Friday, August 21, 2026
Ellis 2, Moc, $53k, 2yo, 6f, 1:19 p.m.
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Cairo Charlie (Cairo Prince), OBSAPR, 40,000, :10 2/5
C-Paul Sharp, agent; B-Chad Schumer, agent

Junction (Girvin), OBSAPR, 55,000, :10 1/5
C-Wavertree Stables Inc (C Dunne), agent; B-Joe Sharp, agent

Saratoga 5, Msw, $115k, 2yo, (S), 5.5fT, 3:26 p.m. ET
Pyralis (Epicenter), OBSMAR, 150,000, :10
C-Sequel, agent for Chester Broman; B-MyRacehorse.com, Stamatis Stables, Sean O'Connor

Royal Reserve (Central Banker), OBSAPR, 325,000, :10
B-McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds, agent; B-Kimmel/Sallusto, agent for Winning Move Stable/IEE

Saratoga 6, Msw, $115k, 2yo, f, 8.5fT, 4:00 p.m. ET
Funny Words (Omaha Beach)-MTO, FTMMAY, 90,000, G
C-Lucan Bloodstock (K Keegan), agent; B-Anthony Perri

Get My Good Side (Life Is Good)-MTO, FTMMAY, 140,000, G
C-Niall Brennan Stables, agent; B-Starladies Racing

Ellis 9, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 4:42 p.m. ET
Bombarino (Yaupon), OBSAPR, 140,000, :10
C-Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, agent; B-Nick J Hines, agent

Borax (Army Mule), OBSJUN, 240,000, :9 4/5
C-S G V Thoroughbreds (Steven Venosa), agent; B-Clark Brewster, Bill & Corinne Heiligbrodt/K Reimer

Moonfire (Yaupon), OBSAPR, (195,000), :21 2/5
C-Caliente Thoroughbreds, agent; B-RNA

Staunch (Liam's Map), FTMMAY, 300,000, G
B-Randy Miles, agent; B-Case Clay Thoroughbred Management

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 21, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Walton recalls seeing this principle in action years ago at Spendthrift Farm. The notoriously headstrong Malibu Moon was a model citizen for his regular groom, but whenever that handler went on vacation, the rest of the stallion team played rock-paper-scissors to see who would be tasked with turning the horse out. When Walton took over as stallion manager at Gainesway Farm in 2022, he brought that philosophy with him. He cycled through a few different grooms with star sire Tapit before finding the right fit and took the same approach with Karakontie, another stallion who demands a steady hand.

To handle the former European classic winner and Breeders' Cup champion, Walton turned to Zeferino Escobedo. Escobedo, a native of Mexico with almost as much experience in the business as his longtime boss, followed Walton to Gainesway three years ago. His two charges are the mild-mannered Grade II winner Charge It and the far more complex Karakontie.

“Zefe is a very good groom,” Walton said. “He doesn't show a lot of emotion and is very laid back. Horses like that. If you bring Karakontie down to show and Zefe has him, he stands better. If somebody else brings him down to show, he may not stand as good. They have a lot of respect toward each other. A lot of the old-school stallions are like that. They're one-person kind of guys and they like having their one groom.”

Speaking in Spanish, Escobedo said that when he first took over caring for the sire, Karakontie made him earn his trust.

“When I arrived, because I didn't know him, the horse was very strong,” Escobedo recalled. “The first time I worked with him, he scared me a lot because I did not know him. He was always trying to bite me. He is really strong, but I like working with the ones that have a strong temperament.”

Bred in Japan by the Niarchos Family, Karakontie spent the majority of his racing career in France. Trained by Jonathan Pease, the son of Bernstein captured a pair of stakes races at two, including the G1 Grand Criterium, before returning at three to claim the G1 French Two Thousand Guineas. His defining moment on the racetrack came later that year when he shipped to Santa Anita for the 2014 Breeders' Cup.

Celebrating a win in the 2014 Breeders' Cup Mile | Horsephotos

Off at long odds of 30-1 in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile, Karakontie launched an explosive rally from wide off the turn, split rivals in the stretch and prevailed by a length over fellow French-campaigned Anodin (Ire) (Anabaa). He etched his name in the record books as the first Japanese-bred horse to win a Breeders' Cup race, opening the floodgate for other Japanese runners on the world stage in the years that followed.

The regally bred bay retired to Gainesway the following year, continuing a farm tradition pioneered by founder John Gaines of importing elite European turf bloodlines to enrich the American pool, and he has been an anchor of the Gainesway roster in the years since.

No one on the farm's stallion crew would go so far as to characterize Karakontie as difficult. He is an easy keeper with no real vices and is a consummate professional in the breeding shed. But he does seem to enjoy keeping his caretakers on their toes.

“You never know what you're going to get,” Walton explained. “Some days he'll come out to show and stand like a statue and other days he'll come out and he won't stand up. He loves to be turned out and he loves to run. In the paddocks he has Olympiad on one side of him and Muth on the other. He always tries to get them to run with him. He's an instigator, you could say.”

That alertness and grit have translated to his offspring, as Karakontie has built a record of 16% stakes horses over his 11 years at stud.

While his progeny have achieved graded wins on both surfaces, his leading earners have unapologetically shined on the turf with graded stakes winners like Princess Grace, Spendarella and None Above the Law. His latest star Roja won this year's GII Intercontinental Stakes.

On the walk with groom Zeferino Escobedo | Sara Gordon

Karakontie's crowning achievement as a sire is his daughter She Feels Pretty. An Eclipse Award Champion Turf Female with five Grade I wins and over $2.55 million in earnings, she capped her brilliant campaign with a runner-up effort in last year's GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

“She had a lot of heart like he did,” Walton said. “I've watched his Breeders' Cup Mile several times because he was a longshot. He was all the way on the outside. I think there were 14 horses in the field and he had a heck of a run. That kind of goes with his character. He's got a lot of heart.”

She Feels Pretty came within a length of it, but for now the search continues for a son or daughter who will inherit not just Karakontie's tenacity, but his title as a Breeders' Cup champion.

The post Hands on History: Karakontie and the Power of a Steady Hand appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

“McGaughey colt can run.”

U. S. S. Valor (c, 2, War of Will–Spangled Banner, by Tiz Wonderful) received some high praise from DRF's Clocker Report following consecutive B+ breezes for Hall of Famer Shug McGaughey ahead of his 6 1/2-furlong unveiling at the Spa Aug. 8.

Backed at 5-1 in a deep-looking maiden special weight in the lidlifter on Whitney day, the Team Valor International homebred was carried in at the break from his rail draw and was steered out in time by Tyler Gaffalione to avoid hitting the rail leaving the chute.

An inside sixth and traveling nicely through an opening quarter in :22.38, Gaffalione was forced to gently tap on the brakes rounding the far turn.

Guided out at least four wide at the top of the stretch, U. S. S. Valor raced a bit greenly and remained on his left lead as they straightened for home.

U. S. S. Valor | Tod Marks

Gaffalione got U. S. S. Valor to switch over in deep stretch and the long-striding bay came rolling down the center while finishing up in a field-best :30.87 to complete the trifecta–beaten just three-quarters of a length–behind the promising duo of Gaudreau (Nyquist) and Coach Pope (Tapit).

U. S. S. Valor earned an 88 Beyer Speed Figure for the effort, one point less than the winner.

“Shug told me in the paddock, 'I don't think we're gonna win here, but we'll stretch him out at Belmont and he'll win there,'” Team Valor International Founder/Chief Executive Officer Barry Irwin said.

“He ran a remarkable race and rather than wait for Belmont, we're gonna run him back at Saratoga. Hopefully, he'll break his maiden and then we can go on from there.”

U. S. S. Valor returned to the worktab with a four-furlong bullet in :48 (1/22) over the Oklahoma training track Aug. 19.

“For a horse that is built like him to have as much gas as he's got and do it in a controlled way, we just have the highest dreams possible for a horse like this,” Irwin said.

The son of 2019 GI Preakness Stakes winner War of Will was produced by the winning Tiz Wonderful mare Spangled Banner and hails from the family of MGISW Curalina (Curlin).

The 15-year-old broodmare, also responsible for the GISP Expressman (Liam's Map), was acquired by Irwin's operation for $225,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton August Digital Sale. Bred to Tiz the Law for 2027, she has been entered in this fall's Keeneland November sale, per Irwin.

“I put her in the sale to take advantage if this horse does what we hope he could do,” Irwin said.

Since launching 'Second Chances' in 2017, 78 maidens have been featured in these pages (through 2025), producing 24% graded stakes winners, 36% stakes winners and 49% stakes horses. The series has introduced nine future winners at the top level, led by 2025 Horse of the Year and dual Classic winner Sovereignty (Into Mischief), 2023 Horse of the Year Cody's Wish (Curlin) and fellow two-time Breeders' Cup winner Golden Pal (Uncle Mo).

GAUDREAU breaks his maiden in the opener on Whitney Day under Flavien Prat for trainer Chad Brown. pic.twitter.com/qmx4DrG12B

— NYRA () (@TheNYRA) August 8, 2026

The post Second Chances: U. S. S. Valor – ‘We Just Have the Highest Dreams Possible for a Horse Like This’ appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Thursday, August 20, 2026
Saratoga 4, Msw, $115k, 2yo, f, (S), 6.5f, 2:54 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Chic in Motion (Mo Donegal), OBSAPR, 45,000, :10 3/5
C-Little Farm Equine LLC, agent; B-Mary K Thomas

Early Returns (Early Voting), FTMMAY, 80,000, G
C-McMahon of Saratoga TBs, agent; B-Country Life Farm, agent

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 20, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

While placing a stranglehold on the 3-year-old filly division title with a victory in the historic $600,000 Alabama by Counting Stars would be a significant accomplishment, it is not the only prize within reach.

Yes, there's more.

Should Counting Stars, who will be heavily favored in the field of six, prevail, she could lift her owners, West Point Thoroughbreds to a pair of significant milestones in its 35th anniversary season. West Point, launched in 1991 by the young couple Debbie and Terry Finley with one partner and one horse, has 199 stakes wins and is on the verge of surpassing $100 million in purse money earned.

A score in the 1 1/4-mile Alabama would be Counting Star's third straight Grade I win at Saratoga this summer–an historic first–following wins in the Acorn and Coaching Club American Oaks, and would likely make her a lock for the Eclipse Award. Despite all of its success through the decades, West Point has had but two champions: Flightline (Tapit), the unbeaten Horse of the Year and older male dirt titlist in 2022 and Super Corredora (Gun Runner), winner of the 2-year-old filly crown in 2025.

“They're hard to come by. Just like everybody, this game will humble you,” Finley said, noting that many standout horses have tasted defeat at Saratoga.

“That being said, we're going to have a great week, and it will be a very exciting day,” Finley said. “The Alabama is really a race that people that have been in the game any length of time would love to win. We certainly fit that category.”

With eight horses handed by seven trainers entered between Wednesday and Sunday, all five categories on the West Point website's stats page could change. Entering this race week it showed 1,287 victories, the 199 stakes, 91 graded stakes, 24 GI wins and purse earnings of $99,653,018. She's Country (Combatant) earned $6,000 Wednesday with a fifth-place finish in the Statue of Liberty Stakes at Saratoga. If Counting Stars does finish first in the Alabama and secures the first-place money of $330,000, the remaining six runners would need to secure a total of $10,982 in purses to hit $100 million.

Finley paused for a moment and embraced the word “thirst” from a question about the drive to find success, and possibly champions, as horse owners.

“I think that's a good term, that thirst is never ending,” he said. “It's never ending for anybody that either spends money or puts together a partnership and is investing partners' money. But, I think, most of the time we're just looking for Grade I winners. Probably, the take is you don't get greedy and you have to stay humble.”

Finley said that has to be the approach, whether it's a $1-million yearling like Flightline or Counting Stars, who West Point purchased for $150,000 as a 2-year-old in training.

“You just want a really good horse that is going to surpass their pedigree and their sale price,” he said. “I don't think people think as much about owning a champion because that works itself out, right? That's inherent in the process of these horses competing at the top end of the business. Nothing earth shattering there. It's just that you've got to make sure you stay humble in this game. We really try to and we are.”

