Claiborne Farm

Coolmore and Westerberg's dual Group 1-placed 4-year-old colt Ancient Rome (War Front--Gagnoa {Ire}, by Sadler's Wells) returns off a ninth in June's G1 Prix du Jockey Club when last seen and registers a stylish comeback win at Chantilly in his first start for over nine months. 6th-Chantilly, €18,000, Cond, 3-7, 4yo, 9f (AWT), 1:50.78, st. ANCIENT ROME (c, 4, War Front--Gagnoa {Ire} {MGSW & MG1SP-Fr, G1SP-Ire, $597,492}, by Sadler's Wells) snagged the G3 Prix des Chenes and placed in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and G1 Criterium International as a...

A few weeks ago, I was a guest on the weekly Going In Circles podcast, which is hosted by Chuck Simon, the former trainer who's also a top-notch writer at his blog, and Barry "The Sniper" Spears, an excellent handicapper and well-known figure on Twitter. Simon asked for my opinion on which stallion I'd consider to be the most influential of the past 50 years. You can listen to a nine-minute clip of the conversation here. My answer? Claiborne's iconic Mr. Prospector, of course. The clip generated quite a bit...

The stallions we assess today find themselves at the first major crossroads of their new career. Poor fellows, they're still a long way from having the chance to demonstrate whether they can actually produce runners. But that seems a pretty incidental consideration in the current marketplace, which has created a self-fulfilling cycle. Like it or not, stallions nowadays do indeed have their best chance of producing a good one from their first crop, as these typically emerge from the biggest and best books they will ever get. That, in turn,...

Claiborne Farm will be the title sponsor of the Former Broodmare division in its first year at the 2023 Thoroughbred Makeover and National Symposium, presented by Thoroughbred Charities of America, the Retired Racehorse Project announced Tuesday. First announced in November of this year, the Former Broodmare division will welcome recently retired broodmares to compete alongside traditional retiring racehorses in all 10 offered disciplines, with broodmares pinned and recognized separately and competing for a separate pot of $10,000 in prize money. "Claiborne is pleased to be the title sponsor of the...

During a flurry of activity late in the day at Deauville, Group 1 winner Sweet Lady (Fr) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) (lot 188) took the lead, after bringing €2.05 million from Claiborne Farm's Bernie Sams. Sams was acting on behalf of an undisclosed client of the farm. The bay 4-year-old has victories in the G1 Prix Vermeille, G2 Prix Corrida, G3 Prix de Flore and Listed Prix La Camargo to her name. A half-sister to listed winner Toujours l'Amour (GB) (Authorized {Ire}), Sweet Lady is out of dual stakes winner...

The Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners will offer over 75 stallion seasons during its 2022 auction which will be hosted by Starquine.com. Preview days will be held Dec. 5-6 and the auction opens Dec. 7 and continues through  8 p.m. Dec. 8. Darby Dan Farm will offer seasons to its entire roster of stallions, as will Indiana Stallion Station. Also participating in the auction are farms such as Gainesway, Lane's End, Claiborne, WinStar, Calumet, Walmac, Airdrie, Darley, and Ashford. Regional sires from from Raimonde Farms, RC Cline, and additional Ohio...

5th-CD, $120k, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 3:01p.m. ET Conditioner Steve Asmussen will unveil the regally-bred WITHOUT A SONG (Medaglia d'Oro), a half-brother to Champion older horse Honor Code (A.P. Indy) as well as GISP Noble Tune (Unbridled's Song); hailing from the female family of Hall of Famer and blue-hen Serena's Song (Rahy). This is also the family of MGSW Vocalised (Vindication) and Grand Reward (Storm Cat) as well as at least nine other graded and group runners beneath that stellar third dam. The late starter will have Ricardo Santana Jr. in...

International sire War Front leads Claiborne's stallion roster yet again, remaining at a fee of $100,000 for 2023. His son War of Will, whose first weanlings will be on offer at the upcoming breeding stock sales, will stand for $25,000. Champion Blame will have his fee increased for 2023 from $20,000 to $25,000. Fellow Eclipse winner Runhappy's fee also went up from $12,500 to $15,000. GI Met Mile victor Silver State will stand his second season for $20,000. MGISW Catholic Boy's fee was decreased from $20,000 to $15,000 and Demarchelier...

Bruce Lunsford's homebred GI Woodward S. winner Art Collector (Bernardini--Distorted Legacy, by Distorted Humor) will stand at Claiborne Farm near Paris, Ky. upon retirement, the farm announced Wednesday. Winner of the Woodward in 2021 over Maxfield (Street Sense), Art Collector notched a 107 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort. It was one of seven triple-digit Beyer figures he received in a career that has thus far recorded a tally of 20-10-1-0 and earnings of $2,332,490. "We are thrilled to stand another exciting stallion prospect for longtime client Bruce Lunsford," said...

A filly by Quality Road helped get the Keeneland September Yearling Sale off to a quick start Monday in Lexington when selling for $1.2 million. Claiborne Farm's Bernie Sams signed the ticket on the bay yearling on behalf of an undisclosed client. The bay filly (hip 8) was consigned by Gainesway and was bred by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm, which purchased her dam, Princesa Silvia (Medaglia d'Oro), for $1.4 million at the 2016 Keeneland November sale. The mare is a half-sister to champion Saint Liam (Saint Ballado), Grade I...

Following the passing of world-renowned international stallion More Than Ready this summer, four of his sons now stand in Kentucky in the hopes of carrying the torch for their accomplished sire. Among them, Catholic Boy holds the distinction of earning Grade I victories on two surfaces. After collecting six graded wins over his three-year racing campaign, Catholic Boy launched his stud career at Claiborne Farm in 2020. The farm's Walker Hancock said that the $2.1 million earner, who is out a daughter of productive broodmare sire Bernardini, has all the...

5th-DMR, $80k, Msw, 2yo, 5f, 7:04p.m. ET Hronis Racing LLC, West Point Thoroughbreds, and Woodford Racing LLC have partnered up to unveil the latest blue-blooded colt by Justify, this one named HAWKER. Shelling out a cool $675,000 for him at KEESEP, his pedigree warrants the implied expectations: out of GSP Flaming Heart (Touch Gold), it makes Hawker a half to GISP & MGSW Commissioner (A.P. Indy), GISP & GSW Laugh Track (Distorted Humor), and to the dam of MGISW Vino Rosso (Curlin). All three of the colt's closest female line...