Straight Fire Making Waves in California

With just 26 named foals in his first crop, 'TDN Rising Star' Straight Fire (Dominus – Tricky Indy, by A.P. Indy) is reeling off some impressive statistics as his young stock are making waves in California.

Last year, the son of Dominus based at Legacy Ranch produced 10 winners from 13 runners with his first crop of 2-year-olds. So far in 2022, he has had six winners from 10 runners including dual stakes winner Straight Up G and also a pair of sophomores that swept the California-bred stakes on the Santa Anita Derby undercard earlier this month. Power Surge won the Evening Jewel S. and Smuggler's Run took the Echo Eddie S. while another son of Straight Fire, What in Blazes, finished third in the Echo Eddie.

Straight Fire's three stakes winners already this year rank the sire first among North American second-crop sires by stakes winners from named foals. Among the same group of sires, he also ranks first by stakes winners from runners at 30% and is second only to Gun Runner with his average earnings of over $50,000 per starter.

Bred by Spendthrift Farm, Straight Fire was a $250,000 yearling purchase by Solis and Litt Bloodstock at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton July Sale. He was sent to Eddie Woods and showed promise from the start.

“We thought he was special,” Jason Litt recalled. “The horse always had a great attitude. He loved to train and was easy to be around. When we got him to the track, he was tremendously fast and naturally precocious.”

As a juvenile, the colt broke his maiden second time out at Del Mar by 10 ½ lengths to earn his 'Rising Star' badge. He was then second to MGSW Klimt (Quality Road) in the GI Del Mar Futurity and ran third in the GI FrontRunner S. While he suffered a career-ending injury and was unable to return to the starting gate as a 3-year-old, his connections were so impressed by his juvenile campaign that they pursued a stallion career for their precocious bay.

Straight Fire began his stallion career at Legacy Ranch in 2018 for a group of shareholders that included Legacy Ranch, Jim Rome's Jungle Racing, LNJ Foxwoods, Kim and Kevin Nish's KMN Racing, Andrew Molasky, Rigney Racing, Equine Analysis and Solis/Litt Bloodstock. In his first two years at stud, the stallion was solely supported by his shareholders and bred a total of 66 mares.

This year will look quite different for the stallion. After the success of his juveniles, Straight Fire's stud fee was increased from $3,500 to $7,500, but he already has 60 mares on his book this year coming in from an array of outside breeders.

Straight Fire's first crop did not see the sales ring as they were yearlings in 2020 so the owners opted to race them themselves to avoid the uncertain market during COVID. From Straight Fire's second crop of 20 foals, five yearlings saw the sales ring last year to average nearly $50,000. This year he was represented by a 2-year-old colt that delivered the fastest one-furlong breeze of the Texas 2-Year-Old in Training Sale and later sold for $80,000.

Litt explained that when they first launched Straight Fire's stud career, their goal was to produce quality runners for the lucrative 2-year-olds races at Del Mar. Now that the first crop has surpassed shareholders' original expectations as 2-year-olds, Litt said he believes there could be more to come this year for the stallion as his first crop continues to develop and his second crop hits the racetrack.

Power Surge claims the 2022 Evening Jewel S. | Benoit

“His offspring are like him in that they have great minds, they love to train and they have tremendous natural speed,” he said. “If you watch their races, they instantly break on top naturally. It's one thing to get one good runner, but when there are five or six from a small crop that you're happy with, that's fun.”

Power Surge, winner of the Evening Jewel S., was part of the first crop that was sent to the racetrack rather than the sales ring. She was started by Susan Montanye of SBM Training, who broke several Straight Fire progeny for LNJ Foxwoods and their partners.

“She was very cool,” Montanye recalled. “She was very easy and always had a lot of game. That's how all of the Straight Fires have been for me.  Every time you ask them to do something, they always said yes and they are wanting to do more. They seem to be forward, early horses.”

The filly was sent to trainer Blaine Wright in California along with several other Straight Fire progeny.

“From early on we thought Power Surge was one of the best ones I had in my possession,” Wright recalled. “She was very precocious and has never done a thing wrong. I've pretty much had Straight Fire fillies up to this point, but the horse throws good bone and they're good-minded and tenacious.”

Power Surge broke her maiden at second asking as a juvenile last year. Since then, she has placed in all but one of her five career starts.

