The gray is out GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic heroine Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), who was bred and raced by Gary Seidler and Peter Vegso. Initially, she was purchased by Brushwood Stable for $2.8 million as the fourth highest price at the 2011 Keeneland November Sale.

Five years later at the same auction, Whisper Hill made the mare the sales topper when Mandy Pope took her home for $3.8 million, while Tap My Belle's older full-sister, Unrivaled Princess, was in-utero.

Of course, Unrivaled Belle's most famous produce to date is also another full-sister to this Gulfstream first-time starter–two-time Eclipse Award recipient Unique Bella. Winner of the GI Beholder Mile and GI La Brea S., the champion was purchased for $400,000 by Don Alberto at the 2015 Keeneland September Sale.

Unrivaled Belle claims a 2-year-old colt and a yearling one of the same sex, while Unique Bella–herself a dam–also has a 2-year-old colt and she foaled a filly last year. All four offspring are by multiple leading sire Into Mischief.

Tap My Belle's second dam, MGSW Queenie Belle (Bertrando), is also responsible for the dam of GIII Gotham S. victor Raise Cain (Violence). TJCIS PPS

The post Sunday’s Insights: Well-Bred Daughter Of Tapit And Unrivaled Belle Makes The Races appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

WHOCOULDASKFORMO (f, 2, Uncle Mo–Midnight Belle, by Bernardini), third in her seven-furlong Aqueduct debut Dec. 1, ran to her 1-5 favoritism after shipping south to Tampa and picking up the added distance. Racing behind most of the field through a mild half in :49.17, she began to pick up the bridle with a rally into the far turn and swept to the front past Princess Aleska (Lord Nelson). The class of the field to the wire, Whocouldaskformo opened up a 6 1/2-length winning margin. Out of a half-sister to GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic winner and $3.8m broodmare purchase Unrivaled Belle, herself the dam of dual champion Unique Bella (Tapit), the winner's dam is also a half to the dams of this year's GIII Gotham S. winner Raise Cain (Violence) and GISP Sir Sahib (For Larned). Midnight Belle reported a McKinzie filly this year before visiting Violence for the spring. Sales History: $450,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 2-1-0-1, $29,400. Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

O-Courtlandt Farms (Donald Adam); B-Summer Wind Equine LLC (KY); T-Claude R. McGaughey III.

The post Uncle Mo’s Whocouldaskformo Graduates In Style At Tampa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The aforementioned GI Kentucky Derby prep race has been his only victory in 2023, and in pairing with a nose runner-up effort in the GIII Indiana Derby July 8 to familiar foe GSW & MGISP Verifying (Justify), has been the only time the son of Violence has been on the board this year. The 6-1 distant third choice here for the cut back in distance behind that returning rival and the eventual runner-up, Raise Cain was content to stalk from fourth as a leading trio battled it out on the front. Riding the rail into the turn but moved to the outside at the five sixteenths pole, he was rolling in the six path with a full head of steam entering the lane. Locking horns with Dr. Venkman after catching him late in the stretch, he nailed that rival in the shadow of the wire by a head as Post Time (Frosted) rallied from last to round out the trifecta.

Watch the full replay as RAISE CAIN finds the wire first in the Perryville (L)! pic.twitter.com/qpCikFTyg5

— Keeneland Racing (@keenelandracing) October 21, 2023

“I think it's probably what he wants to do. His only wins were around one turn. He got us to the (GI Kentucky) Derby and he's been such an over-achieving horse, he really deserved it,” said Ben Colebrook. “I think (jockey) Luis Saez made the difference. He rode him great. I mean, all the riders have ridden him well, but Luis gives you that just extra little bit. That's probably what we needed today.”

The first black-type runner for his dam, Raise Cain joins a trio of siblings to get their picture taken on the mare's tally. Lemon Belle, out of MGSW Queenie Belle (Bertrando)–making her a half-sister to GISW & MGISP Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), dam of two-time champion MGISW Unique Bella (Tapit)–has a 2-year-old Frostelle (Frosted) as well as a 2023 Constitution colt and visited red-hot Justify for 2024. This is the female family of Canadian staple MGISP Sir Sahib (Fort Larned). Click for the Equibase.com chart or VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

PERRYVILLE S., $235,188, Keeneland, 10-21, 3yo, 7f, 1:23.58, ft.
1–RAISE CAIN, 118, c, 3, by Violence
         1st Dam: Lemon Belle, by Lemon Drop Kid
         2nd Dam: Queenie Belle, by Bertrando
         3rd Dam: Lady Argyle, by Don B.
($180,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP; $65,000 RNA 2yo '22 OBSOPN). O-Andrew N. and Rania Warren; B-Rock Ridge Thoroughbreds, LLC (KY); T-Ben Colebrook; J-Luis Saez. $153,063. Lifetime Record: GSW, 13-3-2-1, $577,066.
2–Dr. Venkman, 118, g, 3, Ghostzapper–Theory of Change, by Archarcharch. ($105,000 Ylg '21 KEESEP). 1ST BLACK TYPE. O-Dan J. Agnew, Clint Bunch, Mark Cohen, and James Hailey; B-Ghostzapper Syndicate & Hidden Brook Farm (KY); T-Mark Glatt. $39,500.
3–Post Time, 118, c, 3, Frosted–Vielsalm, by Fairbanks. ($85,000 Ylg '21 EASOCT). O-Hillwood Stable LLC; B-Dr. & Mrs. Thomas Bowman, Dr. Brooke Bowman & Milton P Higgins III (MD); T-Brittany T. Russell. $19,750.
Margins: HD, 1 1/4, 5HF. Odds: 6.44, 1.26, 7.42.
Also Ran: Loyal Company, Verifying, Confidence Game.

