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Pennsylvania-Bred Gun Runner Colt Tops Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings sale concluded Tuesday with figures on par with the 2019 renewal, with eight of the top 10 prices paid for yearlings bred in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York.

Hip 371, a colt from the first crop of Pegasus World Cup winner Gun Runner, sold for $270,000 during Tuesday's session to top the sale (video).

The chestnut colt was purchased by Lambe Bloodstock from the consignment of Becky Davis, agent. Hip 371 out of Stormy Tak, a daughter of multiple Grade 1 winner and millionaire Lady Tak, making her a half-sister to Melody Lady, dam of this year's Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt winner Volatile. The sale topper was bred in Pennsylvania by Jon A. Marshall.

A pair of Maryland-bred colts sold for more than $200,000 during the second session to account for the sale's second- and third-highest prices. The first of these was Hip 451, a son of Flatter which sold for $250,000 to Bell Gable Stable from the consignment of Northview Stallion Station (David Wade), agent (video).

The dark bay or brown colt is out of Apple Cider, a More Than Ready daughter of Grade 2 winner Who Did It and Run, and half-sister to stakes winners Giant Run and American Victory. Hip 451 was bred in Maryland by Sycamore Hall Thoroughbreds.

The third-highest price of the sale was paid for Hip 383, a son of Street Sense sold for $240,000 to West Bloodstock, agent for Repole and St. Elias Stables from the consignment of Chanceland Farm, agent (video). The bay colt is out of the Polish Numbers mare Tanca, who has seven winners from as many to race, including stakes winners Cordmaker, Las Setas, and Corvus. Hip 383 was bred in Maryland by Robert T. Manfuso and Kathryn M. Voss.

The sale's top filly was a daughter of Malibu Moon sold for $140,000 during Tuesday's session (video). Offered as Hip 541, the filly was purchased by Charles J. Zacney from the consignment of Candyland, agent. The bay filly is out of the unraced Street Cry mare Fire of Freedom, who has produced four winners to date, including multiple stakes placed Travel Advisory. Fire of Freedom is a half-sister to Grade 1 winner Flat Fleet Feet. The top filly was bred in Maryland by Candyland Farm.

All told, 379 yearlings sold for a total of $9,161,200. The average was $24,172 and the median was $14,000; both figures were nearly identical to last year's results. The RNA rate was 21 percent, also on par with 2019 results.

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Nonna Madeline Shows Off Her Two-Turn Chops In Summer Colony

Trainer Todd Pletcher said last week that he was optimistic two turns could continue to suit Nonna Madeline's strengths. The 4-year-old daughter of Candy Ride proved her connections prophetic, dueling with Golden Award into the stretch before pulling away to a 1 1/4-length win in Wednesday's $85,000 Summer Colony for fillies and mares 4-years-old and up at Saratoga Race Course.

Owned by Teresa Viola Racing Stales and St. Elias Stable, Nonna Madeline entered looking for her first win of the campaign after back-to-back runner-up efforts, including at 1 1/16 miles on April 16 at Oaklawn Park. Stretching out to 1 1/8 miles for the first time, Nonna Madeline, the even-money favorite, stayed just off 3-2 Golden Award's early fractions as she led the five-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 23.31 seconds, the half in 46.22 and three-quarters in 1:09.66 on the fast main track.

Irad Ortiz, Jr. moved Nonna Madeline up from the outside, taking command entering the stretch. At the top of the straightaway, Ortiz, Jr. gave left-handed encouragement to ward off Golden Award's bid to retake the lead near the rail. Nonna Madeline hit the wire in a 1:49.13 final time, earning her first stakes win in seven attempts.

“I had a perfect trip,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “We didn't know what [Golden Award] was going to do. I just went with my plan to come running out of there and if I can make the lead easy, make it, and if something else changed, Todd let me do whatever I needed to do.

“The other horse [Golden Award] was right there in the first turn,” he continued. “She broke sharp, so I just sat second beside her. We were going a little fast but I didn't have too many options. She was the filly to beat so I had to stay there. She was very comfortable. She wasn't going that keen, and on the backside she relaxed a little bit and she was still in the race. She never backed up, so that was great.”

Pletcher trained three-fifths of the field, with Bellera and Always Shopping running third and fourth, respectively, while the Rob Atras-conditioned Bossy Bride completed the order of finish in fifth.

“I didn't anticipate that they would go that fast. It sort of turned into a match race up front, and I'm proud of her for digging in and finding more the first time going a mile and an eighth,” Pletcher said. “She was coming out of some faster races so we anticipated we'd be close.

“Like I said before the race, you can have a plan but you're not sure what everyone else's plans are,” he added. “We were in a good position for that filly, and I thought [stablemate] Bellera was sitting an ideal trip and just kind of ran evenly. It was a big effort from Nonna Madeline and nice to see her get a stakes win.”

Nonna Madeline made her first Saratoga appearance since running twice as a juvenile in 2018, finishing second in the Grade 3 Schuylerville and fifth in the Grade 1 Spinaway. On Wednesday, she returned $4.30 on a $2 win bet and improved her career earnings to $202,190.

