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Violence’s Forte Comes Out on Top of Breeders’ Futurity Battle

'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) launched a powerful move on the far turn, outbattled fellow 'Rising Star' and ultra-game pacesetter Loggins (Ghostzapper) and survived an objection in a thrilling renewal of Keeneland's 'Win and You're In' GI Claiborne Breeders' Futurity.

The last-out GI Hopeful S. winner, who was further flattered when third-place finisher and 'Rising Star' Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) resurfaced to take the GI Champagne S., sat a good trip in seventh in this first foray around two turns as runaway Churchill Downs debut winner and highly regarded 3-2 favorite Loggins was hounded on the inside through fractions of :22.94 and :46.36.

Forte, off at odds of 4-1, was shifted out four wide on the far turn and looked like he was on his way to a runaway victory with a sweeping blitz as they approached the short stretch. Loggins and jockey Florent Geroux, however, just kept on battling along the rail while Forte's rider Irad Ortiz, Jr. kept that foe in very tight quarters. After appearing to brush in deep stretch, Forte wanted it just a little bit more and fought his way to a well-earned neck victory. It was a long way back to longshot Red Route One (Gun Runner) in third. Geroux's claim of foul was disallowed by the stewards.

Forte, a runaway debut winner at Belmont May 27, was a disappointing fourth as the favorite in Saratoga's GIII Sanford S. July 16. He got back on track with a three-length tally at 6-1 in the slop in the seven-furlong Hopeful at the Spa Sept. 5.

“At the turn, he was still figuring it out,” Ortiz, Jr. said. “He's a young horse, and I had to start working really hard on him. He started doing it little by little, but by the time I got there and hit the lead he started acting a little green and laying in a little bit. I had to take a big hold of him the whole stretch. He didn't even let me ride him that well. The whole time I had to hold him and, that horse inside of me, take care of him at the same time as I win the race.”

Geroux added, “It was a good race. I got squeezed a little at the eighth pole. [Forte] came in a little bit on me and my horse was shifting, and I think it cost me the win.”

Pedigree Notes:

Forte, a $110,000 KEESEP yearling purchase, is one of six Grade I winners for Violence, who is also responsible for 39 stakes/14 graded winners. Both Forte and runner-up Loggins are out of mares by Blame. Winning owners Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable, partners on GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner and young Spendthrift Farm stallion Vino Rosso (Curlin), teamed up on 31 yearlings for $12.84 million at last month's Keeneland September sale. Forte's dam Queen Caroline was purchased by Amy Moore of South Gate Farm for $170,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September sale. The mare went on to win four stakes in Moore's colors before becoming one of the Virginia farm's first broodmares. Forte is the mare's first foal. She has a yearling colt by Uncle Mo, who brought $850,000 from Mayberry Farm at Keeneland September. She was bred to Not This Time for 2023. This is the extended female family of champion 2-year-old filly Folklore (Tiznow).

Saturday, Keeneland
CLAIBORNE BREEDERS' FUTURITY-GI, $600,000, Keeneland, 10-8, 2yo, 1 1/16m, 1:44.74, ft.
1–FORTE, 122, c, 2, by Violence
                1st Dam: Queen Caroline (MSW, $401,608), by Blame
                2nd Dam: Queens Plaza, by Forestry
                3rd Dam: Kew Garden, by Seattle Slew
'TDN Rising Star'. ($80,000 Wlg '20 KEENOV; $110,000 Ylg '21
KEESEP). O-Repole Stable & St. Elias Stable; B-Southgate Farm
(KY); T-Todd A. Pletcher; J-Irad Ortiz, Jr. $330,150. Lifetime
Record: 4-3-0-0, $555,150. Werk Nick Rating: A+++.
*Triple Plus* Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Loggins, 122, c, 2, Ghostzapper–Beyond Blame, by Blame.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK
TYPE. ($460,000 Ylg '21 FTSAUG). O-Spendthrift Farm LLC,
Steve Landers Racing LLC, Martin S. Schwartz, Michael Dubb,
Ten Strike Racing, Jim Bakke, Titletown Racing Stables, Kueber
Racing, LLC, Big Easy Racing LLC & Winners Win; B-Popatop,
LLC (KY); T-Brad H. Cox. $106,500.
3–Red Route One, 122, c, 2, Gun Runner–Red House, by Tapit.
1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE, 1ST G1 BLACK
TYPE. O/B-Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC (KY); T-Steven M.
Asmussen. $53,250.
Margins: NK, 6 3/4, HD. Odds: 4.43, 1.50, 59.79.
Also Ran: Instant Coffee, Newgate, Lost Ark, Two Phil's, Honed, Funtastic Again, Frosted Departure, Powerful, Bourbon Bash, Carmel Road, Good Heart. Scratched: Confidence Game, Jin Tong.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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Brant and Brown Represented by First TWO Ladies at Keeneland

