Archarcharch sires first winner at Keeneland

Grade 1 winner Archarcharch was represented by his first winner at stud on Friday at Keeneland when Tia Flor won a maiden special weight for 2-year-olds by 9 ¼ lengths.

The dark bay or brown filly completed the 4 ½-furlong race in :52.63 seconds to break her maiden in her second start. Her first start came at Keeneland on April 15, where she finished fifth. Marco Castaneda trains the filly for owner Eladio Acevedo, and she was ridden by Rolando Aragon.

“She always showed a lot of speed in the mornings, so that’s why we wanted to try her here at Keeneland,” Castaneda said. “Last week, she ran pretty good and got tired, but she came back good. We knew she could run, so we said we’d try the boys and everything worked out pretty well.”

Archarcharch stands at Spendthrift Farm in Lexington, Ky. for an advertised fee of $9,000. His first crop consists of 122 juveniles, and Tia Flor is one of two to race thus far. The other, Tia Chuy, is campaigned by the same connections.

The 7-year-old son of Arch won three of seven starts during his on-track career, highlighted by the Grade 1 Arkansas Derby, the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes, and the Sugar Bowl Stakes.

Bred in Kentucky by Grapestock LLC, Archarcharch is out of the Grade 2-placed Woodman mare Woodman’s Dancer, whose seven foals from eight runners also includes Grade 3 winner Balance of Power and stakes winner Run Sully Run. He is from the family of Grade 1 winner Pattern Step, Grade 2 winner Karibu Gardens, and Grade/Group 3 winners Craftsman, Arch Swing, and Customer Base.

Tia Flor, bred in Kentucky by Doug and Felicia Branham, is the first foal out of the unraced Smart Strike mare Concert Strike. She was a $2,000 purchase at the 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale.

Castaneda said the filly would get some rest after a busy start to her on-track career.

“When you break your maiden with a 2-year-old right now, there’s no races for her,” he said. “We’ve got to wait a while, so maybe we’ll give her a little time off, probably 30 days or something, and start thinking about next time. Her next race would probably come in another two months.”