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Sire Of Sires, WinStar Farm’s Champion Speightstown Euthanized

Speightstown (Gone West–Silken Cat, by Storm Cat), Eclipse Champion Sprinter in 2004 and among the leading sires of the past 15 years, had to be euthanized Friday, Dec. 8, due to foot issues from old age, WinStar Farm announced in a press release Friday. Speightstown, a Taylor Made/WinStar stallion, was 25 years old.

“Speightstown was a foundational sire for WinStar and helped stamp our legacy as a sire-making farm,” said Elliott Walden, president, CEO, and racing manager of WinStar Farm. “I want to thank Larry McGinnis and his team for all the love and care they gave “Speighty” as he was lovingly called. They helped him through three colic surgeries, and he had none in the last 13 years. His progeny ran on dirt, turf, six furlongs to 1 1/4 miles, and they always showed their grit. Like with any family member, he will be truly missed. We are fortunate to have his son Nashville in the shedrow, and we look forward to seeing Speightsown's legacy continue through him, and as a broodmare sire.”

WinStar's longtime Stallion Manager Larry McGinnis said, “We've been through a lot together in the last 19 years. We'll miss our friend.”

Bred in Kentucky by Aaron and Marie Jones, Speightstown first made headlines as a yearling when he sold for $2 million to Eugene Melnyk at the 1999 Keeneland July sale. In that era of heady prices, he was the co-fourth highest price of the exclusive sale with the first- and second-leading prices also for yearlings by Gone West.

In addition to being by Gone West, a Grade I winner who was among the leading sire sons of Mr. Prospector, Speightstown was out of Canadian champion 2-year-old filly Silken Cat. The now-deceased mare produced Speightstown as her first foal and 2017 GII Toyota Blue Grass S. winner (and MGISP) Irap (Tiznow) as her last foal. She is also the granddam of two additional graded winners. Silken Cat's fifth dam was the Meadow Stud blue hen Hildene, whose five stakes-winning foals included Hall of Famer Hill Prince and additional champion First Landing.

Niggling injuries kept Speightstown from immediately showing his best on the track. He made only one start at two, finishing 13th and last in a Saratoga maiden special weight. On the bench for five months, he broke his maiden at Gulfstream in his sophomore debut by 6 3/4 lengths and eventually took three straight allowances before closing his season with a second in the GII Amsterdam S. Again benched, this time for 21 months with a knee injury, he completely missed a 4-year-old campaign and reappeared for just two starts at five that yielded a Belmont allowance win and a runner-up finish in the Jaipur H. before another 10 months on the sidelines.

Speightstown | Lee Thomas

It was at the age of six that Speightstown shone. Running in the Melnyk colors under the tutelage of seven-time Eclipse champion trainer Todd Pletcher, he started his campaign with his first black-type victory in the Artax H., then went on a three consecutive Grade II-win tear: the Churchill Downs H., the True North Breeders' Cup H., and the Alfred G. Vanderbilt H. He equaled the six-furlong track record of 1:08 at Saratoga in the Vanderbilt. A third in the GI Vosburgh S. snapped Speightstown's four-race win streak, but he came roaring back to win the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, held that year at Lone Star Park. Voted Eclipse champion sprinter, Speightstown retired with a record of 16-10-2-2 and earnings of $1,258,256, but the best was yet to come.

Retired to WinStar for a stallion venture partnership that included Taylor Made Farm, Speightstown initially stood for $40,000 and was part of a remarkable group of horses that stood their first seasons in 2005, including Tapit, Medaglia d'Oro, and Candy Ride (Arg). All four stallions are regularly among the top 10 leading sires in North America and all stand or have stood for six-figure fees.

To date from 16 crops of racing age, Speightstown has sired 138 black-type winners (9% from starters) and the earners of over $155 million. Among his 65 graded winners are 26 Grade I winners, including Breeders' Cup winners Tamarkuz and Sharing; Travers winner Golden Ticket; Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Haynesfield; distaffer Dance to Bristol; turfers Force the Pass, Seek Again, Competitionofideas and three-time Sovereign Award winner Lady Speightspeare; and sprinters Reynaldothewizard, Jersey Town, Rock Fall, Poseidon's Warrior and dual Sovereign Award-winning sprinter Essence Hit Man.

