DRF Breeding staff writer Joe Nevills analyzes each race of the 2013 Breeders’ Cup World Championships in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.
Friday, Nov. 1
Marathon
Close eyes, throw a dart
Indian Jones whips the field
But watch for Worldly
Juvenile Turf
Lots of ways to go
But when in doubt, just default
To the Ramsey horse
Prominent sire Smart Strike will stand for $100,000 in 2014 to lead the Lane’s End roster, which was unveiled Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Mr. Prospector horse, who stood for $85,000 in 2013, was the only horse on the Versailles, Ky., farm’s 18-stallion roster to get a fee boost. Among the leading sires in the U.S. each of the last six years, the versatile Smart Strike is the sire of 98 stakes winners. His progeny have bankrolled more than $106.6 million, while averaging $114,508 in earnings.
Grade 1 winner Emcee has been retired from racing and will stand the 2014 breeding season at Becky Thomas’s Sequel Stallions in Hudson, N.Y.
The 5-year-old son of Unbridled’s Song was a prominent member of the sprint ranks during his 2012 campaign, winning the Grade 1 Forego Stakes and turning in a pair of third-place finishes in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap and Grade 3 Tom Fool Handicap. He had not raced since the 2012 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile, but last registered a timed workout at the Greentree Training Center in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., on Sept, 21.
The three farms that comprise the European wing of Shiekh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum’s Darley operation have announced their stud fees for 2014.
The two horses making the biggest jumps in price for the coming breeding season are based at Darley’s Dalham Hall Stud in Suffolk, England. Dubawi will stand for an advertised fee of $160,613 (100,000 British Pounds) in 2014 after standing for $120,845 (£75,000) during the 2013 season. The 11-year-old son of Dubai Millennium is the sire of Group 1 winners including Monterosso, Makfi, Lucky Nine, and Al Kazeem.
Grade 1 winner Paynter, who captured the racing world’s attention with a remarkable comeback from illness this year, will enter stud in 2014 at WinStar Farm near Versailles, Ky.
The 4-year-old son of Awesome Again, campaigned by Ahmed Zayat’s Zayat Stables, will make his final career start in the Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 2 at Santa Anita Park, the owner’s son and racing manager Justin confirmed on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. A stud fee will be announced at a later date.
ARCADIA, Calif. – Verrazano, a two-time Grade 1-winning 3-year-old, will make the final start of his career in Friday’s $1 million Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita and will stand the 2014 breeding season at Ashford Stud, the American division of Ireland’s Coolmore stud, it was announced Tuesday.
A Lloyds of London underwriter of an insurance policy on the recently deceased shuttle stallion Indygo Shiner has filed suit against Summer Wind Equine, claiming that the $1 million policy should not be paid out because of a breach of agreement. The story was first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader.
Grade 1 winner Hard Spun will stand the 2014 breeding season at Darley Stud in Hokkaido, Japan.
The 9-year-old son of Danzig began his stallion career in 2008, and has stood his entire Northern Hemisphere career at Darley’s Jonabell Farm in Lexington, Ky. He has sired three crops of racing age, led by Questing, champion 3-year-old filly of 2012. His other notable runners include Grade 1 winner Zo Impressive, Group 2 winners Red Duke and Moviesta, and Grade 3 winners Easter Gift, Hard Not to Like and Hierro.