West Point has grown from its modest start with a $5,000 claimer into a company with 15 employees. Bloodstock agent David Ingordo leads its acquisition team, which purchased about 55 horses last year. Finley said that finding a horse like Counting Stars, who exceeds expectation is “the high that keeps us all coming back.”

In Finley's view, West Point has prospered and become an industry leader with a combination of human and equine talent.

“It's about horses, certainly, but it's about people,” he said. “Everybody knows you don't see a successful entity or organization in our industry from an ownership standpoint that has sustained over the years winning races without a great team. I think we're probably a perfect example of that. We've tinkered with our team, and we've worked and right now we have the right people on the right bus and going in the right direction is how I see it. It's a beautiful thing to be part of.”

Finley said he is pleased with a West Point stat that does not show up on any racing database.

“We've brought over 3,300 people into ownership and that's something we are really proud of,” he said. “Not all of them have stayed in the business, but a good number have. They've stayed with us or they've owned by themselves or they put their own partnerships together. There are several syndicates that are doing very well, and they started with us. That's something that really brings a smile to our faces.”

The Counting Stars partnership has 14 members, many of them newcomers to West Point. Finley said the filly's relatively modest purchase price–she was in the bottom 10% of the stable's purchases last year–was attractive to people investing for the first time. They are already big winners with a filly who has six victories from 10 starts and career earnings of $1,660,606 with Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.

But wait, there is more.

With two Grade I wins, Counting Star already has serious value as a broodmare prospect. Should she complete the trifecta of the Acorn, CCA Oaks and Alabama, she would join the elite group of Shuvee (1969), Mom's Command (1985), Open Mind (1989) and Sky Beauty (1993) with the sweep. Worth noting is that all four of them have been elected to the Hall of Fame.

Counting Stars sold for $13,000 as a yearling, but was a more appealing prospect six months later at the OBS April sale. West Point had raced her dam, Paynterbynumbers (Paynter), who Finley said never was able to reach her potential, and is a partner in the sire, Honor A.P. (Honor Code).

Even though Counting Stars won three of four starts as a 2-year-old, West Point did not see her as a potential championship prospect in 2026.

“No, you couldn't have thought it,” Finley said. “You could have dreamed about it, but you couldn't have thought with any degree of confidence that we were going to be sitting here with a very live shot in the Alabama.

“That's the real magic of owning horses and being around these horses is they just they stop you in your tracks, the magic that they bring to our lives. They really do. They captivate our hearts in so many different ways. She's the perfect example, this filly. There's a lot to love about her. She doesn't have the most stellar pedigree, she didn't sell for a lot of money, but every morning she just buckles it up and she goes and she trains and she's happy. She's really building a very nice resume, for sure.”

The post Counting Stars Headlines Alabama appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

And how's that working out? Well, just Dandy.

Hip 232 was Renegade, who beat his old neighbor Hip 181 Commandment half-a-length in the GII Jim Dandy Stakes last month. And their absent friend? That was Hip 241, champion juvenile Ted Noffey, completing a Taylor Made monopoly of the three Grade I-winning colts in Into Mischief's 2023 crop.

Pretty good work, albeit one or two in the Taylor Made stallion division may be wryly resentful. Because without these farm graduates in Into Mischief's camp, their top gun Not This Time would have a much better chance of breaking the champion's monopoly. Even as it is, Not This Time is laying down the biggest challenge he has faced since 2019.

“I know, I know,” says farm president Mark Taylor with a chuckle. “So we're kind of conflicted. But then Spendthrift is one of our best customers. We recognize that Into Mischief is still king of the hill. One day we hope that Not This Time can take the mantle, but even to be mentioned in the same breath, well, we never thought we'd have a stallion like that.”

And meanwhile these three make a crucial statement ahead of the world's biggest yearling sale. Taylor Made has achieved the highest gross at Keeneland September every year, bar one, since 2015. The response to being pipped by Gainesway, in 2023, has been emphatic. In both years since, they happen to have processed exactly 333 yearlings. In 2024, they generated $53.1 million. Last year the consignment soared to $68.5 million.

So while “family” is literally central to their brand, the Taylor brothers recognize that the sheer scale of their operation must not be perceived as getting in the way of the intimate business of preparation and consignment.

Mark Taylor | Keeneland

“The thing most disappointing thing to me is if people sometimes only think about us as a customer service and marketing company,” Taylor acknowledges. “If they don't think about horsemanship. Anybody who knew my dad knows he lived, ate, breathed horses. He wrote the book.”

And that, of course, is not even a figure of speech.

“So that was all baked into us,” Taylor continues. “Raising good horses is something we're very passionate about. It's very difficult to do, and you can't make a horse run faster than God created him. But you can help them grow up healthy and strong. And you can get in their way, too-in a heartbeat. So we try to minimize mistakes and give them everything they need to fulfill their potential.”

With that in mind, Taylor is especially gratified that these colts represent three of the farm's most faithful collaborators.

None more so than Ted Noffey's late breeder Marie Jones, whose death only a month before the sale plainly makes it poignant that her mare should have left behind a brother to Ted Noffey catalogued for Book 1 [54].

It was the late Aaron Jones who had been integral to the establishment of a Taylor Made stallion barn.

“Basically he was our financier,” Taylor explains. “When we found Saint Ballado, he put up all the money and let us manage him. And then, once he got his money back, which thankfully did not take long, he gave us a significant chunk of the horse. Just gave it to us: said, 'Hey, you guys did a great job.'

“When first introducing himself to Aaron Jones, [Taylor's older brother] Frank was 19, 20 years old. If you're telling the story of Taylor Made, it can't be told without Aaron and Marie Jones. Because they believed early on, when there really was no track record to base it on. They just took a roll of the dice.”

Streak of Luck at Taylor Made in September | Sarah Andrew

The core of the Jones program, working with Frank and in recent years Katie Taylor, was to buy mares from which to breed commercial yearlings. Streak of Luck (Old Fashioned) was a case in point, when bought for $620,000 at the 2021 Keeneland November Sale. She was cashed out for exactly 10 times that sum at Fasig-Tipton last fall-a couple of days after her son, a $650,000 yearling recruit by Spendthrift, completed his unbeaten juvenile campaign at the Breeders' Cup.

“If you look at the Taylor brothers, I think we all bring different passions and expertise to the table,” says Taylor. “Duncan would be the most well-versed on pedigree, he's real big on female families. Frank and I are more conformation people, looking for an athlete. And Ben is the analytical brother, who helps make common-sense decisions after everyone has given their opinion.

“Streak of Luck is a gorgeous mare, very prototypical of what Frank has bought the Joneses over the years. He hung his hat on buying them good-looking mares. And then they took this one, that they loved, and bred her to an expensive horse. Some people might have said, 'Oh, maybe you're overbreeding a little bit.' But it certainly paid off.”

Lee Pokoik, by contrast, is a relative newcomer-after a mere decade or so.

“But he bought yearlings from us for a number of years before that,” Taylor notes. “He was always a loyal Taylor Made buyer, and moved some mares to us about 10 years ago. He breeds for the commercial market, but if they don't bring what he wants, he'll race them-especially fillies.”

Pokoik offered GI Spinaway Stakes winner Sippican Harbor (Orb) when she retired, but she failed to meet her reserve.

“It was like fate came into play,” recalls Taylor. “He tried to sell her right off the track, but when that didn't work, he said, 'Well, if nobody wants to pay me a premium, I'll get foals out of her.'”

Renegade (outside) works at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

He evidently took a similar view when Sippican Harbor's daughter by Elite Power stalled at $575,000 in the recent Saratoga Sale. Commandment himself, after all, was offered both as a weanling and at Saratoga before finally changing hands at Keeneland.

“We thought we were home free, that this horse was going to bring all the money,” Taylor recalls. “But just one of those things: you never know how horses are going to present themselves. He was kind of flat at Saratoga, just not himself, not animated.

“Because he was always a very charismatic kind of horse. So we brought him back and he goes into Book 1 as a supplement. It still ended up kind of disappointing. He brought $500,000, but we felt like he should have been $750,000, maybe more. But credit to Case Clay, he loved him. And now the horse has gone on and proven himself a warrior: tough, sound, talented.”

As for Robert and Lawana Low, breeders of Renegade, Taylor reckons them to have been clients for 30 years-right back to when Capote Belle (Capote) won the 1996 GI Test Stakes.

“They have their own beautiful farm in Missouri,” he stresses. “So they get a lot of credit. And they met Jacob West, their bloodstock advisor, while he was with us. So we all work very synergistically together. Robert and Lawana are so passionate, whether it's Grade I or claiming horses.

“Renegade was gorgeous, phenomenal. As a yearling, a little stretchier and rangier than Commandment. He was born on Taylor Made but went back to Missouri for several months and they did a great job. Then we raised him through his yearling year and got him ready for the sale. I'm really grateful that Mike Repole was so enthusiastic about them staying in, on half of the horse. I think when he bid $975,000, there was no deal in place. But then they had a little seller's remorse, and he was like, 'Well, come on, let's do this.' And of course it was Jacob, who does business with both, who put that together.”

Taylor was unsurprised to see Renegade renew his candidature for crop leadership in the Jim Dandy.

“There was a lot of debate after the Derby,” he remarks. “How much did that first eighth take out of him? Running at a 45-degree angle and being smashed? To have the mentality to drop out the back, recollect himself, and then make that run, says a lot about his class and determination. I think Todd [Pletcher, trainer] had to baby him a little bit before the Belmont, the Derby took a lot out of him.”

Renegade and Commandment in the Jim Dandy | Sarah Andrew

Taylor reports that his dam Spice Is Nice (Curlin) has a “beautiful” Not This Time colt, followed by a Justify filly that will similarly be retained.

“We went to see her in Missouri and she's really nice,” he says. “But Robert was like, 'She's a filly. Renegade means a lot to us, so she's not going to see a sale.' Which I think is a sound business decision. Even if she never runs, she's good enough to fit his broodmare band. And if she does, the sky's the limit.”

Okay, case pretty well proven: Taylor Made produced these horses through the lasting trust of their respective breeders. But if that's the big picture, how about the detail?

“Well, this came straight from my dad,” Taylor replies. “He wanted horses outside unless there's a very meaningful reason to be inside. The horses that grow up here are not pampered. Now, prepping a horse for sale, we need them looking great. So those last 60 or 70 days, they're going to stay up 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. But before that, they're out there running. We don't separate the colts unless there's one really getting picked on, maybe not getting the nutrition he needs. We really believe in horses living outside and getting that foundation off the land.”

People ask why the foals are mudded every day, year round.

“They say it looks a massive waste of time,” Taylor says. “But my dad said it tightens their joints up, and keeps the flies off of them so they're not stomping and breaking their feet off. But mainly it was so that when he drove through the farm at night, and saw every one of those foals had mud on his legs, he knew somebody was looking at each one of them, every single day. So many of his brilliant management ideas were not high-tech. They were just common sense. So we try to keep that going, in what we're doing every day.

“A sire of the quality of Into Mischief, with all the great mares he gets, he's going to have three colts win a Grade I in a given crop. But for all three to grow up in such close proximity? That's a rare thing.”

The post Taylors Gladly Making Mischief appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Who did Baffert have a moment with on an airplane? What is his favorite track? All of that and more in the Saratoga Conversation.

TDN: Growing up, did you ever, ever think that Bob Baffert was going to become a trainer of two Triple Crown winners and be the face of the sport?
Bob Baffert: Growing up in my little town of Nogales, Arizona, on the border, I never even thought about horse racing. I had no idea what I was going to do. I grew up on a ranch, riding horses with my dad. Loved animals, loved horses. We had cattle, chicken. We had everything, and I never even thought of it. I was in love with the Quarter Horses. I grew up watching Quarter Horse racing with my father. The first Thoroughbred race, Kentucky Derby race, I ever watched was in 1971 on television. Canonero II.

TDN: Did that hook you?
BB: It hooked me on watching the Derby. I had to watch the Derby and read about it. We would get the Tucson, Arizona paper. I would read it the next day, and it had three pages of different pictures of the start, the first turn, the backside, all the horses. Three full pages!

TDN: Boy, those days are gone.
BB: After that, I just made it a point to watch the Derby and sometimes the Preakness.

