Field Trips Archives - Page 4 of 8

January 16, 2017January 16, 2017

Tales from the Sales

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Graydar, he has a tale to tell with a swoosh of his tail! — **Graydar**, he has a tale to tell with a swoosh of his tail!

The first American Thoroughbred Auction results are in! Premier auction house, Keeneland, wrapped its annual January Horses of All Ages sale (#KeeJan) this past Friday evening. It was Friday the 13th and the results were a little spooky.

The 59th edition of the sale had catalogued 1,893 horses. 961 head sold with across-the-board declines. Nearly 500 horses were withdrawn and over 400 more did not meet the reserve prices, set by the sellers. Some speculated reasons included, harsh winter weather, the equine herpes quarantines and no farm dispersals. A dispersal is when an owner sells off all or many of their horses to reduce inventory for various reasons. The most likely factor is the increasing desire by the buyers to only purchase the most select of pedigrees. One of my favorite take away quotes was by Bob Elliston, Keeneland’s Vice President of Racing and Sales, “Breeders need to take note moving forward.” That is a responsible statement. This sale grossed over $28 million dollars with an average sales price of nearly $30 thousand dollars.

Graydar, looking a bit more regal. — **Graydar**, looking a bit more regal.

On the bright side. Some Thoroughbreds were found very desirable. The highest price horse in the sale was Siren Serenade. She sold for $1,025,000! She is a 11 year-old mare born to Unbridled’s Song and Versailles Treaty. Siren Serenade is in foal by Tapit, the gorgeous grey number one sire for over 3 years and the leading sire and covering sire of the #KeeJan sale. Covering sire is another name for a sire when the mare is believed to be pregnant but the foal is yet to be born. The breeding of Tapit with another Unbridled’s Song daughter, Unrivaled Belle, led to the birth of Unique Bella in 2014. Unique Bella is turning heads after her romp in the G2 Santa Ynez Stakes, at Santa Anita, earlier this month. Put this filly in your virtual barn!

Unbridled's Song Grave Marker. — **Unbridled’s Song** Grave Marker.

Keeping the bloodlines of Tapit and Unbridled’s Song in mind, feel free to search my webpage for former Tapit posts while I spend more of this post focusing on Unbridled’s Song and perhaps his most promising son as a stallion, Graydar. Tapit was the sire to 10 horses in #KeeJan, right behind him was Unbridled’s Song with 9 Thoroughbreds that sold. Much further down the list was Graydar whom sired 2 horses that sold. Unfortunately, you won’t find a listing for Unbridled’s Song as a covering sire. He was euthanized at 20 years-old due to an inoperable mass. He crossed the rainbow bridge too soon in July of 2013. Graydar was the covering sire for 5 horses that sold in the sale.

Unbridled's Song Stall Plate. — **Unbridled’s Song** Stall Plate.

Both Unbridled’s Song and Graydar are Taylor Made Farm stallions. Taylor Made Sales Agency was the leading consignor at #KeeJan and they typically are. This year they sold 100 horses, in this one sale. Unbridled’s Song was a stallion on their farm, in Kentucky, for 17 seasons. Before that, this grey horse was born in February of 1993 to Unbridled, the winner of the 1990 Kentucky Derby and Trolley Song. Unbridled’s Song had a nice racing career. He won 5 of 12 starts including the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, the Florida Derby, the Wood Memorial and the Olympic Handicap. The Olympic was his last race due to a broken cannon bone. He was training to go on to the Donn Handicap. For racing fans, it is probably best that he made it to the breeding shed as quick as he did. He has created so many powerful stakes winners. Names like Arrogate, Midshipman, Will Take Charge and so many more winners are his offspring. Unbridled’s Song was credited with siring his 100th stakes winner the day his son, Graydar, won the Donn Handicap.