The post Raise Cain Perfectly Timed at Wire in Keeneland’s Perryville appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

In June, the international operation owned by Liliana Solari and her son Carlos Heller celebrated the first Grade I winner in the United States bred by their American base when Arcangelo (Arrogate) scored in a historic edition of the GI Belmont S. Now, they are preparing to send 50 homebreds to the Keeneland September Sale. The contingent is led by an Into Mischief colt out of champion racemare Unique Bella (Tapit) who will be the first of their prized mare's progeny to sell at auction.

Ten years ago, Don Alberto expanded from its successful breeding and racing base in Chile when they purchased the former Vinery Farm in Kentucky and then went on a shopping spree at the fall breeding stock sales, grossing $10.64 million in purchases at the Keeneland November Sale alone. Since then, the operation has emerged in the headlines from a different perspective as a commercial breeder. Recent highlights include their sale of the highest-priced yearling sold in North America in 2021–a $2.6 million Into Mischief colt out of GI Test S. winner Paola Queen (Flatter).

Next week at Keeneland, the farm will offer nine yearlings in Book 1. With six fillies and three colts in the lineup, each member of the assembly hails from a dam that claimed blacktype on the racetrack and four are out of Grade I winners.

“I would say this is as strong as we've ever been coming into Keeneland Book 1,” said Reed Ringler, the COO of Don Alberto's U.S. operation. “Just an incredible depth, great sire power and out of fantastic mares that we've been procuring for the last ten years here in Kentucky.”

Selling with Taylor Made Sales, Unique Bella's colt may share the same flashy coloring as his dam, but the eye-catching gray seems to have inherited the physical of his sire.

“I think this horse is more like Into Mischief,” Ringler explained. “He's got some stretch to him and he is medium-sized, a very well-balanced colt. He has a big walk on him. He's a May foal, so there is a lot of room for growth. We're very excited about him and we have high hopes for this horse on the big night.”

Unique Bella was the first horse to claim a Grade I on American soil for Don Alberto's racing stable back in 2017. She would go on to earn Eclipse honors for top female sprinter that year and was then named champion older dirt female the following season.

The mare's first two foals were retained by the farm. Her 3-year-old unraced daughter Una Bella d'Oro (Medaglia d'Oro) is now carrying her first foal by Mandaloun and her 2-year-old colt Ultra Power (Curlin) is in training with Bob Baffert. The juvenile ran sixth at Del Mar on debut on Aug. 25, but Ringler said the colt is expected to thrive later this season going two turns.

Salty's Tapit filly at the Gainesway consignment | Sara Gordon

Ringler also noted that their team believes they have found the right match for Unique Bella in Into Mischief, explaining that the mare's foal of this year by the Spendthrift supersire is just as impressive as her older brother.

“Unique Bella is a big, strong mare and I think what we found with Into Mischief is that we really hit the bull's-eye as we were looking for that racey athlete,” he said.

Ringler added that because the operation now has a colt and a filly from their star mare, they believed this was the right time to offer one of her progeny to the market. Selling as Hip 382, the yearling will be one of the final hips to go through the ring during the second session of Book 1.

Earlier in the second day of the sale, another high-profile Don Alberto mare will be represented by her first foal to go to auction. Salty (Quality Road), who claimed the GI La Troienne S. in 2018, was purchased by Don Alberto later that year for $3 million. Her first foal Safiri, an unraced filly by Tapit, was retained by Don Alberto and bred to Mandaloun this year. Salty's second daughter by Tapit will sell as Hip 301 with Gainesway.

Hip 220, by Candy Ride (Arg), is the first foal out of Grade III winner Magic Star and sells with Denali Stud | Sara Gordon

“She looks a lot like her daddy,” Ringler noted. “She's going to turn a lot of heads when she walks out. She's a beautiful, early type and out of a Grade I-winning mare, so we're very hopeful and very blessed.”

Don Alberto's legion of Book 1-bound fillies also includes Hip 19–an Into Mischief half-sister to MGISW American Gal (Concord Point), Hip 20–a daughter of Uncle Mo out of GI Chandelier S. winner Angela Renee (Bernardini), Hip 69–a Quality Road filly out of GI La Brea S. victress Constellation (Bellamy Road), Hip 217–another Tapit whose dam Luminance (Tale of the Cat) was second in the GI Santa Anita Oaks, and finally Hip 297–an American Pharoah half-sister to stakes winner Rubilinda (Frankel).

