Arch Colt Claws His Way to Debut Success

3rd-GPX, $39,000, Msw, 3yo, 5 1/2f, 1:03 1/5, ft. 
+TALON’S OF TUSCANY (c, 3, Arch–Rich City Girl, by Carson City) was pegged at morning-line odds of 4-1, but took the lion’s share of pari-mutuel action off a local worktab that screamed ‘ready’ and proved his backers correct to the tune of 9-10. Away without incident from the two hole, Talon’s of Tuscany raced well within the grasp of jockey Corey Lanerie and was content to hound pacesetting second choice A Touch of Poetry (Birdstone) through an opening quarter-mile in :21.98. Talon’s of Tuscany waited for his cue on the turn, drifted a touch wide cornering into the lane, but always had the measure of the front-runner, edging away late to take it by 3/4 of a length. Sales history: $90,000 yrl ’12 KEESEP. Lifetime Record: 1-1-0-0, $23,400. Click for the brisnet.com chart or VIDEO. 
O-Albaugh Family Stable. B-Gabe Grossberg (KY). T-Dale L Romans. 

TALON’S OF TUSCANY 
1st Dam: Rich City Girl, by Carson City 
2nd Dam: Great Lady Slew, by Seattle Slew 
3rd Dam: Great Lady Sharon, by Alydar 
Click for the free brisnet.com catalogue-style pedigree. 

   On May 6 of this year, Albaugh Family Stable’s Talon’s of Tuscany (Arch) will celebrate the third anniversary of his birth. It will certainly take a fair bit of good fortune to get there, but following yesterday’s debut victory, connections hope to be at Churchill Downs three days earlier for the GI Kentucky Derby. 
   “We were pretty positive he’d run well, but the question mark was the 5 1/2 furlongs,” stated Kempton Bloodstock’s Steve Castagnola, who along with AbraCadabra Farm’s Barry Berkelhammer advised on the purchase. “We’re certainly glad to have that one behind us and we look forward to the next one.” 
   Talon’s of Tuscany was consigned by Denali Stud as hip 1103 to the 2012 Keeneland September sale. Castagnola and team were in search of “two-turn dirt horses” with the Derby a somewhat distant dream. What they found could end up being a diamond in the rough. 
   “We liked how he was bred, and I am a big fan of Arch,” Castagnola explained. “He fit for us on pedigree, and when we looked at him, he had great angles, was very intelligent and carried himself with a lot of presence. He was a terrific walker, a very fluid mover. All the pieces fit, and when we see something that has that presence and quality and substance, we’re very attracted to that kind. He was a very sturdy individual. Barry and I worked the sale together and we basically identified him as a horse we’d bid on and we were pleasantly surprised to acquire him for $90,000. That’s the beauty of an auction. There were horses that we wanted to bid on that flew by in terms of what we wanted to bid, but it’s always nice to buy one for less than you expected.” 
   Talon’s of Tuscany always gave the impression that he was a quick study, despite his later foaling date. 
   “He was a big and imposing horse as a yearling,” Castagnola related. “It surprised us that he had as much speed as he had. Barry had always told us that, and you could see those bullet works. It’s exciting to buy a horse that looks like something that strictly wants two turns go out there and breeze in :59 and 1 from the gate, then goes out there and runs a second off the track record going 5 1/2 furlongs. We were pleasantly surprised, but he’s a horse that’s always been well-meant. When we sent him to Dale, it was with high expectations.” 
   Though Talon’s of Tuscany was not an original nominee to the Triple Crown, Castagnola indicated that they would pay the $6,000 to make him a late nominee. 
   Albaugh Family Stable is the nom du course of Iowa-based owners Dennis Albaugh and his son-in-law Jason Loutsch. Albaugh is the owner of Albaugh, Inc., an agricultural chemical company from the basement of his home in Ankeny, a suburb of Des Moines. The once barely profitable company now accounts for $33 million a year in sales of agricultural chemicals. Albaugh and Loutsch were involved in partnerships with Donegal Racing before branching out on their own in the last few years. In his own name, Dennis Albaugh raced Miss Macy Sue (Trippi), a six-time stakes winner, who recorded her biggest victory in the GIII Winning Colors S. in 2007 and was third in the inaugural Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint at sloppy Monmouth Park. She is one of three broodmares owned by Albaugh and boarded at Taylor Made. Miss Macy Sue is the dam of a 2-year-old filly by Medaglia d’Oro now in training at AbraCadabra Farm. The Albaugh Family Stable currently has a total of eight horses in training, split evenly between 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds. –Alan Carasso