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Saturday Undercard: Nashville Sets Track Record, Spill Mars Second Race

The China Horse Club and WinStar Farm showed off a talented young sprinter in the opener on Breeders' Cup Saturday at Keeneland, sending out Nashville for a track record-setting victory in the $125,000 Perryville Stakes. The 3-year-old son of Speightstown ran six furlongs over the fast main track in 1:07.89, annihilating the previous record of 1:08.43 set by A.P. Indian in 2016.

(Note: the run-up for today's Perryville was 55 feet, while the run-up for A.P. Indian's previous track record-setting performance was 34 feet.)

Trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Ricardo Santana, Jr., the 1-9 favorite Nashville grabbed the lead at the start and easily ran away from the field, setting fractions of :21.54, :43.87, and :55.61 without turning a hair. Santana never touched his whip down the lane, cruising under the wire an easy winner by about three lengths over Wild Wes.

Asmussen could have sent the colt to the Breeders' Cup Sprint later on the card, but elected to take an easier route with the inexperienced Nashville.

Bred in Kentucky by Breffni Farm, Nashville is out of the unraced Mizzen Mast mare Veronique from the family of multi-millionaires Giacomo and Tiago. Nashville was a $460,000 yearling purchase at the 2018 Keeneland September sale, and has gone undefeated in his first three starts by a total of over 20 lengths. His earnings now stand at $157,200.

The day's second race, the Lafayette Stakes, saw a spill at the top of the stretch mar the action when Absolutely Aiden broke down. Both Dinar and Strike That were also affected and unseated their riders, but galloped out unharmed and were corralled by outriders before being taken back to their respective barns. Trainer Cherie DeVaux Tweeted that Dinar was find other than minor abrasions.

Absolutely Aiden was loaded onto the equine ambulance.

All three jockeys affected by the incident escaped unharmed, and were checked out at first aid and approved to ride their remaining mounts. They are: Tyler Gaffalione (Dinar), Chris Landeros (Absolutely Aiden), and David Cohen (Strike That).

Midnight Sands also appeared to stumble over the stricken horse, and was eased down the stretch by jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. He also walked off the track under his own power.

Sleepy Eyes Todd won the Lafayette for trainer Miguel Silva and jockey Joel Rosario.

In the third race, the Fort Springs Stakes, trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Luis Saez teamed up with Merneith to defeat Motivated Seller by a neck at the finish. The 3-year-old filly is sired by American Pharoah.

Merneith has been a part of Baffert's recent medication controversy: after finishing second in the fourth race on July 25 at Del Mar, the filly returned a positive test for Dextrorphan, a cough suppressant.

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Nashville Dominates in Keeneland’s Perryville

The brilliantly talented Nashville, who had been under consideration for the GI Breeders’ Cup Sprint, kicked off Saturday’s action with a jaw-dropping performance that smashed a track record posted by MGISW A. P. Indian (Indian Charlie) in the 2016 GII Still Keenon Ogden Phoenix S. The bay garnered the ‘TDN Rising Star’ distinction when he cruised home by 11 1/2 lengths in the Saratoga slop first out Sept. 2, and he crushed allowance foes by 9 3/4 lengths over track and trip Oct. 10, good for a 101 Beyer Speed Figure. Never drifting from 1-9 odds, the rail-drawn colt went right to the lead as expected, traveled all by his lonesome through supersonic splits of :21.54 and :43.87 and continued along to the wire in a geared-down gallop.

The winner’s 2-year-old half-brother Market Cap (Candy Ride {Arg}), just a $22,000 OBS March grad, scored by seven lengths at third asking in a one-mile, rained-off Laurel maiden special weight Oct. 30. Dam Veronique’s yearling colt by Mastery brought $80,000 at the recent Fasig-Tipton October sale, and dam Veronique sold to Schiano Racing for $22,000 at the 2019 Keeneland November sale carrying a full-sister to that colt. Back in foal to Collected, Veronique was supplemented to KEENOV and will sell as hip 244D on Monday. Her Mastery filly is catalogued as hip 885. Veronique is out of a full-sister to GI Kentucky Derby upsetter Giacomo (Holy Bull) and half to MGISW Tiago (Pleasant Tap). Second dam Styler has done well when paired with Speightstown, having produced GSP ‘Rising Star’ Calistoga and SW Almond Roca by the WinStar stalwart.

