Stronghold
Colt by Ghostzapper – Spectator, by Jimmy Creed
Bred in Kentucky by Eric and Sharon Waller
On the final day of major prep-point action, Stronghold secured his spot in the Kentucky Derby with a hard-fought victory in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby. The colt, who previously won the Grade 3 Sunland Derby, comes from a multi-generation homebred program.
As 2-year-old racing got under way last week, Thousand Words became the first North American freshman sire off the mark with a winner as The Queens M G recorded a $92.74 upset in her debut Sunday at Keeneland.
The Queens M G outdueled West Memorial – the first starter for fellow freshman Caracaro – by a head, with the pair 11 lengths clear of the third-place finisher. The time for the 4 1/2 furlongs was 52.44 seconds. The Queens M G, owned and trained by Israel Acevedo, was a $3,500 Fasig-Tipton October yearling purchase.
The first daughter of internationally popular four-time Australian Horse of the Year Winx sold for a record $10 million Australian (about $6.6 million in U.S. funds) at the Inglis Australian Easter yearling sale on Monday.
The price eclipses the Australian yearling record of $5 million in local funds paid for a half-brother to champion Black Caviar at the 2013 Inglis Easter sale.
In the span of one weekend, kingpin Into Mischief gave a remarkable demonstration of why he is the dominant sire of this time. The five-time reigning leading sire took over atop the North American earnings list with three new graded stakes winners – including yet another Grade 1 winner – and now has likely representation in both the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.
Forever Young
Colt by Real Steel – Forever Darling, by Congrats
Bred in Japan by Northern Racing ($720,603 JRHA select yearling and foal sale purchase by Fujita Susumu)
Japan’s Forever Young made a huge jump up to third choice on Derby Watch after clinching his spot in the Kentucky Derby field with his win in the Group 2 U.A.E. Derby at Meydan. The colt, a product of the most prominent sireline in Japan, is from a female family that has produced another of this year’s Derby Watch top choices – immediate relation Sierra Leone.
From the racetracks of New Mexico to the Middle East, Rose’s Desert has developed into the linchpin of the Peacock family operation, with her son Senor Buscador looking to take down another of the world’s richest prizes in Saturday’s Group 1, $12 million Dubai World Cup.
Fierceness
City of Light – Nonna Bella, by Stay Thirsty
Bred in Kentucky by Repole Stable
Fierceness, who won last November’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to cement an Eclipse Award championship, looks to cement his spot in the Kentucky Derby in Saturday’s Florida Derby.
Dual classic winner and champion I’ll Have Another is the newest resident of the Old Friends Thoroughbred retirement farm in Georgetown, Ky., with the organization hosting a welcome party on Friday for the stallion, who arrived earlier in the week.
