Tag: west point thoroughbreds

Gulfstream Stakes Winners to Target Pegasus World Cup

Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) will be aimed at the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational after his victory in the GIII Harlan's Holiday S. Saturday at Gulfstream, while the Christophe Clement-trained stablemates City Man (Mucho Macho Man) and Decorated Invader (Declaration of War), first and second in the GII Fort Lauderdale S., will now target the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

Skippylongstocking won the 2022 GIII West Virginia Derby and was third in the GI Belmont S.

“He's getting better and he's filled out so much,” trainer Saffie Joseph said. “He exceeds all expectations. I never give him that much credit and he keeps delivering.”

Joseph said Skippylongstocking will be joined in the Pegasus by stablemate O'Connor (Chi) (Boboman), who finished fourth as the favorite in the Harlan's Holiday.

“He wears glue-on shoes and they actually separated where one shoe was half on and half off,” Joseph said of the Chilean Group 1 winner's trip in the Harlan's Holiday. “I think that could have been a hinderance. I'd rather lose a shoe than have one half on and half off.”

Also expected to move on to the Pegasus are Harlan's Holiday runner-up Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the Nile) and third-place finisher Simplification (Not This Time).

The Christophe Clement-trained stablemates City Man (Mucho Macho Man) and Decorated Invader (Declaration of War), first and second in the GII Fort Lauderdale S. at Gulfstream Park Saturday, will now be aimed at the Jan. 28 GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational.

Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Peter and Patty Searles's City Man got a patient ride from jockey Joel Rosario to find room inside late and surged to a 1 1/2-length victory, while West Point Thoroughbreds, William Freeman, William Sandbrook and Cheryl Manning's Decorated Invader emerged from a three-way photo to get second by a neck.

“The two horses came back in good shape and looked good to me this morning,” Clement said Sunday. “We'll speak to the owners, but the idea would be to train them for the Pegasus.”

The 6-year-old City Man won the GIII Forbidden Apple S. at Saratoga last July and was second in the GIII Bernard Baruch H. before winning a pair of New York-bred stakes in the fall.

“He had some very good races [last] year and we just hope we can keep his form for one more race,” Clement said. “The idea is to run in the Pegasus then we'll pull the plug, send him to Ocala and give him a break afterward.”

Co-owner Dean Reeves, who also campaigned City Man's GI Breeders' Cup Classic-winning sire, was excited about City Man's performance.

“We were thrilled. It's just such a satisfying win and I'm just so proud of City Man and of course his stallion,” he said. “It's a double win for me.”

A three-time graded stakes winner, Decorated Invader had to overcome drawing the outermost post in a full field of 12 in the Fort Lauderdale, but was put into contention right away by jockey Tyler Gaffalione, pressing 34-1 longshot pacesetter Winfromwithin and was still there at the end.

“I thought he ran very well because he had the terrible post. It was very encouraging. Let's not forget he was a very nice 2-year-old. It took me a while to get his form back, but I loved the race yesterday,” Clement said. “As long as both horses are doing well and training well, hopefully we'll be able to run them in the Pegasus.”

Trainer Todd Pletcher said Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) would remain under consideration for the Pegasus Turf following his  sixth-place finish as the favorite in the Fort Lauderdale. Colonel Liam, who won the Pegasus Turf in 2021 and 2022, was making his first start Saturday since running ninth in the G1 Dubai Turf last March.

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TAA Launches Holiday Giving Campaign

The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Holiday Giving Campaign launches Tuesday and runs through Dec. 31. Those wishing to support accredited Thoroughbred aftercare can visit the TAA's website to make a donation and send digital holiday cards to colleagues, friends, and loved ones.

Throughout the year-end campaign, the TAA will host special one-day only donation matching with some of horse racing's biggest names, including Denali Stud, West Point Thoroughbreds, Bob and Jill Baffert, and more.

“While we gear up for the holidays, it is my hope that those of us in the Thoroughbred industry consider donating to the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance during its Holiday Giving Campaign,” said TAA President, Jeffrey Bloom. “The horses give us so much, and every donation to the TAA helps support a network of 81 accredited organizations, 180 facilities, and over 4,000 Thoroughbreds. Keep holiday giving simple, donate to the TAA.”

To learn more about the TAA's Holiday Giving campaign, visit: ThoroughbredAftercare.org/HolidayCampaign.

 

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No Shortage of Excitement For Lane’s End’s Newest Addition

Just a week and a half after GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic winner Flightline (Tapit) was officially retired and shipped from Keeneland Race Course down the road to his new home at Lane's End Farm, the Versailles-based operation opened its doors to members of the media for an up-close and personal afternoon with their newest superstar addition on Wednesday.

