Spendthrift Farm

Into Mischief's Provenance Gains 'Rising Star' Status at Second Asking

In his second trip to the post, Provenance (Into Mischief) became Monomoy Girl's first 'TDN Rising Star' at Santa Anita Park. The bay debuted Aug. 23 at Del Mar and ran third in a mile maiden special weight that yielded GSP Plutarch (Into Mischief) when he hit the board in the GIII Del Mar Juvenile Turf next out. He finished second in front of Provenance in that mutual debut. Training well since that unveiling, the Bob Baffert trainee recently put in a strong four-furlong work Sept. 20 in advance of...

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Vekoma Gelding Tops Strong CTHS Alberta Thoroughbred Sale

A gelding by Spendthrift Farm stallion Vekoma topped the 2025 CTHS Alberta Thoroughbred Sale which closed Friday, Sept. 19. Bought for $70,000 by Norm Tremblay as agent, the colt, named Vekoma's Pride, was consigned by Doug Obert and was the highest priced yearling sold in Alberta since 2015, the sale noted. 73 yearlings sold for a gross of $1,024,600, a 47% increase over the 2024 gross of $699,000. Additionally, the average rose 12% to $14,036 and the median also increased to $10,000. The RNA rate was 10%. Other tops hips...

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Spendthrift's exciting new sire Yaupon
Breeders' Cup On The Cards For Debut Stakes Winner Yaupon De Replay

Very few debutantes are capable of winning a Listed contest against established peers, but that's exactly what the Joseph O'Brien-trained Yaupon De Replay (Yaupon) achieved on Monday evening in Fairyhouse's Ballyhane Blenheim Stakes. Sent off at 20-1 for the six-furlong feature, the daughter of Spendthrift Farm's exciting first-crop sire was able to overcome any greenness under Chris Hayes and swamp her rivals a furlong out en route to a neck success from Chicago Call (Oasis Dream). "We liked what we saw at home, but you are never sure starting off in...

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'TDN Rising Star' Chancer McPatrick To Stand At Spendthrift

Chancer McPatrick (McKinzie--Bernadreamy, by Bernardini), a dual Grade I winner at two, is expected to make the final start of his career in the GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile before entering stud in 2026 at Eric and Tamara Gustavson's Spendthrift Farm. "We are excited about Chancer McPatrick," said Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey. "We've had good luck with precocious Grade I winners from the first crop of emerging sires--of course, that was the formula with Into Mischief when he came to stud. "It takes a pretty special 2-year-old to win...

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Keeneland Bonanza Continues Into Book 2; $1.9-Million Gun Runner Leads The Way

by Jessica Martini, Christina Bossinakis, and Jill Williams LEXINGTON, KY -The only thing that could slow down the momentum of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale was a brief interruption in Wednesday's action when the fire alarms late in the day caused the evacuation of the pavilion. "We joked in the back ring the market was so hot, it set the fire alarms off," Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said with a chuckle after the dust had settled on another competitive day of bidding at the first of two...

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Breeding Digest: Mischief Leads to a Double Take

Maybe Ned Toffey should have presented the trophy to himself. Or perhaps the horse should have presented it to him. Because the Thoroughbred is generally here to confuse us, and yet here was one that seemed to be obeying a transparent and coherent destiny: Ted Noffey, dominating a GI Hopeful Stakes sponsored by Spendthrift for the first time, welcomed into the winner's circle by Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year Ned Toffey. For good measure, the equivalent prize for fillies had the previous day been won by Tommy Jo,...

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Saratoga Notebook, Presented by NYRA Bets: Fierceness Allowed Repole to Have Quite the Party After Pacific Classic Win

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Early Sunday afternoon, Mike Repole wasn't sure if he had slept or not Saturday night. "I might have taken a nap from 2 (a.m.) to 4," Repole said in the Saratoga box seat area. "I am running high on adrenaline right now." Sixteen hours earlier, Repole, with 40 friends and family--including Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher--gathered at his Saratoga house and watched Fierceness (City of Light) overcome a world of trouble and still draw off to a 3 1/4-length win over GI Preakness Stakes winner...

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Saratoga Maidens: Emotional Day for Pletcher, But He Gets Another Juvenile Score

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - There is no time for real celebration and there certainly isn't time to feel sorry for oneself. In horse racing, the game just keeps going on. Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher had first-hand experience of that Sunday afternoon at Saratoga Race Course. Just before 2 p.m., he was elated and crushed in the same race, the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup. Just over an hour later, he had to push those emotions to the side and saddle a 2-year-old in a $100,000 maiden special weight....

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Saturday Racing Insights: Well-Bred Maidens Go Saturday, Fulls To Authentic And Life Is Good Included

4th-ELP, $100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 2:16 p.m. ET. Peter Blum homebred ELITE (Into Mischief) makes her first start for trainer Rodolphe Brisset. Out of Flawless (Mr. Greeley), the 2-year-old is a full-sister to current sire Authentic. Also drawn in the same race is Gary & Mary West homebred Fashion Designer (Into Mischief), who is trained by Brad Cox. Her dam Beach Walk produced current sire Life Is Good and GSW Most Wanted (Candy Ride {Arg}). Woodslane bred Sister Troienne (Munnings) is a Brian Lynch trainee whose own dam is...

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Code of Honor's Epigram Strong on Unveiling at Gulfstream Park

6th-Gulfstream, $40,000, Msw, 8-15, 2yo, f, 5f, :59.51, ft, 9 3/4 lengths. EPIGRAM (f, 2, Code of Honor--Rockin, by Hard Spun) ran her rivals off their feet to become her late freshman sire's third winner at 7-2 odds. Breaking in at the start but recovering well to lead the pack, they were never given a second opinion as she put up an opening quarter in :22.95 and was on a clear advantage entering the stretch. From there it was how much she wanted to win by and the answer was...

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Essential Quality's Chopsticks Scores First Lifetime Stakes for Sire and Herself, Takes Debutante at Ellis

Looking to hand her freshman sire his first stakes score, Chopsticks (Essential Quality) was tough as nails down the lane as she stood on business in the Debutante Stakes at Ellis Park on Sunday afternoon. Chopsticks was a debut winner at Churchill Downs June 27 when she cleared and graduated by three lengths. Slammed at the windows to the tune of 70 cents on the dollar here, the juvenile raced in the three path up the backstretch as a longshot showed the way. The grey continued to fan wide around...

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Saturday Insights: Fasig October Topper Sassmaster Drawn Wide For Debut

6th-SAR, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, post time: 3:19 p.m. ET SASSMASTER (Curlin) was purchased by Alistair Roden on behalf of his client Mark Breen for a sales-topping $550,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October Sale and the early April foal has drawn widest in a field of eight for this first visit to the races. Bred by Stonestreet, the bay is kin to a pair of winners, including 2019 GII Prioress Stakes and GIII Victory Ride Stakes heroine Royal Charlotte (Cairo Prince), who is in turn the dam of the 3-year-old...

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