. “We keep a few mares. But at this level, you just have to part with them if you want to continue to race. Unfortunately, you make mistakes in this business. You try to learn from those mistakes, but you just have to have a horse so often that pays for some of those mistakes.”

Laymon's proceeds from the auction weren't his only winnings Tuesday.

“There are six First Row partners,” he said. “We were at dinner after the Breeders' Cup Saturday and I asked each one of them to get a one hundred dollar bill out and put their initials on it and put down the number they think she will bring. Guess who won that? I did. I put $5.95 million.”

Asked if he planned to reinvest some of that $6 million price tag in racehorses, Laymon smiled and said, “Slowly. We are in the racing business and this will keep us in the business a long time. We have been so blessed. First Row Partners is in its fifth year of racing and we've sent 15 horses to Chad in the last five years and we've won four Grade Is, four Grade IIs and three Grade IIIs and three Grade I placings. That's not supposed to happen in this business. It's the team. Liz Crow, she buys them, and her team is phenomenal. [Trainer] Chad Brown, I've been with him since the Frankel days. He is so focused. He is so darn smart. And he wins races because of his brain and his dedication.” @JessMartiniTDN

ICYMI: Watch Eclipse Champion GOODNIGHT OLIVE sell for $6,000,000 at The November Sale! Congrats to all the connections! #FasigNovember pic.twitter.com/VsCYrXu4TB

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) November 8, 2023

Stewart a Man on A Mission at Fasig-Tipton

With her Breeders' Cup blanket barely having lost its fragrance after last weekend's victory in the GI Filly & Mare Sprint, Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper) (Hip 237) added a slam-dunk in the sales ring, drawing a gaudy $6-million final bid from the red-hot John Stewart. While many had wandered away during the later stages of the sale, an expectant horde began to gather again along the perimeter of the pavilion in the moments leading up to the champion's arrival into the ring. With intermittent volleys being lobbed in rapid succession, Stewart–surrounded by his own entourage including bloodstock advisor Gavin O'Connor–was resolute. Reeling off counterbids without missing a beat, he saw off all competitors to land the session's co-topper at $6 million.

Stewart also secured a pair of mares for $3 million during the session: Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Ire}) (Hip 168), and Queen Caroline (Blame) (Hip 171), the dam of champion Forte (Violence).

The two-time Breeders' Cup champion was consigned by Elite Sales, who enjoyed a stellar day with 12 head grossing $18.5 million.

Bred by Stonestreet, Goodnight Olive was purchased by Liz Crow for $170,000 at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton October Sale. Campaigned by First Row Partners and Team Hanley, the filly enjoyed a spectacular 2022 season, winning all four starts, including the GI Ballerina S. in addition to her Breeders' Cup victory. This season, she added wins in the GI Madison S. and GII Bed 'O Roses S. before defending her title at the World Championships.

Crow said, “The owners enjoyed every moment with her. Our team [Elite] got to go along for the ride. And then to get to showcase her here, every major buyer is here at this sale, and to see her bring what she was worth, she is really a once-in-a-lifetime horse.”

Liz Crow | Fasig-Tipton

The 5-year-old mare joins champion Groupie Doll as only one of two horses to win two Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprints.

“I think she was the best horse in the sale,” Crow opined.

And Stewart certainly agreed.

“She was on my agenda from the beginning,” he said. “I knew there was a lot of foreign interest and I was determined that she was going to stay here.”

“With all the success she's had to date, I think she still has some opportunity to still run. To add what she's already done, we need to keep those horses here. That was my main objective. Once I decide I am going to buy them I buy them, they can bid whatever they want, but this horse is going home with me.”

Stewart confirmed that he is about a month away from closing on Shadwell Farm's Shadayid Stud in Midway.

“That's what's great about this sport,” he said. “I was just at the Breeders' Cup, and this horse wins four days ago and then you have the opportunity to actually buy it. What other sport can you actually do that? It's like Lebron James wins the NBA Championship and then you can buy Lebron or the team. This is really a great sport.”

During Tuesday's session, Stewart purchased seven head in total, including a pair of weanlings, for $13.35 million.

“We got the dam of Forte, we got Pizza Bianca and we got this horse, which I think is one of the best horses we've seen here for a long time,” he said. “I couldn't be happier right now.”–@CbossTDN

Stewart Full Tilt Ahead for $3-Million Pair

Firing in quick succession, Stewart, seated alongside by Gavin O'Connor at the back of the pavilion, went to $3 million Pizza Bianca before extending to the same price for Queen Caroline. The former was consigned by Elite Sales, while the latter was offered by Bluegrass Thoroughbred Servies on behalf of South Gate Farm. Queen Caroline represented a major score for Amy Moore, who purchased the Virginia-bred for a mere $170,000 at Keeneland September in 2014.

“Those were a lot cheaper than I thought they would be,” admitted Stewart. “I was thinking $5-5.5 million on Queen Caroline. I bought every horse that I bid on.”

John Stewart | Fasig-Tipton

He added, “And I would have paid a lot more for Queen Caroline. I am really excited with what we have bought and now we have some new horses to put on our farm.

A multiple stakes winner on the track, Queen Caroline hit paydirt in the breeding shed, producing champion juvenile colt Forte (Violence) in her first go around. She sold in foal to Horse of the Year Flightline.

“Queen Caroline is the whole reason we came to the sale,” added Stewart. “It's a funny story. As we were looking through the weanlings in the catalog, we were looking for something out of Queen Caroline. And then I saw that Queen Caroline herself was in the book and thought 'This is amazing!' Once we saw her, it was a done deal. She was 100% on the list. So I was very glad to walk away with her.”–@CbossTDN

'Pizza' to Go

Campaigned by celebrity chef Bobby Flay and trained by Christophe Clement, Pizza Bianca earned over $792,947 on the track, and counts the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf among her career highlights. The 4-year-old mare was offered in foal to Into Mischief.

Flay secured Pizza Bianca's dam White Hot (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) for 1.25 million guineas at Tattersalls October in 2014. Pizza Bianca was the first foal produced by the unraced mare. Offered at this sale last year, Pizza Bianca RNA'd for $3.45 million.

“We were very excited about buying [Pizza Bianca] as well,” Stewart said. “She had an impressive list of accomplishments. If you look at everything we've been buying, it's all about quality.”

He added, “We looked at a lot of horses, but to find the pedigree and the accomplishment level, that's what we're looking for. We're not just looking for the bloodline. And Pizza Bianca is a 100% of that.”

