Claiborne Farm

by Jessica Martini, Brian DiDonato, and Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale saved its best to almost last Wednesday with Paris Lights (Curlin) capping a day of solid trade when bringing a final bid of $3.1 million from Spendthrift Farm. The racing or broodmare prospect was one of seven to top the million-dollar mark during the one-session Book 1 section of the 10-day Keeneland November sale. "It was a good, steady, strong session," Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said Wednesday night. "We felt great...

Claiborne Farm announced Monday that this year's GI Hill 'n' Dale Metropolitan H. winner Silver State (Hard Spun) will stand for $20,000 for the 2022 breeding season. It was announced last month that Claiborne had acquired the Steve Asmussen trainee's breeding rights. Campaigned by Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC and Willis Horton Racing LLC, the $450,000 KEESEP yearling was completing a six-race win streak in the Met Mile, and defeated GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Knicks Go (Paynter) in the process. Silver State will be available for inspection later this week by...

Officials at Claiborne Farm announced Monday that multiple graded stakes winner Performer (Speightstown--Protesting, by A.P. Indy) has passed away. He was sent to the clinic Friday night and died early Saturday morning from a ruptured stomach. Bred by the Phipps Stable, Performer was a debut third, but commenced a five-raced winning streak thereafter over increasing distances and capped by a 1 3/4-length success in the 2019 GIII Discovery S. at Aqueduct. The chestnut, who bore a striking resemblance to former Phipps runner Easy Goer, returned victoriously from an 11-month layoff...

Claiborne Farm has acquired the breeding rights to multiple graded stakes winner Silver State (Hard Spun--Supreme, by Empire Maker). He will stand at the Paris, Ky., farm upon his retirement from racing. The 4-year-old son of Hard Spun has won seven of 13 career starts, hitting the board in 12 of those starts, and has made over $1.9 million. In 2021 alone, he is 4-1-1 from six starts and has made over $1.6 million. "We are very excited to stand Silver State in 2022," said Claiborne's Walker Hancock. "Danzig is...

He really had to earn his stripes, his farm resorting to pretty desperate measures to keep him in the game as his early books dwindled along with his fee. But he has long since vindicated (as well as virtually trademarked) that farm's management style, evolving into one of the great stallions of our time--a status on which he set a formal seal last weekend with his 100th stakes winner. And his name is... Into Mischief. Or is it? Hang on a minute. Syllable for syllable, you can say exactly the...

Up Her Sleeve (Mastery) benefited from a perfect trip to become the first winner for her well-regarded Claiborne Farm-based sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}) in the Gulfstream opener Saturday afternoon. Sent off at 19-1 off a distant last of four in a rained-off maiden on debut June 30, the bay filly was one of the first away, but came back to Wilmer Garcia to sit third rounding the first turn, as odds-on Royal Rocker (Noble Bird) led them along. Hugging the rail down the backstretch, she was asked for a...

America's Day at the Races will broadcast a special half-hour show on FS2 Tuesday, June 1 from 11-11:30 a.m. that will air the draw for the June 5 GI Belmont S., presented by NYRA Bets. Presented by America's Best Racing and Claiborne Farm, the broadcast schedule for America's Day at the Races the following week are (EST): Thursday, May 27 (FS2: 5 - 8:30 p.m.) Friday, May 28 (FS2: 12:30 - 5:30 p.m.) Saturday, May 29 (FS2: 12:30 - 6 p.m.) Sunday, May 30 (Bally Sports SoCal: 3 - 5:30...

Robert "Gus" Koch, died Saturday, March 20, 2021, at his beloved Mt. Carmel Farm, after a 24-year battle with cancer. He was 74. The retired longtime manager of Claiborne Farm, Koch was a Marine and a Vietnam veteran. Koch was the subject of one of the TDN and Keeneland's Life's Work Oral History project, and Chris McGrath's story on him may be read here. Hired when Seth Hancock took the reins at the farm, Koch was at the helm at Claiborne for 31 years, running perhaps the best lineup of...

Lane's End Farm's William "Bill" Farish, who serves on the boards of numerous Thoroughbred industry and Central Kentucky organizations, has been appointed a Keeneland Trustee. Farish succeeds Claiborne Farm co-owner Seth Hancock, who is retiring as a Keeneland Trustee after having served since 2015. "I am thankful for the opportunity to have served as a Keeneland Trustee for the past several years," said Hancock, "and I know that Keeneland is in very capable hands." Hancock will remain on Keeneland's Board of Directors. "On behalf of Keeneland, I want to extend...

6th-Santa Anita, $62,000, Msw, 2-26, 3yo, f, 6f, 1:11.19, ft, 1 1/2 lengths. SOOTHSAY (f, 3, Distorted Humor--Spellbound {GSW, $231,750}, by Bernardini) prepped for this with a :59.40 best-of-32 breeze from the gate Feb. 19, and while she didn't show much speed from the blocks here, she had plenty of zip when it mattered. The 3-1 shot seemed to be climbing a bit in the early stages as she had just one beaten while racing out in the clear. She began to take closer order while still with plenty of work...

As the calendar inches inexorably towards March and a spring-long series of 2-year-olds in training sales, consignors are putting the finishing touches on juveniles heading to auction, paying particular attention to youngsters representing their stallions first crop to hit the track. The TDN is reaching out to consignors with 2-year-olds heading to the sales rings at OBS and Gulfstream Park next month to find out which freshman sires have impressed them. EDDIE WOODS Prolific consignor Eddie Woods has 24 juveniles catalogued for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in...

As we approach the end of the calendar, we turn our attention to the incoming sire class of 2021. We asked several judges who their favorite incoming sire is for next year and if there are any other stallions, new or otherwise, that have caught their eye as under-the-radar picks ADRIAN REGAN, Hunter Valley Farm  War of Will (War Front), $25,000, Claiborne Farm I hate singling just one, but War of Will made a lot of sense for me. I was very impressed with his physical appearance when we went...