The regally bred Faufiler posted her first U.S. victory with an upset in the Sand Springs Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
The daughter of international titan Galileo rallied for a one-length victory over the favored Partisan Politics, finishing the mile in a sharp 1:33.01 and giving jockey Edgar Prado his first victory since returning from six broken ribs.
The stars aligned for some of the connections of the undefeated New Mexico-bred millionaire Peppers Pride on Saturday night at Sunland Park, with Zasha edging full sister Desert Stepper by a head to sweep the exacta in the stakes named for the mare.
Both runners are trained by Joel Marr, who conditioned the race’s namesake, and were bred by Joe Allen, who campaigned Peppers Pride as a homebred. The daughters of the late stallion Desert God – who also sired Peppers Pride – are the only two starters out of the winning Smoke Glacken mare Thanks for Smokin.
Converge won the Grade 3 Palm Beach Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, giving sire Sidney’s Candy his first stakes winner and completing a unique trifecta for grandsire Candy Ride. The latter is represented by three young sons at stud, all track-record-setting Grade 1 winners who have sired stakes-winning 3-year-olds from their first crops. They are Twirling Candy, standing alongside Candy Ride at Lane’s End; Sidney’s Candy, standing at WinStar Farm; and Misremembered, at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms.
Tapit has dominated the North American sire lists for the past two years, but his talented offspring are also known for being high-strung.
Trainer Kiaran McLaughlin has conditioned several prominent stakes horses by the Gainesway stallion, led by Grade 1 winner Frosted. The latest in his barn is early Kentucky Derby favorite Mohaymen, who remained unbeaten by winning the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on Saturday at Gulfstream Park. McLaughlin said Mohaymen is more tractable than a typical Tapit – an important characteristic as he heads into the crucible of the spring classics.
Triple Crown winner American Pharoah has cleared the next hurdle of his nascent stud career by getting his first mare confirmed in foal.
Coolmore, which stands American Pharoah at its Ashford Stud in Versailles, Ky., announced Friday that Untouched Talent has been confirmed in foal on an initial scan. The Storm Cat mare was among the first mares covered by American Pharoah when Kentucky breeding sheds officially opened the weekend of Feb. 13.
Nellie Mae Cox, a longtime Virginia-based owner and breeder, died Wednesday at age 75.
A native Virginian, Cox grew up on Greenfield Farm in Cumberland, Va., and went on to found the demolition company S.B. Cox Inc. with her husband, Sidney B. Cox Jr., which has been in business for 53 years.
Edited press release
Excaper, winner of the 2014 Grade 2 Connaught Cup Stakes and runner-up in the 2011 Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, has been retired to stand at Francisco Bravo’s River Oaks Farms in Sulphur, Okla., as the property of Mike Grossman in a deal brokered by Chad Schumer. The son of Exchange Rate will stand for a fee of $2,000.
Excaper won five of 30 career starts while racing five seasons and earned $775,360.
Timber Country, a United States champion and classic winner who went on to become a successful sire in Japan, has died. The son of Woodman was 24.
Timber Country, campaigned by Overbrook Farm, Gainesway Thoroughbreds, and Robert and Beverly Lewis, and trained by D. Wayne Lukas, burst onto the national scene by winning the Grade 3 Balboa Stakes and Grade 1 Champagne Stakes as a juvenile in 1994. He subsequently posted a two-length score in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs, locking up an Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male.
MohaymenBy Tapit–Justwhistledixie, by Dixie Union
($2.2 million purchase by Shadwell Stud at 2014 Keeneland September yearling sale)
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