Tag: Spendthrift Farm

Justique Is Lead In Last Sunday’s Triplet of Rising Star Fillies

In the same way which astronomical stars largely form in groups, so too did the 'TDN Rising Stars' this past Sunday. Not one, not two, but three leading ladies emerged from the nebulae of Del Mar and Saratoga, each with her own brand of brilliance. Chief among the splendor, and the last to show her shine, was Justique (Justify), whose brilliant turn of foot and effortless dismissal of rivals summoned forth comparisons to another glorious 'Rising Star' in her hayday–a John Shirreffs masterpiece, Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}). Since then, she's come out “bright and hungry” and the focus shifts to what her enormous potential signals for the future.

 

Justique marks her conditioner's first debut winner in three years. John Shirreffs is a man famous for his patience, and keen intuition toward what his horses need on a personal level. Much like the breed he loves, his training style has shifted and changed through the years. The focus on his firster record might be a bit too much research on some of our parts.

“Personally, I don't want to win first-time out,” said Shirreffs in a text. “You never much learn about a horse's style when it is chased. When I trained for [Marshall Naify's] 505 [Farms], we won first-out quite often. I try not to make speed the priority [anymore].”

With his newest budding star, the focus was confidence building and not so much where she'd be early on. They had to give her someone to follow in the mornings, Shirreffs reported, and he was careful not to upset her by asking for something she didn't understand. And to address the big mare in the room, he maintains an accurate comparison is impossible off a single maiden win.

“Justique has the ability to make running appear effortless with her huge stride. Zenyatta had the ability to lengthen as she ran, getting longer and lower.”

Part and parcel with that huge stride, there was a lot to like about her long before her eye-catching first start. Her intelligent eye and quiet, steady demeanor made quite the impression at the September sale, especially so on Shirreffs's wife, Dottie Ingordo-Shirreffs. Justique was her favorite horse.

“It is interesting how much sale yearlings change from September to July. At the sale, she had the classic Thoroughbred appearance; long, great underline, clean legs, sharp intelligent eyes…I can still see her standing quietly, waiting as we inspected her. 'One more walk, please.' I bet she knows those words!”

Beyond her impressive physical, Justique gains the benefit of potential versatility hinted by her 'Rising Star' half-brother Mo Town (Uncle Mo), who successfully reinvented himself as a turf horse later in his career. In his sole start at the same venue as his half-sister's coming-out party, Mo Town ran down and out-kicked Channel Maker (English Channel) at the head of a salty GI Hollywood Derby field. To complete the circle, her connections won the 2021 edition of the race with Beyond Brilliant (Twirling Candy). Justique already shouldered the weight of expectation with her royalty-befitting price tag, but unlike many who share auction amounts in the high six-figure range, she's shown that there just might be something there.

Shifting focus to the East Coast, and from the faithful, fruitful grounds of Champions past, present, and future–known as Saratoga–emerged Prank (Into Mischief) for the partnership of StarLadies Racing, LNJ Foxwoods, and Gainesway Stable. The half-sister to GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) gave her sire another monumental mark to his already legendary career by becoming his 33rd 'Rising Star', and the second on the weekend behind Newgate at Del Mar July 30. The 9 3/4-length gap on rivals, after burning through :21.91 and :45.11 fractions, further emphasized the ability running in the family, and she'll be the flag bearer for the moment with Mo Donegal on the sidelines to recover from bone bruising.

Earlier, on the same card, and more than able to hold her own on raw ability, came the aptly-named Be Your Best (Ire) (Muharaar {GB}). Sent away in a competitive field, and never in any hurry early, she certainly caught the eye as she cruised passed rivals into a six-furlong 1:14.29 split. Try as they might, the field could not catch her as Be Your Best bounded home as easily as she pleased for owner Mike Ryan and conditioner Horacio De Paz. The filly hails from an incredibly deep female family with no less than 10 graded stakes winners in it, including five filly Grade I winners and Canadian Champion 3-year-old filly Munnyfor Ro (Munnings). The latter recently placed in the GII Dance Smartly S. at Woodbine.

