stallion | Horse Racing Free Tips

Cistron Retired to Harris Farms

Grade I winner Cistron (The Factor–Major Allie, by Officer) has been retired from racing and will stand stud at Harris Farms in California. He is now available for inspection and a stud fee will be announced in the fall.

Scoring his first black-type win in Oaklawn's Northern Spur S. in 2017, the Hronis Racing colorbearer's other career highlights include victories in the GI Bing Crosby S., GII Kona Gold S. and GIII San Simeon S. The $180,000 KEESEP buy retires with 30-6-7-6 and earnings of $768,719.

The post Cistron Retired to Harris Farms appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Why Do Some Mares Behave Like Stallions?

Though it's rare, mares can occasionally demonstrate behavior that people commonly associate with stallions — acting aggressively, dominating herdmates and even teasing or mounting other mares. Dr. Patrick McCue tells the American Quarter Horse Association that there are several possible causes for these behaviors.

These include:

Ovarian tumors – The most common ovarian tumors are granulosa cell tumors. About 40 to 50 percent of granulosa tumors contain theca cells, which produce large amounts of testosterone and can cause a mare to act like a stallion. Testosterone levels will remain high until the mare has the tumor surgically removed.

Pregnancy – Pregnant mares have elevated testosterone levels while their fetus produces gonads; the testosterone crosses the placenta into the mare's bloodstream and can affect her behavior. Mares begin to have increased testosterone levels around their fourth month of gestation and these levels peak around month seven. By the last trimester of pregnancy, as testosterone levels decrease, mares tend to become less aggressive.

Mares that aren't pregnant can experience testosterone fluctuations during their estrous cycles.
Steroids – Anabolic steroids can suppress estrus and increase stallion-like behavior, including aggression. These behaviors resolve once steroid use is terminated.

Pseudohermaphrodism – Though rare, pseudohermaphrodism in horses occurs when a horse looks like a mare, but has the genetic makeup of a male horse. These horses have testes instead of ovaries; they are cryptorchids that don't produce spermatozoa, but the testes produce enough testosterone to affect the horse. Horses that are pseudohermaphrodites may have female genitalia. Removing the testes will eliminate stallion-like behavior.

Champion Heart’s Cry Pensioned

Japanese champion and successful sire Heart's Cry (Jpn) (Sunday Silence–Irish Dance {Jpn}, by Tony Bin {Ire}) has been pensioned from stallion duty, according to multiple reports. The Shadai Farm-bred bay is 20 and stood for a private fee this year.

A winner of a 2000-metre maiden at first asking as a 3-year-old, the Kojiro Hashiguchi trainee had won a pair of listed stakes from 10 outings by the end of 2004 and he was also second in the then-listed Tokyo Yushun (Japanese Derby) and third in two more black-type races that term. As a 4-year-old, the Shadai Race Horse runner was named the Japanese Champion Older Horse on the back of his victory in the Arima Kinen (now a Group 1 race) from six starts, where he defeated Deep Impact (Jpn) (Sunday Silence). He was also second in the G1 Japan Cup, G1 Takarazuka Kinen and G2 Sankei Osaka Hai in 2005. Kept in training at five, the Apr. 15 foal captured the G1 Nakheel Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba in Dubai in March of 2006 and he was third in the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. at Ascot that July. Retired after an unplaced run in the G1 Japan Cup back in Japan, the 2006 UAE highweight's race record was 19-5-4-3 with earnings of $8,054,175.

The bay stood his entire career at Shadai Stallion Station, siring 51 black-type winners–10 at Group 1 level from 1475 foals to date. Tops among his 35 group winners was Japanese Horse of the Year, multiple champion, four-time Group 1 winner and G1 Cox Plate victress Lys Gracieux (Jpn), while Just A Way (Jpn) saluted three times at the highest level in both Japan 92) and Dubai (1). Other Group 1 winners by Heart's Cry include Suave Richard (Jpn), Yoshida (Jpn)-who won on both dirt and turf Stateside, Nuovo Record (Jpn), Cheval Grand (Jpn), One and Only (Jpn), Salios (Jpn), Time Flyer (Jpn) and the late G1 Caulfield Cup hero Admire Rakti (Jpn).

As a broodmare sire, Heart's Cry's daughters have already produced six stakes winners, five at the group level and a pair of Group 1 winners. Encouragingly, both G1 Blue Diamond S. hero Tagaloa (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and G1 Satsuki Sho victor Efforia (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}) are both by fellow Shadai residents. His other four black-type winners are all by Lord Kanaloa.

The best foal out of the MSW Irish Dance, Heart's Cry has 20 yearlings and three weanlings entered in the 2021 JRHA Select Sale on July 12-13. His extended family features the G1 February S. winner Nonkono Yume (Jpn) (Twining) and the U.S. Champion Sprinter My Juliet (Gallant Romeo), herself the dam of MGISW Stella Madrid (Alydar) and GISW Tis Juliet (Alydar) among her extensive brood of stakes winners.

The post Champion Heart’s Cry Pensioned appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Stormy Atlantic Pensioned

Stormy Atlantic (Storm Cat–Hail Atlantis, by Seattle Slew) has been pensioned from stud duty, Hill 'n' Dale Farms announced Friday.

The Arthur Appleton homebred won six of his 15 starts, including two stakes, and earned $148,126 before retiring to stud at Bridlewood Farm in his home state of Florida. He stood his first three seasons there before moving to Hill 'n' Dale in Kentucky.

The 27-year-old stallion is responsible for 109 black-type winners and 48 graded winners. His eight Grade I/Group 1 winners include champion and two-time GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint S. winner Stormy Liberal; Canadian Horse of the Year Up With the Birds; and Sovereign Award winner El Tormenta.

“Stormy Atlantic has been generous to Hill 'n' Dale and his shareholders. I would like to thank George Isaacs from Bridlewood for showing the confidence in us for moving Stormy Atlantic from Ocala. He was truly an important sire, whose influence will endure,” said John G. Sikura, President of Hill 'n' Dale Farms.

The post Stormy Atlantic Pensioned appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post