Stewart also put in a strong showing at Keeneland earlier this September, buying 13 yearlings for total expenditures of $8.425 million and was back in action at Fasig last month for the October Sale.

“These are all for me,” he affirmed. “These [resulting foals] are for me to race and for me to breed. I am not looking to sell either of these horses. I looked at them and thought 'you are not leaving this country.' They are staying in this country and it's even better that they are staying in Kentucky. That's been the whole goal is to keep the good bloodlines here. It's the best way that I can invest my money and I am super excited about that.” —@CbossTDN

Godolphin Strikes for Faiza

Most wouldn't be surprised to see Godolphin among the buyers of a top prospect at the nation's leading yearling sales. However, the operation made somewhat of a surprise appearance on the leaderboard with Faiza (Girvin) (Hip 228), who was purchased by the 'Boys in Blue' for $4 million. The Grade I stakes winner was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale.

“She was a very good racehorse and had a lot of quality about her,” said Godolphin's Michael Banahan. “She was a nice type to be able to bring back.”

Faiza brought $90,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Select sale in 2021 before blossoming into a $725,000 Fasig Midlantic juvenile purchase by agent Donato Lanni for Michael Petersen in 2022. Trained by Bob Baffert, she won her first five starts, including the GI Starlet S. and GII Santa Anita Oaks.

Faiza | Benoit

“Bob Baffert and Donato Lanni buy beautiful horses that win Grade I races,” said Hill 'n' Dale's John Sikura. “I am really so happy for Michael Petersen and for the entire team. It was a great result for us, too. I am happy for everybody.”

Out of MGSW and MGISP Sweet Pistol (Smart Strike), Faiza's dam Sweet Pistol is a half-sister to two-time grades stakes winner Thousand Words (Pioneerof the Nile). The 10-year-old mare was purchased for $33,000 by Faiza's breeder Brereton Jones at Keeneland November in 2016.

Sikura added, “Those Grade I winners as mares are hard to find and the Japanese buyers are particularly interested in and respect that Grade I form and they really chase those mares. When they also have the looks to go with it, they have all the questions you can answer. And those are the ones that historically produce stakes winners and graded stakes winners.”

The purchase represented the first broodmare/prospect purchase for Godolphin since going to $3.5 million for GI Spinaway S. winner Pretty City Dancer (Tapit) at this venue in 2018. Pretty City Dancer would go on to produce a Classic winner in the form of GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief).

Godolphin enjoyed another fruitful Breeders' Cup with Cody's Wish (Curlin) repeating in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, while completing the exacta in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile with Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire)) and Mawj (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}).

Named after Cody Dorman, the colt repeated at this year's World Championships with another Dirt Mile win. The victory was bittersweet as Dorman passed away traveling back to his home in Kentucky Sunday.

“It was a fantastic story and a wonderful family,” said Banahan. “It was so special that we had that opportunity with them the last five years. I hope the [Dorman] family gets a lot of strength from the people both in and outside the industry while they go through their grieving process. It's heartbreaking for them, I'm sure. I hope they get a lot of strength for the last five years that Cody was able to share this special bond with Cody's Wish.”

Commenting on the operation's year overall, “We've had a great couple of years and this has been a really phenomenal year. From winning our first Kentucky Oaks, winning at the Breeders' Cup and helping give Bill Mott his first Met Mile. We've had multiple highlights through the year so we've been fortunate that our horses have performed at a high level. We're so grateful for it.” —@CbossTDN

Sauterne to Grand Stud

Bloodstock agent Emmanuel De Seroux, bidding on behalf of Japan's Grand Stud, purchased French Group 1 winner Sauterne (Fr) (Kingman {GB}) (hip 178) for $4.2 million Tuesday evening at Fasig-Tipton. The 3-year-old racing/broodmare prospect was consigned by Nicky Drion Thoroughbreds.

“She has a fantastic pedigree, as you can see,” De Seroux said of the filly's appeal. “She's beautiful and she was a great racehorse. In the Group 1 in France that she won, she beat the colts. The horse that was second to her just won the mile race at Ascot by six lengths. So her form is outstanding.”

Sauterne was making her second trip through the sales ring Tuesday night in Lexington. She had RNA'd for £1.2 million at the Goffs London sale in June just weeks after finishing third in the G1 French 1000 Guineas and second in the G2 Prix de Sandringham. In July, the bay was second in the G1 Prix Jean Prat and third in the G1 Prix Rothschild before beating the boys in the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp Sept. 3 for her owner/breeder Jean Pierre Joseph Dubois.

Sauterne is out of Salicorne (Aragorn {Ire}), a half-sister to multiple Group 1 winner Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun {Ger}), whose daughter Soul Stirring (Jpn) (Frankel {GB}) was champion 2-year-old and 3-year-old filly in Japan in 2016 and 2017. Stacelita's daughter Southern Stars (GB) (Smart Strike) produced Japanese champion Stars on Earth (Jpn) (Duramente {Jpn}).

“We just bought her five minutes ago,” De Seroux said with a smile when asked about plans for the filly. “She will probably be bred in Kentucky and then go to Japan.”

De Seroux returned a few hips later to acquire And Tell Me Nolies (Arrogate) (hip 206), also on behalf of Grand Stud, for $2.3 million. Consigned by Indian Creek, the 3-year-old filly sold as a racing/broodmare prospect. A $230,000 OBS Spring purchase, the bay won the 2022 GI Del Mar Debutante S. and GI Chandelier S. for Peter Redekop B.C., Ltd. She was second in this year's GII Santa Anita Oaks and GIII Santa Ysabel S. and third in the GII San Clemente S.

She is out of graded winner Be Fair (Exchange Rate), a half-sister to Grade I winner Macho Again (Macho Uno). @JessMartiniTDN

Secret Oath Leads Spendthrift's Fasig Haul

GI Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath (Arrogate) (hip 180) will be joining the Spendthrift Farm broodmare band after selling for $3 million Tuesday in Lexington. In addition to the Oaks, the 4-year-old broodmare prospect won the 2023 GII Azeri S. and 2022 GIII Honeybee S. in the colors of her breeder, Robert and Stacy Mitchell's Briland Farm. She also hit the board in seven other Grade I events, including the GI Arkansas Derby.

“Her race record needs no explanation,” Spendthrift's Ned Toffey said after signing the ticket on Secret Oath. “She is a big, classy mare. We think she is a perfect type of mare for Into Mischief. She's a really special mare and we need to get that kind.”

Secret Oath | Coady

Of the filly's final price tag, Toffey admitted, “We thought she might be a little bit more money. That's a lot to pay for any horse, but we thought she could have brought a little more. We were happy to get her for that number.”