With a majority of fillies coming out of this year's crop of yearlings, Ringler said the decision regarding which youngsters would go to auction was not an easy one.

“This year is exceptionally hard with the fillies coming out of these pedigrees,” he admitted. “Carlos [Heller Solari] and I just had a meeting about how hard this game is and it gets harder the bigger the decisions get. We are commercial and we do bring most of our horses to market, but when we identify horses that are maybe undervalued, we're going to keep them and race them. We're strong judges, but Carlos knows it's a business. We were filly heavy this crop and we thought it was the right thing to bring them to market to let other people see what we're building at Don Alberto.”

Don Alberto's Book 1 group is rounded out by two additional colts. Hip 220, a Candy Ride (Arg) colt consigned with Denali Stud, is the first foal out of Grade III victress Magic Star (Scat Daddy). Hip 377 by Curlin is a son of Grade III winner Touching Beauty (Tapit) and will sell with Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa.

Hip 19, a half-sister to GISW American Gal, by Into Mischief | Sara Gordon

Don Alberto will be represented well on past Book 1, but the breeding operation has proven that they can produce a top-level horse in the later books.

Dual Grade I winner Arcangelo (Arrogate) slipped through the September Sale in 2021 when he sold for just $35,000 to Jon Ebbert in Book 3. His dam Modeling (Tapit), who hails from influential Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour, was a $2.85 million purchase for Don Alberto in 2014, but Arcangelo's immaturity and smaller stature as a May foal kept him off most lists.

“The great thing about Keeneland is that there is value everywhere,” Ringler explained. “You never know where you're going to find an Arcangelo and that's why you come here to shop. The dam of Arcangelo was one of our foundation mares so to get our first Classic winner with a horse that is this special for his connections, it's just been a wonderful year.”

While health issues have prevented Modeling from producing another foal since Arcangelo, Don Alberto does have his half-sister Madison Square (Medaglia d'Oro) in their broodmare band.

With just over 100 mares on their farm in Lexington, the Don Alberto product may continue to evolve, but their philosophy stays the same.

“When Ms. Liliana and Carlos came here, their passion for racing and pedigrees was already globally known,” said Ringler. “They came here with a plan. We've adapted a bit to American commercial appeal and I think we're seeing that on the racetrack now. Carlos has big goals. He wants to win the Kentucky Derby. He wants to compete in all the big Classics. But I think more importantly, we want to further the breed, be a good steward of the industry and continue to develop relationships.”

“Ms. Liliana lights up around all of her horses,” he continued. “You can see her love and passion for all of her horses and it really flows through to our entire staff. You can see the love they give to every horse and I hope that when the world sees our horses at Keeneland, they see that love and that care coming through with all of our yearlings.”

The post Celebrating 10 Years in U.S., Don Alberto Sends Star-Studded Lineup to Keeneland appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Okay, so a trifecta for Eaton Sales graduates in the Saratoga Grade I last year featured only the winner, Forte (Violence), from the 2021 Keeneland September Sale. Runner-up Gulfport (Uncle Mo) and third Blazing Sevens (Good Magic) were respectively sold through the Eaton drafts at Fasig-Tipton's July and Saratoga Sales. Nonetheless it was an achievement all the more remarkable for the fact that champion juvenile Forte and Blazing Sevens, subsequently runner-up in the GI Preakness, were both pinhooked through Reiley McDonald's own farm, Athens Wood LLC.

Another complement to his supervision of a flagship sales agency, moreover, is the band of around 20 broodmares resident there. These diverse silos help McDonald to stay tuned into the marketplace from every side, but bring much satisfaction besides. One of those mares has produced Defunded (Dialed In) to win another Grade I this year, in the Hollywood Gold Cup. Only last weekend McDonald had winners in his own silks at Saratoga and in a stakes at Colonial Downs, while last month he co-bred a €1 million Wootton Bassett yearling sold at Arqana.

Such is the constant action resulting from the long experience that has brought us to McDonald's office in downtown Lexington. And while there's an intensity here, for sure, it is accompanied by a breadth of perspective that also permits a fulfilling life away from the business. (McDonald, indeed, typically spends half his year with his partner, Cricket, in Connecticut.)

“That was unbelievable,” he acknowledges, when reminded of his Hopeful achievement. “But really, I've done this so long, I don't get too excited, don't jump up and down, because there are so many that don't work out-you have to take the good and bad just the same.” He pauses and chuckles. “And, of course, we only just about broke even on Forte!”

Every year, with a couple of partners, McDonald pinhooks a dozen or so weanlings. Having found Forte for $80,000 at the preceding November Sale, they had to settle for $110,000 from Repole Stable & St. Elias when bringing him back to the same ring.

“Forte is one of the prettier horses you'll ever see, but at that time nobody wanted a Violence,” McDonald recalls. “And then Jacob West walked up, right as he was going into the ring, and said, 'What's your reserve?' I told him he had to bring more than a hundred. All those brilliant horsemen, and it came down to just one guy, one bid.”

Reiley McDonald (left) with Scott Dilworth | Keeneland

But such are the vagaries of this business-and such, duly, is McDonald's achievement, over the past 28 years, in maintaining both quality and quantity since taking on the game-changing agency founded by Lee Eaton.

