Fri, 06/17/2016 - 09:26

Get Stormy sires first winner

Multiple Grade 1-winning Get Stormy was represented by his first stakes winner when Get Sassy got up late to win a $34,220 maiden special weight race at Presque Isle Downs on June 16.

Owned by Lloyd Duncan and Blazing Meadows Farm and trained by Timothy Hamm, Get Sassy won the 4 1/2-furlong race by a neck over favored Diamond Dollar at odds of 18.30-1 while making her first start. She earned $21,060 and completed the distance in :52.41.

Bred in Pennsylvania by John R. Penn, Get Sassy was sold for $5,000 as a weanling at the 2014 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.

Wed, 06/15/2016 - 13:43

Outwork to stand at WinStar upon retirement

Michael Amoruso
Outwork wins the Grade 1 Wood Memorial Stakes in April.

Owner-breeder Mike Repole has sold the breeding rights to his Wood Memorial Stakes winner Outwork to WinStar Farm and Woodford Thoroughbred when the horse is eventually retired to stud at WinStar in Versailles, Ky., it was announced today.

Wed, 06/15/2016 - 11:56

Creator lives up to rookie expectations

Barbara D. Livingston
Jose Ortiz Jr. and Creator nip Destin to win the Belmont Stakes.

The pressure that comes with being a No. 1 draft pick has driven an army of promising athletes into obscurity under the weight of those expectations.

Don’t count Belmont Stakes winner Creator among that group.

Mon, 06/13/2016 - 14:46

Swag for Royal Ascot winning breeders

Several American-bred horses, led by champion Tepin, will be in the spotlight at this week’s Royal Ascot meeting, and the British racecourse has announced new initiatives to honor the breeders of winners at the renowned event.

Mon, 06/13/2016 - 14:46

New York-breds perform well during Belmont week

Barbara D. Livingston
Silver Mission, with John Velazquez up, wins the $200,000 Tremont Stakes at Belmont Park.

New York-breds fared well against open company during Belmont Park’s extravaganza of stakes, led by a rising star in the 2-year-old Silver Mission.

Silver Mission, by New York freshman sire Mission Impazible, rolled by 6 1/4 lengths to best a short field in the Tremont Stakes on Friday. The diminutive colt remained unbeaten in two starts.

“He’s pretty quick for a little guy,” jockey John Velazquez said. “He’s also pretty talented for as little as he is.”

Mon, 06/13/2016 - 14:40

Generazios run one-two in Jaipur

Debra A. Roma
Pure Sensation (foreground) edged out Disco Partner to win the Jaipur Stakes on Saturday.

New York-based owners and breeders Patricia and Frank Generazio not only watched homebreds Pure Sensation and Disco Partner run one-two, separated by a neck, in the Grade 3 Jaipur Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park – they watched Pure Sensation establish a North American and course record, completing the six furlongs on turf in 1:06.76.

Mon, 06/13/2016 - 14:40

Creator's dam represents Peru

Coady Photography
The final three-eighths of the Arkansas Derby, won by Creator, was run in a pokey 39.53 seconds.

A Peruvian-bred horse has never won a Grade 1 event in the United States, but the South American nation has made a major impact on some of the Northern Hemisphere’s biggest events through outstanding broodmares. The latest example came when Creator, out of Peruvian champion Morena, nosed out Destin to win the Belmont Stakes.

Mon, 06/13/2016 - 13:50

Tapit in familiar spot atop sires list

Barbara D. Livingston
Tapit sired his second Belmont Stakes winner with Creator.

Through the first two legs of the Triple Crown, the stories told were of freshman phenom Uncle Mo, whose scores of stakes performers from his first crop include Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist, and of young classic juggernaut Curlin, whose latest top runner is Preakness Stakes winner Exaggerator. Suspiciously quiet was Tapit, as North America’s two-time reigning leading sire failed to record a placing with three individual starters in those two races.

Mon, 06/13/2016 - 11:35

Sparkman: Big Belmont Stakes Day puts Tapit back on top

Michael Amoruso
Creator, with Irad Ortiz Jr. up, outfinishes Destin to win the Belmont Stakes.

Two-time leading American sire Tapit had a very good day Saturday. Not long after his 4-year-old son Frosted ran away with the prestigious Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap, his 3-year-old son Creator became Tapit’s second Belmont Stakes winner with his final-stride victory over Destin.

Those two victories assured Tapit of his accustomed place atop the American general sire list, more than $3 million clear of second-ranked Uncle Mo, who briefly assumed leadership after Nyquist’s victory in the Kentucky Derby. Tapit’s son Lani also finished third in the Belmont after a wide trip.

Fri, 06/10/2016 - 17:42

Mission Impazible sires first stakes winner

Freshman sire Mission Impazible was represented by his first stakes winner when Silver Mission ran away to a 6 1/4-length victory in the $181,000 Tremont Stakes for 2-year-olds at Belmont Park today. Silver Mission went off as the 2.30-1 third choice in the short, four-horse field, and he completed the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:03.78. He is trained by Todd Pletcher.

The 2-year-old New York-bred colt is a homebred for Sequel Stallions and Twin Creek Racing, and Mission Impazible stands at Sequel Stallions New York in Hudson for a fee of $7,500.