Stopchargingmaria

There is nothing unpredictable when it comes to trainer Todd Pletcher's record in the GII Demoiselle Stakes because he has had his share of top flight winners like Stopcharging Maria (Tale of the Cat), Malathaat (Curlin) and Nest (Curlin). On Saturday in the 104th edition of the race at Aqueduct, the Hall of Famer's count hit 10 when his Repole-owned filly Zany (American Pharoah--Mo' Green, by Uncle Mo) looked stout as she motored home to nab 10 points on the road to the GI Kentucky Oaks. Zany's career started with...

Three Grade I winners off the farm in 2024, out of a broodmare band of no more than 28--with dams respectively by Giant Gizmo, Majestic Warrior and Silent Name (Jpn). How do you pull off something like that? Well, Kiki Courtelis makes the customary acknowledgement of luck, and further professes a trust in divine dispensation. She also enthuses about her team at Town and Country. But just as the farm's name reconciles polarities, so its success reflects an inherited ability to turn a question inside out until it becomes an...

8th-GP, $89K, Msw, 3yo, 1m, 3:37 p.m. ET. For a $1-million price tag, Sean Flanagan secured TOP CONOR (Twirling Candy) for his stable at last year's OBS March Sale, which tied the colt for the fourth-highest at the auction and made him his sire's highest-priced 2-year-old in 2023. Previously going for $200,000 during Keeneland September, the Chad Brown trainee is out of GSP Divine Dawn (Divine Park), who International Equities acquired with a filly by Nyquist in-utero for $285,000 at the Keeneland November Sale in 2017. A full-sister to GSW/MSW...

Vindictive (Uncle Mo--Exotic Bloom, by Montbrook), a close second in last spring's GIII Pimlico Special S., has been retired and will stand his first season at stud in 2024 at the Spinella Family's Pegasus Stud in New Jersey. The $200,000 KEESEP yearling purchase and half-brother to GI Breeders' Cup Distaff heroine Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat) was campaigned by Grandview Equine, Cheyenne Stable, LLC and LNJ Foxwoods and trained by Todd Pletcher. He retires with a record of 8-4-1-1 and earnings of $300,960. "Vindictive is an impressive physical specimen who...

1st-CD, $120K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 1:00 p.m. EDT Whisper Hill Farm and Three Chimneys Farm homebred SHOPPER'S REVENGE (Tapit) is one of several well-bred juveniles debuting on this card. The gray is out of three-time Grade I winner and multi-millionaire Stopchargingmaria (Tale of the Cat), whose career highlight was a win in the GI Breeders' Cup Distaff. Three Chimneys acquired the mare for $2.8 million at the conclusion of her career at the 2016 FTKNOV sale and re-offered her at that auction two years later carrying a Tapit colt. Mandy...

1st-Hakodate, ¥9,680,000 ($87,717), Maiden, 2yo, 1800mT, 1:50.3, gd/fm. FIFTY CHEVY (c, 2, Tapit--Stopchargingmaria {MGISW, $3,014,000}, by Tale of the Cat), an $825,000 purchase out of last year's Keeneland September sale, made the majority of the pace in his June 13 debut going this distance at Tokyo before retreating in the final 200 meters to finish fourth. Better than a 10-1 chance for this second go, the beautifully bred bay was away only fairly from gate 11 and raced with just two rivals behind as they hit the first turn. Unhappy with...

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 weekend running at Hakodate and Niigata Racecourses: Saturday, July 24, 2021 1st-HAK, ¥9,680,000 ($88k), Maiden, 2yo, 1800mT FIFTY CHEVY (c, 2, Tapit--Stopchargingmaria, by Tale of the Cat), a debut fourth going this distance at Tokyo June 13 (video, gate 2), attracted a final...

It will be exactly 23 years ago on Sunday- August 23, 1997. Julie Krone vividly, and affectionately, recalls the day that she and Tale of the Cat took the GII King's Bishop S. "We had an inside post that day, and there were some great sprinters," Krone recounted. "It was a really tough field, but Tale of the Cat literally had wings. He just came out of there and it was like the faster we went, the more his ears came up and his stride got longer and more relaxed....