Untapable Archives - Thoroughbred U

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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December 3, 2015December 3, 2015

Jotting For Juba

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Greetings racing fans! It is good to be home but there has not been much action for me since I returned other than Thanksgiving and lots of shopping. Yesterday, I had some down time and I started to think about what I wanted to check out and what I wanted to write about. My favorite horse, Juba, had a race that day and that was where my mind was set.

Juba is “Twitter’s favorite race horse” and since my first “tweet” this past February he has quickly become my favorite horse too. Twitter is one of the more popular social media networks. It was created in the summer of 2006 and by this summer it had over 500 million users. I joined to have an outlet to share my blog with. I found out fast that Twitter is the best way for me to get the latest information on current events in the Thoroughbred racing industry. I am happy to have over 200 followers on Twitter. Juba has over 2,200 followers. He is found on Twitter here @Jubacolt . Juba (the Gray), can not do his own tweets, since he is a horse, so an anonymous person handles that for him. He has created hash tags such as #GoJubaGo for his races and #haikujuba to write poetry and inspire others to do the same. Juba, the horse, still strikes the best poses and lights up for the cutest videos.

The real Juba is a 4 year old colt. He is gray with a black mane. He is so fair he looks white on photos and television. He is the Kentucky bred son of Tapit and Adoradancer. He grew up on Lane’s End Farm in Versailles, KY after his birth on 5/25/2011. He was sold to Centennial Farms at Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale in 2012. He lives at Belmont Park in New York now. Juba has had 11 starts with 2 wins, 3 second place finishes and 3 times at 3rd. He has raced at 4 tracks: Aqueduct, Gulfstream Park, Saratoga and Belmont. Juba’s jockey is Jose L. Ortiz. He is trained by Jimmy Jerkins. Yesterday he ran at Aqueduct again. It was a nasty day. The track was muddy and the fog was thick. Centennial Farm tweeted #GreyColtsBlendIntoGreyFog. He was in the 8th race. The 9th race was cancelled because weather conditions were so bad. Juba finished 7th in a field of 11 horses. He was doing well at second place early in the race. It was an odd race to watch because the fog was so dense. Sometimes fog can be exciting like on the top of Mount Humphreys, seen at the top, when I took that climb but in yesterday’s race it looked dangerous. It is very hard to even see. Click watch video here Race 8 Aqueduct 12/2/15

I have never seen Juba live. Centennial broke my heart this past October when it was decided at the last moment that he would not be racing at Keeneland shortly before the Breeders’ Cup. That put Juba and myself in a huff. I hope that I can pet his pretty face someday but it is a long trip from Kentucky to New York. I called Gainesway Farm in Lexington, KY yesterday to see if I could tour, meet his sire Tapit and see 8 other stallions but they responded that they are not currently doing public tours. Too bad, I hope they change that soon. Tapit is gray too. He has been the leading sire in the United States for 3 years now. He has the highest stud fee at $300,000. In 2015 he was bred to 135 mares. This year 5 of his off-spring have won Grade 1 stakes races: Frosted, Tonalist, Untapable, Ring Weekend and Constitution. He is the leading sire of G1 winners. Juba’s dam, Adoradancer, had 19 starts at 8 tracks including Keeneland, my home track. She raced there twice in 1997 so perhaps I have seen her.

Despite yesterday’s race I still wanted to do some jotting for Juba. I wanted to share that even horses that don’t win every race are still ever so wonderful. Penny Chenery, owner of the great Secretariat, is wise to stress this truth and award accordingly. She created the Secretariat Vox Populi award in 2010. Vox Populi is a latin term meaning the voice of the people. The winners from the 1st year to 2014 have been: Zenyatta, Rapid Redux, Paynter, Mucho Macho Man and California Chrome, respectively. She noted that while most awards for Thoroughbreds are based on statistics and performance measures she thought some horses should be honored for being a favorite of the public and an ambassador for the sport. Thru an on-line poll, done by the public, votes are collected. You can vote here now Vox Populi Award . Voting is open until 12/6/15 then the votes are reviewed by Ms. Chenery and a panel of 8 experts. On 1/9/16 the recipient will be announced at Santa Anita Park. American Pharoah, Beholder and Rachel’s Valentina are the horses on the ballot but write-ins are accepted. The horses listed are all lovely and deserving choices but Juba is “Twitter’s favorite horse” and I think that is quite a distinction in the popularity department.

Who will you vote for? Give Juba a thought or share who means the most to you. I will be blogging again before next week’s end and I will share the people’s choice with you in January as well. Please, keep following and sharing. Thank you!