“As she has gotten more races into her, she has leveled out as a racehorse,” Wright explained. “Now she can turn it off pretty easy when you ask her in the morning and turn it back on when you want her to. She has ran well on synthetic, but she showed a different level on dirt in the stakes race. After watching her gallop out after that race, it looks like she might get up to a mile. She posted good fractions and did everything the right way.”

Power Surge will be the first horse of racing age by Straight Fire offered at auction when she sells as Hip 22 this week at the Fasig-Tipton April Digital Selected Sale, which closes Tuesday, April 26 at 2 p.m.  Litt explained that because the original intention was to sell Straight Fire's first crop, Power Surge's connections believe that now is the prime time to offer the filly after her stakes victory.

Wright believes the possibilities are endless with Power Surge for the remainder of her sophomore campaign and beyond.

“A filly like her, I think you could probably run her on any surface,” he said. “One thing you can't put into them is a racehorse, and she's got it.”

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Big Weekend Ahead for KMN Racing

Kevin and Kim Nish of KMN Racing are looking forward to a big weekend of racing in California with not one, but two homebreds entered in stakes races at Santa Anita.

On Saturday, What In Blazes (Straight Fire), a blaze-faced 3-year-old colt will make his third career start in the GII San Vicente S. After running a close second on debut, the colt was last seen defeating a field of maiden juveniles by nearly six lengths last July at Del Mar.

“What in Blazes was brought up by Jerry Hollendorfer,” Kevin Nish said. “He ran a little bit short in his first racing, coming out just one workout too early, but he made up for it in his next start at Del Mar. We gave him some vacation time and he's been training really well at Los Alamitos for the past four weeks.”

Nish admitted that the colt will need to take a step up to come out on top in Saturday's Grade II, but explained their reasoning for taking a shot.

“It's hard to fill allowance races in California and stakes races are much more predictable, so we decided to give him a chance against the much more expensive stock in other peoples' barns.”

The five-horse San Vicente S. also includes MyRacehorse and Spendthrift Farm's Forbidden Kingdom (American Pharoah), a $300,000 yearling purchase, as well as three more six-figure purchases in highly-regarded Baffert trainees Doppelganger (Into Mischief), McLaren Vale (Gun Runner) and 2021 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile contender Pinehurst (Twirling Candy).

On Sunday, a second KMN Racing homebred called Smuggler's Run (Straight Fire) will look to remain undefeated in the Baffle S. on the turf. The 3-year-old gelding trained by Richard Baltas debuted on New Year's Day this year, winning a six-furlong dirt contest by 5 ½ lengths

Regarding the switch to the grass, Kim Nish said, “We have heard from several people that he might like the turf. He has an older brother that is a graded stakes winner on the grass and his dam is by Kitten's Joy, so when the stake came up and it was time to run him, we thought it could possibly be a good spot for him.”

Young sire Straight Fire stands at Legacy Ranch in California I Legacy Ranch

Both What in Blazes and Smuggler's Run are from the first crop of California sire Straight Fire. KMN Racing was a partner on the son of Dominus during his racing career and they have stayed in as owners for his stud career.

“He was a really fast, precocious racehorse and he never had the chance to prove just how good he was on the racetrack,” Kevin Nish said of the stallion who placed in both the GI Del Mar Futurity and GI FrontRunner S. in 2016.

Straight Fire was represented by 10 juvenile winners from 13 runners in 2021, including two more KMN Racing-owned horses in Zuboshi and Carasynthia.

“Straight Fire proved himself to be a precocious Del Mar winner and that's where we like to target our horses,” Kevin Nish said. “We like to breed them so that they're speedy and early and that's what he seems to be producing so far.”

“They seem to have great heads on them,” Kim Nish added. “They look like they're all going to be really intelligent.”

KMN Racing has several 2-year-olds by Straight Fire in the pipeline this year that are currently in training in Ocala.

“The people breaking them are telling us they're exceptional,” Kevin Nish said. “We expect to see some of those come out in June or July to see if we can continue the good run he's had.”

Not long after its inception in 2011, KMN Racing had success through racing partnerships with 2013 GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Mizdirection (Mizzen Mast) and Eclipse champion Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg}). Today, they focus on their breeding program by racing the majority of their homebreds. With about half a dozen mares in their broodmare band, KMN Racing's breeding program is somewhat of a rarity nowadays as they almost exclusively focus on breeding to race. They estimate that over the past few years, 80 to 90% of their foals will go to the racetrack while only a few will be sent to the sales if they can fetch the right price.

