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Valiant Minister Leads Baoma Corp.’s 2022 Stallion Roster

The advertised 2022 fees have been announced for the three stallions that comprise the Chu family's Baoma Corp., standing at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala, Fla., BloodHorse reports.

The trio is led by Valiant Minister, who will stand for $5,000. The 8-year-old son of Candy Ride currently sits atop Florida's freshman sire list, led by multiple stakes winner Outfoxed.

Tunwoo, a 6-year-old Medaglia d'Oro horse, will stand for $4,000. His first foals will race in 2022.

Rounding out the group is Chitu, a Grade 1-placed 10-year-old son of Henny Hughes who will stand for $3,500.

Outfoxed Outstanding In My Dear Girl Stakes At Gulfstream

LNJ Foxwoods' Outfoxed, a record-setting stakes winner to break her maiden last month, followed up with another eye-catching performance to earn a second straight stakes victory in Saturday's $400,000 My Dear Girl at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The My Dear Girl for fillies and $400,000 In Reality for colts and geldings, both going 1 1/16 miles, co-headlined the final leg of the tradition-rich FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for juveniles sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

Breaking from the rail against seven rivals as the 1-5 favorite in her two-turn debut, Outfoxed ($2.40) completed the distance in 1:47.34 over a fast main track to win by 9 ¼ lengths over 25-1 long shot Veiled Prophet. She was a 13 ½-length winner of the $200,000 Susan's Girl Aug. 28 at Gulfstream, the largest margin in race history.

“She's certainly done good things for us in the last 30 days, that's for sure,” trainer Bill Mott said. “She beat this group easily enough. We know the water can always get deeper.”

Outfoxed had a much different trip under meet-leading rider Edgard Zayas than her previous start, when she balked at the starting gate before loading and then raced outside horses in the seven-furlong Susan's Girl. Her unveiling came in a 5 ½-furlong maiden special weight sprint July 15 at Saratoga, where she ran third.

“The first time coming down to Florida last time she was a little nervous, but they schooled her in the morning after the race and they said she was doing awesome. The gate crew knew her already and she was really nice in the gate. She actually was a little sharp today,” Zayas said. “[Judging by] the way she won last time, and I think she has a lot of class, I was pretty confident she was going to handle the distance pretty good.”

Susan's Girl runner-up Devilette was once again out on the lead under Cristian Torres tracked by My Sassenach, third in the Susan's Girl, and Cajun Cousin, while Zayas and Outfoxed found themselves hemmed in along the rail in fourth by 30-1 long shot Sequin Lady midway down the backstretch.

As the field approached the far turn, Zayas was able to put Outfoxed in the clear four wide and the daughter of Valiant Minister responded by closing in quickly on the leaders. She overtook My Sassenach at the midpoint of the turn and straightened for home with an open lead that expanded through the stretch under a hand ride and ultimately geared down nearing the wire.

“Last time she was on the outside and I had a clean trip the whole race, and it was a little shorter so the pace was a little faster. Today the pace was a little slower and going two turns, I really didn't want to put her out there on the lead,” Zayas said. “She was the target of the race [so] I wasn't going to go against her. I just wanted to cover up a little bit and then put her in the clear and let her do her thing. She did awesome.”

Outfoxed, who fetched $360,000 at the 2020 OBS October sale, is only the second horse to represent Mott in the FSS series. The other, Inner Light, finished seventh in the 2017 In Reality. She has been with Mott's former assistant, Gulfstream-based trainer Ralph Nicks, since the Susan's Girl.

“She's been training good and put on some weight,” Nicks said. “She's a nice horse, plain and simple. The real boss is going to have a lot of fun with her.”

Mott was unsure whether the Breeders' Cup in November at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., could be on the horizon for Outfoxed.

“I think I'd have to talk to the powers that be. We'll talk to the owners and managers,” he said. “That would be a big step, but we'll see what they want to do. I couldn't answer that question right now myself.”

The post Outfoxed Outstanding In My Dear Girl Stakes At Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Taking Stock: Gun Runner Flexes Candy Ride/Storm Cat Nick

Two sons of Candy Ride (Arg)–Gun Runner and Twirling Candy–were represented by three 2-year-old Grade l winners over the weekend, and do you know one thing they had in common? Each was produced by a Storm Cat-line mare. This affinity for the Storm Cat line was also an important feature of Candy Ride's own success, and breeders appear to be copying that formula with his sons. It's not surprising; it's something that usually happens when a stallion is successful with the females of another sire line, and this type of repetition of a successful pattern is what's known as a nick–something that's been around as long as people have been breeding racehorses.