'TDN Rising Star' In Italian (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) capped a monumental week both at the track and in the Tattersalls sales ring for her world-renowned sire, with a front-running defeat of her commonly owned 'Rising Star' stablemate Regal Glory (Animal Kingdom) in Saturday's GI First Lady S. at Keeneland. It was a second straight First Lady for owner Peter Brant and trainer Chad Brown, who saddled Blowout (GB) (Dansili {GB}) to defeat Regal Glory 12 months back. In Italian is a sixth winner of the First Lady for Brown and fifth in a row.

“It means I've had a lot of good horses sent to me by good owners and great people I'm working with. That's what it comes down to,” said Brown.

Just the third most-fancied of the conditioner's triumvirate, In Italian stumbled noticeably at the break, but she quickly recovered and led them under the line and into the first turn, chased from the rail by Vigilantes Way (Medaglia d'Oro) and stable companion Technical Analysis (GB) (Kingman {GB}) punching the breeze from up close. From there it was a gap off to Regal Glory, with Princess Grace (Karakontie {Jpn}) and Market Rumor (Afleet Alex) the joint back markers.

In Italian continued to show the way while under an easy hold from Joel Rosario entering the final half-mile, at which point Regal Glory was allowed to tack on to the first flight of horses, poised to strike when the real running began. In Italian was asked to sprint in upper stretch, pinched a break and held sway to the wire, as Regal Glory–fastest home in :22.65 and having covered an additional 20 feet (about two lengths)–made belated progress. In Italian covered her final quarter-mile in :22.80.

Named a 'Rising Star' at second asking last May, In Italian–a 475,000gns graduate of the 2019 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale–was shelved, returning to take a Tampa allowance Jan. 12. Wire-to-wire winner of Gulfstream's GIII Honey Fox S. Mar. 5, the chestnut was runner-up behind a spectacular performance from stablemate Speak of the Devil (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) in the GII Distaff Turf Mile at Churchill May 7 and was third to Regal Glory in the GI Just A Game S. June 11 ahead of an 8-1 surprise in the GI Diana S. at Saratoga July 16.

“She's developed–we got her out there on the lead, letting her do what she wants to do,” Brown replied when asked by Scott Hazelton what has led to In Italian's improvement. “We really like to come to this race. The only thing I was worried about was the layoff. Mr. Brant and I got together, and I wanted to run her in between, but he wanted a fresh horse for the Breeders' Cup, and that decision proved right. She overcame the layoff today and got a good prep she needed going forward.”

Two of Brown's previous First Lady winners have gone on to next-out glory at the Breeders' Cup. Dayatthespa (City Zip) scored in 2014 en route to victory in the Filly & Mare Turf, while Uni (GB) (More Than Ready) followed her win here in 2019 with another in the Mile. Brant also campaigned former 'Rising Star' Demarchelier (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), who holds court at Claiborne Farm.

Pedigree Notes:

A half-sister to Villa Carlotta (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}), GSP-Aus; and Fasano (Aus) (Lonhro {Aus}), SP-Aus, In Italian was bred by John Camilleri's Fairway Thoroughbreds and her dam Florentina was bred back Southern Hemisphere time to Juddmonte stallion Kingman (GB) in September 2018 before returning to Australia. That produce, a colt foaled Aug. 2, 2019 now named Spanish Empire (GB), sold to Tom Magnier for A$1.8m at the Magic Millions Gold Coast yearling sale in 2021. Florentina returned to Banstead Manor to visit Kingman in the Northern Hemisphere autumn in 2019 and, returned to Australia, she was subsequently sold for A$650,000 at the 2020 Inglis Chairman's Sale.

Florentina produced a filly in September 2020, a newly turned 2-year-old now named Fiorenza (Aus) that RNAd for A$550,000 at this year's Inglis Easter Yearling Sale, but missed the last two seasons to 2019 The Everest winner Yes Yes Yes (Aus), a son of former 'TDN Rising Star' Rubick (Aus).

