Epicenter

Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC's Epic Reign (Epicenter) became the first winner for her freshman sire (by Not This Time) Thursday evening at Churchill Downs, coming from off the pace to score by a widening margin on the wire. Sent out by the same ownership that campaigned Epicenter to victories in the 2022 GII Jim Dandy Stakes and GI Travers Stakes, Epic Reign jumped as the 19-5 third choice and was outsprinted through the opening exchanges following a sluggish beginning from a wide draw. Last into the turn following a quarter in...

TIMONIUM, MD - While many buyers and consignors are making adjustments around the new format of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale's under-tack preview, Karl Keegan of Lucan Bloodstock is making his first trip to Timonium specifically because of the preview's untimed works. "I am a big fan of the no-time format," Keegan said. "It really appealed to me. I personally think we are asking probably average horses to do crazy times that only a few special horses can do." Lucan Bloodstock will offer six 2-year-olds at the...

3rd-CD, 120K, Msw, 2yo, f, 4 1/2f, 1:45 p.m. A deep field of juvenile fillies headlines Wednesday's action at Churchill Downs with trainer Steve Asmussen and owner/breeder Winchell Thoroughbreds debuting a pair of daughters by their champion Epicenter. Drawn side by side, JUST EPIC is the more well-bred of the two, being a daughter of GSW Just Wicked and therefore a half-sister to MGSW/MGISP Wicked Halo (Gun Runner). She breaks inside of Epicure who is out of a winning half-sister to GSW/GISP Great Stuff (Quality Road) and GSW Coffee In...

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale had its first million-dollar juvenile when bloodstock agent Justin Casse bid $1.95-million for a colt by Epicenter late in the day and Tuesday's first session of the four-day auction concluded with an average price well ahead of last year's record-setting figure. During the session, 159 horses sold for a gross of $24,578,000. The session average of $154,579 was up 20.6% from last year's opening session figure and 10.9% ahead of the...

A colt from the first crop of Epicenter brought $1.95 million from bloodstock agent Justin Casse on behalf of Amo Racing and partners to lead the way at Tuesday's first session of the OBS Spring 2-Year-Old in Training sale. Hip 289 breezed in a bullet :9 4/5 at the under-tack show and was consigned by Wavertree Stables, Inc. (Ciaran Dunne), Agent IV. "His performance was exceptional," said Casse, who signed the ticket as McElroy & Casse / AMO. "We could look back through the years of being here and you'd...

Prancing Horse Farm LLC purchased a bay colt by Gun Runner for $90,000 to top the OBSOnline March "Second Chance" sale, a digital auction held March 27-31 for horses that were either unsold or breezed and scratched from the recently concluded OBS March Two-Year-Olds In-Training Sale. Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables consigned the colt, who breezed in :10 3/5 during the March under-tack show, as Hip 507. The colt is out of the winning G3-placed Willow (Ire) (American Pharoah) , who is out of European champion Peeping Fawn (Danehill). The second-highest...

LEXINGTON, KY - The four-day Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale reached its halfway point in Lexington Tuesday and continued to produce figures significantly ahead of its record-setting 2024 edition. Through two sessions, 540 yearlings have grossed $33,091,000 for an average of $61,280 and a median of $30,000. At the same point last year, 544 horses had grossed $28,753,000 for an average of $52,855 and a median of $20,000. The 2024 auction concluded with a cumulative record gross of $58,575,500 and a record average of $52,206. "The second session of the...

Graded winner Magnitude (Not This Time) prepped for Saturday's GI Travers Stakes with a half-mile breeze over the Oklahoma dirt training track Sunday morning. Clocked in :50.22 (31/49) while working through a blanket of fog, the Steve Asmussen charge has been training up to the feature race this weekend after producing a 9 1/4-length masterclass last out July 5 in the Listed Iowa Derby. The son of Not This Time missed the Triple Crown series with an ankle chip, but has been moving forwardly since his return to the races...

Bidding commenced Aug. 14 and runs until Tuesday, Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m PT for the major reduction of Harris Farms on Fasig-Tipton Digital, according to a press release from the platform on Thursday. Ninety entries are catalogued as part of the reduction of leading California owner and breeder John C. Harris who participated in all aspects of the Thoroughbred business until his passing at the age of 81 in July. The reduction consists of breeding and racing stock.  Included in the catalogue are: Nu Pi Lambda (City...

LEXINGTON, KY - The day, which began at Newtown Paddocks Tuesday with a steady renewal of the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearlings Sale, ended with a record-blasting edition of the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale and it was the very last horse through the ring who made the loudest noise when stakes-winning 2-year-old Romeo (Honor A. P.) sold for $1.7 million to the bid of Mahmud Mouni. The Horses of Racing Age catalogue, down to 70 entries from 123 a year ago, may have been small, but it...

Forced to miss the Triple Crown series after exiting his sensational GII Fasig-Tipton Risen Star S. victory with an ankle chip, Magnitude (Not This Time) makes his highly anticipated return in Saturday evening's $250,000 Iowa Derby at Prairie Meadows. He is the 9-5 morning-line favorite. The Winchell Thoroughbreds colorbearer was a 9 3/4-length, front-running winner of the Risen Star at odds of 43-1 Feb. 15, good for a 108 Beyer Speed Figure. His final time of 1:48.85 was the fastest Risen Star in seven runnings (including one year with split...

Feel free to make plans, working with Thoroughbreds--just don't be deceived that it'll ever be you who decides how far they work out. With a young son to raise, Becky Maker had quit the rootless life of a trainer and taken a role on the pre-training team at WinStar. "Just to stay in one place, have a salary and be safe," she remembers wryly. "Within six months I had a horse rear up and flip over in the shedrow. Severe fracture of the femur. So after 20 years galloping on...