Mucho Macho Man was good as a 2-year-old, better as a 3-year-old, and at his best as an older horse. If his progeny continue to follow in his footsteps, their futures look bright.
The 3-year-olds Mucho Unusual and Mucho Gusto, both from their sire’s first crop, turned in solid performances Saturday, with Mucho Unusual winning the Grade 2 San Clemente at Del Mar and Mucho Gusto finishing second in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth.
Basin became the first winner for freshman sire Liam’s Map when he won a maiden special weight by 1 1/4 lengths on Sunday at Saratoga.
Basin, who earned an 86 Beyer for Sunday’s victory, finished second by a nose in his career debut on June 14 at Churchill Downs. He was subsequently flattered when that race’s winner, By Your Side, returned to win the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes on opening weekend at Saratoga.
Lea was a versatile racehorse and is showing he could be just as versatile as a sire. The stallion recorded his first two winners in early July, one on dirt and one on turf.
Lea’s first winner was R Sea Smoke, who won a maiden-claiming race on the turf at Gulfstream Park. That was followed up by Vast, who won a maiden special weight on the dirt at Saratoga for owner-breeders Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider and trainer Bill Mott – the same connections as her sire.
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah never started on turf during his racing career, but has been a standout on that surface early in his stud career. Sweet Melania won a maiden special weight on the Saratoga turf Sunday, becoming American Pharoah’s fifth winner, with all of those runners scoring turf victories.
Regally bred champion Honor Code was among the most anticipated sires in this deep freshman class, but was quiet through the first three months of the juvenile racing season, with few runners and no winners. As the calendar turned to July, however, with the major events in the division still on the horizon, Honor Code, something of a late-blooming runner himself, emerged with a vengeance with his first two winners in the span of 48 hours.
Perennial leading sire Tapit is relatively early in the legacy-building process of becoming a sire of sires. The Gainesway stallion’s oldest foals are 13, the oldest foals by his first sons at stud are 7, and many of his best sons, including his three Belmont Stakes winners, have nascent careers. However, he is already showing promise in this regard, with sons including Tapizar, the sire of champion Monomoy Girl.
Sea Hero, whose three Grade 1 victories included the 1993 Kentucky Derby, has died, the Turkish Jockey Club confirmed on Friday. The pensioned Polish Navy horse was 29.
At the time of his death, Sea Hero was the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner. That status now falls to 1994 victor Go For Gin, who has resided at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington since 2011.
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah heads into the summer racing season with momentum, getting his first stakes winner on Saturday in Europe.
Maven won the Group 3 Prix du Bois on Saturday at Chantilly in France for trainer Wesley Ward, known for his talented and well-traveled juveniles. Earlier that day, the American Pharoah colt Monarch of Egypt had finished second in the Group 2 Railway Stakes on the Irish Derby undercard at The Curragh for Aidan O’Brien.
Avie’s Flatter
Flatter – Avie’s Empire, by Empire Maker
Bred in Ontario by Tall Oaks Farm
Queen’s Plate favorite Avie’s Flatter, Canada’s Sovereign Award champion 2-year-old male of 2018, has a pedigree replete with stamina on his side as he heads to the Canadian classics.