“The more we've done with her and having had the opportunity to run her two turns at Oaklawn, I thought there was a decent chance she'd see out the mile and an eighth,” Pletcher said. “To be honest with you, I looked at this one hoping to get that stake win for her. Now that we've got that, we can be a little more ambitious.”

Golden Award, trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and ridden by Junior Alvarado, finished 7 ¼ lengths in front of Bellera, placing for the 10th time in 14 career races for the 5-year-old Medaglia d'Oro mare.

“I had a great trip,” Alvarado said. “I thought there was going to be a little more competition at the end but my horse and the winner took it from the beginning. We were head-to-head the whole way, and I think today the other horse was best. We were just second-best.”

Bellera, who capped her 2019 with a win in the Grade 3 Comely in November at Aqueduct Racetrack and last out ran third in the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap in June, earned blacktype for the fifth time in six starts.

Live racing resumes Thursday at Saratoga with a nine-race card that includes the $100,000 New York Stallion Stakes Series Cab Calloway for state-bred 3-year-olds going 1 1/16 miles on the turf in Race 8 at 5:14 p.m. First post is 1:10 p.m.

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Learning With Experience: Hopeful Growth Wins Monmouth Oaks

Trainer Anthony Margotta, Jr. and jockey Antonio Gallardo know that much more went into Hopeful Growth's upset victory in Saturday's Grade 3 Monmouth Oaks at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, N.J., than just a perfect trip.

Two starts ago Margotta took the blinkers off the filly to get her to relax in a race at Tampa in which Gallardo rode her. Last time out the veteran conditioner sent her two turns for the first time. She finished fifth in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks.

Both learning experiences, they agreed, keyed a four-length victory at odds of 11-1 in the 96^th edition of the $200,000 Monmouth Oaks.

Hopeful Growth, able to sit chilly along the rail behind dueling leaders, mowed down the frontrunners in the lane for the first stakes score of her five-race career. She covered the mile and a sixteenth in 1:45.63.

Delaware Oaks winner Project Whiskey held for second, 2¼ lengths ahead of Eve of War.

“I had a really good trip,” said Gallardo. “I know this filly. I won with her in Tampa. Anthony told me that day `try to teach her. I don't want her to be a filly that just goes to the lead. I don't care if you lose, just teach her.'

“That's what happened in Tampa. She learned – and she still won. I was able to put her behind horses that day and she learned very fast. When I put her in the clear that race she took off. That lesson paid off today. She's a good horse and now she knows how to relax and sit behind horses. That's why she won this.”

Margotta said the filly's last two races were learning experiences for this one.

“Her last race was the first time she ran around two turns,” he said. “We were hoping to hit the board there, but typically a horse going two turns for the first time in our program may need a race around two turns the first time. This was our bull's eye target. I took the blinkers off her last two races so she would learn a little. I put them back on (today) so she would focus more after she learned a little bit.

“The Delaware Oaks was a race we needed to get in before this one for the two-turn experience and to learn. I loved the trip (today). She was patient on the rail. That's what we have been teaching her to do and it paid off.”

Owned by St. Elias Stable, Hopeful Growth returned $25.60 to win. The daughter of Tapiture–Maiden America by Rock Hard Ten now sports a 3-1-0 line from five career starts.

“She's bred to go long and she has trained that way the whole time so I knew she would go longer,” Margotta said. “She has always wanted to stretch out.

Gallardo kept Hopeful Growth along the rail as favored Lucrezia and Project Whiskey battled for command through early fractions of :23.94, :48.51, 1:13.52 and 1:139.10 for the mile.

Hopeful Growth found clearance in mid-stretch and proved to be much the best in the field of nine 3-year-old fillies.

“I had good position the whole way,” said Gallardo. “I was close to the leaders. I had the favorite (Lucrezia) in front of me with Project Whiskey with her and the two horse (Princess Cadey) was just outside us. I just waited to get clear. I was able to do that before the quarter pole. I knew she had a lot left and she responded.”

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‘A Great Mind’: $3.65 Million Purchase Cezanne Will Try Two-Turn Allowance Before Derby Prep

A $3.65 million 2-year-old at last spring's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, Cezanne lived up to early expectations when breaking his maiden on debut earlier this month at Santa Anita Park. For his second start, the 3-year-old son of Curlin will step up to two turns in a one-mile allowance race at Los Alamitos this Thursday.

Trained by Bob Baffert for owners Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, and St. Elias Stable, Cezanne is out of the Bernardini mare Achieving. His third dam is the Deputy Minister mare Better Than Honour, the dam of Belmont Stakes winners Jazil and Rags to Riches.

In his debut, the colt sat just off the pace before making his bid between rivals on the turn, then pulling away down the lane to win by 2 1/4 lengths, completing 6 1/2 furlongs on the fast main track in 1:16.13. Since that start, Cezanne has breezed twice at Santa Anita, going five furlongs in 1:01.80 on June 22 and a half-mile in :48 flat on June 28.

“He's still a little heavy,” Baffert told the Daily Racing Form. “More racing will help him. He's shown us he's a top horse. He's got a great mind and doesn't get excited. He's been behaving himself.”

Should his two-turn debut prove successful, Cezanne could be considered for a Kentucky Derby prep race, said Baffert.

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