“Speightstown's rise reminds me of Distorted Humor,” said WinStar president and CEO Elliott Walden in 2013, “that rare ability to sire Grade I quality at all distances and all surfaces with top fillies and colts.”

Although Speightstown never won beyond seven furlongs and raced exclusively on the dirt, a hallmark of his progeny has been versatility, with graded winners both short and long and on both dirt and turf. In addition, despite Speightstown taking several years to mature into a stakes winner himself, he has had his share of black-type winners both as young horses and as older runners. Speightstown's 2020 was a banner year featuring four individual Grade I winners: Echo Town and Charlatan in the U.S., Lady Speightspeare in Canada, and Mozu Superflare in Japan. In 2023, Speightstown has been represented by 106 winners including GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity victor Prince of Monaco.

In recent years, Speightstown has also made a mark as a burgeoning sire of sires. His son Munnings closed out 2022 among the top 10 leading sires in the U.S. by earnings, finishing just one spot ahead of Speightstown himself, and is currently among the top five leading sires in the U.S. by earnings through 2023. In addition, Central Banker is among the leading sires in New York and Jersey Town sired a Grade I winner in his first crop. Speightstown is well-represented by sons at stud led by new additions Olympiad and Nasvhille along with Charlatan and Lexitonian.

Speightstown is also starting to make an impact as a broodmare sire, as his daughters have produced 62 stakes winners–24 graded–to date, including Grade I winners Aloha West (Hard Spun), Mia Mischief (Into Mischief) and Vekoma (Candy Ride {Arg}), as well as the late Laoban (Uncle Mo).

Speightstown was slated to stand in 2024 for $80,000 LFSN at the time of his death.

We're saddened to hear about the passing of Speightstown this morning at age 25.

The winner of the 2004 Breeders Cup Sprint at Lone Star Park definitely gave us a memory we will never forget. pic.twitter.com/7GBoeKZ83f

— Lone Star Park (@lonestarpark) December 8, 2023

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Sparkle Blue Claims First Graded-Stakes Victory in Keeneland’s Valley View

Sparkle Blue proved she was aptly named when she kicked home from the nine post to brilliantly take the GIII Rubicon Valley View S. in her first career graded victory ahead of a blanket charge for the minors.

After capping her 2021 season a distant 10th in the GIII Jimmy Durante S. Nov. 27 at Del Mar, her connections gave her some time away and brought their filly back July 2 in Delaware's Christiana S. sporting first-time blinkers. Gamely overcoming contact in the stretch, she held on to win by a half-length at 15-1 over a field which included dominating next-out winner Gizala (Ire) (Invincible Spirit). Resurfacing last out Sept. 6 in Colonial's Woodford Reserve Virginia Oaks with first-time Lasix, she again fought through contact in the stretch to pick up second over familiar face Lady Puchi (Into Mischief) and SP Omixochitl (More Than Ready) at 30-1 odds.

Tracking from third on the fence after the jump here without the diuretic, Sparkle Blue pursued a clearing leader into the upper stretch after :23.02 and :47.77 splits to launch her winning bid outside of that rival at the furlong marker. Sustaining her kick and inching clear to a 2 1/2-length margin, she was comfortably clear of a hard-charging California Angel and Turnerloose, who chased her in to close out the trifecta.

“[Trainer] Graham [Motion] told me to let her be happy, let her be comfortable. She showed a little bit of speed going into the first turn and she was really happy there. She did great and we had a good trip,” said Joel Rosario after the race. “It looked like to the inside there the horse in front was coming in a little bit. I was trying to work it out to get her clear outside, and she did, and after that she just went on. It was perfect.”

Pedigree Note:

Sparkle Blue hails from the sought-after line of Silk n' Sapphire, making her a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf heroine Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect), who would later accomplish the rare feat of producing a Breeders' Cup winner herself when daughter Sharing (Speightstown) planted her flag in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf in 2020. She would later travel to Royal Ascot in the second start of her 3-year-old season, and finish a game second in the G1 Coronation S.

