Mon, 12/09/2019 - 09:16

Catalina Cruiser latest representative of Lane's End original sire line

Barbara D. Livingston
Catalina Cruiser will return to his birthplace at Lane's End to stand alongside his sire Union Rags.

Dixieland Band, one of the original three stallions at Lane’s End Farm, died at age 30 in 2010. A decade later, his great-grandson Catalina Cruiser will enter stud at the farm for the 2020 season as Lane’s End continues to invest in this sire line.

Mon, 12/09/2019 - 09:16

Catholic Boy, Yoshida look to spark Halo line in U.S.

Barbara D. Livingston
Catholic Boy, who won Grade 1 stakes on turf and dirt, will stand for $25,000 in 2020.

His name was Halo, with all that it implies. But the nearly black stallion was anything but angelic. As a yearling, he objected so strenuously to the scenario in the walking ring that he flipped outside the sale pavilion. During his racing career, he would eject his exercise rider and take solo turns around the training track in Aiken, S.C., and occasionally take unscheduled trips to romance the fillies at neighboring barns. As a stallion, he had a reputation for being aggressive and territorial, and required a muzzle to be handled.

Mon, 12/09/2019 - 09:16

Spendthrift has two Breeders' Cup winners in flight of new stallions

Barbara D. Livingston
Vino Rosso, pictured after his win in Saturday's BC Classic, was bred by Glennwood Farm.

Over its storied history since being founded in 1937 by Leslie Combs II – who named the property after the 1879 Belmont Stakes winner bred by his great-grandfather – Spendthrift Farm has been an industry leader as a stallion operation. The farm syndicated back-to-back Triple Crown winners Seattle Slew and Affirmed in the 1970s and also has been home to such standouts as Raise a Native, Nashua, Swaps, Gallant Man, Foolish Pleasure, Majestic Prince, and more.

Sun, 12/08/2019 - 12:10

Starlet exacta showcases Uncle Mo's strength as juvenile sire

Barbara D. Livingston
Uncle Mo finished 10th in Saturday's Breeders' Cup Classic in his final career start.

Uncle Mo shattered records as he led the freshman sire list in 2015, and is now reaping some of the results of that early success. Uncle Mo's current juveniles are those conceived in spring 2016 following the success of his first runners, and he has ridden that wave to a solid third on the North American juvenile sire list, illustrated when his daughters Bast and Donna Veloce swept the exacta in the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes on Saturday at Los Alamitos.

Sun, 12/08/2019 - 12:02

Brant buys Unaided, dam of Uni

Debra A. Roma
Breeders' Cup Mile winner Uni is to remain in training in 2020.

Unaided, the dam of Breeders' Cup Mile winner Uni, was purchased by Peter Brant's White Birch Farm for $1,382,661 in U.S. funds over the weekend at the Arqana December breeding stock sale in France.

British-born Unaided, a 10-year-old Dansili mare, was unplaced in eight starts while racing for Japanese connections. She was shipped to the U.S. to be bred to internationally-successful sire More Than Ready, then sold for $230,000 at the 2013 Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Her resulting first foal, Uni, was born in Great Britain for Haras D'Etreham.

Fri, 12/06/2019 - 13:36

Winx in foal to I Am Invincible

Sharon Lee Chapman
Winx puts 32-race win streak on line in career finale

The superstar Australian mare Winx has been confirmed in foal to I Am Invincible and is expected to deliver her first foal in the second half of 2020, spring in the Southern Hemisphere.

Winx, by Street Cry, was retired in April riding a streak of 33 consecutive victories, including 25 Group 1 victories. That included an unprecedented four editions of the prestigious Cox Plate.

Fri, 12/06/2019 - 13:36

Royal Delta's only offspring wins her debut

Barbara D. Livingston
Royal Delta won consecutive runnings of the Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic, in 2011 and 2012.

Delta’s Royalty, the only foal out of late Hall of Fame racemare Royal Delta, made her debut a winning one Thursday at Kempton in England.

Delta’s Royalty, a 2-year-old Galileo filly, won by three-quarters of a length going a mile on the all-weather surface. She is trained by Jack Varian for breeder and owner Benjamin Leon Jr.’s Besilu Stables.

Thu, 12/05/2019 - 19:46

Special Edition: New Stallions of 2020

Susie Raisher
Breeders' Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso has retired to stud for 2020 at Spendthrift Farm.

As the racing season winds down, new stallion prospects are shipping to their respective farms, settling in to their new homes and routines, being inspected by breeders, and preparing for the launch of their second careers when the Northern Hemisphere breeding season begins in February.

Mon, 12/02/2019 - 13:56

Super Saver, Daredevil join caravan to Turkey

Barbara D. Livingston
Super Saver, winner of this year's Kentucky Derby, is winless in three starts since the Derby.

Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver and freshman sire Daredevil are the latest stallions heading overseas to Turkey, which has been bullish in the North American bloodstock market this fall. The two former WinStar Farm stallions have been acquired by the Turkish Jockey Club to stand overseas beginning with the 2020 breeding season, with a provision allowing for a return to the United States upon completion of their careers.

Mon, 12/02/2019 - 13:50

Tom's d'Etat has rich pedigree

Coady Photography
Tom's d'Etat captures his first Grade 1 win in the Clark on Friday.

Tom’s d’Etat, one of the last significant sons of the late leading sire Smart Strike, stamped himself as a major stallion prospect upon his eventual retirement by adding a Grade 1 victory to his résumé in the Clark at Churchill Downs last Friday. Not only is he by Smart Strike, he is from the immediate female family of another prominent sire.