PERRYVILLE S., $125,000, Keeneland, 11-7, 3yo, 6f, 1:07.89 (NTR), ft.
1–NASHVILLE, 118, c, 3, by Speightstown
                1st Dam: Veronique, by Mizzen Mast
                2nd Dam: Styler, by Holy Bull
                3rd Dam: Set Them Free, by Stop the Music
   ‘TDN Rising Star‘ ($460,000 Ylg ’18 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK-TYPE
   WIN. O-CHC INC. & WinStar Farm LLC; B-Breffni Farm (KY);
T-Steven M. Asmussen; J-Ricardo Santana, Jr. $75,000.
Lifetime Record: 3-3-0-0, $157,200.
2–Wild Wes, 118, g, 3, Race Day–Tricia’s Trama, by Article of
Faith. ($10,000 RNA Ylg ’18 FTKJUL; $39,000 2yo ’19 OBSOPN).
O-Dundalk 5 LLC, Wesley F Herek Racing Stables LLC & 21
Racing, LLC; B-Nossab LLC & Jan & Madelein Basson (KY);
T-Dee Poulos. $25,000.
3–Little Menace, 120, c, 3, Into Mischief–Pay Attention, by
Arch. ($460,000 Ylg ’18 FTSAUG). O-Phoenix Thoroughbred,
LTD; B-Gabriel Duignan, Crosshaven Bldsk, Petaluma Bldsk &
Hazelmere Bldsk (KY); T-Steven M. Asmussen. $12,500.
Margins: 3HF, 3 3/4, 2 1/4. Odds: 0.10, 28.20, 30.50.
Also Ran: Bango, Fore Left, Cajun Brother, Relentless Dancer.
Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

The post Nashville Dominates in Keeneland’s Perryville appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Speightstown, Constitution Headline WinStar Farm’s 2021 Stallion Roster; Tiznow Pensioned From Stud Duty

WinStar Farm has set 2021 stud fees for its 22-stallion roster, headed by Speightstown who will stand for $90,000 S&N and leading second-crop sire Constitution who will stand for $85,000 S&N.

WinStar will further bolster its roster for the upcoming breeding season by welcoming new stallions Improbable, Laoban, Tom's d'Etat, Global Campaign, and Promises Fulfilled. WinStar has also announced that considering the current circumstances facing the industry that fees for most of the stallions on its roster will be reduced.

“During these times we felt it appropriate to drop 75 percent of our fees,” said Elliott Walden, WinStar's president, CEO, and racing manager. “We gave two horses a bump—Speightstown, the co-leading sire this year with three Grade 1 winners and fourth general leading sire, and Constitution who has over-delivered at every point of his career. As always, our mission is to offer breeders stallions of the highest quality. We are excited about Laoban joining our roster and three very live horses in the Breeders' Cup Classic joining our roster for the 2021 breeding season.”

Added Liam O'Rourke, WinStar's director of bloodstock services, “We are offering breeders the opportunity to secure a limited number of seasons to Laoban, Outwork, and Improbable before the Breeders' Cup, with their prices subject to change based on their Breeders' Cup results.”

Improbable, City Zip's only four-time Grade 1 winner, has rattled off three consecutive Grade 1 scores in 2020 and is the early favorite for next month's $6-million Breeders' Cup Classic. He was a runaway winner of the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita, earning a 105 Beyer and then shipped to Saratoga and dominated the historic G1 Whitney Stakes, earning a 106 Beyer. Most recently, he romped by 4 1/2 lengths in the G1 Awesome Again Stakes at Santa Anita, defeating champion Maximum Security and earning a 108 Beyer.

Tom's d'Etat, by sire of sires Smart Strike, is also a top contender for the Breeders' Cup Classic for G M B Racing. He registered a brilliant 4 1/4-length victory in this year's G2 Stephen Foster Stakes, running a career-best 109 Beyer. Tom's d'Etat covered 1 1/8 miles in an eye-catching 1:47.30, geared down in the late stages. The final time came within a whisker of Victory Gallop's track and stakes record of 1:47.28 set in 1999.

The Al Stall trainee has recorded 10 triple-digit Beyers, including nine in a row in an illustrious career. Tom's d'Etat is out of the stakes-winning and multiple stakes-placed Giant's Causeway mare Julia Tuttle who is out of a full sister to Pacific Classic (G1) winner and leading sire Candy Ride (ARG).

Global Campaign, a son of two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, heads to the Breeders' Cup Classic following back-to-back graded stakes scores and is a winner in three of four starts in 2020 for WinStar Farm and Sagamore Farm. He emulated his sire by capturing the G1 Woodward Handicap in his most recent start, earning a career-best 104 Beyer for trainer Stanley Hough. The Woodward was his second straight graded win following a victory in the G3 Monmouth Cup Stakes in his prior outing.

Promises Fulfilled won five graded stakes at distances from six furlongs to 1 1/16 miles—winning the G1 H. Allen Jerkens Stakes, G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes, G2 John A. Nerud Stakes, G2 Phoenix Stakes, and G3 Amsterdam Stakes, competing exclusively in graded stakes company following his first two victories at two. In front in 15-of-17 starts no matter the distance, Promises Fulfilled competed in 15 graded stakes, including eight Grade 1s, banking $1,455,530 in a stellar career for trainer Dale Romans.

