The young stallion Good Magic and the rising blue hen mare Puca landed in rare company with their son Dornoch’s victory in last Saturday’s Belmont Stakes – and Dornoch’s connections essentially landed a lottery ticket by purchasing the colt at a relative bargain before the family exploded thanks to his full brother, 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage.
Maryland took center stage three weeks ago, with national attention on 15 stakes races, topped by the Preakness Stakes. But as the traveling circus of the Triple Crown moves to New York, Maryland comes along seeking a bit of the spotlight. The lightly raced and unbeaten Maryland-bred Mindframe runs in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Saratoga; two races prior, fellow statebred Post Time, a multiple graded stakes winner, starts in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap.
Caracaro showed the potential for top-level ability on the racetrack, but never got the chance to deliver a breakthrough victory. Now, his first foals are showing potential – and if fate is kind to them, perhaps they’ll deliver their sire to the top ranks of this freshman class.
Horse of the Year Authentic, tabbed as one of the top prospects in this year’s freshman sire class, got his first winner on May 31, as Adeera dueled and drove clear for a 3 3/4-length victory in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden at Churchill Downs.
Authentic is by five-time reigning leading sire and emerging sire of sires Into Mischief, and stands alongside his sire at Spendthrift Farm. Authentic never finished worse than second in eight starts while earning more than $7.2 million, highlighted by victories in the 2020 Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic to earn championship honors.
Triple Crown winner Justify notched another international accomplishment in his blazing early stallion career as his son City of Troy won the Epsom Derby on Saturday.
The colt was bred in Kentucky by affiliates of the international Coolmore group, and became the first U.S.-bred winner of the English classic since Kris Kin in 2003. Afterward, Aidan O’Brien, who trains for Coolmore, heaped more praise on Justify.
“And when you’re gone,
who remembers your name?
Who keeps your flame?
Who tells your story?”
– Broadway’s “Hamilton”
With every passing year, the depth of the loss of champion Arrogate, who died at age 7 after just three seasons at stud, becomes more pronounced. His first crop was led by Kentucky Oaks winner Secret Oath; his second by Belmont and Travers winner and champion Arcangelo. His third crop now includes Seize the Grey, front-running victor of last Saturday’s Preakness Stakes – and a candidate for the Belmont Stakes.
Can history repeat itself? That’s one question for Santa Anita Derby runner-up Imagination in the Preakness Stakes. The colt races for many of the same connections as last year’s Preakness winner, National Treasure, and is from the same extended female family as that colt – one that has had a great deal of success throughout racing history.
Uncle Mo is, in less than a decade with runners on the track, already an accomplished classic influence as the sire of Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and Belmont Stakes winner Mo Donegal. With his progeny continuing to produce runners who excel in the second generation, he added another accomplishment to his résumé as the broodmare sire of recent Kentucky Oaks winner Thorpedo Anna. He has a chance to continue building his reputation in that regard with Muth, one of the favorites for the Preakness Stakes.
Mugatu was foaled in Kentucky and trains at Belterra Park in Ohio. But in some ways, he’ll be coming home when he runs in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course. The colt was conceived in Maryland, as he is sired by Blofeld, a prominent young sire in the state who stands at Murmur Farm in Darlington.