Camilleri, a successful Australian businessman, has had much success breeding horses, but none more so than the irrepressible Winx (Aus) (Street Cry {Ire}), who coincidentally gave birth to her first foal–a filly by Pierro (Aus)–Oct. 7.

Dubawi was represented by no fewer than eight million-guinea yearlings during Book 1 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, topped by a pair of colts that each fetched 1.6-million gns from Godolphin and Japan's JS Company, respectively.

Saturday, Keeneland
FIRST LADY S. PRESENTED BY UK HEALTHCARE-GI, $683,837, Keeneland, 10-8, 3yo/up, f/m, 1mT, 1:33.22, fm.
1–IN ITALIAN (GB), 124, f, 4, by Dubawi (Ire)
                1st Dam: Florentina (Aus) (GSW-Aus, $250,958),
                                by Redoute's Choice (Aus)
                2nd Dam: Celebria (Aus), by Peintre Celebre
                3rd Dam: Twyla (Aus), by Danehill
'TDN Rising Star' (475,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Peter M.
Brant; B-Fairway Thoroughbreds (GB); T-Chad C. Brown; J-Joel
Rosario. $397,963. Lifetime Record: 8-5-2-1, $989,183. Click
   for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Werk
   Nick Rating: A. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Regal Glory, 124, m, 6, by Animal Kingdom
                1st Dam: Mary's Follies (MGSW, $338,889),
                                by More Than Ready
                2nd Dam: Catch the Queen, by Miswaki
                3rd Dam: Wave to the Queen, by Wavering Monarch
'TDN Rising Star' ($925,000 5yo '21 KEEJAN). O-Peter Brant;
B-Paul P Pompa (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $148,125.
3–Princess Grace, 124, m, 5, by Karakontie (Jpn)
                1st Dam: Masquerade (MSP, $233,873),
                                by Silent Name (Jpn)
                2nd Dam: Present Colors, by Prized
                3rd Dam: Blue and Green, by Miswaki
O/B-John Moore & Susan Moore (KY); T-Michael Stidham.
$74,063.
Margins: 1, 3 1/4, HD. Odds: 2.87, 1.05, 10.06.
Also Ran: Technical Analysis (Ire), Market Rumor, Vigilantes Way. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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New Mexico-bred Dominates TCA

Slammed took her New Mexico speed to the bluegrass Saturday, running off with the GII Thoroughbred Club of America S., a “Win and You're In” qualifier for the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint. Having racked up a six-for-eight record last term with romping stakes wins at Ruidoso, Albuquerque and Zia Park, the bay added a Sunland Park stakes victory in February. Leading regional conditioner Todd Fincher brought a string to Del Mar for the summer, and among that group was Slammed, who scored a 5 1/4-length allowance tally July 8 before finishing second at odds-on in the GIII Rancho Bernardo H. Aug. 28.

Zipping right out to the front as expected, the bay doled out splits of :22.75 and :46.02 with Happy Soul breathing down her neck. She shook free of that foe at the head of the lane, and nobody else came running as Slammed ran up the score.

“It was good, just like she did in the morning, very professional,” said winning rider Florent Geroux. “She knows what to do out there. I'm very pleased for the opportunity from Mr. Fincher and the owners and my agent for getting me the mount. I was just the lucky recipient today on her. Very excited about her. She relaxed very nicely [in the middle of the race]. You can tell on television, when their ears start going back and forth, it's usually a good sign that the horse is taking their time and having fun out there. As soon as I chirped to her a little bit at the three-sixteenths [pole], I had plenty of horse left and I just tried to keep her focus all the way to the wire. But that was really a result of strong urging.”

It's been a productive eight days in Kentucky for Fincher, who also sent out Senor Buscador (Mineshaft) a victory in the GIII Ack Ack S. last week at Churchill, which was a “Win and You're In” for the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile.

“Really, my only concern was getting away from the gate good and clean,” Fincher said of the winner's trip. “Last time she slipped behind and it cost her, so when I saw those turquoise blinkers jump out of the gate I was very happy. I looked up after the first quarter and it went in :22 3/5, I said, 'If she gets beat we have no excuse,' because the fractions weren't too bad–she can go much faster. So, very happy. And you saw what she did down the lane. She had a lot left. She's an awesome horse.”

He added, “I'm more proud of the horse than anything. I'm just the trainer. The horses are the superstars. She's a superstar and we're just trying to stay out of her way.”