TDN: When did the light bulb turn on and you said, “I want to train Thoroughbreds?”
BB: It didn't go off until I met Mike Pegram. I was always intimidated by the Thoroughbreds. Growing up in Arizona, the Thoroughbreds they ran there weren't very good. I really didn't like Thoroughbreds; it was all about the Quarter Horses. Mike had bought a Thoroughbred and wanted to send it to me. Wayne Lukas had done the big jump, and I was watching him. I thought the only one that could do it was Wayne because he was fearless. When Mike asked me if I would think about it, I said I would give it a try. I still had a big Quarter Horse string, and I was doing well. I said I would give it three years.

TDN: And here you are. With all the horses you have trained, is there one that's your favorite?
BB: I've had a lot of favorites. Silver Charm. His pedigree was a little sketchy, but he was all racehorse. He would not let a horse pass him. He was probably the gutsiest horse that I had. But I have to say as a favorite, American Pharoah. He was just a machine. Silver Charm would do just enough in his races. American Pharoah was just so dynamic. He was such an athlete. His athleticism was just incredible.

TDN: I remember him being like a dog. He was so docile. You could wade him into crowds, and he wouldn't flinch.
BB: He wouldn't flinch because we put earplugs into him. Without earplugs, he was not that docile.

TDN: Really? I did not know that.
BB: I found that out after his first out. We ran him and he was a complete mess in the paddock. He was a mess going to the gate. Didn't run well. Turned out he was very sensitive to noise. A few days later we were walking to school him in the paddock, and all of a sudden, a guy turned on a tractor and when he heard the tractor noise, he freaked out. So, we put cotton in his ear, and he was great. I ran him one race with cotton in his ear and it didn't look cool. I got it from John Shirreffs, who put cotton in Zenyatta's ears. I didn't like the white cotton look on him, so I went on the internet and found some little sheepskin earplugs for $6.99. And for $6.99, I made a Triple Crown winner out of him. How about that?

TDN: I never knew that story. You have won two Triple Crowns. What else is there left for you to do?
BB: As long as I have the clientele and the good horses … I still love competing at the top level. That's what keeps me going. I love winning Breeders' Cup races. I love winning classics on the big days here in New York. You know, like winning the Met Mile, the Whitney, those big races. As long as I'm in the big arena, that's what I want to do. I really enjoy developing young horses.

TDN: What's the secret?
BB: The secret is that I just I enjoy it. I never take any vacations. I love what I do. I enjoy going to the barn in the morning. I just like the challenge. You know, it's a very challenging sport. I love when I get a horse that's not behaving or doing something. How can I get this horse and bring him to his full potential? The beauty about the Thoroughbred is that they are born to run. You have to teach them how to utilize their speed and keep them quiet and calm. I have a passion for it. Once this racing gets in your blood, there's no way out.

TDN: What is your favorite racetrack?
BB: I think Santa Anita is my favorite track. It's a beautiful track. I would say Santa Anita and Churchill Downs.

American Pharoah winning the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland | Coady

TDN: You're a California guy, even though you have spent a lot of time in Kentucky this year. In the summer, you are a Del Mar guy. What do you like about Saratoga when you come?
BB: I love the barn area. I love the atmosphere here with the trees. You know you just feel like you're in this wooded area. And the town… everyone talks about horse racing, like it was at the old Prescott Downs in Arizona.

TDN: When you are here or Churchill, or anywhere, you get recognized, right?
BB: Yes. If I'm here or Kentucky. I like the fact they love horses.  It's nice to be in an area where people love horse racing. They understand the sport. I've been through airports. I'm the horse guy. 'Aren't you the horse guy?' I've always tried to promote the sport as much as I can. I remember when Bill Mott brought Cigar to Del Mar (in 1996 for the Pacific Classic). I was like a little kid going, 'let's go watch Cigar train.' I was in awe. 'Wow! There's Bill Mott!' I thought if I would ever have a good horse, I would want to share him. Everyone wants to see a superstar up close.

TDN: I remember when you brought American Pharoah to Saratoga for the Travers. The day before the race, 20,000 people came out to see him gallop!
BB: It was crazy! I've never been so overwhelmed in my life.

TDN: He probably thought it was a race.
BB: He did think it was a race. I wish I could take that one back. He should have won that day (Keen Ice beat him in the Travers). It was a last-minute thing to come up here.

TDN: If you had one do-over, would that be the one?
BB: I would like two do-overs. Point Given in the (2001 Kentucky) Derby and Pharoah (in the Travers).

TDN: If you could have a half-hour to sit in a room with anyone from the history of horse racing and pick their brain, who would it be?
BB: I was with Charlie Whittingham. I picked his brain. He was the master. He could really get a horse to run off a year layoff. He could get a sprinter and make him go a mile and a quarter. He was stabled next to me, and I just watched him constantly. Another great horseman I learned a lot from was Ron McAnally. And Wayne (Lukas) was a really good horseman. Richard Mandella. Gary Jones, when he was training. I would watch everybody.

American Pharoah first time by in the Travers | Sarah Andrew

TDN: I ask this question to everybody: If there is a movie made about your life and you can pick the actor to play you, who you picking?
BB: It depends on what age. There was a guy who wanted to do a movie about me, and I go, 'Well, who is going to play me?' He told me Matt Damon. I said, 'no way.' No Matt Damon. Back in the day, Steve Martin, right? (laughs). Let's go with Tom Cruise.

TDN: Ok. We'll go with that. How about this. You can have dinner with three people, living or dead. Who are they?
BB: Muhammad Ali. I met him one time and I was starstruck. Speechless. I saw him on a plane one time. I was taking a puddle jumper with Jill (his wife) from Cincinnati into Louisville. We barely made the connection, and I was in the fourth row and putting my stuff (in the overhead compartment) and there was a guy with a suitcase and he's ruffling through his things. And I go, 'Excuse me sir. I think you're in my seat.' And his head comes up and it's Muhammad Ali. I see two empty seats in the front, and I said, 'oh, I believe those are my seats up front!' Everyone started laughing.

TDN: Did he laugh?
BB: No, he didn't say anything. I also met him in the paddock (at Churchill Downs) and I had a longshot, didn't have a chance. Someone said, 'hey Bob, we want you to meet someone' and I turned around, and it was Muhammad Ali. I went to shake his hand, and he says, 'are you ready to rumble?' And I said 'Nooo!” It was really cool to meet one of your idols.

TDN: Who are the other two dinner guests?
BB: Charles Barkley, Love Charles Barkley, I never met him but there is just something about him. And Nick Saban. I got to meet him, just briefly. I was nervous and starstruck. I met him at the Rose Bowl this year. And Joe Torre. I have been to dinner with him.

TDN: That's four. Ok. We'll give you four.
BB: People like that; they have been at the top and people just try to tear them down.

TDN: You've gone through that.
BB: You see these people – like Tom Brady – and how did they handle it? I really thought when I got into the Hall of Fame (2009), they would ease up on me, but they didn't. (laughs).

TDN: You have thick skin.
BB: I do. And I don't hold grudges. One thing you have to learn is how to lose in this game because you lose so much. To me, once it says 'official' on the board, it's over. You lose. You take it. You have to have a stomach for it. If you get beat, once you lose, you move on with your life. Don't ever look back. Bob Lewis, one of the greatest owners of all time told me that. One time I was crying and moaning about something, and he says, 'Robert' – he always called me Robert – 'it's water under the bridge. Don't look back. Always look forward.'

TDN: Last question. You have five open stalls in your barn, and you can put five horses from history in them but none of them are yours. Who do you pick?
BB: Secretariat. What a machine he was. Seattle Slew. Ruffian was unbelievable. It's tough. Oh, Spectacular Bid. He was just a freak. And Candy Ride. He was an unbelievable racehorse.

The post The Saratoga Conversation: Bob Baffert appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Monday, August 17, 2026
Ellis 3, Moc, $53k, 2yo, f, (R), 1mT, 1:48 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Practical Patsy (Practical Joke)-AE, OBSAPR, 40,000 PS, :10 1/5
C-Hoppel LLC, agent; B-Joe Sharp, agent

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 17, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Sunday, August 16, 2026
Ellis 4, $100k, 2yo, f, 1mT, 12:15 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Candy Pancakes (Twirling Candy), FTMMAY, 190,000, G
C-Julie Davies LLC, agent; B-Clay Scherer, agent

Madam Joker (Practical Joke)-AE, OBSJUN, 90,000, :21
C-Adios Amigos; B-Cumberland Stable

Saratoga 4, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 3:03 p.m. ET
No Law (Keepmeinmind), FTMMAY, 5,000, G
C-Pick View LLC, agent; B-Robert Leaf III

Roughkin (Girvin)-MTO, FTMMAY, 140,000, G
C-SBM Training & Sales, agent; B-Taproot for Team Penney

Saratoga 6, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 4:17 p.m. ET
Amplified (Happy Saver), OBSMAR, 350,000, :10
C-Scanlon Training & Sales, agent; B-MyRacehorse.com

E Z Speaker (Speaker's Corner), FTMMAY, 650,000, G
C-Randy Miles, agent; B-Breeze Easy LLC

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 16, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Real Restraint (Authentic) is a homebred half-brother to recent GII Caress Stakes heroine Movin' On Up (Accelerate) and was produced by a half-sister to Grade III winner and Classic-placed Gosger (Nyquist) and Harvey's Lil Goil (American Pharoah), victorious in the GI QE II Challenge Cup on the turf and a stakes winner and Grade I-placed on the dirt. Third dam Arch's Gal Edith (Arch) bred dual Classic winner and champion 3-year-old male I'll Have Another (Flower Alley) and MGSW Golden Award (Medaglia d'Oro).

Culpable (Street Sense), a half-brother to last year's GII Pilgrim Stakes third Let's Be Frank (Liam's Map), is a son of Proudly (Kor), a full-sister to GI Kentucky Oaks winner Serengeti Empress (Alternation), herself the dam of the stakes-placed and $1.2-million Keeneland September yearling Invictus (Into Mischief). TJCIS PPs

6th-SAR, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 4:17 p.m. ET
PERMANENT RECORD (GB) (New Bay {GB}), a 10th U.S. runner for his Ballylinch Stud-based stallion, was purchased by Oceanic Bloodstock for 180,000gns ($252,327) on behalf of Seth Klarman's Klaravich Stables out of last year's Tattersalls October Sale and will have to overcome a high draw on debut. The Feb. 23 foal is the first produce from the winning Electress (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), whose dam Just the Judge (Ire) (Lawman {Fr}) won the 2013 G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and took the GI E.P. Taylor Stakes before finishing third in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf the following season. Just the Judge is the granddam of Venetian Lace (Ire) (Masar {Ire}), runner-up in the G1 Fillies' Mile last term and a longshot third in this year's G1 English 1000 Guineas.

E Z Speaker (Speaker's Corner) sold for $45,000 at the 2025 Fasig-Tipton February Sale and made for a nice pinhook when changing hands for $185,000 at Keeneland September. The May 16 foal, a half-brother to SW Real Macho (Mucho Macho Man) and GSP One Nine Hundred (Dialed In), was most recently knocked down to Breeze Easy for $650,000 at this year's OBS March Sale (see Summer Breezes). TJCIS PPs

The post Sunday Insights: Justify Firster Should Take Some Beating at the Spa appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

The alleged offense is interesting for two reasons. There's the broader context of Quiroz's sudden rich run of success after a relatively quiet year. Then there are the nuances regarding the use of Albuterol under the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU).

Albuterol is a bronchodilator, meaning it's designed to clear the airway, helping horses breathe easier.

While the drug is banned when injected, it's permitted for use as an inhaled drug, just as long as it's prescribed by a veterinarian as part of a valid veterinarian-patient-client relationship as a bronchodilator. Furthermore, this administration must be recorded in the HISA Portal.

Quiroz is charged with administering non-inhalation Albuterol. The maximum penalty associated with a banned substance positive from a vet's list sample would be a two-year suspension and $25,000 fine.

So, let's get into some of the weeds.

“Samples are taken at a snapshot in time. Concentrations of substances in a biological sample may provide some insight into the proximity in which it was administered,” wrote HIWU spokesperson, Alexa Ravit, in an email.