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October 3, 2015October 3, 2015

Falling In Love With Fall Stars Weekend

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Yesterday was cold and wet but I was still a happy lady because I was back at my favorite track, Keeneland in Lexington, KY. Friday, 10/2/15, was the 1st day of Keeneland’s Fall meet. It was also the beginning of Fall Stars weekend. This meet, Keeneland will host 16 graded stakes races between October 2 through the 24th. The total purse value is over 5 million dollars. 8 of the races allow the winner to automatically qualify for Breeders’ Cup races. These races are termed, “Win and You’re In”. I was there to see Gomo and Runhappy qualify.

Fall Stars weekend had 2 “Win and You’re In” races yesterday. Today will feature 3 more and Sunday will have 2 of these stakes as well. Race 8, yesterday, was the 163rd running of the Stoll Keenon Ogden Phoenix Grade 3 stakes race. The purse was $250,000. Runhappy won on the sloppy track by 1 and 3/4 lengths. He won a Grade 1 stakes in Saratoga in August, his last race. His jockey is E.S. Prado, he is trained by M. Borrell, and is owned by James McIngvale. We will see Runhappy again at the same track at the month’s end in the TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Sprint!

The next race, 9, was the feature of the day. That race was the 64th running of The Darley Alcibiades. It was a Grade 1 stakes race with a purse of $400,000. Gomo won by 2 and 3/4 lengths in the mud. That is her crossing the finish line above. She is owned by J. Paul Reddam of Reddam Racing, LLC. Her trainer is Doug O’Neil. Mario Gutierrez is her jockey. Gomo was sired by Uncle Mo. She will next race in the Juvenile Fillies Division in the Breeders’ Cup.

I had hoped to share, with all of you, pictures of some of the newest additions to Keeneland in preparation for the Breeders’ Cup but the weather kept me inside. I did however come across a new menu item, The Chicago Style Reuben. I have long been a fan of Keeneland’s traditional Reuben but I enjoyed this one as well, so much so that I ate half before considering taking a photo! I took in views of the paddock changes, the trophy, and a bit of educational BC artwork too.

It is still cool and overcast today but I am hoping a little drier. I am going back to see the races including race 6, The Thoroughbred Club of America stakes (G2), race 8, The Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity stakes (G1) and race 9, The Shadwell Turf Mile stakes (G1). They are at 4pm EST, 5:10 PM and 5:45 PM respectively. The purses are $200,000, $500,000 and 1 million dollars, in this order. I love the name Heykittykittykitty in the 6th! In the 9th Bobby’s Kitten will compete against The Pizza Man. The Pizza Man’s last race was the Arlington Million Grade 1 stakes in August where he won his third race in a row!

I am mostly excited today to see the parading of Wise Dan. He is to be shown in the paddock and walking ring during the 3rd race around 2:15 PM EST and then before the grandstand after that race. He has been living at Keeneland for a while and I have always tried and failed to see him. He won the Shadwell Turf Mile last year and in 2012. He recently retired but prior to that he was American Horse of the Year twice, American Champion Older Male Horse twice and American Champion Male Turf Horse two times also.

Sunday, will have a full day of racing including the $250,000 Dixiana Bourbon stakes (G3) and the $500,000 Juddmonte Spinster stakes (G1). The Dixiana will go off about 5:10 PM EST, as race 8 of the day, immediately followed by race 9 at 5:45. In the 8th I like the name Camelot Kitten and in the 9th we see last year’s Kentucky Oaks winner Untapable battle against this year’s winner Lovely Maria!

I hope everyone has a great day and maybe makes a little bit of money. I will get those Wise Dan photos today rain or shine! Now, I must go fix my hair and bundle up.

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August 5, 2015

Saratoga’s Sweet Summer

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Saratoga is having a big summer! I won’t be able to make it there myself, but our regularly contributing handicapper friend did. He spent the end of the week and last weekend visiting and got us some great pictures. Saratoga is the place to be for Thoroughbred racing right now.

Saratoga Race Course was established in 1864 in Saratoga Springs, New York. It had its first race over 150 years ago. Today, 8/5, the city of Saratoga Springs will celebrate its Centennial. The city was founded in 1915. The Saratoga Sales, put on at Fasig-Tipton, will take place in Saratoga Springs on August 10th and 11th. This Saratoga race course meet started on July 24th, with live racing, and will remain open through September 7th. Above we see a welcoming sign and the backyard where Saratoga’s sweet summer is savoured. The race course motto is, “Health, history and horses”. The racetrack is located on 350 acres of land. The main track is 1 and 1/8th mile. The turf track is 1 mile in length. Other smaller courses are located throughout. In the many stables, there are over 1,800 stalls. The facility can hold about 70 thousand fans but the record attendance has exceeded that. The largest one day handle was over 10 million dollars. That was on Travers Day in 2003 which brings us to yesterday’s big news. American Pharoah’s next race will be the grade 1 Travers Stakes on August 29th!

