Quality Road
7th-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 1m, 3:50 p.m. At Churchill Downs Sunday, drawn to the extreme outside is BLOWN COVER (Gun Runner) who will make his first start for an ownership group which includes Spendthrift Farm and Gandharvi Racing. A $650,000 Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase, the dark bay colt, bred by Machmer Hall and trained by Brad Cox, is the second offspring to make the races out of a dam who is a half-sister to GII Oaklawn H. hero Cyber Secret (Broken Vow). Also debuting here is Track Phantom (Quality...
The Supplemental Catalog for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2023 October Yearling Sale is now available via the OBS website and in printed form at the OBS sales grounds. Thirty-seven horses have been supplemented; in all 713 horses will be sold. There are two sessions, set for Tuesday, Oct. 10 and Wednesday, Oct. 11. Hip No.'s 1-338 plus supplements 339-359 will be offered Tuesday and Hip No's 401-739 plus supplements 740-755 will be sold Wednesday. Both sessions will begin at 10:00 a.m. The supplemental catalog adds substantial sire power to...
Dodging raindrops, Tok Tok (Quality Road) ran home a winner in his second career race for Graham Motion after he broke his maiden over the grass sprinting at Colonial Downs by half a length July 27. Sent off as a 5-1 shot here, the bay colt broke alertly, moved to rail and then settled third into the first turn as filly Determined Sail (Bernardini) showed the way. Under a slow half at :50.17, Tok Tok launched his bid around far turn, was hemmed in briefly, but once free, he ran...
5th-DMR, $82K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 6:37 p.m. Campaigned by the same ownership group as 'TDN Rising Star' Prince of Monaco (Speightstown), $1.05-million Keeneland September Yearling Sale purchase LAKE SUPERIOR (Quality Road) makes his first appearance on closing day at Del Mar for trainer Bob Baffert. Dam Celibataire (Broken Vow) also produced the dark bay colt's full-brother SW Stillwater Cove. Out of a female family which includes his dam's full-sister MGSW Interactif, Lake Superior will have the services of the meet's leading rider, Juan Hernandez. TJCIS PPS 2nd-MTH, $57K, Msw, 2yo,...
In this continuing series, TDN's Senior Racing Editor Steve Sherack catches up with the connections of promising maidens to keep on your radar. After working in company with his elder graded stakes-placed stablemate Slip Mahoney (Arrogate) in an Aug. 19 move for trainer Brad Cox over the Oklahoma training track, there was plenty of chatter behind Air of Defiance (c, 2, Quality Road--Faypien, by Ghostzapper) heading into his Saratoga debut. Despite proving no match for the jaw-dropping 'TDN Rising Star' Fierceness (City of Light) across Union Ave. six days later,...
Repole Stable and St Elias Stable's Agate Road (c, 2, Quality Road--Yellow Agate, by Gemologist) was hammered into even-money favoritism for his turf and two-turn debuts on the strength of a near-miss runner-up effort in a rained-off maiden Aug. 5. At the end of 8 1/2 very eventful furlongs Saturday afternoon at the Spa, the $650,000 Keeneland September purchase was named a 'TDN Rising Star'. Drawn widest in a field of 10, Agate Road was behind the eight ball right from the opening bell, as he broke a good two...
7th-Ellis, $70,000, Msw, 8-27, 2yo, 6f, 1:10.80, ft, 2 3/4 lengths. AWESOME ROAD (c, 2, Quality Road--Orate, by A.P. Indy) was bet down to even money and had plenty of early speed, racing between foes in a three-pronged battle for the lead. With the best closing kick of the trio, the $600,000 Keeneland September grad was left to contend only with Stronghold (Ghostzapper) into the lane and turned that rival back in the final sixteenth to score by 2 3/4 lengths. Chryso Alogo (Bolt d'Oro) checked in fourth while Loma...
Ran Jan Racing's immaculately bred Aspray (Quality Road), who tasted defeat for the first time in her career in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational S. July 8, atoned for that effort in no uncertain terms with a powerful two-length victory over her previously unbeaten stablemate Surge Capacity (Flintshire {GB}) in Saturday's GII Lake Placid S. at Saratoga. Soviet Excess (Uncle Mo) charged home late to deny a Chad Brown 1-2-3 sweep, finishing just ahead of favored Tax Implications (GB) (Mehmas {Ire}). Drawn beautifully in gate two, Aspray bounced away in...
6th-ELP, $70K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 3:18 p.m. Live Oak Plantation's CHARLOTTESAPPROVAL (Into Mischief) makes it to the races Friday afternoon at Ellis Park in her first start since bringing $1,000,000 as a yearling at last year's Fasig-Tipton New York Select Yearling Sale. She is the second foal out of MGSW Curlin's Approval (Curlin). Racing out of the Mark Casse barn, she fired a bullet drill two back, going four furlongs from the gate in :47 3/5 (1/16) July 6 and most recently went another four furlongs in :48 4/5...
4th-Colonial Downs, $60,000, Msw, 8-12, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 1:42.17, fm, 6 1/2 lengths. INTEGRATION (c, 3, Quality Road--Harmonize {GISW, $827,860}, by Scat Daddy) earned even-money favoritism in his first start since bringing $700,000 as a yearling at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton New York Select Yearling Sale. 30-1 longshot Elon (Great Notion) was eager to go on with it and surged ahead to open up nearly five lengths on the field through a half in :47.58. Integration, though caught a bid wide throughout, easily took over into the far turn as the...
4th-CNL, $60K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 3:00 p.m. A $700,000 Ylg FTSAUG purchase, INTEGRATION (Quality Road) debuts for Shug McGaughey. Out of 2016 GI Del Mar Oaks heroine Harmonize (Scat Daddy), who was campaigned and bred by Larkin Armstrong, this 3-year-old colt hails from a deep, extended female family which includes MGSWs like Al Khali (Medaglia d'Oro), Cappuchino (Capote) and Hungry Island (More Than Ready), plus GI Diana S. heroine and MGSW Somali Lemonade (Lemon Drop Kid) and MGISW Verrazano (More Than Ready). TJCIS PPs 5th-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, 7f,...
by Jessica Martini and Christina Bossinakis SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - With bids ricocheting from all directions both inside and outside the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale of Selected Yearlings opened with a strong session topped by a pair of million-dollar babies Monday night in upstate New York. "I thought it was a tremendous start to the 2023 Saratoga Yearling Sale," Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said at the close of business Monday. "The numbers are essentially on par with last year's opening session, which was a remarkable,...