But currently, there's no way to distinguish in a blood or urine sample the route of the Albuterol administration–in other words, whether it was injected or given through a nebulizer or inhaler–explained Ravit.

“It's one of the drugs we always end up having a discussion about in any hearing,” said Cindy Cole, former director of The Racing Laboratory at the University of Florida. “If the trainer gave a typical dose intravenously, what would the concentration be X number of hours later.”

This distinction, however, might not necessarily matter.

If there are no veterinary records of prescribed albuterol administration via inhalation (the only permitted way the drug can be given), HIWU first assumes the substance was administered via a different route, Ravit explained.

So, what can sample concentrations potentially tell us?

Albuterol, Cole explained, is not especially well absorbed into the horse's system following inhaled administration.

Indeed, this study found a bioavailability of only 19%, “which means that only 19% of the dose administered via inhalation is actually absorbed into the horse's system,” she said.

While Albuterol is detectable following inhalation, concentrations of the drug in the blood or urine are much higher after an intravenous injection, even when a lesser dose is administered, Cole explained.

Why?

“One of the reasons that we really don't do a lot of nebulization anymore is it's not a very effective way to administer drugs to the horse,” explained Cole.

“The horse has this very long trachea, and it's just really hard to get these relatively large water droplets all the way down into the alveoli [little air sacks in the lungs] or into the lower airways,” she added.

Given intravenously, “it will diffuse from the blood into the muscle of the airway,” Cole explained.

Just because a sample came back with a high concentration of Albuterol, however, it doesn't necessarily mean the drug was administered via injection.

“You can't prove a negative, right?” said Cole. “It just means that if you gave a higher dose and nebulized the horse for longer–maybe you used a newer, better functioning nebulizer–you could possibly get enough in there to detect.”

As a beta-2 adrenergic agonist, Albuterol is, like Clenbuterol, understood by many to have the ability to help build muscle and improve overall condition.

“It could possibly have those effects,” said Cole, before adding how “it's one of the few drugs that I ever gave a horse that concerned me.”

Cole shared an anecdote from her days as a researcher at UC Davis, when she was part of a team that administered a subcutaneous injection of Albuterol to horses.

“I didn't give a big dose. But the horses get panicky because their heart rate goes up. They start sweating. They start muscle trembling. Then they freak out because they're like, 'what's going on?'” said Cole.

“It was one of the few times I was like, 'we may have to sedate her,'” said Cole.

Clenbuterol is also subject to the same regulations as Albuterol. In addition, however, the horse is placed on the Vets' List for at least 21 days post Clenbuterol administration and must pass Vets' List testing, during which blood and urine samples will be collected.

According to Rick Arthur, the former equine medical director of the California Horse Racing Board, he once caught a Quarter Horse trainer who tried to administer a cocktail of both Albuterol and Clenbuterol.

“We had one trainer that we actually found where he'd mixed Albuterol and Clenbuterol together in the same bottle,” Arthur recalled. “He was administering it orally.”

The post Albuterol: An Explainer appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Saturday, August 15, 2026
3rd-CKO, ¥14,880,000 ($93k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1200mT
PIKO KING (c, 2, Nashville–Miss Vigilance, by War Pass) was sold for $15,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July Sale, but improved nicely to fetch $110,000 from this trainer after he breezed an eighth of a mile in :9 4/5 at this year's OBS March Sale. The first Japanese starter for his first-crop sire (by Speightstown), the Apr. 10 foal is out of an unplaced half-sister to Grade I-winning turfer Man From Wicklow (Turkoman) and four-time graded winner Wild Heart Dancing (Farma Way), herself the dam of two stakes horses, including the three-times stakes-placed Leopard Rock (Speightstown). Miss Vigilance was acquired for $7,000 with this colt in utero at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale. O-BIJOUPIKO Co Ltd; B-Equus Farm (KY); T-Hideyuki Mori

Sunday, August 16, 2026
2nd-CKO, ¥14,880,000 ($93k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400m
JOLT'INI (f, 2, Life Is Good–Joyful Addiction, by Munnings) is the second foal to the races out of an unraced daughter of GI Vanity Stakes heroine My Sweet Addiction (Tiznow) and cost this owner $275,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale. Joyful Addiction is a maternal granddaughter of Healthy Addiction (Boston Harbor), winner of the GI Santa Margarita Handicap during her racing days. Freshman Life Is Good (by Into Mischief) is already off the mark in Japan with the debut-winning Lizhitsumodoraichi. The visiting Jason Collett has the riding assignment. O-Yuki Hashimoto; B-Siena Farms LLC (KY); T-Katsunori Tanaka

IVY CHRONOS (c, 2, Drain the Clock–Tomato Bisque, by Macho Uno) made a couple of trips through the Keeneland sales pavilion, realizing $70,000 at the 2024 November Sale before hammering for twice that amount at last year's September Sale. He was sold on for $250,000 at OBS March Sale after going a furlong in :10 1/5. From the well-received first crop of his sire (by Maclean's Music), the gray is out of an own sister to GII West Virginia Derby winner Macho Macho and the female family includes GI Shoemaker Mile hero Designed For Luck (Rahy). O-Ishizaka Shigeru Rabo Co Ltd; B-Pony Express Sales Inc (KY); T-Koji Maki

PIKO JACK (c, 2, Jack Christopher–Girl With a Dream, by Practical Joke) is the first foal from his dam, winner of the 2022 GIII Forward Gal Stakes for Jim Bakke and Gerald Isbister–who campaigned this freshman sire (by Munnings) in partnership–and trainer Brad Cox. A $60,000 KEESEP graduate, this Feb. 24 foal was another of this trainer's nine OBSMAR purchases when hammering for $150,000 after a :9 4/5 breeze. The mare is the dam of a yearling full-sister to Piko Jack and produced another filly this term after selling to Japanese interests for $260,000 at Keeneland November last fall. O-BIJOUPIKO Co Ltd; B-Bakster Farms (KY); T-Hideyuki Mori

The post Freshmen Sires To The Fore In Japan appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Saturday, August 15, 2026
Saratoga 2, $115k, Msw, 2yo, (S), 6f, 1:03 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Mindfield (Mind Control), OBSAPR, 700,000, :9 3/5
C-Grassroots Training & Sales, agent; B-Justin Casse

Santis (Epicenter), OBSAPR, 305,000, :10 1/5
C-Sequel Bloodstock, agent; B-Mike Maker

Saratoga 3, $115k, Msw, 2yo, (S), 6f, 1:36 p.m. ET
Nystateofmind (Solomini), OBSAPR, 120,000, :10 1/5
C-McMahon of Saratoga TBs, agent; B-West Point & J Politano

Ellis 4, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 2:16 p.m. ET
Mystic Ruler (Mystic Guide), FTMMAY, 80,000, G
C-Grade I Investments, agent; B-Michael Maker

Social Deception (Charlatan)-AE, FTMMAY, 260,000, G
C-Randy Miles, agent; B-L & N Racing & 4 Sons Stables

Wyguy (Olympiad), OBSMAR, 90,000, :10 1/5
C-GOP Racing Stable Corp, agent; B-Scotty Robin

Saratoga 6, $115k, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 3:17 p.m. ET
Clock (Drain the Clock), OBSAPR, 200,000, :10 1/5
C-Rodrigues Thoroughbreds, agent; B-Eclipse TB Partners

Oneinamilliongirl (Audible), FTMMAY, 600,000, G
C-Randy Miles, agent; B-West Point TB, L E B, agent

V Formation (Drain the Clock), OBSAPR, 400,000, :9 4/5
C-Wavertree Stables Inc (C Dunne), agt; B-Legion Bloodstock, agent for Front Page Equestrian

Saratoga 8, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 4:29 p.m. ET
Farsideofthemoon (Life Is Good), OBSAPR, 450,000, :10
C-Britton Peak, agent; B-Amanda Gillman, agent

Del Mar 7, $80k, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 8:00 p.m. ET
Domenici (Early Voting), OBSAPR, 350,000, :10
C-Julie Davies LLC, agent; B-P & L Amestoy & R Beasley

Inshallah (Flightline), FTMMAY, 2,100,000, G
C-Sequel, agent for Chester Broman; B-P Lanz, agent KAS Stables

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 15, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

“The first time I saw him was in a video of him breezing on dirt that Sequel posted on X,” KAS Stable's Pedro Lanz said after purchasing the colt. “He is a very nice mover. He is a beautiful, balanced horse with a good hip and shoulder and a nice walk. He is out of a Breeders' Cup champion mare. And then there is all the hype with Flightline. I think the hype is real.”

“His father is maybe one of the best racehorses of all time, the Secretariat of our generation.”

Pedro Lanz (@2yovar), agent for KAS Stables, purchased a first-crop son of Flightline out of Breeders' Cup winner Bar of Gold for $2,100,000. pic.twitter.com/XdQA31ijwK

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) May 18, 2026

Rail-drawn Emancipate (Uncle Mo) is no pedigree slouch either for Bob Baffert , being a homebred son of GISW Marley's Freedom. That mare, purchased by Cicero Farms as a yearling for just $35,000 in 2015, is the dam of another GISW in Hope Road (Quality Road).

Mike McCarthy brings out Articulation (Quality Road), a $725,000 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Yearling for Eclipse Thoroughbreds, Bridlewood Farm and Robert LaPenta who enters off a best-of-106 bullet Aug. 8 (four furlongs from the gate in :47). TJCIS PPS

6th-SAR, 115K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 3:17 p.m.
Two-time Eclipse winner and 'TDN Rising Star' Malathaat has her first foal to the track Saturday in Tumoohaat (Into Mischief). Purchased by Shadwell as a yearling for $1.05 million in 2019, Malathaat banked over $3.7 million in a career which saw her win both the GI Breeders' Distaff and the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks. Being a 'Rising Star' is a family affair as Malathaat's full-sister Dreaming of Julia, along with her dam Dreaming of Julia, have all received the honor.

To win, this filly will have to defeat a stacked field including $400,000 OBS April grad V Formation (Drain the Clock), the Into Mischief half-sister to SW/GISP Publisher (American Pharoah) in Libby Lloyd, $600,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic buy Oneinamilliongirl (Audible), Godolphin homebred Free Verse (Justify) out of GISW Dickinson, and Summer Wind Equine homebred Groves (Flightline). TJCIS PPS

Q B Rocket schools at Saratoga | Sarah Andrew

8th-SAR, 100K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 4:29 p.m.
Spendthrift Farm picked up Q B Rocket (Gun Runner) for $1.9 million at Keeneland September and partnered with Frank Fletcher Racing on the colt who out of a half to MGISP Top Decile (Congrats), a mare who produced Japan's 2024 champion 3-year-old colt, Danon Decile (Jpn) (Epiphaneia {Jpn}).

Other notables in the field include a pair of Life Is Good colts in Card Man and $450,000 OBS April grad Farsideofthemoon, a $900,000 son of GISW Tara's Tango in Dallas Star (Flightline) and the $1-million Not This Time half-brother to GSW Owen Almighty, Damavand for AMO Racing. TJCIS PPS

2nd-DMR, 80K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 5:34 p.m.
Eclipse Thoroughbreds, in partnership with Bridlewood Farm, Robert LaPenta and Warren, also bring in Itinerary (Quality Road) on the turf. A $600,000 Keeneland September yearling, he is the first foal out of a half-sister to GSW Purely Hot (Pure Prize), herself the dam of GISW British Isles (Justify) and GISW Eight Rings (Empire Maker). TJCIS PPS

2nd-SAR, 115K, Msw, 2yo, (S), 6f, 1:03 p.m.
Early in the card, New York-bred Mindfield (Mind Control), a $700,000 OBS April pick up for John Oxley, enters off a bullet work Aug. 2 (five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 {1/25}) for Mark Casse. Freshman sire Mind Control (by Stay Thirsty) has three winners to date from his first 2-year-olds. TJCIS PPS

4th-ELP, 100K, Msw, 2yo, 1mT, 12:15 p.m.
On the grass in Kentucky, $625,000 Keeneland September yearling Market Closed (Not This Time) for Gold Standard Racing will take on Godolphin homebred Bold Speaker (Speaker's Corner), out of a stakes-placed half-sister to GISW Grace Hall (Empire Maker) and G1SP Wren's Day (Medaglia d'Oro). TJCIS PPS

The post Saturday Insights: $2.1-Million Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Topper Unveiled At Del Mar appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Friday, August 14, 2026
Saratoga 2, $90k, Msw, 2yo, f, (R), 5.5fT, 1:44 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Early Autumn (Violence), OBSAPR, 65,000, :21 2/5
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-Main Line Rcg, EQB, P Miller, agt

White Star (Mind Control), OBSAPR, 30,000 PS, :10
C-Best A Luck Farm LLC, agent; B-F Abreu, agt Lowwood Farm

Ellis 3, $90k, Moc, 2yo, f, 1mT, 1:48 p.m.
Practical Patsy (Practical Joke)-AE,  OBSAPR, 40,000, :10 1/5
C-Hoppel LLC, agent; B-Joe Sharp, agent

Saratoga 6, $115k, 2yo, f, 1 1/16mT, 4:00 p.m. ET
Whatever It Takes (American Pharoah), FTMMAY, 200,000, G
C-Scanlon Training & Sales, agent;B-Amanda Gillman, agent for EGL-One and Lucky Hat

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 14, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

“It was my husband's dream to start a horse farm in Saratoga,” said Kristen Esler. “We had businesses at the track for many years. We love New York. We love Saratoga. He found this piece of property and we both fell in love.”