Fortunately, not only can Unbridled’s Song’s offspring race, they are doing well as sires and broodmares themselves. His lineage lives on and there is a lot of hope that his grey son, Graydar, may be the best to carry on those great genes. Graydar was born to Sweetest Smile in May of 2009. He won 5 of 6 starts including the Donn, the New Orleans and the Kelso Handicaps. He went to stud in 2014 and he has had 2 crops of offspirng thus far. His first crop is eligible to race this year. He has produced 157 foals and 99 of those just became of racing age. The other 58 are yearlings. His fee is a mere $12,500 for a live foal. His next crops will sell at the Fasig-Tipton 2017 Winter Mixed Sale and the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company 2017 Winter Mixed Sale. I expect great things of his 2 year-olds and I think his price will sky rocket once he is proven. I feel very lucky for those who are buying into Graydar now. He is a beautiful and sweet horse. He lives in the same two stall barn as California Chrome. I had the pleasure of meeting Graydar twice when I visited Chrome while he was recovering from a cannon bone bruise. I also, briefly part owned a colt by Graydar and Heavenly Ghost. I am looking forward to following that colt’s racing career.

Please, enjoy the pictures I took while I was visiting Graydar at Taylor Made Farm. He has a tale to tell with a swish of his tail. I hope his progeny sweep the races this year and he keeps on bringing us more of that great Unbridled’s Song legacy. Between these two and Tapit the whole industry may be turning up grey!

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November 9, 2016November 9, 2016

Knockout November

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Photo: Love The Chase

Don’t blink! The 2016 Breeders’ Cup finished up on Saturday and in the next moment the Thoroughbreds shipped away. Some we will see on the track again, some retired and others were sent promptly to Kentucky for the November sales.

Photo: Stopchargingmaria

On November 4th and 5th, Santa Anita Park in California hosted the Breeders’ Cup. 13 races took place yielding the following results by race and winning Thoroughbreds:

Juvenile Turf: Oscar Performance
Las Vegas Dirt Mile: Tamarkuz
Juvenile Fillies Turf: New Money Honey
Longines Distaff: Beholder
14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies: Champagne Room
Filly and Mare Turf: Queen’s Trust
Twin Spires Sprint: Drefong
Turf Sprint: Obviously
Sentient Jet Juvenile: Classic Empire
Longines Turf: Highland Reel
Filly and Mare Sprint: Finest City
Mile: Tourist
Classic: Arrogate

Photo: Baffled

There were a whole lot of upsets and close calls but it is all part of the game! The results of these races lead to updates in bloodlines all over the world and the new information was influential at the following sales.

Photo: Cassett

The November Sale at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, KY was quite the success. Held at 4 P.M. EST on 11/7/16 there were 175 hips cataloged. 88 horses were sold and 34 did not meet the reserve. The others scratched prior to the sale. The auction grossed over $54 million dollars which is up over 22% versus the prior year. The average price rose nearly 30% versus last year to about $615 thousand dollars. The median price went up almost 60% to more than $377 thousand dollars. The horses that didn’t make the reserve, the minimum price per the seller, was down to less than 28% versus 34% in 2015. 15 horses sold for a million dollars or more.

Baffled $3.5 M
Curalina $3M
Stopchargingmaria $2.8M
Cassatt $2.5M
Embellish The Lace $2.4M
Lady Zuzu $2.35M
Jacaranda $2M
Love The Chase $1.95M – oh my goodness, it’s California Chrome’s mom!
Whatdreamsrmadeof $1.65M
Cover Song $1.6M
Cathryn Sophia $1.4M
Tapas $1.3M
Paid Up Subscriber $1.1M
Haveyougoneaway $1.1M
Luminance $1M

Photo: Peace And War

The 2016 November Breeding Stock Sale at Keeneland in Lexington, KY was held starting at 11am on 11/8/16. It will continue thru November 20th. Day 1 of Book 1 went very nicely. Day 1 included 239 hips. 115 Thoroughbreds were sold. Over $50 million dollars were grossed. The average price was more than $436 thousand dollars. The median was $260 thousand. 10 horses sold for 7 figures.