He has actually started to scale back somewhat, having concluded that sheer volume is nowadays less sustainable. As he says, it costs as much time, labor and administration to sell a horse for $2,000 as for $2 million. Eaton Sales still has over 100 yearlings catalogued at Keeneland, but there have been times when they might have processed as many as 350 at that sale, following maybe 50 at Saratoga.

“That was a dangerous managerial feat and I don't think anybody can pull it off,” McDonald says. “It's so hard to find the help now. I really do worry about the animals, with the kind of help that's out there. And these days, if you're selling a horse for, call it $50,000 or less, you're losing money. Because some of the consignors have cannibalized themselves, reducing fees to a point where there's very little profit margin at the end of the day.”

By the time Eaton (and partner John Williams) stepped down, quite apart from a formidable address book, McDonald could feel no less grateful for his mentorship.

“Lee was like so many people who are successful in business,” McDonald reflects. “He worked hard, and demanded that the people around him worked hard. And he really was smart, always thinking of how you might do things differently, and better. He made it a much more professional business. The 'good old boy' stuff went out the window. The big parties before the July Sale, I mean, we never really did that. We just stuck to trying to make that horse look as good as it could. That was the whole thing: how do you present the horse?

“It used to be the old 'baggy pants' off the farm. But Lee hired all these guys from Virginia who would come in with their creased pants, and they really knew how to show a horse. And suddenly smart guys like Ed Cox, even Warner Jones as good as he was, started to sell with Lee. When you walked into his courtyard at Saratoga or Keeneland, it was definitely different: very clean, very professional–like they all are now. He really did set the standard.”

No less crucially, there were also corresponding advances in preparation, heeded to this day by McDonald.

“He decided to build huge run-in sheds and turn his horses out,” he says. “He was the first to do that. He didn't bring them up in the winter. And I follow the same program. Now, if it's a horrible, icy wet night, we bring everything in, and he would too. But they were out 99 percent of the time. And he developed his own feed. We've modified it over the years, but I still feed the same cubed feed.

“He was very good about horses' weight, getting the proper conditioning to each yearling-which is something that surprisingly few people do well. Back in the day, people wanted yearlings to be almost obese. Lee started to make them look more like racehorses.”

Before joining Eaton, McDonald had spent 10 years under John Finney at Fasig-Tipton, gaining a comprehensive insight into the market. Under head inspector Bobby Powell he learned the optimal physique of a commercial yearling, and as sales announcer he came to understand the functioning of the marketplace itself. “At the time John Finney was probably the smartest guy in the business,” McDonald says. “That's where I really learned about the business of horses, valuations, matings.”

There were other paths McDonald might have taken, having studied Animal Science at Cornell (where he captained the lacrosse team), but he has basically been working with horses since he was 13. The family had moved to the country, the kids got a pony, there was a horse farm down the road. He went to school five minutes from Pimlico, and would run in “smelling of manure and throwing on a tie to get to assembly.” The teenage McDonald then cut his racetrack teeth under Maryland hardboot B. Frank Christmas.

Tom Van Meter | Keeneland

“He was one of the real old-timers,” he recalls. “Quite a crusty character, always chewing tobacco and spitting, always with the hat and the coat on. He was a trainer, but also had a farm and a stallion. We were breeding mares, we were breaking all our horses, we legged up everything on the farm.”

One way or another, then, the young man who took over the sales agency had plenty of miles on the clock. “Then Tom Van Meter bought a 20 percent interest, and he was my partner for about 20 years,” McDonald says. “Tom was a vet, he was sort of the country boy while I was more the city boy. So we had different sets of clients, and that worked for a long time. But that's when the business was huge. We were doing too many horses.”

In admitting as much, and with Eaton having been such a trailblazer, does McDonald sometimes feel that he has helped to create a monster? This, after all, has become an industry where horses are routinely exploited through several investment cycles before they get anywhere near the gate.

“I feel like I've probably overseen the sale, personally, of more horses than anybody,” he replies. “Which, the last couple of years, doesn't make me the proudest guy in the world. Because I really feel like our business has deteriorated a good bit. And I don't mean just the selling business, but the racing, to a large extent.

“I think often we interfere way too much with these horses. By 'we' I don't mean us, I mean the industry. The more I learn and observe about what's happening on the tracks, the more disappointing I find it. And we're losing fans, and alienating the non-horse public.”

This conversation, it should be noted, took place before the recent traumas at Saratoga. In other words, McDonald was already thinking in terms that have meanwhile come to feel imperative. He feels that the spirit of reform behind HISA is vital, albeit that early mistakes were made: overreaching, not consulting adequately. “I think the trainers got a double whammy,” he says. “They didn't have a lot of say in it, and then a lot of the responsibility was put onto them. But we need HISA and it will get better–as it has to. Like anything worth doing, it needs time and we all need to work on it.”

Nor does he feel that the current use of the crop can last. (“Three strikes and you're out,” he recommends. “One to start, one to steer, one to finish.”) But for all the challenges we face, the magic of the horse itself abides. That's where every fulfilment begins–and many opportunities, too. Standing in the back ring at the 2016 Keeneland November Sale, for instance, McDonald saw a Touch Gold mare led past.