Since then, Thirty Year Farm has doubled in size and is still growing, with construction on a new training, sales prep and rehoming division underway this summer. The Eslers are focused on building a business that is sustainable, and by taking advantage of what the New York breeding program has to offer, they are working to create something that their children and grandchildren can enjoy one day.

Thirty Year Farm was represented by its first Grade I horse last year with Usha (Tiz the Law), who they sold at the 2023 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Sale. The winner of the 2025 GI La Brea Stakes was third in last week's Johnstone Stakes at Saratoga. Other New York-bred stakes horses representing the farm's breeding program include this year's Suzie O'Cain Stakes winner Cosmic Candy Girl (Twirling Candy), as well as Brocknardini (Palace Malice) and Charlotte's Heart (Authentic).

As owners, the Eslers have celebrated success with New York-bred sales purchases including Mommy's Turn (Mendelssohn), a filly they co-own with Team Hanley who won last year's Suzie O'Cain Stakes, and Material Girl (Central Banker), who they raced with the same partnership and was second in a New York Stallion Series Stakes in 2024.

“We've learned to understand how the New York-bred program really feeds back into so many aspects of this business for us,” Esler explained. “It's not just the great purses in New York, but the breeder awards, owner awards and stallion awards. When those checks come in on a quarterly basis, it's like a Christmas present. They really make a difference. We have continued to expand into more of that program by breeding mares to New York sires and keeping our own homebreds to race here.”

Najja Thompson, the Executive Director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders, said breeding in the state has seen steady growth since he came on in 2020. The NYS Breeding Fund registrar reported 1,102 foals through June 1, representing a 2%  increase compared to 2025 and marking the third consecutive annual increase in New York.

“It's a credit to our breeders, as well as our partnerships with NYRA, the New York Breeding Fund, NYTHA and Finger Lakes, that our foal crop has increased every year,” he said.  “We've developed a program that is all-encompassing and beneficial for all participants. We've seen the rise in purse money, incentives and awards, and a strong breeding program that supports participation. We have over $60 million that is distributed annually to breeders and owners of New York-breds.”

Thompson said one of the biggest advantages for breeders is the structured awards. Progeny sired by a New York-based stallion receive twice as much in awards as progeny of stallions based outside the state. Last year, over $12 million was distributed in breeders awards.

For owners, as of this year New York-bred overnight races for 2-year-olds match purse money for open company horses. Starting in 2027, the prize money available for all New York-bred overnight races on the NYRA circuit will match their open-company counterparts. In addition, a $5,000 bonus is awarded each time a New York-sired, New York-bred wins at the maiden special weight or allowance levels at NYRA tracks.

New York-breds collected over $89 million in earnings worldwide in 2025 | Sarah Andrew

“When I'm out talking to breeders and owners of New York-breds, everybody sees this as the opportune time to participate in our program,” Thompson said. “Some people may identify New York as a regional market. I think we're more than that. New York-breds are winning and competing on all levels. Our horses are winning Grade I races and winning in open company racing. So whether you're going to consider New York a regional or a national program, we certainly picture ourselves as top-tier competition.”

In 2025, New York-breds collected over $89 million in earnings worldwide. Among eight graded stakes winners, Usha, Rhetorical (Not This Time), Iron Orchard (Authentic) and Spirit of St Louis (Medaglia d'Oro) earned Grade I scores.

At Thirty Year Farm, Esler noted how racing and breeding in New York has benefitted their operation beyond the purses and incentives.

“Running in New York-bred races helps with things like horses being able to win earlier against their own competition and with getting some blacktype, which increases resale value and helps those families grow,” she said. “There is also so much support around us, with Rood and Riddle, some other hospitals in New York if we really need them and the Cornell Cooperative, which will test our soil yearly for us. New York has invested in agriculture and there are some tax savings available.”

Primarily a commercial breeding operation, Thirty Year Farm has made the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale one of the anchors of their sales calendar. Last year, they sold one of the top five highest-priced yearlings of the auction when a Street Sense filly out of Evening Primrose (Ire) (Galileo) sold for $400,000.

Kristen and Matt Esler at Thirty Year Farm | Ashley Nizolek

“She brought numbers that I was really thrilled with and didn't necessarily expect,” said Esler. “At the New York-Bred Sale, they just seem to keeping stepping it up. There are pros and cons of selling in your own backyard. The nervousness that comes with it can create sleepless nights for me, but it's Saratoga. It's our home. We don't have to ship the horses off. We love selling them in our backyard.”

At the upcoming New York-Bred Sale, which takes place Aug. 16 and 17, Thirty Year Farm will offer four yearlings: a Flightline half-brother to graded stakes winners Cugino (Twirling Candy) and Battle of Normandy (City of Light), an Oscar Performance half-sister to Grade II winner Ete Indien (Summer Front), an Arabian Lion filly out of stakes winner Heavenly Score (Even the Score) and a filly from the family of Usha by Americanrevolution, who stands in New York at Rockridge Stud and is represented by his first crop of yearlings this year.

Esler said they have placed an emphasis on sending mares to stallions based in their home state, taking advantage of the additional awards for horses by New York-based stallions.

As Esler sees it, Thirty Year Farm's future is firmly rooted in New York

“New York is obviously invested,” she said. “They're building the new Belmont and it's going to be gorgeous. I can't wait to see it. I feel like we're in the right place because I think that New York really is backing racing.”

The post Regional Reach, presented by Fasig-Tipton: “New York Is Backing Racing” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Vendetta (Curlin) is another homebred ready for action. Ft. Worth's own Ramona Bass watched the filly's dam Avenge (War Front) bring home consecutive editions of the GI Rodeo Drive Stakes for Richard Mandella who also trains Vendetta. A producer of two graded stakes placed runners–Venganza (Curlin) & Medici (Into Mischief)–Avenge is a full-sister to MGSW Liguria and a half-sister to MSW Lira (Giant's Causeway). TJCIS PPS

6th-SAR, $115K, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 4:00 p.m. ET.
Owner Peter Brant and trainer Chad Brown tasted Grade I glory when the ultra-consistent Blowout (GB) (Dansili {GB}) won the First Lady at Keeneland in 2021. Her second foal Baliage (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) seems poised to keep the turf bloodline intact under Brown's tutelage. Of note, the homebred's second dam is French Group 1 winner Beauty Parlour (GB) (Deep Impact {Jpn}).

Gainesway Stable bred May December (McKinzie), who was purchased by Helen Alexander for $375,000 during Keeneland September. After the farm stayed in for a piece, the filly was sent to trainer Bill Mott. Concerning her affinity for grass, the first-time starter is a half-sister to GSW Noble Beauty (Kitten's Joy) and MSW Adorable Miss (Kitten's Joy). The latter is the dam of GSW Battle of Normandy and GSW Cugino (Twirling Candy). TJCIS PPS

The post Friday Racing Insights: Homebred Turf Bloodlines On Display From The Spa To The Seaside Oval appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

During his lifetime, some of us risked vexing the most self-effacing of trainers by suggesting that those preceding him to the Hall of Fame would consider the distinction devalued until also shared by John Shirreffs. Others, no doubt, felt equally impatient on behalf of Christophe Clement. In the event, however, their induction was poignantly entrusted to their respective widows.

But we're all human and diffidence about demonstrating affection, while we can, is a very human failing. Often, indeed, we transfer its expression to our animals instead. That being so, then at least I can comfort myself that I publicly declared a love of Girvin, as well!

What heartbreak must be overwhelming the farm that just lost this horse, out of nowhere at 12, on the very brink of stardom. Those who know its president and general manager will be certain that they will soon discover another to extend Airdrie's long record in developing impactful stallions. That's because the professional attributes required, to keep doing that, are in their case underpinned by something baked into Airdrie by its late founder: namely, exceptional character. Gentlemen, you will bounce back!

As it happens, Girvin was on such a roll that Airdrie–who stood him in partnership with Brad Grady–had actually released the brakes it tends to apply to its roster. Most farms that give you a chance on fees expect you to tolerate catalogue inundation in return, but this one has tried longer than most to control books as well. That's a difficult balancing act, in this day and age. But the exception evidently made for Girvin, this spring, does at least mean that his legacy will continue to grow over the years ahead.

If his posthumous crops maintain the momentum of his current juveniles, the first conceived after his switch from Florida, then his loss will come to seem still more grievous.

Girvin after winning the GI Haskell Stakes with Robby Albarado aboard, who sadly passed away himself Aug. 4 | Sarah Andrew

Unsurprisingly, the midsummer table of leading juvenile sires is dominated by freshmen, whose frantic bid to seize their moment depends on precocious action. As noted last week, nobody sensible will be impressed by mere aggregate, without the context of ratios, but Girvin's first Kentucky crop is holding its own by any measure. The only stallion with more juvenile winners to date (13) has already fielded 41 starters; Girvin's 10 come from 24, and already include two stakes scorers.

Back in his own rookie season, of course, Girvin showed the Kentucky upstarts how to launch a stud career with a crop sired at Ocala Stud at just $7,500. Its graduates included Grade I winners Faiza and Dorth Vader, besides dual Grade II winner Damon's Mound, earning their sire a transfer in 2023 from one exemplary family firm to another.

Girvin's second Kentucky-bred stakes winner, following 15 cheaply conceived by Florida mares, landed a dirt sprint at Delaware just a day after the news of his death. (In fact, Girvin left us four winners over the weekend.)

Tatters was retained by Dorothy Alexander Matz at $22,000 when offered as a weanling, but actually has a pedigree commensurate with that of his breeder. (Which is, of course, saying plenty.) Tatters is the first foal of an unraced Arrogate half-sister to Tequiltia (Union Rags), trained (like Tatters) by her breeder's husband to win three graded stakes. Their dam, GII Chilukki Stakes winner Sangrita (Mr. Greeley), was a sibling to Offlee Wild and also to the dam of two Group winners in Europe. But even that is only the tip of the iceberg, because the next dam was a Seattle Slew half-sister to none other than Dynaformer.

Dynaformer, though carrying royal Darby Dan blood, had to earn his stripes from $5,000 before reaching $150,000. It did look very much as though Girvin was at least going to echo that inheritance. There will surely be a scramble for his remaining stock. One of his daughters made the second highest price at the Fasig-Tipton July Sale, while another brought $650,000 at Saratoga on Monday. A bit like the Hall of Fame, better late than never.

HUGHES COULD STRETCH OUT

Obviously Girvin was unlikely to follow quite as steep a curve as Into Mischief. But it's worth noting that we would never have had the champion sire if his dam hadn't visited Airdrie.

The first stakes winner in Into Mischief's latest crop of juveniles, runaway GIII Best Pal winner Hughes, also has a tangential connection to Girvin's latest stakes winner in that he is out of a mare by Union Rags, who was trained by Michael Matz.