With a group of nearly 15 in attendance, along with members of the Lane's End team, Flightline was walked around the stallion complex, displaying how well he has adapted to life on the farm. Despite the colder temperatures, with a hint of snow and the bite of wind in the air, the recently retired colt took everything in stride as those watching took videos and photos to document the experience.

After all facetime with Flightline was fulfilled, the group headed inside to hear from Lane's End's Bill Farish and David Ingordo, the operation's bloodstock agent, who provided further insight on the decision to retire Flightline this year. He will enter stud next season, standing for a fee of $200,000 LFSN.

“We got together the Sunday afterwards, the day after [the Breeders' Cup], and we went over every scenario, looking at the different races and different targets he could have had for next year,” said Farish.

The GI Pegasus World Cup, set for Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023 at Gulfstream Park, was brought up as an example, where the team weighed questions such as, “Who's going to run in the Pegasus against him? Is it going to be worth waiting that time and bucking up against breeding season?”

“To go on through the [next] year, again, he'd beaten the best four 3-year-olds and best other older horses that are out there. Who's going to emerge to run against him? By the time Breeders' Cup rolls around next year, maybe there will be a superstar that will be worthy of that, but that's a long wait for one race. There just really was no upside to keep him in training,” said Farish.

In the end, those factors along with the reality that he was at the end of his 4-year-old season led owners Hronis Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Siena Farm, Summer Wind Equine and Lane's End-affiliated partnership Woodford Racing to the ultimate decision to retire Flightline from his racing career and ready him for his first season at stud.

Flightine has proven to acclimate exceptionally well throughout his racing career. He did so when traveling from his home base at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA, to Belmont Park in Elmont, NY, for a victorious romp in the GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H., and later back to the West Coast for his breathtaking GI TVG Pacific Classic win at Del Mar. And finally returning to what ended up being his final destination in central Kentucky, Flightline struts around Lane's End as if he's spent his entire life there.

“He just adapted immediately; we probably could have just turned him out the first day. He's been so relaxed and so intelligent about everything, it's amazing. He's a really smart horse,” said Farish.

Not only does Flightline add prestige to the farm's 2023 roster in the form of on-track success and exceptional conformation, but there's also immense hope that he will add to the legacies that have been created by his sire Tapit, grandsire Pulpit and great-grandsire A.P. Indy, the late stalwart of Lane's End.

“Having multiple generations of any sire line has always meant a lot to us here. With Dixieland Band, we've had four generations of that sire line, and now seeing the same thing happen with A.P. Indy, it's really special,” said Farish.

 

 

 

With all of that being said, the team at Lane's End has been under immense pressure to pull together the best possible first book for their new stallion. But even before the decision to officially retire Flightline to stud was made, a continuous stream of inquiries was flooding in and the team was diving into pedigree research in an effort to plan ahead.

“I think people in their minds maybe felt he would retire, so they took it upon themselves to say, 'I'm going to set this mare aside.' Nobody knew we were retiring this horse until the morning we did, because it was that kind of decision, it was a very difficult one,” Ingordo said. “When people would say, 'Well should I send you a mare?' I'd reply, 'If you want to set one aside, you go ahead, you send it to me, we'll figure it out [when] we do it,' and this was during the October sale, the September sale. Once the announcement was made, the inbox and texts and everything got full.”

“We did a lot of pedigree research ahead of time, and again, we didn't decide we were retiring him until Sunday morning, but we went on the offensive because we figured if he races on, we'll have this year's sales mares and next year's sales mares. We went through and worked with [Werk Thoroughbred Consultants'] Sid Fernando on some pedigree research, and later we graded them all, then we made a list. Once he was retired, we went through and looked at them all and we just [assessed] every mare that fit him.”

According to Farish, Flightline's first book of mares will be set around 150.

He remarked on the impressive quality of the mares submitted so far, with plenty of interest from many of the top breeders nationwide and substantial attention from prominent international interests. Notable mares that are already part of the book include champion Shamrock Rose (First Dude), purchased for $3 million in foal to Curlin at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale by KI Farm; Queen Caroline (Blame), dam of 'TDN Rising Star' and multiple Grade I winner Forte (Violence); and Diva Delite (Repent), dam of champion Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute).

“We've had a lot of interest from the Japanese. They were going to take their mares straight to Japan and I think we've got five or six horses that came out of the sale, that were purchased by Japanese [connections], that are going to hopefully breed to him and spread his influence over there,” said Farish. “That's one of the unbelievable added benefits with a horse like this, there's total international interest and a lot of European mares as well, so I think he'll have a really good balance. I wish it was this easy with all of them.”

