Spendthrift

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - A quick and eventful start provided Emphasis (Yaupon) with a strategic advantage that helped him win the seventh race Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. As a result, Emphasis--the "other" colt by first-year sire Yaupon in field of eight--led pretty much every step of the way and prevailed by a length in the $100,000 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds. Two and half lengths back in third was Stradale (Yaupon), the 4-5 favorite, who was bumped hard by Emphasis as they left the gate in the six-furlong dirt...

A quartet of juveniles shared the fastest time during the fifth session of the under-tack show held Thursday ahead of next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Freshman stallion Yaupon, whose first runners hit the track this year, had another standout breeze session held under "ideal" conditions when a filly (hip 788) from his first crop worked in :9 4/5 for Joe Pickerrell's Pick View LLC. "She's been lightning fast all year," said Pickerrell of the filly he picked up for just $100,000 at last...

5th-Santa Anita, $67,000, Msw, 3-1, 4/5yo, f/m, 6fT, 1:08.78, fm, 1 3/4 lengths. QUICK BROWN FOX (f, 4, Justify--Bast {MGISW, $852,200}, by Uncle Mo), the first foal out of MGISW Bast (Uncle Mo), came in off nearly a year-long layoff to break her maiden on the turf. Debuted on the main track last April, she was beaten just a neck as the favorite before going to the sidelines for owner/breeder Spendthrift Farm who took their time bringing her back to the Richard Mandella operation. Favored at even money Saturday, Quick...

The only rule is that there are no rules. Some of our most expensive freshmen are entering precisely the end game that drove their purchase: Arabian Knight (Uncle Mo) and Muth (Good Magic) cost $2.3 million and $2 million respectively, as juveniles; Prince of Monaco (Speightstown) was a $950,000 yearling. Yet the GI Kentucky Derby remains as likely to be won by a $30,000 claim like Rich Strike (Keen Ice) or, most recently, a son of the $10,000 cover Goldencents. Last week, we saluted the advent of a $2,500 yearling...

Later this week, breeding sheds across the Lexington region will open their doors to mares, but in the lead-up to the start of the 2025 mating season, there is an underlying feeling of unease in the Bluegrass. Several farms have already--and quite publicly--announced discounts off their initially posted stud fees, while others are either fighting hard to attract mares, or shopping private deals or fee reductions. The fear among many in town is that in 2025, the industry has reached some sort of tipping point--either due to the economy, a...

Spendthrift Farm's Tamara (Bolt d'Oro), winner of the GI Del Mar Debutante during her juvenile season, is expected to undergo surgery to have a bone chip removed from an ankle this week, trainer Richard Mandella told DRF Sunday. According to Mandella, the 4-year-old daughter of champion Beholder is expected to mark her return to the races at the end of Del Mar's summer meeting. In her sole start at three, the filly was last seen finishing a nose second in a six-furlong allowance at Del Mar in November. Named a...

The Indiana Thoroughbred Alliance (ITA) is celebrating its Fifth Annual Stallions & Services Auction--beginning Dec. 18--by partnering with platform BidXSell, the organization said in a press release on Friday. The auction focuses on uniting the Midwest horse racing community through the funding of scholarships, educational programs and the promotion of the industry. Featuring over 50 stallion seasons from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio, the event goes live on BidXSell's site at 8:00 a.m. (all times eastern) Dec. 18 and concludes at 4:00 p.m. Dec. 20. The catalogue review is set to...

Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey has been named the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers' Club (KTFMC) 2024 Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year. Toffey has been at Spendthrift since 2004, when he worked with the late B. Wayne Hughes to rebuild the historic farm to a leading modern-day institution in the sport. KTFMC will host its annual Dinner Dance to honor Toffey at the Carrick House in Lexington on Friday, Dec. 6. A silent auction will be held with all proceeds benefitting a charity of Toffey's choosing. "Ned's management of Spendthrift,...

GI Wood Memorial Stakes winner Wicked Strong (Hard Spun--Moyne Abby, by Charismatic) has been pensioned from stud duty, gelded and retired to the Massachusetts farm of Centennial Farm owner Don Little, Jr. An earner of nearly $2,000,000 through his racing career which spanned from 2013 to 2015, Wicked Strong broke his maiden at second asking at Belmont Park and was third in the GIII Remsen Stakes before winning the Wood Memorial. After finishing fourth in both the GI Kentucky Derby behind California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) and the GI Belmont Stakes,...

It was announced during the telecast of the GI Haskell Stakes that Dornoch (Good Magic) will stand at stud at Spendthrift Farm. Spendthrift General Manager Ned Toffey addresses another big move by his team. TDN: What is it about Dornoch that makes him a good stallion candidate? NT: He's obviously got a great pedigree and he's a very talented horse. We always thought he was a really talented horse. They tried to rate him in the Blue Grass and he got wiped out from the one hole in the Derby....

by Christina Bossinakis & Stefanie Grimm Lexington, KY--The onset of the yearling season every summer can be a bit of a worrisome time for many. With the yearlings that have been so painstakingly selected by Fasig-Tipton's team for its first yearling sale of the season, it can often be a bit unnerving whether things will go off without a hitch or not. And at the conclusion of Tuesday's yearling session, it appeared that it had. "It was a fantastic start to the 2024 yearling sales season," affirmed Fasig-Tipton President and...

Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) earned an automatic berth in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic with a dominant victory in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes at Churchill Downs Saturday. The 2-1 shot rated just off the pace as First Mission (Street Sense) and Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) took the field through a moderate opening quarter in :24.13. First Mission, the 4-5 favorite, took charge as the half went up in :48.38, but Kingsbarns was rolling up three wide to grab control into the stretch. The favorite attempted to fight back, but...