Secret Gesture $3.5M
Celestine $2.55M
Tapicat $2.2M
My Conquestadory $1.5M
Peace And War $1.45M
Princess Sylvia $1.4M
Summer Soiree $1.3M
Yellow Ribbon $1.3M
Lexie Lou $1M
Dust and Diamonds $1M

Photo: from left to right Dust And Diamonds, Celestine, Tapicat

It was a good couple of days to catch the action in Lexington, KY. I can’t wait to see what the remainder of the sales yield. I hope we have a knockout November! Check back at least weekly and I’ll do my best to keep you updated on new adventures with race horses.

Photo: clockwise from top left Summer Soiree, Secret Gesture, Princess Sylvia, My Conquestadory

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October 30, 2016October 31, 2016

Man o’ War Memorial

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Turn a pity party into paradise! That’s what one trip to the world famous Kentucky Horse Park can do. I finished up a glorious Fall Meet at Keeneland Friday and Saturday which left me pining for more equine action today. Thus I headed out to the KY Horse Park. I wanted to see the progress on the Man o’ War statue at his final resting place.

Born on March 29, 1917 it will soon be time to celebrate the 100th year since this legendary horse was foaled. Man o’ War is one of the very best Thoroughbreds to ever race. “Big Red”, as he was affectionately named, won 20 of 21 career races. He was bred and born in Kentucky at Nursery Stud owned by August Belmont II. Man o’ War was sired by Fair Play, his dam was Mahubah. Man o’ War was sold to Samuel Riddle and lived at Glenn Riddle farm in Maryland. Big Red was trained by Louis Feustel. His jockeys were John P. Loftus and later, Clarence Kummer.

Man o’ War won the Eclipse Award for Champion 2 Year Old Colt in 1990 and 3 Year Old Colt in 1920. He won the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1920 as well. He then retired to Faraway Farm in Lexington, KY and had a highly successful stud career, siring 62 graded stakes winners. His son, War Admiral, won the Triple Crown in 1937. War Admiral died on this very date, 10/30, in 1959. Before that, Man o’ War passed away 11/01/1947 of a heart attack. He was buried at Faraway and later moved to the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, KY in 1977. Man o’ War was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1957. In many publications of Thoroughbred rankings, Big Red is listed as number 1.

When Man o’ War was exhumed his 3,000 pound bronze statue was moved with him. Herbert Haseltine created the bronze sculpture dated 1948 but commissioned as early as 1934. It sits on a marble base. Casting Arts and Technology is currently in the process of removing the original patina to restore the statue.

Man o’ War’s statue is still a beautiful site to behold even while it is a work in progress. The statue and his grave are in the Man o’ War Memorial area just beyond the main gate and to the left. Isaac Murphy, a famous jockey and several of Man o’ War’s descendants are buried there as well.

I really enjoyed my time at the Kentucky Horse Park this morning. I especially loved seeing the retired horses that live in the Hall of Champions and petting a sweet horse in a paddock on the property. Big Red’s statue should be restored any day now and the park is already preparing for their Southern Lights attraction which I posted about last December. I sure do miss Keeneland racing but I’m glad to have the Kentucky Horse Park open on most days annually. There is always something new to see. Check back soon as I post about the upcoming Breeders’ Cup.

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October 21, 2016

Kings of Keeneland

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On the 10th day of racing my true love sent to me, another win thanks to the Ramseys! Sarah and Kenneth Ramsey are the leading owners of Keeneland’s Fall meet currently. The Ramsey’s have earned the leading owner title at 17 prior Keeneland meets. So far, the Ramsey’s have 6 horses win at Keeneland this October.

On opening day, the Ramsey’s opened up their winning streak with two wins. Walking the Kitten won the 7th race on 10/7/16. Walking the Kitten is trained by Michael Maker and riden by Julien Laparoux.

That same day, race 10, Global Entry won. Maker was the trainer and Jose Ortiz was the jockey.

I witnessed my first Ramsey win of the Fall on 10/15 with Homespun Hero, seen above, in race 4. Maker was the trainer and Ortiz was the jockey.

Later that day, race 7, I was fortunate to see Coalport with another consistent win for the Ramseys. Coalport is seen in the above picture.

