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Temperence Hill or Isaac Murphy Up ‘Next’ for Streaking Marathon Man After 45-60 Days Off

After missing an intended start in the GII Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance S. at Santa Anita on Breeders' Cup Saturday due to a fever, the streaking marathon specialist Next (Not This Time) is currently being turned out for 45-60 days, according to trainer Doug Cowans.

“This fall, we were planning on going to California, but the Sunday before he was supposed to get on the plane, he got a little temperature,” Cowans said of Next missing the 1 5/8-miles event, a race he won at Keeneland in 2022.

“He was fine a couple of days later, but I tell 'ya, with flying and going out there I just said, 'Better not do it.' I scratched the whole idea. Everything had gone perfect all year and I wasn't gonna push the issue.”

Perfect, indeed.

Claimed by Michael A. Foster off owner/breeder Silverton Hill and trainer Wesley Ward for $62,500 at Keeneland last spring, the gelded 5-year-old has found his calling in the marathon division. He's won five out of his last six starts either on or just off the lead, including the GII Brooklyn S. going 1 1/2 miles at Belmont Park June 10, the Birdstone S. going 1 3/4 miles at Saratoga July 27 and the GIII Greenwood Cup S. going 1 1/2 miles in the slop at Parx last time out Sept. 23. He's won his last two starts by a combined margin of a whopping 36 3/4 lengths.

“He'll go back into training Jan. 1,” Cowans said. “We're pointing towards either the ($200,000) Temperence Hill S. (at Oaklawn Mar. 29) or the Isaac Murphy (Marathon S. at Churchill Downs).”

He continued, “Everybody in the barn is excited. He brings a little bit of a different type of energy with his specialty of running in these marathon races. These kind of horses don't come along too often. He's a unique horse. Me and my assistant have both checked in on him at the farm once a week and he is doing great. We're excited to get him back in here in about three weeks.”

Next, one of 13 graded winners for Not This Time, was produced by the multiple stakes-placed Awesome Again mare Bahia Beach.

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Travers Hero Alpha Comes To Old Friends

Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky welcomed Godolphin's GI Travers S. hero Alpha (Bernardini) on Friday, Dec. 8, the retirement farm said in a release Saturday.

Bred by Darley in America, Alpha was trained by Kiaran P. McLaughlin and owned by Godolphin his entire career. He finished with a record of six wins and $1,815,667 in earnings over 22 starts, which included the first dead heat in the Travers since 1874.

Alpha began his stud career in 2015 at Sequel Stallions in New York, before moving to Haras Bagé do Sul in Brazil in 2019. He returned stateside and arrived in Florida Nov. 29, where he completed quarantine. Shipping to Kentucky, the recent retiree was inspected to ensure he was in good condition and then sent to Old Friends.

“While Alpha was small in stature, he was big in heart,” said Michael Banahan, Director of Bloodstock, Godolphin USA. “He was a Saratoga specialist, winning multiple graded races there during his career. He became the second Travers winner for our stable, with his sire, Bernardini, being the first. But it's also special being able to facilitate his return to Kentucky and Old Friends.”

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Stakes-Winning Broodmare, Graded Stakes-Placed Winner Added to Fasig-Tipton December Digital Sale

Fasig-Tipton has added two late entries to its December Digital Sale. Bidding for the December Digital Sale opened this past Thursday and runs through this coming Tuesday, Dec. 12.

The pair of additional entries are:

Por Que No (Wicked Strong) (Hip 309): Five-year-old mare won the Boiling Springs S. at three on her way to career earnings of nearly $150,000. Her dam Cryptic Message (Cryptograph) was a multiple stakes winner and graded stakes placed earner of $533,677. Offered pregnant to Constitution carrying her first foal, she is consigned by Burleson Farms, agent.

Breeze Easy (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}) (Hip 310): Four-year-old daughter of Bated Breath was a winner and multiple stakes placed at two in England. Transferred to the U.S., she placed in two stakes at three, including the GIII Soaring Softly S. at Belmont. A half-sister to group stakes winner Arctic Sound (GB) (Poet's Voice {GB}), she enters the sale off an allowance win over the turf at Fair Grounds Dec. 8. Consigned as a racing/broodmare prospect by St. George Sales, agent.

These entries may now viewed online. Bidding closes this coming Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. eastern. Prospective buyers may register to bid by visiting digital.fasigtipton.com.

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Angel of Empire Gearing Up for 4-Year-Old Campaign – ‘We’re Expecting a Big Year From Him’

Angel of Empire (Classic Empire), a powerful winner of this spring's GI Arkansas Derby and a rallying third as the favorite in the GI Kentucky Derby, has returned to training at WinStar Training Center and is expected to rejoin trainer Brad Cox at either Fair Grounds or Oaklawn Park within the next month.

The Albaugh Family Stables colorbearer was given a freshening after concluding his six-race sophomore campaign with a dead-heat fourth-place finish in the GI Belmont S. June 10 and a close third-place finish in a roughly run renewal of the GII Jim Dandy S. in the slop at Saratoga July 29. Angel of Empire was also a come-from-behind winner of the GII Risen Star S. at Fair Grounds Feb. 18.

“The Triple Crown is a big ask to get through all those races and he never really had a break since he started,” Albaugh Family Stable's General Manager Jason Loutsch said.

“We try to listen to our horses. After the Jim Dandy, he came back and you could tell he had enough. We did the right thing–we obviously would've liked to press on and make the Breeders' Cup–but we gave him some time and thought that he could have a really big 4-year-old season. We're excited to get him going. I think he'll be one of the top handicap horses next year if he continues to go forward. He's doing really well right now.”

Angel of Empire, one of four graded winners for young sire Classic Empire, is the first foal out of the 7-year-old To Honor and Serve mare Armony's Angel, who brought $1.8 million from Katsumi Yoshida while in foal to Gun Runner at last month's Fasig-Tipton November Sale.

Bred in Pennsylvania by Forgotten Land Investment Inc. and Black Diamond Equine Corp., Angel of Empire was purchased by Dennis Albaugh's operation for just $70,000 during the eighth session of the Keeneland September Yearling sale. He previously RNA'd for $32,000 as a Keeneland November weanling.

“He'll get a start around March or so and we'll probably target something on (Kentucky) Derby Day,” Loutsch said. “The end goal would be to try to get to the Breeders' Cup.”

Loutsch concluded, “He's such a cool horse and he tries hard every time. He deserved the time off and we're expecting a big year from him.”

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