“Oh, she's really pretty,” he murmured to himself. In fact, she reminded him of Scarlet Tango, a mare he had once found in the same ring for $35,000. Five years later, having meanwhile produced GI King's Bishop winner Visionaire (Grand Slam), he sold her on for $850,000 to Stonestreet.

“I can't afford to buy a whole package: race record, pedigree, everything,” McDonald says. “But I can buy looks.” While this mare actually had multiple stakes placings, she cost barely more than Scarlet Tango at $37,000. And Wind Caper is now dam of Defunded, sold for $210,000 at Keeneland September in 2019 and hitherto winner of $1.6 million.

Defunded | Benoit

“I don't breed the fanciest pedigrees,” McDonald says. “But they come up to that little farm and do really well. It was a cattle farm for 300 years, all with the same family. It was about to be developed into 10-acre 'piano-key' lots when four other guys and I bought it. I kept 120 acres, and it's just great land. It's heavy in limestone, it's been fertilized for hundreds of years. And I kind of stick to the old 'leave' formula: leave them out, leave them alone, just keep an eye on any problems creeping up.”

“They're well raised, and the guys have been on the farm for years. Chuchie has been with me 35 years, was on the old Eaton Farm when he was 18. These are the best guys I've ever seen with foals, it's magic to watch their hands.”

But many of the elite performers whose photos are crammed onto the walls have obviously come through the core business of the agency. And here, McDonald says, how you handle people counts for at least as much as how you do horses. Before anything else, he needs to understand his clients' risk tolerance: where they might have slack, when they might race a horse, and so on. Because the market itself is never predictable. Neither Hard Spun nor Omaha Beach made their September reserves, for instance, McDonald eventually persuading the late Rick Porter to take both. (“You're now about $60 million to the good from those two horses,” he told Porter later. “Don't you think I should get a share?” Porter replied: “On the next one!”)

Unique Bella, the daughter of Tapit and Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), had over 160 shows at the 2015 September Sale and was not vetted once.

“So, you got the best horseman from around the world looking at this filly,” marvels McDonald. “She toed in a little bit, and had a $399,000 reserve. And one person runs up to me, right as she's walking into the ring, and says, 'Can I see the vet report?' And runs back inside. There was one bid at $400,000, and it happened to be Carlos [Heller] at Don Alberto. And look what he got: one of the great mares of that decade. She was gorgeous. So sometimes it just blows your mind.”

Unique Bella and Hard Spun were both bred by Betty Moran, owner of Brushwood Stables, who became another cherished influence.

“An angel was on my shoulder the day I bumped into her, in 1991, and she told me she'd just lost her general manager,” McDonald recalls. He volunteered for the role and they worked together for nearly 30 years, perhaps their most memorable moment actually being with a steeplechaser, Papillon (Ire), in the 2000 Grand National. “Mrs. Moran only wanted to compete at the highest level,” McDonald notes. “And we built and maintained one of the best 20-head broodmare bands in the country. She was a best friend, confidante-and tough boss!”

That highest level, however, is never always confined only to the top of the market–and that, of course, is what drives the whole business.”

“How about Victory Gallop, who I sold many moons ago for $25,000?” says McDonald. “He had a chip in a stifle, and three ankles. Pug Hart bought him and said, 'I can't keep this horse.' This was before the repository. And I said, 'Well, essentially, he's sold, but let me talk to the owner.' And he agreed to take $10,000 off. So, they got Victory Gallop for $15,000! But I could count so many good horses that [apparently] had big, big problems. I purchased Mitole for very little [$20,000 September yearling] because he had a lot of writing on the vet report, but he was a horse of exquisite conformation.”

Kenny McPeek | Sarah Andrew

Like many experienced consignors, McDonald reckons to know buyers' tastes well enough to pull out a horse they haven't even asked for. “The only guy I still can't figure out is Kenny McPeek!” he admits. “He has bought so many good horses through auction, and I still don't know what he looks for. But that's really what puts it all together for us: knowing both sides, the seller and the buyer. And that takes a long time to do. That's why anybody who wants to get into the consignment business, you have to be willing to get on an airplane, to be everywhere and see everyone.”

While he isn't comfortable with everything about the industry, or the way it has changed over the past 40 years, McDonald emphasizes an undiminished passion for the sport.

“We've got a lot of hard work to do, but there are still great parts to it,” he says. “I do feel blessed to have been able to do what I have. It all comes from being hands on. My favorite thing I ever did in my life, and the thing I was best at, was on top of a horse. You learn so much if your hands have learned to absorb what the animal is telling you. Even today I love showing a horse at the sales.

“I don't know, I just love this animal. It's incredible. I mean, last night I was walking around the foals, just thinking how lucky I am, to be in that moment, with these beautiful little animals coming up to you. I still love it.”