On Sunday, 10/16, the Ramsey family won again with Hunka Burning Love in the 2nd race. That day the Ramseys won their 100th race of 2016. Regular trainer, Maker won that with Robby Albarado in the saddle.

Yesterday, 10/20, I watched as another Ramsey horse won. Kitten’s Roar won the 3rd race with Maker and Leparoux.

It should be of no surprise that Mike Maker is the current leading trainer at Keeneland. He now has 7 wins for the meet. The other leading trainers are Graham Motion, Mark Casse, Todd Pletcher and Ian Wilkes.

Julien Leparaox leads the jockeys, several wins coming from Ramsey horses. Leparoux has won 11 times this meet. Other top jockeys include Jose Ortiz, Florent Geroux, Ricardo Santana Jr., Corey Lanerie and Robby Albarado.

Following the Ramseys, the top owners include John Oxley, Stonestreet Stables LLC, Maggi Moss, W.S. Farish, G. Watts Humphrey Jr. and Jim and Susan Hill.

With 7 days to go in the Fall Meet all titles are still up for grabs! I can’t make it out this weekend but be sure I will be there the last 2 days of the meet. If you have anything you would like to share with me about Keeneland, leave me a comment.

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September 27, 2016September 27, 2016

Photogenic Pharoah

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A dream was fulfilled yesterday when I finally got to meet American Pharoah. I was lucky enough to be present at Keeneland, this past October, when Pharoah worked his way thru the paddock and then flashed past me to win his final race. He won the first and only Grand Slam, the combination of all 3 legs of the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup Classic. With that, Pharoah retired just a few miles further down the road at Ashford Stud in Versailles,KY.

Ashford Stud is the American division of Coolmore. Coolmore America acquired the Ashford farm in the 1980s. The land was developed for cattle farming around 1912 and was called Hereford Farm until the late 1970s. As the cattle were replaced by stallions some great bloodlines began to prosper here. I was very impressed from the time I traveled thru the gated entry and down the tree lined car path passing lush fields that led us to the start of the tour. Everything we saw was built with beauty and there is a lot of stone work.

Coolmore added Thunder Gulch to the roster in 1996. He still lives there today, having retired last year. He serves as a calming factor to American Pharoah in the paddock now. Thunder Gulch is the offspring of Gulch and Line of Thunder. Thunder Gulch was born in March of 1992. He won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1995. He was 3rd in the Preakness Stakes that year. He was the Eclipse Award winner for Champion 3 Year Old Colt that same year. By 2001 he was the top sire. He has produced many fine Thoroughbreds.

A farm favorite and North America’s leading sire in lifetime earnings, still standing at Ashford, is Giant’s Causeway. He shares a barn with American Pharoah but it is Giant’s Causeway’s large statue that is featured just outside of the barn door. He is accredited with producing 31 Grade 1 winners. He is the son of Storm Cat and Mariah’s Storm, born in 1997. Giant’s Causeway had a nice career as a runner but the stud life is for him. He earned the champion sire title in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

Shanghai Bobby said it was much too pretty to look inward towards the barn. He was enjoying the view of the lovely farm. His very 1st crop of yearlings are selling now and he has had some nice prices on his Keeneland September Sale grads. Shanghai Bobby won the BC Juvenile and and Eclipse Award for Champion 2 Year Old Colt both in 2012. He himself is the son of Harlan’s Holiday and Steelin’. He was foaled in 2010.

Munnings wasn’t having it either. He left the hamming to American Pharoah. Munnings is the 2006 offspring of Speightstown and La Comete. Munnings was a nice race horse and he is producing great foals. I’m A Chatterbox is one of my favorite of his progeny.

Uncle Mo is having a very significant impact on the industry right now. He is the sire of our last KY Derby winner, Nyquist. Indian Charlie and Playa Maya produced Uncle Mo in 2008. He was the winner of the 2010 BC Juvenile and subsequently the winner of the Eclipse Award for Champion 2 Year Old Colt that same year.

