Turkish-bred wins maiden at Santa Anita
The Turkish-born Seventh Sense scored by 2 1/4 lengths in a maiden special weight race Saturday at Santa Anita.
Nicole RussoMar 14, 2016
The Turkish-born Seventh Sense scored by 2 1/4 lengths in a maiden special weight race Saturday at Santa Anita.
Owner and breeder J. Paul Reddam came into this season loaded with 3-year-old prospects – thanks in no small part to his faith in Square Eddie, a talented but unlucky former runner of his.
For all he has achieved at stud, there are a few accomplishments that perennial leading sire Giant's Causeway, based at Coolmore's Ashford Stud in Kentucky, has yet to check off his list. Chief among those is siring a U.S. classic winner, with his best finish in the series the third-place finish by Creative Cause in the 2012 Preakness Stakes.
Last weekend’s two major Kentucky Derby preps were dominated by descendants of two well-established stallions who were already enjoying very good years in 2016. Destin, winner of the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby is by three-time-leading North American sire Giant’s Causeway, while Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes winner Danzing Candy, by Twirling Candy, is a paternal grandson of Candy Ride, who has his own Derby prospect this year in Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes winner Gun Runner.
Jeffrey Cannizzo has been at the helm for New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. during one of the biggest turnarounds in the state’s history, fueled by the benefits tied to the opening of Resorts World Casino at Aqueduct in 2011.
Giant Surprise was a scintillating winner in his racing debut at Saratoga on July 30, 2011, romping by 4 1/2 lengths and running six furlongs in 1:10.23. He never made it back to the winner’s circle. Pulled up while galloping out and vanned off the track, he was diagnosed with a non-displaced condylar fracture to his left foreleg and was subsequently retired. Exactly four years later at Saratoga, Giant Surprise was represented by his first starter, Sudden Surprise, who promptly became his first winner, rolling by 2 3/4 lengths for owner Mike Repole, trainer Todd Pletcher, and jockey John Velazquez – the connections of Giant Surprise. Sudden Surprise kicked off an outstanding season on the track for his sire, who had some of his unfulfilled potential displayed by his progeny.
As the calendar turns, the story remains the same. The durable Freud continues to thoroughly dominate his niche of the stallion market in New York, leading the state’s turf sire rankings for the eighth consecutive year.
The 2015 New York general sire rankings could signal a changing of the guard in the Empire State – or, at the very least, serious competition at the top in the stallion ranks moving forward. Newcomer Big Brown, who stood his first New York season in 2015, is the state’s leading returning or incoming sire by total progeny earnings, edging out state stalwarts Freud and Posse, both prior leading general sires, by a fairly narrow margin.
Grade 1 winner Mshawish will enter stud at Taylor Made Stallions in Nicholasville, Ky., for the 2017 breeding season.
Mor Spirit will attempt to stretch his winning streak to three graded stakes in California on Saturday in the Grade 2 San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. A Grade 1-winning juvenile who has won three times at a mile or longer, the Pennsylvania-bred ridgling has already outrun most of his immediate family in terms of class and distance.