Hughes | Benoit

Her name was K P Dreamin, and she was actually twice Grade I-placed as a juvenile. Those were admittedly somewhat “catalogue” distinctions: on both occasions she was third of five, in one case beaten a dozen lengths. But she was out of a sister to GI Pacific Classic winner Go Between (Point Given), from a family of classy turf performers branded by the international influence Yellow God (GB)–starting with the next dam Mediator (Ire), Group/graded-placed both sides of the water.

She was by Caerleon, whose sire Nijinsky also gave us the granddam of Union Rags. That underpins the stamina brands behind each of the first three dams of Hughes, each being by a Classic winner over 12 furlongs: Union Rags and Point Given in the Belmont, Caerleon in the Epsom Derby.

That augurs well for Hughes becoming the latest son of Into Mischief, since the upgrading of his mares, to stretch out his speed–rather better, certainly, than might be surmised from his frontrunning blitz over six at the weekend.

MOMENTUM FOR CORNICHE

Airdrie was also where Uncle Mo was conceived: yet another credit to the legacy of Governor Jones, sometimes out of left-field.

Corniche | Sarah Andrew

As will be true of Girvin, Uncle Mo bequeathed a bumper final crop. Some of its 156 live foals are now reaching the yearling sales, but meanwhile his penultimate crop has produced a promising talent for the same trainer as Hughes: Ellis Park Juvenile Stakes winner Salahudin, whose third dam is none other than Weekend Surprise (Secretariat).

Yet another Bob Baffert debut winner to follow up in stakes company at the weekend, GIII Sorrento Stakes scorer Holmby (Corniche), reminds us that he first made his name with relatively cheap horses.

Holmby changed hands for just $28,000 as a weanling before being picked out for Talla Racing by Kim Lloyd for $55,000 at Fasig-Tipton the following July. She had been in utero when her dam Candida H. (Lemon Drop Kid) was bought by Brad Boyer for $35,000 at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale. That modest price reflected a quiet start to her breeding career, as she's a stakes winner out of a full-sister to Include–yet another wholesome Airdrie brand.

Holmby is the first graded stakes winner this year by a freshman. As the first with a second black-type winner, too, Corniche is certainly coping manfully with the burden of gold on our “Value Podium” for his price bracket last winter.

SMART WORK AT THE DOUBLE

Another Lemon Drop Kid mare, Iadoreakid, is responsible for the winner of GII National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame Stakes, Bottas (Vekoma)–a very apt winner, too, from the Clement barn.

Bottas | Sarah Andrew

Iadoreakid has already produced Parenting (Justify) to win all three of his starts, including a stakes, having herself won her only race for breeder Sam-Son Farm. She was subsequently culled, representing as she did a family much in evidence in their broodmare band: her fourth dam is matriarch Classy 'n Smart (Smarten).

But it remains one into which any breeder would be grateful to tap, as evinced by the other graded stakes winner on the same card. For GII Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Oaks winner Kentucky Belle (Justify) represents another fertile intervention in this clan by the sire of Parenting. Her third dam is Classy 'n Smart's champion daughter by Danzig, Dance Smartly. A good day's work for an evergreen dynasty.

The post Breeding Digest: A Dream In Tatters appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Wednesday, August 12, 2026
Saratoga 6, $90k, Msw, 2yo, f, (R), 5.5fT, 4:04 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Bankthemoneyhoney (Central Banker), FTMMAY, 65,000, G
C-Julie Davies LLC, agent; B-Red Storm Stable Inc

Bourbon Mojo (Volatile), FTMMAY, 50,000, G
C-Randy Miles, agent; B-Begg Racing, agent for Section F

Early Autumn (Violence)-AE, OBSAPR, 65,000, :21 2/5
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-Main Line Racing, EQB/P Miller, agt

Instant Stardom (Into Mischief), FTMMAY, 50,000, G
C-Kings Equine, agent; B-Rudy Rodriguez

Mi Gordita (Tale of Silence), OBSMAR, 49,000 PS, :10
C-Hoppel LLC, agent; B-Fernando Abreu

Tappin Magic (Tacitus), OBSAPR, 50,000, :10 2/5
C-de Meric Sales, agent; B-Ed Barker, agent for Al Sirica

Yolo Train (Jack Christopher), OBSAPR, 65,000, :10
C-Lucan Bloodstock (K Keegan), agent; B-Steven W Young, agent

Saratoga 7, $115k, Msw, 2yo, f, (S), 6f, 4:38 p.m.
Baby Beth (Olympiad), FTMMAY, 100,000, G
C-Grassroots Training & Sales, agent; B-Colt Pike, agent

Chic in Motion (Mo Donegal)-AE, OBSAPR, 45,000, :10 3/5
C-Little Farm Equine LLC, agent; B-Mary K Thomas

Cyber Baby (Cyberknife), OBSMAR, 100,000, :10 1/5
C-Niall Brennan Stables, agent; B-McMahon/Hill Bloodstock, agt

Davidson (American Pharoah), OBSMAR, 385,000, :10
C-Sequel Bloodstock, agent; B-Bradley Thoroughbreds LLC, agt

Hidden Melody (Nashville)-AE, OBSAPR, 40,000, :10 2/5
C-Pick View LLC, agent; B-Mary K Thomas

She's Fast Money (Central Banker), FTMMAY, 50,000, G
C-Grade One Investments, agent; B-Taproot Bloodstock, agent

Under the Moon (Greatest Honour), FTMMAY, 45,000, G
C-J Navas Equine Svcs, agent; B-Kim Valerio, agt Mainline Racing

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 12, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Royal Pearl (Mandaloun), a $425,000 Keeneland September grad for Mike Rutherford, is out of a winning Indian Charlie half-sister to champion sprinter Midnight Lute (Real Quiet).

And it wouldn't be a Del Mar 2-year-old race without a Bob Baffert runner as Miss Monica (Early Voting), an $850,000 OBS April purchase for Three Amigos, also put up a strong work July 24 (five furlongs in :59 4/5 {3/58}). TJCIS PPS

1st-SAR, 115K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 6f, 1:10 p.m.
The half-sister to GISW Obligatory (Curlin), Juddmonte homebred Episodic (Uncle Mo), drew outside for her Saratoga unveiling Sunday for trainer Bill Mott. Stakes-winning first dam Uno Duo, herself a half to G1SW Etoile Montante (Miswaki), has also produced GSP Treble Clef (Arrogate) and Napier (Midnight Lute), a mare who became the dam of MGISP Ferocious (Flatter). TJCIS PPS

2nd-ELP, 100K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:19 p.m.
Douglas Scharbauer spent $675,000 on I'mgunningforyou (Gun Runner) as a Keeneland September Yearling last fall. The full-sister to SW Guns Loaded is a daughter of MGSP Sky My Sky and posted a two-back bullet July 23 (four furlongs in :48 flat {1/25}) for trainer Brad Cox.

Kirk and Judy Robison homebred Lead by Example (Jackie's Warrior) draw inside for Steve Asmussen, all the same connections who campaigned her champion sire. She is a half-sister to GSW/MGISP Skinner (Curlin). TJCIS PPS

The post Sunday Insights: Daughter Of Champion Vequist Headlines Racing appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Sunday, August 9, 2026
Ellis 1, $100k, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 12:50 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
April Fools (Charlatan), OBSJUN, 190,000, :10 1/5
C-Fabian Sales LLC; B-D J Stable LLC

Hollywood Starlet (Oscar Performance), OBSMAR, (145,000), :21 1/5
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-RNA

Making It Rain (Munnings), OBSJUN, 90,000, :9 4/5
C-GOP Racing Stable Corp; B-Clark O Brewster

Pretty Good (Good Magic), OBSAPR, (220,000), :9 4/5
C-McKathan Bros Sales, agent; B-RNA

Ellis 2, $100k, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 1:19 p.m. ET
Dolly Partime (Not This Time)-AE, OBSMAR, 500,000, :10
C-de Meric Sales, agent; B-B & S Bray, Kelsey Danner, agent

Lexi's Epic Ride (Epicenter)-AE, FTMMAY, 130,000, G
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-Julia Robinson

Sar 5, $115k, Msw, 2yo, f, (S), 5.5fT, 3:24 p.m. ET
Cyber Cloud (Cyberknife), OBSAPR, 100,000, :10
C-Omar Ramirez Bloodstock, agent; B-Taproot Bloodstock, agent

Del Mar 2, $80k, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 5:30 p.m. ET
Miss Monica (Early Voting), OBSAPR, 850,000, :20 2/5
C-Hoppel LLC, agent; B-Three Amigos

Dmr 6, Sorrento S.-GIII, $150k, 2yo, f, 6f, 7:30 p.m. ET
Dash (Charlatan), OBSMAR, 150,000, :20 4/5
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 9, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

1st-SAR, $115K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 11:45 a.m. ET.
Team Valor bred and will race U.S.S. Valor (War of Will) who is trained by Shug McGaughey. With a page that includes MGISW Curalina (Curlin), the bay put in a sizzling drill two back July 25.

Also ready is $550,000 Keeneland September grad Star Salute (Maxfield). Owned by Courtlandt Farms, the Steve Asmussen trainee is a half-sister to MGSW Dr. Venkman (Ghostzapper) and SW Tranche (Collected).

From that same Keeneland auction is With Luck Forward (Nyquist), who was taken home by Spendthrift and St Elias for $600,000. The colt is trained by Pletcher.

Other speedsters from the upstate tab to watch here include Gorillaz (Bolt d'Oro), who is the younger half-brother to GI Whitney Stakes hopeful Magnitude (Not This Time), and Gaudreau (Nyquist). TJCIS PPS

2nd-SAR, $115K, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 12:21 p.m. ET.
Live (Life Is Good) is another member of the Pletcher stable. The $575,000 Keeneland September purchase by Bridlewood, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Robert LaPenta is out of an unplaced dam who happens to be a half-sister to current sire Mr. Money (Goldencents).

Keeneland September alumni also include $625,000 buy Code of Arms (Not This Time), who was sent to Asmussen by Don Adam. Then there is Mystrix (Good Magic), a $600,000 pick who went for $170,000 during the Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale in March 2025. TJCIS PPS

5th-ELP, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 2:44 p.m. ET.
Objectivity (Hard Spun)–a Godolphin homebred and Brendan Walsh trainee–is out of SW Always Thinking (Street Sense), whose progeny includes MGSW Think Big (Twirling Candy) and Canadian GSW Pondering (Hard Spun).

Another member of the blue contingent under the care of Eoin Harty is Cartography (Liam's Map). The first timer's dam is a half-sister to champion 2-year-old filly Folklore (Tiznow). TJCIS PPS

8th-SAR, $115K, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 4:00 p.m. ET
An $875,000 Keeneland September acquisition for St Elias and Repole Stable, Bold Leadership (Not This Time) heads postward for Pletcher. The juvenile's unraced dam is a full-sister to GII Rebel Stakes winner Confidence Game (Candy Ride {Arg}).

Seth Klarman shopped the Tattersalls October Yearling sale and snagged for 360,000gns Revenue Stream (Ire) (Kingman {GB}), who is the first foal for his Irish multiple group stakes placed dam. Chad Brown is the trainer.

Stuart Janney homebred Port in a Storm (Uncle Mo) makes the races for trainer Shug McGaughey. The colt is a half-brother to SW Limited Liability (Kitten's Joy). TJCIS PPS

9th-ELP, $100K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 4:42 p.m. ET.
Making his first appearance at the track for Walsh is Cazador (Uncle Mo). The 3-year-old tied for the fourth highest price at the 2025 OBS April sale when he went for a cool $1.3-million. TJCIS PPS

The post Saturday’s Racing Insights: Omaha Beach Filly On Whitney Card Signals Strong Saturday Slate appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

But this week in Saratoga, Joseph admits that he has been keeping an eye on his weather app. His star trainee, White Abarrio (Race Day), will only see the GI Whitney Stakes starting gate if the tack is fast. The 7-year-old multiple Grade I winner was fourth in his last start over a sloppy, sealed surface at Churchill Downs in the GI Stephen Foster Stakes.

“We can't control it,” Joseph said. “It is what it's going to be. Obviously last time we took a chance because he had never gone two turns in the slop. So now we've learned we're not going to make that mistake again. Hopefully it's fast and if it's not, we're going to make a different plan and go somewhere else.”