In addition to the mother-daughter pair, Sparkle Blue also claims GSW & MGSP Colonial Flag (Pleasant Tap). The mare has had a bit more hard luck than their famous shared sister with only two of her first four foals being registered. Of those two, the winning Demimondaine (Tapit) sold for $900,000 at KEENOV in 2020 to Claiborne Farm. Her yearling colt by Speightstown brought $450,000 last month at KEESEP from White Birch Farm and Whitehorse Stables.

Half-sister Secret Jewel (Bernardini)–a $1.2 million KEESEP purchase by Besilu Stables–also flies the female line's flag as the dam of GIII Beaumont S. winner Twenty Carat (Into Mischief) and her four-time winning, older full-sibling Mystic Night. Mark of Success (Mt. Livermore), his dam's lone graded stakes-placed male, found the enclosure on four occasions and ran second in the GIII Risen Star S. Sparkle Blue is the last registered foal for Silk n' Sapphire.

Friday, Keeneland
RUBICON VALLEY VIEW S.-GIII, $298,594, Keeneland, 10-28, 3yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 1:42.42, gd.
1–SPARKLE BLUE, 118, f, 3, by Hard Spun
1st Dam: Silk n' Sapphire, by Smart Strike
2nd Dam: Golden Tiy, by Dixieland Band
3rd Dam: Tiy, by Nalees Man
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Catherine Parke and Augustin Stable; B-Catherine Parke (KY); T-H. Graham Motion; J-Joel Rosario. $174,375. Lifetime Record: 7-4-1-0, $357,075. *1/2 to Mark of Success (Mt. Livermore), GSP, $153,388; 1/2 to Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect), GISW, $1,649,427; 1/2 to Colonial Flag (Pleasant Tap), GSW-Can, SW & MGSP-USA, $312,463. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–California Angel, 118, f, 3, California Chrome–Sea Mona, by Tiz Wonderful. ($5,000 Wlg '19 KEENOV; $5,500 2yo '21 OBSOPN). O-Chris Walsh; B-Irish National Stud (KY); T-George Leonard, III. $56,250.
3–Turnerloose, 118, f, 3, Nyquist–Goaltending, by A.P. Indy. ($32,000 RNA Wlg '19 KEENOV; $50,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Ike and Dawn Thrash; B-William Humphries & Altair Farms LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $28,125.
Margins: 2HF, NK, HD. Odds: 4.51, 3.39, 6.64.
Also Ran: Bubble Rock, Majestic Glory (GB), Lady Puchi, Bicameral, My Philly Twirl, Sunroof, Heavenly Hellos. Scratched: Diamond Wow, Dolce Zel (Fr), Frippet, Oakhurst.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPshttp://www.equineline.com/tdn/pedigree.cfm?tk=SAR&cy=USA&rd=09/07/2015&rn=9&de=D &ref=9104432. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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August 6 Insights: Justify Half-Brother to Commissioner Debuts

5th-DMR, $80k, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 7:04p.m. ET
Hronis Racing LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing LLC have partnered up to unveil the latest blue-blooded colt by Justify, this one named HAWKER. Shelling out a cool $675,000 for him at KEESEP, his pedigree warrants the implied expectations: out of GSP Flaming Heart (Touch Gold), it makes Hawker a half to GISP & MGSW Commissioner (A.P. Indy), GISP & GSW Laugh Track (Distorted Humor), and to the dam of MGISW Vino Rosso (Curlin). All three of the colt's closest female line dams have black-type victories to their name as well as being producers of black-type earners. John Sadler sends him to post here. To Hawker's inside, and only slightly less expensive, is the Bob Baffert-trained Carmel Road (Quality Road). Out of a stakes-winner of over $435,000 in lifetime earnings, the colt is a half to stakes-placed Night Time Lady (Midnight Lute). The second dam, a full-sister to GIII Jaipur H. winner Multiple Choice (Mt. Livermore), produced GSP Silver City (Unbridled's Song) and Elope (Gone West). He brought $650,000 as a KEESEP yearling from 'The Avengers' partnership group. Dr. Soulfire (West Coast) will be the $300,000 EASMAY (:10 flat) flag bearer in this race for his freshman sire. TJCIS PPs

