Dual Grade 1 winner and dual classic-placed Menifee, who became a prominent sire for the growing Korean breeding industry, has died. The 23-year-old Harlan horse died June 13 from a reported heart attack at the KRA Stud Farm on Jeju Island, according to Alastair Middleton of the Korean Racing Authority on the Horse Racing in Korea website.
World of Trouble, a Grade 1 winner on both dirt and turf, will enter stud in 2021 at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm in Kentucky alongside his sire, Kantharos.
The farm announced the deal Wednesday for the 4-year-old colt, who is campaigned by Michael Dubb, Madaket Stables, and Bethlehem Stables. The partnership will continue to race the horse through 2020. BSW Bloodstock represented both the partnership and Hill 'n' Dale on the stallion deal.
Sir Winston’s Belmont Stakes victory was an awesome result for his sire . . . again.
Sir Winston became the second American classic winner sired by Awesome Again, a homebred for Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs operation. The stalwart sire was also represented by 2013 Preakness Stakes winner and Belmont runner-up Oxbow. Sir Winston’s victory in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont continued to show off the stamina Awesome Again displayed during both his racing and stallion careers.
Bonus money will be up for grabs for members of champion sprinter Runhappy’s first crop racing at Saratoga next year, the latest in a robust series of promotions for the stallion on the New York circuit.
A $100,000 bonus will be paid to any 2-year-old by Runhappy who wins an unrestricted maiden race during the 2020 meet at Saratoga, when the stallion will be among North America’s freshman sire class. Runhappy, who was campaigned by Jim McIngvale, stands at historic Claiborne Farm.
Jammin Still
Take Charge Indy–Cat’s Garden, by Tale of the CatBred in Ontario by William D. Graham ($87,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase by Derek Chin)
Take Charge Indy’s son Everfast finished second in the Preakness Stakes three weeks ago and will start in Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. Take Charge Indy also is the sire of Queen’s Plate hopeful Jammin Still, giving the stallion the chance to chase classic wins in both the United States and Canada this season.
The Grade 1, $1.2 million Metropolitan Handicap has a history of being a stallion-making race because it showcases the brilliance that is so desired in the American market. Recent history has lived up to the race’s reputation, continuing to make this a coveted prize.
Glennwood Farm isn’t as intimately involved in the Belmont Stakes as it was last year, when Justify, whom it bred, completed his Triple Crown sweep, with Vino Rosso, also foaled at the farm, finishing fourth. But Glennwood, owned and operated by the father-daughter team of John and Tanya Gunther, still has ties to this year’s race, as Intrepid Heart could continue to boost the value of Vino Rosso’s family.
American Pharoah and Justify’s Triple Crown victories were separated by three years on the calendar. But the two are now linked by more than history and shared trainer Bob Baffert – they are now both young stallions for the international Coolmore group, sharing a stallion barn at Ashford Stud in Kentucky.
The bloodstock industry has seen change, but as the ground has shifted under his feet, Tapit has remained strong and steady. The perennial leading sire seeks to lift the bar even higher for himself in Saturday’s renewal of the Belmont Stakes.
Curlin’s incredible streak of classic success is likely to come to an end this season. The stallion, who produced a classic winner or classic-placed runner from each of his first six crops, didn’t have a starter in this year’s Kentucky Derby or Preakness, and does not have any progeny currently under consideration for the Belmont Stakes. However, the Hill ‘n’ Dale Farm stallion is streaking through an outstanding spring, and is set to be represented on the star-studded Belmont Stakes undercard.
