Keeneland will accept approved supplemental entries to the April Sale until the sale date.

On Apr. 26, the final race will go off at approximately 5:09 p.m., and the April Sale will begin at 6:30 p.m. The auction will livestreamed on www.Keeneland.com.

“The April Sale will benefit from the excitement generated by our Spring Meet and the fact that all eyes of the racing world are on the Bluegrass at this time of year,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “The auction is well placed on the calendar because in many ways the summer racing season begins when the final race of our Spring Meet is run. Buyers will find tremendous opportunities to add to their stables at this sale on the eve of Kentucky Derby week.”

Among the most accomplished horses cataloged are:

Dana's Beauty, a 6-year-old daughter of Not This Time who has won her past two races, most recently the Latonia S. Mar. 23. She is out of the winning City Zip mare City Siren, a half-sister to recent Keeneland stakes winner Bo Cruz, who took the GIII Commonwealth S.  and from the family of GI Preakness winner and sire Cloud Computing.

Dynamic One, a 6-year-old horse by Union Rags who captured the GII Suburban S. and was second in the GII Wood Memorial S.  and GIII Ben Ali S. From the family of Racing Hall of Famer Personal Ensign, Dynamic One is entered in Keeneland's GIII Ben Ali S. Apr. 20.

Escapologist, a 4-year-old colt by Good Magic coming off a victory in a Mar. 30 allowance optional claimer at Oaklawn Park, where he earned a 93 Beyer. He is out of the winning After Market mare Revealing Moment, a full sister to multiple Grade I winner Belle Gallantey.

Expected Value, a 4-year-old colt by Flatter who won his most recent race at Aqueduct in March. His dam is stakes winner Midnight Visit, by Henny Hughes.

Fuerteventura, a 5-year-old gelding by Summer Front who is a multiple stakes winner and Grade III-placed runner. In March, he took the Cotton Fitzsimmons S. on turf at Turf Paradise.

Noted, a multiple stakes-winning and Grade II-placed 3-year-old colt by Cairo Prince. Out of the winning Proud Citizen mare Sea View Millie, he is from the family of Grade II winner and sire Mark Valeski and Grade III winner Albano.

Sir London, a 5-year-old gelding by Malibu Moon who is coming off a victory in March at Gulfstream Park.

Smile Happy, a millionaire who is a multiple Grade 2 winner and was second in Keeneland's GI Toyota Blue Grass S. The 5-year-old gelding by Runhappy is entered in the Apr. 20 GIII Ben Ali S. at Keeneland.

Tiz the Bomb, a millionaire, Grade II-winning gelding who was second in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. The 5-year-old is by Hit It a Bomb.

Watchtower, a 3-year-old filly by Demarchelier (GB) who is unbeaten in two races this year on turf at Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs. She is out of Zloty, a winning stakes-placed daughter of Exchange Rate.

Click here for the enhanced digital catalog on www.Keeneland.com. The catalog, also available through the Equineline Sales Catalog iPad app, includes pedigrees, Equibase past performances and race videos, Daily Racing Form past performances, and Ragozin and Thoro-Graph figures. Consignors may upload photographs and walking videos.

A print catalog is now available for pickup from the Welcome Center at Keeneland along with a separate booklet with Equibase past performances. A supplemental catalog also will be printed prior to the sale.

Consignments will be stabled and a barn order list produced and distributed around Monday, Apr. 22 when the catalog– including supplements–is close to final.

The post Keeneland Catalogs 111 for April Selected HORA Sale appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Campaigned by the same ownership group as 'TDN Rising Star' Prince of Monaco (Speightstown), $1.05-million Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase LAKE SUPERIOR (Quality Road) makes his first appearance on closing day at Del Mar for trainer Bob Baffert. Dam Celibataire (Broken Vow) also produced the dark bay colt's full-brother SW Stillwater Cove. Out of a female family which includes his dam's full-sister MGSW Interactif, Lake Superior will have the services of the meet's leading rider, Juan Hernandez. TJCIS PPS

2nd-MTH, $57K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 1:10 p.m.

Heading to the Jersey Shore, Monmouth cards a maiden race which includes firsters like $300,000 OBS March Sale buy Bolt of Aurum (Bolt d'Oro), whose dam Scenic Road (Quality Road) is a full-sister to GIII LeComte S. victor Guest Suite. Also drawn is $300,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale grad Dollar Liberty (Gun Runner) out of Debase the Dollar (Malibu Moon). That dam has produced seven foals with three winners out of four to race, and is a half-sister herself to GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup S. heroine La Coronel (Colonel John). Between this pair to the inside you'll find Tiz Marks Spirit (Mor Spirit), who counts GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. hero Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb) as a half-brother. TJCIS PPS

2nd-KD, $150K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1mT, 2:02 p.m.

Taking to the Kentucky Down grass course before that meet wraps is first-time starter Everland (Arrogate) for George Strawbridge. The homebred is the first of three foals for Ever Changing (Tapit). Her second dam Rainbow View (Dynaformer) was crowned European Champion 2-year-old filly in 2008 and her grand dam is a half-sister to both GI Arlington Million S. runner-up Just As Well (A.P. Indy) and GII Longines Dixie S. winner Utley (Smart Strike). TJCIS PPS

4th-DMR, $82K, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 6:05 p.m.