Saturday, Keeneland
THOROUGHBRED CLUB OF AMERICA S.-GII, $320,163, Keeneland, 10-8, 3yo/up, f/m, 6f, 1:10.03, ft.
1–SLAMMED, 120, f, 4, by Marking
                1st Dam: Hennesey Smash (MSW, $252,006),
                                by Roll Hennessy Roll
                2nd Dam: Some Smash, by Rare Brick
                3rd Dam: A Smash, by Star de Naskra
   1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. O-Brad King, Suzanne Kirby and
Barbara M. Coleman; B-Brad King & Todd Fincher (NM);
T-Todd W. Fincher; J-Florent Geroux. $179,025. Lifetime
Record: 12-9-1-0, $557,030. *1/2 to Roll On Diabolical
(Diabolical), MSW, $154,450; 1/2 to Smash Ticket (Midnight
Lute), SW & GSP, $218,320. Werk Nick Rating: B. Click for
the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree or free Equineline.com
catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Happy Soul, 118, f, 3, Runhappy–Cowgirl Lucky, by Stephen
Got Even. ($50,000 Ylg '20 KEESEP). O-Gayla Rankin; B-Harris
Training Center, LLC (KY); T-Wesley A. Ward. $67,375.
3–Joyful Cadence, 120, f, 4, Runhappy–Arabian Song, by
Forestry. ($90,000 Wlg '18 KEENOV; $235,000 Ylg '19 KEESEP).
O-WSS Racing, LLC; B-Scott & Debbie Pierce (KY); T-John
Alexander Ortiz. $33,688.
Margins: 6HF, HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 2.39, 5.22, 9.17.
Also Ran: Li'l Tootsie, Club Car, Sconsin, Liberty M D, Palm Cottage. Scratched: Carribean Caper. Click for the Equibase.com chart or the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

Pedigree Notes:

Slammed becomes the first graded stakes winner for her sire, a 'TDN Rising Star' and Godolphin homebred by Bernardini out of MGISW Seventh Street (Street Cry {Ire}) who was second to Runhappy in the 2015 GI Malibu S.

Dam Hennesey Smash never ventured out of the Southwest, but was seven-for-eight lifetime for Fincher and owner/breeder Barbara Coleman. Roll Hennessy Roll, a top New Mexico sire and source of speed and precociousness, was himself represented by his first graded winner as a broodmare sire Saturday.

Hennesey Smash is half to four other New Mexico stakes standouts, and her 3-year-old filly Smash Ticket was third in the 2021 GII Sorrento S. for Fincher and most recently aired in Pimlico's Weather Vane S. for Rob Atras Sept. 24. Her now 2-year-old unraced colt Arro Smash (Arrogate) was a $360,000 KEESEP yearling, and she produced a Star Guitar colt in 2022 before visiting City of Light.

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War Like Goddess Beats The Boys in Turf Classic, BC Turf Next

If Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott had any qualms whether his star turf distaffer could hold her own against the boys, George Krikorian's War Like Goddess (English Channel) dispelled all doubts with an emphatic 2 3/4-length score over males in the GI Joe Hirsch Turf Classic, run this year at Belmont at the Big A. Pacesetter Bye Bye Melvin (Uncle Mo) was second with Astronaut (Quality Road) checking in third, and second choice Gufo (Declaration of War), third as the favorite in last year's renewal, a dull last of seven. It had been nearly four decades and a 1983 renewal of the Joe Hirsch that pre-dated the inception of the Breeders' Cup when the great All Along (Fr) (Targowice)–that year's winner of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe-last beat the boys in the race, also the last time it was run at Aqueduct.

“I always thought she belonged,” said Mott, who indicated War Like Goddess will face males a second time in the Nov. 5 GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf. “There's good horses and she could get outrun, but I think she deserves an opportunity, for sure. I don't think we're out of line whatsoever. We're a long ways from the winner's circle, but I think she deserves her opportunity. She's done nothing wrong.”

The Joe Hirsch and the Breeders' Cup Turf are both contested at 1 1/2 miles, while the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf, in which War Like Goddess finished third last year, will be held at 1 3/16 miles due to Keeneland's configuration. War Like Goddess is undefeated in five tries at 1 1/2 miles.