“With the way people will pay for horses these days, if you can get a few big ones, it can pretty well fund the deficit of a small operation like ours for an extended period of time and enable us to continue to be participants,” Kevin Nish explained.

Smuggler's Run's dam, Maddie's Odyssey (Kitten's Joy), was one of their first broodmares. Picked out by advisors Jason Litt and Alex Solis II in 2012, the mare has become a highly-successful producer for her breeders as the dam of GSWs Grecian Fire (Unusual Heat) and Sneaking Out (Indian Evening) as well as MSW Been Studying Her (Fast Anna).

“She's our foundation mare for our breeding success,” Nish explained. “We've had a few others that have produced stakes horses, but 'Maddie' is consistently giving us stakes winners that have run well and won significant money.”

Maddie's Odyssey has a 2-year-old filly that was bred on a foal share to Tapit and brought $500,000 at this year's Keeneland September Sale. She also has a yearling Constitution colt. Nish said the plan is not yet set on whether or not he will see the sales ring. Maddie's Odyssey was not bred in 2021, but she will be visiting first-year sire Charlatan this year.

What in Blazes's dam, Western Kitty (Western Fame), has an Army Mule yearling colt in the pipeline and is currently in foal to American Freedom. Nish said that this year, she has returned to California and will be bred back to Straight Fire.

Kevin and Kim Nish are currently living in Florida and won't be able to make the races at Santa Anita this weekend, but they said if all goes well with both runners, they will be sure to make the flight for their next start.

 

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Straight Up G Could Try Derby Trail After Cal Cup Derby

A lights-out winner of his last two starts, Jungle Racing LLC's homebred Straight Up G appears a standout versus five sophomores going a mile and one sixteenth in Saturday's $200,000 California Cup Derby at Santa Anita.

One of five California Cup Day races on a 10-race program, the Cal Cup Derby will be center stage as Straight Up G and his rivals attempt to follow in the footsteps of the Art Sherman-trained California Chrome, who used the 2014 Cal Cup Derby as a springboard to glory in the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derbies as well as the 2014 Preakness Stakes.

Like California Chrome, the Richard Baltas-trained Straight Up G, a bay colt by red hot sire Straight Fire, out of the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl, comes off a big win versus statebreds in the one mile King Glorious Stakes run at Los Alamitos on Dec. 12.

“He's doing everything really easily,” said Baltas on Friday morning. “Last time, he handled the two turns with no problem. He's still growing, he big, he's good looking and he's got a good mind. Hopefully he can get this done tomorrow and then maybe we can tackle open company. He's got size, he's got length. The other day, he went five eighths, I got him in 59 and four (fifths), they gave him a minute and one and he galloped out (six furlongs) in 1:13 and one. He did that all on his own, he was by himself.

“I think he wants to go farther. I really don't think he's a sprinter. He's got a lot of natural speed and he looks like a good, solid route horse. The sire's had nothing but runners, so we'll see how far this horse can go.”

Owned and bred by sports talk icon Jim Rome and his wife Janet's Jungle Racing, Straight Up G debuted as an even money favorite going 5 ½ furlongs here on Oct. 9, but finished a disappointing fourth. Subsequently off at 4-5 in a six furlong maiden special versus Cal-breds on Nov. 21 at Del Mar, he aired by 5 ¼ lengths, earning a lofty 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

Off at 2-1 in the King Glorious, he led throughout in a thoroughly dominant performance, winning by 3 ½ lengths over Finneus, who he will again face on Saturday while earning a 75 Beyer.

With Ricky Gonzalez back to ride for a third consecutive time, Straight Up G appears headed for the deep waters of the Kentucky Derby Trail should he replicate his performance in the King Glorious on Saturday.

Like California Chrome, Straight Up G has to be considered a bit “light” in terms of his maternal pedigree, as his first dam, the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl, who although she has produced a talented half sister to Straight Up G, the Baltas-trained Gidgetta (three wins from 11 starts, earnings of $154,309) was unraced and his second dam, Rome's Brazilian-bred Surfer Girl, finished her career 11-1-5-1, with her lone win coming in her native Brazil.