Declaration of War was born to War Front and Tempo West in 2009. His sire, War Front along with Tapit took the lead at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale as they have for years. Declaration of War’s first crop are currently yearlings.

Lookin At Lucky wasn’t necessarily looking at me. This 2007 son of Smart Strike and Private Feeling was a nice racehorse. Lookin at Lucky won the Preakness in 2010. In 2009 and 2010 he took the Eclipse Award for Champion Colt. Madefromlucky is one of his many graded stakes winning offspring.

The name plaques on the walls and the gravestones in the cemetery remind us of the great horses that have called Ashford Stud home. Cigar and Scat Daddy are among those memorialized. Scat Daddy died way to soon. His last crop of yearlings are making there way through this year’s sales. Hip 454 at the 2016 Keeneland September Sale was his son. He was the sale topper hammering $3 million dollars.

The property is stuffed with awards and memorabilia affiliated with the champion sires that have called Ashford home. Pictured here are just a few of the wonderful collection I saw.

The least fancy building on the tour holds the most important rooms. This is the breeding shed where every live mount at Coolmore America takes place.

I’ll conclude the tour recap with a few more photos of Ashford’s and America’s champ. American Pharoah brought an end to our 37 year quest for a Triple Crown Winner. He is our only living champion horse of just 12 Thoroughbreds to ever win the series. American Pharoah was born in 2012. He is the son of Pioneerof the Nile and Littleprincessemma. Pharoah began breeding for the 1st time this year. I can not wait to see his foals. I hope they inherit every bit of his talent. He has put on a little weight and he seemed calm and comfortable for a stallion. To arrange for your own tour go to Horse Country Tours

In other news, California Chrome races again Saturday. Look for my Chrome story any day now.

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September 9, 2016September 9, 2016

Buying the Best Breeding

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Get into the game! Do you want to buy or see the graded stakes winners of the future? If so, plan to head to Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale in Lexington, KY. Keeneland prides itself on being the auction company to graduate the best yearlings in the world.

These are a few of the pictures I took at the sale last September. Thoroughbreds sold at Keeneland are having a fantastic year. In 2016, more of their grads have gone on to win Grade or Group 1 stakes races than from any other auction house. Every winner, of each of the 2016 Triple Crown Series, was once sold at Keeneland’s yearling sale in September of 2014. Nyquist won the Kentucky Derby, Exaggerator won the Preakness Stakes and Creator won the Belmont Stakes. It would take too long to name drop all of the talent that came out of that sale. The 73rd annual sale should lead to greatness as well.

The sale starts with Book 1 on Monday, 9/12/16, at 11 am EST. All of Book 1 sale dates start at 11 am. There are 6 books in the sale that concludes on Sunday, 9/25/16. Books 2 thru 6 sales start at 10 am daily with the exception of Thursday 9/15 when there will be no sale. The schedule is as follows by book, dates and hip numbers:

9/12 hips 1-202, 9/13 hips 203-405, 9/14 hips 406-607
9/16 hips 608-1007, 9/17 hips 1008-1407
9/18 hips 1408-1817, 9/19 hips 1818-2227
9/20 hips 2228-2637, 9/21 hips 2638-3047
9/22 hips 3048-3456, 9/23 hips 3457-3861
9/24 hips 3862-4178, 9/25 hips 4179-4479

The sale will include the best sire power. 53 Tapit yearlings will go thru the auction. Pioneer of the Nile is represented by 60 of the yearlings there. Fine yearlings by Scat Daddy, Bodemeister, Tiznow and Violence will be available as well. Several more yearlings by other outstanding sires are also cataloged. Search the entire catalog here: Keeneland September Yearling Sale

If you can’t make the sale you can go to the Keeneland website to watch the entire sale or TVG and TVG2 will show parts of the sale. I will be in attendance on several days and I will post frequent pictures and news to Twitter. Follow me at Thoroughbred U . Check my webpage over the next few weeks to see more photos and sales recap information.

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July 28, 2016

Covering Claiborne

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The Bluegrass State is getting a big dose of some much needed rain today. It was not the best weather for touring but I had a great visit to Claiborne Farm, nonetheless.