6th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 3:24 p.m. EDT
Continuing the parade of glamorous juvenile debuts at the Spa, Godolphin will send out homebred WADSWORTH (Quality Road), the first colt to the races for GI Coolmore Jenny Wiley S. victress Dickinson (Medaglia d'Oro). Second dam Little Belle (A.P. Indy) won the GI Ashland S. before going on to a runner-up performance in the GI Kentucky Oaks and Coaching Club American Oaks. That one is the full-sister to the granddam of Munnyfor Ro (Munnings), Canadian champion 3-year-old filly of 2021. The partnership of Repole Stable and St Elias Stable will send out a one-two punch in coupled entries Crupi (Curlin) and Point Proven (Gun Runner) for Todd Pletcher. The latter was a $675,000 KEESEP buy, and the half-brother to GIII Beaumont S. winner Twenty Carat (Into Mischief) hails from the female family of Breeders' Cup winning mother-daughter duo Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect) and 'TDN Rising Star' Sharing (Speightstown) through the second dam. Crupi ($275,000 KEESEP) claims half-relation Royal Spirit (Into Mischief), recently placed in the GIII Kitten's Joy, and second dam Caroni (Rubiano) produced GSW Mo Tom (Uncle Mo), MGISP Beautician (Dehere), and MGSW Red Ruby (Tiznow). TJCIS PPs

1st-SAR, $105k, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 12:35p.m. ET
Calumet Farm unveils TRACK MATE (Union Rags) over the long grass contest here, the son of MGISP Teammate (A.P. Indy) going to post for D Wayne Lukas. The dam is a half to top sire War Front (Danzig) as well as two-time GIII Jaipur S. winner Ecclesiastic (Pulpit); MGSP Riviera Cocktail (Giant's Causeway); GSW North Dakota (Medaglia d'Oro); and GSP Jay Gatsby (Giant's Causeway). Track Mate has sibling shadows to outrun as the half to SW Team of Teams (Elusive Quality), MGSP Team Colors (Street Cry {Ire}), and SP Seven Away (Oxbow). Another well-pedigreed homebred in Red Route One (Gun Runner) goes to post here as well, this one for Winchell Thoroughbreds. The second to the races behind stakes-winning full-brother Red Run, the colt's second dam is Broodmare of the Year Fun House (Prized), who produced champion 3-year-old filly and GI Kentucky Oaks heroine Untapable (Tapit); millionaire GISW Paddy O'Prado; and the dam of GSW Majestic Eagle (Medaglia d'Oro). Freshman sire City of Light will be represented by $500,000 FTSAUG grad Battle of Normandy for West Point and Woodford Racing. TJCIS PPs

3rd-ELP, $60k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 2:46p.m. ET
Three well-regarded colts will line up next to each other in the gate here, led by SUNDANCE (Quality Road), an $800,000 KEESEP procurement for WinStar, Siena Farm, and Gainesway Stable. Out of 'TDN Rising Star' Cherry Lodge (Bernardini), half-sister to GISW Stormello (Stormy Atlantic) and his full-brother GSW My Best Brother, the dam's full-sibling Gala Award annexed the GIII Palm Beach S. while half-sister Atlantic Voyage (Stormy Atlantic) produced Canadian champion 2 & 3-year-old filly Curlin's Voyage (Curlin). Sundance will be his dam's first to make it to the races and is in Rodolphe Brisset's tutelage. Quality Road's other pricey juvenile in here is Brad Cox's Jace's Road, a $510,000 KEESEP buy for the West Point and Albaugh Family Stables partnership. Splitting those two is another debuting Godolphin homebred in Face Value (Medaglia d'Oro). He's out of Face It (Tapit), who is a half-sister to MGISW It's Tricky (Mineshaft), herself dam of MGSW Enticed (Medaglia d'Oro). That mare also produced GSP Enliven (Ghostzapper). Face Value goes to post for Brendan Walsh. TJCIS PPs

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Knicks Go Named 2020 Maryland-Bred Horse Of The Year

The fourth annual Renaissance Awards, a collaborative effort between the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association and Maryland Jockey Club, which recognizes excellence in Thoroughbred racing and breeding in Maryland in the past year, went virtual this year.