Secret Oath, who is out of stakes winner and multiple Grade I placed Absinthe Minded (Quiet American), was consigned by Bluewater Sales.

Spendthrift was busy through the auction. In addition to Secret Oath, the operation also purchased graded-stakes winning broodmare prospect Travel Column (Frosted) (hip 193) for $2 million and paid that same amount for graded winner Merneith (American Pharoah), in foal to Flightline. In all, Spendthrift purchased five mares for $7.7 million. @JessMartiniTDN

Search Results, Wonder Wheel to Northern Farm Japan

Grade I winner Search Results (Flatter) (hip 179) and champion Wonder Wheel (Into Mischief) (hip 200) led a trio of seven-figure purchases by Katsumi Yoshida's Northern Farm. Bidding on behalf of Yoshida, Shingo Hashimoto bid $3.6 million to acquire Search Results from the Elite consignment. The 5-year-old mare, who was a $310,000 Keeneland September purchase, won the 2021 GI Acorn S. and was second in that year's GI Kentucky Oaks. A five-time graded stakes winner, she hit the board at the Grade I level seven times and earned $1,943,810 for Klaravich Stables and trainer Chad Brown.

“She was one of the best 3-year-olds [of her generation],” Hashimoto said of the mare, who is out of graded-placed Co Cola (Candy Ride {Arg}). “And we really liked how she looked.”

Hashimoto returned just a few hips later to purchase 2022 champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel for $3.2 million. The 3-year-old, who was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency on behalf of the Green family's D J Stable, won last year's GI Darley Alcibiades S. and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. She is out of multiple stakes winner and multiple Grade I placed Wonder Gal (Tiz Wonderful).

“Her appearance was very good and she's a champion 2-year-old, so we know she's very good,” said Shingo Hashimoto, who signed for the broodmare prospect. “We will take her back to Japan and keep her as a broodmare.”

Wonder Wheel was purchased by the Greens for $275,000 as a Keeneland September yearling and earned $1,591,857 on the racetrack.

“We were very confident bringing her here that she was going to bring a good amount of money,” Jon Green said after watching the champion sell. “You can never handicap it perfectly as far as who is on the horse and who liked the horse and to what extent. But I feel like Taylor Made did a phenomenal job of giving us the proper information to handicap who was going to be on her. And Fasig-Tipton, you can't say enough about this night and this venue. And just of competitiveness here. It's just a fun place to be on a night like tonight.”

Len & Jon Green | Fasig-Tipton

Green admitted the sale was bittersweet, particularly following the death of his mother, Lois Green, in May.

“This was the last horse that my mom ever named,” Green said. “We were fortunate as a family to watch Wonder Wheel compete and win in our silks. The last trip that my mom went on was to watch her run in Kentucky. So it was very difficult decision [to sell] from an emotional standpoint, but from a business standpoint, it makes all the sense in the world.”

Green continued, “From the moment that we bought her, Kim Valerio picked her out, Mark Casse trained her, Tyler Gaffalione did a phenomenal job riding her. And of course, Taylor Made and Fasig-Tipton did an absolute perfect job of marketing her. Everyone along the way added value. And I can't thank everyone enough for what they've done.”

Yoshida's shopping spree at Fasig-Tipton Tuesday also included Armony's Angel (To Honor and Serve) (hip 207), who was acquired for $1.8 million from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.

In foal to Gun Runner, the mare is already the dam of this year's GI Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire (Classic Empire).

Late in the sale, Yoshida concluded his Fasig purchases with Ceiling Crusher (Mr. Big) (hip 265) acquired for $750,000.

Asked if he was able to purchase the mares he was aiming for, Hashimoto said, “Some of them, yes. Not all of them. That's always a part of the game. It's always tough.” @JessMartiniTDN

'Holiday' Brings $2.1m from Alpha Delta

With Tuesday's session already in full swing, Stolen Holiday (War Front) (Hip 189) realized a cool $2.1 million from Jon Clay's Alpha Delta Stables. Reynolds Bell, seated next to Clay inside the pavilion, was resolute in securing the half-sister to Group 1 winners Eishin Apollon (Giant's Causeway), Master of Hounds (Kingmambo) and Minorette (Smart Strike).

Consigned by Taylor Made Sales, the 6-year-old mare is out of Grade II scorer Silk and Scarlet (GB) (Sadler's Wells). This represents the family of English Highweight Sanglamore. She sold in foal to Into Mischief.

“We have been working the sale, and she fell in the sale the way we like it,” said Bell. “We liked her pedigree and he ability on the racetrack. And we liked who she is in foal to.”

He continued, “We find what we like. Whether it's dirt or grass, it doesn't really matter. They have to have some ability and they have to be in foal to something that can give them a good start.”

Very late in the sale, Alpha Delta also struck for Hip 264, Strong Incentive (Warrior's Reward), who brought $2.15 million. In foal to Good Magic, she was consigned by Elite.

Alpha Delta also went to $900,000 for Hip 159, Canadian champion Munnyfor Ro (Munnings) earlier in the session. Consigned by Hill 'n' Dale, she sold in foal to Curlin.

“The market has been strong,” said Bell. “But that's been the market we've been in for a while now. The ones that make sense to go for, everyone is there. And the ones that don't make the cut, nobody is there for. Whether it's yearlings, 2-year-olds, broodmares, it's pretty much the case.” —@CbossTDN

Shadwell at the Fore of Weanling Action

Highlighting the early swath of weanlings on offer at Fasig-Tipton's November Sale Tuesday, Shadwell emerged at the forefront, purchasing a pair of fillies, including Hip 62, a daughter of Munnings for $500,000.

Consigned by St George Sales, the Ontario-bred foal–bred by Narola and Anderson Farm–is out of Grade III winner Summer in Saratoga (Hard Spun). Out of MSW Diversa (Tabasco Cat), the 7-year-old mare, a $630,000 purchased by Anderson Farms at Fasig-Tipton at this venue in 2021, is a daughter of GI Vanity S. heroine Love Theway Youare (Arch).

“She was just a beautiful Munnings, I have never seen a Munnings like that, so we are happy with her,” said Shadwell's Jonny Smyth. “I spoke Sheikha Hissa and made some budget decisions, so we were happy to get her.”

Back in action later in the session, Smyth–bidding from inside the pavilion–extended to $400,000 for Hip 109, a filly by Gun Runner. Consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, the dark bay is a daughter of Classofsixtythree (Include). The 10-year-old mare is also responsible for GSW and GISP Gunmetal Gray (Exchange Rate) and Grade III-scorer Sixtythreecaliber (Gun Runner).