The upcoming breeding season—with the influx of Grade 1 winners embarking on their stallion careers at WinStar—will also mark a changing of the guard. Tiznow, a multiple champion on the racetrack and an influential stallion who has made an indelible mark on the breed, will be retired from stud duty. Still the only two-time winner of the Breeders' Cup Classic, Tiznow was a champion on the racetrack and in the breeding shed, siring numerous elite runners.

Known as “The Big Horse Sire,” Tiznow is the sire of 15 Grade 1 winners that have won many of the world's most prestigious events. He is the sire of Dubai World Cup winner Well Armed, G1 Travers Stakes winner Colonel John, and Breeders' Cup winners Folklore, winner of the 2005 Juvenile Fillies and Tourist, winner of the 2016 Mile. He has even made his mark as an emerging broodmare sire of 34 stakes winners, including multiple Grade 1 winner Tiz the Law.

Fees with an asterisk are good through Breeders' Cup and are subject to change pending results. For Tom's d'Etat and Global Campaign, fees will be announced after the Breeders' Cup.

The complete 2021 roster of stallions and fees for WinStar Farm are as follows:

Stallion	S&N Fee
Tom's d'Etat – NEW	TBD
Global Campaign – NEW	TBD
Distorted Humor	Private
Speightstown	$90,000
Constitution	$85,000
More Than Ready	$65,000
Improbable – NEW	$40,000*
Laoban – NEW	$25,000*
Audible	$22,500
Always Dreaming	$17,500
Exaggerator	$15,000
Outwork	$15,000*
Take Charge Indy	$15,000
Yoshida (JPN)	$15,000
Speightster	$10,000
Promises Fulfilled – NEW	$10,000
Carpe Diem	$7,500
Congrats	$7,500
Good Samaritan	$7,500
Paynter	$7,500
Tourist	$5,000
Fed Biz	$5,000

The post Speightstown, Constitution Headline WinStar Farm’s 2021 Stallion Roster; Tiznow Pensioned From Stud Duty appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Performer Returns With Sharp Win; McGaughey Says Cigar Mile Could Be Next

Hall of Fame trainer Shug McGaughey said he was delighted to see a triumphant return to racing action for Phipps Stable and Claiborne Farm's Performer, who emerged off an 11-month layoff to an effortless allowance victory going one mile over the Belmont Park main track.

The 4-year-old son of Speightstown, who was a last out winner of the Grade 3 Discovery on Nov. 30, 2019, saved ground along the rail and was nudged by jockey Joel Rosario around the three-eighths pole and strolled home to an in-hand 1 3/4-length triumph. He earned a 98 Beyer Speed Figure in victory.

“I know it was a light field, but I was pleased with the way he went over there and did it,” McGaughey said. “He was very professional with everything he did. I didn't know what the speed was going to do. I thought the horse to the inside of us [three-time winner Empty Tomb] was going to show more speed. Joel was just patient; he knew what he had and just took it from there.”

McGaughey said he is giving strong consideration to the Grade 1, $250,000 Cigar Mile on December 5 at Aqueduct.

“It would be a big option,” said McGaughey, who won the 1996 Cigar Mile with Gold Fever.

There is a chance that McGaughey could saddle two top-level contenders for the final Grade 1 event of the year on the NYRA racing calendar as W.S. Farish's Code of Honor also is possible for the race. McGaughey said Code of Honor would be more likely for the nine-furlong two-turn G1, $500,000 Clark on Nov. 27 at Churchill Downs.

“Either the Clark [for Code of Honor], or I would run the two in the Cigar Mile,” McGaughey said. “I'd be more inclined to run Code of Honor around two turns. He ran well over that track.”

A two-time G1 winner when taking last year's Travers at Saratoga and Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont, Code of Honor was elevated to second in last year's G1 Kentucky Derby following the disqualification of Maximum Security, who won last year's Cigar Mile.

A direct descendant of undefeated Hall of Famer Personal Ensign and four-time G1-winning millionaire My Flag, who also were trained by McGaughey, Performer is the third progeny out of graded stakes-placed Protesting who also produced turf stakes winner Breaking the Rules. His grandam On Parade was a full-sister to 2002 Champion 2-Year-Old Filly Storm Flag Flying.

“They both have distance of ground,” McGaughey said of Performer and Breaking the Rules. “She [Protesting] wanted to run long. She was fourth in three Grade 1 stakes and was second in the Demoiselle at Aqueduct. They're both nice horses, but run on different surfaces. Not that Performer couldn't run on turf, being by Speightstown.”

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