Throughout the week of Feb. 22, awards were presented through the MHBA's social media accounts to the top Maryland owner, trainer, jockey, breeder, broodmare and stallion, Backstretch Workers of the Year, one for Pimlico Race Course and one for Laurel Park, MTHA's Unsung Hero, as well as the champion Maryland-breds of 2020.

Record-breaking Grade 1 winner Knicks Go took home top honors as Maryland-bred Horse of the Year and champion older male.

Owned by Korea Racing Authority and trained by Brad H. Cox, Knicks Go capped off an impressive year by breaking the track record at Keeneland with his victory in the $1-million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, notching his second Grade 1 victory by 3 1/2 lengths as he stopped the clock in 1:33.85. He went into the Breeders' Cup after securing a 10 1/4-length victory in a 1 1/16 mile allowance at Keeneland, where he broke the track record in 1:40.79, which was preceded by an allowance victory at Oaklawn Park in February. A perfect three for three in 2020, the son of Paynter earned $608,440.

Knicks Go, bred by Angie Moore, was sold as a weanling for $40,000 at the 2016 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, and later purchased for $87,000 as a yearling by Korea Racing Authority at the 2017 Keeneland September sale. Only the fifth Maryland-bred to win a Breeders' Cup race, his share of the purse ($520,000) propelled him beyond the $1 million mark in career earnings.

Other divisional champions:

Champion 2-year-old male: Jaxon Traveler (dk.b./br.c., 2018, by Munnings—Listen Boy, by After Market). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. A. Leonard Pineau; owned by West Point Thoroughbreds and Marvin Delfiner; trained by Steven M. Asmussen.

Champion 2-year-old filly: Street Lute (ch. f., 2018, by Street Magician—Alottalute, by Midnight Lute). Bred by Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Bowman and Dr. Brooke Bowman; owned by Lucky 7 Stables; trained by John J. Robb.

Champion 3-year-old male: Field Pass (gr./ro.c, 2017, by Lemon Drop Kid—Only Me, by Runaway Groom). Bred by Mark Brown Grier; owned by Three Diamonds Farm; trained by Michael J. Maker.

Champion 3-year-old filly and champion turf runner: Sharing (ch.f., 2017, by Speightstown—Shared Account, by Pleasantly Perfect). Bred by Sagamore Farm; owned by Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Gainesway Stable (Antony Beck); trained by H. Graham Motion.

Champion older female: Never Enough Time (dk.b./br.m., 2016, by Munnings—What Time It Is, by Partner's Hero). Bred and owned by R. Larry Johnson; trained by Michael J. Trombetta.

Champion sprinter: Laki (ch.g., 2013, by Cuba—Truthful Dutch, by Swear by Dixie). Bred by Tom Michaels and Lorna Baker; owned by Hillside Equestrian Meadows; trained by Damon R. Dilodovico.

Also presented were the annual breeder, stallion and broodmare of the year awards. Angie Moore, breeder of 2020 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year and champion older male Knicks Go, was crowned the Maryland Breeder of the Year, while Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds LLC and Hillwood Stable LLC's Love's Reason, dam of 2019 Maryland-bred champion older female Majestic Reason, won Maryland Broodmare of the Year and Northview Stallion Station's Great Notion took home the title of Maryland Stallion of the Year for the fifth consecutive year.

Other award winners for 2020 include Robert Bone, Maryland Owner of the Year; Claudio Gonzalez, Maryland Trainer of the Year; Trevor McCarthy, Maryland Jockey of the Year. Edgar Gallegos was honored as the Pimlico Backstretch Worker of the Year, while Antonio Lopez Salazar earned the title of Laurel Backstretch Employee of the Year, and jockey Victor Carrasco was recognized as the MTHA's Unsung Hero.

Watch the video announcements for each champion and award winner here

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