Three Chimneys's Gun Runner, whose first crop is two, was represented by two of the top-level winners: Gl Hopeful winner Gunite, from black-type winner Simple Surprise, a daughter of Cowboy Cal (by Giant's Causeway, a son of Storm Cat); and Gl Spinaway winner Echo Zulu, out of Gll winner Letgomyecho, by Menifee (by Harlan, a son of Storm Cat).

Lane's End's Twirling Candy, the best and most proven son of Candy Ride to date, is the sire of Gl Del Mar Futurity winner Pinehurst, who's from unplaced Giant Win, by Giant's Causeway. Note that Twirling Candy's current Gl Preakness winner Rombauer is bred similarly. Rombauer's dam is by Cowboy Cal, who as noted above is by Giant's Causeway.

Giant's Causeway is also the broodmare sire of Gun Runner, making Gun Runner a product of the same Candy Ride/Storm Cat nick as his Grade l winners. However, when Gun Runner is bred to mares with either Giant's Causeway or Storm Cat in their pedigrees, a duplication to one or the other takes place. Essentially, breeders who send Storm Cat-line mares to Gun Runner are copying the pattern that produced him and are consciously inbreeding as well to Storm Cat, one of the great modern stallions, or to his best racing and sire son Giant's Causeway, if a mare by the latter or one of his sons is used.

Gunite is inbred 3×3 to Giant's Causeway, and Echo Zulu is 4×4 to Storm Cat.

Gun Runner's wins included the Breeders' Cup Classic during his 2017 Horse of the Year campaign | Breeders' Cup/Eclipse Sportswire

For Gun Runner, getting two Grade l-winning 2-year-olds in the first crop is a big deal, and this achievement marks the Horse of the Year, who was best at four and five, as something special. It's natural to expect that his offspring should continue to get better with age, giving him a high ceiling to anticipate.

But there's more to Gun Runner already. He also has two Grade ll winners, and their dam's pedigrees also contain Storm Cat. Pappacap, winner of the Gll Best Pal, is from a Glll-placed daughter of Scat Daddy (Johannesburg/Hennessy/Storm Cat), making him 4×5 to Storm Cat; and Wicked Halo, who won the Gll Adirondack, is out of the Tapit mare Just Wicked, who also won the Adirondack. Just Wicked's dam, black-type winner Wicked Deed, is by Harlan's Holiday (Harlan), and Wicked Halo, therefore, is 4×5 to Storm Cat.

Three of these four–Gunite, Echo Zulu, and Wicked Halo–are raced by Winchell Thoroughbreds, which raced Gun Runner in partnership with Three Chimneys. Winchell also raced Tapit, and it's no surprise that Wicked Halo is a homebred from a mare by their standout Gainesway sire. Winchell bred Gunite and bought Echo Zulu, a half-sister to Gl winner Echo Town (Speightstown) and Glll winner J Boys Echo (Mineshaft), for $300,000 as a Keeneland September yearling.

Steve Asmussen trained Gun Runner, and he trains the Winchell trio.

Sire Clusters

First off, let me say that by speaking of the stallions in a pedigree, I'm not diminishing the importance of physical attributes nor the contributions of the female family, which is as important. The dam of Echo Zulu, for example, was already an accomplished black-type producer before her Gun Runner filly won at the highest level.

And Gun Runner, an attractive and refined 16.2-hand specimen, himself is a product of a great female line that stretches back for generations full of high-class runners. Closer up, Gun Runner is from Grade ll winner Quiet Giant–a half-sister to Horse of the Year Saint Liam and fellow Three Chimneys stallion and Grade l winner Funtastic.

However, stallions have exponentially more foals than mares, and sire patterns–not just nicks, or sire-line crosses, as they are also known, but also clusters of favorable sires–are more easily discernible in pedigrees.

Lane's End stalwart Candy Ride | Lane's End

Candy Ride is a Fappiano-line stallion from an unusual path (Ride the Rails/ Cryptoclearance/ Fappiano), and he's had success with other lines aside from Storm Cat, such as with A.P. Indy and Fappiano himself through other, more familiar branches.

Gun Runner, for example, is bred on the Candy Ride/Storm Cat sire-line cross, but his dam also has Fappiano in her pedigree, making Gun Runner 4×4 to Fappiano. Therefore, in his case, the cluster of Storm Cat and Fappiano form a favorable basis.

Current 3-year-old Candy Ride Grade l winner Rock Your World is from an Empire Maker (Unbridled/Fappiano) mare whose dam is by Giant's Causeway; therefore, he's also 4×4 to Fappiano with Storm Cat present in the pedigree though Giant's Causeway.

Grade l winner Mastery, a son of Candy Ride at Claiborne with first-crop 2-year-olds, is from a mare by Old Trieste (A.P. Indy) whose dam is by Storm Cat.

