Weather permitting, a gathering of 15,000 or more is anticipated for next Sunday's annual Little Everglades Steeplechase festival. Little Everglades Ranch, a 2,000-acre nature park, is located in Dade City, Fla., an hour's drive southwest of Ocala and a half-hour's drive northeast of Tampa. The purpose behind this family day at the races is to raise money for charities and other worthy causes.
Maryland-breds figured prominently at the Fasig-Tipton Calder selected 2-year-olds in training sale this past week.
Five Maryland-breds were recorded as sold, all for six-figure prices, at the one-day auction held at Calder Race Course near Miami, Fla.
Leading the Maryland-bred contingent was a Lion Heart colt out of the Deputy Minister mare V V S Flawless, which sold for $750,000, the seventh-highest price among colts at the sale.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Barretts March select 2-year-old sale in Pomona, Calif., was the only major select juvenile auction to enjoy across-the-board gains last year, but the sale company's president isn't expecting similar jumps in 2008. Instead, Jerry McMahon predicts that the market for select 2-year-olds at Barretts will look much like it did last year.
MIAMI A smooth and attractive bay son of the Darley stallion Street Cry was the leading lot at Fasig-Tiptons annual sale of 2-year-olds in training at Calder on Tuesday. Consigned by Scanlon Training Center as agent, the colt brought $2.1 million from John Ferguson, bidding on behalf of Sheikh Mohammed.
LAS VEGAS - Cool Coal Man, from the first crop of Horse of the Year Mineshaft, stepped up the class ladder winning the Fountain of Youth Stakes last weekend, and the well-bred colt should only improve with maturity. But I was impressed with the effort by runner-up Elysium Fields, who was just coming off a maiden victory.
"It's exciting to be right," said Maryland breeder Alan Kline.
At last year's Keeneland September yearling sale, Kline took a chance by buying back his homebred Speightstown colt (out of stakes-winning Unbridled Lady) for $145,000.
The gamble paid off when the big, long-striding chestnut brought $475,000 - the highest price among colts and the third-highest overall - at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's sale of selected 2-year-olds in training on Feb. 12 in Ocala, Fla.
Bustin Stones remained unbeaten in five lifetime starts when he won the General George Handicap at Laurel Park last Monday.
The New York-bred 4-year-old was making his first open start in the Grade 2 General George at seven furlongs.
Bred and owned by Roddy J. Valente, Bustin Stones sent his career earnings to $300,150.
"This is what you live for!" exclaimed Valente after the General George. "He had so much against him, racing on a wet track the first time and being down on the inside. But he is a very determined horse."
Denis of Cork, unbeaten in three starts, is a Florida-bred colt with the credentials to become the state's seventh Kentucky Derby winner.
A bay colt by Harlan's Holiday out of Unbridled Girl, by Unbridled, Denis of Cork won the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes at Oaklawn Park last Monday for owners William and Suzanne Warren.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Of the 25 leading candidates for the Kentucky Derby on Daily Racing Form's Derby Watch, five sold as 2-year-olds in training last year and three more were bought back at those select auctions.
The colts on Derby Watch who sold are Court Vision, Into Mischief, Denis of Cork, J Be K, and Visionaire. And the BreezeFig gurus at DataTrack International identified three more colts on Derby Watch who also went through the sale but were unsold (El Gato Malo, Cool Coal Man, and Fierce Wind).