A Kentucky Derby victory is awfully hard to top as a birthday present. But Steve Coburn, who turned 61 on Saturday, has his sights set even higher with California Chrome, the 3-year-old colt he co-bred and co-owns with Perry Martin.
"I believe this horse will win the Triple Crown," Coburn said.
Mark Toothaker couldn’t get anyone to look at the horse.
Part of the sales team at B. Wayne Hughes’ Spendthrift Farm of Lexington, Ky., Toothaker was in Opelousas, La., during September 2012 with a small consignment of yearlings to support the inaugural Equine Sales Company of Louisiana yearling sale. Among the group was a diminutive Louisiana-bred colt from the second crop of young Spendthrift sire Into Mischief.
Even-money favorite Untapable proved emphatically that she is the best of her class in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, and gave the Winchell family, long a major presence in American racing, its second Kentucky Oaks win after Summerly in 2005.
One of the primary markers of the long-term influence of great stallions is whether they can withstand close inbreeding. Popular sires of sires inevitably become natural, almost unavoidable, subjects of inbreeding, and if such inbreeding is successful, that stallion’s influence on future generations multiplies. If not, the stallion’s influence will fade somewhat over time.
Tribal Rule, one of California’s leading sires, died Thursday at Ballena Vista Farm in Ramona, Calif., after suffering a heart attack. He was 18 years old.
The son of Storm Cat was homebred in Kentucky by Martin and Pam Wygod, and won two of four starts with two seconds over three seasons of racing for earnings of $77,600. He was trained by Julio Canani.
DRF Breeding staff writer Joe Nevills analyzes the Kentucky Derby field, in post position order, in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.
Vicar’s In Trouble
Ramseys’ bayou-bred
Best when allowed to run off
That trip’s not likely
Harry’s Holiday
Ex-claimer makes good
Fine Kentucky-circuit horse
Just not in this race
Destination Europe, the strategic partnership between horsemen’s groups in England, Ireland, and France has added the European Breeders’ Fund and German Thoroughbred Marketing to its roster.
The organization was launched in March as a joint partnership between Irish Thoroughbred Marketing, Great British Racing International, and the French Racing and Breeding Committee. It was formed to promote Europe as a premier destination for racing and breeding and attract global investment in its programs, with initial outreach efforts made at the Dubai World Cup.
This year’s Kentucky Derby field is among the most regionally diverse in recent memory, with horses bred in five different states and one Canadian province likely to run.
As of Thursday, the projected 20-horse field was set to include runners bred in Kentucky, New York, California, Louisiana, Florida, and Ontario. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the last horse bred outside of Kentucky to win the race, when Pennsylvania-bred Smarty Jones took his first step toward what would become a Triple Crown near-miss in 2004.
Coolmore Australia in Jerrys Plains, New South Wales has revealed its advertised stud fees for the 2014 Southern Hemisphere breeding season.
Leading the 13-stallion roster is Pierro, who will stand for about $71,300 ($77,000 Australian). The only horse advertised to shuttle from Coolmore’s U.S. base in Versailles, Ky., is champion Uncle Mo, who will stand for about $15,275 ($16,500 Australian).
