Spring Moon made an auspicious debut on Saturday at Del Mar, running unchallenged in a 5 1/2-furlong maiden special weight race and drawing off to win by four lengths under jockey Martin Garcia.
The 2-year-old gray or roan filly was the fourth winner from the first seven foals to race out of the debut crop of freshman sire Zensational, a multiple Grade 1 winner who stands at Hill ‘n’ Dale Farms in Lexington, Ky. for an advertised fee of $15,000.
European Horse of the Year Sea The Stars, winner of the 2009 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, was represented by his first winner on Monday when Stars Over the Sea took the first race at Ayr in England.
The 2-year-old colt took command with two furlongs remaining and powered to a three-length win, covering seven furlongs in 1:30.60 on turf rated good to firm. He was unplaced in his first two starts earlier this summer in England.
Forefathers, a multiple graded stakes-placed half-brother to Grade 1 winner Pioneerof the Nile, was represented by his first winner at stud on Saturday when Home of America won a maiden claiming race at Gulfstream Park by 3 3/4 lengths.
Darley shuttle sire Exceed And Excel will be the first mate for unbeaten two-time Australian Horse of the Year Black Caviar when the Southern Hemisphere breeding season begins in September.
Repole Stable’s Stopchargingmaria took control from the outset and was never challenged in a sharp first-out score Friday on Saratoga Race Course's opening day, winning by 5 1/2 lengths under John Velazquez.
The 2-year-old Tale of the Cat filly, trained by Todd Pletcher, covered 5 1/2 furlongs on a fast main track in 1:04.69. Pletcher said afterward that he would discuss Stopchargingmaria’s next start with owner Mike Repole but that a juvenile stakes would most likely be in order.
Robin Scully, whose Clovelly Farms bred recent Group 1 winner Elusive Kate, 2003 Breeders’ Cup Classic and 2004 Dubai World Cup winner Pleasantly Perfect, and numerous other high-class runners, died on July 12 in England, the Blood-Horse reported this week. Scully was 89.
He owned Clovelly Farms in Lexington, Ky., between 1959 and 2010. Scully dispersed his bloodstock at the 2010 Keeneland November sale, and in 2011 Sue and Richard Masson bought the 619-acre Kentucky property.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District in Louisville, Ky., on Thursday upheld a $66 million judgment against the ClassicStar Farms mare-lease program, its parent company, and three owners, the Associated Press reported. The federal court found that the sales and tax benefits of the program were “dramatically oversold,” and that the operators deliberately sought to mislead investors.
Ben’s Cat is not the only renowned product to come from the fertile region in Maryland that King Leatherbury long has called home. Roadside stands overflowing with plump crabs or Silver Queen corn are the signature staples that help make Anne Arundel County and its slice of the Chesapeake Bay area the great place that it is.
The rising popularity of ownership syndicates has made having a stake in a horse more accessible than ever. But make no mistake: The Thoroughbred business still is a rich man’s game.
However, those on a budget who are looking to get into ownership could find their answer in Little Dreams Racing. Founded by owner and breeder Carlo Vaccarezza, trainer Dale Romans, and John Williams of J & J Stables, Little Dreams allows owners to invest at their own level, from as little as 1 percent and upward.