Claiborne Farm was established in Paris, KY in 1910 by Arthur B. Hancock. Over a century later it is still operated by the Hancock’s. Seth Walker Hancock, Jr. is the 4th generation Hancock horseman and manager. The farm sprawls across 3,000 acres. The pamphlet, provided at the tour, states Claiborne has had 22 Racing’s Hall of Fame horses, 63 Champions, 17 Horses of the Year, 22 Kentucky Derby winners, 19 Preakness Stakes winners, 22 Belmont Stakes winners, and 29 Breeders’ Cup winners. It also pointed out that half of all Triple Crown winning horses have been sired by their stallions.

Though it has 50 barns my hour long tour just featured a few of those. The first stallion I was introduced to was Orb. Orb is only 6 years old. He won the Kentucky Derby in 2013. He was sired by Malibu Moon and his dam is Lady Liberty. Orb’s 1st crop were foaled in 2015. Kevin, the tour guide, held Orb still so I could pet him. Kevin lives on the farm. His father and grandfather both worked there too. He has an abundance of detailed information on the stallions.

Flatter came out of his stall for a visit. He was foaled in 1999 and Claiborne was his breeder. His sire was A.P Indy and his dam was Praise by Mr. Prospector. Mr. Prospector is buried in 1 of the 3 horse cemeteries on the property. Flatter is the sire of multiple graded stakes winners including Upstart.

Lea is adorable and loves to savor his peppermints. He packs them in his gums and sips water to enjoy the flavor. Lea is a multiple graded stakes winner and is 7 years old. He is the progeny of First Samurai and Greenery. This is his first year at stud.

Blame by Arch and Liable is 10 years old. In 2010 Blame won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and an Eclipse Award for Champion Older Horse. His breeder was Claiborne. He has sired multiple graded stakes winners since 2011.

War Front is the most expensive stud on the farm. The son of Danzig and Starry Dreamer was born in 2002 and won multiple graded stakes. He retired to stud in 2007. Air Force Blue and Hit It A Bomb are some of his 2015 champion offspring. I gave a big hug and he stuck his tongue out! As Twitter’s famous Woodbine Racetrack barn cat, Gator Kitten (@Gatorkitten) would say, he is “to sassys”!

The tour concluded with a visit to one of the cemeteries. Secretariat is one of the most well know Thoroughbreds buried there. He was purchased in 1972 to stand at Claiborne Farm. His stall is currently empty. It is waiting for a pretty special stud to come along.

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Claiborne Farm. I hope you like the stallion pictures. Tours are available 7 days a week for most days of the year. To arrange your own visit go to Claiborne Farm . Thanks for reading my story. Check back soon for more Thoroughbred news and adventures.

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July 13, 2016July 13, 2016

Yearning For Yearlings

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The official start of the yearling sales season kicked off yesterday, 7/12/16, at Fasig-Tipton in Lexington, KY. This sale came one day after the Summer Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale. I was especially excited to attend day 2 because it marked the first time I part owned a Thoroughbred at an auction.

I was not on hand, due to my day job, for the horses of racing age sale. That sale was quite a success. Compared to last year, more horses were sold fetching a higher overall price, a higher average price and far fewer unsold horses. 72 horses sold versus 65 the prior year. The total sale brought in over $5 million dollars compared to less than $4 million in 2015. The average price per horse rose by over $8.5 thousand dollars. Finally, only 19 horses did not get sold this July, where as last year 31 did not sell. The sale topper was the 7-year-old mare, Storm Lucy at $575,000. Malibu Moon and War Front sired 5 Thoroughbreds each in that sale making them the top sires by numbers in the sale. Taylor Made Sales Agency was the top consignor.

The July Selected Yearling sale did not exceed 2015’s results. The number of horses sold declined, as did the total price as well as the average price while the number of horses that failed to meet the reserved price increased. The 2016 sale sold 183 Thoroughbreds versus 205 the year before. Last year’s sale made over $20 million dollars while this year brought just over $17.6. On average horses dropped from $97 thousand dollars to $86 thousand each. This year 110 horses were not sold versus only 83 the prior Summer sale. Seen above is the sales ring screen showing an Uncle Mo filly bringing in $250,000. A colt sired by Curlin, hip 222, was the sale topper at a price of $475,000.