Halone (Justify), a Baoma homebred, debuts for Bob Baffert. Out of Sea Gift (A.P. Indy), the chestnut filly is a half-sister to GIII Sunland Derby champ Chitu (Henny Hughes). Her dam is also responsible for GIII Santa Ysabel S. heroine Beautiful Gift (Medgalia d'Oro), who was purchased by Katusmi Yoshida at the Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed Sale last year for $2 million and whose Feb. 22 foal by Into Mischief, her first, just went to the KY Company for ¥160 million at the JRA Yearling and Foal Sale. TJCIS PPS

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With the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the rear-view mirror, the summer turf season kicks into high gear starting with a pair of Grade I's at Belmont Park Saturday. The home team takes on a new wave of European challengers in the 1 1/4-mile GI Caesars Belmont Derby Invitational S., the first leg of the Caesars Turf Triple Series.

Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), last seen finishing ninth behind longshot GI Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice), finally gets back to the surface that he's shown plenty of success on previously. Tiz the Bomb scored back-to-back victories on the grass in the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S. Sept. 6 and Keeneland's GII Castle & Key Bourbon S. Oct. 10. He ended his 2-year-old campaign with just a half-length defeat to Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar Nov. 5, his most recent try on grass.

After an unsuccessful 3-year-old debut in the GIII Holy Bull S., Tiz the Bomb returned to form with two wins on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park, taking both the John Battaglia Memorial S. Mar. 5 and GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. Apr. 2. He defeated eventual Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike (Keen Ice) in the latter.

“We gave him a Kentucky Derby chance,” trainer Ken McPeek said. “He ran respectable, but he's certainly not as good on the dirt as he is on the grass.”

McPeek will also saddle Kentucky Derby 11th Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), who will be making his first start on the turf. The GIII Sam F. Davis S. and the GII Tampa Bay Derby winner, previously trained by Brian Lynch, was third in Thistledown's GIII Ohio Derby June 25.

Topping the European contenders is Godolphin homebred Nations Pride (Ire) (Teofilo {Ire}), who, barring his poor effort most recently in the G1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom June 4, previously won four straight, including a seven-length win in the Newmarket S. Apr. 29 over the same 1 1/4-mile distance he'll try Saturday.

Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), drawn wide in post 13, also exits a disappointing showing like his aforementioned rival in the Cazoo Derby. Prior to that, he showed good form in taking the G3 Derby Trial S. at Leopardstown May 8 and also when finishing second in the 2021 G1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud.

Also on tap over Belmont's turf course Saturday is the 1 1/4- mile GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S., which features a similar combination of American and European-bred contenders. Chad Brown brings a trio of options starting with 'TDN Rising Star' Haughty (Empire Maker), who ended her juvenile season with only a three-quarter length defeat to Pizza Bianca (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf Nov. 5 at Del Mar.

McKulick (GB) (Frankel {GB}) enters for Brown off a second- place finish in the 1 1/8-mile GIII Regret S. at Churchill Downs June 4. She was also second behind fellow Oaks rival New Year's Eve (Kitten's Joy) in the GII Edgewood S. May 6.

Rounding out Brown's entries is Consumer Spending (More Than Ready), who enters having won four of her last five starts. While no match for Pizza Bianca in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, she began her 3-year-old season with back-to-back wins. She turned the tables on Pizza Bianca in Aqueduct's Memories of Silver S. Apr. 24, then added the GII Wonder Again S. at Belmont June 9.

Hailing from the barn of Aidan O'Brien, Concert Hall (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is listed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite. The 2021 G3 Weld Park S. winner was stretched out in distance as a 3-year-old. Her form this season includes a third-place finish in the G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas May 22, a fourth-place finish in the G1 Cazoo Oaks June 3, and a fifth-place finish in the G1 Pretty Polly S. at Curragh June 26.

Five Line Up for Suburban

The Belmont dirt will showcase older horses going 1 1/4 miles in the GII Suburban S. Shug McGaughey brings in 'TDN Rising Star' First Captain (Curlin), who enters off a career-best performance in the GIII Pimlico Special S. May 20. Dynamic One (Union Rags) is listed as the 7-5 morning-line favorite in the field of five. After getting seven months off following his seventh-place effort in the GI Travers S. Aug. 28, he returned as a 4-year-old with increasingly positive results. He checked in third off the layoff in the GIII Challenger S. at Tampa Mar. 12, was second in the GIII Ben Ali S. Apr. 23, and most recently won the Blame S. June 4 at Churchill. The field also includes defending Suburban champion Max Player (Honor Code).

The Belmont card also includes the GIII Victory Ride S. for 3-year-old fillies. Marylou Whitney Stables's Pretty Birdie (Bird Song) was second in her last two, completing the exacta behind Matareya (Pioneerof the Nile) in the GII Eight Belles S. May 6 and Wicked Halo (Gun Runner) in the Leslie's Lady Overnight S. June 12. The field also includes Happy Soul (Runhappy), second last time in Pimlico's GIII Miss Preakness S. May 20.

Smaller Circuit Graded Stakes Attract Big Names

Horseshoe Indianapolis–formerly Indiana Grand–may've changed its name, but the industry's heavy hitters came with their runners just the same for the GIII Indiana Derby and GIII Indiana Oaks, scheduled to go as the last two races on the card.

In the nightcap contest for the colts, 75-1 longshot GII Rebel S. conqueror Un Ojo (Laoban) returns off a three-month layoff in his first attempt for trainer Robertino Diodoro. Conditioner Kenny McPeek's GISW Rattle N Roll (Connect) is cross-entered here and in the Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows after ending his five-race losing streak last weekend in the July 2 American Derby at Churchill Downs. Texas Derby winner King Ottoman (Curlin), trained by Steve Asmussen, and the Brad Cox-trained Best Actor (Flatter)–a $330,000 KEESEP purchase for Gary and Mary West–round a talented, if lightly raced, field.