The post Different Hats Keep McDonald Ever Hopeful appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

6th-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 4:00 p.m.
Switching to the Spa main, a pair of colts are set for their maiden trips. As a weanling, Change of Command (Into Mischief) went for $570,000 at the Fasig-Tipton November Mixed Sale before fetching $1.05-million less than a year later at the Keeneland September Sale. The Shug McGaughey trainee, who will have Jose Ortiz aboard, is out of a dam who is a full-sister to MGSW Mrs McDougal (Medaglia d'Oro).

Also entered is Kaleem Shah's Billal (Street Sense), a $725,000 '22 Keeneland September grad from Bill Mott's shedrow, who will be ridden by Florent Geroux. Dam Bambalina (Bernardini) was purchased by Repole Stables at the '20 Keeneland November Mixed Sale for $270,000 with Billal in-utero. She's out of Champion grass mare Perfect Sting (Red Ransom), who is also responsible for GSW Smart Sting (Smart Strike). TJCIS PPS

4th-DMR, $82K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 7:29 p.m.
Heading out to Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, a competitive group of 2-year-olds will be looking to strut their stuff. Indispensable (Constitution) for trainer John Sadler was a $825,000 buy at the Keeneland September Sale and his extended female family includes MGSWs Gulch Approval (Gulch) and Rusty Slipper (Lemon Drop Kid). His dam High Performer (Candy Ride {Arg}), a full-sister to SW Chocopologie, was purchased by Hunter Valley Farm while in-foal–yielding a colt–to Omaha Beach for $130,000 at the '21 Keeneland November Mixed Sale and she was bred back to that sire, which produced a filly Mar. 15.

Bob Baffert has a pair of firsters ready to fire in Wynstock (Solomini), who initially sold as a yearling for $50,000 at the Keeneland September Sale before going this past spring for $700,000 during OBS April. The New York-bred is his dam's first offspring. Last but certainly not least, is Don Alberto homebred Ultra Power (Curlin), who is out of dual Champion female Unique Bella (Tapit). She is the daughter of GI Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic heroine Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled's Song), who is also responsible for her full-sister Vanishing Point, a $1.5-million purchase at the '19 Keeneland September Sale by Yuji Hasegawa. TJCIS PPS

The post Friday’s Racing Insights: Not This Time Colt Tackles Two Turns In Spa Grass Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Another gray Mike Smith-ridden 2016 'Rising Star' who didn't earn her tag until her second start late in the year, Unique Bella (Tapit) went on as a 3-year-old to be nearly undefeated, finishing behind rivals only once in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Previously a four-time graded-stakes winner, Unique Bella would be named champion female sprinter for her efforts. As an improved 4-year-old, she would take a trio of Grade I races, finishing her career a winner in the GI Clement L. Hirsch S. and champion older dirt female with an impressive record of 12-9-2-0.

Six more 2016 'Rising Stars' would go on to win multiple Grade I events throughout their career. Top-10 freshman sire Oscar Performance (Kitten's Joy) won a total of four Grade I races including the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf while Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) did her best running in Europe with a win in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot.

Eight more 'Stars' would win at the highest level once, four of whom have since gone on to stud careers–the aforementioned Gift Box, Klimt (Quality Road), Mo Town (Uncle Mo), and Mastery (Candy Ride {Arg}).

Out of 86 named American 'TDN Rising Stars' in 2016, a total of 16 (18%) would achieve success at the Grade/Group I level. Another 19 (22%) would take one or more graded-stakes races meaning a total of 35 (40%) capitalized on the potential shown early in their careers. When factoring in horses that were graded-stakes placed, that number jumps to 47 (54%). An additional 17 (19%) would earn black type at the listed level while 22 (25%) never won or placed in stakes company.

The post Class of 2016 – Grading the Rising Stars appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

• IT TIZ WELL – War Front colt (Hip 15)

It Tiz Well won five of her 10 starts and was only out of the money once, earning over $1.1 million. She scored her first black-type win in the 2017 GIII Honeybee S. and captured the GIII Delaware Oaks three starts later. Second to Elate (Medaglia d'Oro) in the GI Alabama S. next out, the bay concluded her career with a two-length defeat of champion Abel Tasman (Quality Road) in the GI Cotillion S. at Parx. Retained by owner Tommy Town Thoroughbreds, It Tiz Well was sent to War Front for her first mating and the resulting colt is offered by Denali Stud here.

“It's a nice first foal with good leg and good scope,” Denali's Conrad Bandoroff said. “You see a lot of the mare with the Arch line coming through. He is a powerful colt, well balanced with a good hip, good shoulder and deep heart girth on him. He is a hard horse to pick on. He has good size and substance especially for a first foal. We are pretty encouraged for the mare's first effort.”

• NOTED AND QUOTED – Justify colt (Hip 94)

A $375,000 OBSMAR purchase by Speedway Stable, Noted and Quoted won the GI Chandelier S. in 2016. She retired with two wins from 13 starts. Bred to fellow Bob Baffert trainee and Horse of the Year Justify, the 'TDN Rising Star' was sent through the ring at the 2019 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, RNA'ing for $950,000. The resulting foal was a colt bred by Aaron and Marie Jones and consigned by Taylor Made Sales.

