WinStar Farm

The first mares bred to Fortune Ticket (Candy Ride {Arg}-Quiet Giant, by Giant's Causeway) and Son of Thunder (Uncle Mo-Chattertown, by Speightstown) have been confirmed in foal via press release from Climax Stallions. Fortune Ticket, the full-brother to Horse of the Year and #1 two-year-old sire Gun Runner, is standing his first season at Anchor and Hope Farm in Maryland. On the board in four of six lifetime starts with two wins, he sold for $27,000 two years ago at KEENOV. Son of Thunder, the full-brother to the late Laoban,...

Legacy pedigrees made their presence felt last week as debuters and Derby contenders alike took to the stage. Here's how things stand now that the dust has cleared. One last hurrah for Giant's Causeway... Classic Causeway flies his late sire's flag high as part of a very exclusive club. One of three members of Giant's Causeway's final crop--and all colts, the GII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby winner is the third son of the 'Iron Horse' to conquer the race behind Carpe Diem and Destin. With two generations of Classic-winning...

We the People (Constitution) proved his good-looking debut was not a flash in the pan with another dominant score in an allowance at Oaklawn Saturday, earning the 'TDN Rising Star' distinction. The $230,000 FTFMAR purchase donned cap and gown with a powerful 5 3/4-length score in his one-mile career bow at this oval Feb. 12, earning an 83 Beyer Speed Figure. Hammered down to 2-5 favoritism to repeat in this first try against winners, We the People broke well and set his sights on the leader, hustling up to press...

Neither Arrogate, by Unbridled's Song, nor Laoban, a son of Uncle Mo, is still with us, but a first-crop daughter of the former and a second-crop son of the latter won graded Classic preps at Oaklawn over the weekend, underscoring the sire potential each had. Arrogate was seven when he was euthanized in 2020 and Laoban was eight when he was put down almost a year later. Arrogate's Secret Oath won the Glll Honeybee S. Saturday by 7 1/2 lengths for trainer D. Wayne Lukas, and she has the look...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia--Amr Zedan has a runner in the world's richest race staged Saturday in his home country of Saudi Arabia. The Bob Baffert-trained Country Grammer (Tonalist), whom he part-owns with WinStar Farm and Commonwealth Thoroughbreds, was not however the horse he had hoped to be running. Zedan's original intention was for Medina Spirit (Protonico) to be lining up in the country from which his name is derived, but the horse who finished first past the post in the last year's Kentucky Derby collapsed and died in December. On Monday...

Mountain Springs Farm in Palmyra, PA has announced the arrival of the first foal by Tight Ten (Tapit--Devils Humor, by Distorted Humor), who stood his first season there in 2021. He is the three-quarter brother to Winstar Farm's Constitution (Tapit). The bay filly is also the first foal of a multiple-winning half-sister to GISW Colonial Colony (Pleasant Colony). "She looks just like her sire," said Mountain Springs owner Rich Miller. "And we have lots more by Tight Ten due in the next few weeks." The stallion stands at the 200-acre...

Speightster (Speightstown--Dance Swifty, by Danzig), who arrived late last month at Northern Dawn Farm in Hillsburgh, Ontario, to stand the 2022 breeding season, was euthanized Feb. 6 after suffering a severe injury to a hind leg while in his stall. Canadian Thoroughbred was first to break the news. A 'TDN Rising Star', Speightster won his first three career races, including a defeat of GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile hero Texas Red (Afleet Alex) in the GIII Dwyer S. and entered stud in 2017 at his owner's WinStar Farm. From two crops...

6th-Tampa Bay Downs, $31,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($75,000), 1-30, 3yo, 1m 40y, 1:40.24, ft, 4 1/2 lengths. EMMANUEL (c, 3, More Than Ready--Hard Cloth, by Hard Spun) backed up the 'TDN Rising Star' moniker and his place at number five on T.D. Thornton's GI Kentucky Derby Top 12 Sunday as he handled a salty Tampa allowance field with aplomb. A 6 3/4-length debut scorer going a one-turn mile at Gulfstream Dec. 11, he was forced to scratch from a spot similar to this one Jan. 7 when he spiked a...

HALLANDALE, FL--Heading into Saturday's Pegasus World Cup card at Gulfstream, it wasn't much of a stretch to think that trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. could walk away the winners of both Pegasus features of the afternoon. However, considering the obstacles facing them, one had to concede that it might be a bit too tall of an order. The GI Pegasus World Cup Turf contender Colonel Liam (Liam's Map) was coming off a massive layoff, 239 days to be exact, and Life Is Good (Into Mischief), while freakishly...

4th-Gulfstream, $53,000, Msw, 1-29, 3yo, 7f, 1:24.53, ft, 1 1/4 lengths. SWING SHIFT (c, 3, Midnight Storm--Tasunke, by Indian Charlie) and GIII Iroquois S. fourth Bourbon Heist (Practical Joke) were nigh inseparable by the betting public up until the gates opened for the former's career debut; the latter ultimately ending up the slimmest of 5-2 favorites. With first-time Lasix for his unveiling, Swing Shift broke fast from the outside slot and took command going up the backstretch with a stubborn challenger in stablemate and fellow firster Congressman (Constitution) glued to...

9th-Fair Grounds, $58,000, Msw, 1-22, 3yo, 6f, 1:11.65, ft, 2 3/4 lengths. FEROCIOUSLY (c, 3, Violence--Brinkley {SP}, by City Zip), sent off the 5-2 choice while facing a pair of seven-figure purchases, settled in a close-up second behind 9-1 chance Vintage Vinyl (Maclean's Music), who led through :22.15. Meanwhile, $1.5-million Fasig-Tipton grad Vincoe (Quality Road), sent off at 7-2, tried to make a grab for the lead along the inside but had the door slammed in his face, and soon found himself in last, about six lengths off the front....

As Tapit's list of Grade I winners quickly approaches 30 constituents, his sons are now proving their worth in the stud barn. Constitution leads the charge of Tapit sons at stud with an $85,000 fee. The WinStar sire concluded 2021 with a fifth worldwide Group 1/Grade I winner in Cigar Mile H. victor Americanrevolution and his 20th black-type winner in GII Santa Anita Mathis Mile S. winner Law Professor. While WinStar Farm hopes that Constitution, whose first crop was foaled in 2017, could one day become a foundation sire at...