Catch the Moon has already established herself as a star broodmare. A win by her son Midnight Bourbon in the Kentucky Derby would put her in the stratosphere.
Catch the Moon, an unraced Malibu Moon mare, has produced four graded stakes winners, all by different stallions, from four starters. Midnight Bourbon will be the second Derby starter for the 12-year-old mare at a relatively young age. Her first representative was Girvin, 13th in 2017.
Barbara Banke's Stonestreet Stables will send out homebred colorbearers Clairiere and Pauline's Pearl, both by proven classic sires and out of Grade 1-winning mares, in the Kentucky Oaks on Friday at Churchill Downs.
" 'Royally bred' is not a good enough adjective," said Steve Asmussen, who trains both fillies.
In fact, the only other filly in the Oaks who might be able to contest those girls in gold is a filly raised alongside them. Shadwell Stables' Malathaat, who was bred and sold by Stonestreet, is also out of one of the farm’s Grade 1-winning broodmares.
The band is getting back together.
A five-furlong maiden special weight on Thursday at Churchill Downs has drawn the first entrant from sire Gun Runner, who was 2017 Horse of the Year. Gunite is a homebred for Winchell Thoroughbreds, which co-campaigned his sire with Three Chimneys Farm, where the stallion now stands. The colt is trained by Steve Asmussen and will be ridden by Florent Geroux, also the same connections as his sire.
The veteran sire Flatter often flies under the radar – but he may not be able to on the biggest weekend of the year at Churchill Downs.
The Claiborne Farm homebred and resident stallion will be represented by two starters in Friday’s Kentucky Oaks, with unbeaten Search Results and Pass the Champagne in the filly classic. And, although Panadol was declared out of Saturday’s Kentucky Derby when suitable international transportation could not be arranged, Flatter will still be represented, as he is the broodmare sire of King Fury.
The young stallion Liam’s Map is poised to have strong representatives in two of the biggest stakes in the coming week at Churchill Downs. The Unbridled’s Song stallion, who stands at Lane’s End Farm, will be represented by his daughter Crazy Beautiful in the Kentucky Oaks. The filly earned her way in by capturing one of the final major prep races, the Gulfstream Park Oaks.
Into Mischief keeps finding higher bars for himself to clear. The two-time reigning leading sire established a single-season earnings record in 2020, led by his first Kentucky Derby winner, Authentic. The stallion will now have multiple chances to sire an unprecedented second consecutive Derby winner.
Recent years have seen the rise of micro-share partnerships in the Thoroughbred marketplace, with these platforms offering a behind-the-scenes window into the Thoroughbred world and a taste of the ownership experience, particularly for novices to the game, without extravagant or ongoing expenses.
Bourbonic
Bernardini - Dancing Afleet, by Afleet Alex
Bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm
The biggest upset during this Kentucky Derby prep season was recorded by Bourbonic, who triggered a $146.50 return when he rallied to win the Wood Memorial. Approaching the Derby, he is likely to again be double-digit odds. However, what wouldn’t be an upset is continued success for the A.P. Indy sireline in classic events.
A number of Thoroughbred ex-racehorses are set to contest North America’s most prestigious three-day event, the Land Rover Kentucky CCI five-star, beginning Thursday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. The Kentucky five-star is returning in 2021 after being canceled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the pandemic ongoing, this year’s event is closed to spectators under United States Equestrian Federation rules.