“This colt has really good size for a first foal,” Mark Taylor said. “He is a leggy individual, a lot like the other Justifys I've seen. He has a really good frame to him, looks like a two-turn horse. He is very correct with a lot of class. Noted and Quoted herself is a beautiful mare and was a Grade I winner at two. I think this colt is exactly what you would have hoped for from a mare of that caliber, especially for a first foal. This colt is very forward with a lot of stretch to him. He is a really nice horse.”

• SAILOR'S VALENTINE – War Front colt (Hip 131)

Sailor's Valentine upended the 2017 GI Central Bank Ashland S. at 22-1. She retired with two wins from 13 starts and over $400,000 in earnings. Purchased for $800,000 at the 2018 KEENOV sale by Town and Country Farms and Pollock Farms, the gray was sent to War Front for her first mating and was sent back through the Keeneland ring the following November, bringing $1.25 million from Bryant Prentice's Pursuit of Success. St. George Sales consigns the colt on behalf of the breeder.

“I like the horse very much,” Archie St. George said. “He is a big strong colt, a very good first foal. He is very straightforward. Obviously the mare was a very good racehorse and he is by a very good stallion in War Front.”

• SALTY — Tapit filly (Hip 132)

Salty scored her first black-type victory in the 2017 GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and was runner-up in that term's GI Acorn S. The bay capped her career with a win in Churchill's GI La Troienne S. in May of 2018, retiring with a record of 11-4-2-2 and $688,500 in earnings. She summoned $3 million from Don Alberto at that year's Fasig-Tipton November Sale and was sent to Tapit. The resulting filly is offered by Lane's End here.

• SIPPICAN HARBOR – Medaglia d'Oro colt (Hip 148)

   Sippican Harbor had a short, but sweet career, winning the 2018 GI Spinaway S. She retired at the end of her juvenile season with just four starts under her belt. Lee Pokoik sent her to Medaglia d'Oro in 2019 and entered her in term's FTKNOV sale. She RNA'd for $1.45 million and her colt is in the Taylor Made consignment at KEESEP.

• UNIQUE BELLA – Medaglia d'Oro filly (Hip 221)

Unique Bella more than lived up to her 'TDN Rising Star' billing throughout her career. The $400,000 KEESEP buy won four consecutive graded events in California during her 2017 sophomore season. Off the board in that term's GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint, the Don Alberto runner rebounded with a victory in the GI La Brea S. Kicking off 2018 with a win in the GII Santa Maria S., the gray finished second in the GI Apple Blossom H. and followed that with a pair of wins in the GI Beholder Mile and GI Clement L. Hirsch S. Her 2018 campaign earned her a pair of Eclipse awards as the top female sprinter and top older dirt female. Her first foal is a Medaglia d'Oro filly, who is in the Denali Stud consignment.

The post First Foals Out of Grade I Winners on Offer at KEESEP appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The mount of perennial leading jockey Christophe Lemaire, the son of GI Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Distaff heroine Unrivaled Belle (Unbridled’s Song) jumped alertly from the widest gate in the field of seven and was switching back and forth across his leads while establishing the front passing under the line for the first time. Well rated on the lead, Vanishing Point was asked for a bit of a sprint with a little more than a quarter mile to run, opened a clear advantage while having a look around and once again switching his leads multiple times and crossed the line a convincing winner. The final time for the metric mile and a quarter on firm turf was 2:02.4.

“He is still a big baby,” the winning jockey commented. “He didn’t stretch out much and his back end is still a bit weak, but he has great potential. Around the turn he showed fantastic speed. I think this was the perfect distance for him.”

Brother to Unique Bella, the $1.5 mil @keenelandsales September grad Vanishing Point destroys the competition in his debut. The exact kind of results you expect for a price like that! Congratulations to Mr. Hasegawa and his whole team who picked this guy out themselves! https://t.co/6M7KH8jSLY

— Kate Hunter • Marugai Racing • ケイト ハンター• まるがいレーシング (@KeibaKate) August 2, 2020

Vanishing Point was bred by Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm LLC, who acquired Unrivaled Belle for $3.8 million at the 2016 Keeneland November sale carrying a full-sister to Unique Bella. The 3-year-old filly, named Unrivaled Princess, is unraced to date. Through the Timber Town draft, Pope sold Vanishing Point for $1.5 million to Hiroyasu Takeuchi, agent for new owner Yuji Hasegawa, at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling sale. Unrivaled Belle was barren to Tapit for 2019, but foaled a full-sister to Unique Bella and Vanishing Point Mar. 19 and returned to the Gainesway stallion this past breeding season.

“The plan is to take him back to Japan and hopefully take him on the Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby and bring him back over here as a Derby horse,” Takeuchi told the TDN’s Jessica Martini via translator Kate Hunter following the purchase last fall.

Vanishing Point is the 32nd Japanese winner from 36 runners for his sire, including Testa Matta, winner of the G1 February S.; and Rabbit Run, a Group 2 winner on the turf and a listed winner on dirt. Tapit is also represented in Japan by MSW & GSP Tahltan and MSW Golden Barows.