Wearing hip 235, pictured above, is a horse that I part owned thru a pinhook partnership I bought into last Fall. He came in with a 4 way tie of top selling horses. This colt, sired by Graydar, brought a price of $200,000. He sold to Twin Creeks Racing Stable, LLC. I loved his unique coloring, best seen in the sunlight. I can not wait to see how well he does on the track later in life!

Hips 338 seen at top left was sired by Speightstown and sold for $350,000. On the right is hip 326, another horse sired by Curlin, who sold for just $90,000. He is in front of the walking ring screens as hip 324 by Stay Thirsty who sold for $260,000.

Touring the grounds a bit I saw some interesting reminders of the exciting sales graduates that Fasig-Tipton has sold before. On July 19, 1975 the Lexington location of this great auction company sold the amazing Seattle Slew for just $17,500. He went on to win the Triple Crown in 1977. He has a whole building complete with art named for him as seen above. Below, we see a reminder of American Pharaoh, our last Triple Crown winner. He was featured as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale in New York in 2013 and bought back by his owner. This is where the next major yearling sale will take place on August 8 and 9th, The Saratoga Sale. My group has several horses in that auction so I will be following it closely.

I hope you all enjoy the yearling auctions. Check back with me weekly for more Thoroughbred news or adventures.

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June 24, 2016June 24, 2016

Greetings from Gainesway

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It is my first day of vacation and I started it out on the right ~~hoof~~ foot! Earlier in the week I logged on to Horse Country and booked a tour to Gainesway Farm. This is the home of many Thoroughbreds including Tapit, seen above!

The tour started in the office before 12:30 pm. Marilyn Brashear, the receptionist, and two sweet dogs offered a warm welcome as we collected in the seating area. We were surrounded by lovely equine art and many framed cover shots from Bloodhorse magazine. Ian Tapp, with Sales and Bloodstock Development, fetched us and led us onto the beautifully maintained grounds. He explained that the area had once belonged to the Shawnee Indians. Several generations of horseman have owned the land, Ben Ali Haggin, C.V. Whitney, John Hay Whitney, John R. Gaines, Graham Beck and Antony Beck. The farm has rolling hills and plenty of bluegrass, clover and rye making it a great place for Thoroughbreds to thrive.

During the 1980s, the eight stone barns, a few seen above, housed as many as 52 stallions. Now they have eight available sires living on the farm. These lucky sires are Afleet Alex, Afleet Express, Birdstone, Empire Maker, Hat Trick, Karakontie, Tapit and Tapizar. The stalls are clean and well ventilated to keep a comfortable environment for their tenants year round.

Entering barn three, I met Afleet Alex. When he raced he won the 2nd and third legs of the Triple Crown after a third place finish in the 2005 Kentucky Derby. He won an Eclipse Award that same year. His progeny include Texas Red, Materiality, Afleet Express and many more.

Next, I had the pleasure of viewing Birdstone. He was a Belmont Stakes winner in 2004. Swipe, Mine That Bird and Summer Bird are some of his well know offspring.

Then, Empire Maker made an appearance. The name is so appropriate. The empire he produced includes Bodemeister and Pioneer of the Nile. The later is the sire of the only Grand Slam winner, American Pharoah. When Empire Maker was racing he was 2nd in the Kentucky Derby and he won the Belmont Stakes.

With much built up anticipation, Tapit finally hoofed it on over. He is the beloved sire of Juba, Twitter’s favorite horse! Tapit is stunning, as he looks snow white. He is the leading sire for 2014 and 2015. He is well on his way to the 2016 title as well. He sired the adorable, Lani. Some of his other crops include Creator, Frosted, Tapizar, Tonalist, Untapable, Mohaymen, Cupid and many more.

