Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa

by Steve Sherack & J.N. Campbell DEL MAR, Calif. - A stallion share (2% interest) in leading young sire Not This Time brought $3 million from John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa to top the Keeneland Championship Sale held in the Del Mar paddock Wednesday evening. The share was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, agent for Aaron and Marie Jones, as Hip 3. In a unique feature of the offering, the buyer receives all income from Not This Time's 2025 breeding season. Not This Time is already the...

Justify was off to a fast start at stud, leading in several black-type categories as well as in winners and wins with his first crop of runners. But it was in year two when the cream really started to rise to the top. That year, in 2023, he sired two Breeders' Cup winners, Hard to Justify in the Juvenile Fillies Turf, and Just F Y I in the Juvenile Fillies. The latter brings a talented resume and a special pedigree to this year's Fasig-Tipton November sale when she sells as...

Reigning Horse of the Year Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna) will be honored in a special retirement ceremony during Race 6 on Sunday at Churchill Downs before she begins her second career as a broodmare at Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa in Lexington, Ky. Last year's GI Kentucky Oaks heroine will walk over with the field for Race 6 at approximately 3 p.m. (all times Eastern) and remain in the Churchill Downs paddock for approximately 20 minutes until the race is completed at 3:26 p.m. Trainer Kenny McPeek announced Thorpedo...

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...

Grade I winner Clicquot (Quality Road--Royal Obsession, by Tapit) and graded winner Italian Soiree (Uncle Mo--Social Call, by Smart Strike) head the latest supplements to Fasig-Tipton's November Sale, held on Monday, Nov. 3 in Lexington, Kentucky. Clicquot, who won the GI Cotillion on Sept. 20, is catalogued as hip 221. In the Cotillion, the 3-year-old defeated GISWs Scottish Lassie, La Cara, and Good Cheer, winner of this year's Kentucky Oaks. Clicquot's next anticipated start is the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar. The grey filly won four consecutive...

John Ortiz had high hopes for Brightwork long before she set foot in his barn. His father, Carlos Ortiz, had broken the daughter of Outwork in Ocala and told him the filly was a standout mentally, taking everything that was asked of her and doing it effortlessly. But what surprised Ortiz, when Brightwork stepped off the van at Keeneland, was how striking the filly was physically as well. "She walked in like she owned the place," Ortiz recalled. "You'd confuse her for a colt early on. She was really stout,...

Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin (Smart Strike) and his champion son Good Magic will stand the 2026 breeding season for $225,000 and $125,000, respectively, at John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, the Lexington area nursery announced Thursday. Curlin, who turns 22 in 2026, remains the only stallion to have supplied three Breeders' Cup winners on a single program and the only sire to account for four Eclipse Award winners in the same year. Good Magic, who was represented by a quartet of $1-million yearlings in 2025, is the...

Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), the 2024 Horse of the Year and a shoo-in to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2031, the first year she will be eligible, has been retired. The news came in the form of a press release sent out by Keeneland, McPeek Racing and Hill 'n' Dale. Additionally, a 20% share in the champion will be offered at the upcoming Keeneland Championship Sale at Del Mar on Oct. 29. The announcement came as no surprise as Thorpedo Anna finished a dull fourth in the...

Over the past decade, Baoma Corp. has become synonymous with elite horses competing at the sport's highest level. But for those who know Susan and Charlie Chu personally, it's their unwavering dedication to their horses that stands out most. "They take good care of their horses and protect them," said the Chus' longtime trainer Bob Baffert. "That's why they do so well. They've had a lot of luck and a lot of success. They're not only great clients, but they're great friends of mine and they love racing." "Susan cares...

by Jill Williams & J.N. Campbell A spectacular Fall Stars Weekend both continues and concludes Sunday at Keeneland, highlighted by the GI Juddmonte Spinster Stakes, a 'Win and You're In' event for the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff Nov. 1. While entries may seem sparse for such an historic race with a $650,000 purse, they pack a punch with the reigning Horse of the Year, Thorpedo Anna (Fast Anna), making her first start in front of the home crowd since her open daylight debut over this surface at this meet two...

After Three Chimneys sensation Gun Runner sired the session toppers of the Keeneland September sale both Monday and Tuesday, he was back at it again Wednesday. With approximately 30 hips left to go, a Gun Runner colt hammered for $1.9 million Wednesday to Spendthrift Farm. Consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, agent, hip 731 is out of stakes-placed Ginga (Quality Road). The mare is a half-sister to 2014 GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies runner-up Top Decile (Congrats), who sold to Shadai Farm for $950,000 at the 2017 Keeneland November...

by Jessica Martini, Christina Bossinakis and Jill Williams LEXINGTON, KY - Led by a $3.3-million son of Gun Runner, the Keeneland September Yearling Sale powered through a record-setting opening session Monday in Lexington. When the dust had settled after the first of two elite Book 1 sessions, 106 yearlings had sold for $69,240,000. The average was $653,208--the highest ever at a single September session--and the median was $537,500. With just 28 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 20.90%. Those figures are ahead of last year's opening session, when...