Saratoga Springs is serving up a sweet stakes on Saturday! The 137th running of the Alabama Stakes posts at 5:40 P.M. EDT tonight and with a competitive field of 9 stakes winners there will be some surprises.
Last Sunday, August 6th, Mohaymen was eased in the Alydar Stakes. The dirt race of 1 and 1/8 miles (9 furlongs) was not the comeback we had hoped for and thus his connections chose to send him home for some rest and relaxation. Home for Mohaymen is Shadwell Farm.
Get ready to witness The Run for the Carnations! This week closes out with The Test of the Champion(s), The Third Jewel of the Triple Crown, the Belmont Stakes! While there will be no Triple Crown winner this year, the energy in the air is still very electrifying. Racing fans everywhere can not wait to see who wins the 149th running of the Grade I, Belmont. Here’s the scoop.
Share This: Secretariat, KY Derby winner 1973, museum wall mural
Welcome to the 143rd consecutive running of the Kentucky Derby! We have waited a long time to get to this historical moment and the time is upon us this weekend. Who will win The Run For The Roses?
Go baby go! The action is back on the track in the heart of the Horse Capital of the World. Keeneland’s Spring meet kicks off today, April 7, 2017, with race 1 posting at 1:05 P.M. EDT. Going for a strong start, Blue Grass Weekend includes 7 graded stakes races with a collective purse of $2.55 million in purse money.
At long last, there was a nice break in the Bluegrass winter that allowed me to get out and enjoy some of the top stallions that the Horse Capital of the World has to offer. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Darley at Jonabell Farm in Lexington, KY.
I can’t type the word TOKYO without first typing TO KY! For the initial time in history, there has been established a special Japan Road to the Kentucky Derby. Tokyo Racecourse was literally the road for one special horse in the 143rd KY Derby.
Good morning race fans! Today, we are treated to another Kentucky Derby prep race that serves the same purpose for the Tampa Bay Derby as well. The 37th Sam F. Davis Stakes will post on 2/11/17 at 4:45 P.M EST. Following last weekend’s upset in the Holy Bull and the the additional points gathered in the Withers and the Robert B. Lewis, the KY Derby leaderboard is looking a little different. A win by McCraken could shoot him into the top 4 on the board.
Share This: 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.
Graydar grins.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Graydar smiles.
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 SweetestSmile 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.
Graydar’s stall.
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!
Share This: Keeneland’s January Horses of All Ages Sale, 2015
It’s another cold day in the Bluegrass. In fact, it is a frigid day here and in most of the United States. Unfortunately, I am not the most weather adaptable person so I have a tendency to stay in my warm home when faced with tough weather. Then I get the blues considering the opportunities I am missing. Thankfully, through television and a variety of social media I have kept myself mildly entertained and educated. Tomorrow we’re are expecting a break in the freezing temperatures. This is convenient timing for the start of Keeneland’s January Horses of All Ages Sale.
Keeneland Sale 1/15
Keeneland, in Lexington Kentucky, will host it’s annual Horses of All Ages Sale from Monday, January 9th thru Friday the 13th! Each day starts at 10 a.m. I love going to the sales and I will make it for some of the dates this year as well. I had intended to go on a Keeneland’s Behind-The-Scenes Sales Tours that kicked off yesterday but alas the single digit temps kept me down. I’m hoping to get in on a tour mid week when it’s wetter but warmer. All of the pictures in this post are from when I first started Thoroughbred U at the Keeneland January Sale. I feel I have come a long way since. I hope you are picking up on some information in my stories. The Thoroughbreds have definitely matured since. Practical Joke was sold at KEEJAN in 2015. He has since won the G1 Hopeful Stakes, the G1 Champagne Stakes and finished 3rd in the Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He has over $700K in earnings. Not bad for a $135,000 original sale price.
KEEJAN
This 59th edition of the sale has 1,893 horses catalogued. Being an all ages sale, they have over 700 yearlings, nearly 300 horses of racing age, almost 900 broodmare and broodmare prospects and 7 stallion and stallion prospects. The broodmares are in foal to over 170 stallions. That provides a nice variety with a lot of strength. There is proven sire power, ex. Tapit, Pioneer of The Nile, Distorted Humor, Union Rags to freshman sires with big hopes, like American Pharoah. In unfortunate news, some horses won’t make the auction due to the ban on Thoroughbreds from Fair Grounds Race Course and training center in Louisiana. A few horses there have developed equine herpes virus so in the interest of safety no horse with potential exposure may ship to Keeneland. Let’s pray for the health of these horses.
Carpe Diem
The new babies of 2017 have definitely warmed my heart over these last cold days. Since many horses in the sale are in foal, some may give birth prior to the sale and then they walk thru the auction with their mother. I’ve only seen it a few times but it is so cute when I catch it. Carpe Diem had his first foal on New Year’s Day. American Pharoah had his first on 1/3/17. Can’t wait for all the excitement that the new babies bring and I hope to see one at the sale.
Keeneland’s Sales Pavilion
Have a warmer and safe week. I’m looking forward to the break in cabin fever and a nice trip to the Keeneland sale. Drop a comment if you will be attending as well.
Keeneland’s gate
