Sippican Harbor

10th-GP, $68k, Msw, 3yo, 1mT, 5:38p.m. ET Repole Stable and Stonestreet will unveil Gallant King (Ire) (Night of Thunder {Ire}) in this nightcap at Gulfstream Park for trainer Todd Pletcher. Purchased for 340,000gns as a yearling in 2024 from the Tattersalls October Yearling sale in England, the chestnut gelding is out of a half-sister to a French Listed winner who went on to become the dam and granddam of six black-type runners. Gallant King's mother, Aeronautical (Medaglia d'Oro), also claims Group 1-placed Holocene (Lemon Drop Kid) as a half-brother as...

Kentucky Derby contenders Commandment and Renegade share more than just the top two spots on T.D. Thornton's TDN's Derby Top 20. Both Grade I winners are sons of supersire Into Mischief, both are out of graded stakes-winning mares and both were foaled and raised at Taylor Made Farm. Taylor Made's Frank Taylor noted that their team has enjoyed the ride of watching these two star colts progress toward the first Saturday in May. The high point so far was on March 28 when Commandment captured the GI Florida Derby in...

His grandfather gave him an allowance, a dollar a week. But he wanted to know how the boy planned to spend it, and didn't like it when he put a nickel into a pinball machine--even though you could win free games if you were any good. "You don't get anything for your nickel," his grandfather complained. "Well, I get a free game," the boy replied. "If you bet on a dog or a horse, at least you have the opportunity to make some money if you're a good handicapper." So...

Well, he's not going to give it up without a fight. Yes, of course the whole narrative is random: he can hardly sit the boys down, tell them to get out there and remind everyone who's boss. But however unwittingly, Into Mischief has certainly obliged us with a dramatic and immediate response to the first serious test of his monopoly since claiming a first general sires' title in 2019. It has been clear for a while that the eventual succession was likely to concern Not This Time and Gun Runner,...

The first sophomore skirmishes of the 2026 Classic crop vividly attested to the twin poles that support this business. One is that access to the most expensive blood must work out sufficiently to keep the elite programs in the game. But the other is that a good horse can come from anywhere, which gives us all some kind of chance. The impressive success of Commandment in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes reiterated how the annual quest for the GI Kentucky Derby winner currently starts with the rags-to-riches emperor of American...

Awesome Result (Justify--Blossomed, by Deputy Minister), who opened her career with eight straight victories and was an intended runner in the 2024 GI Breeders' Cup Distaff, has been retired from racing and will be bred next year at Northern Farm, according to a tweet from the Insel Thoroughbred Co. Ltd. ownership club. Bred in Kentucky by Orpendale/Chelston/Wynatt and trained by Yasutoshi Ikee, Awesome Result made the first five starts of her career at Japan Racing Association (JRA) venues, taking her lone appearance at two over the metric nine furlongs before...

2nd-Keeneland, $110,000, Msw, 4-19, 3yo, 7f, 1:28.47, ft, 7 1/4 lengths. CRUDO (c, 3, Justify--Blossomed, by Deputy Minister) was looking to atone for a debut fourth at odds-on at Gulfstream Feb. 8 in which he had some trouble at the break but was nevertheless there to win the race in upper stretch before weakening late. Favored this time at 44-100, the $350,000 Keeneland November weanling purchase was fastest of the sextet into stride and quickly opened up on his rivals, requiring just :24.02 to negotiate the first couple of furlongs...

8th-OP, $110k, Msw, 3yo/up, 6f, 4:55p.m. ET In against a field of mixed maidens, IRON DOME (McKinzie) begins his career for trainer Steve Asmussen and owners L and N Racing and Chester Broman, Sr. A $500,000 KEESEP purchase, the New York-bred is a half-brother to MSW & GSP Mr. Buff (Friend Or Foe), who was a fan-favorite on the Big Apple circuits, as well as to SP Quick to Accuse (Accelerate) and SP Organic Gemini (Sir Whimsey). A full-sister to Mr. Buff is the dam of SP Mischief Lady (Honest...

11th-Kyoto, ¥42,190,000 ($284,065), Allowance, 4yo/up, 1900m, 1:57.4, ft. AWESOME RESULT (f, 4, Justify--Blossomed, by Deputy Minister), a maiden winner in a single juvenile appearance in 2022, was perfect in her three trips to the races last season, including a victory over 2100 metres at Tokyo Nov. 18. A touch unprepared at the break of this 4-year-old return, the bay was accordingly off a half-step slowly and was consigned to the latter third of the field for the run around the first turn. Yutaka Take slipped her some rein and asked...

The last few years of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling Sale have been very profitable ones for Bobby Flay's boutique breeding operation. In 2019, he topped the sale with First Captain (Curlin) out of his homebred mare America (A.P. Indy). In 2021, his Uncle Mo--Dame Dorothy colt brought $1.6 million, the second-highest price of the week. In 2022, First Captain's full-sister was the top filly at $2,000,000, and the second-highest price overall. And it's no wonder: Flay admitted that he targets the sale, and calls the experience "one of my favorite...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for this Saturday running at Hanshin Racecourse. Sunday's focus is on Tokyo Racecourse which hosts the G1 Longines Japan Cup and features some of Japan's best middle-distance horses taking on four talented runners from Europe. Read our preview here: Saturday, November 26, 2022 4th-HSN, ¥13,400,000...

A Taylor Made-consigned daughter of Curlin out of Sippican Harbor (Orb) was hammered down to Jacob West's West Bloodstock on behalf of his clients Robert and Lawana Low for $750,000 to top the weanling section of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale in Lexington. Cataloged his hip 107, the Feb. 6 foal is second produce from the 2018 GI Spinaway S. heroine. Sippican Harbor was offered in foal to Medaglia d'Oro at the 2019 November Sale and was bought back by breeder Lee Pokoik for $1.45 million. Sippican Harbor foaled a colt...