As of Friday, it looks like the White Abarrio team is in the clear. There is a chance of light rain overnight into Saturday, but conditions are expected to clear by morning with another small possibility of isolated showers in the afternoon. Joseph also has GII Hollywood Gold Cup winner Forged Steel (Vekoma) entered for the Whitney, but he will likely scratch if his stablemate makes the race.

Aside from weather concerns, Joseph said he is feeling confident in White Abarrio, who will take on Stephen Foster top-three finishers Magnitude (Not This Time), Baeza (McKinzie), and Sovereignty (Into Mischief)—a rival White Abarrio defeated earlier this year in the GII Oaklawn Handicap.

Since arriving in Saratoga, White Abarrio has put in three four-furlong breezes. Over the past two seasons, the impossible-to-miss grey has settled into a distinctly unconventional routine at the Spa. He splits his morning training between the main track and Clare Court, often finishing with long, ambling walks around the backside before heading back to the barn.

“He's very quiet on the main track, but when we send him over to Clare Court and he comes off, sometimes he likes to play and rear up,” Joseph explained. “I think over there he relates to being a kid and having fun. We use that to keep him in a happy spot mentally.”

The presence of a companion goat, Brownie, has also played a role in White Abarrio's development.

“He has always been super top-class and consistent, but the goat gives him a calmer demeanor,” Joseph said. “He saves his energy in the right way.”

Saffie Joseph and White Abarrio | Sarah Andrew

Saturday's contest will mark White Abarrio's third appearance in the Whitney. As a 4-year-old, he captured the Grade I under the tutelage of Rick Dutrow, who later conditioned him to a victory in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic before the grey transferred back to Joseph the following summer. With a runner in the race immediately following the 2023 Whitney, Joseph remembers watching White Abarrio head to the winner's circle from the backside near the Wilson chute.

“You see him win and obviously you're happy for the connections because you trained the horse,” he recalled. “I turned to my wife and I said, 'This is God's way.' Who would have ever envisioned a year later, you would get the horse back. I never envisioned that he would go on to do what he did after, so it worked out exactly like it was meant to be.”

With three graded stakes wins including the 2025 Pegasus World Cup Invitational Stakes added to his resume since returning to Joseph, White Abarrio has collected over $8.5 million career earnings. Campaigned by C2 Racing Stable, Gary Barber and La Milagrosa Stable, the champion is set to begin his stud career at Gainesway Farm next year.

Joseph said he has bittersweet feelings about enjoying the last few months with a horse who has ultimately anchored his barn since capturing the GI Florida Derby in 2022.

“You would like to close it obviously with him winning another big one or two,” he admitted. “But if we don't and everything goes well and he tries his best, that's all you can ask for. There's no guarantee that you get another White Abarrio in your whole life. I mean, I'm 39 and as a trainer, there's no guarantee I get a horse as good as him again. He's a rare horse as far as his durability and his consistency.”

The post White Abarrio On Track for Third Whitney Appearance appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Growing up in Belgium with no family ties to racing, she followed her curiosity wherever it led. She began veterinary school before realizing her true passion was training racehorses. Determined to build a career in France, she completed four years of jockey school to master both riding and the French language.

Her education didn't stop there. Aurelie sought out some of the best horsemen in the world, spending time riding and learning under Aidan O'Brien in Ireland, gaining experience in Newmarket, England, and working alongside Christophe Clement in the United States before returning to France to establish her own stable.

Today, in Deauville, her horses don't just train on the racetrack. They walk through town, navigate traffic, and gallop along the beaches of Normandy, developing the confidence and adaptability they'll need as they compete across Europe.

In this episode of Boundless, she talks to veterinarian Dr. Ferrin Peterson about building a career from the ground up, learning from different racing cultures around the world, and why exposing horses to new environments can make them better athletes.

To watch the podcast, click here.

Click here to listen to it on Spotify or on Apple podcasts.

The post Belgian Trainer Aurelie Montalban on the Boundless Podcast appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Saturday, August 8, 2026
Saratoga 1, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 11:45 a.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Bellissimo d'Oro (Bolt d'Oro), OBSMAR, 350,000, :9 4/5
C-Randy Miles, agent; B-Mossarossa

Coach's Pals (Highly Motivated), OBSMAR, 140,000, :21
C-Hoppel LLC, agent; B-RAP Racing

Saratoga 2, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 6 1/2f, 12:21 p.m. ET
Iron Confessor (Basin), OBSMAR, 190,000, :10 1/5
C-S B M Training & Sales, agent; B-St Elias Stable

Stone Aged (Curlin), OBSAPR, 450,000, :21 2/5
C-Ocala Stud, agent; B-Juddmonte Farms Inc

Ellis 4, $53k, Moc, 2yo, (R), 1mT, 2:16 p.m. ET
Hit the High Note (Tonalist), OBSJUN, 57,000, :21 3/5
C-Journeyman Bloodstock (Brent & Crystal Fernung), agent; B-Dare To Dream Stable Management LLC

Saratoga 6, $115k, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 2:47 p.m. ET
Burrata (Early Voting), OBSMAR, 100,000, :10 1/5
C-A G Sales; B-Handal Racing, Oracle Bloodstock, agent

Dulce Vita (Life Is Good), FTMMAY, 490,000, G
C-Niall Brennan Stables, agent; B-Sabby Racing

Red Poppy (Omaha Beach), OBSAPR, 900,000, :20 4/5
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-Spendthrift Farm LLC

Violet the Ultra (Girvin), OBSAPR, 75,000, :10 1/5
C-Cortez Racing & Sales; B-Joe Sharp, agent

Saratoga 8, $115k, Msw, 2yo, 1 1/16mT, 4:00 p.m. ET
Just Joe (Uncle Mo), OBSAPR, 190,000, :10
C-Julie Davies LLC, agt; B-Maddie Mattmiller for Swinbank Stables

Del Mar 1, $70k, Moc, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 5:00 p.m. ET
Character (Cyberknife), OBSAPR, 65,000, :10 1/5
C-Sequel Bloodstock, agent; B-Peter Miller, agent

Shake For One (Tacitus), OBSAPR, 60,000, :10 1/5
C-Randy Miles, agent; B-Warren Ranch LLC

Dmr 3, Best Pal S.-GIII, $150k, 2yo, 6f, 6:00 p.m. ET
He Is No Lie (Early Voting), OBSMAR, 150,000, :9 4/5
C-L G, agent; B-Purple Rein Racing & Mark Davis

Kennyten (Drain the Clock), OBSMAR, 140,000, :10
C-Julie Davies LLC, agent; B-Holly & David Wilson

Del Mar 7, $80k, Msw, 2yo, f, (S), 5 1/2f, 8:00 p.m. ET
Kathy's House (Stay Thirsty)-AE, OBSAPR, (75,000), :10
C-Chuy Ceballos, agent; B-RNA

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 8, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

One would never be as supremely confident as to propose such a comparison seriously, but Pocket Aces Racing's Twirling Aces (Twirling Candy) had come on everyone's radar for good reason. After a sensational workout two weeks earlier, one that was well-discussed by the time the gates opened June 3, she was the worst-kept secret on grounds.

The wagering frenzy was, ultimately, somewhat expected.

Twirling Aces eventually drifted up to even money but made it look a gift anyway. Checked early on, bottled inside for most of the trip, and then asked to come wide into the stretch, she drew off like a good thing. Jockey Tyler Gaffalione told Marc Wampler, bloodstock agent and co-managing partner of Pocket Aces Racing, that he'd wrapped up on Twirling Aces by the time they were inside the sixteenth pole.

And for Wampler, in step with pride, excitement and a cocktail of various emotions that accompany a trip to the winner's circle, there was something more primal than joy.

“When she won, I felt relief,” said Wampler. “There's nothing worse than losing when you're the overwhelming favorite, so I was glad she got the job done.”

Wampler also admitted to a sense of awe at the sheer scale of the information super-highway that is the internet. Word of mouth and the grapevine have historically been one of the fastest methods to gain an edge on your wagering competition (say nothing of the reliability, but a good rumor makes it around the world before the truth even puts on its pants). Now, the modern player has more at their disposal than ever before.

“Secrets have never been safe on the backside but nowadays work videos are available online. Clocker reports, debut figures, etc. If you've got a good one, people will find them, even if they haven't started. When she was being hammered at the windows ahead of her debut, it crossed my mind how much the availability of information has changed over the years.”

Despite the belated start to her career, Twirling Aces had always been on Wampler's radar as one to watch. She was sent to Brendan Walsh in mid-2025, and had a worktab under her belt that sudden halted at the end of July that season. Wampler says it was nothing more than her body telling them that it needed more time–traditionally a Thoroughbred's best friend.

Twirling Aces in April 2025 before going to Brendan Walsh Patrycja Szpyra

It's a position he's familiar with, and one the syndicate has been in before where being patient had been handsomely rewarded. All the same, it's easier said than done. The virtue is one of the harder ones to practice for a reason, but everyone learns it…either kicking and screaming or with some grace. But the horses who need time, who need the patience, that's where Wampler finds value.

“Pocket Aces Racing is a value shopper,” he explained. “As much as I am always looking for an excellent, athletic specimen, I do have a type. Finding racing prospects that look like they're going to be runners, at value, or even at a fair price, is like finding a needle in a haystack.”

“When we find them, we try to buy them regardless of sex, distance capabilities, [or] surface preference–and pedigree only serves as a guide to how much we're willing to pay. I think that's why you see us getting top-class turf marathoners to dirt sprinters and everything in between.”

That in mind, it was no small surprise to Wampler when his $50,000 Keeneland September yearling was starting to show some promise. After all, he'd sourced MGSW Temple City Terror (Temple City) for $22,000 at the same sale in 2017. That yearling from humble beginnings changed hands to Town and Country Farm for $600,000 in 2022 at Keeneland November.

SW & MGSP Irish Aces (Mshawish) is another September grad that he purchased for $40,000 to race in the syndicate's colors. The gelding had been bought as a weanling for just $5,000 by 'The Lads' in the 2020 November sale on those grounds. Irish Aces's half-brother Irish Law (Tiz the Law), who broke his maiden July 9 at Ellis as a part of Walsh's four-win day, is a $50,000 buy.

Their daughter of Twirling Candy was going to fit in just fine.

“[Twirling Aces] started to show she was something special when Brendan began to lean on her last year. She got really close to running in 2025, so we got some important works into her, and he let us know she had talent.”

Wampler says that, despite the additional downtime to mature, expectations for her never changed–if anything, the anticipation carried over to her sophomore year. Many of the syndicate's best runners went through the same process–race once or twice, or come very close as a juvenile, and then need time off to grow or recover from what he called an 'immaturity injury'. By the time those runners returned as 3-year-olds, regardless of when they actually got going that year, the time off had done them a world of good and they never looked back.

Twirling Aces at The Thoroughbred Center | Patrycja Szpyra

“Temple City Terror; Irish Aces; [stakes winner] Oscar Season, [etc.] all went through [similar circumstances],” Wampler added. “So, when Brendan says they have talent, we get excited and usually stay excited as their opportunity to shine just got delayed.”

And shine Twirling Aces has.

As they oft do, expectations crept higher for start number two and rode in on a high-horse at Ellis Park. There, the filly produced another victory as visually impressive as the maiden, trouncing an allowance field to win as easily as she pleased on her march through the conditions.

Wampler knew what to expect as Walsh had not minced words going into the race. The conditioner had partnered Twirling Aces with an exceptionally talented workmate (an already proven one to boot) in the lead-up to the debut race and she'd only taken steps forward from there.

The workmate? 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Mashallah (Maxfield), who herself boasted a lofty 106 Beyer from her sterling debut. After her seven-length romp July 4 against allowance company at Saratoga (good for a 96 Beyer), her connections told the TDN's Alan Carasso that they had been weighing a possible entry into the GI Test Stakes, but eventually re-routed to have her stakes debut come in Colonial's Tyson Gilpin Stakes Aug. 1. To no real surprise, she dominated the race by a 5 1/2-length margin to collect her first black-type.

“Brendan expected [the July 9] performance out of [Twirling Aces]. His ability to gauge talent is incredible. When she worked 'heads up' with [Mashallah], he knew we had something special.”