As for his sire, Straight Fire, he was a highly regarded juvenile who sold for $250,000 as a yearling and finished second as the 4-5 favorite in the 2016 Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity. Subsequently third in Santa Anita's G1 FrontRunner Stakes, he retired with one win from four starts and earnings of $146,400.

With the Cal Cup Derby carded early as race three on Saturday, Straight Up G will hope to issue an emphatic keynote speech on a day dedicated to California-breds. Drawn in post position four and installed as the 4-5 morning line favorite by Line Maker Jon White, Straight Up G will no doubt have the attention of all those eyeing the Derby Trail.

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Rome Homebred Straight Up G Towers Over California Cup Derby Foes

A lights-out winner of his last two starts, Jungle Racing LLC's homebred Straight Up G appears a standout versus five sophomores going 1 1/16 miles in Saturday's $200,000 California Cup Derby at Santa Anita in Arcadia, Calif.

One of five California Cup Day races on a 10-race program, the Cal Cup Derby will be center stage as Straight Up G and his rivals attempt to follow in the footsteps of the Art Sherman-trained California Chrome, who used the 2014 Cal Cup Derby as a springboard to glory in the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derbies as well as the 2014 Preakness Stakes.

Like California Chrome, the Richard Baltas-trained Straight Up G, a bay colt by red hot sire Straight Fire, out of the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl, comes off a big win versus statebreds in the one mile King Glorious Stakes run at Los Alamitos on Dec. 12.

Owned and bred by sports talk icon Jim Rome and his wife Janet's Jungle Racing, Straight Up G debuted as an even money favorite going 5 ½ furlongs here on Oct. 9, but finished a disappointing fourth. Subsequently off at 4-5 in a six furlong maiden special versus Cal-breds on Nov. 21 at Del Mar, he aired by 5 ¼ lengths, earning a lofty 80 Beyer Speed Figure.

Off at 2-1 in the King Glorious, he led throughout in a thoroughly dominant performance, winning by 3 ½ lengths over Finneus, who he will again face on Saturday while earning a 75 Beyer.

With Ricky Gonzalez back to ride for a third consecutive time, Straight Up G appears headed for the deep waters of the Kentucky Derby Trail should he replicate his performance in the King Glorious on Saturday.

A gutty half length winner of the seven furlong Golden State Juvenile at Del Mar Nov. 5, Finneus, a California-bred colt by Stay Thirsty, was off as the 9-5 favorite in the King Glorious, but he could never threaten Straight Up G, finishing second by 3 ½ lengths. Well beaten three starts back in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes here on Oct. 1, Finneus, who will be ridden for the first time by John Velazquez, will be trying two turns for the third time. Devoid of early speed, his chances would be enhanced should there be a fast pace.

Bred by Terry Lovinger, trained by Walther Solis and owned by Lovingier, Mohammed Naseer Fasihuddin and Amanda Navarro, Finneus, who is out of the Ghostzapper mare My Fiona, is the leading money earner in the field with $266,366 from an overall mark of 7-2-3-1.

A sharp two length allowance winner going 5 ½ furlongs on synthetic Tapeta at Golden Gate Fields Dec. 31, the O. J. Jauregui-trained Highland Ghost will face statebred company and go two turns for the second time in what will be his eighth career start. Quick from the blocks, this chestnut colt by 2017 Santa Anita Handicap winner Shaman Ghost could prove bothersome early to Straight Up G.

With a solid last-out Beyer of 74 to his credit, Highland Ghost is owned by his breeder, Highland Yard, LLC and is 7-2-2-1 overall with earnings of $69,506.

THE $200,000 CAL CUP DERBY WITH JOCKEYS & WEIGHTS IN POST POSITION ORDER

Race 3 of 10 Approximate post time 1 p.m. PT

  1. Highland Ghost—Flavien Prat—124
  2. Sippin N Kissin—Abel Cedillo—124
  3. Fast Draw Munnings—Drayden Van Dyke–124
  4. Finneus—John Velazquez—124
  5. Straight Up G—Ricardo Gonzalez—124
  6. Agador Spartacus—Tyler Baze–124

First post time for a 10-race card, which will include a total of five California-bred or sired stakes on California Cup Day, Saturday is at 12 noon. Admission gates will open at 10 a.m.

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