The Indiana Oaks is shaping up to be a battle of the trainers as McPeek and Cox send out a pair each. Juddmonte homebred Patna (Into Mischief) and GI Ashland S. third Interstatedaydream (Classic Empire) will fly the flag of the latter. Nine-length maiden winner Silverleaf (Speightster) and the rapidly improving Runaway Wife (Gun Runner) will look to cap a potentially big day for McPeek.

Shifting to Prairie Meadows for the evening, the GIII Prairie Meadows Cornhusker H. attracted the evergreen gelding Rated R Superstar (Kodiak Kowboy), looking to rebound from a pair of disappointing efforts, including in Lone Star's May 30 GIII Steve Sexton Mile S. That race was won by the horse to his inside, the re-opposing Silver Prospector (Declaration of War). Warrant (Constitution), second last out in the GII Brooklyn H. June 11 and second Mar. 5 in the GI Santa Anita H., aims to secure his first win of the season.

A field of eight fillies will do battle for the GIII Iowa Oaks crown, led by the Todd Pletcher-trained Falconet (Uncle Mo) and local Panther S. victress Butterbean (Klimt). Candy Raid (Candy Ride {Arg}), a surprise winner of the Apr. 2 Bourbonette Oaks, is cross-entered in the Indiana Oaks.

Marathon Runners Chime In From Delaware

A big weekend of racing will also be rolling at Delaware Park as a field of 10 lines up to contest the grassy GIII Robert G. Dick Memorial S., featuring over half of the Keertana S. field, including first and second-place finishers Temple City Terror (Temple City) and Stand Tall (Uncle Mo).

The main track filly and mare marathoners will also have their day in the (most likely not present) Delaware sun in the GII Delaware Handicap, with the streaking Serena's Song S. and Obeah S. heroine Miss Leslie (Paynter) leading the charge.

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It is also, lest we forget, staged on a benign surface. As such, it is also a win for a whole community that needs to present its way of life to the wider world with absolute confidence. To a degree, you could almost say that the rapid maturity of the elite turf schedule devised by NYRA has become one way for the East Coast to complement the fantastic recent work, celebrated here a couple of weeks ago, on the dirt tracks of California.

In fact, you could even argue that it also dovetails with the progressive aspirations that have just inaugurated the HISA era. We know that some people will cling stubbornly to the wreckage, fiercely opposing federal interference with their constitutional right to treat the training of Thoroughbreds as a branch of pharmacology. But it's good to see so many industry stakeholders beginning to see the bigger picture; to recognize the trouble we've been inviting for ourselves, and to do something about it.

Click the play button below to listen to this week's edition of This Side Up.

And that's heartening, because right now we only have to look around to realize what a special product we have to share, if only we get our act together.

Look at last weekend, and look what's coming down the tracks, and shout it from the rooftops: we have a great game here. Provided we care for them as they deserve–and that includes the provision of scrupulously maintained dirt tracks, and a properly respected turf/synthetics division–we could have no more captivating advocate than these noble horses of ours.

So long as we have Saratoga, we still have a chance. Much as can again be said of Santa Anita, here's a sanctuary from the cares of life to win over even the most surly and snarling of sceptics. And the meet looks more exciting than ever after Olympiad (Speightstown) and Life Is Good (Into Mischief) threw down the gauntlet for the GI Whitney S.

The one pity is that they've dropped all talk of Flightline (Tapit) shipping back across for that race, too. Connections would evidently rather stay in his backyard, this time, even at the cost of a more abrupt step up in distance. We won't reprise our irritation that this huge talent should have become such an extreme example of the modern horseman's dread of actually racing a racehorse. But we all know that while life may indeed be good, it seldom contrives its very best possibilities. And experience sadly tells us that the idea of all three of these horses converging on the same race at the Breeders' Cup, in the same form as now, is a fanciful one.

What we do know is that right here, right now, we could put on one of the great races of our time. Nobody can be complacent about that happening in November, especially if their respective fortunes in the meantime happen to make the Dirt Mile more tempting than the Classic. Of course, we can't expect individual horsemen to base their gameplan on sheer altruism, when they need to redeem such heavy stakes already committed to the industry. But it does just seem a shame that when people start comparing horses to greats of the past, very often they don't see them measured even against the best of their contemporaries.

That became a familiar charge against Frankel (GB), albeit without eroding his status as one of the undisputed giants of the breed. The relentless style trademarked by his stock, in what is proving a no less brilliant stud career, has only heightened regret that he spurned both the Arc and the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Frankel / Juddmonte

But we have long become bleakly familiar with the schism nowadays dividing the industries either side of the pond. The only real trafficking between them today is about plugging the gaps in American grass racing. Frankel's two daughters in the GI Belmont Oaks show that this can be done by participation or trade: one, homebred by Godolphin, mounts a raid from Newmarket; the other was imported from that same town as a yearling. A third way is elaborated, however, by the presence in the colts' race of Stone Age (Ire), a White Birch-bred son of Galileo (Ire) shared by farm owner Peter Brant with partners from Coolmore. It's a massive tribute to the impresarios behind the Turf Triple that once again, as with last year's winner Bolshoi Ballet (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), this race has been chosen as the next target for Ballydoyle's principal candidate in the Epsom Derby itself.

Yet while the import market for European horses-in-training and yearlings grows ever stronger, it somehow remains impossible even for highly eligible European stallions to achieve commercial traction in Kentucky. Flintshire (GB) (Dansili {GB}) was retired as the highest earner in the history of the Juddmonte program, and supplanted only by a member of his own family in Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}). Yet during his final spring in the Bluegrass–when his first crop had just turned three, one of its members flying into fifth of 19 in the G1 Prix du Jockey-Club–he was outrageously reduced to just eight mares.

