OBS March Sale
The undefeated SW Café Pharoah (American Pharoah), the even-money pick in Tokyo's 1600-meter G3 Unicorn S., made that price look like a gift on Sunday, as he won that Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier by five easy lengths and set a new stakes record in the process (1:34.90). Dieu du Vin (Jpn) (Declaration of War) was second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Kenshinko (Jpn) (Pyro), as American-bred sires were responsible for the first three home. It was the first winner on dirt at the graded/group level for his...
In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. Nautilus (c, 2, by Cairo Prince--Pantanal, by Congrats) has every right to move forward with a race under his belt following a better-than-it-looked fourth on debut behind a blowout 'TDN Rising Star' performance from Cazadero (Street Sense) at Churchill Downs May 29. Drawn on the fence in that five-furlong affair, the $130,000 OBS March breezer (:10) was quickly outsprinted while under a ride and raced in tight quarters...
8th-SA, $50K, Msw, 3yo/up, 5 1/2f, 7:00 p.m. ET HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud's FIERCE FOR SUL (Speightstown) has strung together a series of solid Santa Anita works--including a four-furlong move in :47 flat May 10 followed by a five-furlong breeze in 1:00 3/5 (XBTV) May 18--leading up to this first go for Bob. Baffert. At the OBS March Two-year-olds in Training sale last season, the :10 flat breezer was secured for $650,000, the highest price paid for a Speightstown juvenile from 12 sold in 2019. Dam CJ's...
A lifelong racing fan, Angelo Freda decided to make his dream of racehorse ownership into a reality and, along with his son James, started Ilium Stables with the purchase of two yearlings at the 2018 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Already with a stakes winner on its resume, the stable added a daughter of Into Mischief purchased for $200,000 at last week's OBS March sale. "This is something that I always had a dream about doing," Angelo Freda said. "But I didn't want to do it alone. My son does a...
by Brian DiDonato & Steve Sherack Under the cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp stock market reaction, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale kicked off Tuesday with mixed results for sellers--as expected--but probably with better trade than some may have feared. At the end of selling Tuesday, 134 head had changed hands for a combined $12,550,500 at an average of $93,660 and median of $50,000. Those stats are expected to change as buyers continue to shop the RNA list and subsequent post-sale transactions are...