A dream year for breeders John and Tanya Gunther continued as Without Parole carried their colors to victory in the Group 1 St. James's Palace Stakes on the opening day of the Royal Ascot meeting.
Aheadbyacentury, a stakes-winning juvenile who has continued to acquit himself well in his sophomore season, is from a sire line that has proven successful in Canada, and from a prominent female family.
Sparkman: Teresa Z provides Smart Strike with a last hurrah
Rose's Vision punched his ticket to the Queen's Plate with a strong performance as a longshot in the Plate Trial, finishing second to favored Telekinesis. The Artie Schiller colt, a third-generation homebred for Chiefswood Stable, is from a family that has consistently found stakes success.
Two longtime Pennsylvania breeding programs notched victories on Saturday's star-studded Belmont card, with Spring Quality winning the Grade 1 Manhattan Stakes and Prince Lucky taking the Easy Goer Stakes.
With the eyes of the racing world on Belmont Park for a three-day run of 18 stakes races, capped by Justify's bid for history, both host state New York's breeding program and its perennial leading sire showcased themselves well.
How do you breed a Triple Crown winner? Short answer: breed the dam of at least two high-quality stakes winners to a leading sire.
While a different group of 3-year-olds vies for the victory in the oldest and longest American classic each year, one horse has been a consistent presence in the recent history of the Belmont Stakes, and that is Tapit.
Two-time Horse of the Year Curlin has been a prolific sire in the American Triple Crown series. He looks to extend his reputation as a classic sire north of the border with the likes of Queen's Plate hopeful Dixie Moon.
Classic sire Northern Afleet, who showed his versatility with three diverse Eclipse Award champions, was euthanized Friday at Taylor Made Farm in Nicholasville, Ky., after the sudden onset of a gastrointestinal problem. The son of Afleet was 25.