In the Joe Hirsch, run over Aqueduct's inner turf, Bye Bye Melvin went straight to the lead and led the field on a merry chase, clocking the first quarter in :24.25, the half in :48.96, and the mile in 1:39.10. Astronaut rated in second while War Like Goddess settled on the rail in third as the odds-on favorite. The field got closer to Bye Bye Melvin on the backstretch and after the third of three turns, War Like Goddess shifted to the outside, got a couple of right-handed taps from jockey Jose Lezcano, and overhauled the leader, lengthening her stride and taking over with aplomb. She was an easy winner.

“The filly is very easy to ride,” said Lezano. “She broke very good and I moved her up a little more than I wanted to, but she seemed a little quiet so I moved her up a little more. I wanted position at the start of the race and [Bye Bye Melvin] and [Astronaut] went, so I sat right there. I stepped aside and stayed there the whole way around. It was very easy to get there, there were only seven horses.

“She's a very nice mare and she does everything right. When I asked her, she gave me her race. She's a very good horse. When you ride a horse for Billy [Mott], you've always got a chance to win this kind of race.”

But for a pace-compromised neck defeat in the GII Flower Bowl S. Sept. 3, War Like Goddess would be undefeated for the year. She captured the Aug. 6 GII Glens Falls S. at the Spa after a minor physical issue that kept her away from the races for a few months following her GIII Bewitch S. win Apr. 29 at Keeneland. Last year, she won four straight graded stakes, including the then-GI Flower Bowl, prior to her Breeders' Cup third in the Filly/Mare event run in 2021 at 1 3/8 miles.

Pedigree Notes:

Brad Kelly's Calumet Farm is having somewhat of a resurgence this year as a breeder, with both GI Kentucky Derby victor Rich Strike (Keen Ice) and War Like Goddess, among others, emerging from the program. Both Rich Strike and War Like Goddess are by Calumet-standing stallions, although English Channel was lost after a brief illness last November. English Channel, himself a turf champion in 2007, has been a reliable conduit for turf class, with 11 of his 12 Grade I winners coming on the grass. Overall, English Channel has 34 graded winners and 65 black-type winners in the Northern Hemisphere. It's also not the first time he's made an impact in the Joe Hirsch: he won the race himself in 2006 and 2007 after a second in 2005 and his Canadian champion son, Channel Maker, won it in 2018 and 2020 and finished second in 2019.

War Like Goddess is out of a North Light (Ire) mare and is one of six stakes winners out of daughters of the Danehill stallion and 2004 G1 Epsom Derby winner. Misty North, purchased by Calumet at the 2014 Keeneland November sale for $30,000 in foal to Cape Blanco (Ire), was resold at the same sale in 2019 to Charles Yochum for $1,000. She produced a colt named North of Bali (Bal a Bali {Brz}) the next spring, currently the last reported foal for the 12-year-old mare, although she was bred to Curlin for next term.

Saturday, Belmont at The Big A
JOE HIRSCH TURF CLASSIC S.-GI, $500,000, Belmont The Big A, 10-8, 3yo/up, 1 1/2mT, 2:27.29, gd.
1–WAR LIKE GODDESS, 123, m, 5, by English Channel
                1st Dam: Misty North, by North Light (Ire)
                2nd Dam: Misty Gallop, by Victory Gallop
                3rd Dam: Romanette, by Alleged
($1,200 Wlg '17 KEENOV; $1,000 RNA Ylg '18 KEESEP; $30,000
2yo '19 OBSOPN). O-George Krikorian; B-Calumet Farm (KY);
T-W Mott; J-J Lezcano. $275,000. Lifetime Record: 12-9-1-1,
$1,612,184. Click for eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Werk
Nick Rating: F.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Bye Bye Melvin, 126, g, 5, Uncle Mo–Karlovy Vary, by
Dynaformer. 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-Alex G. Campbell, Jr.;
B-Alex G. Campbell, Jr. Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-H. Graham
Motion. $100,000.
3–Astronaut, 126, h, 5, Quality Road–Armanda (Ger), by
Acatenango (Ger). 1ST G1 BLACK TYPE. O-John M. B.
O'Connor; B-Anastasie Astrid Christiansen-Croy (KY); T-Thomas
Albertrani. $60,000.
Margins: 2 3/4, 3/4, NO. Odds: 0.95, 6.70, 67.75.
Also Ran: Rockemperor (Ire)-(DH), Soldier Rising (GB)-(DH), Adhamo (Ire), Gufo. Click for the Equibase.com chart, the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by TVG.

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