“She is a nice, leggy filly,” he said. “She was a beautiful mover as well.”

Offered at Keeneland January in 2019, Classofsixtythree had failed to meet her reserve at $385,000 while carrying Sixtythreecaliber.

Of Shadwell's purchases Tuesday, Smyth added, “Both are from beautiful families, so they have some nice residual value.”

Commenting on the overall quality of the weanlings on offer at Fasig-Tipton Tuesday, he said, “It's a nice group. Fasig has put together a nice group of weanlings. We've had a few on our list and we were very happy to get them.”

Active both in the sales arena and the racetrack both domestically and abroad this season, Smyth indicated there was also plenty to look forward to on the farm as well.

“It's been an exciting year. We have [six-time Grade I winner] Malathaat [Curlin] on the farm and she is in foal to Into Mischief,” he said of the two-time champion. “We're looking forward to what she will produce. And it's also been a phenomenal year in Europe, so we're very happy with the entire program overall.”

Later in the session, a colt by Maxfield (Hip 213) and Hip 268-a colt by Into Mischief-also reached that mark. Both top weanling colts were consigned by Taylor Made Sales. The former was purchased by Cherry Knoll Farm and the latter was secured by Enfuego Stables–@CbossTDN

The post ‘Remarkable’ Fasig November Gross Tops $100 Million Again as Nest, Goodnight Olive Bring $6 Million appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Sauterne, winner this year of the G1 Prix du Moulin de Longchamp in France and consigned by Nicky Drion Thoroughbreds, agent, was the first of the trio to go through the ring and fetched a cool $4.2 million from Emmanuel de Seroux's Narvick International on behalf of Japan's Grand Farm. The sophomore filly is out of an unraced half-sister to dual American and French champion Stacelita (Fr) (Monsun). Sauterne sold as a racing or broodmare prospect. Jean Pierre Dubois bred her in France.

Watch Hip 178 SAUTERNE (FR) sell for $4,200,000 at The November Sale!

Sauterne defeated males in the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp (G1) in September.#FasigNovember @NickyDrion pic.twitter.com/EXhX2Qy2V0

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) November 8, 2023

Search Results, winner of the GI Acorn S. in 2021 and most recently sixth in Saturday's GI Longines Breeders' Cup Distaff, also sold as a racing or broodmare prospect. Bred by Machmer Hall in Kentucky and consigned by Elite, agent, she is from the same family as GISW Mind Your Biscuits (Posse) and Canadian champion Kimchi (Langfuhr). Search Results went to Katsumi Yoshida for $3.6 million.

Watch Hip 179 SEARCH RESULTS sell for $3,600,000 at The November Sale!

Search Results won the Acorn S. (G1) at Belmont at 3 and is a 5x graded stakes winner.#FasigNovember @EliteRaceSales pic.twitter.com/el4DdSbV08

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) November 8, 2023

Secret Oath, winner of the 2022 GI Kentucky Oaks, fetched $3 million from Spendthrift Farm LLC. Bred in Kentucky by Briland Farm, Robert Mitchell, and Stacy Mitchell, the chestnut was consigned by Bluewater Sales LLC, agent VI and sold specifically as a broodmare prospect. Her final appearance on the racetrack was a second behind Saturday's GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Idiomatic (Curlin) in the Aug. 25 GI Personal Ensign S.

Watch Hip 180 SECRET OATH sell for $3,000,000 at The November Sale!

Secret Oath won last year's Kentucky Oaks (G1) over one of the strongest fields in recent memory.#FasigNovember @BluewaterSales @spendthriftfarm pic.twitter.com/fjzrr0Snb8

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) November 8, 2023

The post Sauterne, Search Results, Secret Oath: Three Consecutive Mares Bring $3M or More at Fasig-Tipton appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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“Search Results has been such a wonderful horse not only for us to work with, but for Seth and Beth Klarman,” said Chad Brown. “In a tough profession where you deal with a lot of ups and downs and a lot of changes with each individual horse from day to day, she's a rare horse that was very uncomplicated. When you came into the barn in the morning or you went to the paddock in the afternoon, you could always depend on Search Results.”

Mike Ryan, a member of the scouting team for Klaravich, has high hopes for Search Results going into Saturday's race, but he is even more confident in how she will be received when she hits Newtown Paddocks on Nov. 7.

“To win the Breeders' Cup would be off the charts,” he said. “It would be the culmination of a fantastic career. She will sell well. I know people are going to love her because she's a spectacular physical. I can't fault her and I don't think anybody else will. She's elegant. She's got size, strength, substance, quality, class and presence. She's the full package.”

Ryan has been high on Search Results ever since he first saw the filly as a yearling at Machmer Hall in the summer of 2019.

Flash forward to the eighth session of the Keeneland September Sale and the image of the Flatter filly from Machmer Hall was still fresh in his mind. He was just as impressed with the youngster on the sales grounds.

“She was an absolutely beautiful filly,” he recalled. ” A good size, strong, feminine, very powerful through her quarters and she moved like a cheetah. Her mind was fantastic. I told Chad that this was a filly that we needed to try and buy.”

The promising bay, who was out of Grade III-placed Co Cola, wound up topping the session when she sold to Ryan for $310,000.

As consistent as she was talented, Search Results went on to place in all but one of her 16  career starts, with earnings to date of just short of $2 million.

Search Results get her first career graded stakes win in the 2021 GIII Gazelle S. | Search Results

Undefeated in her first three starts including a Grade III score in the Gazelle S., Search Results was handed her first career loss when she finished a close neck behind champion Malathaat (Curlin) in the GI Kentucky Oaks. The field also included four-time Grade I winner Clairiere (Curlin), plus Grade I winners Maracuja (Honor Code) and Pauline's Pearl (Tapit).

It was a race that, to Ryan, emphasizes the filly's outstanding talent.

“She ran against the best of her generation,” he explained. “Malathaat was a terrific filly and if Search Results had switched to her correct lead that day, she may have beaten her. We'll never know. She was just born in a year with some very tough fillies and I think eight out of 10 years she might have been an Oaks winner. She competed at the highest level throughout her career and never disappointed.”

Turning back to a mile to claim the GI Acorn in her next start, Search Results delivered what Brown said he believes was her best effort.

“For her to come right back in five weeks and run as well as she did in the Acorn showed a lot about her constitution, resiliency, class and durability,” he noted. “That was a very tough stretch dual in the Oaks and I was so impressed with how she bounced out of it and was able to get the Grade I at Belmont.”