American horsemen increasingly talk a good game about turf, but in practice most of them are no less culpable than Europeans about dirt blood. I know this is a drum I have long since banged to a pulp, but it's worth reflecting that all four of Stone Age's grandparents were bred in Kentucky: the icons Sadler's Wells and Urban Sea obviously stand behind Galileo, while his dam is by Danzig's son Anabaa out of an Alysheba mare. Stone Age's maternal line actually tapers to none other than La Troienne (Fr), but as eighth dam she is also the first not to have been conceived with Kentucky seed.

For sure, some horses are more versatile than others. Tiz The Bomb (Hit It A Bomb), for instance, was plainly born for chlorophyll. His connections were originally talking about a tilt at the Classics in Britain, only to be seduced to Churchill–understandably enough–when he found himself with those coveted starting points. Look closer, however, and you'll see that this horse, too, cautions against a prescriptive view of surfaces: his first two dams are by avowed dirt influences, in Tiznow and A.P. Indy, yet both ended up on turf.

His trainer also saddles recent recruit Classic Causeway (Giant's Causeway), famously one of three colts from the final crop of one of the last of the old school, a crossover force in both careers. As befits a son of the Iron Horse, he is being turned round just two weeks after his debut for the barn. That kind of thing makes Kenny McPeek a real outlier, in this day and age. And that's why, when I see the future, actually I don't see it working at all.

Not, that is, until breeders start renewing the kind of cross-pollination that previously opened such dynamic cycles in the evolution of the Thoroughbred, from Nasrullah going one way to all those sons of Northern Dancer going the other. In those days, we bred robust horses by the constant, mutual invigoration of the gene pool, either side of the water. If cynical, in-and-out, fast-buck trading in the freshman window is producing horses that can only run every couple of months, that's actually a welfare issue. So while we have found one welcome oasis, we must navigate with care if our final destination is not to prove a mirage.

The post This Side Up: Renewal Starts at Grass Roots appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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The Backside Learning Center at Churchill Downs stands to gain anywhere between $200,000 and $400,000 based on the results of Saturday's GI Kentucky Derby beneath the Twin Spires.

In January, Brook Smith–a longtime supporter of the BLC–placed a $10,000 Kentucky Derby Future Wager on Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb), pledging any winnings to the center. A Derby victory would be worth $114,000.

Smith's wager was a friendly challenge to Texas-based businessman and famed sports bettor “Mattress Mack” Jim McIngvale's Future Wager bet for the same amount on Smile Happy, a son of McIngvale's 2015 champion sprinter and current Claiborne Farm stallion Runhappy. The BLC used Smith's largesse as an opportunity to reach out to McIngvale, the Houston furniture magnate as famous for his philanthropy as he is his huge Gallery Furniture promotions tied to the outcome of famous sporting events.

“We wanted to engage him in our important mission of providing support and resources to the entire community of track workers and their families,” said Sherry Stanley, executive director of the BLC. “McIngvale's been a significant supporter of equine workers all over the country in the past. He was immediately interested in connecting with the BLC. We are thrilled to have Jim as a new high-profile advocate for our work.”

“Mattress Mack” appeared as a special guest at the BLC'S “Thoroughbred Owners' Derby Handicapping Social”, held Apr. 14 at the downtown Louisville Thoroughbred Society. McIngvale announced at the event that if the Kentucky Derby favorite or Smile Happy were to win America's greatest horse race, he would donate $200,000 to the Backside Learning Center to sponsor summer camp experiences for children of backside workers.

“The backside has helped so many people that put their heart and soul into the horse-racing business,” McIngvale said. “If we can bring in money, resources and networks, we can help the backbone of the horse-racing industry–which are these hardworking people who are taking care of the animals 24/7.”

In another twist, Smith upped his ante by announcing that if any horse other than the favorite or Smile Happy win, he will make his own donation of $200,000.

At the same fundraiser, Mike Mackin, a part-owner of Smile Happy, said the ownership group would pitch in another $200,000 if their colt prevails Saturday.

“Mack said he'd give the Backside Learning Center $200,000 if Smile Happy won and I said we'd match it,” Mackin said. “I'm just starting to learn about the Backside Learning Center. But from what I've learned, they are doing great work in helping the people who care for our horses.”

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Jeff Drown's Zandon (Upstart), who cemented his spot in the Derby field with an eye-catching victory in the GI Toyota Blue Grass S. at Keeneland Apr. 9, has remained in Lexington to train up to the big race and went a half-mile in :48.60 (see below). The $170,000 Keeneland September graduate covered his opening furlong in :12.80, then gradually picked up speed through subsequent splits of :25.20 and :37 flat, with trainer Chad Brown and big-race rider Flavien Prat observing from the grandstand. Zandon galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.80, three-quarters of a mile in 1:13.80 and was up seven panels in 1:27.80.

“He was moving super; just what we wanted to see,” Brown said. “We just wanted to maintain where he is. He does not have to get any fitter. I was impressed with how he galloped out.”

Zandon is scheduled to ship to Churchill Sunday morning and will have his final Derby drill next Saturday.

WATCH: Zandon breezes a half-mile at Keeneland

Among those working beneath the Twin Spires Saturday was Blue Grass runner-up and 'TDN Rising Star' Smile Happy (Runhappy), who worked five furlongs in the company of his GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks-winning stable companion Tiz the Bomb (Hit It a Bomb). Smile Happy, whose docket includes a second-out victory in Churchill's GII Kentucky Jockey Club S., began the work about one length ahead of Brian Hernandez, Jr. and Tiz the Bomb (1:00.20), who moved to the outside of Smile Happy (1:00.40) and finished on even terms.

“We were just looking for an easy move today and we got that,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “We'll probably do the same thing again next week.”