Saratoga and Del Mar in the summer are famous for attracting deep, talented fields of young horses. Be their beginnings humble or worthy of a throne, there is no greater thrill than seeing a runner justify the faith they've been entrusted with; solidified by recognition from peers and industry experts. It's not every day the TDN gives out three 'Rising Star' nods, but when there's talent, one cannot ignore the siren song.

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First-Crop Yearling Previews: Omaha Beach

The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. Check out past editions of our series here.  

Omaha Beach (War Front–Charming, by Seeking the Gold) set the bar high for this year's class of first-crop yearlings stallions at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, where five of his progeny sold and averaged $236,000. His top lot, a Spendthrift-bred daughter of Grade III winner Gas Station Sushi (Into Mischief), brought $410,000 and was the highest-priced filly by any sire at the one-day auction.

“When we went out to Fasig July, we were extremely happy with what we were seeing,” Spendthrift Farm's Mark Toothaker reported. “It was fun for us to watch them. They were nice-sized horses–not overly big, but very correct with good bodies.”

Toothaker explained how he thinks of Omaha Beach as the first horse Spendthrift took a big swing for when they began seeking out some of the most in-demand stallion prospects in recent years. He remembers visiting the Fox Hill Farms-campaigned colt in the days between his nine-length maiden-breaking score and his victory over juvenile champion Game Winner in the GII Rebel S.

“When Richard Mandella told me that Omaha Beach was the best horse he'd ever had in his barn, it didn't take long to get back here and say that we needed to figure out a way to get this thing done,” Toothaker recalled. “With the amount of ability that this horse had to go along with his great looks and pedigree, Omaha Beach was just the entire package.”

The winner of the GI Arkansas Derby and morning-line favorite for the 2019 Kentucky Derby was sidelined before his Derby bid due to an entrapped epiglottis, but returned later in his sophomore season to defeat Shancelot (Shanghai Bobby) in the GI Santa Anita Sprint Championship S., run second in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile and cap off his career with an easy victory in the GI Malibu S.

Launched at a stud fee of $45,000, Omaha Beach bred 215 mares in each of his first two seasons at stud. Toothaker said that the initial demand for the regally-bred son of War Front was unprecedented in Spendthrift's history.

Mill Ridge Farm's Saratoga-bound Omaha Beach colt out of Savannah Sky | Sara Gordon

“We've never had a horse have 600 requests for seasons in his first year,” Toothaker explained. “I don't know that we've ever had a horse get that kind of book to get them started. With the type of mares that he got in his first year, there's no telling what this first crop can do because the potential is crazy.”

Omaha Beach's first crop was in demand as weanlings, with 19 of 24 selling to average $112,736 and stamp their sire as the number one freshman stallion by weanling average. His top-selling weanling, a colt out of stakes producer North Freeway (Jump Start), sold for $200,000.

At next week's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, Omaha Beach will be represented by six yearlings. The first to go through the ring will be Hip 36, a filly out of Peter Blum's stakes-placed homebred Night Time Lady (Midnight Lute).

“She was a late foal, but she still has lots of size,” agent Bridie Harrison said of the late April-foaled yearling. “She has great bone, great substance and a really good walk. We like her a lot.”

Harrison reported that Blum has been a strong supporter of Omaha Beach throughout the stallion's first years at stud.

“Peter fell in love with Omaha Beach when he saw him in Richard Mandella's barn in California,” she said. “He thought he was a big, strong, beautiful horse with a great temperament. We bred a few mares to Omaha Beach and I like all the foals. Omaha Beach added a lot of size to our mares. Every one of our Omaha Beach foals are taller than most of the mares' other foals. They have lots of substance and bone and they're strong, rangy-type horses.”