Search Results again stamped herself as a top performer as an older horse, adding to her resume with wins in the GII Ruffian S. and GIII Molly Pitcher at four and the GIII Locust Grove S. in her most recent start this year at five. She has also earned four additional Grade I placings, including two half-length runner-up efforts to Malathaat in the 2022 GI Personal Ensign and to Clairiere in the 2023 GI Ogden Phipps.

“She has won sprinting and going around two turns, so she is a very versatile horse,” said Brown. “She's very consistent and efficient in the way she moves. She's also a pleasure to work with in the barn. She's got a great attitude and a laid-back mind. Anyone that has had the pleasure of having their hands on her has commented on what a classy, sweet mare she is.”

Search Results fights off GISW Obligatory (Curlin) to get the win in the 2021 Acorn S. | Sarah Andrew

“She never shunned competition,” added Ryan. “Half her starts were in Grade I races and she competed in all of them. It was pretty amazing because she never really got a lot of downtime. She never had a soundness issue. I bet when she walks in here to Fasig-Tipton, she'll have legs like a yearling.”

Selling as Hip 179, Search Results will be offered by ELiTE Sales on the Night of the Stars.

Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning said that the daughter of Flatter's pedigree is another bonus to her credentials as a broodmare prospect.

“Flatter was known to be a racehorse sire,” he explained. “They're hard-knocking and trying–those attributes that you look for and hope that they'll pass on to future generations. I think you've got a real opportunity with Search Results to combine the finest attributes of both Flatter and Candy Ride, along with an outstanding pedigree, race record and physical.”

“Search Results should attract buyers both domestically and internationally,” added Brown. “She's such a flawless physical specimen and her consistency and soundness, which is so important to try to pass on to our breed, is really hard to match with anything else you could find.

Brown reiterated just how much Search Results will be missed within his operation, but noted that her next chapter as a broodmare will make way for the next generation of Klaravich trainees.

“This is going to be a hard horse to let go of because she has been so special to us, but the Klarmans are so active in the sport and they're looking toward the next chapter with these young horses that we have,” he said. “Seth and Beth always want to do the right thing by the horses, from top-class mares like Search Results all the way to the horses that are still maidens. We're looking forward to hopefully developing the next Search Results.”

The post After The Breeders’ Cup, Search Results Bound for Fasig-Tipton appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Meanwhile, at Churchill Downs, the prep seasons officially open for 2-year-old colts and fillies, who are seeking to bank points for next May's 150th editions of the GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks.

There is much to get to with Belmont at the Big A, Pimlico and Hastings, all carding graded races as well.

Appleby Looks to Repeat in Woodbine Mile

Last year, trainer Charlie Appleby sent MGISW Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) to Toronto for the Woodbine Mile and the now-retired globetrotter with William Buick aboard brought home the prize en route to another win in the Breeders' Cup.

With a trip to the FanDuel GI Breeders' Cup Mile on the line, this time around the Godolphin conditioner ships in multiple-group winner Master of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was well-beaten last March on the World Cup undercard in the G1 Dubai Turf, but won the G2 Fred Cowley MBE Memorial Summer Mile S. by four lengths at Ascot July 15.

“He has natural pace and travels well,” said Charlie Appleby. “The E.P. Taylor is a nice conventional track which suits him. It is a fair track with a nice straight that gives you a chance.”

The 5-year-old morning-line favorite will face five others, including MGSW War Bomber (Ire) (War Front), whose stalking trip led to a key victory in the Aug. 19 running of the GII King Edward S. That race saw 'TDN Rising Star' and GI Maker's Mark Mile hero Shirl's Speight (Speightstown) run fourth, which was the 6-year-old's first attempt since finishing fourth in the G1 Dubai Turf.

Also scheduled, trainer Mark Casse has almost half of the field looking for a trip to the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf in the GI bet365 Summer S. Out of his entries, My Boy Prince (Cairo Prince) was certainly eye-catching when he won against restricted company by 14 lengths in the Simcoe S. over the Tapeta at Woodbine Aug. 27. The gray upstart will do battle with Catch a Glimpse S. victor Airosa (Uncle Mo), who is looking to take on the boys.

The fillies will get their chance for a trip to Santa Anita and the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf on Saturday in the GI Johnnie Walker Natalma S. Airosa could run in this spot, but it is an incredibly open race with Appleby's import Dazzling Star (GB) (Blue Point {Ire}) present and the Christophe Clement-trained Ozara (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), who broke her maiden by a neck Aug. 6 at Saratoga.

“We liked this horse from day one,” said Miguel Clement, son and assistant to the trainer. “She'd been working well on the grass, and we were actually quite confident in her. She's a gutsy little filly, with tactical speed and a turn of foot that makes her very dangerous.”

Switching to the Tapeta, Woodbine rounds out their graded races with the GIII Vigil S. Seven sprinters will try to derail the early speed of Patches O'Houlihan (Reload), who stepped up to win the GIII Bold Venture S. in Toronto Aug. 20.

The Roads Begins Where It Ends at Churchill

Less than nine months from now, the 150th GI Kentucky Derby and GI Kentucky Oaks will be crowned. The roads start at Churchill Downs on Saturday as points of 10-5-3-2-1 will be distributed to the top five finishers.

For the colts, the GIII Iroquois S. includes Winchell Thoroughbred's Risk It (Gun Runner), who sprinted home a winner at first asking Aug. 19 at Saratoga for trainer Steve Asmussen. The morning-line favorite will try to outrun WinStar and Siena Farm's Gettysburg Address (Constitution), who won in his first career race for trainer Brad Cox at Ellis Park Aug. 6.

As for the fillies, their race is no-less competitive as nine will be sent on their way in the GIII Pocahontas S. V V's Dream (Mitole) makes her return to the races after garnering 'TDN Rising Star' honors when she debuted for Kenny McPeek back in mid-May at Churchill Downs. The gray filly was second in her last effort to the undefeated GISW Brightwork (Outwork) at Ellis July 2 in the Debutante S. Facing her will be a number of contenders on the make, including SW Hot Beach (Omaha Beach), Empire Island (Classic Empire) and Peignoir (Mendelssohn).

Rounding out the first Saturday of racing at Churchill's September meet is the GIII Locust Grove S. Out of these older females, the two-turn test welcomes back GISW and MGSW Pauline's Pearl (Tapit). The Stonestreet homebred will once again do battle with the likes of MGSW Search Results (Flatter) and GISW A Mo Reay (Uncle Mo).