“We bought the mares we thought we liked that fit him and we had notes on all of these other ones so when people were submitting them, we tried to be as thoughtful as we could without, as a friend of mine says, having 'Analysis to paralysis.' We think we've curated a pretty good book,” added Ingordo.

Until breeding season officially begins in February, all the team behind Flightline can do is wait, while continuing to field hundreds of emails, phone calls and a seemingly never-ending stream of farm visits.

“I don't know if it's going to work or not but we can't say we didn't try,” said Ingordo.

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Flightline Settling In at Lane’s End

Lexington, KY – While the Flightline connections have been busy at the Keeneland November Sale assembling a powerhouse group of mares to send to their new stallion, the superstar himself has been settling into his new home at Lane's End Farm.

'TDN Rising Star' Flightline (Tapit – Feathered, by Indian Charlie) arrived at the Versailles-based breeding operation less than 24 hours after he cemented his place in history in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic. Accompanied by John Sadler's assistant and exercise rider Juan Leyva and barn foreman Cesar Aguilar, the undefeated son of Tapit came off the van at around 1:30 on Sunday afternoon and then strode down the barn aisle and into his new stall–which is already embellished with his nameplate–without so much as turning a hair.

“Part of the Flightline team was here to help him get settled in at the farm,” said Lane's End Stallion Seasons team member Chris Knehr. “They did a great job with him for his whole campaign and he's such a great horse to be around.”

Knehr added that Sadler and his crew are welcome back to the farm to visit their former trainee whenever they are in Kentucky.

“It's a credit to Sadler's team that he is the way he is,” Knehr said. “One of the things that is so striking about him is that he's got a very big, very intelligent eye. We've all seen that in really smart horses and Flightline has that. There is a class and an intelligence about him that he can take in the environment and adjust to it.”

This week, Flightline has spent a few hours every morning in the round pen before returning to his stall and relaxing throughout the day. Knehr said that Peter Sheehan, who took on the role of Lane's End Stallion Manager last year, is confident that the big bay will get to go out in his own paddock sometime next week.

“Luckily, because he is smart and is so good to work with, he's done very well with the transition,” Knehr said. “It's just kind of a gradual process of letting him down and getting him used to being a horse again.”

Soon, Flightline will be available for the many breeders clamoring to inspect the new stallion. On Wednesday, it was announced that the 4-year-old will command a fee of $200,000 in his first season.

According to Knehr, their team has already taken a deep dive into analyzing Flightline's pedigree and has sought the help of Werk Thoroughbred Consultants' Sid Fernando to begin sketching out guidelines for the types of mares that would suit him best.

“He has Dynaformer and Storm Cat far enough back to where there are a lot of options with him and the mares that can suit him,” Knehr explained. “From that standpoint, the bottom side of the pedigree allows us to try a couple of different things. Obviously being by Tapit, we can use that formula as well with mares that have worked well with Tapit and even some of his sons at stud.”

Flightline was campaigned through six straight career victories by breeder Summer Wind Equine in partnership with Hronis Racing, Siena Farm, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford Racing. Many of those connections have been signing tickets on high-profile mare at Keeneland November in the hopes of sending most of those purchases to the new stud.

Summer Wind's newest additions include three-time Grade III winner and last year's Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint runner-up Edgeway (Competitive Edge) for $1.7 million, SW Park Avenue (Quality Road) for $1.45 million, and Grade III winner Proud Emma (Include), who sold in foal to Charlatan, for $1 million.

With Terry Finley signing the ticket, Gage Hill bought champion Songbird's half-sister Song of Mine (Ghostzapper) for $700,000 and made several more purchases in partnership with Determined Stud including Salty as Can Be (Into Mischief), a half-sister to Grade I victress Salty (Quality Road), for $2 million as well as the winning Empire Maker mare Finding Fame for $575,000.

Earlier this week on Monday, a 2.5% fractional interest in Flightline sold for $4.6 million to kick off the Keeneland November Sale. Knehr said that the results from the auction more than fulfilled the syndicate's expectations.

“I've never seen [the sales pavilion] as packed as it was,” he said. “The final price was beyond our expectations. The idea was to get attention from people outside of the industry as well. He has a national awareness and with the idea of the Metaverse, we wanted to blend some things together and get some interest in that and for the sport in general. We haven't seen a racehorse like this in quite some time. The attention has been incredible, both from a fan standpoint and from the breeders.”

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