AmericanPharoah just won his 8th straight graded Stakes race while at Monmouth Park in New Jersey this past weekend. He easily beat out Keen Ice in the grade 1 William Hill Haskell Invitational Stakes on Sunday, 8/2. Keen Ice riden by Kent Desormeoux and trained by Dale Romans put in a great effort. Keen Ice was 7th in the KY Derby and 3rd in the Belmont is showing improvement. That race gave the park a record crowd of over 60 thousand fans. Meanwhile, over 3 million viewers tuned in to television to watch the live race on NBC. The plan is to race American Pharoah in the Breeders Cup in October at Keeneland in Lexington, KY. We are all waiting on pins and needles to see where he goes next, in the meantime. For now, we know he made it safely back to Del Mar in California and he will make his Saratoga debut later this month in the Travers.

Back in Saratoga last week, Thursday was a bit wet and the live racing that day included the John Morrissey won by Moonlight Song with Jose Ortiz riding. Friday Saturday and Sunday featured some big races too but those weren’t limited to just the horses. There were several activities to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockey Fund and one of those events was a jockey foot race. Above, see a photo of the gates being loaded for a soggy Thursday race and a shot of the jockeys running.

When the fans weren’t watching PDJF events or Thoroughbred racing they could check the Walk of Fame. Above we see a display for Angel Cordero, Jr. and D. Wayne Lukas. Cordero was born May 8, 1942 in Puerto Rico. He had over 7 thousand career wins as a jockey. He won 3 Kentucky Derby races, 2 Preakness Stakes, 1 Belmont Stakes and 4 Breeders’ Cup races in addition to many other graded stakes. He has 3 Eclipse Awards, he is a member of the U.S. Racing Hall of Fame, he was the leading rider at Saratoga for 13 years and he was the jockey for Triple Crown winning Seattle Slew when Cordero had his best ride ever in the 1978 Marlboro Cup Handicap. I have had a lot of good things to say about D. Wayne Lukas before and I met him in June and covered that in my post Birthday, Breezing, Betting and Backside. I also met several of his horses that day too. One was Hillbilly Style who ran 2nd in a claiming race at Saratoga this weekend. Lukas also took the stage in the finale of the jockey karaoke fundraiser for the PDJF this weekend. He will have another entry in at Saratoga on 8/7 in a maiden special weight allowance optional claiming race. Lukas is a top trainer and top class in my book.

So, what about those big races at Saratoga last weekend? Well, Texas Red beat out Frosted in the grade 2 Jim Dandy Stakes seen in the two pics above. Texas Red was riden by Kent Desormeaux and trained by the jockey’s brother. He is looking like a fine runner and has placed in multiple graded stakes including a win in the Sentient Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in 2014 and ranked 16th in earnings that year. Frosted, sired by Tapit, a descendant of Secretariat, riden by Joel Rosario and trained by Kiaren McLaughlin has a fine racing history as well with a win in the grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes, 4th in the KY Derby and 2nd in the Belmont Stakes. Not pictured, but I must mention, Rachel’s Valentina’s win in the Maiden Special Weight at Saratoga too. I am excited about this Todd Pletcher trained and Joel Velazquez riden daughter of Rachel Alexandra. Rachel Alexandra won the Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose and Haskell in 2009. She was an amazing runner in her day. I hope her little girl does as well. Her sire, Bernardini swept the Preakness, Jim Dandy and Jockey Club Gold Cup in 2006 with a 2nd place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic that year too. Another big filly win at Saratoga this past weekend went to Stopchargingmaria over Untapable in the grade 3 Shuvee Handicap. Stopchargingmaria won the Black-Eyed Susan, Alabama Stakes and the Coaching Club of American Oaks last year. Untapable has an Eclipse Award and a win in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff as well as a win in the Kentucky Oaks and Mother Goose. That was quite a showdown of great fillies.

I wish to extend thanks to our friend and tipster with the photos. I hope someone wants to share some info on the Saratoga Sale and other fine races ahead. Tapit has yearlings for sale with hips 24, 34, 51, 70, 160, 177, and 182. The Tapit filly at Fasig-Tipton’s July Sale brought in the most money. I hope you all enjoyed this peek at Saratoga as much as I did. Have a great week!

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