Grade III Tests at BAQ, Pimlico and Hastings

Swinging up to Aqueduct for the BAQ meet that just opened, we find the final leg of the Turf Triple Series for the fillies in the GIII Jockey Club Oaks Invitational.

Charlie Appleby will look to make his presence felt here too when he sends out Eternal Hope (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}). Last seen running third Aug. 20 at Deauville in the G2 Prix Alec Head S, she will match wits with Graham Motion trainee Speirling Beag (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), who was second by a nose at Laurel Park Aug. 13 in the Searching S.

Speaking of racing in Maryland, Pimlico's short September meet continues and featured on Saturday is the GIII Baltimore/Washington International Turf Cup S., which includes MSP Smokin' T (War Front), GSP Wolfie's Dynaghost (Ghostzapper) and SW King Vega (GB) (Lope de Vega {Ire}).

Wrapping up the graded day of racing, Hastings Racecourse will put on the GIII British Columbia Derby. Morning-line favorite SW Sunbird (Orb) will look to rebound after the bay gelding ran fifth in the GIII Canadian Derby.

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Always an important race that draws the top older dirt fillies and mares, the $500,000 Personal Ensign will once again have a strong lineup on Friday. Champion Nest (Curlin) and Clairiere (Curlin), who ran 1-2 in the GII Shuvee S. on July 23 are the obvious headliners. In addition to Secret Oath, the field could include Juddmonte's GII Delaware H. winner Idiomatic (Curlin). Three-time graded stakes winner Search Results (Flatter), the runner-up last year by a half-length to champion Malathaat (Curlin), was also nominated.

“This will be a Breeders' Cup prep.  That's what this is,” Lukas said. “This may be the best race of the year up here.”

The field will be without one standout, Rigney Racing's Played Hard (Into Mischief). Trainer Phillip Bauer said Friday that she will skip the Personal Ensign. The GI La Troienne S. winner spiked a fever in July that caused her to miss the Shuvee, had a breeze interrupted when a rider on another horse was unseated and is not quite ready to return to top-caliber competition.

Lukas, 87, is anxious to run Secret Oath in the Personal Ensign. She opened her 4-year-old season with three strong races. She beat Clairiere by 2 3/4 lengths in the GII Azeri S., but Clairiere reversed the finish by a neck in the GI Apple Blossom H. Played Hard edged Secret Oath by a neck in the La Troienne.

In her fourth outing of the season, Secret Oath was a well-beaten fifth of six behind Clairiere and Search Results in the GI Ogden Phipps S. on June 10 at Belmont Park. Lukas said the filly's owners, Stacy and Robert Mitchell, wanted to pass on the Shuvee and have her ready for the Personal Ensign, the GI Juddmonte Spinster S. on Oct. 8 at Keeneland and the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Santa Anita on Nov. 4.

Secret Oath, winner of the 2022 GI Kentucky Oaks, has been in Saratoga with Lukas throughout the meet and has breezed four times on the Oklahoma training track.

“She's doing everything right and working lights out,” he said. “But there's nothing like racing to keep them sharp.”

During the 76 days between starts, Lukas has made a point of giving her aggressive works. She turned in a bullet five furlongs in :59 flat (1/14) on Aug. 12 and will work again early Sunday morning. He was she was good, but laid back, so he is trying to tune her up.

“She has trained and put on weight and gotten a lot more relaxed mentally,” he said. “That kind of happens when you give them those long breaks. She's had an eight-week break, maybe even more, but she's really doing everything right. I'm hoping that she'll wake up.”

To that end, Lukas worked her five furlongs in 1:00.45 on Aug. 3, sent her out for a circuit of the track doing a two-minute lick on Aug. 7 and followed up with the bullet breeze. He will continue with that approach Sunday morning.

“I will let her work,” Lukas said. “They say, 'I just want a maintenance work.' I'll go :59, :58. That will be fine with me. I want a sharp one.”

Secret Oath was scheduled to be sold at auction last November, but Lukas encouraged the Mitchells to withdraw her and keep her in training this year. He argued that she could earn quite a lot of purse money and probably enhance her value. She has earned $576,350 this year, pushing her career total to $2,344,767 from 17 starts.

At Saratoga last summer, Nest easily handled Secret Oath in the GI Coaching Club American Oaks and the GI Alabama S., which sent her to the 3-year-old filly Eclipse Award. Lukas said that Secret Oath has improved in the last 12 months.

“She's stronger and bigger and she should run better,” he said. “Let me put it this way, I think this race will be good for her, really good, but the next one will be a lot better. I really feel like once she gets this one under her belt, she will be really tough in the Spinster.”

Bauer said he had to scuttle the plan to run Played Hard in the Shuvee and the Personal Ensign.

“We decided after a five-eighths drill the week before that we had really lost too much fitness with the time that she got sick,” he said. “We went back and forth on it, but basically landed on, if we're going to take on this type we better not have any reservations about it. We're just going to turn the page to the [Sept. 16 GIII] Locust Grove, which she won last year at Churchill. She's probably a work away from the Personal Ensign, which we may have achieved if the first work off the time off would have gone to plan. Everything kind of blew up on us for both of the races up here.”

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Stonestreet Stable's Clairiere has won consecutive Grade Is to climb to the top of the older dirt filly division. Nest, last year's 3-year-old filly champ co-owned by Repole Stable, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House, will make her first start of 2023. Meanwhile, Played Hard, trained by Phillip Bauer for Rigney Racing, has been building a solid resume. She gave her connections their first Grade I victory in the La Troienne on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs and has finished in the top three in her last 10 starts, six of them graded stakes.

Bauer said that Played Hard has established herself as a very capable and consistent runner while accumulating $1,480140 in purse earnings.

“I think she needs to be recognized as part of the equation this year in that division. However, it's, a tough division,” he said. “I'm sure with the years that they've had, Clairiere currently, and Nest last year, they deserve some respect and obviously some recognition.

But we're excited the way our filly is training and we've kind of mapped out a plan. So we just kind of put our blinkers on and whoever is in it, go to battle with them and see where we stack up at the end of the year.  The main goal is the Breeders' Cup. How we get there is probably going to be different than some of the others, but the Shuvee is the first step.”

Played Hard | Mike Kane

With both trainer and owners from Louisville, the 38-year-old Bauer has trained for Richard and Tammy Rigney since 2013. The Rigneys topped the owner's table at the 2022 Churchill Downs Spring Meet and had a spectacular Saratoga season, winning six of 13 starts. Played Hard delivered one of the Saratoga victories and has been in graded company since, finishing first in three of five starts. In the oh-so-important La Troienne victory she held off Secret Oath (Arrogate) by a neck.