The aforementioned Gun Runner 2-year-old Grade l winner Gunite is from a Cowboy Cal (Giant's Causeway) mare and the next dam is by Pulpit (A.P. Indy).

And the Gun Runner filly Wicked Halo, noted earlier from the Tapit (Pulpit/A.P. Indy) mare, not only has Storm Cat in the pedigree but also Fappiano through Tapit's broodmare sire Unbridled, making her 5x5x5 to Fappiano in addition to 4×5 Storm Cat. She's got a three-strong sire cluster of Storm Cat, Fappiano, and A.P. Indy girding her pedigree.

Candy Ride Stallions

Earlier this summer, I wrote about the investment in Candy Ride stallions that stud farms in Kentucky and in regional areas have made. One of the stallions mentioned is Unified, who has his first 2-year-olds racing this year. The Lane's End-based sire is represented so far by two black-type winners, Roger McQueen and Behave Virginia. The former is out of a Storm Cat-line mare and has Fappiano in the dam's pedigree (5×4 Fappiano); the latter is from a Mineshaft (A.P. Indy) mare and also has Fappiano in the dam's pedigree (5×4 Fappiano).

I also wrote about the once-raced Candy Ride stallion Valiant Minister at Bridlewood Farm in Ocala. Valiant Minister is the sire of Outfoxed, a filly who won the restricted $200,000 FTBOA Florida Sire Susan's Girl S. at the end of last month and looks like a future open company stakes winner. Though her sire stands for $3,000, she was a $360,000 OBS April 2-year-old. Her broodmare sire? It's former Florida stallion Kantharos (Lion Heart/Tale of the Cat/Storm Cat), who is a Storm Cat-line horse.

Sid Fernando is president and CEO of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants, Inc., originator of the Werk Nick Rating and eNicks.

The post Taking Stock: Gun Runner Flexes Candy Ride/Storm Cat Nick appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Outfoxed Outstanding In Susan’s Girl At Gulfstream

LNJ Foxwoods' Outfoxed was a standout Saturday at Gulfstream Park, graduating in her second lifetime start by 13 ½ lengths in the $200,000 Susan's Girl at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla.

The Susan's Girl, a seven-furlong sprint for 2-year-old fillies, and the $200,000 Affirmed, a seven-furlong open-division sprint, co-headlined Saturday's second leg of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes for juveniles sired by accredited stallions standing in Florida.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott, the daughter of Valiant Minister who had finished third in a July 31 maiden special weight race at Saratoga in her debut, scored by the largest margin in the history of the Susan's Girl, eclipsing Ivanavinalot's 2002 record of 10 lengths.

“The racing manager Alex Solis let me know she was eligible for the race, and he kept me updated on potential runners,” said Mott from Saratoga. “He kind of left it in my hands. We could run her in a maiden race up here in Saratoga or down there. We thought it was a good spot, and it turned out to be.”

Sent to post as the 7-5 favorite in a field of 11 fillies, Outfoxed turned in a thoroughly professional performance under Gulfstream's leading rider Edgard Zayas, once she reluctantly loaded into the starting gate. The filly covered the seven furlongs effortlessly in 1:23.81.

“She was super good before the race. It was just getting into the gate,” said Zayas following his fifth FSS winning ride. “Once she got to the gate, she got a little nervous. After that, she was perfect, all class.”

Outfoxed, a $360,000 purchase at the 2020 OBS October sale, settled off the pace set by Devilette and contested by Noble Drama and Rachel's Rock along the backstretch with $100,000 FSS Desert Vixen winner My Sassenach and Sequin Lady not far behind. Devilette posted fractions of :23.06 for the first quarter and :45.28 for the first half mile as Outfoxed launched a three-wide sweep to the lead. The Mott trainee kicked in through the stretch to graduate impressively.

“She broke good out of the gate. She dropped back a little bit. There was plenty of pace. A seven-furlong race can be very hard on 2-year-old fillies, so I let her sit a little,” Zayas said. “At the half-mile [pole], I didn't want to go too wide, so I tucked her in a little bit. After that, she was taking me very nice. She was very impressive.”

Devilette, who was ridden by Cristian Torres, held gamely to finish second, 1 ¼ lengths ahead of My Sassenach and jockey Miguel Vasquez.

Outfoxed was only the second horse to represent Mott in the tradition-rich series. His only other FSS starter was Inner Light, who finished seventh in the 2017 In Reality.

When asked if Outfoxed will run in the $400,000 My Dear Girl division of the Sire Stakes Sept. 25 around two turns at 1 1/16 miles, Mott replied, “We will have to make a decision on that pretty soon.”

The post Outfoxed Outstanding In Susan’s Girl At Gulfstream appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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