Nooni

Mitts (Gretzy the Great), a well-beaten albeit rallying third in his debut over course and distance May 22, picked up the first win for his freshman sire (by Nyquist) Saturday via disqualification. The 5-1 shot was a close-up third up the backstretch while just a length back of pacesetter Watson (Brethren). Tipped outside of that rival to make a run into the final furlong, Mitts had to take up and redirect inside as Watson drifted out into him. Continuing to rally but unable to make up the deficit, Mitts wound...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL- For the third straight year, Saudi businessman Amr Zedan made the highest bid at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, going to an OBS record $3 million to acquire a colt by Gun Runner during a vibrant final session of the auction Thursday. The sale-topping colt brought the number of horses to sell for seven figures during the three-day auction to seven, up from four a year ago, and a record for the March sale. "I thought...

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale marks a full decade as an open auction when it begins its three-day run Tuesday afternoon and, with a well-attended under-tack show last week followed by a busy weekend of showing, consignors are optimistic demand will be high for the first juvenile sale of the season. The sale, originally slated to begin at 11 a.m. Mar. 11, will now get going at 1 p.m. to allow horsemen more time in the wake of the consolidated under tack show....

The catalogue for the OBS March sale has been released and is now available online. The three-day sale will run from Mar. 11 to Mar. 13 and each session will begin at 11:00 a.m. HIPS 1-272 will go through the ring Mar. 11, then 273-544 the day after, and lastly 545-814. The under-tack show will begin Mar. 5 and run through Mar. 8 starting at 8:00 a.m. each day. The show, and subsequent sale, will both be streamed live via the OBS website as well as the TDN. There will...

The Saturday graded stakes action across North America offers several options, but the Big A earns the spotlight as the venerable NYRA track plays host to some strong races. Even though the Cigar Mile Handicap was downgraded a tick from its top level status by the American Graded Stakes Committee in 2023, connections still consider the race to possess a certain cache and the rigor in this year's edition is evident. "It [Cigar Mile] came up pretty salty," said Book'em Danno's trainer Derek Ryan. "It is a Grade II now...

Win Win Win (Hat Trick {Jpn}), the sire of sales-topping and graded-winning 'TDN Rising Star' Nooni, will stand the 2025 breeding season at a fee of $8,500 stands and nurses at Ocala Stud. The soon-to-be 9-year-old stallion has accounted for eight winners from his first crop to date, topped by the aforementioned Nooni, who fetched $1.8 million from Donato Lanni on behalf of Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing Stable at this year's OBS March Sale. Turned over to Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, the bay filly--bred by Ocala Stud--graduated by 9...

Yaupon continued a strong run for his first crop of yearlings in the sales ring Monday when hip 78 topped the schedule-adjusted Day 1 of the Ocala Breeders' Sale October Yearling Sale. Consigned by Colin Brennan Bloodstock, Agent IX and purchased for $75,000 by Pick View LLC, the Florida-bred colt is a half to a two-time winner in Candy Caramel (Candy Ride {Arg}) and out of a half-sister to MGSW Conveyance (Indian Charlie). Dam Bride Street is also a half to Cashing Tickets (Indian Charlie) who produced GSW Leggs Galore...

With four of the six who went to post in the GII Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita Saturday, Hall of Famer Bob Baffert was guaranteed a placing or two in the 'Win and You're In' race for the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Nov. 1. He did better than that, saddling the first three home. Even-money favorite and maiden winner Non Compliant (2, f, Tiz the Law--Sensitively, by Street Sense), the most modest auction purchase of the Baffert quartet, bested GIII Sorrento Stakes winner Nooni (Win Win Win) and...

It's been nearly 30 years since trainer Bob Baffert won his first GI Del Mar Debutante Stakes with Batroyale back in 1995. The Hall of Fame conditioner looks to have a stranglehold on this year's renewal of the seven-furlong contest, as he sends out a pair of big-money fillies, each campaigned by previous Debutante scorers. Front and center is 'TDN Rising Star' Nooni (Win Win Win), the $1.8-million topper from this year's OBS March Sale, who looks to become the second winner of the event in the last four years...

Some of the most highly anticipated races during the summer racing season are the 'baby' races during the boutique meetings, which attract its fair share of high-priced offspring from a variety of top national outfits. Summer Breezes highlights debuting and stakes-entered 2-year-olds at those meetings that have been sourced at the breeze-up sales earlier in the year, with links to their under-tack previews. Here are the horses entered for Saturday at Kentucky Downs and Del Mar: Saturday, September 7, 2024 KY Downs 1, $170k, 2yo, f, 6 1/2fT, 12:30 p.m....

Three 'TDN Rising Star' debutants last weekend followed up in graded stakes to confirm their place among the leading juveniles of the summer. Two were by established big guns Uncle Mo and Curlin. But GIII Sorrento Stakes winner Nooni is by a $5,000 Florida rookie who had already that day celebrated his first black-type winner, by nearly five lengths, in his backyard at Gulfstream. That's some day at the office for Win Win Win, and confirms the contrasts emerging from the early skirmishes in the freshman table. Obviously the cavalries...

The Week In Review by Bill Finley We are in the middle of the Saratoga and Del Mar meets, both of which bring together the best horses the sport has to offer. That was the case last weekend. The quality is there. The quantity? Not so much. There's an alarming trend in racing and it's only getting worse. The 10- or 12-horse field for a stakes race, especially on the dirt, is a thing of the past, no matter the venue, no matter the size of the purse. Even a...