A day after stablemate and 'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) sizzled six furlongs in 1:12.40, Gold Square's GI Arkansas Derby hero Cyberknife (Gun Runner) followed suit Saturday morning. Working at 5:15 a.m. with Florent Geroux at the controls, the Gold Square colorbearer went the same distance a tick quicker, then galloped out an extra furlong in :12.40, according to noted Churchill clocker John Nichols. Geroux also breezed Zozos on Friday, but retains the call on Cyberknife for the Derby.

“It was a really strong move and he's a really good work horse,” Geroux said. “He continues to improve as time goes on and he showed that winning the Arkansas Derby. Even going back to his allowance win before the Arkansas Derby he showed a new level of class.”

WATCH: Brad Cox discusses Cyberknife's work with Jennie Rees

The one-eyed Un Ojo (Laoban) was also out for a serious move Saturday morning at Churchill, working five furlongs in :59.40 for trainer Ricky Courville in splits of :11.60, :23, :35 and :47.60 before galloping out six panels in 1:12.20.

“It's amazing being here at Churchill Downs,” said Courville's son Clay. “I've been here before but nothing like this. [Un Ojo] is getting over the track really well.”

At Santa Anita Saturday morning, 'TDN Rising Star' Messier (Empire Maker) went five furlongs in :59.80 for trainer Tim Yakteen, galloping out six furlongs in 1:12 and change, per a tweet from the ownership group's Tom Ryan. The Ontario-bred works again next Friday before shipping to Kentucky.

Expected to work Sunday are the Steve Asmussen duo of GII Louisiana Derby winner Epicenter (Not This Time) and Echo Zulu (Gun Runner), each among the favorites for the Derby and Oaks, respectively.

MESSIER cruised 59.8 with @DraydenV in hand this morning, galloped out 6f in 1:12, and change. @timyakteen was delighted with the move. He's come out of the @santaanitapark Derby in great shape; the plan is to work next Friday again before he ships to @ChurchillDowns #Messier pic.twitter.com/TlziVd5vWQ

— Tom Ryan. (@TomRyanKY) April 23, 2022

Kathleen O. Leads Oaks Workers…

Winngate Stables' Kathleen O. (Upstart), undefeated winner of the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and also among the top fancies for the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks, prepped for that engagement Saturday at Keeneland, breezing a measured half-mile in :48.80  (see below) for her Hall of Fame conditioner Shug McGaughey.

“She picked it up and galloped out strong,” said assistant trainer Anthony Hamilton. “We are in good shape. She's a happy horse–that's what you look for.”

Kathleen O. ships across to Churchill Monday or Tuesday, according to Hamilton.

Candy Raid (Candy Ride {Arg}), upset winner of the Bourbonette Oaks at Turfway Park Apr. 2, went four furlongs in :49.20 (video) with Rafael Bejarano in the irons.

“This was her last work here,” said Bejarano, who rode Candy Raid for the first time in the victory at Turfway. “She's feeling good. I got her out five-eighths in 1:02 and change.”

Candy Raid is scheduled to ship to Churchill on Thursday and have her final pre-Oaks work there.

Oaks workers at Churchill included GIII Pocahontas S. winner Hidden Connection (Connect, 5f in 1:00.60); GIII Gazelle S. victress Nostalgic (Medaglia d'Oro, 4f, :48.80); and Busher S. romper and Gazelle runner-up Venti Valentine (Firing Line, 4f, :47.40).

WATCH: Kathleen O. breezes towards the Oaks at Keeneland

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Gold Square's GI Arkansas Derby winner Cyberknife worked at 9 a.m. outside of multiple stakes-placed stablemate Tommy Bee (Medaglia d'Oro). Cyberknife started two lengths behind Tommy Bee and completed fractions of :12.20, :23.80 and :47.20. Cyberknife finished even with Tommy Bee around the seven eighths pole and easily galloped out six furlongs in 1:15.40.

“I thought he looked great,” said trainer Brad Cox. “He's done well at Churchill in the past and really likes it here.”

About 90 minutes earlier, Magdalena Lessee's GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. winner Tiz the Bomb worked with jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. in the irons. He recorded an opening quarter-mile in :24.20 and galloped out five furlongs in 1:01.20.

Moments later, exercise rider Masa Matsuda breezed Teruya Yoshida's G2 UAE Derby winner Crown Pride six furlongs from the half-mile pole. The duo easily completed opening fractions of :14.60, :28.20, :54 and 1:06.20. Crown Pride steadily picked up his work around the turn and onto the backside before completing his move through seven furlongs in 1:32.40.

Winngate Stables' unbeaten GI Kentucky Oaks contender Kathleen O. (Upstart), meanwhile, worked four furlongs in :48.60 Saturday morning at Keeneland.

According to Keeneland clockers, the GII Gulfstream Oaks heroine galloped out five furlongs in 1:01 and six furlongs in 1:15.80 after clocking splits of :12.80, :25.60 and :37.40 under exercise rider David Jego.

“I was hoping to see just what I saw,” trainer Shug McGaughey said. “She does not need a whole lot. She is coming off a race two weeks ago. [The time and the gallop out] were just what I was looking for. So far we are right on track.”

Tsunebumi and Sekie Yoshihara's Yuugiri (Shackleford), winner of the GIII Fantasy S., covered four furlongs in :50 at Keeneland with trainer Rodolphe Brisset aboard.

“You could see it a lot of times when horses would come here from Florida with the change in the air, the change in the weather that they would just blossom, and you can see it,” Brisset said. “She is doing that, and I am very pleased with her.”

Don't Tell My Wife Stables and trainer Keith Desormeaux's Bourbonette Oaks upsetter Candy Raid (Candy Ride {Arg}) worked four furlongs in :50.40 at Keeneland.