Our next stop was the breading shed. As MTV Cribs would have put it, “this is where the magic happens”. Tapp went into a lot more in depth information on that subject. I admit, it is quite the process and it was educational. We learned about resident teasing stallion, Bud. He has an important job to do up to three times per day during the busiest of seasons.

As the tour was about to wrap we walked thru the barn that houses Afleet Express and To Honor and Serve. Afleet Express is a multiple graded stakes winner including both the Pegasus Stakes and the Travers Stakes in 2010. He began his stud career in 2011. His graded stakes winning filly Diva Express frequents Churchill Downs.

To Honor and Serve won the Cigar Mile in 2011 and the Woodward Stakes in 2012 as well as a few more multiple graded stakes. He came to Gainesway in 2013 and his crop produced some pricey Thoroughbreds at the sales.

The Gainesway tour was wonderful. I would love to see their mares, weanlings and yearlings too. It was such a neat experience to view these champion sires up-close. If you find yourself in Lexington, KY, I recommend checking the place out yourself. Enjoy my photos and check back soon for my next Thoroughbred story.

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April 30, 2016April 30, 2016

Nyquist Loves and Leaves Keeneland

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Over all too soon. Yesterday was the closer for Keeneland’s Spring Meet. Live racing took place from April 8-29, 2016. I was there for the final day of racing and it was too much of a good time to be sad that it was all about to end.

Keeneland’s meet was quite a success story with plenty of excitement and quality races, horses, owners, trainers and jockeys. The handle was up over 23% versus last Spring and the attendance was up over 4%. I had the pleasure of attending 6 times and the weather was quite pleasant each of those days. Keeneland credits the appeal of the Breeders’ Cup, that they hosted in October, with the returning fans and Thoroughbreds. They also believe that having Nyquist, the 2016 Kentucky Derby favorite, living and training on the grounds added a special attraction. I certainly agree. Nyquist had his last Derby prep work at Keeneland on closing day and then shipped to Churchill Downs today. He is featured in most of the pictures throughout this post. I watched him work once again prior to the races yesterday. He breezed a mile in 1:41 with Mario Gutierrez on board.

45 horses that participated in the Breeders’ Cup in October returned to Keeneland this meet to race or train. Ralis is seen in the top photo with Nyquist. Other BC horses on the grounds this meet were Tepin, Ready for Rye, Barbados, Rachel’s Valentina, Nickname, Camelot Kitten, Ma Can Do It, Limosine Liberal, I’m A Chatterbox, Dacita, Azar, Thrilled, Private Zone, Land Over Sea, Bradester, Green Mask, Riker, Recepta, Holly Boss, Dothraki Queen, Fioretti, Gilding By, Red Rifle, Salama, Shinning Copper, Curlina, Right There, Grand Arch, Siding Spring, Catch A Glimpse, Wavell Avenue, Stopchargingmaria, Sheer Drama, Undrafted, Brody’s Cause, Da Big Hoss, Something Extra, Swipe, The Great War, War Envoy, Twilight Eclipse, Super Majesty and Tourist.

As for the people who help make this sport awesome, many big names were present this meet. Javier Castellano was the leading jockey with 17 wins. He won that title last Spring as well. Ken and Sarah Ramsey are owners who won 9 races at Keeneland this meet. They are Keeneland’s leading owners for the 17th time. The leading trainer was won by Michael Maker, his 4th time earning this title. Many more Hall of Fame, Eclipse Award and Graded Stakes winning jockeys, owners and trainers were in attendance for this Spring as well.

I really had a great time at Keeneland, as always. I am really going to miss the track that won’t have live racing again until October. I thought that watching Nyquist work was a real joy. I appreciate that the horse’s connections and Keeneland were kind enough to share the experience. I wrote a story about a prior work a few weeks ago

My Eye On Nyquist

I hope Nyquist wins the Kentucky Derby next week on May 7th. The success of American Pharoah has me eager for another Grand Slam. Nyquist is a champion and he looks ready to win. The 20 horse field won’t be finalized until Wednesday, 5/4/16. Look for me to bring you the information you may need for the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

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