Also during the first session of the Saratoga Sale, Mill Ridge Farm will send Hip 67 through the ring. The Omaha Beach colt out of the winning Sky Mesa mare Savannah Sky was a $140,000 weanling purchase at the Keeneland November Sale.

“We liked this colt from the get-go,” Mill Ridge's Headley Bell explained. “His presence and athleticism was really everything that you look for in a horse. We couldn't be more pleased with him. We've always been big fans of Omaha Beach. Two years ago, we bred 12 mares to the horse with our clients.”

Other yearlings by Omaha Beach at the same sale include Hip 41, a half-brother to GSW & MGISP Pappacap (Gun Runner); Hip 93, a New York-bred half-sister to MGSW Highway Star (Girolamo) and MSW Captain Bombastic (Forty Tales); Hip 196, also a New York-bred and a half-sister to MSW Espresso Shot (Mission Impazible) and current stakes performer Venti Valentine (Firing Line); and Hip 205, a filly out of  Hot Water (Medaglia d'Oro), the dam of this year's GIII Ben Ali S. and GIII Michelob Ultra Challenger S. winner Scalding (Nyquist).

Omaha Beach will have four additional yearlings sell at the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale.

As the young stallion's first crop begin to make their way to the track next year, Toothaker said he looks for Omaha Beach's progeny to show speed right out of the gate as juveniles.

“With his speed, he was able to win a Grade I going six furlongs and also lay very close in all of his two-turn races. With his pedigree, your hope is that he turns out to be a Classic sire, but that he's also going to be able to throw horses with enough speed that I think you'll see plenty of them be well received at the 2-year-old sales.”

Hailing from one of the most influential dirt families in recent years, Omaha Beach is a half-brother to champion Take Charge Brandi (Giant's Causeway). His second dam, 2013 Broodmare of the Year and MGISW Take Charge Lady (Dehere), has now produced three Grade I winners while her daughter I'll Take Charge (Indian Charlie) is the dam of recent GIII Dwyer S. winner Charge It (Tapit).

“It's one of those female families that is just going to keep getting bigger and better,” Toothaker said. “It's as good as there is in the stallion book. Omaha Beach was a really good dirt horse out of a really good dirt female family, but he's by one of the best sprinters and now turf sires out there. It's an interesting combination and we look forward to seeing what they do on the track.”

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July 31 Insights: Half to Mo Donegal Debuts at the Spa

by Christie DeBernardis & Patrycja Szpyra
Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency

6th-SAR, $105K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 3:49 p.m. EDT
GI Belmont S. winner Mo Donegal (Uncle Mo) may be missing his appearance at the Spa this summer, but his little sister PRANK (Into Mischief) will be stepping up to the post for the first time Sunday. Out of a daughter of GISW Island Sand (Tabasco Cat), the $500,000 KEESEP buy also hails from the Todd Pletcher barn. Steve Asmussen unveils Courtlandt Farm's High Class (Into Mischief), purchased for $575,000 out of the same sale. She is a daughter of GSP Euroboss (Street Boss). TJCIS PPs

2nd-SAR, $105k, Msw, f, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 1:37p.m. ET
MILIEU (Empire Maker), half-sister to Champion female sprinter and GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint shocker Shamrock Rose (First Dude), debuts in this turf maiden route for Bill Mott and Mike Rutherford. Costing $230,000 as an October yearling at Fasig-Tipton Kentucky, there is high-level success in her pedigree on the grass, namely MGSW Slew the Red (Red Ransom) under the second dam, who annexed two French Group contests before being imported for a State-side campaign. TJCIS PPs

1st-DMR, $80k, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 5:00p.m. ET
Sent to the blocks here by his powerhouse connections of SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital LLC, and Catherine Donovan, MASSIMO (Uncle Mo) will debut under the tutelage of Bob Baffert. The colt rides back-to-back five furlong bullets into the race, a July 14 move in :59.80 at Santa Anita (1/46) and a July 22 work over this track in :58.40 (1/82). A Winstar-bred graduate of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Sale, his connections paid $575,000 for the half-brother to GSP Hozier (Pioneerof the Nile) out of MGSW Merry Meadow (Henny Hughes). Through third dam Cruella (Tyrant), this is the family of MGISW Diazo (Jade Hunter). TJCIS PPs