Slow Down Andy (Nyquist), winner of the GIII Sunland Derby, will miss the Kentucky Derby after recently spiking a temperature, according to a report in Horse Racing Nation.

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But if this industry is too unpredictable for even a team as alert as Spendthrift to win every time, their program will reliably even things out. And just 15 minutes before the success of White Abarrio, who was bred on the farm before being cheaply sold, another Spendthrift graduate had booked a GI Kentucky Derby starting gate of his own.

Tiz The Bomb's success in the GIII Jeff Ruby S. quickly ended talk of an audacious raid on the storied British Classic, the G1 Qipco 2,000 Guineas. However he fares at Churchill, this colt is already a feather in the cap of a stallion still fighting his corner at the same end of the Spendthrift roster that once featured Race Day–and, in the process, serving a key priority of the farm's late owner B. Wayne Hughes, in trying to look after its less affluent clients.

Hit It A Bomb was launched at $7,000 in 2017 before slipping to $5,000 even before he made what proved a fairly low-key debut at the yearling sales. The fact is that the GI Breeders' Cup Turf Juvenile winner, though an unbeaten juvenile by War Front, has never mustered the kind of support enjoyed by so many other young stallions on this farm–presumably because of the usual aversion of Kentucky's commercial breeders to grass pedigrees and performance. His first two books did not quite reach 50 mares, and his third dwindled to just 20.

Obviously there's a limit to what can be sensibly gleaned from his commercial performance, from such a modest footprint, but he showed what he could do with the right opportunity when Spendthrift paired him, in his second season, with a Tiznow mare whose aristocratic family we'll consider shortly. As a yearling the resulting colt sold (through Eaton Sales) to Kenny McPeek for $330,000 at the post-lockdown “Showcase” auction staged by Fasig-Tipton.

Needless to say, that transaction was central to Hit It A Bomb's unusual achievement in advancing the average of his second crop of yearlings ($47,916 from $30,153), but it's worth noting that his median also improved ($23,500 from $13,000).

Anyway this colt was, of course, Tiz The Bomb. He offered little immediate promise in his first venture onto the Churchill dirt, beating only one rival in a sprint maiden a year ago next week, but his tour of the other Kentucky tracks has told us rather more. Stepped up to a mile for an off-the-turf maiden at Ellis Park, he won by over 14 lengths before switching to grass to win a stakes at Kentucky Downs and a Grade II at Keeneland. He then left the state to prove best of the home team in the race won by his sire at the Breeders' Cup despite a messy trip. We have to put a line through his resumption in the GII Holy Bull S., but back in Kentucky he has now regrouped with consecutive wins on the synthetic track at Turfway Park.

Tiz The Bomb will plainly take one or two question marks into the Derby, and the answers lurking in his pedigree do not appear terribly encouraging. Its most consistent element, however, is quality–with Hit It A Bomb's own family tree stacking up pretty respectably against the exceptional maternal line introduced by Tiz The Bomb's dam.

The most blatant genetic note in Hit It A Bomb himself is an extremely proximate combination of the two principal international conduits of the Northern Dancer revolution: with Danzig as grandsire, and Sadler's Wells as damsire. (Additionally his second dam is by Danzig's grandson Danehill Dancer (Ire), while his fourth dam is by another fount of Northern Dancer in Be My Guest.) A more understated duplication meanwhile features Forli (Arg), whose excellence as a distaff influence is attested here by both Special, granddam of Sadler's Wells, and also War Front's second dam.

Overall there's no getting away from the fact that Hit It A Bomb's family carries a ton of chlorophyll. Four of his first five dams are by sires branded principally by their work in Europe: Sadler's Wells, Danehill Dancer, Be My Guest and Vaguely Noble (Ire). His third dam is by Private Account—primarily associated with dirt in the U.S., as we'd expect of a son of Damascus standing in Kentucky, but also sire of a couple of notable turf achievers for the Niarchos family in East Of The Moon and Chimes Of Freedom.

Hit It A Bomb was bred by the venerable Mrs. Evie Stockwell (mother of Coolmore boss John Magnier) from Liscanna (Ire), who had mustered both her wins, one at Group 3 level, over just six furlongs—hardly a common distinction in a daughter of Sadler's Wells. No fewer than five of Liscanna's nine named foals are by War Front, and two of them won elite prizes as juveniles for Mrs. Stockwell: Hit It A Bomb himself, and Brave Anna, who like her mother majored in speed by adding the G1 Cheveley Park S. to her G3 Albany S. success at Royal Ascot. (Winning both those races, incidentally, by a short head!)

Liscanna's mother Lahinch (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) was another brisk performer, as a stakes winner at five and seven furlongs. She did introduce a little more stamina to the family record through two daughters of Galileo (Ire), respectively runners-up in the G1 Epsom Oaks and a nine-furlong Group 2; and while Galileo obviously loaded a ton of staying power into his stock, Lahinch also produced a son by the miler Hawk Wing to win a Listed race at 10 furlongs.

On the whole, however, this family is flavored by quite a bit of speed and War Front was hardly going to dilute that. Admittedly Hit It A Bomb only ran them down on the line at the Breeders' Cup, but that was primarily down to a very wide draw. So you could argue that the obvious caveats about Tiz The Bomb, regarding the dirt, should possibly also extend to the extra furlong awaiting him on the first Saturday in May.

So what help can Tiz The Bomb find, on both fronts, from his maternal family? Well, at first sight, you would take heart from his first two dams–both being by copper-bottomed two-turn dirt influences in Tiznow and A.P. Indy. (And don't forget that Tiznow's remarkable dam Cee's Song is by Seattle Song, like A.P. Indy a son of Seattle Slew.)

