Wed, 12/31/2014 - 16:15

Comeflywithanangel named Michigan's 2014 Horse of the Year

Joe Nevills
Comeflywithanangel was named Michgian-bred Horse of the Year for 2014 by the Michigan Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

The Michigan Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association announced its statebred champions for 2014, led by Horse of the Year Comeflywithanangel.

The 6-year-old Equality mare experienced a banner campaign in 2014, winning 5 of 8 starts at Hazel Park and Thistledown for earnings of $67,120.

Tue, 12/30/2014 - 11:27

Cowtown Cat relocating to Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm in Ohio

Barbara D. Livingston
Cowtown Cat will stand the 2015 season at Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm in Ohio.

Grade 2 winner Cowtown Cat will relocate to Mapleton Thoroughbred Farm in Polk, Ohio, for the 2015 breeding season to stand for a fee to be announced at a later time.

The 10-year-old son of Distorted Humor previously stood in Florida at Journeyman Stud, where he last commanded a fee of $2,500. He is the sire of three crops of racing age, led by Grade 2 winner Calgary Cat, Grade 3-placed Dreaming of Susie, and Bigman in Town, Trinidad and Tobago’s Horse of the Year in 2013.

Tue, 12/30/2014 - 11:14

Swagger Jack to Nicks Farm in Indiana

Barbara D. Livingston
Swagger Jack will stand the 2015 season at Nicks Farm in Indiana for an advertised fee of $2,500.

Grade 1 winner Swagger Jack has been purchased by RisenStorm Thoroughbreds and will stand the 2015 breeding season at Nicks Farm in Sellersburg, Ind., for an advertised fee of $2,500.

The 6-year-old Smart Strike horse stood his debut season in 2014 at Millennium Farms in Lexington, Ky., for a fee of $7,500.

Tue, 12/30/2014 - 10:50

Linchpin, full brother to Quality Road, to Gibson Thoroughbred Farm in Washington

Linchpin, a full brother to multiple Grade 1 winner and young sire Quality Road, will stand the 2015 breeding season at Gibson Thoroughbred Farm in Thorp, Wash., for an advertised fee of $1,000.

Linchpin, a 4-year-old son of Elusive Quality, was winless in two starts at age 3, trained by Larry Jones for owners Fox Hill Farm and The Six Horsemen LLC. He was a $650,000 purchase at the 2011 Keeneland September yearling sale as part of the record-breaking dispersal of the estate of Edward P. Evans.

Mon, 12/29/2014 - 17:56

Serena's Song, Hall of Famer and champion, pensioned

Sara Fagan/Denali Stud
Hall of Famer Serena’s Song, seen at Denali Stud in April 2012, won 17 graded stakes and earned $3.28 million at the track.

Serena’s Song, the Hall of Fame champion 3-year-old filly of 1995 and the dam of four graded stakes winners, has been pensioned, the owners and manager of the mare said on Monday. She turns 23 on Jan. 1.

Tue, 12/23/2014 - 16:08

Sparkman: A star at last for Big Brown

Benoit & Associates
Dortmund gets up on the outside in the Los Alamitos Futurity to give Big Brown his first Grade 1 stakes winner as a sire.

Breeders did not know quite what to make of 2008 champion 3-year-old male Big Brown when he retired to stud at Three Chimneys Farm in 2009. Was he the horse who scored dominant victories in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes, or the one who finished an ignominious last in the Belmont Stakes? What effect did trainer Rick Dutrow’s admitted use of steroids have on the horse’s racing career?

Tue, 12/23/2014 - 16:00

Breeding and Sales Review: Tapit reigns supreme

Shigeki Kikkawa
Gainesway Farm’s Tapit is the leading sire of runners and of sales horses in 2014.

Throughout nearly every segment of the bloodstock market in 2014, Tapit could be found at the forefront.

The son of Pulpit this year firmly entrenched himself as one of the top sires of his generation, with his first United States classic winner helping to lead him to the single-year record for North American progeny earnings, with $16.6 million through Dec. 17.

Tue, 12/23/2014 - 15:11

Old Friends residents Kiri’s Clown, A.P. Slew euthanized due to colic

Barbara D. Livingston
Kiri's Clown, pictured in June, was euthanized Monday due to complications from colic surgery.

Grade 1 winner and pensioned stallion Kiri’s Clown was euthanized Monday due to complications from colic surgery at Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Ky.

The death came a day after A.P. Slew was euthanized at Rood and Riddle following exploratory colic surgery. Both horses were residents of Old Friends Equine Retirement in Georgetown, Ky.

Mon, 12/22/2014 - 16:14

Handsome Mike retires to Pleasant Acres Stallions in Florida

Barbara D. Livingston
Handsome Mike will stand the 2015 at Pleasant Acres Farm in Florida.

Grade 2 winner Handsome Mike has been retired from racing and will make his debut at stud in 2015 at Pleasant Acres Stallions in Morriston, Fla., for an advertised fee of $4,000.

The 5-year-old son of Scat Daddy finished his on-track career with three wins in 30 career starts for earnings of $1,005,413 racing for owner Reddam Racing and trainer Doug O’Neill. Handsome Mike’s campaign was highlighted by wins in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby on dirt and the Grade 3 Commonwealth Stakes over a synthetic surface.

Mon, 12/22/2014 - 13:13

Boisterous, Jeranimo among 16 new California stallions for 2015

Tom Keyser
Boisterous will stand his initial season for $5,000 at Tommy Town Thoroughbreds in California.

One was a Grade 1 winner on turf. Two ran in the Kentucky Derby. Another won the same stakes three times.

The new stallions in California for the 2015 breeding season are an eclectic mix of horses with lengthy racing careers and lightly raced runners. Here is an alphabetical list of first-year stallions in California and five notable stallions that were moved to the state for the 2015 breeding season.

FIRST-YEAR STALLIONS

Boisterous (Distorted Humor–Emanating, by Cox’s Ridge)

Farm: Tommy Town Thoroughbreds