8th-DMR, $80k, Msw, f, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 8:37p.m. ET
Debuting against a well-bred field here, JUSTIQUE (Justify) stands tall as the half-sister to GI Hollywood Derby winner Mo Town (Uncle Mo). Out of MGISP Molto Vita (Carson City), herself half to GSP Jaguar Paw (Giant's Causeway) and MGSP Venetian Mask (Pulpit), the filly's $725,000 price tag befit her pedigree; hailing from the breeding program of John Gunther & Eurowest Bloodstock. John Shirreffs will send Justique to post. Breaking to that one's inside in the colors of Mrs. Doreen Tabor is Fourth Street (Street Sense), the fleet-footed filly blazed :9.4 at OBSAPR, bringing $600,000 from M. V. Magnier to secure her. Out of a young broodmare, her second dam is MGSW Salty Strike (Smart Strike). Tea N Conversation (Candy Ride {Arg}) will carry the Spendthrift Farm colors on unveiling here, a $400,000 KEESEP half-sister to GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity winner Nucky (Ghostzapper).  TJCIS PPs

6th-MTH, $55k, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 2:40p.m. ET
Breaking from the rail, MANASSAS (Frankel {GB}) debuts here for Todd Pletcher. Dam Avenge (War Front) was the two-time winner of the GI Rodeo Drive S. and finished third in both the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and the Gamely S. at Saratoga. His dam's half-sister Lira (Giant's Causeway) was graded stakes-placed, and was herself the dam of a stakes winner. This is the family of GISP Grasshopper (Dixie Union) and of the globetrotting MG1SW Mashaallah (Nijinsky II). TJCIS PPs

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First-Crop Yearling Sires: Vino Rosso

   The 2022 class of first-crop yearling sires features a diverse batch of Kentucky-based young stallions including a pair of Breeders' Cup champions, two sons of reigning top sire Into Mischief, five graded stakes winners at two and five Grade I winners on turf. Throughout the course of the yearling sales season, we will feature a series of freshman sires as their first crop points toward the sales ring. Check out the first few editions of our series here.

When no less a judge than Kenny McPeek purchases three colts by the same first-crop yearling sire, people take note. Known for his flair for picking out future stars from the sales ring, McPeek took home a trio of youngsters by Breeders' Cup champion Vino Rosso (Curlin – Mythical Bride, by Street Cry) at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale.

Spendthrift Farm's Mark Toothaker said it was the best stamp they could have asked for to get the young sire's yearling sales season off to a flying start.

“I had a chance to talk to Kenny afterwards and he just told me that they were his kind of horses,” Toothaker relayed. “Anytime you have horses in his barn, you've got a shot because as we've seen lately, he wins races everywhere.”

The three Vino Rosso colts were the highest-priced yearlings among McPeek's eight July Sale purchases, selling for $250,000, $200,000 and $180,000. Overall, the stallion's progeny averaged $135,000 from 11 lots at the one-day sale.

Vino Rosso himself was a $410,000 yearling purchase for Mike Repole and St. Elias in 2016. Now that the young stallion has a few crops on the ground, Toothaker said that his progeny are reflecting their sire's eye-catching physical.

“When we were starting to go out and see all the foals, we saw that he was really stamping them,” he explained. “They're not too coarse and not too heavy. They're more of a refined-looking horse and they're good movers. They've got a really solid hip on them and they seem to be horses that are very correct.”

Toothaker said that he believes the ball is just starting to get rolling for Vino Rosso, explaining that pinhookers who may have been hesitant to get behind the first-crop yearling sire are now joining the bandwagon.

