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Taylor Made Purchases Another Standardbred Stallion

Taylor Made Stallions has purchased the trotting stallion Pastor Stephen (Cantab Hall) and will stand the horse next year in Indiana, it was announced Tuesday.

The purchase marks the second time since 2018 that Taylor Made has made an investment in harness racing. In 2018, the Taylor operation was part of a deal to import New Zealand champion Lazarus. A pacer, he won two of six starts in the U.S. in 2018 and now stands at stud at Deo Volente Farms in New Jersey.

In its early days, Taylor Made was heavily invested in Standarbreds and its president, Duncan Taylor, has said the recent investments in Standarbreds has been a way to help return the operation to its family’s roots.

Pastor Stephen was the champion 2-year-old trotting colt in 2010 when winning six of 11 starts and earning $653,748. He went four for 11 during his 3-year-old campaign before retiring due to an injury. He was later sent to Sweden to stand at stud.

According to the press release announcing Pastor Stephen’s purchase, he was bought for an undisclosed sum.

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Breeders’ Cup Offers Preakness ‘Spin and Win’

The Breeders’ Cup announced the $5k Preakness Spin to Win contest, which highlights the GI Preakness S, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course. The grand prize is $5,000, while five additional winners will receive $250 gift cards which can redeemed at the Breeders’ Cup Shop.

For more information on the $5K Preakness Spin to Win, which continues through 6:45 p.m. ET Oct. 3, visit www.breedersCup.com/Preakness. Winners must be legal residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec) and be at least 18 years of age at the time of entry.

“Now that the Preakness Stakes has become a part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” Series, the anticipation and stakes are higher than ever before as fans wait to see which horse will win and go on to compete in the $6-million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 7,” said Justin McDonald, Breeders’ Cup Senior Vice President of Marketing. “The Preakness presents the perfect opportunity to engage the horse racing community during one of the sport’s biggest days and we’re hopeful that this contest will drive additional awareness and viewership surrounding the race as well.”

To participate, players spin the digital wheel and will be assigned a Preakness runner at random. Six winners will be selected from the pool of entrants who were assigned the winning horse of the Preakness.

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Second Chances: Speaker’s Corner

In this continuing series, TDN’s Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar.

How much buzz was there ahead of Speaker’s Corner (c, 2, Street Sense-Tyburn Brook, by Bernardini)’s debut run on closing day at Saratoga?

Considering patient Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott’s two-for-48 record with debuting juvenile runners sprinting in dirt maiden special weights at the Spa the past five seasons (stat courtesy DRF Formulator), the Godolphin homebred was nonetheless hammered down as the 3-5 favorite facing eight rivals on the GI Runhappy Hopeful S. undercard.

The bay’s flashy worktab included a five-furlong move from the gate in :59 4/5 (3/20) Aug. 24 and a four-furlong bullet in :46 (1/109) Aug. 31, respectively.

Not off to the sharpest of beginnings from post two, Speaker’s Corner raced on the inside in some traffic and was urged along by Junior Alvarado in seventh through an opening quarter in :22.39.

Still with plenty to do approaching the quarter pole, he was tipped out off the turn for home and finished with interest down the lane to just grab third, beaten 6 3/4 lengths by good-looking second-time starter Team Merchants (Nyquist).

Speaker’s Corner earned a 59 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort.

Speaker’s Corner was produced by an unraced daughter of GI Breeders’ Cup Distaff heroine Round Pond (Awesome Again), a $5.75-million acquisition by Sheikh Mohammed’s operation at the 2007 Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

This same Street Sense over Bernardini cross is also responsible for Godolphin’s unbeaten GISW Maxfield and recent GIII Oklahoma Derby winner Shared Sense.

“As with most first-time starters, he was quite green,” Godolphin President Jimmy Bell said. “Hopefully, he got some needed racing experience and we look forward to seeing him stretch out in the not-too-distant future. He’s shown above average ability throughout most of his works. Time will tell.”

Speaker’s Corner has returned to the worktab since his unveiling with a pair of moves over the Oklahoma training track, including a five-furlong breeze in 1:02.89 (7/9) Sept. 25.

Previous standouts featured in ‘Second Chances’ include: GI Runhappy Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (Honor Code), Skidmore S. winner and Royal Ascot G2 Norfolk S. runner-up Golden Pal (Uncle Mo), MGISW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Paradise Woods (Union Rags), GSW Backyard Heaven (Tizway), MSW and ‘TDN Rising Star’ Gidu (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), MGISP Spielberg (Union Rags), GII Fasig-Tipton Fountain of Youth S. runner-up Candy Tycoon (Twirling Candy); and Del Mar Juvenile Turf S. third Ambivalent (Constitution).

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Fall Steeplechase Schedule, Starting Oct. 4, to Be Livestreamed

The National Steeplechase Association (NSA) announced Tuesday that the fall season’s first sanctioned race meet, The Foxfield Fall Races, will take place Sunday, Oct. 4 in Charlottesville, VA. While the races will run without spectators and under strict health and safety protocols, the NSA will livestream the races, feature commentary from the industry’s experts and strong competition by steeplechasing’s top horsemen.

In making the announcement, NSA President Al Griffin said, “This year has provided plenty of challenges for our sport, yet we continue to persevere. Despite the onerous regulations and protocols, we were able to run all of our races at Saratoga for the first time in a long while. We are in the process of indoctrinating a great group of young jockeys to American Steeplechasing this fall. Everyone is stepping up and making the most of our limited opportunities. Our fall live streaming opportunity is due to the generosity of our sponsors: Brown Advisory, Charleston Post and Courier Newspaper, Bruton Street (Charlie Fenwick, Charlie Noell, Mike Hankin) and The Virginia Equine Alliance. This unprecedented support will allow us all to view steeplechasing at a time when spectators are not allowed at the race meets.”

Steeplechasing enthusiasts are encouraged to livestream here at 12:30 p.m. EST. The races offer opportunities for a broad swath of the steeplechase community’s horses in training.

The Foxfield Fall Races will feature seven races with the sport’s prominent owner/trainer/jockey teams in the field. Although the races will be run without spectators, NSA owners and other essential horsemen and officials will be allowed on the property.

For more information about the National Steeplechase Association and the fall schedule, click here.

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