But the name that really pegs down Tiz The Bomb's pedigree is that of his fifth dam. For she is none other than Gay Missile, the granddam of A.P. Indy's mother Weekend Surprise. (Weekend Surprise, of course, was by Secretariat–whose half-brother Sir Gaylord sired Gay Missile.)

The daughter of Gay Missile who opened this branch of the dynasty founded by her dam Missy Baba (My Babu {Fr}) is Gallanta (Fr), runner-up in the G1 Prix Morny as a sprinting juvenile. The speed of her sire Nureyev would also come through in Gallanta's best daughter, Gay Gallanta (Woodman), who was rated the fastest young filly of her crop in winning the G1 Cheveley Park S. and the G3 Queen Mary S. at Royal Ascot–and would herself produced a pretty quick horse in Byron (GB) (Green Desert).

Though at one remove, with some sturdy influences arising in between, these are not the kind of names to shore up any holes in the stamina of Tiz The Bomb. Gay Gallanta did have a half-brother who lasted 10 furlongs well, earning a place at stud in South Africa, but he was by an extreme stamina influence in Alleged.

Gallanta produced Tiz The Bomb's third dam Mayville's Magic by that diverse influence Gone West. It's hard to draw any conclusions from the career of Mayville's Magic in Britain, as she regressed after winning a sprint maiden on debut. With her illustrious family she had cost as much as $725,000 as a Keeneland September yearling and, given corresponding covers in her second career, she did eventually produce four black-type performers. One, by Giant's Causeway, ran fourth in the GI American Oaks; while A.P. Indy's daughter Cabbage Key had won three in a row before twice placing in minor stakes company.

That was on grass, however, despite the input of A.P. Indy. In producing Tiz The Bomb's dam Tiz The Key from Cabbage Key, then, Tiznow really needs to have poured his love of dirt into the genetic equation–and by the barrel–if Tiz The Bomb is to vindicate the switch back to that surface.

Tiz The Key certainly restored some ability to this rather slumbrous corner of the Gay Missile legacy. Her physique got a $330,000 vote of confidence from Spendthrift as a September yearling and, sent to Richard Mandella, she did break her maiden on the dirt. But she was then stepped up to 10 furlongs of grass to follow up in an allowance race, and then emulated her “aunt” by running fourth in the GI American Oaks.

It cannot augur well for Tiz The Bomb's Derby challenge that his first two dams, though by avowed dirt influences in Tiznow and A.P. Indy, both ended up on the grass. With very little help available from his sire, in terms of dirt, this pedigree looks a pretty fragile foundation for the “Derby fever” that has, understandably with all those gate points in the bank, now altered his schedule.

On one level, it feels rather a shame that Tiz The Bomb won't be going to Newmarket. He has shown exciting talent on turf/synthetics and would have introduced an exotic factor on the Rowley Mile. But if the renewed dirt gamble does not pay off, he will naturally retain every chance to regroup.

Let's hope he can do so, as his sire deserves credit for stoking up embers of quality in a rather dormant branch of the Gay Missile family. Though facing some pretty steep commercial odds, Hit It A Bomb has also had a Grade I winner on dirt in Argentina; while his debut crop did include GII Best Pal S. winner Weston, albeit that horse has slithered down the grades since.

It must be said that the Guineas looked like Tiz The Bomb's best shot in the British Classics: the severe stamina test at Epsom, certainly, would look a highly speculative next move should the Kentucky Derby not work out. That's because the unusually “green” tinge under the dirt influences along the bottom line is complemented, in his sire's own family, by the kind of speed you wouldn't normally expect around Sadler's Wells.

But there would still be a ton of other exciting turf options, either side of the water, to capture the imagination of Tiz the Bomb's adventurous trainer. So it should be a fun ride ahead, regardless, and he's already a five-for-eight millionaire–as much as anyone could ask, clearly, of a stallion standing for $5,000.

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Tiz the Bomb, a dual stakes winner and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile turf runner-up at two, bounced back from a seventh-place run in Gulfstream's GIII Holy Bull S. to sweep a pair of synthetic-track stakes at Turfway, and will head to Louisville after being considered for a start at Newmarket in the Apr. 30 G1 2000 Guineas.

“When we ran him in Florida, the colt didn't handle the Gulfstream surface and the kickback,” McPeek said. “That surface is a little bit different, it's deep, sand-based and he just didn't go for it. I sent him to Turfway to get his confidence back in the [John] Battaglia and that worked out. So the natural next step was the Jeff Ruby and he punched, and ran a super race. I actually felt like he would be a great horse to take over for the 2000 Guineas, and the undulation of Newmarket wasn't any harder or actually could be easier than his victory at Kentucky Downs [in the Kentucky Downs Mile S.]. But due to some logistics and technicalities, he's not going to go, and our next option is either a turf race at Churchill or the Kentucky Derby. I really think at this point, the horse probably deserves a chance.”

As for Smile Happy, a no-doubt Derby contender who will make just his second start as a 3-year-old in Saturday's Blue Grass after a runner-up effort in the GII Risen Star S., McPeek said, “This is a really special colt. I've been sitting on this horse like a keg of dynamite for months now. I didn't want more than two preps going into the Kentucky Derby. I think the [Derby qualifying] points he got in Louisiana will more than likely get him in. I want to see him run well in the Blue Grass, obviously, and being a Lexington boy, it's always fun to win the Blue Grass. I didn't want to over-race this horse this winter. I really sat on him for a reason, because I think he's a horse that can handle the progression of the Derby, Preakness and Belmont. And you've got to have some juice in the tank for those races. If you're already a little tired or you've overdone it going into those three races, obviously your horse is going to be taxed. But he could set up really well for those.”