That leads to the inevitable question of what their budding star might have in her future with a former workmate having been considered for elite company so early in her career. Wampler admits he hadn't looked that far, but stakes competition for Twirling Aces is on the horizon if all goes well.

“Right now, we are pointing her towards The Audubon Oaks at Ellis. If she passes that test, she'll take the next step up the ladder but we haven't zeroed in on any specific races yet,” Wampler said. “We tend to be more of a 'one race at a time' outfit, especially with such a young filly, so we haven't thought too far past her next race.”

The post ‘When She Won, I Felt Relief’ – Twirling Aces Marches Forward To Audubon Oaks appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Saturday, August 8, 2026
2nd-CKO, ¥14,880,000 ($94k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1400mT
MONOHON PLAYER (c, 2, Violence–Ellan Vannin, by Spring At Last), a $170,000 Keeneland September yearling, breezed an eighth of a mile in :10 flat and was hammered down to this trainer for $250,000 at this year's OBS March Sale. The Feb. 1 foal is set to become the fourth starter from his dam, winner of the Ontario Lassie Stakes at two and a half-sister to dual-surface Grade III winner and Darby Dan-based sire Flameaway (Scat Daddy). This is the female family of champion Salsabil (Ire). O-Susumu Fujita; B-Hill 'n' Dale Farm & Mario Serrani (ON); T-Hideyuki Mori.

The post Mori Unveils Violence Colt at Chukyo appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Friday, August 7, 2026
Ellis 5, $100k, Msw, 2yo, f, 5 1/2fT, 2:44 p.m. ET
Horse (Sire), Sale, Price ($), Breeze
Lexi's Epic Ride (Epicenter)-AE, FTMMAY, 130,000, G
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-Julia Robinson

Mayflower Girl (Shancelot)-AE, OBSAPR, 75,000, :10
C-Navas Equine, agent; B-R B Hess Jr

Nu Why Me (Frosted), OBSMAR, 95,000, :21 1/5
C-Pick View LLC, agent; B-Jim DiVito, agent

Seneca Park (Golden Pal), OBSMAR, 70,000, :10
C-Top Line Sales LLC, agent; B-Holy Cow Stables

Soul of the Night (Mitole), OBSAPR, 90,000, :21
C-Tom McCrocklin, agent; B-J Stevens Bloodstock, agent

Saratoga 6, $90k, Msw, 2yo, (R), 6f, 3:58 p.m. ET
Big Bold Red (Candy Ride {Arg}), OBSAPR, (50,000), :10 1/5
C-Harris Training Center LLC, agent; B-RNA

Coltrane (Coal Front), OBSAPR, 50,000, :10
C-RM Stables LLC; B-Southern Springs Stables

Constant Force (McKinzie), FTMMAY, (45,000), G
C-Little Farm Equine LLC, agent; B-RNA

Knee High (Mandaloun), OBSAPR, 65,000, :10 2/5
C-Scanlon Training & Sales, agent; B-Pay Billy Racing

Del Mar 5, $80k, Msw, 2yo, f, (S), 5fT, 7:00 p.m. ET
Kathy's House (Stay Thirsty), OBSAPR, (75,000), :10
C-Chuy Ceballos, agent; B-RNA

Del Mar 6, $50k, Moc, 2yo, f, 5 1/2f, 7:30 p.m. ET
Danielle (Practical Joke), OBSMAR, 57,000, :10 1/5
C-Marco Hernandez Stables LLC; B-Zap/Murphy for CA Racing & Ciaglia

Lunar Velocity (Essential Quality), OBSAPR, (35,000), :10 2/5
C-Pick View LLC, agent; B-RNA

The post Summer Breezes, Sponsored By OBS: August 7, 2026 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

On Day 2 of the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale, a filly by Quality Road out of SP Community Adjusted offers a tale of her own.

Consigned by Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services acting as agent, Hip 173 is the sole offering in the sale by the MyRacehorse team. While very well known for its exploits on the racetrack with the likes of 2020 Kentucky Derby winner and eventual Horse of the Year and champion 3-year-old colt Authentic (Into Mischief), 2024 GI Preakness hero Seize the Grey (Arrogate), and Eclipse champion sprinter Straight No Chaser (Speightster), MyRacehorse has been steadily building its interests in bloodstock, mating some of its own racing fillies to sell and buying others to add to its breeding pipeline with the intention of breeding them to their bourgeoning stallion roster.

“MyRacehorse has been lucky enough to campaign three stallions in a span of just a few years–Authentic, Seize the Grey and Straight No Chaser—and we had growing interest from shareholders to support those stallions in their next careers, and to also offer access to a part of the business that we hadn't previously,” explained MyRacehorse Director of Racing Operations Brian DiDonato.

Marking its initial foray into the broodmare market in 2024, MyRacehorse picked up Community Adjusted–a member of the Lane's End consignment at the Keeneland November Sale while in foal to Quality Road–for $275,000. The ultimate goal was to send her to Seize the Grey.

A $100,000 purchase at the 2019 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Community Adjusted is the daughter of Dynaformer's Rimini Road, making her a half to MGSP Atigun (Istan) and MSP Path of David (Istan). Second dam, GSW Evangelical (Devil's Bag), is a half-sister to Grade I scorer Cure the Blues (Stop the Music). This is also the extended family of dual Grade I winner Brody's Cause (Giant's Causeway).

Campaigned by Rob Masiello and the Empire Racing Club, she broke her maiden at Belmont Park in July of 2021 while under the guidance of the late Christophe Clement, who was slated for induction into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga. Clement also trained the mare's sire, MGSW and MGISP Summer Front.

The Empire Racing Club members stayed on for the ride when she was sold privately in the spring of 2022 to Adelphi Racing Club's Matt Cutair and partners and turned over to trainer Arnaud Delacour. For Delacour, she was stakes placed on the turf and she was ultimately retired following a third-place effort at Turfway in February of 2024.

“She was a big, pretty mare who had lots of stamina and plenty of ability,” said DiDonato, explaining the purchase. “It's all two-turn pedigree and a very cool, throwback family with some names you don't see as often anymore–Dynaformer, Devil's Bag, Dr. Fager, etc. She was in foal to an appealing sire at the time and we liked the mating with Seize the Grey and Grade 1 winner And Tell Me Nolies [Arrogate] was out of a Danzig-line mare as well.”

As for her first foal, the team couldn't have been happier with the results.

“This filly has always been one that the team at Chanteclair Farm thought very highly of, and she's been penciled in for Saratoga for quite a while,” said DiDonato. “When we were last out to visit her in July, we were super pleased with how she's filled out and muscled up. The farm has done a great job with her. She's the right size and plenty balanced–looks quicker and maybe a bit more forward than you'd expect given her pedigree. Every horse at that sale is a standout and you never know how you'll stack up or where buyers will land, but she'll definitely fit in with that group.”

Now eight, Community Adjusted produced a colt by Seize the Grey this season and is back in foal to Fierceness. Standing at Coolmore, the 2023 juvenile champion colt is by City of Light, who in turn is by Quality Road.

According to DiDonato, having a yearling with the quality to sell at Fasig-Tipton in Saratoga is exactly what the team has been striving for since the onset of its breeding ambitions.

MyRacehorse's Seize the Grey | Sarah Andrew

“Saratoga's obviously a special sale to be a part of, and it's one we focus on every year–it's where we purchased Seize the Grey for $300,000,” he said. “It'll be a particular thrill for everyone to be on the 'sell' side this time. We have additional owner events that weekend and the following one, and I'm sure we'll have lots of shareholders following along both at the sale and elsewhere.”     Last fall, MyRacehorse's initial crop of homebred babies to sell included a weanling colt by Liam's Map–a $120,000 in utero purchase secured in partnership–brought $180,000 at the Keeneland November Sale.

Notably, Tuesday's Saratoga sale entrant also represents the first yearling offering bred by the operation to sell at public auction.

“There have certainly been ups and downs given how the breeding game goes, but we've had some very nice foals already from our small broodmare band,” he said. “This filly has been a standout since she was born.”

And it seems the team may also have another in the barn to keep an eye on at a Fasig-Tipton sale before long.

“We've got a Vekoma foal colt out of a Bernardini mare who's a total rockstar,” confirmed DiDonato of the 2026 foal out of Littlest Warrior. “Fasig was out to inspect him last week at December Farm and they loved him too. He'll be pointing for Night of the Stars and at this early stage, we'd expect him to be very well received.”

The post MyRacehorse Debuts at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga With Initial Offering appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

When Life Changing (Life Is Good) was preparing for her debut on Aug. 1 at Saratoga, breeder Audie Otto had high expectations for the filly, who was bought by Mike Repole for $1.025 million at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. Not only was she out of Smart Shopping (Smart Strike), making her a half-sister to Seize the Grey (Arrogate), who won the GI Preakness Stakes and GI Pennsylvania Derby for D. Wayne Lukas, but Otto was hearing nothing but good things about the filly by the WinStar stallion. Still, she never expected what happened that day: a very impressive seven-length win (video) that earned Life Changing 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' honors.

“I sat and watched Life Changing's race and I was speechless and I'm not speechless too often,” Otto said. “I secretly had high hopes for her, but I had not shared them with anybody. I was waiting for her to run. It's kind of a dream.”

Life Changing was the fourth Rising Star for Life Is Good–himself a 'TDN Rising Star'–making him the fastest first-crop sire ever to hit that mark.

“You never want to get too far ahead of yourself in this business, but we have been thrilled with the start that Life Is Good has had,” said WinStar Farm's director of bloodstock Liam O'Rourke. “We're thrilled for all the connections and everyone who has experienced success with Life Is Good alongside of us. To be a TDN Rising Star is a significant achievement. The track record of what TDN Rising Stars go on to accomplish in their careers speaks for itself. We couldn't be more excited with his early success. It's truly encouraging for everyone at the farm and all our great partners who bred to him.”

O'Rourke believes the early success Life Is Good has had is just the beginning of the story.

Life Changing at last year's Saratoga Sale | Fasig-Tipton photo

“We track the progeny of all our stallions and try to have our finger on the pulse as far as where these horses are at and get a picture of what's working and what's not working,” he said. “At every stage, our observations and the reports that we have received have been very high level all the way along. We're thrilled and honored by the start he has had but we feel like we are just scratching the surface. We feel that as the waters get deeper these horses will remain very competitive.”

Otto said that Life Changing didn't necessarily stand out out as a foal or a yearling.

“She was as sweet as could be and she was proper,” she said. “In my mind, she wasn't one of the foals we thought we'd talk about being really precocious or a leader in the paddock. She just kind of was.”

When choosing who to breed Smart Shopping to this time around, Otto relied on Headley Bell, who gave her a short list of sires he thought would be a good fit for the mare.

“Every mating season, he will give me a list of his top three or four stallions and I kind of cull through them on my own,” Otto said. “He felt that everybody was going to Flightline and he thought Life Is Good would be just as good a sire. But Flightline took all the shine. From the ones he gave me, I chose Life Is Good.”

Once Life Changing arrived at the Saratoga sales grounds, the Repole team was instantly interested in her. But it was not Repole or any of his advisors who necessarily fell in love with Life Changing. It was his daughter Gioia.

“I was at her stall when they came back and looked at her again,” Otto said. “Gioia, Mike's daughter, was there, and Gioia was the one who fell in love with her. She had a big hand in Mike spending what he spent.”

Otto was expecting the filly to sell for somewhere between $600,000 and $750,000. When the bidding went beyond that she couldn't contain her excitement.

“I grabbed Headley's hand and held on,” she said. “That's actually the first yearling I ever sold for over $1 million. That was really exciting.”

Smart Shopping was bred back to Life Is Good, but she was barren that year. She has since been covered by Oscar Performance and 'TDN Rising Star Sierra Leone.

Trainer Todd Pletcher has said that the GI Spinaway Stakes on Sept. 5 at Saratoga will likely be the next start for Life Changing.

Life Is Good will be represented by eight second-crop yearlings at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale Aug. 10 and 11 and by a single New York-bred offering during that auction Aug. 16 and 17.

The post A Look At Life Changing, The Latest ‘Rising Star’ For White-Hot Sire Life Is Good appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.