Siena Farm
WinStar Farm and CHC Inc.'s Rapture (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Positively Royal, by Bernardini) had to be used some early on to gain a forward position from an awkward draw, but settled nicely from there just off the speed and responded when asked to finish off his race to graduate by 6 3/4 lengths in his two-turn debut Saturday at Oaklawn Park to earn 'TDN Rising Star' honors. A debut second as the favorite to subsequent strong-figure Tampa allowance winner Vassimo (Nyquist) on his one-mile unveiling at Gulfstream Park Dec. 14,...
With 50 horses stabled at Payson Park Training Center this winter for the first time in his two-decade career, the 2020 and '21 Eclipse Award-winning trainer Brad Cox now has a geographically easier time targeting Florida races. On Wednesday, Cox won with his first Tampa Bay Downs starter since 2019. And since Nov. 30, he's compiled a 1-3-0 record from six starts at Gulfstream Park, where he started only 50 runners over the past five years, generally by shipping in from his customary bases at Fair Grounds and Oaklawn Park,...
3rd-GP, $60k, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:18p.m. ET Fashionably late to the party, but making it to the races for the partnership of WinStar Farm, Siena Farm, and Rockridge Racing, TUCSON (Constitution) seeks to validate their patience against a field of experienced maidens over the main track. Hammered down for $1.3-million at KEESEP in 2022 but later having to be resold by Keeneland the following spring, the chestnut has been working steadily for Todd Pletcher out at Palm Beach Downs. A half-brother to Grade I-winning and Royal Ascot Group 1-placed...
On Saturday at Churchill Downs, 2-year-old Patch Adams (Into Mischief)--yes, as in the 1998 Robin Williams film where the best line might be, "Donner, party of 50!"--earned his very own 'Rising Star' on TDN's Walk of Fame. The colt turned in what Alan Carasso called "a jaw-dropping performance" as he broke his maiden by an eye-catching 10 1/2 lengths at second asking. The time over the fast main track was just 0.33 off the record held by MGISW Groupie Doll. Thoroughbred bloodlines can highlight connections to a rich past and...
4th-Churchill Downs, $120,685, Alw (NW2X)/Opt. Clm ($125,000), 11-24, 3yo, 1 1/16m, 1:42.24, ft, 1/2 length. STAR OF WONDER (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Starship Warpspeed, by Congrats) was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his 3 1/2-length debut victory going one mile at Churchill Downs June 2. He added a seven-furlong allowance tally Sept. 14 before suffering his first defeat when a well-beaten sixth in a nine-furlong allowance at Keeneland Oct. 24. Shedding the blinkers here, the 4-5 favorite lugged in at the break, but straightened out and rushed up to attend...
WinStar Farm is hoping to see plenty of activity come out of their stallion division in the near future. In 2025, the farm's flagbearer Constitution, currently ranked a top five general sire, will stand for a fee of $110,000 while his son and fellow WinStar resident Independence Hall will see his first 2-year-olds hit the racetrack. Also this coming year, Life Is Good and Nashville will be represented by their first crop of yearlings while Country Grammer and Two Phil's are expecting their first foals. Meanwhile, three new sires have...
by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale produced a day of solid trade with the opening session of its two-day Book 2 section Wednesday in Lexington. For the session, 201 horses grossed $29,440,000. The day's average of $146,468 dipped 9.38% from the corresponding session in 2023, while the median remained unchanged at $120,000. "It was a good, solid day's trade," said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "I think it was fair. There were some sticky spots, it was a little...
Knicks Go (Paynter--Kosmo's Buddy, by Outflanker), the 2021 Horse of the Year, will stand the 2025 breeding season at $12,500, S&N, Taylor Made Farm announced Wednesday. The 8-year-old stallion, whose first foals are yearlings this year, stood the 2024 season at $15,000. Knicks Go's first yearlings at auction include a colt who sold to CHC/Maverick Racing/Siena Farm for $425,000 at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, and a filly purchased by Horseology for MyRacehorse for $200,000, also at Keeneland September. Breeding incentives to the five-time Grade I winner will be available....
So it turns out that there are last days, too. It was axiomatic with Anthony Manganaro that every day in business should be treated like your first. "If it's the second day, you're falling behind," he would say. Because it was on your first day that you always asked: "What can we do different, what can we do better?" But this questing, vital force was extinguished in August 2023, at 79, and it has meanwhile been the melancholy duty of those he left behind to package up his Turf legacy....
Siena Farm and WinStar Farm's Mullikin (Violence), perfect in four starts this term and one of the favorites for the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint, went a half-mile in :47.60 in the company of GII Amsterdam Stakes-winning 'TDN Rising Star' World Record (Gun Runner, :47.80) over the Keeneland main track Friday morning (see below). The 4-year-old colt, who demolished his rivals by 5 3/4 lengths in the GI Forego Stakes at Saratoga Aug. 24, was timed in fractions of :24.40 and :36.20 before galloping out five furlongs in 1:00.60. "That is...
9th-Keeneland, $120,000, Alw (NW2X)/Opt. Clm ($125,000), 10-10, 3yo, 6f, 1:10.30, ft, neck. WORLD RECORD (c, 3, Gun Runner--Marwa {GB}, by Exceed And Excel {Aus}) broke his maiden at second asking at Churchill Downs May 27, which earned him a 'TDN Rising Star' badge. The bay finished third over the same surface in the Maxfield Stakes June 30, but rebounded with a signature score in the GII Amsterdam Stakes at the Spa July 26. Well-beaten in the GI H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes upstate a month later, the colt was well-backed...
Timberlake (Into Mischief), a 'TDN Rising Star' and Grade I winner at two, will stand the upcoming breeding season at WinStar Farm and his stud fee will be set at $20,000 S&N, according to a press release from the company on Thursday morning. "Being an attractive and imposing son of top sire Into Mischief, Timberlake showed tremendous precocity in winning the GI Champagne and being second in the GI Hopeful at two," said David Hanley, senior vice president/bloodstock services for WinStar Farm. "With his exceptional physical and his unique depth...