In the spring of 2012, half-brothers I’ll Have Another and Those Wer the Days were riding high. I’ll Have Another was a dual classic winner on the brink of becoming the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. Meanwhile, Those Wer the Days was riding a five-race winning streak of his own. But the story soon unraveled.

I’ll Have Another was retired with a tendon injury on the eve of the Belmont Stakes and was subsequently sold to Japan for stud duty. Those Wer the Days lost his final start before a knee injury ended his career.

Afleet Alex might not have been the best Preakness winner in recent memory, but his 4 3/4-length win in the 2005 Pimlico classic was certainly the most dramatic and perhaps the most visually impressive of the early 21st century.

Afleet Alex made a huge move, weaving through the field on the final turn, but as he was about to pass leader Scrappy T on the outside coming off the turn, the latter’s rider, Ramon Dominguez, wound up and walloped Scrappy T with a left-handed whip.

Roughly four months in, several trends in the juvenile racing division have surfaced to assist handicappers, prospective owners, and pedigree aficionados alike. Some are practically perennial and are of interest primarily to bettors: Wesley Ward’s brigade broke quickly from the gate at Keeneland, Todd Pletcher’s string is thriving at Saratoga, etc.

The first reported foal by Animal Kingdom, the Kentucky Derby winner and champion 3-year-old of 2011, was born this week at John Messara’s Arrowfield Stud in Australia.

The foal – a filly – is out of the winning Redoute’s Choice mare Tumble Turn.

Arrowfield Stud purchased a majority interest in the breeding rights to Animal Kingdom, a 6-year-old son of Leroidesanimaux, prior to his victory in the 2013 Dubai World Cup, making him the first Kentucky Derby winner to begin his stallion career in Australia.

Three Chimneys Farm announced Wednesday a partnership with Ben Leon’s Besilu Stables for both breeding and racing.

The partnership with Besilu is the latest of several business initiatives undertaken recently by Three Chimneys, the Midway, Ky., stud farm founded by Robert and Blythe Clay. In fall 2013, Brazil-based Borges Torrealba operation bought a controlling interest in Three Chimneys, and shortly afterward, the farm acquired the stallion rights for champion Will Take Charge.

Brice Ridgely, who bred 2004 juvenile champion Declan’s Moon in Maryland, died Tuesday of cancer at Baltimore-Washington Medical Center.

Ridgely, 67, was a farmer, auctioneer, and horse breeder. He owned Spring Meadow Farm in Cooksvile, Md.

Ridgely bred his mare, Vee Vee Star to second-year stallion Malibu Moon, who was then standing in Maryland, and the result was Declan’s Moon, who Ridgely sold at auction for $125,000.

Rodrigo de Triano, Europe’s champion 3-year-old colt of 1992 and a classic winner in England and Ireland, died of pneumonia at age 25, Racing Post reports.

The son El Gran Senor was bred in Kentucky by Swettenham Stud, and was trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam for owner Robert Sangster. Rodrigo de Triano went undefeated in five starts as a juvenile,  highlighted by wins in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and Group 2 Champagne Stakes in England.

Delta Princess, a three-time Grade 3 winner and the dam of champion Royal Delta, was euthanized Tuesday due to a degenerative stifle condition. The 15-year-old A.P. Indy mare resided at Frank Stronach’s Adena Springs in Paris, Ky.

Grade 2 winner Willcox Inn has been retired from racing and will make his stallion debut in 2015 at Saratoga Stud in Stillwater, N.Y.

The 6-year-old son of Harlan’s Holiday will stand for an advertised fee of $7,500.

Bred in Kentucky by Dr. John A. Chandler, Willcox Inn was campaigned for the bulk of his career by Lael Stable and All In Stable, the latter of which owned the horse since his first start. He was trained by Michael Stidham for his entire on-track career.

Thorn Song, a multiple Grade 1-winning standout turf horse and a young California stallion, has passed away due to complications of severe laminitis. The 11-year-old gray or roan son of Unbridled’s Song was undergoing treatment at Alamo Pintado Equine Medical Center near Santa Ynez, Calif. He stood at Harris Farms in Coalinga, Calif., which announced his death on Monday.