Elsewhere on the show, which is also sponsored by Coolmore, the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association, XBTV, West Point Thoroughbreds and Legacy Bloodstock, the writers reacted to Secret Oath (Arrogate)'s valiant but losing performance in the GI Arkansas Derby, the beginning of Bob Baffert's 90-day suspension and the latest shenanigans surrounding banned trainer Wayne Potts. Click here to watch the podcast; click here for the audio-only version or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

The post Ken McPeek Talks Derby Hopefuls Tiz the Bomb, Smile Happy On Writers’ Room appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Only eight races on the Kentucky Derby trail give as many as 100 points to the winner–good for a guaranteed spot in the Derby starting gate–but trainer Kenny McPeek suggested before the race that Tiz the Bomb will likely bypass the Derby and target the G1 QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket Apr. 30 and/or the G1 Cazoo Derby at Epsom June 4. He wasn't as firm on that stance immediately after the race.

“We're not going to make a decision quickly,” said McPeek, who said the ownership team wasn't going to rule out the Kentucky Derby. “We'll have to figure out some details. I do think the further he goes, the better. Just a real special colt. We've got some options and they're really great options. Right now, we'll enjoy this and go from there.”

He added regarding the Jeff Ruby Steaks trip: “Brian had him in a really good spot and it looked like he was going to have to carry some outside ground to get there, but he's a good-enough horse to handle it. I'm glad he had him out of trouble. This colt traveled the furthest distance and got it done anyway… We shouldn't rule out Kentucky right now. I think he might be able to handle that.”

The Turfway feature, now in its 51st running, has been contested under seven different names/sponsorships throughout the years and has produced two Kentucky Derby winners in Animal Kingdom (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}, 2011) and Lil E. Tee (At the Threshold, 1992).

The Jeff Ruby Steaks was Tiz the Bomb's second win in as many starts on Turfway's synthetic surface, as he was coming off a victory in the John Battaglia Memorial S. Mar. 5 after a sophomore dirt experiment that led to an off-the-board finish behind White Abarrio (Race Day) and Simplification (Not This Time) in the GIII Holy Bull S. at Gulfstream Feb. 5. Those two were one-three in Saturday's GI Florida Derby. Last year, Tiz the Bomb was Keeneland's GII Bourbon S. winner and Del Mar's GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf runner-up, in addition to victor of the Kentucky Downs Juvenile Mile S.

Pedigree Notes:

McPeek is known for his prowess in picking out horses at the sales that may be overlooked by others and going on to success with them. While no one would have called Tiz the Bomb a bargain at $330,000, as he was Hit It a Bomb's most expensive yearling by far and one of only two to bring six figures, it had to take nerves of steel to buy a yearling by an unproven sire for so far over that stallion's average and median. McPeek has been rewarded with Hit It a Bomb's most successful runner to date. The War Front stallion, who stands at Spendthrift and was winner of the 2015 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, has two graded winners and three black-type winners from two small crops to race.

In contrast, broodmare sire Tiznow, who is pensioned at WinStar, is no stranger to the stakes scene as he has 52 black-type winners out of his daughters, including GI Belmont S./GI Travers S./GI Florida Derby/GI Champagne S. winner Tiz the Law (Constitution), who was also second in the 2020 GI Kentucky Derby.

Tiz the Bomb was bred by Spendthrift after the farm had purchased Tiz the Key for $330,000–the same price her son would eventually bring–as a 2012 Keeneland September yearling. She's been bred exclusively to Spendthrift stallions, with 2-year-old filly Bel Rosso (Free Drop Billy), who sold for $180,000 at FTKOCT to Rocket Ship Racing, and a yearling colt by Mor Spirit in the pipeline. She delivered a Gormley filly Feb. 25. Tiz the Key hails from one of the best families in the stud book, as her fourth dam is Gay Missile (Sir Gaylord). Among Gay Missile's several influential foals were Lassie Dear (Buckpasser), dam of Broodmare of the Year Weekend Surprise (Secretariat), who in turn produced A.P. Indy (Seattle Slew). Gay Missile was out of blue hen Missy Baba (My Babu {Fr}), whose notable foals included Broodmare of the Year Toll Booth (Buckpasser).

Saturday, Turfway Park
JEFF RUBY STEAKS S.-GIII, $600,000, Turfway, 4-2, 3yo, 1 1/8m (AWT), 1:48.60, ft.
1–TIZ THE BOMB, 123, c, 3, by Hit It a Bomb
  1st Dam: Tiz the Key, by Tiznow
  2nd Dam: Cabbage Key, by A.P. Indy
  3rd Dam: Mayville's Magic, by Gone West
($330,000 Ylg '20 FTKSEL). O-Magdalena Racing, Lessee;
B-Spendthrift Farm, LLC (KY); T-Kenneth G. McPeek; J-Brian
Joseph Hernandez, Jr. $351,400. Lifetime Record: GISP,
8-5-1-0, $1,044,401. Werk Nick Rating: A+. 
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Tawny Port, 123, c, 3, Pioneerof the Nile–Livi Makenzie, by
Macho Uno. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($430,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Peachtree Stable; B-WinStar
Farm, LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $114,000.
3–Rich Strike, 123, c, 3, Keen Ice–Gold Strike, by Smart Strike.
1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE. O-RED TR-Racing, LLC; B-Calumet
Farm (KY); T-Eric R. Reed. $57,000.
Margins: 2 1/4, 3HF, 3/4. Odds: 1.60, 3.70, 26.20.
Also Ran: Dowagiac Chief, Royal Spirit, Cabo Spirit, Stolen Base, Red Run, Constitutionlawyer, Swing Shift, Great Escape, Optigogo. Scratched: Blackadder. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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