WATCH: Vanishing Point goes gate to wire to score by daylight on debut

The post Unique Bella Brother Wins Smartly on Sapporo Debut appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Three years ago, Don Alberto Corporation continued their traditional annual shopping spree at the fall breeding stock sales, spending a combined $8.3 million at Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton, plus an additional $3.35 million in partnership purchases at the Keeneland November Sale.

Meanwhile, their $400,000 2015 Keeneland September purchase Unique Bella shone bright as a 3-year-old with four consecutive graded stakes wins and a later victory in the GI La Brea S., earning Don Alberto Stable their first Grade I win in the U.S., as well as an Eclipse Award for champion female sprinter.

No matter who stole the show, Don Alberto has defined itself as a force both at the sales and on the track in the United States, and Unique Bella played a major role in establishing this reputation.

“It’s very obvious that Unique Bella was the one that put Don Alberto on the map and put our silks out there,” Don Alberto’s Executive Director Fabricio Buffolo said. “She won the La Brea S. as a 3-year-old, and then coming back at four, the Beholder Mile S. and the Clement Hirsch S. So three Grade Is, including the first Grade I for Don Alberto.”

The daughter of champion sire Tapit retired in the summer of 2018 as a millionaire with eight graded stakes wins and two Eclipse awards to her credit. The towering gray filly was a fan favorite throughout her career and a top earner for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. She was sent to Don Alberto’s new farm in Lexington upon retirement. The former 440-acre Vinery Farm was purchased by Don Alberto in 2013.

The next year, she was bred to top Darley stallion Medaglia d’Oro, the sire of 25 individual Grade I winners including Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, dual Eclipse winner Songbird and Canadian Horse of the Year Wonder Gadot.

This January, the 6-year-old mare delivered her first foal.

Buffolo said that the foaling went perfectly and that their team is now ecstatic with the bright young filly.

“Her foaling was good, and Unique Bella was nice and kind to the foal,” he said. “We think she’s an outstanding filly. She has plenty of scope and she’s definitely growing the right way.”

The youngster comes from a family of powerhouse mares, and Buffolo said this one looks to fit that mold.

“She’s a pretty tall filly already,” he said. “She has plenty of leg. Soon we’re going to be looking to wean her. So it’s another step for her, but she’s a really good filly with a good temperament and we expect great things from her.”

The foal has been named, but where she might end up is still unknown.

“We named her Una Bella d’Oro,” Buffolo said. “We’ll see, she might go to the sale and she might not.”

The filly, who’s name translates to ‘a beautiful golden one’ in Italian, won’t live up to the “golden” part of her name in respect to her coat color, as she is developing her mother’s bright dapple gray coat more every day.

Buffolo reflected upon Unique Bella’s racing career and how her personality has changed as she transitioned into motherhood.

“On the track, you could see from her workouts…she wanted to go fast and there was no holding her back,” he said. “She just wanted to go and go and go. And that’s definitely a trait that is good to see on the good horses, right? They want to go no matter what.”

He continued, “I was involved with Royal Delta as well, and you see that with some of those mares, sometimes they want their own way and it’s whatever they want and you need to adjust to it. So Unique Bella is like that, but to be honest, she has settled quite a bit as a mom. She’s really quiet and gets along with her peers. She’s been pretty easy as a broodmare.”

Unique Bella has checked back in foal to two-time Horse of the Year Curlin for next year.

It’s an exciting time for the Don Alberto Corporation. Since their first expansion to the States in 2013, they are now starting to see some of the first products of their hard work.

“The engine has started working,” Buffolo said. “We know the mares and know more about how they are producing. We are getting better at matings because we know what we can do with them.”

While Don Alberto is still a relatively new name in the U.S., the corporation has been an international powerhouse for many years.

Their Chilean location, Haras Don Alberto, was founded in 1987. Liliana Solari and her son Carlos Heller Solari are the driving forces behind the business.

“Miss Liliana has a passion for horses and always loved the breeding,” Buffolo said. “She had a few good mares from her father, Alberto, and she started breeding on her own in Chile. It’s a long tradition there for them and it’s a big operation nowadays.”

Haras Don Alberto has leased a number of stallions for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season including Bluegrass Cat, Fusaichi Pegasus, Stevie Wonderboy, and Proud Citizen. They are also involved with WinStar’s Tourist (Tiznow) and the red-hot Constitution (Tapit).

Don Alberto Corporation is a subsidiary of Bethia Holdings, which holds interests in retail, television, health care, agriculture, and a variety of other businesses. They also own the local Chilean racetrack Club Hipico de Santiago.

The expansion to their United States location was all in pursuit of Don Alberto’s ultimate goal.

“The goal is to have successful horses in Chile, and then hopefully in the U.S.,” Buffolo said. “[The goal is] that they can be competitive anywhere.”

Their first U.S. Grade I winner in Unique Bella was one of the first fulfillments of that goal, and she will always be a favorite for the Solari family.

“Miss Liliana’s favorite thing is to bring carrots to Unique Bella,” Buffolo said. “They have a very strong emotional connection to the horses. They’re passionate not only about the breeding and racing, but about the animals as a whole.”

The post Una Bella d’Oro: Don Alberto’s New Golden Girl appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post