“Talking to my 2-year-old buddies, they've been burned on some sons of Curlin that just weren't fast at the 2-year-old sales. After the [July] sale once they had a chance to watch them move and see who was buying them, I think there's a whole other take now on 'Vino' from the 2-year-old guys. It's a little bit like Bolt d'Oro last year where there was a little bit of hesitancy. Are these going to be fast enough? Then once they saw how they sold at the sales, everybody had to have one.”

Undefeated in two starts as a juvenile for Todd Pletcher, Vino Rosso went on to win the GII Wood Memorial S. as a sophomore. At four, he claimed the GI Gold Cup at Santa Anita S., was taken down to second after crossing the wire first in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup S., and capped off his career with a memorable victory in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic to earn Eclipse honors as Champion Older Dirt Male.

Vino Rosso colt out of Money Madness sells with Mill Ridge Farm at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale | Sara Gordon

Retired to Spendthrift Farm, Vino Rosso was launched at a stud fee of $30,000 and bred 238 mares in his first year at stud. With fees of $25,000 and $20,000 in his next two years at stud, the son of Curlin bred over 180 mares in 2021 and close to 140 this year.

The stallion ranked third in his class of first-crop weanling sires at last year's breeding stock sales when his progeny averaged $90,595 with 47 of 61 sold. Leading the way was his colt out of Fair Huntress (Tiznow), who brought $340,000 at the Keeneland November Sale.

Five yearlings by Vino Rosso are slated to sell at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. The first to go through the ring is Hip 28, a colt out of Money Madness (Rahy). The Mill Ridge Farm-consigned chestnut was a $100,000 pinhook partnership purchase at the Keeneland November Sale and is a half-brother to LNJ Foxwoods' MGSW Boardroom (Commissioner). Mill Ridge's Price Bell said that the colt is thriving in the final weeks of sales preparation.

“Physically, he looks very fast,” Bell said. “[Our partnership] fell in love with his leg and his attitude when he was a foal and we feel like he has really progressed since that time. He has a really nice, quick look to him and in prep, he has been a workhorse. He has really enjoyed his exercise.”

Bell added that with the Vino Rosso yearlings they have had at Mill Ridge, he has been consistently impressed by their attitudes.

Also at the Saratoga Sale, a Vino Rosso colt out of the winning Pulpit mare War Relic sells with Denali Stud as Hip 115. The yearling was foaled and raised at Elm Tree Farm. Farm owner Jody Huckabay said that the colt has been special from the start.

Vino Rosso's Fasig-Tipton-bound colt out of War Relic was bred and raised at Elm Tree Farm. | Sara Gordon

“He came looking honestly very similar to what he looks like now,” Huckabay said. “He's just developed and he does everything we've asked him to do through the prepping process. You hear that all the time, but he's a horse that has been a joy to be around. We're very proud of him. He's very athletic. We think he's a special horse.”

Other Vino Rosso yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale include Hip 71, a filly out of GIISP Shaken (Uncle Mo) with Gainesway; Hip 133, a half-brother to GIIISP Aurelia Garland (Constitution) with Warrendale Sales; and Hip 172, a colt out of the stakes-placed mare Divergent View (Congrats) with Machmer Hall Sales.

An additional 10 sons and daughters of Vino Rosso are cataloged for the New York-bred Sale.

Toothaker indicated that Vino Rosso will have a strong backing from his ownership group as the yearling sales progress.

“[At the Fasig-Tipton July Sale] Mike Repole was in there bidding and they didn't end up getting anything, but they made sure everything got vetted and wound up selling very well,” he said. “There will be some yearlings that land in his lap as we go forward and it's exciting to know that there are going to be some in those orange and blue colors.”

Once Vino Rosso's progeny get to the racetrack, Toothaker said he believes the athleticism they display now will become even more apparent.

“I feel like they're going to be very efficient on the track with the way they move,” he said. “If they have any of that Curlin blood running through them, which they do, every time you look up you see something from the sire line having success, so we're excited about what the future holds for Vino Rosso.”

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