“To me, she showed maturity,” Bauer said. “She's really figured the game out. Early on, it almost looked like she wanted to get rank in her races and stuff like that. She still likes to show pace, but it's some maturity, that I think has helped her and then, obviously, just the desire to win.”

Bauer smiled at the suggestion that the sixth win of her 16-race career was something of a coming out party.

“I would have to think so,” he said.  “She showed up and danced her dance.”

In her next start, Played Hard ran third to Clairiere and Search Results (Flatter) in the GI Ogden Phipps on June 10. With hindsight, Bauer said he regrets the decision to leave Louisville with the questions swirling about safety issues at Churchill Downs and ship the 5-year-old mare to New York.

“I think maybe a little trainer error on my part going up to the Ogden Phipps,” he said.  “We changed gears with everything that went on at Churchill. I don't necessarily think that it was the filly, I think it was more so a mistake that I made.

“We originally were targeting the (GII, July 1) Fleur de Lis, so we kind of changed course. Obviously, the Grade I was appealing, too. The fact we had one if you could get two you really enhanced your odds of winning an Eclipse Award.

Played Hard was forwardly placed by John Velazquez, but finished three lengths behind Clairiere in the one-turn Phipps at Belmont Park.

“We told ourselves, we're not going to regret our decisions,” Bauer said. “She still got third in a Grade I. As far as a page for her when she becomes a broodmare, it doesn't hurt.”

Played Hard has breezed three times since the Ogden Phipps, including a bullet five furlongs on July 7 at Churchill Downs. She worked a half-mile at Saratoga on Saturday.

Played Hard and Phil Bauer last summer at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

“It'll be interesting to see who else goes in there, how the race sets up,” Bauer said. “I anticipate us being part of the mix early. If nobody else is in there maybe it will aid our chances. She loves it up here. She's won a couple of races and we're excited to be back and try again.”

Bauer and the Rigneys have been racing at Saratoga since 2016. They had a productive summer in 2021 with a 3-5-2 record from 21 starts. Last year, they had a remarkable run.

“We were very fortunate,” Bauer said. “It seemed like every time you opened the condition book, there was a race exactly where you wanted it all the way from maiden claimings to two-other-thans. Everything just fit like a glove. We didn't miss a beat and I think that was part of the reason for some of the success.”

Bauer said he and his owners understand what they have known all along, that it's tough to win at Saratoga.

“We're kind of making sure we realize that coming into this meet,” he said. “You don't come up here expecting to win that many.  We want to come up, be competitive and leave here proud of what our horses have accomplished, whether it's wins or not.

You want to lead them over there to run their best race. And if they do it up here, sometimes it's not good enough.”

Bauer brought 14 Rigney horses to Saratoga this year, a couple more than in past seasons. Played Hard is the star of the stable and in the Shuvee faces the tough task of facing Clairiere and Nest, two horses Bauer admires.

“Just phenomenal horses that if you ever run across those kind you're lucky to have,” he said. “Played Hard is the best horse I've ever hung a bridle on. It's exciting to be in the mix. That's what we all strive for in this game, to reach that level and have horses like that. I'm obviously a fan of what those fillies and mares have done and at the same time, hope to beat them.”

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Clairiere joins Take D' Tour (2006-07), Sightseek (2003-04) and Heatherten (1984-85) as back-to-back winners of the prestigious 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff.

“I'm unbelievably proud of her,” said winning trainer Steve Asmussen after registering his fourth Phipps victory in five years. “What a special mare. For her to continue to win races on this level is just incredible. She's always been top class and if anything, she's better than she's ever been. To continue winning is the goal with her, but we know where we're aimed at with the Breeders' Cup [Distaff on Nov. 4 at Santa Anita] as her year-end target.”

Favored at 8-5, Clairiere was content to caboose the field of six as hopeless longshot Gamestonks (Blofeld) showed the way with last-out GI La Troienne S. winner Played Hard and 2-1 second-choice Search Results, third in this race last year, in hot pursuit through very easy early fractions of :24.32 and :48.63 in the 1 1/16-mile affair.

With Gamestonks dropping back sharply, Joel Rosario began to get busy aboard Clairiere approaching the quarter pole as the 2021 GI Acorn S. winner and unlucky GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up Search Results loomed boldly alongside Played Hard.

Search Results looked like a winner close to home, but Clairiere was just getting warmed up. The 5-year-old was produced down the center by Rosario and got there for a well-timed fourth career victory at the top level.

“I was very confident,” Rosario said. “However, you never know. It looked like a second a horse got away from me, but she [Clairiere] was able to put it all together and come with the run that she always does to get it done. She's very special. She really goes out there and does her job. Not many come that way.”

Clairiere's stacked resume also includes wins in the 2021 GI Cotillion S. and the GI Apple Blossom H. last time out Apr. 15. She was unlucky in both of her prior attempts at the Championships, finishing a close fourth after an impossibly wide trip in the 2021 renewal, and was third, beaten just a head, in Lexington last fall.

Pedigree Notes:

Clairiere, the second graded winner on the GI Belmont S. program following champion Elite Power's heroics in the GII True North S., is one of 20 Grade I winners for leading sire Curlin. Broodmare sire Bernardini is responsible for 15 Grade I winners. The Curlin over Bernardini cross is also responsible for GISW Paris Lights.

Clairiere is the first foal out of three-time GISW Cavorting, who won this same race in 2016. She was purchased as a weanling by Stonestreet for $360,000 at the 2012 Keeneland November sale.

Cavorting's next foal is stakes winner La Crete (Medaglia d'Oro). She has an unraced 3-year-old colt by Curlin named Judge Miller ($550,000 KEESEP purchase by Muir Hut Stables) and, without foals in 2021 and 2022, she produced a colt by Curlin this year.

“I am very proud, and, of course her mother [Cavorting] won this race, too,” Barbara Banke of Stonestreet Stables said. “It's been a family tradition. She does have a late kick and Joel [Rosario] left it just enough to give me a slight coronary condition, but she made it through. We're trying [to win an Eclipse Award]. We were close last year, really close. But maybe this year we'll do it.”

