Ramsey Farm’s homebred stallion Talent Search was represented by his first winner from his first foal to race on Friday, when Hollywood Talent won a maiden race at Keeneland Race Course by 3 ½ lengths.
The dark bay or brown colt completed the 4 ½ furlong race in :51.25 over Keeneland’s synthetic Polytrack surface. He was bred in Pennsylvania by owners Ken and Sarah Ramsey and is trained by Wesley Ward.
A full brother to 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta was foaled April 9 at Coolmore's Ashford Stud near Versailles, Ky.
The Street Cry colt is out of the winning Kris S. mare Vertigineux, Kentucky's Broodmare of the Year in 2008. The mare was privately purchased by Coolmore from breeder Eric Kronfeld in the fall of 2008.
"He's a good-quality bay colt, both mare and foal are doing well," Ashford Stud manager Dermot Ryan said.
Popular theory in breeding suggests that the very best racemares struggle to duplicate their success as broodmares. So, we decided to look at a key race for 3-year-old fillies, the Kentucky Oaks, to evaluate that theory.
As it turns out, Kentucky Oaks winners, much like their Kentucky Derby-winning counterparts, proved to be a mixed bag of hits and misses in the breeding shed, but a handful have become transcendent as producers.
Leighton Farm of Upper Marlboro, Md., has announced that it will host a series of clinics focused on the re-training of former Thoroughbred racehorses for other disciplines. The series began April 18 and runs through Aug. 24, with all proceeds benefitting the non-profit Thoroughbred Placement Resources.
Over the past decade, the Thoroughbred world has seen a number of successful sires die young. As detailed in the Feb. 9 issue of DRF Breeding, short-lived sires such as Saint Liam, Chester House, Lawyer Ron, and Dubai Millennium have made substantial contributions to the breed despite serving three seasons or less at stud.
If the victory by Java’s War in the Grade 1 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 13 is any indication, we can add the name of his sire, War Pass, to that list of important, short-lived sires.
Grade 2-winning millionaire Diabolical got off the mark as a sire recently with his first two winners at Sunland Park in New Mexico.
The 2-year-old filly Prides Cousin won a trial race March 19 at Sunland to become her sire's first winner. The filly, who was making her career debut, was away in second but quickly assumed command and held sway to win by a length, finishing 4 1/2 furlongs in :53.25. Prides Cousin is out of the winning Mr. Groush mare Jannaslilkicker.
Othniel Henry Wienges Jr., a perennial leading Thoroughbred breeder in South Carolina who received numerous state and industry honors during his career, died on April 2 in Saint Matthews, S.C. He was 88.
Wienges owned Singleton Plantation in Saint Matthews. The farm, now encompassing about 2,600 acres, was originally acquired by his grandfather in the late 19th century and then operated by his father, who began breeding Standardbreds before transitioning to Thoroughbreds in the mid-20th century.
Significant Bling secured her place in Ohio-bred history by becoming the state’s first juvenile filly to be named Horse of the Year.The Ohio Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners announced its state-bred honors, including Horse of the Year, during its awards dinner on April 12.
