Irish champion and Darley stallion Refuse to Bend, sire of European champion 3-year-old filly Sarafina, died of a heart attack Friday at Haras du Logis in Normandy, France. The Sadler’s Wells horse was 12 and already was about to start the breeding season.

ARCADIA, Calif. – The newly created Golden State Series for California-breds, a calendar of lucrative stakes this year, could attract more than 1,000 nominations by Wednesday’s deadline, according to California Thoroughbred Breeders Association executive director Doug Burge.

The series, first announced last fall, includes stakes for horses of all ages, but 2-year-olds of 2012 must be nominated to the program for $300 by Wednesday. Horses aged 3 or older in 2012 have been grandfathered into the series without a preliminary nomination fee.

English champion Blue Bunting has been retired after injuring herself en route to a start in the March 31 Dubai Sheema Classic, Godolphin announced Wednesday.

A 4-year-old Dynaformer filly, Blue Bunting will be bred to Darley stallion Street Cry.

Godolphin’s statement said Blue Bunting sustained a leg injury while preparing for her race at the Dubai World Cup Carnival.

The Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company has cataloged 362 juveniles to its March select 2-year-old sale, which will take place in Ocala, Fla., on March 13-14. Catalogs are available online at the OBS site, where updates include a sortable master index for the catalog and daily pedigree updates.

The number of horses in this year’s catalog is down from last year’s catalog of 490, reflecting in part the smaller Thoroughbred foal crop nationwide. OBS combined its February and March select auctions for the first time last year.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky winter mixed sale on Monday in Lexington continued the upward trend at recent breeding stock and all-ages sales by posting across-the-board increases.

The one-day auction at Newtown Paddocks sold 270 horses for $4,601,800, an increase of 63 percent over last year’s aggregate for 183 horses. The average gained 11 percent, climbing from $15,418 last year to $17,044. Median rose 5 percent, from $5,700 in 2011 to $6,000. Buybacks were 22 percent, down from 30 percent a year ago.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A quick burst of bidding for stakes-winning females gave Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky winter mixed sale a trio of session-leaders Monday in Lexington.

Stakes winner Legally Blanca, cataloged as Hip No. 20 in the Paramount Sales consignment, kicked off the early run when auctioned for $150,000 to Fred Allor. Legally Blanca sold as a racing or broodmare prospect. She is a 6-year-old by Northern Afleet who last year equaled Parx Racing’s five-furlong track record of 56.36 seconds. She has $172,690 in earnings.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Boundary, the Claiborne Farm stallion who sired 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown, was euthanized Feb. 4 due to the infirmities of old age, according to the Paris, Ky., farm. Boundary, by Claiborne’s late sire Danzig, was 22. He had been pensioned at Claiborne since 2005.

Acclamation’s haul of year-end awards for his 2011 season is likely to grow on Monday when the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association announces its Horse of the Year at its annual dinner on Monday in Pasadena, Calif.

Already recognized with the Eclipse Award for the nation’s outstanding older male of 2011, Acclamation has earned honors as the top California-bred turf horse and older male of the year. He was the only horse to win two divisional titles in the statebred category in 2011.

ARCADIA, Calif. – Going Ballistic, the latest addition to California’s stallion ranks, is scheduled to arrive at Victory Rose Thoroughbreds at Vacaville, Calif., by Wednesday, farm owner Ellen Jackson said on Friday.

The 8-year-old Going Ballistic will give Victory Rose seven stallions for its 2012 roster. Earlier this year, Bold Chieftain was retired from racing and will begin his stud career at Victory Rose when the breeding season starts in earnest later this month.

LEXINGTON, Ky. − Just for the record, Aaron and Marie Jones aren’t slowing down their involvement in the horse business. Kentucky’s recent breeding stock sales should have dispelled any thought that Aaron’s 90th birthday last year would prompt one of Thoroughbred breeding’s most successful couples to take up a more sedate hobby than the high-stakes adventures of racing and commercial breeding.