Saturday, Belmont
OGDEN PHIPPS S.-GI, $500,000, Belmont, 6-10, 4yo/up, f/m, 1 1/16m, 1:43.40, ft.
1–CLAIRIERE, 124, m, 5, by Curlin
               1st Dam: Cavorting (MGISW, $2,063,000), by Bernardini
               2nd Dam: Promenade Girl, by Carson City
               3rd Dam: Promenade Colony, by Pleasant Colony
O-Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred
Holdings LLC (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Joel Rosario.
$275,000. Lifetime Record: 19-8-5-3, $3,106,392. *1/2 to La
Crete (Medaglia d'Oro), SW, $159,460.
Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple Plus*
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or
the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Search Results, 122, m, 5, by Flatter
               1st Dam: Co Cola (GSP), by Candy Ride (Arg)
               2nd Dam: Yong Musician, by Yonaguska 
               3rd Dam: Alljazz, by Stop the Music
($310,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Klaravich Stables, Inc.;
B-Machmer Hall (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $100,000.
3–Played Hard, 124, m, 5, by Into Mischief
               1st Dam: Well Lived, by Tiznow
               2nd Dam: Well Dressed, by Notebook
               3rd Dam: Trithenia, by Gold Meridian
($280,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP). O-Rigney Racing, LLC; B-Susan
Casner (KY); T-Philip A. Bauer. $60,000.
Margins: HF, 2HF, 3 1/4. Odds: 1.75, 2.25, 4.50.
Also Ran: Pass the Champagne, Secret Oath, Gamestonks.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Flightline entered the main track via the quarter-mile chute with John Sadler assistant Juan Leyva aboard just prior to 6:35 a.m. Accompanied by a stable pony, he galloped under the wire and around the clubhouse turn and was set down approaching the five-furlong pole.

From there, he clicked off splits of :23.60, :35.40, :47.80 and :59.40 en route to the seven-furlong pole, where he stopped the clock for six furlongs in 1:11.80. Clocker Gary Young had the 'TDN Rising Star' galloping out seven furlongs in 1:24.80 and one mile in 1:38.60.

Work of the Day from @santaanitapark—Flightline worked 6 Furlongs in 1:11.80 on October 15th, 2022, for trainer @sadlerracing. @westpointtbred @Hronis_Racing @1stbet pic.twitter.com/jB8y7M7GZz

— XBTV (@WatchXBTV) October 15, 2022

“Perfect,” said Sadler, who noted that Flightline will have his final Santa Anita work next Saturday, Oct. 22. “It was another routine work from him. He always works the same and we're not looking to do anything different from what we've been doing. As you saw, he went six [furlongs] in :12, out [seven-eighths] in :24 and a mile in :38 and three. Just a nice steady work pattern.”

He continued, “All's good. That's him, that's the way he works. He'll have one more here and then he goes to Keeneland after his next work. He'll have one work over there.”

Flightline is expected to ship to Lexington a week from Sunday, Oct. 23.

Among the many Breeders' Cup hopefuls who stretched their legs at Keeneland Saturday were:

• Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow), last seen taking a controversial renewal of the GII Lukas Classic S. at Churchill Oct. 1, had his first work back at Keeneland Saturday morning as he points for the Breeders' Cup Classic. The Doug O'Neill pupil was clocked in :49.40 (47/80) under Tyler Gaffalione, who was reunited with the $5.5-million earner last out for the first time since they finished second together in the 2020 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile at 94-1 over the same strip. “It was a good, relaxed work,” Gaffalione said. “He went well within himself. I'm very happy right now. He's in a great mindset.” The leading Kentucky-based rider added, “He's grown up a lot [since the Juvenile]. He's much bigger, much more powerful and much more mature. Right now, it seems like he's the complete package.”

• Rich Strike (Keen Ice), the GI Kentucky Derby upsetter who came up a head short of Hot Rod Charlie in the Lukas despite leaning on his rival, also got back to work Saturday. The chestnut, who could go in the Classic or wait for the Nov. 25 GI Clark S. at his favorite track, Churchill Downs, covered a half-mile in Lexington Saturday in :47.60 (4/80) first thing in the morning. He galloped out five panels in 1:00 flat. “I didn't think that I'd get nervous for only a maintenance work,” trainer Eric Reed admitted. “I was hoping for :48 or :49, but he was doing it so easy and as long as he wasn't fighting him, I was good with that. He handled the track well and whatever decision we make, he'll be ready to run.” Of what will go into that next race call, Reed said, “The decision would be easier if the Breeders' Cup was at Churchill Downs and there wasn't a Flightline. And it is not only Flightline, but there is Life Is Good (Into Mischief) and Olympiad (Speightstown) and Epicenter (Not This Time).”
• Leading conditioner Chad Brown sent out a number of Breeders' Cup-bound workers at Keeneland Saturday, including 'Rising Star' Jack Christopher (Munnings, GI Sprint or GI Dirt Mile, 1:00 {1/67}); Search Results (Flatter, GI Distaff, 1:00.60 {5/67}); Goodnight Olive (Ghostzapper, GI F/M Sprint, 1:00.60 {5/67}); and Blazing Sevens (Good Magic, GI Juvenile, :48.60, {21/80}). Jack Christopher's work came in company with fellow stakes-winning sophomore Artorius (Arrogate), who is expected to contest next Saturday's Perryville S. Last-out GI Champagne S. hero Blazing Sevens worked in company with GII Pilgrim S. runner-up and fellow 'Rising Star' I'm Very Busy (Cloud Computing), who is pointing for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. “Everything was smooth this morning,” Brown said. “All of the horses have settled in nicely.”

• Unbeaten Iowa-bred Tyler's Tribe (Sharp Azteca) tested out turf for the first time on Saturday, working three furlongs on the Keeneland lawn in :39.80 (1/1) ahead of a likely start in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The dark bay gelding has won his five starts, all at Prairie Meadows, by almost 60 lengths combined. Tyler Tribe's regular rider Kylee Jordan, who lost her bug earlier this season, was aboard for the work. “Kylee was comfortable with him out there,” trainer Tim Martin said. “I was a little concerned when he bobbled a bit, but he was trying to jump the cones [on the course that were set up near the outer rail]. Maybe he has a future as a jumper.” Martin said he was not at all concerned about the slow time: “He always works in :38 or :39. If he gets with another horse, he'll work a bullet. I know he is a fast horse and I know he can run.”

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“She's doing well. She's freshened up well down at Payson,” trainer Chad Brown said. “This is a good spot and we know that she likes Aqueduct.”

The in-form Glass Ceiling (Constitution), claimed by trainer Charlton Baker for $40,000 last May, enters riding a three-race winning streak, led by Laurel's GIII Barbara Fritchie S. Feb. 19.

Last year's GII Mother Goose S. and GIII Forward Gal S. winner Zaajel (Street Sense) makes her first start since finishing fifth in the GII Beldame S. Oct. 10.

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