In an exhibition of pure sprinting prowess, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) brought all his power to bear on his rivals on Friday to register back-to-back successes in Goodwood's G2 King George Qatar S. Despite the contrasting ground conditions to the easy turf he encountered 12 months ago and the obvious questions posed by defeat in the June 19 G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, the bay attracted heavy support as the 8-11 favourite and was in front before he had raced two...
The 17th edition of the Claiming Crown, held Saturday at Gulfstream Park, generated total handle of $10,118,000--up 0.57% from 2014 despite rainy conditions which caused four races to be taken off the turf. Gulfstream was hosting the event for the fourth year. "We're extremely pleased with the success of Saturday's Claiming Crown," said P.J. Campo, General Manager of Gulfstream Park and Vice President of Racing for The Stronach Group. "We had big fields and tremendous participation from horsemen throughout North America. We're confident the numbers would have been even more...
Volendam (Vekoma), a $600,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by John Stewart's Resolute Racing, kicked off his career with a good-looking debut win on Jeff Ruby Steaks day at Turfway Park. The 2-1 favorite challenged for early command from his inside draw, then eased back to fourth through an opening quarter in :22.10. Caught in some traffic approaching the quarter pole, he was guided into the clear by Irad Ortiz, Jr. at the top of the stretch and came charging home to win by two lengths over Mr. Vaggio (Caravaggio). The...
5th-SA, $70K, Msw, 3yo, f, 5 1/2f, 6:07 p.m. ET. The 'Three Amigos' of Pegram, Watson and Weitman send out for the first time WEEKEND PRINCESS (Vekoma), who will sport the trio's red and yellow colors. The Bob Baffert trainee was initially a $235,000 Keeneland November buy, then the filly went through the same ring the following September for $625,000. Dam Alemia (Congrats) is a half-sister to GSW Stays in Vegas (City Zip) and SW Miss Technicality (Gio Ponti). Weekend Princess's extended female family includes GISW Persistently (Smoke Glacken) and...
MAD HOUSE (g, 4, Vekoma--Stifled Heiress, by Munnings) was last seen fading to the back in the GI Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar last November, but before that he'd strung together a respectable tally of four consecutive victories which culminated with him taking home the hardware in the Sept. 20 GII Gallant Bob Stakes at Parx. Made the 3-5 heavy favorite here for his seasonal bow, Mad House went right to the front and never looked back after :21.94 and :44.42 sectionals, rolling home by 3 3/4 lengths in...
Each year, our team at Taylor Made does a S.W.O.T. analysis for our business. The "T" represents threats, and we have consistently listed the shrinking foal crop as an existential threat to our business. We realize one farm alone cannot stop the tide of breeders exiting our industry, but we are trying to do what we can through our Premier Mare Program. We believe that breeding and raising thoroughbreds can be every bit as gratifying as racing them. Through PMP, we bring like-minded people together to buy quality mares which...