Mon, 03/19/2018 - 13:48

Grade 2 winner Majestic Heat retired and sent to Uncle Mo

Benoit & Associates
Majestic Heat retires with seven wins and more than $500,000 in earnings.

Grade 2 winner Majestic Heat has been retired from racing, and will be bred to champion and record-setting sire Uncle Mo in 2018.

The 6-year-old Unusual Heat mare finished fifth in the Grade 1 Santa Margarita Stakes on Saturday at Santa Anita Park, closing her lifetime record at seven wins in 20 starts, with earnings of $578,329. Richard Mandella trained Majestic Heat for the partnership of Madeline Auerbach, Bardy Farm, and Ron McCauley.

Mon, 03/19/2018 - 13:30

Go Noni Go proving a versatile investment

Coady Photography
Go Noni Go, a daughter of Get Stormy, was a two-length winner of the Grade 3 DRF Bets Bourbonette Oaks on March 17.

Go Noni Go is among racing’s newest graded stakes winners, taking last Saturday’s Grade 3 DRF Bets Bourbonette Oaks on Turfway’s Polytrack in decisive fashion. She has come a long way from when she was cataloged for last summer’s Fasig-Tipton Kentucky summer horses of racing age sale. Then only sporting two unplaced efforts in maiden special weights on the dirt, she made few shortlists.

Fri, 03/16/2018 - 14:07

Songbird confirmed in foal to Arrogate

Barbara D. Livingston
Songbird won 13 of her 15 career starts.

Two-time Eclipse Award champion Songbird has been confirmed in foal to fellow champion and first-year stallion Arrogate. It would be the first foal for the Medaglia d'Oro mare.

The news was reported by Timber Town Farm, which boards Songbird in Lexington, Ky., for owner Mandy Pope, who purchased the mare for $9.5 million at last November's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale. The price was the second-highest ever at a North American public auction for a broodmare prospect.

Thu, 03/15/2018 - 17:43

Candy Boy retires from racing, will stand in Russia

Barbara D. Livingston
Since finishing third in last month's Pennsylvania Derby, Candy Boy has turned in two good workouts towards the Breeders' Cup Classic.

Grade 2 winner Candy Boy has been retired from racing, and will begin his stallion career in Russia, trainer Doug Watson told Michael Adolphson of the Meydan Group on Thursday.

The 7-year-old Candy Ride horse has raced exclusively in the U.A.E. since being purchased by Ramzan Kadyrov in 2015. Kadyrov is head of the Chechen Republic, a federal subject of Russia, bordering the country of Georgia.

Thu, 03/15/2018 - 15:16

Beyer Sire Rankings aid Turfway analysis

Barbara D. Livingston
Shackleford (sire of Jeff Ruby starter Dreamer’s Point) has started fast on all-weather tracks, with just three crops of racing age.

The number of significant race cards over synthetic surfaces has slowed to a trickle in North America, but one of the remaining standouts comes Saturday with the Jeff Ruby Steaks card at Turfway Park.

With opportunities for high-level synthetic racing dwindling, it can be a challenge to gauge a horse’s capability over the surface. Of the 60 horses entered in the five stakes races on the Jeff Ruby card, 49 have raced two times or fewer over an all-weather track.

Thu, 03/15/2018 - 14:57

To Honor and Serve now standing in Korea

To Honor and Serve, a Grade 1 winner whose first foals are 4-year-olds of 2018, has been exported to Korea to continue his stud career.

The 10-year-old son of Bernardini previously stood at Gainesway in Lexington, Ky., where he was advertised for $7,500. He arrived in Korea on March 14, according to Korean Racing Authority records.

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 17:11

Elusive Quality, top sire of 2004, put down at 25

Barbara D. Livingston
Elusive Quality sets a world record for a mile on turf in the 1998 Poker Stakes.

Elusive Quality, a world-record-setting miler and North America’s leading sire of 2004, has been euthanized due to the infirmities of old age, Darley said on Wednesday. He was 25.

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 12:46

Vics to leave U.S. for stud duty in Korea

Vics, a horse owned and raced in the U.S. by the Korean Racing Authority, has been exported to begin his stallion career in South Korea, making a bit of history in the process.

Wed, 03/14/2018 - 11:26

Kentucky Derby pedigree profile: Solomini

Solomini

Curlin – Surf Song, by Storm Cat

Bred in Kentucky by veterinarian Glenna R. Salyer ($270,000 purchase by Zayat Stables at 2016 Keeneland September yearling sale)

Proven young classic sire Curlin doesn’t just have Eclipse Award champion Good Magic eyeing the Kentucky Derby from his most successful crop of juveniles. His arsenal also includes the consistent Solomini, who is bolstered by a long-winded female family.

Tue, 03/13/2018 - 12:43

World Approval named Florida-bred Horse of the Year

Barbara D. Livingston
World Approval, shown training Thursday, is seeking his fifth Grade 1 win.

Eclipse Award champion World Approval added more hardware to his collection, including the award for Florida-bred Horse of the Year, as the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association recognized its Florida-bred champions for 2017 at its annual awards banquet and gala Monday night in Ocala.